This was our third cruise and third with Carnival and we chose it because we hadn't been to most of the stops- only repeat stop was St Maarten. Our stops were St Croix, St Maarten, Dominica, Grenada, Bonaire, Aruba and Caracao. We love all of what San Juan has to offer and we stayed 2 nights (before our cruise) at a hotel in the Condado area. We had a fast and easy embarkation and once booked in we left the ship to wander the city and then strolled back on board later in the afternoon. We liked the layout of the ship - it is the same as the Carnival Valor which was our first cruise and we had no issues with this. We treated ourselves to a balcony room on the 7th floor and the only issue we really had was neighbors who seemed unable to close the room and balcony doors without slamming them which was annoying at night. Any problems that we had with our room were dealt with in a timely and pleasant manner and our maid was very pleasant and did an excellent job of looking after our room.

We enjoyed all of our meals whether at the lido restaurant or dining room. We had anytime dining which we've had for our other 2 cruises and had great visits and many laughs with a great bunch of people from all across North America. I am amazed at the selection and variety of food offered at the buffet restaurants and dining room. There was so many choices I had a hard time trying to decide what I wanted to try. I enjoyed trying the appetizers and main course related to the ports of call. Every night you had a choice of main dish of either beef, fish, pork, chicken, lamb- many different appetizers, side dishes and desserts. For me part of the fun is trying new dishes and since I cook all meals at home I really enjoyed the variety that was offered. My husband has two diet restrictions (sugar and wheat) and he was always able to find enough low carb and wheat free foods.

We got off at every port and spent the morning walking around the towns visiting shops and museums and other local attractions. The only port we didn't find very favorable to tourists was Dominica. The streets are not made for safe walking, would be unsuitable for anyone with mobility issues because of narrow sidewalks if any sidewalk at all, deep open gutters between street and walking areas and very few wheelchair accessible areas. I was just about hit by a car that used a sidewalk portion to drive on. What the town should do is close off several streets to cars as they drove through very fast and didn't seem too concerned about the safety of the pedestrians. Read more