This was our 9th Carnival cruise, 10th overall. We chose this cruise primarily for the dates (wanted to celebrate our 40th anniversary on board) and the itinerary (wanted to return to our favorite port, St. Maarten, which we had not visited in a while). While we did have a great cruise, and a great anniversary celebration, the itinerary was a disappointment -- just as we left Nassau they announced that we would have to reroute due to Hurricane Gonzalo, and go to Cozumel and Grand Cayman instead of ST and SM. :(Oh, well, couldn't be helped, but still a disappointment!
We live in the Tampa area, so drove over to Port Canaveral the night before the cruise, and did the Park & Cruise option at Comfort Inn and Suites, Port Canaveral. Everyone at the hotel was nice, breakfast was good, but hotel itself could use some refurbishing. It was OK for one night, but will probably look for another option next time.
Embarkation:
Fantastic location -- steps from both elevator and outside Lido deck.