This was our 9th cruise and the third with Carnival. It was a last minute booking so we knew it was a 6 day cruise shortened to 4 day before we booked but we did get an excellent rate for a balcony cabin. In fact the rates were so attractive that I called my PVP back and asked about taking our daughter with us. She got an inside cabin opposite ours all to herself for a very good price. As far as we are concerned, any time we are cruising is enjoyable and relaxing and while we enjoyed this cruise and felt it was good value, I would have to rate it number 9 of the 9 cruises we have taken.

Parking and Embarkation. We drove to Port Everglades, dropped off the luggage, and were directed to the parking garage we have used before. When we arrived there we were told it was full (and had been since Sunday) and were told to go to Northport (Convention Center). We eventually found our way there, parked and then the three of us along with about twenty others wandered aimlessly around the car park trying to find a shuttle location. Twenty minutes later a shuttle arrived and off we went. The check in line was the longest we have ever seen and was moving extremely slowly. It took us about three hours from dropping off the luggage to getting on board.

The rooms were ready and very clean. Our luggage made it to the rooms before we did! We met the cabin steward who was pleasant and did an adequate job throughout the cruise (not outstanding or overly friendly-just adequate). We were on the Lido deck so walked to the buffet for lunch. As others have reported, everything was served by crewmembers and the process was very slow with lines for the drinks section causing bottlenecks and making moving around difficult. We were disappointed that the fish and chip section never opened. The food was edible but uninspiring. Desserts were tasteless in general. After lunch we unpacked, explored the ship and waited for the lifeboat drill. This, along with many other things on this cruise, was late starting. We had late dining in the Silver Olympian. The dining rooms doors were late opening and this is the first time on any cruise we were not shown to our table. The hostess pointed in the general direction of the table. Our waiter, Butu introduced himself, but his assistant never did (not that we was there much!) all I will say about this first dinner was that it took one hour and ten minutes from the time we sat down to our starter appearing at the table. The main complaint throughout the cruise was the poor level of service compared with previous cruises. We enjoyed our time in Key West and strolled around some of our favorite places before returning to the ship. Read more