This was my second cruise, my first being my honeymoon 19 years ago on the RCL's old "Song of America". This time, we took our 11 and 12 year olds for a "surprise" vacation; a 4 night cruise and 3 nights at Universal in Orlando.
First, the booking process was delightful. Joe (Jose) P. was my Carnival agent, and he was all I could have asked for. He would answer and return any call, anytime. I probably called him a dozen times over the 3 month wait until our cruise. He was as kind and helpful the last time as he was the first. We booked the Cat. 12 suite, and since we spent the extra $, I asked him for a bit of help. And he did. They threw in 2 free soft drink cards for the kids. Nice. As for the cabin, it didn't seem quite as big as the pictures, but it was a HUGE improvement over my outside cabin on SOA 19 years previous. I originally balked at the extra expense, but with 2 kids, the expansive room, bed and balcony were certainly worth it. It was the envy of the nice couple across the hall in an inside room (or should I say, closet!). I'll have a hard time going back to a smaller room in the future. We arrived onboard early, about 12:30PM. Skippers Club allowed us a speedy entry. Our room was even ready at that early arrival. We enjoyed having most of the ship to ourselves for quite some time. A wise choice. But word for the wise: the drink the waiter hands you at the pool comes along with a $6.25 bill, which I would have refused had I not already thought it was "free" and drank some. Pretty tacky. It took all afternoon for me to erase the "sucker" from my forehead!
Food, of course, is a huge part of any cruise. I remember the spectacular food of RCL and expected no less from America's Fun Ships. I was mistaken. We were both disappointed with the bland and unexciting fare. The appetizers were small and boring. The soups WERE tasty and enjoyable. But again, the main courses didn't pass muster. The chateaubriand was served either rare or medium well. I like medium, but not bloody, so I was relegated to the latter. It came totally devoid of moisture, well overcooked. My wife's chicken was ok, but standard fare. (Carnival did have good fries!! But gee, I don't think they would stick a feather in their cap for that!) My favorite meal was the veal parmesan. As for dessert, again, standard fare. Our best desserts were at all places, the NBA restaurant at Universal! Wonderful!