Just returned from the 7/15/07 sailing, which was the sixth cruise for me and the third for my two boys (6 and 12). The previous cruises were with NCL, Royal Caribbean and Carnival. The cruise was intended to allow me to rest and relax, while my kids expected to have a great time with Camp Carnival. We stayed at the Marriott Biscayne Bay the night before the cruise. It has a convenient location (10 minutes by taxi to ship), but the service was disappointing. It took 2 hours (at midnight) to get a roll-away bed to the room. I chose this hotel, in part, because of the swimming pool. I figured that it would be a good idea to let the kids work off some energy before boarding the ship since they had endured a 7+ hour flight the day before, but the pool at the Marriott was closed so we were disappointed.

Embarkation

We arrived at the terminal at 11 a.m. and it took just under an hour to board the ship. There was no Fun Pass line and the wait to get onto the ship was hot and long. Once on the Lido Deck, we purchased soda cards for the boys and had a bite to eat. Cabin Read more