The inadvertent "Cruise to Nowhere". Our itinerary was Cozumel and Playa, but Hurricane Emily had her way with us and it became the 'cruise to nowhere'. More on that later...

This was my fourth cruise; the second on Carnival. I had a wonderful time on the first (Celebration, 1996) and figured it was because the first time cruising is always great - you have nothing to compare it to. I had previously cruised on Celebrity (Zenith) and on the Grand Princess. Well, I was expecting the worst, being summer with all the kids...my two grandchildren (12 & 16) amongst them...but was pleasantly surprised.

From embarkation to debarkation this was a wonderful vacation and a great value. My mom and I and the teen grandkids were all in one suite and there was plenty of room. The closet and drawer space was more than adequate. While the kids didn't take advantage of all the Camp Carnival activities, the 16 yr old met lots of other kids and went to the disco, but mainly 'hung out' with the other kids, playing ping pong, eating pizza and whatever else it is that kids do at that age. The 12 yr old attended several sessions of Camp Carnival and enjoyed it, but found herself a couple of babysitting jobs for kids in neighboring cabins and spent hours in the shops deciding what to spend her money on - the shops were disappointing. Quite small and crowded, and nothing much I was interested in. Everyone from the rep at the embarkation area to the helpful baggage assistants were great. We had a suite so we went to the Skipper's Club and finished that little detail in about 10 minutes. Then we were escorted past the other guests (and right past the obligatory photo op) to the ship. The suite was very nice and had all the necessary amenities.(Huge white fluffy towels. Yum!) Don't plan on using your safe for anything but a wallet though, it's far too small to hold anything else. Our cabin steward was not to be found for the first couple of hours, which was unlike other cruises I have been on, especially in a suite where they are usually omnipresent. Took awhile to get some more ice, but it didn't ruin my vacation! Read more