This was our first Carnival cruise though we have cruised with NCL several times. We were traveling with two 17 year olds and are non-drinkers. The boat was very clean and the staff was amazing.We arrived in Miami the day before and went on a airboat ride through the everglades (amazing) and then stayed at the Newport Beachside Resort in Sunny Isles. It is a beautiful hotel right on Miami Beach. The next morning we returned our rental and arrived at the port. The embarkation process was very quick and easy. Our boarding time was 10:30am and we were on the ship by 11:00. Unfortunately our rooms were not ready (which is understandable) but I would have liked to be able to at least drop our jackets and backpacks off and not have to carry them around as we explored the ship. Carnival had some "carnival" games set up where you play them and get your card checked off and then could turn it in for prizes at a later show. The staff wasn't all the excited to run these but we did participate. Our cabins (two of them) were inside staterooms and were typical rooms, plenty of space and actually I was surprised by the extra closet space. Our room stewards, Punta and Kharisma were great, they were so friendly and responsive. We like to stay very busy on the ship during sea time and at night (after 6pm) the Fun Squad had things planned but the day time was limited. I think they expected people to just hang at the pool but it was so crowded (typical) and the hot tubs were always full of little kids swimming. There were a few games scheduled during the day but only lasted 10 minutes or so. We ended up playing cards or other games with our kiddos. The shows were great and fun to watch, those dancers/singers did a great job and the comedians were fairly good. Dustin, Alex and Leo (cruise director and team) had a lot of energy and added to the cruise. By the way we loved the Lip Sync Battle, what a show!!

We booked excursions at each port and none through Carnival. In Grand Cayman we booked through cruisesonly.com and went to StingRay City, snorkeling and Starfish Beach. We met our excursion team right at the port and had a great time. It was a little rushed but we were only in port for a short time so it makes sense. Captain Bob and his team were great, my son asked if he could fish were no one was swimming and the Captain agreed and even gave his some bait to use. We purchased our picutres for $80 ($20 pp) and recieved them by email with no problem.

In Roatan we booked through Facebook with Daniel Johnson's Monkey and Sloth Sanctuary. Again, easy to find right outside the port and an amazing trip, we did the snorkeling add on and were not disappointed. This was one of our favorite things ever. The boat crew did a great job splitting up the group for snorkeling so every one could explore the reef at their level Read more