What a beautiful ship! We were impressed when we first walked on board. There are so many beautiful KODAK moments aboard the ship. Make sure you stop and try all the different seating areas, and take pictures. The shapes/material and comfort of the different places to sit along walkways are very impressive. The decor is lovely and we loved the Promenade. This is a great place to meet friends and just people watch. We loved the fact that this food area was mostly "all inclusive". You could get snacks of coffee/tea/hot choc/ and cookies or mini croissant ham&cheese sandwiches after the show, or anytime. This didn't cost extra. You could also get salad, pizza, and yummy yummy mouse cups whenever you wanted! Specialty coffees and lattes etc. were an extra cost. Usually when we cruise we use the buffet section for lunch, but this time, I think we only made it to the Windjammer for lunch 2x. The other times were the great places along the promenade and the MDR. In the Main Dining Room for breakfast, they have this yummy oatmeal that is cold, and made with vanilla sauce, orange juice, honey. What an incredible flavour. Its a must try if you like sweetened oatmeal. We tried Portofinos and the service was great. I had the seafood skewer which was salmon/lobster/shrimp/scallop. Very good. And the desserts! Make sure you try the dessert sampler, and get a taste of everything. Presentation was impressive and it tasted exquisite as well! One thing to watch for about Portofino. They will offer you water. Bubbly or not bubbly? Bubbly costs $7/bottle. I'm not sure if the plain cost money (probably did) but they don't warn you up front, so if you don't want the extra cost, go for non-bottled water. Dinner is $20/person. You are not required to tip over this, but it is nice to anyway. In terms of comparing Carnival to RCCL, they are very comparable. The food service was comparable, and I dare to say, that I think I have been happier with the food in MDR on newer Carnival ships, but RCCL was still wonderful. No complaints. Embarkation and Debarkation was fairly quick and painless. We chose the latest departure - 10:15 and actually all tags had been called before we were to go to our mtg place!

We were waiting around in the promenade when we were told that ALL colours had been called, and we could just go to Deck 1, and disembark. We didn't have to wait in a large room, and go through customs there, like on Carnival. The way you disembark is different, and we found it to be quite efficient. You go to Deck 1 like when you get off at a port, and they swipe your sea pass card. You go right off the ship, and outside into a line up to go back into the terminal to your coloured section where the luggage is, then get back in the line, and continue to customs, the right out of the terminal. You can't stop to fix luggage tags or put away your passport. Customs yells at you if you slow down AT ALL. Keep the line moving and get out! It was quick. Outside the terminal are shuttles and taxi cabs, so you can clearly see where to go next.