So....this having been my second cruise on Carnival, it was just an OK experience for me, but it was great for my 11 year old son on his first cruise ever(an early b-day present), and here's why:
Pros: Two days before the cruise, I got a call from a rep at Carnival offering an upgrade to a balcony room for $350. After further inspection, it was a room on the very rear of the ship(cabin 8452) that had an extended balcony, and offered panoramic views as opposed to having a balcony on ONE side of the ship that was smaller. I gladly took it(but later wished I hadn't).
Oh...I won about $700 from the slot machine my second day on the boat....That's about it for the pros.
Stateroom was nice...amazing sized balcony. The only drawback was that the rooms are right underneath the pool on the Lido Deck, and every night you will hear the scraping and dragging of the deck chairs as the straighten/adjust them every night. Very disconcerting.