Being the cruise junkies we are, we talked ourselves into doing a 3-night on Carnival, which has an overnight in Nassau, following a 4-night trip to Key West. We thought it would be fun to have a vacation after a vacation of sorts. We knew that there was good possibility that this was going to be a party cruise for most and it was. Since we went into it knowing this we were prepared for it and had a great cruise experience. We're 40 with two kids 10 & 8, all seasoned cruisers and we don't cruise to party anymore, lol.

Embarkation was super smooth. Arrived at port around 10:30, on by 11:30 lunch in Horizon Grill right away. Rooms were ready by around 1:30, some earlier. We took a last minute inside cabin on deck 7, Empress deck, room E33, they were ready by 1:30.

Hadn't been on Carnival in a few years, the safety drill had changed quite a bit. No life vests, all show up in a designated area for safety instructions and then are walked by staff to your life boat. It was longer than any drill I've had on any ship. Part of it was due to the lack of people paying attention though,(the partying mode). Very loud, not quieting down when asked, it delayed things quite a bit, but they were having fun, lol. Read more