This is a cruise ship for the masses. At almost 3000 passengers I would have to expect some sacrifices on a quality product. The two major items I look for in a cruise are the cabin and the food. Carnival gets a mixed bag on both. The cabin featured a tired pleather (plastic leather) couch in the cabin with hair and dirt from previous occupants in the drawers. Carpet that had seen better days and furniture from pressed wood products round out the quality of the cabins. These negatives were balanced by a very nice group of guys who maintained the cabins with a smile and greeting every time they saw you.

Dinners were excellent. The wait staff in the Washington restaurant were top shelf. They anticipated your every wish and made each dinner stunning. All dinners were high quality with nice varied selections. Breakfast and lunch were another matter altogether. Think one step up from high school cafeteria. Buffet food that lacked taste and lukewarm food dominated. The specialty areas only passed muster when the food was "How can you mess that up?" Burgers and fries at the grill were good. Pizza was ok. Deli sandwiches also just ok. The fish and chips was awful. The batter was tasteless and you could squeeze enough oil out of one piece of fish to fry an egg!! Mongolian wok always had a long line and the food had a ton of salt in it. Very few servers had a smile on their face and most of the clean up crew smiled or greeted you. The made to order egg station had the most unfriendly workers. No greeting or smile. Just a yeah what look. If you have low expectations then carnival may be for you.