I've been reading these boards for years and it's about time I contributed something. So here goes -

Background: This was the third cruise for my husband and I. Our first was on Carnival Sensation in '04, second was RC Jewel of the Seas in '07, and the Navigator was the third. We are in our late thirties. This trip we brought our girls (ages 7 & 9)for their first cruise and my parents (in their 70s) for their first cruise. Also along were some friends with their two daughters (ages 4 & 8).

There were very few negatives about our trip so I'll start with them. 1. The bathroom in our cabin didn't work. We called maintenance and they said it was a "shipwide" problem and they were working on it. By dinner time it still wasn't fixed so we stopped at the customer relations desk on our way to dinner. When we got back from dinner, it was fixed but the maintenance person had left our cabin door propped open. Fortunately nothing got stolen. 2. I made our reservations last spring. I made our reservations along with my parents. Our friends called a few days after and made theirs. When we checked our dinner seating assignments, we found that my parents were not at our table. This was upsetting as this was their first cruise and a family vacation. I spoke with the head waiter right after lunch and he told my the only table for ten available was during the late seating. I told him this wasn't acceptable as we had young kids. He wasn't too sympathetic. Fortunately another head waiter stepped in and managed to find us a table. So it worked out with only a little stress. 3. Disembarkation was horrible. They need to space the groups out more so that there is time for people to get their bags and get out before the next group crowds in. I'm not sure what the problem was with the taxis but the line was a block long and the wait was easily 45 minutes. Read more