We traveled from Pensacola, FL to New Orleans Sunday morning with daughter, her husband and another couple, all 40 somethings. Arrived in N.O. before 10a.m. Purchased parking online at Fulton Street garage. Great location, easy to find and the $8 price is almost half of cruise ship parking. Very friendly porter helped with the ton of bags and the shuttle driver was amazing. Tipped her and the porter very generously (both coming in and going out). Upon arriving at the port we were greeted by another porter who would take our bags to be loaded on the ship. I always tip the $1 - $2 per bag.

Embarkation - was fast. Since we are platinum we were escorted immediately to that check-in area. Priority was good, but daughter and friends made it to the Lido Deck only about 20 minutes later. Only difference I could see was our bags were in our stateroom when we got there.

Lunch on Lido was very good. The Cezanne (inside buffet area), Blue Iguana Cantina (burrito bar), Guy's Burger Joint were all open, plus Fish & Chips on deck 10 were all open. I went upstairs to the Fish & Chips and was surprised to find Ceviche! It was outstanding. The fish was to greasy for me. By the time we were done with lunch our stateroom was ready. The "Carnival Hotel Captain?" was immediately at our door wanting to know if everything was well in our cabin. Then our cabin attendant Asu came and introduced herself. Both she and the staff always greeted us by name from that point on. They were very pleasant and kept the room spotless, so we gave them a little extra on the last night. We were able to unpack and relax prior to the mandatory safety drill. Drill goes fast. No longer have to lug and put on life vest. Read more