If you are the sort of person that likes entering a hairy chest or a belly flop competition then this is definitely the cruise for you, especially if you are female. However, if you like dressing up for formal evenings and elegant refinement I suggest you look elsewhere.

We had been staying at the Embassy Suites, we are a family of four, me aged 54, my wife and two teenage daughters 14 and 17. The taxi ride to the port was a doddle and we arrived about 1:30. However, the boarding was the longest of any of the 3 cruises we have taken. In total it took 2 hours to board and by the time we had examined our balcony cabins we found it was too late to have lunch because of the lifeboat drill.

We had two balcony cabins and they removed the partition so we ended up with one big balcony where we generally ate our breakfasts. The cabins were spacious and clean. The beds were comfortable and we requested and received feather pillows for which the staff get bonus points. The decor is in typical Carnival style gaudy and way over the top but overall the cabins can't be faulted for anyone used to a Marriott level of hotel. Read more