This was my family's first cruise and we loved it. I'm an old (50) dad of a 6 year old and have been looking for a vacation we all could enjoy. I wanted a short cruise to see if we would like it. I read reviews and Carnival was definitely considered "low end" but at less than half the price of the other lines we thought we would give them a try. The room was comfortable and clean. The assigned steward introduced himself and made sure he greeted us all by name every time he saw us. The cruise was full but he straightened our room about three times a day and always left an animal towel at night. They do try to sell you things (drinks, spa treatments, jewelry) but it wasn't a hard sell. One "no thank you" and they didn't ask again. My kid loved the cruise. He had the waterworks and twister slide, putt-putt golf and Camp Ocean. We loved Camp Ocean as much as him. It afforded us some guilt free time to enjoy the comedians and other adult only offerings. My wife was a little jealous that he wanted to spend so much time away from us. Excursions for such a short cruise weren't great. We're from SoCal so Catalina Island wasn't as fun with 2000 people as it is without and Ensenada is about 70 miles from Tijuana which means it's South Tijuana. Dining was good. Buffets were good for buffets but take advantage of the dining room. We ordered multiple appetizers and entrees just to try. Seaday brunch (in the dining room) was good too. Food prepared to order was excellent. Room service is lacking but we were never hungry so we only used it for the kid and coffee and desserts. My excellent review is base on value. This cruise had everything we were looking for and I'm already planning our next one. We are staying with Carnival for the price for everything we want.