This was my first time to Cruise on Carnival. I have cruised previously on Princess several times and wanted to give this new boat a chance. My wife and (15yo) daughter had cruised previously in June of 2012 on the Carnival Magic and traveled with me on this sailing.

We arrived at approx 1:30pm by private car and had no wait to get on board. Great time to arrive if you do not like to wait. I have found this true on all my previous sailings.

My first impression of the ship was it is very confusing. I learned quickly that you could not take the mid ship elevators to the restaurant on Deck 3. If dining in the Northern Lights, which requires to enter on Deck 3, you have to use the forward elevators only. The atrium in front of the dining room was very small. I always felt the area was crowded with people and no good places to sit and relax. On Deck 4, there is also almost no areas to sit. You can only walk on one side of the ship to get around. On a boat that can take 3k+ people, this is just to cramped for me. I believe they sacrifice public areas to put more cabins on board. Read more