This was our 3rd cruise with Carnival and 5th overall. The other 2 were with Royal Caribbean. I have to say we half expected the service to be down because of the troubles Carnival has had in the recent past, but this was terrible.
First on service: The bar staff were all very rude and you had to wait at the bar 20 minutes to get a drink because there were not many waiters roaming the ship. I'm not sure who made this decision, but they should be fired on the spot. Cruises make their money off of selling liquor and to reduce the bar staff does not make sense. Also the buffet closes immediately at 8:00PM. Aside from waiting in a long line for pizza, nothing else was available.
Second on activities: If this is "The Fun Ship", then why do they close the sports deck from 5:00PM to 11:30PM? Lot's of fun for the kids to have to try and find something else to do. Third on Entertainment: Aside from the cruise director, the entertainment was not very good. Also, you had to stand in the crowded lobby to be a part of some of the game shows / trivia.
The cabin was spacious. Our room attendant Rudolpho was wonderful. He always made sure we had what we needed and our room was clean. Very friendly.