Embarkation was a breeze at Galveston! Our bags did not arrive until late in the evening so we spent a good deal of time on the Lido deck just drinking and hanging out. Once underway, we enjoyed our first couple days at sea. The ship is obviously still in excellent shape and may as well be brand new. Everything was meticulously clean and the service was generally excellent.

One of our favorite at-sea locations on the ship is the Oceanside Grill outside on deck 5 for lunch. Absolutely the best food you will find on the ship for lunch time, and nowhere near as crowded as the Marketplace area. Tandoor also have some tasty fare, and in general the Marketplace failed to impress, to put it lightly. The Southern Lights restaurant had excellent service (and entertainment) although the food was not spectacular. The Italian restaurant was definitely the best dinner we had on board. There is also a great little sushi spot as well.

The Serenity deck was nice too but we really wished there was an adult-only pool on board. We never got to enjoy the pools because of children. There were kids EVERYWHERE. We aren't anti-kids or anything, but it was pretty ridiculous. More than a few times someone's ill-behaved and unsupervised children ruined our nice experience. Carnival should be much more strict on parents controlling their children. Read more