We Loved Our Dream
We cruised the western Caribbean from 17 - 24 Apr. This was our sixth cruise and the fourth in the past year; all with carnival. We read all the critics reviews for the past few months and wasn't worried one bit. We find the people who complain about long lines, too many people, service and food have either been spoiled by other overpriced cruise lines or just don't understand that its a cruise. There will be lots of people and long lines; especially on a new ship or during spring break. But if you know how to cruise right, then you won't miss all the other fun things to do on the ship because of the lines or service.
Embarkation: We fly into Orlando a few days prior to the cruise and took our grandson to Disney and SeaWorld. We rented a car from budget at the airport and returned it to a budget location just a mile from the port. After dropping off the car, we took the budget shuttle to the port and arrived at 9:45 a.m. We got to check-in right away and we were on the ship at 11:15. We headed right to the lido deck for lunch. My wife got Mongolian and I went though the buffet line. There where no lines and even after an hour, the wait in line was only 10 minutes...no big deal. Plenty of places to eat at the Gathering (Buffet Area), in the main area and also the rear of the ship. Room are not available till 1:30, so we explored the layout of the ship. The muster safety drill started at 3:30 and we set sail at 4.