We had 14 people including 5 children with us in total and the choice to go with Carnival was both budget and schedule based - we only booked 2 months in advance. We've been on cruises before as a family (sometimes with upwards of 30 people), but this was by far one of my worst experiences. Call me picky, but this was a list of things I loved, and wish were different:
LOVED:
General service from the front line staff - amazingly friendly wait staff and stewards who wanted to go out of their way to help.
Cabin 8336 had a terribly disruptive sound - as if someone was banging on a gigantic pipe under our room. It lasted a day, and then ended. They said it was due to the jacuzzi above. In addition, you definitely hear the noise from the movement above in the buffet restaurant - Chairs, etc. Other than that, it was fine.