Hello present & future Cruise Critics! First of all after reading the many member reviews, I have one caveat to offer EVERYONE. "Forewarned is Forearmed!" So please please please use the Cruise Critic message boards to glean as much information as possible prior to your cruise if you are a first time cruiser. It DEFINITELY made our families experience very positive and one we will long remember!
The embarkation was hampered by the political goings on in Miami and for that reason many of the cruise lines chose to alleviate the problem by changing our port from Miami to Fort Lauderdale. This was a good move as we saw on the local TV stations down there the masses of people near the Port of Miami. For those who complained that Carnival didn't notify them till way late in their plans, I say " Do you people live in a vacuum? Don't you read the news? Don't you read Cruise Critic? Don't you read the front page of Carnivals website? Well as soon as I found out about this, I called the hotel (Port of Miami Holiday Inn ) and they were more than accommodating. I had made the reservation over the internet on expedia.com and it was supposed to be nonrefundable, but the hotel was more than willing to assist me with finding a new hotel in Fort Lauderdale close to the port! I also went online and was able to find a reasonable shuttle service to take us from the Miami Airport to our hotel in Fort Lauderdale. As I figured it would be confusion at the new port, I booked us out of our hotel on the 10 am shuttle to the ship. This was a blessing as Customs had halted the Triumphs debarkation process due to a drug bust on the ship. Since we were one of the first to arrive we were able to get seats in the large waiting room. This proved helpful as eventually we were moved upstairs to what I assumed was the preboarding area. Outside was hectic as the traffic was snarled due to the departing passengers busses still being there and there was no room for incoming busses, limos or cabs. Again this was no fault of the cruise lines, blame customs. Once they started the preboarding process they had a hard time getting the sign & sail cards to the passengers as many people were talking, but once we started boarding we were able to go immediately to our cabin, and then up to the lido deck to enjoy the sun and bon voyage drinks.
Our Room 7271 was a cat 11 mini suite. I figured with 2 teens and us it would be the better deal. It was still crowded but offered us GREAT access to the main atrium elevators and all activities. If we had gotten 2 cat 9 balconies it would have been about the same price or just a bit higher and we could have opened up the balcony partitions between the rooms. It just depends on what you want in a room. Some parents don't mind putting their kids across the hall in an inside which for us would have cost the same as having them in our room. I might opt for this the next time as it was a hassle with a roll away between our bed and the couch and dealing with that daily. The in-room tv was nice and if you have little kids you may want to consider bringing along some of their favorite movies for the VCR as its costly to rent onboard. The on screen display of your sign & sail card tab is great, but you may find that one of your kids has been assigned the master account for the room. Don't be alarmed.