This was my first cruise, and to be frank I wanted to go with Holland America but the holiday cruise I wanted was booked and I could only get a late booking with Carnival. I was traveling alone and single over the holidays, so knew this would be an interesting experience to say the least, since I was aware of Carnival's reputation of being geared more toward families, cheap cruising, and "fun." My defense was booking a very nice suite, and taking some beautiful clothes and my usual playful, adventurous spirit, determined to dress up no matter what, and hopefully meet some nice people.

First, I'll say I'm hooked on cruising, despite Carnival, which was about what I expected. I will say my suite was beautifully decorated, large and tasteful. as advertised. I deliberately booked in the back of the ship on the port side, and it was very quiet and comfortable, no issues at all. The vibration from the engines only got to be a bit much on the long journey back traveling North, where I needed ear plugs. Otherwise, my cabin steward was wonderful and looked out for me traveling alone, very gracious. My main complaint was the outdated TV with a VHS player, and the movie channel never worked the entire time. The room was huge and had more storage space than any large hotel suite I've stayed in. Initially the whirlpool jets in my tub didn't work since I ran out of hot water before it could reach them- this was eventually fixed. This cabin was far away from stairs/ elevators, and I enjoyed walking so got a lot of exercise going to and fro. I was really glad I read the forum before hand though to know to bring a power strip, since this large room literally had only ONE outlet.

My main complaints were Guest (lack of) Services, the shore excursions, and the food. I paid a fortune for the cruise and their tacky, constant, hard sell approach with the shore excursions was a turnoff. It's obvious Carnival makes most of their money off of their expensive shore excursions and alcohol, plus the "extras" they charge you for. Read more