This was our first cruise on this ship, but our 6th on Carnival. The trip started a little rough because the ship had landed late from the previous sailing, so there was a back-up at the dock for embarkation. It took us almost two hours to get on the ship and this was without a doubt the worst embarkation experience we've had on any ship. I hope that Carnival will streamline this process for this port. Even the smaller port of Galveston, which we've sailed from three times, had a wonderfully smoother embarkation process. By the way, the whole "Fun Pass" process didn't matter one way or the other, everyone still had to wait and be processed like so many cattle.
However, once on the ship, the pain of getting on was soon forgotten. We were pleasantly surprised to see that we were upgraded from a guaranteed 4A cabin (inside) to a 6A outside cabin with a partially blocked balcony. I would definitely try to book a cabin with a balcony again - it was lovely, even with the life boat right there. Our cabin was the most spacious we've had on any cruise, with more than enough storage space for two of us, and the interactive TV definitely is an improvement over having to stand at the purser's desk to buy shore tours, check your sail & sign account, etc. You can also rent and watch first run movies from your cabin, which helps when you aren't in the mood for swimming, bingo or other activities.
This ship makes you feel really elegant - with its tiled mosaic floors in many areas, sweeping staircases, plush lounges and sitting areas and of course, the 8-story atrium with the glass elevators.