We boarded in New Orleans where they seem to do as good a job as any getting all the cars parked, luggage out and people moved as quickly as possible; of course you have all the security checks which are for everyone's safety so they don't seem to much of a problem.

Once aboard we found the traditional sailing day lunch on the Lido deck, burgers and fries, makes for a great start and is fun to have lunch by the pool. Of course the bars were open and ready to serve up those Drinks of the Day as well as any other beverage you desire. One thing I did note throughout the cruise is Carnivals Soft Drink card has grown in popularity and with loads of kids on board I found it a bit odd to have to wait behind 3 eight year old kids at the bar for a drink...Possibly Carnival could put in machines that dispensed the soft drink of choice or even a soda bar, just does not seem right for the kids to be hanging out around the bar, and at all hours. Your right where was mom and dad?

The cruise got underway with all the normal hoop la and fun, our first dinner (late seating) was a bit of a disappointment, the waiter seemed disorganized at best and there was no real order to how food was delivered, we had folks at the table getting the main course while some had not even gotten their soup or salads. We hoped that this was just first night problems and that it would get better, as we had cruised many times in the past and never had a waiter problem we were hopeful; sadly that was not the case, on the second night (formal night) it was worse to a point that I had to ask when my wife was going to get her food and most others at the table were well into the main course. Others at the table voiced a similar concern; this was our last night to go to the dinning room for dinner. We instead had dinner at the buffet and we had a great time. Food was great, very relaxed and fun; while we missed the formal dinning this was a good substitute. Read more