Our 4th cruise, 2nd on Carnival. The ship was great, but could use a little updating. Embarkation was smooth, however like I would discover throughout the week, we had to figure everything out on our own or ask. No direction as to what to do. Got on the ship early which was nice, had lunch and swam. Early embarkation definitely takes the stress off making it to the ship closer to sailing time.

The remainder of the trip was enjoyable with minimal problems. The wait staff in the "Open seating" dining room was excellent, and the food was good. The breakfast on the Lido deck was another story. There were 2 lines. One for omelettes, and the other for everything else. This was VERY poorly set up as if you wanted an omelette, you waited in one 20 minute line, and if you wanted anything else to go with it you had to wait in the second 20 minute line. By the time you got to the table everything was cold. Plus you had people cutting into the line for individual items such as milk, silverware, and bread. You would think Carnival could figure this out on their own. This same problem existed for lunch with the Mongolia dining line. We did not go to the shows, therefore cannot comment on them. The poolside activities were a bit lame, but at least we were not hassled to participate on them. Our BIGGEST complaint was the chaos in the main pool. There were NUMEROUS children repeatedly jumping into the pool unsupervised. Some adults as well. If you attempted to sit along the edge and not get totally soaked, you were screwed! Also the front rows of poolside chairs were constantly getting splashed preventing anyone from having a camera, or reading a book or magazine. Some passengers were getting visually irritated about this as were we. There signs displayed around the pool prohibiting diving, jumping, and unattended children. None of these were enforced as the security guards watched everyday. Since the irresponsible parents of these inconsiderate children have not raised their children to be respectful of others in public places, Carnival should make one of the other pools "adults only" or enforce their own rules. I saw one rude kid climbing up onto the metal railing of the upper pool and jumping into the pool while his ignorant mother photographed him over and over.

The other thing that was apparent to us was that if you were a first time cruiser, you had to ask others for help about many things. Most staff gave wrong information about locations on the ship for various events. Lack of communication with the passengers was evident. We were asked by others throughout the week about ongoings, as we had to ask others as well. Read more