This was a family cruise booked 10 months before, and decided on this particular cruise due to proximity to majority of family. There were a total of 27 of us, and about half of us have cruised in the past. Everyone loved it!!!! My wife and I, cruise often and have been jaded in past by the newer ships on other cruise lines. I will say this cruise/ship in now way makes my top list, but I will honestly say it was better than expected and well worth the $ we paid. My family and I all paid around $600/person for 7 days, stopping in 5 ports St. Thomas, Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, and St. Maarteen. Also thats with taxes included ....
I will break it down below
Embarkation: Pretty bad, definitely sub par, not so much due to Carnival, but more because of the port itself. Carnival itself processed everything fairly quickly, if you have the boarding pass and check in process completed ahead of time. Basically there is a bunch of chaos and confusion at the pier (especially if you dont speak spanish), but once you pass first layer its a bit smoother.
Excellent location if your not going to be in your room to sleep till after 12am. Located near heart of ship close to everything. Even has elevators, and the laundry/ironing room just steps away. Cabin is located right above large bar in Casino, and small bandstand, thus from about 7pm to 12am you can hear the band playing clearly. If your anything like my wife and I, we appreciated the music while finishing up getting ready for our nights out and about. Plenty of space, to store any and everything!!!! If your and early bird or extremely light sleeper, this cabin is not for you because you will hear the occasional shipmate walking thru hall as were near central elevators.