This was only my second cruise, my first was a year ago on Royal Caribbean, so I did compare this ship with the Royal Caribbean ship. I wanted to try Carnival because it was significantly less expensive and I have several friends who have cruised Carnival many times. Anyway, I hope someone will find this review helpful.

Embarkation

We sailed out of Tampa and bought the travel vouchers from Carnival. The bus driver was very courteous and was waiting for us at baggage claim. He took care of our luggage for us and was very informative on the way to the port. He gave us facts and information about Tampa and made the short drive fun. We arrived at the port and only stood in line about ten minutes to get checked in and retrieve our Sail and Sign card. Everyone was then given a number and asked to sit in the waiting area for our number to be called. We were told that we could not board the ship until our number was called. I thought this was strange because on Royal Caribbean we checked in and walked onto the ship. Our number was 29, and they were on group number 13. We waited for about 40 minutes to board the ship. We then went to lunch and our luggage was in our cabin when we returned. Read more