Have cruised on Royal Carribbean, Norwegian and Celebrity for 10+ cruises. This was our first cruise on Carnival and was selected because it left out of Norfolk and did not entail having to fly to a departure city.

Embarkation: could definitely have been better. 4 in our group were dropped off with bags while our 5th family member waited in line for over an hour to park the car and return to port on the shuttle. Only one person taking payment in the parking lot & this caused a lengthy and unnecessary traffic jam. We asked several Carnival employees to direct us to the priority boarding for guests who booked a suite. On the 5th try, finally got directed to the priority boarding lounge that greatly expedited getting on the ship. We were able to bypass long lines for check in and boarding. If you book a suite, be sure to take advantage of priority boarding!

Ocean Suite cabins: Smaller than they appear in photos, but enough room for our group to be comfortable. We were lucky enough to have 2 cabins next to each other. They were not connecting but we asked and our cabin attendant opened the partition between balconies. This gave us a double sized balcony with 5 chairs, 2 tables and a lounge chair. Great place for the 5 of us to hang out! Bathrooms are small, would have preferred just a shower. Having a tub that was too small to bathe in just made getting in and out of the shower a trecherous endeavor especially when the boat was rocking and rolling. Much more rocking on this cruise than ANY of our prior cruises. NOT fun for the 2 folks who had never cruised before. Sea Bands and Dramamine helped a bit. Cabin attendants were helpful and friendlly. Hardworking folks. Loved our towel animals! Tip these folks well. They deserve it! Read more