Background Information This time, it was just myself, my DD (turned 18 on the cruise), and her best friend (17). This was my 8th cruise (5th on Carnival), DD's 3rd, and her BFF's 1st. I have also sailed with Norwegian and Costa, and have previously done 3, 4, 5 and 7 day itineraries to the Bahamas, Southeastern Caribbean, and Western Caribbean from every port in Florida (plus Charleston). This was my first cruise with only one port of call, and second time leaving from Tampa.

Hotel Info We stayed at the Sailport Resort in Tampa. I had been there before, and they have really nice suites for $79/night. It is close to the airport and about 20 min from the port. The suites have balconies overlooking the bay. Their breakfast is kinda lame, but other than that it was nice. They have full kitchens and a bedroom and a pullout sofa in the living room, as well as covered parking. They lost my reservation (made through their own Web site), but I had a printout, so it wasn't a problem. Next time I'll call ahead the day before to confirm.

Embarkation (Thanksgiving day) We had spent the night in Tampa and went to Wal-Mart to find bathing suits. We were surprised they didn't have any available as it is "winter" in Tampa...LOL! So, we ended up arriving at the port at 10:30—much earlier than I had planned. All was well though. We pulled up at the luggage drop-off point, dropped off our three large pieces with the porter (tipped $5) and were directed to the parking garage after a fairly strong attempt to up-sell us valet parking. They try to tell you how far away the parking lot is for self park ("that one way over there"), but it is only about 150 yards I think. The only reasons to use the valet IMHO would be if you are late, you have mobility problems, or you are planning on using self-assist debarkation with lots of luggage. The port is about 15 minutes from the airport, by the way. The garage was $14/day which you prepay with cash or credit card. Read more