Myself, DH and DD arrived in Tampa on Saturday, Jan 3rd. We stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott on E. Cass St. Nice hotel, $80.00 w/ AAA discount but they charged $12.00 to park our car overnight and there was no continental breakfast. Wouldn't stay there again. Day 1: We arrived at the Port of Tampa @ 11:00 am gave our bags to the porter with a tip of course and DH went to park the car in the parking garage. He was back in 15 minutes, we then showed our passports and fun pass and were directed toward the security area. Security asked us if we had any digestible liquids with us and I said no. We put our bags on the xray machine and wouldn't you know it they stopped on one of our bags and asked if it was ours. They then asked again if we had any digestible liquids and I immediately remembered the 2 bottles of wine!!! Security said no problem, they just have to make sure they have not been opened. Next time I will surely remember. They directed us to the counter to get our sign and said card. We were given #9 to board. We sat down and they started calling numbers. We were on the ship by 11:30 am!! We went straight to the Lido Deck to check out the view and then to our 1st of many trips to the buffet. We tried the french fries and onion rings and they were great. The rueben sandwich was just ok and the oriental food was fantastic. I ended up there every day for lunch. Off the our cabin, 1141 on Riviera deck forward @ 1:15. Standard Carnival room with king bed and pulldown for DD. We later asked our room steward to make up the couch for her which was so comfy. Baggage started arriving so the unpacking started. Everything was in it's place by time for Muster drill which lasted only 15 minutes. We didn't even have to put the life jackets on. Some passengers did, but we were told not to?? After muster we took the life jackets back to the cabin, asked the Steward to open the fridge. We had to remove the drinks that were in there and fill it with what we brought. It kept everything very cold the entire week. We headed out to explore the beautiful ship. The ship is easy to navigate. We loved the dEcor and didn't find it tacky or drab as some have said. We prefer it to the neon of other Carnival ships. Time for dinner in Truffles Dinning Room. We had requested late sitting, but were given open seating. We weren't too sure about it, but ended up loving it. I wish this was an option on all ships. We were seated at an 8 table top with Clive and Made as our waiters. They were very good and called us by name at every opportunity. The asparagus crème soup and tiger shrimp cocktail were very good. My DD has the ribs and said they were awesome. DD had the NY strip which was cooked how he likes it, medium rare, but it was a bit tough. I can't remember what I had for an entrEe, but the chocolate melting cake was to die for. Myself and my DD had it every night. The show was @ 10:30 and was the Welcome Aboard Showtime. Our first towel animal tonight was a swan. The bed was hard to me and I didn't get a lot of sleep this first night. My DD and DH had no problem. Day 2: Today was our first day at sea. We were up at 9:00 am and off to breakfast in Truffles for breakfast. I had the eggs benedict which were yummy, but a bit salty. After breakfast we decided to hit the deck for some sun. There were a few chair hogs, but we found 3 together on Deck 10 right above the main pool where the stage is located. The weather was perfect and the seas calm. I can't seem to remember lunch that day. Tonight was the first Cruise Elegant night. Myself and DD dressed in our formal gowns and DH in his tux. Off to have our pictures taken. We went to the Captain's Welcome Reception @ 7:15, had few drinks and some appetizers. We went to the Truffles dining room and asked for a booth to ourselves. We were accommodated immediately. Our waiters were Conrad and Charles. They are the best. We requested them every other night. Each of us had 2 lobster entrEe's and of course the chocolate melting cake. After dinner we headed to The Follies Lounge for the main show @ 10:30. The show was called "Jazz Hot". Well it wasn't so hot. We have been on may cruises and this was one of the worst. I kept dozing off during the performance. Maybe I was just tired. The comedian, Thomas Brown, was funny and we stayed for his late night adult show and then it was off to bed. Tonight's towel animal was a puppy dog. So cute!!

Day 3: Today is Grand Cayman. We hit the Unicorn Cafe for some breakfast. It was just ok. We had a tour booked with Moby Dick to snorkel and go to Stingray City. We got off the tender and couldn't find Moby Dick Tours. It seems the tender docked at a different terminal and there were no signs for tours other than Carnival. We walked around quite a bit and I finally went outside the gate and over to the next tender terminal and there they were. I went back and got DD and DH and off we went. What a wonderful time we had. Nicholas was our boat captain and he shared a lot about himself and Grand Cayman. We snorkeled at the reef first. My underwater camera did not cooperate so I only got about 8 pics. Nicholas got in the water to feed and coax out a Moray eel. That thing was huge and my DD was near so Nicholas let her touch it. When I got back on the boat I was bummed because I wanted pics with the stingrays. Not to worry, they sell underwater cameras for $20.00. No flash, but it is reusable. We got in the water and all of a sudden here come the stingrays. It's really weird, but we weren't scared. We got to hold several and of course kissed them all for 7 years good luck. After the short ride back to the dock we headed out for some shopping. We found a store called T-Shirts, Souvenirs and More. It located on the second floor. They have free internet for 15 minutes and you can make a free 5 minute call to anyway in the US. I checked my work email and called the office to check in. Everything there is ok! Time to had back to the ship for some lunch in the Unicorn Cafe. I hit the oriental station and it was yummy. Can't remember what we had for dinner, but we sat at Conrad and Charles' table and I had the chocolate melting cake. Again they are the best. After dinner we headed to the Follies Lounge for the show. Tonight it was The Unbelievable Balance Act of Lubo and a comedian named Ronnie Bullard. Lubo was great and the comic was good too. We didn't stay up for the adult late night show. We were worn out from our day. Off to bed to find a Bunny Rabbit.

Day 4: Today is Cozumel. We slept in late since we couldn't leave the ship until 10:00. We have been here many times so we headed back to Paradise Beach. We grabbed a taxi for $13.00 for the 3 of us and off we went. When we got to PB we grabbed loungers on the 2nd row from the water. The water was beautiful and the weather was perfect. We ordered a bucket of Sol (they don't have Corona) and sat back at relaxed. After a while we ordered the buffalo wings, spicy and yummy, and the nachos w/chicken, also yummy. We relaxed some more and decided to head back to the pier. We shopped for a bit and bought a few t-shirts and went back on the ship. Dinner tonight was filet mignon, cooked a perfect medium rare and melted in our mouths. Dessert was again, chocolate melting cake. The show in the Follies lounge was a juggling act. We opted not to attend and went to the casino for a bit. My DD played the penny slots and had a blast. After a short walk on deck we headed to bed to find another towel animal. For the life of us we couldn't figure out what is was and forgot to ask our room steward. Read more