Family members had warned us against Carnival, saying that Royal was sooooo much better. Boy were we surprised!!!

Embarkation was a BREEZE--- we got off our flight around 10am and figured we'd just get on a shuttle and wait at the pier. Well, we got on our GO shuttle at Fort Lauderdale, expecting a 45 minute ride. Turns out they drop off EVERYONE in the van before they take you to Miami pier. It took us 1.5 hours!!! But that was okay, as we didn't think we could embark until 1:30.

Well, we got to the pier and they were already loading. We got into line and onto the ship within 15 minutes. The BEST embarkation ever! We were told that our room might not be ready, but we went down to Deck One to check anyhow. There it was, all clean and ready for us. We dropped our carry ons, stored our valuables, and went upstairs for some food. Our room was VERY big (oceanview w/ picture window). We couldn't believe how big it was. Compared to the interior rooms across the hall, I would definitely pay the extra money for an oceanview on Carnival again. You get DOUBLE the space from what I could see! Read more