We sailed from Port Everglades on October 31st. The ship was late arriving that day due to a "medical emergency" on the previous trip. Carnival's notification was to leave a message on my home phone (unfortunately it was left after I had departed). We arrived at the pier around 3:00PM and were then placed on buses to be taken to an off site banquet facility. Once there we were herded into large rooms and offered cold cuts and dessert. We spent about 3 hours at this holding facility before finally being able to return to the ship and board. The security check before boarding was almost nonexistent. They were simply trying to get us aboard as quickly as possible. A portion of our luggage was at the stateroom and the final piece appeared when we returned from dinner.

We enjoyed the room (Spa Deck cabin 1110) which was very clean and well maintained. Our cabin steward and his assistant performed marvelously throughout the week and they were the highlight as far as crew interaction. They were unobtrusive, but always got the job done with excellence.

Food service left a great deal to be desired. Our waiter and his assistant seemed overloaded and unable to give attention to us. Our first night in the dining room took right at 2 hours with most of that time spent waiting for the staff. The assistant waiter came to the table once at the beginning of the meal and then reappeared at dessert. This was a pattern that was repeated throughout the week. The maiter d must have been able to read the disgust of the guests at our table because he did not come by and speak with us at all that first evening. Service improved slightly on the following nights, but it was not at the level that I have had on previous Carnival cruises. Read more