We left for Ft Lauderdale the day before and I had done online research to know that we could stay at Miami International Days Inn and get free shuttle (up to 2 people) to Miami port, so we rented car from Ft Lauderdale , headed to Miami Beach, and spent few hours, but it was cold and we headed back to hotel after eating. We dropped off car , had them take us to airport where we waited for shuttle from hotel, ( took an hour) Other Days Inn buses went by but not International. Finally after getting to hotel a older gentleman ahead of us at desk told them he had tried calling for pick up at airport and no one answered. The one man behind counter said he was so busy. But he did give him the taxi money refund back to him . Hotel lobby was small, and hallways were dark, but rooms were big, clean and nice. And the best part was got an online deal for $80 and that free shuttle to ship was good the next am.

Embarkation went smoothly , having the FunShip pass gets you in faster. After eating in Lido deck we went to our room which was also on Lido ( nice to not have to deal with elevators to get to lunch daily) We enjoyed most all the food and dining staff , but our room steward we saw once on first day, after that did not hear from him , other than to see the animal towels on the bed at night. We enjoyed the night shows, our table partners, and the food. Chocolate bar was good, but not well advertised. We did not use casino, but did take advantage of internet one time on a half price deal, spent 15 min there. Also enjoyed the karoke watching. We as all other 3,000 people were very disappointed with the week of weather. Out of 7 days we only had one day of sun. So did not see people on deck or sunbathing , was just too cold or raining. Seemed like real cabin fever after awhile , what we thought we were getting away from. It was just a bad week, the cold streak from north made it all the way into the caribbean. We even had choppy water, such that the bed would rock most nights. We did take motion pills. The stingray and snorkeling tour at Grand Cayman was cancelled . But we had booked the turtle farm which we enjoyed, It was the only time I had my bathing suit on... snorkeled in lagoon area . The Isle of Roatan we scheduled no excursion as we planned that as our beach day. Nice local beach, new Mahogany Bay port area of shops and sky ride to beach ( we walked ) Ship sells package to another beach , but this is a good one for free but was cooler and drizzling rain so sat on beach chairs with towels covering us, some people walked along beach with umbrellas. Others took buses in town for tours. Our Belize day was rain most all of day, so we had booked online a cave tubing tour, but did not go , due to not wanting to walk 30 min in forest in the rain and cold. So did some shops and small lunch at the bar . We did not go past the walls into the city as we were told was not safe. The last stop was Cozumel, and thankfully had sun, but that ruins tour was in Playa del Carmen so we took ferry for 30 min , then bus ride for 45 . Was fantastic bus guide and stop at nice souvenier place, and ruins were great. Had nice beach there but not enough time , just enough for a pic by the ocean and then off to the bus again. That was the only day we felt warm. Other times on the ship we spent eating and eating . Started to feel a bit bored. Played some bingo ($20 for 3 cards ) Did win $160. We enjoyed the dress up nights and got some pics taken. We have been on two other cruises many yrs ago so hard to remember to compare, but all we were most disappointed in was the weather and also trouble getting around the ship. BE AWARE >>>> we paid extra for the express luggage handling from our cabin to Chicago. At time of pickup in Chicago , it was not there, we made a claim at airline. They called the next am and said it had not come in. I then called Carnival and they did a search to say it was found on the pier ! They fedex it and arrive four days later. Luckily I had insurance on cruise line that did cover delayed baggage. but airline claims people said this happens alot with Carnival and Disney cruises, so my suggestion is to take your own luggage to checkin. We got our money back but a mental headache not knowing where luggage was. We payed for the bus shuttle back to airport after we got on the ship and that was $18 a piece. Was convenient just walked out and got on , they loaded our carryon luggage and told us where to get off. We will probably not go on a cruise for awhile , maybe Alaska , if anyone has any good ideas for itinerary for that one , email me at gile436@comcast.net We were excited at the beginning of the trip and each day got more dismal . The luggage issue just topped off the experience for us. On a sunny day all the ports though would be great choices. Unfortunately we sailed on the coldest week of all !