Embarkation - The terminal at Port Everglades is old and crowded. We drove from the Tampa area the morning of the cruise and arrived at the Park 'n Go at about 1030. Waited for a few minutes to get checked in and then waited for a few minutes for the van to fill and head off to the port. The port itself is a mad house. There were 3 or 4 other ships leaving the same day. Getting to the correct terminal was crazy. We were dropped off and baggage given to the handler and in line by 1130. The line was long and the baggage was moved by forklift to the terminal. The problem with this is that the forklifts had to drive through the crowd to move the luggage to the staging area. The potential for an accident is tremendous. They did not open the terminal until 1200 and after opened the line moved surprisingly fast. We were aboard and eating lunch by 1245.

Cabin - We booked a balcony cabin on the Veranda Deck (8422 - port side aft). It was a standard Carnival cabin and we had no problems with the cabin during the trip. Our steward was excellent, greeting us by name, and giving us the standard rundown of his services. He kept our room nice and clean and the minibar and ice well stocked. The balcony was nice, but the majority of space was occupied by the furniture. My only disappointment was the number of smokers around us - it just made using it less enjoyable.

Food/Dining Room - We used the buffets for breakfast and lunch and ate every night in the dining room except for one, when we dined in the supper club. The buffet was standard fare and was edible. The omelet station and the Mongolian grill were my favorites. Our waitstaff was excellent, meeting our every need. The food was good and the menu diverse. Food was not quite hot - but it wasn't cold as some here have complained. The portion size is very good, you leave full but not stuffed... unless you want to be stuffed. I will say that the macaroni and cheese was excellent for a side dish. One night we dined in the supper club and it was superb! Read more