Our first lesson learned is never fly the day of embarkation. The stress of delayed flights, overbooking, etc. is unbearable. Our flight did not arrive in Miami until 3:10. We had been in constant contact with Carnival on the airplane so they were aware we were arriving later than expected. Carnival told us we would not be allowed to board any later then 3:45. We were met at the arrival gate by an unfriendly, indifferent Carnival agent who ushered us to baggage claim.

At 3:30, we were told we would not be able to wait any longer for our luggage even though Delta was announcing that they were still unloading baggage from the plane. So we left the airport with no luggage and were put on a shuttle bus. We were the only people besides another couple (they were on a different boat than us). The driver of the bus and the unfriendly Carnival rep made idle chit chat for about 7 minutes while we sat and fumed on the bus that we could have been retrieving our luggage. We arrived on the boat thankful that we made it and proceeded to our cabin where we changed into bathing suits (thank goodness our travel agent told us to pack bathing suits on our carry-on so we could go to the pool).

Our children (ages 5 and 6) were so excited to go to the pool. It had no water in it! We had early dining and since we did not have our luggage were unable to shower and change into appropriate clothing so we had to eat the buffet. We do not care for this style of dining however the food was mediocre at best. We went to bed early due to the stress of the day. We could not understand a word our room steward said to us the entire cruise. He was Columbian, although he kept our room spotless and the beds were very comfortable. The water pressure in the shower was a joke. My daughter has very thick curly hair and it was extremely difficult to wash her hair without any water pressure. Read more