Overall very happy with my 2nd Carnival cruise. This ship is really family oriented, so if you have young kids (mine is 2) you're in great shape. They have both Camp Carnival and a Splash Park area for kids, as well as the regular pools, water slide and mini-golf. Service was excellent by room staff, dining staff, etc. Food was great as well, Lobster, Shrimp, Steak, Fish, etc. Nice variety at buffet, including omelette station for breakfast and burrito bar at lunch. I read some of these other reviews and people complain about the lines - I'd rather be waiting 5 minutes for an omelette than sitting in traffic going to work. Overall not many lines on the boat, and if there is a wait, it's usually under 5 minutes, which I'll do to get something freshly prepared the way I want it. Soft serve ice cream machine a bit hit too. This was my 5th cruise and I definitely recommend it as a way to spend quality time with family and not have to worry about the hassles that come with traveling (driving, cooking, cleaning, etc.). About the only negative thing I can say like other reviews is the "Web" - the internet cafe is located inside the Cigar lounge, so that is odd. Likewise, getting around the ship can be confusing, but that has been the same on all my cruises. One other thing that wasn't entirely Carnivals fault was the gangway wasn't functional when we returned to Long Beach - so the exiting was a free-for-all - 3,000 people trying to get off the boat once the gangway was functional.
Before this cruise, I hadn't cruised since 9-11, so one note is that there is all the same security checkpoints like going to the airport, which is somewhat of a pain but unfortunately I guess that's travel nowadays.
