This was our first cruise on Carnival. We had been on RC twice and thoroughly enjoyed both! We booked this cruise because we wanted to go west of Florida and Carnival had a great deal!

Our stateroom seemed surprisingly larger than I expected. The bathroom itself was huge compared to Royal Caribbean's! I enjoyed the larger shower and all the free samples of stuff in the bathroom. The two twin beds turned into a nice king size bed, leaving ample room to toss and turn without bumping into the wife. We loved our stateroom but I don't think we'll book that low of a deck and that far aft again. Anytime we weren't just cruising long distances, such as when we were slowing down, speeding up or turning, the noises from the engine beneath us were very loud and would even wake you up from sleep. Next time I'll pay the $10 more per day to be in the front of the ship or on a higher deck. Our stateroom attendant, Raul, was very friendly and professional. He did a great job in taking care of us.

Food wasn't as good on Carnival as it was on Royal. I'm a picky eater but cruises have always offered great meals that I enjoy every day. This cruise, I found myself repeating meals off the everyday menu or at the buffet. Breakfast was the same every day and there was no variety. Lunch and Dinner at the buffet seem to be almost the same meals day after day, with little changeup. The dining room offered the most variety, but I still repeated at least one meal. The best food was, of course, formal night when we had lobster tail! Rey, our awesome waiter, was very generous with extra portions of our favorite appetizers and lobster tails! I think our table of 10 ate the entire ship empty of lobster tail! The dining room staff did a great job taking care of our needs and even entertaining us with three different nights of staff singing and dancing. On previous cruises, we were usually entertained by the dining staff once or twice, and only on 7 day cruises. Read more