The ship is beautiful. The atrium was gorgeous. Lots of new things to try - Guys Burger Joint (Best new addition), Blue Iguana Burrito & Taco Bar, Cucina De Capital, etc.
Rooms: The décor in the hallways was new and fresh - but the rooms themselves still had an old feeling to them. No differences to the design or set up.
Dining: We tried the any time dining for the first time and loved it. With two kids, we always felt that the 8:15 was too late but the 6:00 on many nights is too early especially after some of the excursions. While we did miss the consistent wait staff and the benefit of them knowing your special needs and getting to know them, the ability to pick when you eat outweighed that and we would do this again. We tried the Steakhouse and this was excellent. Great staff, great food. Our only issue was a large group came in with 4 very young children who were very loud. We were without our kids for a nice evening and would have preferred to not have to listen to 4 kids all through dinner. Seems for fine dining there should be a minimum age requirement. We also tried Cucina De Capial. Do not waste your money. The restaurant is open to the buffet below so you hear that throughout dinner. The food was so-so. You could have easily had the same or better quality in the main dining room. We expect a better quality and more variety if we are paying for the meal. You can eat there for lunch for free (try it then). Guys Burger Joint was excellent. Always quick to get your food, plenty of options. Wish it was open later. The buffet lines were terrible. This is our 5th Carnival cruise and this ship holds about 1500 more people than their older ships but there was no additional buffet set up or space. Lines moved slow, replenishing the items was slow. Just not enough room. The food was generally good in the main dining room. It would be nice to seem some different options. Basically the same options as every other carnival cruise.
Room was nice. Felt very similar to older ships though - no changes in layout.