This was our 4th cruise, and was the 2nd on a Carnival ship. We were looking for an affordable cruise so that we could take some friends and get out of the Montana weather during the winter.

Our cruise was out of Port Canaveral to the Eastern Caribbean, and included the Bahamas, St. Thomas, and St. Maarten. It was a seven day cruise, beginning and ending on Saturday.

On this cruise, we were accompanied by another couple who had never cruised before. Because of connections out of Montana, we had to arrive a day early and stay a day late. That's probably a good idea anyway, and good insurance should a flight get missed. The baggage claim at Orlando was slow and disorganized, taking longer than any other airport I have ever flown into, but we were in no hurry so it wasn't a problem. Read more