Ok...we have been on 21 cruises...11 of them on Carnival...so we are Platinum members....In looking at some of these reviews, I just don't get it...people complain about EVERYTHING.....Let me advise you complaining people out there.....This is a cruise ship...there are going to be a lot of people on the boat...so if you don't like waiting in lines....DONT GO on a cruise....try an alternative vacation......We wait in lines for everything....grocery shopping, disney world...etc....Also..there was a lot of mention about a sewer order....DID NOT smell this at all....either they cleared the problem up, or perhaps the folks complaining were smelling someone's flatulence? so...here is the TRUTH about the dream from folks who have cruised 21 cruises...most on Carnival....

Embarkation:...since we were VIP...we received a phone call from carnival inviting us to come to the pier at 10:30am.....we were surprised, since we usually don't get there till 12noon....Heck...if they wanted us, I would have helped the previous cabin's occupants off the boat!!! lol...so we arrived at 10:30am....went to the vip lounge and withing about 10 to 15 minutes....we were on board this spectacular ship.....The rooms were not going to be ready till about 1:30...so we went up on the lido deck and got some deck chairs and laid out in the sun....after an hour or so...we had lunch on the lido...about 1:30pm...we went down to our room...now , we usually book a balcony, but we decided just to do an inside room this time....we usually like the 8th or 9th floor....About 2 weeks previous to the cruise, I checked on the price....i always watch to see if the price goes down...and it did!!...I called my travel agent to advise......she said, since you already paid....they would not give a rebate, but let's see what they will do....Here is where I wish Carnival would do this automatically...are you listening Carnival??? If the price comes down, why don't you automatically call the customer and offer them something, Rebate, shipboard credit, etc...right then and there?...Orbitz does this in form of a check..if you book a room, then someone else books it cheaper later on, then orbitz refunds the difference by mailing you a check....ok...so the travel agent called me and Carnival offered us a better room for the same money....WOW.....they offered us a ocean view room deluxe...it was a bigger room with 2 bathrooms...one with a tub!!!....the only problem is that it was on the Riveria deck.....We did our first cruise on the sensation on the riveria deck and since then have chosen a higher level deck...soooooo I was a little apprehensive, but kept telling myself...a oceanview...with 2 bathrooms.....Well, as it turns out..the room was FANTASTIC....it was large, and turns out convienent....when we got off the ship it was only one floor down, so when we came back on, we didnt have to wait for the elevator...just climbed one flight of stairs!!!...we were closer to the Casino on deck 5...and dinner on deck 4....so the room was great!!

People also complained about waiting in line at the Gathering...the buffet...and that the food was the same everyday....NONSENSE...the only time we waited in a line was the first Breakfast...we were in Nassau on Sunday and everyone was piled into a line waiting....i would say about ten minutes.....first...that's not long for me....and after that day.....no more lines....people came and went at different times of the day...as far as the food at the Gathering.....it was GREAT...and different everyday...I don't expect gourmet food at a buffet.....also...lots of choices...they had a pasta bar, deli, pizza, BBQ on the new deck space...and grill for hot dogs, hamburgs..they also had Indian food daily...and it was some of the best Indian food I have had!.....Dinner...we chose..anytime dining....we like this option on NCL...and were glad to get this option on carnival....We enjoy eating just the two of us.....well you see....we are gay and both teachers...so when we travel we are sometimes asked where are wives are.....and silly questions like that...come on people...its 2010...also, we don't like eating with children since we are on vacation to get away from the little rascals.....so we tried the alternative dining and it worked out great...only one time on the cruise did they not have a table for two right away....they gave us a buzzer and within ten minutes, there was a table...Bravo carnival....let's keep this option open....OK Carnival...two more questions about the food....WHAT happened to the dinner rolls?...you had some of the best and a great variety....you went down to a bagguette and a roll...I liked the poppy seed rolls and other choices.....bring back the rolls!! lol....and what happened to the Grand Dessert night?.....They had a chocolate fountain one afternoon where you can dip various items..banana's, crackers..etc...but I missed the grand buffet at midnight one evening when the best of the best desserts came out.....I understand not doing a midnight buffet every evening...gone are those days...but the elegance of this one night was really spectacular...people would stay up even if they were not hungry, just to take pictures of all the loveliness....so...please bring back that night.... Also...if you are going to have meetings for gay people to get together...can we start calling them something else besides FRIENDS OF DOROTHY?...this is a 1950's term..and I bet most young gay folks dosn't know what it means....ok, ok..you did put in lgbt...after the dorothy....but still...also...if you are going to hold these meetings...why don't you have a representative to come and get folks together....we went and sat in the lounge...but its hard to just go up to someone and say..."are you here for the Dorothy meeting?...Princess did the best job with this..they had someone from the staff meet with us every day...even brought some champagne for us....we had a great time meeting other gay folks on that ship!!!...ok...back to the cruise...oh, wait....Carnival...also, train your staff on varieties of people....when I asked the room steward to put the beds together...he asked me about my wife....I said I didnt have one...and he looked at me for a minute....as if to say.."why would 2 men want their beds together?....then he thought and said with a puzzled look....OK...he was pleasant enough...said hello and good evening...but didn't go out of his way.....i think he was from Jamaica....and they are raised to not accept us...Oh well... SHOWS...the shows were ok...if I had to grade them....all together?....B-..the one show not to miss was Dancing in the Streets...one of the best ever...A++++++...they country show, and the others were all right...they had a group of young guys on there called FUN FORCE...dont miss any of their shows....we watch all 3 of them...they were great....the lead singers...were just ok.... We really enjoyed the new all adult SERENITY space..YEAH carnival...a place to relax without kids...now I have to agree with several other COMPLAINTS about people saving chairs, deck chairs, etc...I am not sure how Carnival or any other line could handle this...but it is annoying that people will leave their shoes, towels, etc..on chairs for hours...carnival says they have a policy, but how could they enforce it?...it would only cause people to complain that someone took their towel and personal belongings off...the only way we corrected this problem was getting up early enough to get a space..now i have to say with serenity and the new deck around deck 5...they have LOTS of lounge chairs...so you might get lucky enough to find one.... GYM/SPA....we work out every morning...and with all this food...you have to do something!!!....The first morning we went to the gym and of coarse....LOTS of people......some of the treadmills had signs on them that read:...because of the noise the machine makes, this machine is not operating....something to that affect...this seems to be a design flaw....why put the gym right above rooms if you can hear the noise...I am glad that the people can get to sleep soundly....but it left about 8 machines with no use till sometime after 8am...so we walked/jogged around outside and then went into the gym to work on some of the machines... PORTS....we have been to these ports soooo many times....we did not do any of the excursions...just got off the boat and went shopping!! Casino....it was nice..seemed smaller than others...not sure..but all in all...it had a nice variety of slot machines... Debarkation:....VERY smooth...again...vip gives you the option of being one of the first to get off the ship...since we had dogs to go home to...we were ate breakfast at 530am..and waited in the lounge area till around 6:45....we were off the ship, through customs and on the way home by 7:11am.... All in all...IT was a great vacation.....so my advice to you is to KNOW yourself...if you don't like lines, and are picky eaters....choose some other vacation