The staff was commendable - excellent service (for the most part). Room stewards were fantastic, cheerful, timely. I always love listening to the wide variety of accents and talking to staff about their home countries.

Bizarrely, I found I had to seek out alcoholic beverages more often than I am used to on cruises. The last cruise I went on (not Carnival), staff tended to us in the hot tub, relaxing on deck (almost everywhere) and pretty much anywhere I was wishing I had a drink. On this cruise, this only happened on the last sea day - both my boyfriend and I found the extra attention strange given the track record.

The food was incredibly hit-or-miss in the dining rooms, and their cafeteria-style dining option was overwhelmingly mediocre, sometimes bizarre. For instance, the scrambled eggs in the morning were sweet - almost like syrup or caramel had been added. This was not an isolated incident. The chocolate exhibition was terrible - very surprising. Everything looked good and tasted wonky, including milkshakes! They tasted like water! How do you do that? Also, desserts were frequently very strange textures in the dining rooms and cafeteria. They were EXCELLENT, however, at the java/coffee place. I had read before that Carnival's food was mediocre, and thought that perhaps the people were being very picky, since you are on a cruise and it is all included in the price (i.e... free when on ship) but they were definitely right : ( two nights in the dining room no one liked any of their dishes. Read more