Having been on numerous cruises on HAL, Celebrity, and NCL, this was the first time for me on Carnival. I had the opportunity to join some friends who had already booked this cruise, so got a fairly good deal on a spa balcony and my mom joined me! We travel well together and had a nice time on this cruise. I must admit my preferences still lie with the other cruise lines I've been on, but I definitely got a feel for the Carnival "brand" and certainly all of that FUN does agree with many folks! Here's a summary of my experience...
Embarkation: we ended up getting Faster to the Fun at the last minute (if they're sold out, you can send an email to Carnival and get on the waiting list!), actually got word they were manually adding FttF to our itinerary just 2 days before we sailed. FttF was absolutely worth every penny - - skipped multiple long lines in NYC and got to go right to our cabin which was ready when we got there about noon. Then our luggage arrived in about an hour, so we were fully unpacked way before the muster drill. We also had a priority Guest Services line and phone number on board. Then had the VIP experience with disembarkation as well. This is a great service to buy and I strongly recommend it for folks who want to "zag" when others are zigging...
Service: I'll mention this up toward the top of my review because it was fantastic at every turn. Great steward, great wait staff, absolutely solid and consistent wherever we went. Good job, Carnival!