Wow!! That title is for two reasons. One, Wow what a great trip! Two, Wow why the bad reviews on this ship? I am a pretty avid cruiser, not as much as some but I think for late 30's, 15 cruises is not too bad. I have been on 1 Princess, 3 Disney, 6 Royal, and this was my 5th Carnival, so with this experience I feel like I know what is good and not so good. I have been reading reviews on cruise critic for years and found them very helpful, so after reading reviews of this ship, needless to say, I was skeptical. I joined, finally after 15 cruises, to give this ship and crew a well-deserved excellent review. I am not a luxury-spoiled traveler nor do I have that lifestyle, but we are a hard-working middle-class family who hopes and expects for a good product and service for hard earned money. That being said we do not knot pick. I wonder when I read negative reviews if there are some who don't realize that a nearly 20 year old ship may have some rust, or there might be a scratch on the wall, or a stain on the carpet. The ship itself is laid out great. All of the public areas are on decks 3, 4, & 5 and the upper decks. Makes navigating this ship easy. The ship felt very roomy. I have been on ships of all sizes, but what makes even the bigger ships seem smaller are low ceilings, this ship has none, on any decks that I was on. The main dinning room was beautiful and had great food and amazing service. My wife and I were celebrating our anniversary and the maitre d immediately give us a table for two when we requested it! What a huge plus for us! The buffet on deck 9 was small compared to some, but we could always find a table and never had a really long line. Guy's burgers were wonderful, pizza was great, and the ice cream was plenteous! The entertainment was awesome! From the comedians to the singers and dancers to the big magic production all was very worth seeing. None of the entertainment compares to Disney's' but other than that it gives all a run for their money. Progresso is not a good port in my opinion but Cozumel is always great! I wish this ship would do Grand Cayman with Cozumel.

Bottom line. This is a great cruise, on a great ship, with a great staff! Don't be scared away by the bad reviews!