My husband and I have been on 8 cruises. We've not cruised on Carnival in about 10 years. We always defended Carnival when people said they were the "Wal-Mart" of cruising. In the past, the food and service were always excellent. Not so this time. We decided to take our daughter and son in law on their first cruise for Christmas. We booked 2 balcony spa cabins which was a blessing as it was quieter and less crowded than other parts of the ship. The service in the dining room was extremely slow and we had to ask for wine each night…it was not offered. Many times we did not get the wine until we were 1/2 way through our meal. The wait staff was not as friendly as in the past. I have to eat gluten free and they would take my order the night before. Every time I ordered beef medium rare, it came well done. The waiters did not understand "gluten free" as they brought me things that were gluten free, dairy free, sugar free and taste free. The dining room seemed very disorganized and there were nights that we were late to the show because we hadn't finished eating. I had heard how "magical" Christmas cruises were…how some people decorated their doors, their cabins and balconies so I purchased SOLAR outdoor Christmas lights and strung them on our balcony. The next morning there were a bunch of crew members outside our door telling us we had violated some rule with the solar Christmas lights. I offered to take them down and put them in my suitcase under the bed, but no…they had to confiscate them. They made me feel terrible. Picking the lights up the morning of debarkation was another nightmare. The quality of the food has gone downhill in my opinion. The entertainment, however, was excellent! The cruise director, Malcolm, was probably the best cruise director we've ever had and the singers/dancers were fabulous.