We are in our early 40s with children ages 16 and 20. We also had our daughter’s boyfriend (19) along. This was our 3rd cruise with the prior being Carnival Triumph and Royal Adventure of the Seas. We flew into MCO the prior night and rented a van as I have many Hertz points from business travel. Because of this, we arranged for parking with the Radisson in Port Canaveral. Despite being shuttled to their overflow lot, that part was easy and seamless. The return was not. There were easily 80 people waiting for the shuttles so we opted for a cab to save a ton of time. They are not equipped to handle the whole ship (plus Disney) disembarking at once.

We had 2 balconies on deck 9 aft. We did not get connecting but only had one in between. The ironic part was the family with the room between also had the room on the other side of our room. Both families inquired on swapping one on the embarkation day but were told we could not. Being able to open the door between balconies would have been awesome. We had rooms 9456 and 9464. Rooms were great with one exception. The aft balconies on 9 are right below the Lido deck bar and outdoor areas. People are sliding chairs around early and you hear it all in your room. At first I thought it was my neighbor doing it on the balcony but then figured it out. Just a few staterooms towards mid-ship would alleviate this. One small room drawback is having just one power outlet. If you want to charge multiple devices, pack a power strip! There is shower gel and shampoo provided. Had we known of that, we would not have packed our own. Our Steward was Yudi, a 13 year veteran and it showed. He was awesome. Everything was 5 star service in our room.

Onboard activities were great. So many trivia options, music, games, deck parties, movies, meet and greets with Hennie (Cruise Director) and Sr. Officers. For lounge/public area musicians, we had Troy the guitar player whose voice showed signs of fatigue but was pretty good. Sarah and Phoenix were amazing. If you are onboard while they are there, you must go see them. They also perform in The Song Lounge for original song night. These two have a bright future. They are also very warm and friendly to talk to! The band (Celebration) that plays in Ocean Plaza is pretty good but the one guy singer is rarely on pitch. The woman in that band is really good and their instrumentation is right on. The only thing I would do differently if I was carnival would be to dump the other duo, Dana and Tony off at the next port. They are horrid. They ruined more songs and favorite artists of mine than I can count! We are not alone….we even heard some staff talking about it! They joked of taking up a collection to give them money so they would leave the ship! Pretty funny! The Encore theater shows were all very good. The variety by the house group was all very nicely done. The break dancing group was fun and the short-term act, Mike Tison – juggler was a terrific show. Comedy was also very good on the ship. Piano Bar Bob was just OK. I liked his variety and large options for songs but he relies on the “Look who’s here” schtick way too much. Hennie the cruise director is a floater (covers other CDs vacations). He annoyed me at first but really grew on me as the trip went on. His meet and greet was a great time. Some members of our group went dancing in Caliente one night and really enjoyed it, specifically the Latin hour. Lastly, the adult shows such as The Quest and Battle of Sexes were an absolute riot! Read more