Here's the summary -- Given what we paid, I thought it was a very good deal. We enjoyed it and would consider Carnival again (this was our first cruise on Carnival). There were things we liked and things we didn't, but that has been my experience on Royal Caribbean and Norwegian as well. The Boston cruise terminal was great, and we really liked both Halifax and Saint John. Read on for the details.

About us -- My wife and I are in our early/mid-40's. We were travelling with our 16 and 18 year old daughters. This was our 6th cruise, our first on Carnival. We are not gamblers or drinkers, so my review won't cover the casino and the bars. We enjoy diverse cuisines, but outside of cruising we generally don't go to upscale restaurants. We actually like spending time with our kids (and they seem to enjoy spending time with us), so we like activities we can do as a family. They don't make use of the teen activities, so again -- no review there.

We picked this cruise because -- 1) Boston is very close for us; 2) We didn't have time for a long vacation; and 3) the price was hard to beat. We had heard mixed reviews on Carnival and on this ship, but nothing that scared us away. Overall, I think we got a very good deal for the price. I read a number of reviews complaining about food, service, etc. but generally Carnival met my expectations. Disney is also doing a 5-day cruise to Canada with pretty much the same itinerary. We paid about 1/3 of the price of the Disney cruise. We have been on Disney -- and love it. But I recognize that you pay for that. I paid a lot less, and we set our expectations accordingly. I did not expect to get Disney-quality food and service at the Carnival price. Carnival has to cut some corners -- and it showed -- but we still enjoyed the ship and the cruise. Read more