Well I must admit that the gentleman that just wrote a review must have read mine before he submitted his. I could not agree with his dissection of this ship more plainly than he did. I would like to add though that I did not find the dining room food as good as he thought it was. The help was super, the menu was great, the preparation just lacked about everything starting with taste. I actually found the food in the Lido better as far as flavor. We never could get reservations at the Golden Fleece, which is the elite extra cost dining room. I read their menu several times and it was extraordinary from the comments we heard.
The embarkation as the gentlemen stated was horrible. We were there early, about noon, and it was 2:45 before we entered the gangway. We have been on 8 cruises with Carnival and hold VIP status, big deal. There was not a VIP line, not any considerations for the VIP card holders, and after boarding in 7 other ports, I can promise you that New York is the absolute worst. From the time you leave the cab or limo at the curb until you get on the ship, you stand, and stand, and stand.
The room was really nice, extra large with an additional 20 feet of balcony. Plenty of room to move around and plenty of storage. We had absolutely the finest cabin stewards to be found. The only problem with the room, it was directly under the swimming pools and Lido buffet. They rolled carts and jumped up and down all night. Also, we left in the whip of Hurricane Jeanne and on the 8th floor, we were pitched all over the bed in rough seas. I do not know if the stabilizers were not working correctly or if the newer ships have better ones, but we sailed on the Conquest in Hurricane Bill last year and on the same floor and never had the kind of rock and roll that came with this room. In an "I" category room, you should not have to overcome such obstacles.