First of all DH and I are 50-something experienced cruisers, on many lines,have cruised to Alaska, Bermuda and extensively and repeatedly in the Caribbean. We are FL residents so arrived at port via the Cruise Connection shuttle bus on 3/25. We were later than usual arriving by bus (2:30) because of many stops. Embarkation: Frankly, that could have been better...lots of 'hurry up and wait' standing in lines..walking 500ft..standing in lines again. That seems to be more Port of Miami's layout and system than anything else. The ship itself is gorgeous...less gaudy than our previous Carnival Glory cruise...the patriotic theme throughout is done tastefully. The 'pink' in the dining rooms is a little much but that's a matter of personal preference. The public areas have an open inviting feel to them. We were familiar with the ship layout so proceeded to our stateroom..(SPA deck) and settled in. We heard from several first timers that they had trouble figuring out where to go to their cabins the first day because no one seemed to be around to direct them.

Stateroom: Our 6E Spa deck was gorgeous. We've had one of these before and loved it so were not disappointed this time either. The floor to ceiling windows are wonderful..amazing views. The room is quite large because the windows slant outward. The bedding is the best we've ever had..(Go Carnival!) There is plenty of storage in shelves and drawers which helps keep the room neat. There are robes and a fridge. Our Room Steward Eduardo was very nice and efficient..kept us supplied with ice which is our only special request! Room Service: We ordered coffee and rolls every evening for the next morning..and it always arrived with everything in exactly the time frame we asked for! Flawless! Activities: Because we have cruised many times we no longer participate in the activities and prefer to stay to ourselves and just relax. There seemed to be plenty of fun things to do all the time, however. Entertainment: This was probably our only disappointment of the trip. Bingo was held in the theatre every evening before the shows (as most cruise lines do) but ran so late that nothing ever started even close to on time and finding a seat in the theatre was very difficult. I can only speak for the first two nights because we gave up attending the shows after that and spent out time (and $$:)) in the casino.

Excursions: We do not do ship sponsored shore excursions because we have been to all these ports before and have pretty much done everything we choose to do. In Nassau we just took a long walk around town and browsed through the Straw Market. In St Thomas we shopped..(always buy their local rum) and rode the skyride to Paradise Point..we had never done that and frankly we weren't real impressed. In St Maarten I just walked into town then took the water taxi back. Dining: We had 5:45 in the Washington Dining Room..Robinson was our waiter..He did an excellent job, had a good personality and nice sense of humor. He remembered our likes and dislikes quickly and made our dining pleasurable. We had a table for 4 which we shared with a nice couple from Ohio. We never felt rushed. The food was very good..not the best we've ever had but definitely not the worst. Disembarkation: Carnival seems to do a good job with this. Our deck was called fairly early and the line to exit was not terribly long and moved well. The terminal was well organized as far as finding our bags, but knowing where to get in the long tangled lines for customs was disorganized and congested and very hot! All in all a great trip!