This was my fourth cruise but my first with Carnival. For DH it was his third cruise but also his first with Carnival. Our last cruise was with NCL which was awful so Carnival was put in the tough position of having to make up for their shortcomings. Overall we were pleased with the cruise although we do feel there are some areas that could be improved upon. Embarkation was just like all of our previous experiences-you feel like you are in a herd being moved along the lines. It took about an hour which wasn't too bad. The lines were orderly and there were several staff members scattered about to keep things moo-ving along-no pun intended. As per the usual cabins were not ready until 1:30pm but lunch was being served on the Lido deck (9). I will say that I am glad I did not base my food review on the first day because it was not great-or even good for that matter. There was no formal announcement made that cabins were ready but by the time we finished eating our room was ready. I was impressed by the size of our interior cabin. Typically we have an ocean-view or balcony but decided to see how the interiors compared. There was plenty of closet space with three separate closets. The middle could accommodate longer dresses so that was nice and there was a shelf at the top of each. You could easily slide luggage under the bed or store it in the bottom of the closet. The bathroom was also adequate although the floor always got wet due to the flimsy shower curtain. Only one of our suitcases was actually delivered to the room. We found the other at guest services and although there was a tag with our cabin number attached to it there was no explanation as to why it was not delivered. Dinner in the London dining room the first night left MUCH to be desired. The NY strip was bland and overcooked. The only saving grace was the melting chocolate cake with was good but not great. The rest of the week was filled with highs and lows. Here is the run down: *Despite Carnival's policy deck chairs were reserved at the crack of down so you could easily spend 30 minutes trying to find a spot to soak up some sun. *There is a lot of downtime if you are on late seating. Hardly any shows are activities were available before 7pm. Even on sea days they were few and far between or all of the good activities overlapped so you had to choose. *The comedian was fantastic-Allyn Ball I think is how you spell it and the Motown cover artist Marcus Anthony was also entertaining. The magicians-Kevin and Curuso (maybe?) were ok but I've seen much better. Don't even bother going to the Burlesque show-it was an over-hyped mess. *There are lots of trivia activities to enjoy if that's your thing *Book excursions, particularly in Ocho Rios and Grand Cayman, otherwise you will be there all day with nothing but time on your hands. Cozumel is the ultimate for shopping and considered they have some of the same stores as the other ports, save your shopping energy for there. *Despite what they tell you, you can see the shopping talks playing on the tv in your room *The best time to use the gym is in the evening when most people are getting ready for dinner *The food improved greatly during the week-the ribs, lobster bisque, crab cake, prime rib, cheesecake, apple pie, and melting cake are all highly recommended. *Lunch in Paris was a disaster-they pack you in to tables for 6 despite the dining room being empty. No matter what we ordered it came out wrong. After day 3 we just gave up and went to the South Beach buffet which was much better. *We honestly did not enjoy the Carnival shows. It wasn't even C-list talent on stage to be quite frank. We didn't sit through an entire show that they had the entire week. *Kids run amok! It's the only way to describe the madness. I know they are the 'Fun Ships' but seriously it was uncalled for. They need to up the participation in Camp Carnival to mandatory. *Smoking is permitted in various parts of the ship so plan your route accordingly to avoid the haze.

Like I said, overall we enjoy the cruise. The service was on par with what we have come to expect from cruising with RCCL, and the food redeemed itself over the course of the week. We found the entertainment lacking but they did seem to try so they get half a point for that. We most likely will cruise Carnival again but will look for more adult-themed cruises.