Embarkation: Friday July 31st, we drove forty-five minutes from Washington D.C. and arrived at the Port of Baltimore at 11:45-AM. My wife had pre-programmed the port in her GPS making locating the port very easy. We unloaded our luggage into their baggage carts, paid the $105.00 parking fee, parked the car, grabbed our carry-on's and walked to the terminal. There was lots of Carnival personal to point you in the right direction. We registered at their counter and were given a boarding number (we were 7) and our fun pass card which included our dining room table number. We waited approximately 1 ½ hours and boarded around 1:30-PM. Once onboard ship we went up to deck 9 (Lido deck) and had a nice hot lunch. At 3:15-PM the passageway doors were opened and we went to our cabin (7220) to find our luggage was waiting for us in the hallway. We unpacked and walked around the ship.

Cabin: Our cabin was very nicely laid out with plenty of storage space and shelves (good lighting in the cabin). We both found the bed comfortable although a bit hard. The T.V. does have a very limited amount of channels. Although we did watch several newer movies (Marley and Me, Twilight and The Day the Earth Stood Still). The shower stall was good sized and had shampoo and body-wash in two dispensers mounted on the shower wall. The cabin steward will give you (if you ask) packages of shampoo and conditioner. They make very few announcements that can be heard within your cabin so you do have to open your cabin door to hear what being broadcasted. The cabins are well sound proofed and all cabins have a thick entrance doors. The balcony was small but adequate with two (2) chairs and a table. The balcony door is very heavy duty with thick curtains that keep the room dark even in the sunniest of conditions.

Dining: • Breakfast: We ate all of our breakfasts in the 9th floor Lido Deck Mermaid Grill (fruit, cold cereal or oatmeal). We both decided to stay away from the fattier, heavier breakfast foods like sausage, eggs, bacon, hash browns, etc. but they were readily available from all the stations as was Danish and donuts from the dessert station. • Lunch: We mainly eat our lunch in the Mermaid Grill. They have a pretty good assortment of sandwiches and hot dishes. I recall we had hot turkey and mash potatoes one day and pizza another. We did try lunch one day in the main dinner room which was good. • Dinner: This is where I was probably the most pleasantly surprised. I thought the food was very good. In my opinion I would rate the food at a 7 (on a scale on 1-10). The soups and the main dishes were all severed hot and no one was ever limited to the number of meals you could order (have as many as you wanted). We had the first seat and were seated in the Captain's Club (table 291). I thought our waiter did a wonderful job. No wonder he was Carnival's waiter of the month for June. We did eat one evening at Dave's Super Club and the food there is very good (I'd give a...9). Read more