CruiserBruce

I suspect the demographic on both ships will skew older.

I get the uniqueness of these routes, but Boston is not the best port to sail from in terms of facilities and ease of use.

So, you didn't check it out?

Discussed extensively a couple weeks ago:

Rome is very walkable...perhaps a tour isn't needed? I agree with others, a private tour isn't a bad thing. Check out Rome in Limo. Lastly, although not highly (in Rome)recommended here, but a hop on hop off bus is a possibility.

One of the most common questions on this board:

Then I think you have answered your own question. You will need to visit a bar each time.

Welcome to Cruise Critic! There is a section of Cruise Critic devoted to Carnival, located here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/133-carnival-cruise-lines/ We have sailed 25 times, with 2 future cruises booked. We did an inside one time...a last minute sale booking. Never again. Your deal sounds pretty good...we would do it in a heartbeat.

If the OP would come back and answer some of the questions, we could give clear answers.

Viator is not a provider, they are a broker. While that can get you some attractive prices, it can also present challenges when you have an issue. For that reason, we don't use them any more. The common recommendation is to seek out local providers and do business with them directly.

Do a search...they have been mentioned a few times. They are a broker, not a tour provider. Sometimes gets you better prices, but may present challenges when there is a problem.

Just down the board:

On the "just won't get off" concept, in most cases you won't be allowed to board the ship if you don't have the proper ID for the ports involved, whether or not you plan on getting off at those ports. There are some exceptions but they are pretty few. This sounds like a closed loop cruise, but we can't say for sure until you tell us what port(s) you bare beginning and ending your cruise at.

There are big signs at each gate, with Terminal assignments. Or, as commonly discussed on the Florida Departures board, Google search for the Port Everglades port schedule about 2 weeks in advance, when the assignments have been made.

Looking at the options as you describe doesn't tell you how full the ship is. You can't see how many guarantee (GTY)bookings there are, so literally one additional booking could cause an entire category to show as full, if there are a large number of unassigned GTY bookings.

A couple discussions on the board:

If you look around the board, the topic is discussed frequently. The earliest recommended flight is 11:30.

Agree...that isn't correlation. If we fly from X to Y, and back, for a cruise, or for a land vacation, the airfare is the same. Additionally, there is no relationship, as you can book a first class airfare, and get the cheapest cabin on the ship, or the best suite on the ship and the cheapest seat on the flight...so the ratio can be distorted so many ways.

The dockworkers at the port, that you give your baggage to, will have a list with all the cabin assignments.

Then you will see the many recommendations here for Limo services, which for 6 people, probably won't be budget breaking.

Assuming the ship ties up starboard side to the dock, which is not guaranteed. Or you are up very early, when the ship sails into port.

"Best" food is totally subjective, what you may find great, I may dislike. If you go on the boards for every one of the cruise lines you mentioned, you will find some people saying the food is worst than before Covid, and others saying the food is great.

That is the HAL policy.

Maybe asking them what their current policy is would be a good idea.

FFL is Fairfield, Iowa.