This was our 5th Carnival Cruise and although it had been five years since our last cruise, the cuts in service were definitely noticeable. We had chosen "Anytime" dining and were disappointed to see that after waiting 45 minutes for a table, we entered the dining room to see half of the tables empty and not cleared. There was nobody to clear the tables after people ate, therefore creating a backlog of people outside waiting in line. The hostesses were telling people it was a 45-60 minute wait, all the while half of the tables were empty-they just needed to be cleared and set! Uncalled for, to say the least. Also, the lines to get on and off the ship at ports were disgusting, as they only used one door/gangway at times to accommodate over 3000 people! It took up to an hour just to get off the ship at ports! At Amber Cove we were to be back on board the ship at 4:30 pm for a 5pm sailing. The line was so long to get back on board, we didn't get back on board the ship until 6pm! We waited over an hour just to get back on board! You would think Carnival would have some common sense and open more than 2 lines with x-ray machines to reboard. A total waste of passengers' time and money. We also noticed there was no live band for the entertainment shows, as there used to be in the past. Therefore, the entertainment was pretty disappointing as well. Some of the smaller entertainment groups were pretty good- especially the Latin Music duo. One positive note- the cruise director "Josh" was always upbeat as opposed to the other employees who seemed very overworked and not happy. Overall, we were very disappointed in the service, and have decided not to cruise with Carnival in the future. We'd rather pay a little more money and receive better service.