We arrived in Fort Lauderdale the night before after a 12 hour flight from Las Vegas, due to weather, diversions and missed connections.  We stayed at the Ramada Downtown Hollywood, booked through Hotwire for $60, plus $30 cab fare.  The hotel was nice and in an art deco area which was still in full swing at 12 midnight when we arrived.  We booked our transportation through 411 express shuttle that picked us up at 10am sharp in front of the hotel and was there promptly to pick us up at the cruise terminal on our return...HIGHLY recommend them!!  We arrived at the Miami Cruise port at 10:30am.  "We" are, me, my husband, our 21 year old son, and two daughters and their husbands.  Since my husband and I had a mini suite we all got to check in VIP...and were escorted up to the VIP lounge...very, very nice.  We were the first on board at around 11:30am.  A quick note:  When you give your luggage to the porters...they are very assertive about tipping and will count it right in front of you and make "remarks" if they feel it's not enough....They announced that the cabins would not be ready until 1:30p and we were directed to the buffet on the 9th floor.  Now, this is where the Dennys comment comes in...Sorry, but it's true.  There was plenty of food, but honestly, it lacked taste, especially the desserts.  However, I will say that they got the chocolate desserts right, but everything else was bland, over cooked, smothered in sauces and tough. Breakfast was the best buffet meal.  Dinner, in the dinning room lacked imagination and although the service was good...we always felt rushed.  If it wasn't for the fresh fruits, salads, pizza, and deli sandwiches..It would have been a floating Greasy Spoon.  Our Mini Suite was GREAT!  The best mini suite we have sailed in.  Big, roomy, plenty of closets, drawers, large separate bathroom with heavenly jacuzzi tub and enclosed steam shower, separate dressing area and everywhere you looked there was marble and rich mahogany wood, mirrored bar, dvd player with clock, plush bedding, couch, end  tables, coffee table, plush robes and the list goes on...  The mini suite balcony is 1 and a half times larger than a balcony cabin with 3 chairs...two of which recline...very, very, very nice!!!!The inside of the ship is very attractive.  The pools, indoor and outdoor buffets, the gift shop and photo area walkways are very congested and everywhere you went on the ship felt like there were thousands of people around.  Especially on tender days.  People were very aggressive and pushy, but perhaps that was due to the lack of space.  The activities on board also fell short, unless you were drinking in the many bars on board or played in the casino..there was a shortage of entertaining entertainment.Overall, we would rate our Carnival experience as a C+.  Good for first time cruisers, families with younger children and maybe honeymooners.  We have sailed on RCCL, Princess and NCL.  Princess being our favorite so far.  We thought we would give Carnival a try, since my parents, who live in Florida, sail on one of their ships once a year....but, honestly, we all came to the same conclusion...once was enough... and like we have always taught our children...don't knock something until you've tried it....See port reviews for some great need to know before you go tips.