This was the second cruise aboard a Carnival ship, and our fifth cruise in the past 4 years. Like many others have said, check-in was a breeze. We were on the ship within 30 minutes of arriving at the terminal. We were told that our cabin would not be ready until 1:30 pm, and to proceed to the Lido deck for lunch. Unfortunately, all 2000+ passengers were told the same thing and the Buffet was packed with people, and the offerings were very marginal. We decided that the safest choice seemed to be hamburgers. We looked around the ship a bit, and though gaudy, it seemed clean enough except for the windows. Every window on this ship was filthy.

The cabins are very small compared to any other ship that we have been on. When we were unpacking and putting away our clothes, we found a tube of Industrial Strength adhesive in one of the drawers, and an eyeglass case that someone had left. Later, when we were departing the ship on the last day, we found a slightly moldy orange under the bed. I guess that with so many quick turnovers, things get missed.

Just prior to departure, there was the mandatory passenger and crew muster. I was surprised that the crew didn't really take this seriously, as they were talking and joking to each other in our Assembly Station F. Though we were told during this drill that our station would be the first to the lifeboats, we were never shown where our lifeboats were. Having been a professional mariner on large ships for the past seventeen years, I found this entire drill to be very unprofessional. Read more