I didn't enjoy this cruise quite as much as my last one on the Carnival Freedom that I took with my mother. Part of it may have been the company since I went on this one with my husband who is kind of standoffish (this was his first cruise) and he insisted on spending most of the time in the cabin on sea days.

The wait staff in the Scarlet dining room were very attentive but obviously overworked. Our wait team (Emilio, Nemesio, Milan) seemed to be covering 10-15 tables. Most nights the food in the main dining room was pretty good but not excellent. The wait staff seems to only have time to pour water (sometimes sans ice) and didn't have time to offer tea. We would occasionally ask for coffee and they would bring some. One night we didn't even get bread. Our waiters were among the friendliest faces on the ship and were trying hard to keep up so we didn't really mind.

Our steward Devon was pleasant but we didn't see him often. He did keep up with the room well. We had a problem with the shower in the room which we failed to report- it would flood through the overflow vent before the shower bottom was full. I meant to mention it so it would be fixed for the next guests but forgot. We bought 7 day passes to the spa and used their showers which are much nicer. The spa passes are well worth it if you want to get away from the crowds. Read more