We chose this cruise because the itinerary included Cuba, which we wanted to visit. I most likely wouldn't have chosen this ship otherwise. That said, I don't get what all the complaints are about! I'm on my 20th Carnival cruise so I've seen a lot of ships. It's true this one is smaller and doesn't have a few amenities like the Seaside Theatre but it still had plenty of other things you would find on other ships like Guy's Burgers, Sushi, Punchliner Comedy Club, mini-golf, Serenity deck, etc. It had a few very chill areas to relax on that you don't find on other ships too that I appreciated since the layout is different (in a good way). The smaller size meant fewer people which wasn't a bad thing either when it came to lines for food, port debarkation, etc.

The food was decent too. Perhaps not quite as good as some of the other ships but other reviews had me expecting trash and it was far from that lol. Cabins were like any other ship for the most part imo (we had an Oceanview). The entertainment was good as far as music and comedians go. There was actually a live Salsa band in one of the lounges and dance lessons on one of the sea days which was fun. The cruise director Erin was just as good as other ships as well, so there was plenty to do. Room steward, waitstaff, etc also all gave the same high level of service I always have on Carnival so not sure why some people had a bad experience there.

Bottom line, don't try to compare this ship to the Breeze or Vista. That would be like comparing Lake Michigan (which is indeed nice) to the Caribbean Sea (which is next level nice). The one thing I will caution is that final debarkation took a long time. There were only TWO customs agents that morning and there were probably about 2K people getting off. A few folks missed their flights so if you book a cruise to Cuba and have to fly to Miami be careful with how early your return flight leaves. Also, if you're looking for a tour in Havana go with Blexie. Much less expensive than Carnival's tours and far better. Rosio was the best!