We chose the Carnival Miracle because we were looking for a fun cruise vacation with our kids. I will admit that I had my reservations about Carnival and the stigma attached to being a party ship. However we were all very pleasantly surprised with our experience on the Miracle. Here is what you need to know about the Carnival Miracle:

Embarkation: We drove and parked in the Carnival Parking Terminal ($20 per day). We pulled up inside the parking garage to a loading zone/bag drop off area. There were attendants there that tagged our bags and took them to be put on the ship-this was nice. We waited in a line to go thru security, get our ship cards and then we walked on the gangway to get on the ship. From the time we parked our car to the time we were walking on the ship, it was about an hour.

Disembarkation: We decided to take our bags and there was a bit of a line but it was manageable. Read more