This was my 4th cruise with Carnival and I was excited that I was going to be on a new ship. We (my mother and I) flew into Ft. Lauderdale that morning and took a taxi to Port Everglades. A taxi is much cheaper than the Carnival transportation ($12 for a taxi vs. $15 per person for Carnival transportation). When we arrived at the port, there was a very long line outside of the building. Like I said, this was my 4th cruise and this was the longest and most disorganized embarkation that I have ever experienced. There were people everywhere and it was very chaotic. We waited in line about 1 ½ hours to get on the ship.

Once on the ship, we headed to the Lido restaurant for some lunch. We also explored the ship, while we waited to be let into our cabin. They won't let you into the cabins until 1:30 and we were on board by 12:00. When we were finally let into the cabin, we were pleased that the cabin was large (by cruise standards) and clean. Our room steward greeted us almost immediately and was wonderful. When we realized that our cabin fridge wasn't working, he replaced it quickly. We had a balcony room which is well worth the extra money. It is so relaxing to sit on your private balcony where it is quiet. Great place to nap! It is also a good place to dry wet bathing suits.

While on board, we spent most of our time in the "adults only" pool area. It was nice to have a quieter area where there weren't screaming children and loud music. We tried to lay out by the main pool, but it was very loud and impossible to relax. This is the first ship that I have ever been on that had a giant movie screen out by the pool. Every night, they showed one or two movies and it was nice to sit outside with the nice sea breeze to watch them. Read more