This was our first Carnival cruise, after having taken about a dozen others on other cruise lines. In general, we had a great time.

I thought the food in the dining room was quite good - at least as good as other cruise lines. The food on the Lido deck was more hit-and-miss, but we could always find something we liked. The Pizza counter offered several pre-made varieties (no custom-made pizzas)that were acceptable, although it got to be a joke that every time we asked for some, they said "in 7 minutes". The iced tea, however, was horrible. If they can't brew fresh tea, they shouldn't serve it. I ended up brewing my own with tea bags that were available near the coffee stations, and pouring it over cups of ice. We also found it odd that even when they serve breakfast until 11a.m., they stop serving orange juice at 10a.m.. Is that really necessary? The waiters in the dining room stay very busy. One night we didn't get our entree until after 10pm. But I know they were trying very hard, and generally did a great job.

We arrived at the ship for Embarkation at 12:15, and found some lengthy lines, but they moved along fairly well. We were on board in about an hour. We were allowed to go to our cabins at 1:30. Read more