As avid travelers and cruisers, my wife and I were excited to board this well-rated ship on our fourth voyage with Carnival to the Southern Caribbean and three ports that we had never been to - Aruba, Bonaire, and Grand Turk. Carnival ships have been hit or miss in the past. While Carnival ships have never been the best or the worst we have tried, they always fall close to one of the extremes. This ship and sailing was close to the worst we have experienced.

Particularly depressing about this cruise was the food. When you are trapped on a ship for eight nights, with no option to eat elsewhere (there is an option to eat at the formal-only steakhouse on board, for $35 per person per meal), you hope that the food is decent and varied enough to get you through the vacation. Let me tell you, the food was not good. The menu at the dinner seatings was limited and tasteless. Most of the food, both in the restaurant and the buffet, seemed to be pre-cooked and reheated. Even the "slow cooked prime rib" on formal night dinner was a thin (less than 1/2" thick) piece of tasteless meat. Of course, you always have an option to upgrade your dinner with a steak from the "Steakhouse" for a $20 fee. Really? Pay extra for real food? One of the main draws of a cruise vacation, at least for us, has been that food is all inclusive.

The bars are many, and most of the bartenders did make drinks very well. You have to learn which ones to avoid. Cost was expensive, as expected and typical for cruise ships. Beer was around $5.75 and mixed drinks around $8-9 on average. There is an option to purchase an upgrade to include alcohol (15 drinks per day) for $50 per day. This brings the cost to a more reasonable amount, if you plan on drinking the full 15 drinks. Unfortunately, you have to purchase this for ALL days of the cruise, and for ALL adults in the cabin, which would have cost us an additional $800. Umm, no thanks. Read more