I would have liked to give it a 3 (average), but of the nearly 40 cruises we've been on, it was definitely in the bottom 10%, For me, the crowded nature of the ship - a result of Carnival adding cabins and reducing the public space when they remade the Sunshine from the Destiny - was a big part of the problem. The staffing levels also seemed to have been reduced, or at best, stayed the same as when the ship was the Destiny, and are inadequate to serve the 3,300+ passengers.

Younger passengers or first-time cruisers not used to more space probably thought it was fine, and it did have some upgraded bar and food options (liked the fish tacos at the Blue Iguana). But tables in the lido were extremely hard to come by - even at mid-afternoon - in part because they weren't cleaned regularly, but also because there were fewer of them.

The staffing cutbacks seemed most evident in the restaurants (including the Steakhouse, our tablemates said), but also in the cabin service. Our cabin wasn't made up the last night, and when the steward delivered the towels I called for, he said he was still working on the rooms at 11 pm since his assistant had been called to help with the luggage. Bar waiter sightings were also rare - except in the brunch. Read more