We traveled out of Tampa because that is our home port and very convenient .We cruise every year and usually choose other ports because of bigger ships. There is nothing wrong with the smaller ships we just like the extra amenities. My joke before the cruise was that we were stepping down from the Hyatt,Hilton class ship to Days inn class. After reading reviews I didn't have very high expectation for this cruise. After boarding I have to say the ship itself is in good shape. I didn't see anymore wear and tear than other ships. the only thing that was dated was our bathroom but other than that I wouldn't have noticed this was an old ship. It is a small ship though and I think this is where some of the problems start. Small ship means less passengers and less crew. Carnival must be going through budget cuts or something because the staff on this ship consistently missed the mark set by all the other carnival cruises I've been on. Usually the crew makes your cruise great . Except for a few of the dining room staff this entire staff had issues. From the our stateroom Stewart who we didn't even see till the 3rd day and then we saw him when we were leaving. He did his job , but that was it. Usually we have a lot of fun with them. Bar staff was just plain unhappy. bordering on rude sometimes. Another first. Buffet staff and execution was poor. Usually when they switch out from breakfast to dinner they close 2 and leave other 2 open and have the omelet/deli as buffer. This time they closed everything but one, funneling everyone into one buffet line so it took forever and because they are small buffet stations, they have to stack entrees front and back. No problem if staff helped and served the back items to you but they just stood there and watched as you bent under glass trying to reach back items.. Didn't make any sense. Then when you did get out of line, none of the tables were cleared . This is all a management issue on this ship. Not sure if they are way under staffed or what issue is but from attitudes of crew and performance I can say that someone in upper management needs to seriously look into this ship and see why this is happening because it is not typical. Budget cuts in food is also very noticeable. Usually you get about 3 good items to every 1 that is so so. It was opposite on this cruise. It got to the point that I ordered a flat iron steak of everyday menu because I figured its really hard to mess up steak. I've been a meat manager for a long time so it's not a good thing when the steak came and I could not identify what type of meat is actually was. It was previously frozen and the chefs did what they could to save it but that would be like trying to make a gourmet meal out of spam. which is exactly what they did the next night when I ordered Chateu and the same meat came out ,cut differently and with different sauce. Very disappointing. I just think Carnival needs to be very careful on how they are running this ship. I am a die hard cruise fan and I think it is almost impossible to have a bad cruise but this ship is mismanaged from top to bottom. a lot of it you can tell is corporate directed which is sad. example : We were late leaving Cayman which happens all the time . The next day we arrived in Cozumel an hr late. ? That only happens when company doesn't want to spend gas money to make up time. So they would rather short everyone that has already paid . poor decision from a service stand point . Entertainment staff was pretty good. Calvin is a good criuise director. DJ Saxxy was not in tune with the crowd he had on board so night club was dead most nights which meant everything was done by midnight except last night. was wondering why rest of night weren't like that. Shows were some of best Ive seen. Ive seen them all before and rarely go see them now because the artists are just ok . The artists on this ship are really pretty good and I actually saw every show. Overall this was just an average cruise. the crew and staff make or break how good a time you have and they seriously missed on this cruise. I'll give them a strike 1 on this cruise. Carnival has earned my trust over last 10 yrs and everybody deserves a mulligan but if this happens again I'm going to have to re-think where I spend my money.