I will try to do this on a day by day basis.

Pre-Cruise We stayed at the Hampton Inn, Ybor. The hotel was very nice, they had a shuttle which took us to the pier and will also take you anywhere within 3 miles. We had a very nice room and the front desk staff was very friendly. There are a few places to eat within walking distance from the hotel.

The morning of the cruise, we took the shuttle to the pier at noon (our apt was 12:30-1:00). Boarding was pretty easy as we were in our room by 1:00. We met our steward (Arnold). We dropped off the carry-ons and went to lunch on the lido deck. I went to the burger station (decent burgers, great hot dogs). My wife went to the buffet. Ave CCL buffet, not bad but not great. By the time we finished lunch, our luggage had arrived. We did the lifeboat drill which went fast. We then killed a bit of time, my wife had her drink of the day. We had anytime dining which was a mistake. I strongly suggest that you sign up for a set dining time. For the anytime dining, you go to the Elation dining room, wait in a long line to get a pager then wait another 20 min to get seated. The first night was was worst, it took us an hour from when we went upstairs to when we were actually seated. The other nights were more in the 30 min range. Dining room food was "OK", they don't do the lobster tail or the filet anymore (unless you fork out an extra 20$). The food quality was down a bit from cruises we had taken in the past. My wife said she really enjoyed the duck. Since we had anytime dining, we had a different wait staff each night, although you can request to be seated in the same section (although you will have to wait longer). We ate in the main dining room 3 nights and the buffet 2 nights. The buffet was ok, nothing great but it wasn't too bad. I don't remember what time the casino and the shops opened but I don''t think it was any later then 6. Read more