When reading reviews, I have always subscribed to the ideal that you create your own fun or displeasure . .. guess that's only partway right.

I had read that embarkation for this trip was a nightmare, and even preparing for this, IT WAS A NIGHTMARE! We decided on this cruise despite the bad reviews regarding embarkation as it was the best itinerary for our needs. We booked this cruise for an 80th birthday gift for my mother-in-law, who had always wanted to go to Hawaii. Without going through the whole miserable process, I will say that embarkation could have been handled much simpler . .. especially when your dealing with mostly senior citizens who are tired and hungry! Based on this embarkation (even after being forewarned) my husband decided he would think twice before booking a Carnival cruise.

Our stateroom was adequate ... even though we had booked three for this stateroom we only had towels and amenities for two .. this was taken care of by our steward. What he couldn't resolve was the deck chair problem . .. having a private balcony doesn't do much good if you don't have a place for everyone to sit! We had booked a suite, and there was plenty of room on our balcony for several more deck chairs! We were only allocated two . .. . Read more