First let me begin by saying that we are dedicated Carnival fans. We sailed on RCL and found the cabins to be too small and the ship too old. We have also sailed on The Grand Princess and have to say it was pretty nice. Our son was married on the Glory and our 25th wedding anniversary was our first cruise (one the Sensation).

We choose the Dream as it was the newest ship and we live within a 2 hour drive of Port Canaveral. So I will review the port first and then the cruise.

PORT CANAVERAL: I have to say that we have sailed out of Tampa, Fort Lauderdale and Port Canaveral. Of all we love Port Canaveral. It is a straight shot from Orlando to the Port (528) and the drive is nice. We always go over the day before the cruise and stay at the Country Inn and Suites which is less than a mile from the port and has a cruise and park package. So we simply leave our car at the hotel, use their shuttle to get to the ship on the morning of the cruise and then call when we return. They pick us up and deliver us to our car. No traffic and no headache. So this is the way to go. Read more