Overall, my husband and I have a great time wherever we are, but we were disappointed with some very basic things on this Carnival Valor cruise.
The embarkation, as described by many others, was complete chaos. We arrived at 2:00 and didn't get through the doors of the ship until 4:00. As suggested by Carnival, we pre-registered but this barely saved us 2 minutes. We stood in the same line as people who didn't pre-register and received no benefit. Don't waste your energy and arrive before 1:00!
We were quite happy with our balcony room. It is worth it to spend the extra money to have a window in your room, as many of our friends complained of not knowing what time it was in the morning. We enjoyed room service several mornings on our balcony. Simply fill in the card and hang on your door the night before and your meal arrives VERY timely!