All the negative comments are rather off-putting, but as long as you know what you're getting into beforehand, you'll have a great time! Let me start by saying we are not "picky" people...we go on cruises for a change of pace. I'm retired and my husband is self-employed and we live in a small city so sometimes (like this one) we just like to be around a diverse group of people having fun and Carnival never disappoints. When we want a longer, more sophisticated cruise, we go with Celebrity.

We arrived at the parking lot (Lighthouse...we always use them and they are great) around 11:30 on Thursday and were quickly taken to the ship. Embarkation was a breeze...literally just walked on with no waiting. Immediately went to lunch and explored the ship. Our room was ready around 1:00 and we were able to put away our carry-on stuff. Then out for more exploring. Our luggage made it there close to 5:00. Put everything away and started VACATION: A

Lots of music, sun, and people! It's summer so most families brought the kids along, which we love to see so no problem for us. Met our dinner table companions that evening and Carnival did a wonderful job of matching us up. Our companions were so much fun and we had so much in common that we wished we could have spent an entire week with them! Carnival really got it right this time: A+ Food: Read more