This cruise was the 5th cruise together for my girlfriend and I, with other lines being Princess (Dawn & Golden) and Royal Caribbean (Splendour & Mariner). This was our first Carnival experience. We are both in our late 20's, both very well traveled, and love to cruise for the pure relaxation they offer (to give you a perspective on the review).

The cruise was 8 days, with stops in Costa Maya, Mexico, Puerto Limon, Costa Rica, and Colon, Panama.

Embarkation: Was a total breeze. This may have been due to the fact that the ship was scheduled to leave at 4:30, and we arrived at about 3:50 due to a semi-truck overturning en route, so most passengers were already on board, but whatever the case, it was very smooth. We were worried that the ship might leave us, but apparently many passengers had issues getting to the ship, because the ship left around 5:30. This was not a problem at all for us, but many passengers seemed to be complaining about this (see final thoughts). Read more