We have taken several cruises on different cruise lines, with this being the fourth on a Carnival ship. Of course just getting away is a good thing. On this cruise we opted to get a hotel room the day before and leave our car there. There was a shuttle service which was overcrowded and aggravating and we came away with we would have been better off taking a taxi to the port. Checking in was a breeze and were able to drop our carry on rather quickly. My first disappointment was the elimination of the little goody basket that is usually in the bathroom. I know its a little thing, but it is always a pleasant surprise to see whats in there. I will say the ship was nice and kept clean. I did not see as many Purell stations as on other ships, but they did have some. It seems to me there was a bit less activities than on other ships, or maybe it was because where we had to go (as smokers) were definetly in out of the way places that we missed out on a lot. (For instance MSC has one side of the deck by the pool for smokers. That lets you be a part of all the pool games and activities). My husband smokes cigars and they did have a jazz cigar lounge he was excited about. It ended up being a place you would not even notice from the outside but beautiful on the inside. Unfortunetly Carnival had opted to not have any jazz music...or any music in it. It was quiet as a mouse with no bartenders until after 9pm. Quite boring and it did not have to be.

The fine dining was wonderful and had great service and great food. The buffet had great service but the food was disappointing. The Pizza place could have had better pizzas, and more help. For Omelettes and the Deli there could have more help because the wait in line was long. The never ending free ice cream were a huge hit with the Grandkids, along with their age appropriate clubs they went to. The big show was not to my taste, but did enjoy the comedy club shows. Getting off the ship went smoothly, much easier than down in Miami.

All in all, we had a great time. But I must say that I think we will avoid Carnival in the future. It just seems you are treated with more respect (as smokers) on other ships. My husband refers to Carnival as the Walmart of Cruise Lines. I do understand why he thinks that, when compared to other cruises we have been on.