Embarkation - We live just one hour from New Orleans, so when we heard that we would have to drive 3 hours to Mobile, it was fine, except that Carnival never contacted us about the change. We heard it on TV! Since we booked directly on Carnival.com and not a travel agency, we might have gotten overlooked. We arrived at the Mobile Port at 11am. We parked for $75 for 5 nights. We were one of the first groups to board the ship and was on at noon.
Public Rooms - The Card Room had no games or cards, we will bring some next time. Most of the live music were in rooms that were small and full of smoke. Since we don't smoke, we did not get to see any live bands or piano players/singers. The Forum Lounge had Karaoke and no smoking was allowed there. The Universal Lounge was great except for the poles which obstructed views. We arrived early for shows to get the best seats.
Cabin - The interior room we had was great. Lots of room, comfortable beds, and the coldest room on any ship we sailed! I bet it was 55 degrees! The shower was hot and ample room available. Could use one or two more 115 volt receptacles. Fitness and Recreation - We did enter this area and liked the layout. Lots of room with separate sauna rooms for male and female.
Great location, no noise, low traffic. Close to stairs and elevators without the noise.