Let me start by saying the staff on the ship is very friendly and helpful. The ship public areas and the cabins were very clean. I am also aware that there were over 3000 guests onboard, but Carnival did very little to utilize the ships size and public space to make the atmosphere less like a day at a ballpark than a cruise. (Deck 5 aft on the outside deck is probably the best place to get a little quiet space with an amazing view)

I chose this cruise to start my sons off on their summer vacation. And being on a Carnival cruise before, I knew it would be fun for them and it was, but they spent most of their time in the cabin during the day due to the overcrowded pools and hot tubs. There were literally 30 people at one time in the pool and gave little room to "swim" it was more like standing in the pool which my kids nick-named Texas Stew. We found that after dinner was the best time to go into the pools and hot tubs.

During the day, when not at port there was little activities. The clubs for teens were for younger teens were opened at night, but for your average 16 year old the activities weren't really for filling. Which leads me to my long review on the food, because there was really nothing much else to do but eat and gamble, if you can find a machine to sit at or sit and watch a 20 year old movie on the big screen on the lido deck. They did show Dune but it was very crowded and they charge $3 for a box of popcorn that they should have been giving away for free because it was very bland. Read more