Driving from the Phoenix area the Sunday morning of our trip, my wife and I arrived about 10:30am at the Long Beach pier.Let me first say that the staff at Carnival Long Beach port was fantastic. We were assisted from the get go with warm smiles and informative staff as we waited to board the ship. With the early arrival we had the opportunity to see and talk with a few of those passengers just leaving the ship from the previous trip. All agreed great trip...but a warning of "I hope you brought a jacket"! Wow, I thought a trip to Mexico in July, how cold could it be?

With a quick check in we made it onto the ship by noon. If you have issues with the color pink, this is not your ship. I could care less about the color, I do not take cruises to critique the interior decorating. We had a great balcony room, the ship had a great deck for lounging and of course cold intoxicating libations. The downside - The interior of the public areas, dining rooms, buffets and show room were like meat lockers! Maybe it was my Arizona thin blood, but I will never take another cruise without some type of jacket.

Overall the food was fantastic in the dining room and pretty average in the buffet area. But the buffet line was always pretty short and had some great deserts. Read more