Background: My wife and I have been on 5 previous cruises. 4 with Carnival and 1 with Royal Caribbean. We like Carnival because it offers a casual cruising experience and has excellent programs for children and is usually the most cost effective. We usually cruise with our kids (now ages 14 & 18) but this was our 20th anniversary so left them at home with the grandparents. My wife hates days at sea as she has claustrophobia and feels trapped on the ship so this itinerary was perfect for a week cruise. Neither of us has ever been to the Southern Caribbean so that was an added bonus. We decided to go all out and book an excursion at every port using CruiseCritic.com as our guide. We were not disappointed and ended saving a bunch of money.

Travel: We flew Airtran direct from Atlanta to San Juan the day of the cruise. The plane left and arrived within minutes of its scheduled times. The plane was completely packed as we flew the day of embarkation. Arrived at the San Juan airport at 1:30pm. Noticed as we walked through the airport that all chairs were full with people on the floor and standing around. We guessed correctly that it was full of cruisers trying to get back home as we arrived (more on this later). Retrieved our luggage within 10 minutes of landing and out the door to catch a taxi. Stood out by the road and couldn't get a taxi to look at us until a helpful person informed us that we needed to stand in line off to the side in front of a little kiosk that said ground transportation. This took less than 10 mins and in line we met a wonderful couple from Canada (hello Jerry & Denise) that was also traveling to the Carnival Victory. We decided to share a cab. Cost= $19 + $1 US for one way trip, no cost for sharing. Did notice the group waiting for the Carnival shuttle in the airport by baggage claim, they continued waiting as they won't leave until the shuttle is full (and it cost more). During our cruise we ran into our Canadian friends at least 10 times and even had booked the same tour on St. Lucia, not such a large ship after all.

Embarkation: This was one of the easiest procedures we have ever had. There was a bit of a line outside the port waiting to get through port security as we arrived. This took about 10 min. to get past and the porters were present to take your larger luggage for $2 US per bag. We sent 2 bags via the porters that we didn't get until after 9pm so make sure you have everything you need in your carry on baggage. FYI, the baggage scanner at the port only accepts smaller bags. Once in the port we found minimal lines and only a couple of stops which took about 10 min. to get past and just before security we wandered into the duty free liquor store. We purchased 3-6 packs of diet coke which we carried through security and onto the ship without a problem. Did notice a Carnival person sitting at a desk as you board to take any alcohol you purchased but many people put their bottles in their carry on and walked right past. Went straight to our room which was ready when we arrived at 2:30pm. Read more