Our group of 20 arrived in LA in two groups. We range in age from early fifties to mid seventies. One group stayed at the airport Hampton on Saturday night and the other arrived in LAX on Sunday. Everyone agreed that, since we were flying across country the first group made the best decision. The Hampton was very nice and they provided a free shuttle from the airport and to restaurants close by.

Our shuttle arrived at the hotel at 12 noon dropping us off at the ship before 1PM. Embarkation was smooth and we arrived at our cabin shortly after.

The cabin was the first disappointment. After 8 Carnival cruises we had become accustomed to a larger cabin and bathroom. It was a balcony cabin but the space was more like an NCL inside cabin we had on our first cruise and the balcony was very small. There was so little space between the foot of the bed and the wall we almost had to walk sideways and we are not large people. Read more