Let me say first that I love to cruise. For years I avoided Carnival cruises because I heard that they were just for younger people who wanted to party; but then my DH and I were awarded a four night Carnival cruise. How wrong we were! After that cruise we were quick to book our own five day get-away, and we have another sixteen day Carnival cruise booked for February.
We live in Southwest Florida so we made our way to Miami and the beautiful, new Carnival terminal there. Parking was expensive - $100 (in cash only) for a five night cruise - BUT it was immediately across the street from the terminal. The most convenient onsite parking we've ever experienced. Embarkation was a breeze; if the VIP lines were empty they were used for regular cruisers - and the lines moved swiftly. Even the new computers did not slow us down. In no time at all we were on the Lido deck enjoying a delicious lunch.
The buffet area on the Lido is not huge - but well ordered. As you enter from the pool area there is the usual grill side on the left with burgers and hotdogs and such. In middle area there was rotisserie chicken, and on the right there was an area where you could choose your own mix of veggies, meat and sauce for mongolian type stirfry. WOW! Inside there was the typical buffet lines. The right side contained international choices: Italian (the 1st day) Indian, Greek etc. The left side were more typical American choices that one would usually expect. Sandwiches and pizza were also offered. The pizza was delicious and is offered 24 hours a day. Soft ice cream and yogurt machines were available as well as the wonderful cruise desserts. I even thought the diet choices were tasty.