Background: My husband and I are both in our late 30s, have 2 kids, and are celebrating our 10 year anniversary. This is my 3rd cruise, my first with Carnival. We dropped the kids off with grandma early Sunday morning and off we went. We were on the boat by 2pm that afternoon and ready for relaxation.

My biggest fears: We had an inside cabin and I was worried that I go loopy. I actually enjoyed the darkness and had wonderful naps. I would joke that I wanted to look out the window and I would turn on the tv to channel 13 and see the livecam of the lido deck. I had the best view on the boat.

My husband also cruised on Carnival before when he was 23 and said he was drunk before he left port. The passengers we encountered were families, church-goers, or middle-aged and definitely not the party crowd from the 90s. Read more