The good: (1) Excellent staff, everyone always had a smile and was eager to please. Our wait staff in the dining room was truly excellent. (2) The room is a nice size. (3) Food at dinner was excellent, much better than expected. (4) The weather was nice, but we were told that last year it was cold and rainy on this itinerary until mid-July. (5) My niece and nephew seemed to enjoy the kids' activities. (6) The staff was very nice to my toddler, who was something of a terror. (7) some nice alternative food options: Asian, decent 24 hour pizza, burger, chicken, franks and fries at the grill by the pool on Lido.

The bad: (1) We had an under 2 child, and, as we knew, the only program they have for kids that age during sea days is that the kids club room is available for them from noon-2 on sea days, with babysitting available for an extra fee. What we didn't know is that Carnival decided to have a "build a bear" workshop for the older kids at 1:00 each of those days, with dozens of kids swarming around, making things unpleasant and unsafe for our child on Tuesday (on Friday, it was much mellower). The staff thankfully beeped us to take our child from the babysitters on Tuesday, but we were mighty peeved. (2) Horrible wait in the dining room for breakfast Tuesday morning. (3) Long lines at the breakfast and lunch buffets every single meal, for almost the entire meal time. Tip: get the Asian food for lunch, much shorter line, and they will make food to order if you ask them. I really couldn't believe how long and consistent these lines were! I cruised once before on NCL, and there was no such problem at the buffet. (4) Breakfast and lunch menus in the dining room are unexciting. (5) The high chairs they have in the dining room are tiny, too small for our 20 month old, who hates booster seats. She stood on a regular chair for her meals. (6) My sister tells me that the check in and check out process for Camp Carnival was awful--disorganized and took forever. (7) On a Canada itinerary, they should heat the pools!! (Though they do have hot tubs). (8) I didn't care for the shows, but that's a matter of taste. (9) Not only are all the cruise-sponsored tours a rip-off, but Carnival charges $40 PER PERSON for a bus transfer to LaGuardia Airport. Meanwhile, we took a private cab for the three of us for the same $40. My family paid $120 for 6 people in a cab to go all the way to Long Island. (10) Embarkation wasn't pleasant. A long line, and no one to direct us to our cabin when we got on.