Background: This was my 4th cruise (2 other Carnival (Fascination & Inspiration) and 1 Norwegian (Jade)). I am in the 25-34 age range. Cruise was booked through my mother who is a travel agent, 30 family members ranging from 6 months to 78 years, stayed in suites, balconies and inside cabins.

Embarkation and Rooms: Drove into the city. Parking at port is $150 for the trip, they take your luggage right where you park and we were loaded by zones fairly quickly, but I heard there was a longer wait if you got there after 11:30. Ate lunch on the lido deck, explored ship and then checked out room around 1:45. Inside cabin on second deck was decently sized, lots of storage and quite comfortable. Steward always remember our names. This was my first time in an inside stateroom, although it did the job, I prefer a window so I at least know what time of day it is. My parents had a balcony and the balcony seems to be the best bang for the buck, especially because you can whale watch on this cruise. I saw the suites a couple of us were staying in and they were really nothing special for an extra $1800.

The Ship: The ship was fairly large. Even though there were 30 of us, we had trouble finding each other. I recommend bringing walkie-talkies if you have children. There are 3 pools and plenty jacuzzis, but only a few of us went into the water as it was pretty cool going into the North Atlantic. There were always lounge chairs, but it was pretty breezy to lay out. The serenity deck was nice for adults with cushioned chairs, couches, bar service, hammocks and jacuzzis on 2 levels. Read more