We booked this cruise direct with Carnival in Miami, as we had already booked our flights from UK to Barbados. They were pretty helpful, but we reluctantly agreed to what we were told were mandatory up-front gratuities, although our request for late dinner was confirmed (more of that later!)
We had a very relaxed embarkation, as so few passengers (about 80) do so from Barbados, so the whole thing was very low-key. That said, it became clear during the week that so much was geared to the 3000+ embarkation at San Juan, that we actually felt a little sidelined. eg. we missed announcements about an itinerary change (due to an engine problem which occurred the previous week, but was still affecting speed) First impressions after boarding were that the glitzy interior of the atrium actually created a rather dark feel, ok for evenings but a little gloomy during the day.
Check-in procedures were ok, but much to our dismay, we found we were allocated a 5.45pm (can you get any earlier than that?) dinner sitting, despite our confirmation otherwise. Attempts to change this (once we had found the elusive Maitre D') were met with comments such as "you shouldn't have had it confirmed", and a somewhat inflexible attitude. So we reluctantly agreed to arrive "late" at 6.30pm on the early sitting. Result - we found ourselves sitting at a table set for 10, completely by ourselves (ie just the two of us). Hardly the experience we had hoped for. So after putting up with this for a couple of nights, we just turned up for late sitting (8.30pm approx) and went to the same table of 10. Luckily, there were always gaps caused by non-attendees, but surprise, surprise - there were tables dotted all around with spare seats. If only the Maitre D' had concentrated more on responding more to our requirement (as confirmed by Carnival themselves) than his off-key singing. Mind you, neither did his staff concentrate on ensuring the right drinks were delivered at the right time when we ordered them at dinner. Even when we complained to the assistant Maitre D', they still couldn't make it happen. I object to getting red wine when white was ordered, ordering a beer when first sitting down only to get it eventually with my dessert (3 times!) and being told a certain brand of beer was sold out, when I bought it myself both before and after the meal at any of the various bars.