This was my 5th cruise overall, my fourth with Carnival. I traveled with my wife Denise. (By coincidence, it also turned out that her Aunt Dot was on the cruise also, traveling with a group of friends).
The itinerary was Panama (we didn't actually go through the canal, although the ship offered excursions to it), Costa Rica and Belize.
We flew from NY to Fort Lauderdale the night before, then took a taxi to the port in the morning.
Close to elevators, spacious, window cabin but view blocked by lifeboats.