We arrived 2 days before this cruise to visit with the in laws in Boynton Beach. We returned the rental car to Alamo at FLL after dropping off the luggage and took their shuttle which took an hour as they stopped at numerous other ships along the way.

This was my 32nd cruise, first time Platinum on CCL. The lines to embark were long so I was lucky to have VIP embarkation. We walked right on after checking in and were able to get into the cabin, an oceanview on Main deck not too far from forward elevator. I was careful to pick this one but it was noisy nevertheless. Try to avoid 2296. The stateroom is spacious and I did was happy to be on a lower deck because we had some very windy days with some rocking which was minimal on our deck. Our cabin steward was adequate--we requested extra towels and hangers, the bed was comfortable, I brought extra adhesive hooks to hang bags, hats and wet bathing suits.

The ship is typical Carnival strangely laid out and the decor garish. The pools were small for the size of the ship, the jacuzzis never very hot. There was always seating somewhere but of course the chair hogs took the A+ seats early. I enjoyed the steel band at the pool as some cruise lines just have piped in music now. The entertainment in general was boring. The Beatles show was surprisingly good though. Read more