Took a Thanksgiving cruise with three adults, three kids and three cabins. Overall the cruise was a lot of fun but felt like a cattle call at times. The kids had a blast.

Paying to upgrade to a balcony cabin is akin to paying to upgrade to the smoking section of a restaurant. Several times we had to leave the balcony as the people around us lit up, and our neighbor was sitting just a few feet away even though there was a divider between us. One time upon returning from an excursion, the room smelled like smoke, and I called housekeeping to tell them that the room smelled like smoke, and it wasn't me doing the smoking, and I didn't want to be billed for it. The problem was worst while in port and not so bad while cruising because the wind took the smoke away. Carnival should restrict balcony smokers to one side of the ship.

My time dining could also be called "Wait Until We Are Ready Dining". Some nights were better than others, but we typically waited in line 15 minutes and were seated. Two nights after waiting, we were given a pager. The worst night was Thanksgiving when it was over an hour from the time we got in line until we had our first food other than bread and water. Granted it was Thanksgiving week. We had three wait teams who were very good and on top of things and three wait teams who were slower. The staff were all very friendly, but the impression was that they were super busy. Read more