We chose this cruise because the port was only 1.5 hours from our home, and the price was right. We knew that the experience with Carnival would not be as good as Royal Caribbean, but the price for 7 people made the decision. Overall, the experience was better than we expected, especially the service from the Carnival staff on the ship.

We had 3 cabins for 7 people. I traveled with my husband, 3 children (ages 2, 2, 17) and in-laws. We were lucky to get a Faster to the Fun (F2F) pass for all three of our cabins ($50 per cabin), and it was well worth the money. I heavily debated spending the money, but I didn't want to wait in embarkation/debarkation lines with my toddlers and knew I would regret it if I didn't just pay the money. I called to find out what time I could arrive with F2F passes, and they said 11 a.m. When we arrived at the terminal at that time, we were able to go to the F2F line, which is basically the same as the VIP line! We got through security and registration in no time and were guided to the F2F waiting area past the many people waiting in line. Now, if the ship didn't arrive in port a little late that day, we would have boarded right away, but we did have to wait one hour. We boarded the ship at the same time as the handicapped assisted travelers and were able to go straight to our cabins to drop off our carry-ons as F2F cabins are ready right away. Our checked luggage was also already at our doors.

We were satisfied with our interior cabins. Bobby, our room steward, was wonderful. He remembered our names and was always happy to help, especially with a sandy mess after a beach day. We liked being in the aft section of the ship because it was near the restaurants and pools, but if I had it to do over again, I would choose the middle of the ship because Camp Carnival is on Deck 5 at the front of the ship as are all of the shows and casino. I did like that we were on Deck 7 and no lower because we went to Deck 9 (buffet, pools) often. Read more