I have only been on three cruises, all with Carnival, and on this, my third cruise (and probably my final cruise with Carnival), I could not have been more disappointed. The poor treatment my daughter and I received on this ship was unbelievable. As usual, about two weeks before the cruise I got the "special deal upgrade" phone call, and as usual, I bit. The last time I upgraded to a balcony suite I was so pleased I decided I would always go that route. So when I was offered a "deluxe" suite, I thought things could only get better. WRONG! The cabin was even smaller than the "regular" suite I had on the previous cruise! Not to mention that my original cabin (prior to the "upgrade") was midship, port side, because that's my preference. I like being on the water, but I don't want to feel it. My "upgraded" cabin was forward, starboard side. My daughter was seasick for two days because you feel so much more motion in this location (which is why I chose midship).
I went to the gift shop to purchase medication (which must have been laced with gold, considering the cost) and was treated EXTREMELY rudely by the salesperson. Poor customer service was the name of the game on this ship. As is my habit (and my right), I ordered room service for breakfast every morning. Of the four mornings, ONE person was kind and courteous; the rest were surly and rude. I prepay my tip, but I also give extra for good service, and I'm a pretty good tipper, but after the third encounter with these surly individuals, I decided to keep my money in my pocket. In the dining room, I apparently donned my invisibility cloak without knowing it because the wine steward took everyone else's order, but completely overlooked my daughter and me. One afternoon we decided to try Chopsticks for lunch. The food was good, but the portions were less than my five-year-old granddaughter could be satisfied on. Did I mention that I got a cup of lemonade that had lipstick on the rim? Nasty.
Our "upgrade" (for which we paid upwards of $400), included VIP embarkation and disembarkation, neither of which we received. We were treated rudely when embarking, herded into the ship like cattle (not into the captain's lounge, which is where we were supposed to be) and had to stand in line, with our carry-on luggage, to order food because our cabin wasn't ready yet. We received the same treatment at disembarkation. We were not contacted with our disembarkation information and ended up sitting around for about an hour before my daughter finally said, "Let's just go." When I finally saw a staff member and asked about VIP disembarkation she said, "They've already left." What?!
This should not be referred to as a suite. The whirlpool tub was nice, but it was not worth the money.