We are a family of 3, 2 adults and my daughter who is 12. This was our 5th cruise, all on Carnival, and the first time we took a 7 day cruise. It was also our first time to the Eastern Caribbean so I was excited for the ports.

Embarkation - we flew in 2 days before. We had stayed in Fort Pierce the 2 nights and drove the rental car back to the airport and got to the port by about 10:30. Upon arrival, there was mass confusion. There were a lot of people who had disembarked milling around and no set line for embarkation. We finally did find the line and were close to the entrance but they had stopped letting people in for security etc. Apparently there was a wedding to take place and they needed to get all the guests in the terminal first. We finally got into the terminal about 45 minutes later - thankfully we were in the shade. The line was enormous behind us at that point. The actual process of getting our room keys was pretty easy and they had us sit in a waiting area where we would board by zone. We ended up on the ship after 12 noon. This was the latest boarding time I've seen.

First impressions - the ship is pink but to be honest, after the first impression, I didn't notice it for the remainder of the trip. It blends in pretty well. We went up to Lido as our room wouldn't be ready until 1:30 and got lunch. By 1:30, I went to our cabin on the Verandah deck. Standard balcony cabin, only main difference was the flat screen TV. Decor is the same on any other ship we've been on with that type of cabin. Read more