This was only our second cruise with Carnival, the first being 10 years ago on a 4-nt. Fascination cruise. We've sailed many times on most of the other lines - HAL, RCCL, Princess, Celebrity - and were a bit apprehensive of this cruise based on some of the negative publicity of Carnival recently.

Well, now we know why it's labeled "The Fun Ship"! We loved this trip, even though the crossing over and back was about as rough as anything we've ever encountered. Not the ship's fault that horrendous storms were bashing Alaska and the Pacific Northwest, sending 58 mph winds our way, even though we were 300 miles south of the storm. Out of 9 sea days, only 3 were really nice days up on the decks. Most of the time, the decks were closed off due to the high winds. And STILL we had a great time. Says something about this ship and crew.

Pros: (1) loved the Vegas Caesar's Palace theme, the vibrant colors throughout, the details, the faux artwork - always something to look at, never boring (the Solstice was boring beige). I know some find it gaudy, but we found it fun and exciting. The ship looked sparkling clean with very little wear. Read more