This was our 4th cruise and our second on Carnival. Midweek departure and return meant no crowds at airports or cruise terminals and only one other cruise ship at one of our island stops. Also the midweek cruise meant few school age children aboard so pools were not crowded. Our party of four arrived at the ship terminal at 11:45 and were having lunch in the Unicorn Cafe'at Noon. We had preprocessed via e-Mail so this may have speeded up the boarding , however we saw no lines whatsoever. Be advised access to the cabins on this cruise was denied until 1:30 pm to allow for cleaning etc so you will be carrying around your luggage with you until the cabins are opened.

Breakfast and lunch were all taken in the Unicorn Cafe'. Great selections with only a line at the Sandwich deli counter. A slight shift in timing solved this problem. Dinner was at the early seating (5:45) in the Truffles Restaurant. Our party of 4 enjoyed a wide variety of the selections and all were rated very good to excellent. Service was excellent and we never felt rushed... we finished up along with most other dinners around 7:15-7:30. We did not take any of the Ships tours but instead choose to take taxi's to the beach at each of the three ports. Must visit beaches are Orient BEACH on St MAARTEN and Reduit beach on St Lucia. On St Kitts the Friars bay beach is a little sparten. I would recommend Frigate Bay beach as a better alternative. CABINS were clean and well furnished but a bit small however the bathroom size more than made up for it. Disembarkation was a breeze taking only 20 minutes for the entire process. We carried our own luggage and were off the boat by 8:15 and at the airport by 8:35. Highly recommend the ships itinerary and the mid-week departure. We will definitely be return cruisers on Carnival.