We arrived in New Orleans the day before our cruise and stayed at the Doubletree. The hotel was great but no hotel parking was available. We parked at a garage down the street, had our ticket validated by the hotel and still had to pay $17. We arrived at the port around noon. The lines were long but moved quickly. This was our first cruise and we were not sure about unloading luggage. We made some poor decisions but managed to get the luggage on the ship. The people at the port were very kind and helped us. They opened up a new line for our check in since we had with us a 19 month old and 3 small children. We got into our room about 1:30 and our luggage arrived in our rooms promptly. Again the ship's staff members were very helpful. Our room was small but adequate. The beds and linens were extremely comfortable. We ate in the dining room (Paris) all 4 nights, ate the buffet for lunch once, the Asian food once, and ordered room service for breakfast. Lines were sometimes long but moved very quickly. If we did not want to wait in the lines we simply found another place to eat. Food service employees were very attentive. The food was presented well and the taste was good. The only complaint from our group was that the french fries with their burgers and pizza were cold and dry. The casino was fun (our group won money), the shows were enjoyable(costumes and props were unbelievable), pools were well maintained and clean, and bingo was fun (our group won money, wine, and a "build a bear"). Our biggest disappointment was the spa services. Again, we were first time cruisers and did not realize the "free seminars" were sales pitches. We attended a "free seminar", signed up for a service, paid our money for the service and listened to the same information from the "free seminar" and a sales pitch for products. We felt as though our time was wasted. One member of our group received a Massage as a Christmas present in the form of a gift card. Again, like us, she was disappointed in the service she received. The small children enjoyed the activities at Camp Carnival and their moms and dads felt they were safe. A cell phone was provided to the parents and the children could call anytime they wanted. Activities included a birthday party, pajama party, and build a bear workshops. There was no sea sickness in our group. Travel was comfortable except for a lot of movement 1 night and part of the next day. This was a great experience for our family and my husband and I will cruise again. The Carnival Triumph all things considered, exceeded our expectations!!