This being my second Carnival Cruise, I've learned to not expect anything more than you pay for and that is my ultimate expectation with Carnival. I'm not speaking negatively, its just that the consumer/cruise-goer should go in with this attitude and not expect a Disney or Celebrity experience and it will help you enjoy everything a bit more. Very similar in going to a throw-a-way movie with no serious expectations and you'll enjoy the ride.

For me, this cruise fit in perfectly with a longer vacation I'd already had planned. I spent a few days touring DC, a few days touring NY and it just made sense to take advantage of a really good deal by finishing my vacation on a cruise going to Saint John, NB and Halifax, Nova Scotia....a place I'd been wanting to see. I'm from Los Angeles so a trek to the East Coast is a long trip and I wanted to maximize my experience.

I was able to buy Faster to the Fun and can say it's a great $50 add-on. Although there is no tendering on this route, it more than paid for itself in early embarkation and disembarkation. My room was ready and decorated (I paid for the Happy Birthday Decoration Package for my wife) when I got on the ship early and my luggage delivered. Being able to drop off any carry-on luggage is a small result of the FTTF program. The other major win was leaving the ship. I got a note on the last night saying that if I wanted to take my own luggage off the ship by myself, just meet at the Black Pearl at 7:30a for immediate release. I was there with the other priority level passengers (maybe 60 people) and they let us off. It went so quickly that we were the second people in the taxi line. There were no taxis waiting for passengers so I probably waited 10 minutes at the curb for a cab but in that time, the line grew to hundreds of people so if you can get FTTF and you want to maximize your time (it gave us time to ice skate at Rockefeller Center and tour some more until our 6p flight from JFK) I'd do it if you can get it. For the record, when we initially checked in, I saw the sheet that the woman was holding for FTTF and it was about a page and a half long at about 35 names per page. Read more