Tampa Embarkation: endless lines.....to get on ship......took close to 2 hours to process paperwork.....computer glitch somewhere???....longest time ever to board a cruise ship. Ship: beautiful and in good shape...well laid out...big enough...but not the Royal Caribbean monsters.......glitzy...flashing red lights in dining room...bordello or christmas..take your choice...but it all seemed to work.....elevators were never crowded...and plentiful...flow of ship was great..and outside deck..promenade was wonderful to walk........... Food: for the most part..tasteless....salmon...most fish plates..no taste to it.....tomato sauce...all varieties..looks good...again..no taste at all..some of the meats were tough and chewy....the breakfasts were solid..both in the lido and dining room....after that you were on your own..port days...dining room was closed for lunch..what was that all about??? do not order the "antipasto" starter plate in the dining room..absolutely disgusting...my whole table were roaring with laughter...there were little sea creatures with their legs up in the air....Carnival has reduced their food budget..if you live on hamburgers and fries and breakfast..then you will do ok.......otherwise...shame on Carnival for the quality of the meats and sauces......the stuff sounds good on the menu...but when the plate comes..very very sad and disappointing......desserts were good for the most part... Midnight Buffet.....one night...they let you take pictures of it..from 11:30pm thru 12:30am..and then let you in at 12:30am to eat it...what is that all about???? one of my group..went to it..there were about 50 people actually eating it....why not shift it to the afternoon on sea day??? like most cruise lines....my guess..it would take away from revenue generating events....... Retractable roof over pool.....rainstorms...windy...they never retracted the roof.....let the pouring rain come down..nobody could use the "indoor" pool area....what is that all about??? Drinks: wow the prices have really gone up...a fountain card..unlimited soda for the cruise..wound up casting me $49 with taxes and gratuity added..a glass of soda would cost you aprox $2.00 each with gratuity etc...a little excessive??? some of the specials of the day actually cost $10 each....this stuff adds up after awhile.. Wait Staff/Cabin Steward etc...great great great....Franciso and Honorata were wonderful...cabin service was quick...in fact the staff on this ship was great..no complaints at all..a big plus for this vacation Shipboard Activities...very little free..mostly..spend spend spend..and then spend some more...bingo..art auctions...golf clinic...shops...in the daily newsletter..it reminded me of the Sunday newspaper with a ton of inserts and advertisements hawking this and that...shows were mixed..some good..some not so good......comedians were great..don't miss them... Ports of Call: best one was Roatan,Honduras....the crafts for sale were great and unique...beautiful wood products...save your money for the port..the cruise director makes it sound like there is no shopping here...that is not true..great gift items...very reasonable prices....Belize Beer Factory Tour..was a blast...do it ..do it..do it...beer sampling for an hour was wonderful..and tour of beer processing plant was interesting as well........be aware of long ride by speedboat from ship to port in Belize....20 minutes of high speed boating adventure to get to the port of Belize.....Grand Cayman......same old..same old...beach and sea activities....Cozumel..do the Mayan ruin tour..people in my group loved it..Talum Tour was great............ Getting off the ship......no problem..till we got to the airport...delays ..due to nasty weather in New York area..our flight was cancelled...so on Sunday night..we had to wait till Tuesday to get a flight home...good thing friends lived nearby........