We chose this cruise because of the cost - hoping to get good value for the money. What we got was a "cheap" cruise in pretty much every sense of the word. First of all, the positives - embarkation was smooth and efficient. Our bags were at our stateroom by 1:30pm. One of the onboard bands was incredible. They played 50's - 80's rock, and were among the most talented musicians we've seen. The key lime pie and Guy's hamburgers were the best we've had at sea. The waterslides were enjoyable. We appreciated that there was no additional charge for the adults-only Serenity area. Some cruise lines charge extra for this.

Now the negatives - Other than the band mentioned, entertainment was pathetic. The individual artists in various spots on the ship were amateurish. For us, the nightly shows in the main theater were un-watchable. They had the same (8, I think) people performing every night, and the costuming, musical selections and choreography were lewd and vulgar. We walked out during the "welcome aboard" show. A few days later we poked our heads in during another show and left within 2 minutes. The Hasbro show was crude, with the cruise director selecting participants with the most vulgar "moves," or those who ripped their shirts or other clothing off. This was supposed to be a "family" show. Similar comments apply to the lip sync contest, the "Clue - Whodunnit" show, etc. We couldn't walk by the piano bar without being offended and embarrassed. This is a crude, vulgar ship environment. Now, the food. For the most part, it was pretty mediocre, although the key lime pie and Guy's Burgers were the best we've had at sea. But it was the "closures" that surprised us. The main buffet closed at 3pm? What's that about? There were several periods of time (we're not talking "middle of the night") that the only food available were - ice cream and burnt, crusty pizza. A similar, irregular schedule applied to the pools and hot tubs. We were asked to leave a hot tub at 11pm one night, as it was closing. We asked where else we could go, and they said everything was closing. I could understand closing because of bad weather. This was a calm evening - they closed for a raucous deck party, even though the hot tube we were using were far from that party. They handled tender boarding in Belize quite poorly. We waited on the tender for over 30 minutes before they let us head off for Belize. We nearly missed our tour. We frequently had to remind our "first-time cruising" friends (with whom we traveled) that this was the first time we had cruised Carnival, so that they would realize we had recommended this cruise in ignorance.