This cruise was the 3rd for my wife and me, all with Carnival. We adopted our two daughters, ages 12 and 9, in October and thought they'd love cruising as much as we do. Our previous experience with Carnival left us with the impression that their Camp Carnival feature would be great for them. We were right! I'll skip embarkation and disembarkation details and get to the good stuff. The first afternoon/evening were fun and filled with high energy and expectations. The girls got accustomed to cruise life quickly and enjoyed exploring the ship.
Our room was on the 2nd deck. Two single beds with two bunks that come out of the ceiling took care of our sleeping needs. Quick note: The single beds are not NEARLY as comfortable as the full size beds in other cabins. They're very hard and have practically no cushioning. Also, I know that one doesn't go on a cruise to watch television, but on our past cruises we were provided with nice sharp flat screen TV's. Our cabin had an old 24 inch Zenith that looked like it was purchased from a pawn shop. The screen resolution was bad and the remote was very sluggish.
Camp Carnival activities were very good. Our kids really enjoyed the variety of activities that were presented. My only problem was that a lot of freedom is given to the older children (Circle C for 12-14 year olds.) They can sign themselves in and out at will, so if you have some mischievous kids they can (and will) find ways to look for trouble. There are late-night activities for both older and younger children nearly every night which last until midnight. They're free for the older children, but for kids aged 2-11 the cost is $6 per hour after 10 pm. The late night activities are fun for 9-11 year olds, but I question if they're healthy for kids younger than that. Also, I don't think it's too good an idea to keep your kids at it until midnight on nights before ports of call.