Embarkation at Barcelona was long to me. I did not like taking zone numbers based on cabin location to board. To me, if you show up early, you should be able to board when you get there.

The ship was very nice. I really liked the decor. It was much more subdued compared to other Carnival ships. I also liked the variety of the dining venues. The Blue Iguana burrito and taco stations on the Lido deck were a welcome change. As was the addition of Guy's Burgers. But the times they were open were very limiting. With all the sea days we endured, it was disappointing that they closed the burrito bar at 1:30 pm and only opened Guy's from noon until 6 pm. Fat Jimmy's BBQ was good, but with the bad weather on deck, I found it only open one day out of the twelve day cruise. I heard similar complaints from many other travelers. Good food, but limited dining times. The MDR was the MDR - nothing different, nothing new. And the buffet was the same as ever. The addition of the Tandori station was good, but again limited in the time it was open. The Bonsai Sushi restaurant was excellent, but hardly used by the passengers. We did enjoy the Il Capitano italian restaurant. We had an excellent meal there, It was well worth the extra $12 per person. We did not eat at the steak house on this cruise. One highlight was the Red Frog Pub. Good drinks and appetizers.

Now limited dining times may sound trivial if you are on a port intensive cruise or on a Caribbean cruise with sunny sea days, but on a cruise that ended up with six sea days - most all rainy and windy, some relief from usual dining at extended hours would have been welcome. Read more