Weeks prior to boarding the ship, I was apprehensive due to the massive flood of negative reviews of the ship. Poor food, atrocious public spaces, dated facilities, just to name a few. When we boarded, I was relieved to find out that the ship itself was presentable. Sure, it lacked all the bells and whistles of the newer Carnival ships, but it had its own charms that came with a smaller mid-sized ship. The immediate red flag that I encountered (and saw on plenty of reviews) were the lines for the Lido Buffet. Easily the most congested buffet I had ever seen, with cramped walkways and dining spaces. The buffet options were quite limited, though they did switch up some of the options during the duration of our cruise. Several reviews mentioned that the food was never warm, but my sailing always delivered warm food that tasted solid. It's not masterclass 5-star cuisine, but it was presentable. Sticking to food, the MDR was a pleasant surprise. The rotating menus gave us the choice of selecting new and interesting dishes. Some of the dishes were letdowns, but I'm grateful that Carnival allows you to choose up to two entrees in case one didn't meet your standards. Our cabin was on par with other ships in Carnival's fleet (the bathroom worked!), seemed dated but livable for the week. The staff worked their hardest and well, so we always appreciate and greeted them whenever we walked by. By far, the facilities were probably the biggest letdown. Outside of the theater shows in the evening and a few activities scattered around the day, the ship felt small and there wasn't much to do. Once you explored the entire ship, you got bored quickly. The ship had quite possibly the saddest mini-golf course I had ever seen, and the top decks were uncharacteristically barren for a Carnival ship. Hopefully the ship gets updated in the future, but for what it is currently, Luminosa is a painfully average mid-tier ship that does its best in the conditions it’s given.