Just returned from a 7 day carnival pride cruise. And other than the hurricane and a slight delay in embarkation, it was an amazing trip. I would totally recommend F2F (Faster to the Fun). Its $60 per cabin, but totally worth it. Also, you can pre-board online and pick your boarding time, do that. It made it much easier when we got there. Unfortunately, the ship came in late and had computer problems, so while we were supposed to board at 11, we didnt actually board until just before 2pm. We were disappointed in Carnival's handling of embarkation, but that was quickly forgotten when we got on the ship. And if you can definitely get a balcony. It made a huge different. We have the kids in an interior quad, which as very small and crammed. But across the hall our triple was spacious and had three closets. Plenty of room to move around for three people and being able to sit out on the balcony made our trip.

As for the kids, they had an absolute blast. I was traveling deep with 5 kids (5, 7, 9 and two 13 year olds). There was something for all of them. The kids programs are amazing and my kids didnt get bored at all. In fact, some didnt even want to leave the ship during port days as they were having too much fun on board.

Food - there is something for everyone and plenty of it. My kids loved room service for lunch and sometime breakfast. The lido buffet really covered a lot. And pizza 24 hours a day was a great in between meal or late night snack. Read more