This is my first cruise ever. We were on the 12/4/11/-12/8/11 Bahamas cruise on the Carnival Sensation.

We arrived into Orlando Airport on 12/4/11 at about 10:30. At the end of the escalator for baggage claim was a Carnival rep with a sign who assisted us with directions to the ground transportation, as we had purchased tickets through Carnival for the shuttle to Port Canaveral.

I believe we left the airport at about 12:00 p.m. on a big bus. The shuttle driver was very pleasant and humorous. We arrived at the Port around 12:50 or thereabouts. We had booked the Grand Suite (room U87), so we had VIP check-in. The security line for VIP was empty, and the regular line had maybe 25 people in it. Security check-in was fine and simple (compared to the TSA). We went to the VIP check-in counter at which point we were directed to the VIP "lounge". I use that term loosely because "lounge" was really an office room with 6 chairs, 2 desks and a water dispenser. There were 2 other couples ahead of us (only one lady at the desk). Fortunately it only took about 15 minutes to get our S&S card and then proceed to the ship. Picture takers were out in full force. We didn't buy any, but did humor them and let them take our picture. Since we had gotten up at 4:30 a.m. and hadn't eaten, we were famished and proceeded to the Lido deck to get food. We ate at the "pool" area on the Lido deck. At this point we didn't realize there was another buffet "inside" right behind. Anyway, the outside area had hamburgers, hot dogs, etc. I grabbed a hot dog, fries, and some yummy potato salad. The other side of the line had a stir fry section where you could pick your own meats out (like shrimp, chicken, etc.) The hot dog was okay (I'm accustomed to Hebrew Nat'l hot dogs). The waiters were out selling the DOD. I had 4. They were good. The staff was VERY pleasant, BTW. Read more