Embarkation: Carnival was extremely efficient in the boarding area with more than 20 ticketing agents checking people in. Didn't wait more than 10 mins in line to get to one. By the time we were finished with this process we were able to just get our sail & sign card w/no wait & then walk right on without waiting because the huge lines were already gone. We went immediately to our room & dropped off our carryons. The pool was filled right when we boarded on day 1 & in use. I was surprised about this. I swear we were told that the lunch buffet was on the Lido deck by the pool & so we went there where hamburgers & hot dogs were being served. When we finished we walked toward the Brassiere & what a surprise they had this huge buffet. So we did indulge in all the delicious desserts they had. So be sure to go further inside when you first arrive on the Lido Deck. I then thought to look at my card to confirm we had the early seating (6:15PM) for dinner as that what we requested & it also appeared on the screen when I had checked 'My Reservation' online. Well we had been given the latest seating at 8:30PM.

We went immediately to the Matre D'. He informed us that the boat was completely full & there was absolutely no openings in the early dining room. I asked to be put on a waiting list in case someone else requested a change. I knew we would have late seating the 1st night but hoped we could get changed for the remainder of the cruise. We checked back the next day & no luck. So we just decided to make the best of it & plan our days accordingly. The Lifeboat drill was scheduled for 4:30PM & we still had not sailed away by that time. The drill went very smooth. I don't think we waited more than 10 minutes after we arrived at our Muster Station. So after we returned our life jackets we went up on deck to await departure. Even though the itinerary online says departure would be at 4PM, it did not happen until 6Pm. We were disappointed that we were sailing down the channel in the dark, but we remained outside to watch the ship go under the Sunshine Bridge & it was quite impressive. Then back quickly to our room to change & get to dinner at 8:30. We were at a table for 10 w/3 other couples & these people pretended that no one else was at the table. It was the strangest thing I ever experienced. Fortunately that was the only night that they were all there & it seemed like each night we had different people & that was fine with me as they were all way more pleasant. Our female wait staff was very efficient & we were always done with dinner each night by 9:30PM. I thought that must be a record, because I had heard others state how long their dinners had been. We went to the Welcome Aboard Show. The CD was Marahscalh Stanton & he did grow on me after awhile. We then retired for the night, it had been a long day.

Day 2: I woke up very early & ordered room service coffee & danish. It was delivered very promptly & I tipped the young lady extra. Later we decided to just do the breakfast buffet, but the seas were very rough that day & I stuck to just eating cold cereal & an apple. The staff was very nice & always asking how we were feeling. Dear husband & I both took Bonine & it helped. We spent the rest of the morning laying by the pool & sleeping off the effects of the Bonine. I looked for evidence of lounge chair saving by the pool & never saw any abuse of it. We always found a nice lounge chair the entire cruise. Also, we never used the beach towels in our room. I preferred to use the pool towels & return them after we used them each time. We ate all our lunches in the Mardi Gras dining room. The selections were always good & we had some of our best dining companions at these meals. We basically spent a very lazy day at sea & when we found out we didn't get the early seating dinner, we got some pizza to tide us over for dinner. It was very hot & very good. We finally visited the Casino & over the course of the cruise I ended up losing all of my mad money that I had squirreled away. I did enter the Slots tournament & made the final 10, but placed 4th overall, so no dough for me. We got ready for Formal Nite & attended the Captains party. The drinks were plentiful & they brought the snacks around quite often. I have heard others say that if you don't like what's on the trays of drinks you can get one at the bar. I didn't see a bar set up in the Paris Lounge, so I am not sure about being able to do that. Read more