This was our 4th cruise and our 1st on Carnival. Previous lines we have cruised are Disney, Royal Caribbean and Princess. My family consists of my husband and I (both in our 40's), our 12 year old daughter and our 9 year old son. My mother and my aunt also cruised with us and this was their 1st ever cruise. We spent a few nights with family in Orange County prior to the cruise. We used Prime Time Shuttle to get to the port. They were on time, clean, efficient and reasonably priced (I think about $80 + tip to get 6 of us from Huntington Beach to Long Beach).

Check-In and Embarkation: Efficient and quick, we arrived at the port at 11:45 and were on the ship about an hour later.

The Ship: Nice, clean - the decor did not bother us (although it was not as elegant as other ships we have been on). We liked some of the art work. Overall, it was fine - but did not have the "wow" factor of other ships (like the Royal Promenade on the Royal Caribbean ship). One major issue was that it was much more difficult to navigate than any other ship we have ever been on. Most of the decks did not allow you to walk the entire length of the ship - so there were lots of dead ends and difficulties in getting from A to B. We eventually worked this out, but my mother and aunt never quite got the hang of it, always felt that they were lost and said that this had a real negative impact on their cruise experience. Read more