We've cruised a total of 5 times, this being our 4th with Carnival. Our second time out of Tampa, also the second on a Spirit Class ship (last time was the Legend, on an identical itinerary). Overall, a very nice trip!

Embarkation: Tampa is a much smaller port than Miami, and that is not a bad thing, necessarily. The ships are smaller, and there are less of them. I believe Tampa can only accommodate 3 ships in port at a time.

Carnival's terminal is pretty nice, has adequate seating. We got there at 11-ish, We had Faster-to-Fun for the first time. For whatever the reason, they were slow in allowing us on board. They didn't start boarding until about 12:15pm. On the bright side, with Faster-to-Fun, we were onboard before 12:30. We went directly to our room, and, wonder of wonders, our bags were already there! This is a pleasant surprise. Room 7208, a nice midship balcony, was not only "Carnival Nice", but well located near elevators with easy access to the whole ship. Read more