We arrived a couple days early to Cocoa Beach and left for the cruise terminal on Saturday around 9:30 AM. Check in was the best I have ever experienced. Quick and painless with no lines at all. We were on the ship in less than an hour. The cabin: The cove balcony cabin was very nice although the wife did not care for being so close to the water. It is roomy with plenty of storage for the three of us. Location was mid ship so it was easy to get to either end for any of the venues.Our cabin staff was great and very attentive to any needs we had. Antonio's the name and service is certainly his game. The food: Overall there are some high points and lows. The lines were not as long as some would have you believe but on some days there were lines, port days in the morning and when leaving the ports, other than that it was normal. The Mongolia BBQ, Pasta Bar, and Burrito Bar were sometimes a little slow at peak times but the wait is well worth the great food. The regular buffet food was nothing spectacular and in some cases rather bland.I did enjoy the BBQ station on deck 5 on sea days. They served sliders, burritos, salad, chips, salsa etc. There were never any lines and the food was very good. Carnival should roll this put to all their ships. The dining room food was good up to a point. I have seen better choices on the Conquest Class ships in the past. Service was excellent as always and our wait team on Asta and Aleksandra were excellent. The ship: Yes there is an odor in some areas some of the time. If you let this ruin your cruise experience however, you are not really expecting to have a good time. It was really no big problem and so hit and miss as to be non existent for the most part. The ship is huge. Perhaps to big for my taste. I love the cabin and many of the things are were unique but prefer the Conquest or Spirit class. That is just my opinion. I did have a great cruise. Its very easy to get around on the ship., especially with deck 5 going all the way around. I really only experienced crowds at the comedy and main theatre venues. Yes you need to get to those early to get a seat. There were the usual seat savers that tend to mess up some of the areas and I wish Carnival did a better job of policing that. The entertainment was excellent. There was music everywhere. From easy listening in the main atrium to the piano bar. I did stumble onto a great band in the Ocean Plaza called VooDoo. The lead singer and guitar player were excellent and they play everything from 50's to today's hits. There was never a real crowd there and I am sure most passengers missed them since its on the way between the casino and the comedy club.All three main shows were good but by far the best was Dancin in the Streets. Both lead singers are excellent. I wasn't to impressed with any of the ports. We were only in Nassau for 6 hours and both St Thomas and St. martin had little that turned us on. I did figure out if there is anything you really wanted to do on board do it on port days no crowds at all. On area that did not meet my expectations was the Spa area. On the Conquest Class there were many more free options to use in the spa compared to this ship. They have a charge for using most of the facilities. The ones that were free , and there are some such as the gym, small steam room and sauna but these were not up to the same standards I saw on other ships.The Serenity deck is however awesome and you need to experience it during your cruise. The CD said there were some 700+ kids on board and we saw very few, my compliments to Camp Carnival. There were a fair share of rude people on board but that happens anywhere you find a large gathering all trying to use the same facilities. Just keep your cool, remember its a vacation and don't let those folks get you down. Overall I loved the cruise, but who doesn't love a cruise. I would recommend it even though smaller is better suited to my taste, A couple of afterthoughts: Go to the Art Auction even if you are not a collector. The young lady who does the auction is a hoot. She could have her own stand up comedy act especially when she counts in French. The free champagne isn't bad either. The Captains meet and greet does have $1.00 off drinks, don't cry to much they have another reception ie. appreciation party later in the week with free drinks. The past guest reception is well done also. get there and stay in the piano bar, free drinks and snacks and great entertainment, what more could you want.