Its only taken me 8 months to write a review. Lol. Overall, a very fun cruise. This was my 4th cruise- 2nd with Carnival. Ive also cruised Norwegian. I'd have to say that I enjoy Carnival more. First, their cabins are larger...by about 15 sq ft. It may not seem like much, but when you're dealing with small spaces, its definitely noticeable. Second, their activities are more rounded, meaning there is more to do for anyone of any age. I have two boys(6 and 12) and we all found things to do. The kids enjoyed Camp Carnival as well as the Carnival's game show "Family Game Night". They especially enjoyed the fact that I was picked to go up on stage to participate. I enjoyed the casino as well as just laying out in the sun while the kids played on the water slides. I never made my way to the Serenity deck but I prefer the noise and excitement anyway.

This trip brought us to Freeport, Grand Turk, and Half Moon Cay. My favorite island on this trip was Grand Turk. We skipped the tourist area and headed to Jack's Shack. Its a small bar/restaurant right on the beach. Being from Massachusetts, I had to head there because Jack is a native of Boston who worked on the dock, fell in love with the island, and decided to move there. The beach is so nice and their dog, Topher, plays in the sand with the kids. The drinks are pricey (pretty much the norm anywhere nowadays when they know you're used to spending what you spend on the ship) but its still a good time. If you'd rather do something more exciting, Margaritaville has a restaurant on the island (happens to be the largest Margaritaville in the Caribbean). For $50, you can eat and drink as much as you want. They also offer a pool and free beach toys. Tip: you dont need to spend the $50 to use their pool or beach!

On HMC, we participated in the only excursion we did on the cruise: Stingray Adventure. Overall, it was fun. They bring you to an enclosed area in the ocean where you can snorkel and swim. Its a pretty quick trip with only a few stingrays but its priced very reasonably. Ive swam with stingrays in Grand Cayman and that is more more fun but also more costly. Read more