Prior to the cruise we stayed at the Hampton Inn Harvey. Had a nice dinner at New Orleans Hamburger & Seafood Company and then pretty much hunkered down in the room for rest after our 8 hour drive from Texas. The Hampton was clean and beds were comfortable, nice free breakfast the next morning. It would prepare us for crowds as it was packed with people just loading up plates as if it were their last meal.

This trip was my 16th cruise, 12th with Carnival. Traveling was me (44), husband (34) and our son (5). We were in a Balcony cabin 7262. Cabin was in a great location close to the stairs/elevators and everything was a couple floors up or down so we almost always took the stairs. Our steward DWI was nice and kept things clean, the bucket full of ice and we always had dry clean beach and bathroom towels. We had selected evening service only but noticed he would still come in mid-morning and make the bed. We have no complaints about the once a day turndown and can’t figure out why some are being so dramatic about the change.

Weather on this trip was not great but we made the best of it. I will say this was the rockiest ride I have ever had on a ship and it lasted the entire week. You could hear waves crashing into the side of the ship every night and lots of creaking. Some evenings it was funny to watch everyone swaying from left to right. Thankfully none of us get sea sick. This was also the most crowded feeling ship I have ever been on and it seemed there was a line for everything. We were just on the Magic last year (also for Spring Break) and never felt that way. Even the Serenity deck was ridiculous. Manners needed some work as well. It is hard to teach your 5 year old to watch where he is going when adults are almost bulldozing him over. Read more