My sisters and I had a blast on this cruise. We enjoyed the ship and the ports. My first cruise was on Carnival and I was left with a so-so opinion of the line. As this was my seventh cruise, I now realize part of the problem on the first cruise was I didn't know enough to maximize the experience. I am so glad I decided to give Carnival another try!
Embarkation - arrived at the port around 1pm. Absolutely loved the self check in terminals. By 1:30 we were seated on the Lido deck having lunch. Headed down to our cabin around 2pm and dropped off our bags. Headed back up to the Serenity area to wait for the safety drill. We hadn't even set sail yet and my sisters were already loving it!
Cabin - this was my first balcony cabin. I was not sure if it would make any significant difference in my cruise experience. It was nice to step outside and immediately check the weather. We enjoyed looking out at the ocean or having a glass of wine out there. The biggest disappointment was the cabin was just as a small as inside which made it interesting with three people. Our cabin steward was Chantai and he was absolutely amazing! He introduced himself the first day and was quick to get the room set for three vs two. He always greeted us and kept the room clean. The best thing he did was get a cork out of a wine bottle for us. We had brought three bottles but forgot a corkscrew so we bought a cheap one at a liquor store in Key West. It held up for the first two bottles but broke off in bottle number three. My sister wrote him a note asking if he could get us a corkscrew. We came back to find the bottle had been opened. We definitely gave him an extra tip!
Small for three people, did not notice any noise even though the casino is below it, not enough hanging closet space