This was our 7th cruise on Carnival, Holland America and Princess cruise lines and are familiar with what is out there and what to expect.

First, I will speak about Carnival Cruise Lines in general. Twenty years ago when Kathy Lee Gifford was their spokesperson, Carnival was known as the party cruise line for people who wanted to hook up, get drunk, throw up and pass out. It was not family friendly at all. Then they cleaned up their act and changed their image. They became a cruise line that appealed to seniors, couples, families and single people. They were known as the K-Mart of the cruise line industry because they were affordable, clean and appealed to everyone.

Unfortunately the family friendly Carnival that I have known is fading away. Like K-Mart, they have gone downhill. On this cruise, 60% of the comedy shows were billed as not family friendly, the hairy chest competition with men grinding on women up on the Lido deck in front of kids and the gay assistant cruise director constantly wanting to "spank people in a playful way" was not family friendly. In the center of the Lido deck with kids present I saw a woman laying on top of a man for a long time and none of the staff thought it was inappropriate and allowed it to continue. Read more