My background.. I am 40 years old traveling with my DH and 4 Children (15,14,13 and 11), This is my 4th Carnival cruise but my 25th over all. We had booked 2 Balconies on the 9th floor Cabins 9222 and 9218 FWD.

Embarkation was as easy as can be. We arrived at the pier at 10:30 AM, checked in, was handed our sail and sign cards and had a seat. We were onboard by 12:15. Cabins were ready at 1:30 so we headed up to the buffet area. The food selections were basic. We enjoyed the Deli the most and had most lunches there. Bar service is limited in the pool area. It was mostly self serve. We saw a few waiters trying to sell the drink of the day specials, but to get a soda was basically impossible. You had to go to the bar yourself.

This is where my DH purchased his soda card and my sons. The Adult card (and it is a REAL card, not a sticker) was around $25- and the Child Card was around $18-. I don't know if this card system is new, but I was on the Miracle in May and do not remember seeing them there? Carrying 2 cards was kind of a pain and they were very strict on checking the written name on the card and only one soda, In the dining room, if you weren't done with the one you had they would not give you another till the glass was empty. This frustrated my son mostly because he had a long wait between asking and getting his drinks. There is one bar on the 5th floor by the AFT elevators that wont take it. There is no sign, but when my DH asked for a soda he was told they don't take the fountain card. We moved to a different bar. Read more