All in all, we had a great cruise. I totally agree with all the positives that we heard about Tampa as an embarkation port. The airport is a breeze and the port itself was smooth sailing (even at high noon). The only downside that we encountered, was that with the flat fee from the airport to the port, the cabbie had no interest whatsoever in making a grocery stop, even if we paid extra. As a result, we dropped off our luggage and took another taxi to Publix...not a big deal, but probably cost us more to do it that way.

The food was wonderful. We had dinner at the Golden Fleece one night, which of course, was lovely. For the rest of the evenings we ate at the Unicorn Cafe. Even with the more relaxed dress code in the dining room, we still appreciate the ease of eating at the buffet more. We chose anytime dining, fully intending to eat at least once in the dining room, but as it turned out, never made it. We tried every station at least once, and had no complaints. I'm one of the few that doesn't rave about the pizza, and I really don't get why anyone likes the ice cream, but aside from that, we were impressed. I especially love Carnival's soups and looked forward to them each night.

The service onboard is exceptional. The staff is friendly, hardworking, and a pleasure to be around. Our room steward was delightful, although he needs to develop a more insistent knock, as he opened our door and nearly got an eyeful one morning...fortunately, we had the bathroom door open, so it blocked a direct view to the bed. LOL! Read more