This was our second cruise with Carnival, our first was on Carnival Glory in September 2003. It was Great! We booked the cheapest cabin on this cruise on the bottom since we didn't know what to expect. On this cruise we decided to go all out and book a category 12 Penthouse suite. More on this later. My wife and I decided to take our kids along this trip. Son 19 years old and daughter 12 years old. We are extremely glad we did! Our daughter immediately got involved in Camp Carnival and had a blast! Carnival has a great program for the kids. We were told when we booked the cruise to take a picture of our daughter because we wouldn't see her! They were right. Our son had a great time. Being 19 he was allowed to gamble in the casino, he looked forward to that, although he left with his wallet a little lighter.
Everything was great on this cruise except the Penthouse Suite. More on this later. The staff was tremendous! the ports of call were wonderful, the entertainment was great. Only one complaint on the food, the first formal night at dinner the usual lobster was one of the choices on the menu. My wife and kids ordered the lobster, it was extremely fishy tasting and didn't at all taste like the lobster at Red Lobster. All the rest of the food throughout the cruise was great.
Now to the Penthouse Suite. Don't get me wrong, the Penthouse suite was terrific! The extra room and extra large balcony was the BEST! Here's my complaint, When you book a category 12 cabin, being the Penthouse Suite you pay for it.....I mean you really pay extra for it. Here's what you get for your money on a 7 day cruise when you spend a ton of extra money on the Penthouse Suite......You get to be part of the "Skipper's Club" which entitles you to get on the ship first at embarkation. You get a room that is twice the size of a "regular" room......That's it! Come on Carnival......when people spend their hard earned money for the Top of the line cabin on a ship you have got to do better than that. There was absolutely no other "perks" involved with spending all that extra money on the "best". Simple things like a free drink or two, how about a window seat at dinner, (we were seated in the middle of the restaurant) How about the opportunity to disembark at the ports of call first if you choose to get off the ship. Carnival will need to work on this one. I really didn't know what to expect when we booked the Penthouse suite, perhaps a sticker on our shirts that said we were "VIP's" or something.