My wife and I (aged 36 and 37) along with our son (9) and daughter (7) took this cruise from March 10-17, 2013. We live in Ontario, Canada and took this trip during our kid's spring break from school. This was our third cruise as a family and our second with Carnival. Previously, we have taken an Eastern Caribbean cruise from Port Canaveral and a Western Caribbean Cruise out of Tampa. I will break the trip down below and give my impressions of each of the ports.
Pre-cruise:
Because this cruise did not embark until Sunday evening at 10:00 pm, my family was able to fly to San Juan on the Friday and enjoy a couple of days in Puerto Rico prior to leaving on the cruise. Our flight landed Friday evening and we were able to grab a taxi and head to our hotel, Le Consulat, in the Condado area. The location of this hotel was great as we were walking distance to the beach, a Walgreens, and many restaurants (both familiar and more exotic). We spent the Saturday at Condado beach, the kids playing in the sand and surf. The waves at this beach were pretty violent and the undertow was strong. Our kids were not able to go near the water unattended and it definitely wasn't a swimming beach. That being said, our kids really enjoyed being tossed around in the surf. After a few hours of sun and surf, we went back to the hotel, cleaned up and found a small local restaurant for dinner.
Great room, lots of space. Blinds need to remain closed at night as light interferes with the visibility of the bridge. Room was very comfortable for a family of four. Room is also very quiet, no one above or below you.