You're going to see the three circles and think "They really didn't like this cruise." In fact, we loved almost every minute of it! We would do this same cruise, on this same ship, with this same crew, all over again. But, we know more now.
Embarkation: Mixed. We were suite guests, with priority embarkation. The trip through the metal detectors, Xray machine and initial screening went extremely well. We entered the priority lounge and had our on-board passes within minutes. The woman behind the desk was very pleasant, efficient and professional. The lounge was comfortable, if spare. It lacked any real amenities, though (water and lemonade? Spring for some chips or something, huh?). When the time came to board we were herded together and told to stay in line. Then, things went badly awry.
Carnival officials paraded us through the main lobby, full of 3400 people "patiently" waiting to get aboard. Of course we got intermingled with everyone else. Of course there was confusion. What would anyone expect? A harried, not very polite fellow demanded my (put away- why would I need it now!?) boarding pass. I tried to explain it was buried in my backpack, and he was sniffily reluctant to let me get somewhere and dig it out. His half-hearted apology...he could have saved it. We entered a maze alone and got quickly lost.
Big. Spacious. Dated.
The bed was very comfortable. Lots of storage space. Loud, because of the proximity to the stairs and the opening to Deck 3's lounge.
The best beach in the world.
Nice beach. Very very noisy. Margaritaville had horribly loud music.
Got a little original painting for $5 that I'll treasure forever.
A big city. Didn't stay long.