My wife and I are in our late 20's/early 30's and this was my 7th cruise with Carnival (4th for her). We picked this cruise for the homeport location, a new ship (the Dream), and it was an itinerary that we never got do to because it was cancelled a few years ago for us out of Tampa.
EMBARKATION: We drove down to Port Canaveral to meet the ship and arrived around 12:30 to unload luggage and park. Parking is $15/day ($105), so that certainly needs to be included in any trip budget. Had a short line to get into terminal and screen carry-ons, and a short line upstairs to check in. Overall, thought the process was relatively painless, as we were on the ship by 1:10. Had to wait about 20 minutes until the cabins were opened up and ready. Our checked bags arrived at the cabin pretty quickly (by 3:30). Had to do the muster station drill, but big changes since our last cruise - lifejackets did not need to be worn, and we did not need to go out and stand by the lifeboats. Just sat in the muster station (Theater) and watched a video.
CABIN: We stayed in a cabin location we were familiar with - all the way forward on Deck 7 in an "interior" room with a picture window with obstructed view (faces forward). We tend to like these cabins on the newer ships, but they are a long walk from some locations at the rear of the ship. The only negative to this room this time was one night I guess the seas were rough, and the waves that were hitting the front of the ship transmitted huge constant banging noises up into the cabin.