As we have sailed with Carnival 6 times in the past as well as a couple of cruises on other lines, we booked this short RC cruise in a lower deck cabin to compare apples to apples and decide whether this was the cruise line for us for a longer, balcony cabin cruise. Being from Florida, we tend to book last minute, "get aways" in whatever cabin is available on short notice. In short, we were a bit disappointed in what we expected to be a more upscale experience than Carnival.
Embarkation & Debarkation: This certainly seems to be a cruise line where they cater to those who upgrade and pay the higher rates. We were on deck 3 and the lines for check-in were divided by deck, with 2-5 being together with only 4 clerks working. We arrived at 1:30 and waited almost 1 hour, even with prior on-line check-in. Other (higher) decks had more agents working with fewer decks assigned. Mandatory Muster drill was a BREEZE and very well organized. We chose to take our own luggage off the ship upon our return to Miami, and were out of our cabin and in our car in under 20 minutes. Wonderful!
Cabins: Our cabin was ready (sort of) when we arrived, but since nothing appeared to change later in the evening, I assume it was as ready as it would ever be. I requested that the beds be moved together at the initial reservation and again when we arrived (since it had not been done), but that wasn't actually accomplished until the 3rd day of the cruise when I finally complained to the front desk. The decorative pillows and accent throws were stored under the bed and did not make an appearance until day 3. Our cabin steward, while pleasant, did not appear to speak English, as each day I requested the beds be moved and he smilingly nodded and said "OK", with no results.