Here are some of the good and some of the bad from this carnival cruise, it was fun, how can it not be, but it did not meet expectations. This is not my first cruise, but my first with Carnival. I will have to do some hard thinking before I decided I want to give carnival another chance. If I were going to sum up the difference between Carnival and other lines (I have sailed Princess and Royal Caribbean) I would say Carnival is very Las Vegas like while the others are more like an upscale resort. The food and entertainment were decent but not the same level of quality as the other lines. There was also less choices in activities.

Room: The interior room is plenty big for two people, which is mentioned when reviewing cruise lines that Carnival has some of the largest interior rooms. The beds were comfortable, and I don’t say that often about hotel beds. The steward was wonderful, although he did not introduce himself to us the first day as has been the habit in past cruises , the room was always stocked, cleaned, and had good turn down service (the towel animals were cute). I left a note requesting two extra blankets and they were there when we came back to the cabin later that day. (I believe his names was spelled Somak)

Dining: Originally we were assigned the dining room that also shares with the "anytime" seating. We were sat at a table by ourselves and the service was only adequate. I wanted my daughter to have the traditional cruise dining experience so I requested we be moved to the other dining room for the remainder of the week. We were given a new assignment without any problems. We sat with two other traveling groups. The three waiters in Southern Lights; Ivan, Gabriel, and Wayan knew our names, how we liked our beef cooked, and were able to make suggestions before the week was up. The service in the dining room was excellent and we were treated very well. Read more