Let me start by saying that I am not big on flying so when I heard about the Baltimore port it seemed ideal.. My family and I live in SJ so the port was a little over an hour away. We booked the cruise back in August as a gift for my inlaws who have never cruised.. We had a variety of age groups traveling with us my two sons ages 2 and 5 my husband and I age 25 and my inlaws both 55. Boarding the ship was painless compared to the airport wich I love about home ports, we arrived at Baltimore at 1:30 and we where aboard the ship enjoying a drink by 2:30.. One thing I wanted to pay close attention to was the decor of the ship due to some past revs I read.. I have to say however I thought that the ship was the most beautiful vessel I have ever cruised on. I also was a little nervous about traveling from Baltimore in the winter and since I am prone to seasickness this was a big concern, however I thought that we really lucked out our weather was great. The food was great you do have to try the chocolate melting cake dont forget your extra scoop of vanilla icecream..Davids was also great,and my husband loved the burgers on the deck, and my children enjoyed icecream every night. All our fellow passengers where very friendly. I cant even explain how nice the crew was right down the line everyone was great. The shows also great, and my son could not get enough pics with his towel animals. I dont think that I can say enough good things about this cruise from start to finish great, my husband and I did not want to leave this ship and go back to our jobs and the real world, but not to worry I already rebooked the same cruise for only my husband and I next year around the same time... by the way I have cruised NCL,RCL, and now carnival, carnival is #1 in my book!!!!!!!