I read a lot of reviews while planning our trip, and decided to write a review to share our experiences. We decided to do something different this summer and go somewhere tropical instead of visiting family, but when I started looking into Hawaii and Mexico and even Florida, found that airfare plus hotel, food, drinks, and activities added up quickly for five people. My husband and I had taken a Princess cruise for our honeymoon 15 years ago and while it was great, it hadn't left a big impression and I had no burning desire to cruise again. When I saw the extremely reasonable rates Carnival was offering for this 5 day Western Caribbean itinerary, we decided this was the best option for us. I set my expectations low, determined to enjoy the cruise for what it was.

First, our cabin. We had booked an interior room, the lowest class available for an incredible $220 per person. A couple of days before we sailed, Carnival called us and offered to upgrade us to their highest class cabin, a Grand Suite, for an additional $590. We decided to go ahead and do it, since it doubled our space and gave us a balcony. I am so glad we did! The kids loved going out on the balcony every morning and we even saw flying fish one afternoon. The cabin, while showing its age in wear, tear, and decor, was clean and spacious. We had an extremely comfortable king size bed, plus a pull out queen, and a roll away. Space was more than adequate and we even had a walk in closet, which was a great place for my modest 11 year old to change. The bathroom had a jetted tub and more counter space than apparently is typical. Our cabin steward, Putu, did a great job and tidied the room and made beds in the morning, and then tidied again and turned down beds and made fun towel animals for the kids. They loved seeing what he made every night. He knew our names the first day and remembered our children's names every time we walked by him in the hall. His assistant, whose name I did not get, was also very pleasant. Also, because we had upgraded to a grand suite, we had priority boarding and it was extremely fast. We got to the cruise terminal and were onboard in about 30 minutes.

A friend had told me to eat in the dining room as much as possible as this is where the food is best. The whole buffet part of a cruise is the biggest turn off to me. I felt like I was in a feedlot the two meals we did eat in the Tiffany buffet! We ate every breakfast and dinner and one lunch in the dining room, and ate two lunches (and lots of ice cream) from the buffet. The food in the dining room had plenty of variety and one would be hard pressed NOT to find something to like. The "formal" night when lobster was served was especially good. The lobster was perfectly cooked and very tender. The prime rib was so-so, mostly because of the "au jus" which appeared to be pre made brown gravy that they served with a lot of meat over the week. Other highlights at dinner included flat iron steak and salmon. The vegetables were typical, but a really nice fresh fruit plate was also available every evening, as was a decent Caesar salad. The melting chocolate cake was a favorite with my family and though we rarely eat dessert at home, we had dessert every night! For breakfast, I sampled the bagel with salmon, oatmeal, egg beaters, and turkey bacon. Kids loved the sugar cereals, which they don't get at home, and pancakes, French toast, and waffles. They gave really nice sized portions of very crisp bacon, too. Coffee was decently stong, but wish they had bigger cups! They had to re-fill us 5-6 times. Our dinner servers were Emilio, Deepak, and another super friendly fellow from Indonesia whose name escapes me right now. They were friendly and personable, but not overly so (in a good way). Breakfast waiters included Ivan, Arnel from the Phillipines, and Pedro from India. They were wonderful and super friendly (also in a good way). IT was great for the kids to practice ordering and remember their manners. It was fabulous for me as the mom to have someone else do the waiting, cooking, and clearing away! Honestly, I felt that the entertainment the waiters provided (singing, dancing, etc) seemed a little humiliating to them. Is it really necessary? Just a thought. Read more