I booked this cruise for my family in celebration of my Mother's 75th birthday. This would be the 1st. cruise for my son, daughter-in-law, granddaughter, daughter, her boyfriend and my grandson. Since we all live in the Charleston area, leaving for the Bahamas from the Port of Charleston was ideal for everyone. My friend dropped us off at the Port and once we managed to get past the unfriendly Port Police, embarkation was fast and we were onboard the ship within 10 minutes. Since Carnival allows you to bring 1 bottle of wine onboard, my Mother & I had brought a bottle of Asti Spumate for the Sail Away from our balcony for the family. I asked our steward, Hector for some ice to chill the wine in a small cooler & some wine glasses. He was VERY accommodating that afternoon and our room "sparkled" everyday. He was very friendly and always had a smile for us. The beds were very comfortable and we loved the down pillows and down comforters! My Mom and I loved the balcony! That's the 1st. place we went in the mornings and the last place we went before we went to bed.

My family and I had the early seating in the Upper Pacific Dining Room which was located on Deck 4. BUT you can NOT access the Upper Pacific Dining Room from the 4th. deck! You have to take the elevator to the 5th deck (back of ship) and walk down the stairs to the 4th. deck to find the Dining Room. I was late for dinner 2 nights because of this confusion. This was my 1st. cruise with Carnival and I had read rave reviews about their Chocolate Melting Cake. I had that dessert 4 nights and 3 of those nights, I had Dark Chocolate Soup for dessert. The Chef needs to be more consistent with this recipe. You could not eat it with a fork. The food and service overall was average, nothing to rave about.

My Mother and I were able to attend all the shows and they were Excellent! The Las Vegas style shows were High Energy, great costumes, the singers & dancers have lots of talent. I don't know who was funnier...the juggler or the comedian...I laughed so hard, I cried. The Magician was entertaining. I thought the Entertainment on Carnival was a step above Celebrity or Royal Caribbean. All the shows were professionally done. The rest of my family stayed in the Ionian Lounge where a Jazz Trio played nightly. They loved the Jesse Hadley trio. Read more