On 2/04/12 we took our third Carnival Cruise. This was the first time we had taken less than a seven day cruise, had a room without a balcony, or cruised on a Carnival ship more than two years old.
First let me start with embarkation. Actually, it wasn't too bad. We had a couple of glitches because we had to move people around in cabins, and that messed-up security for two of our passengers requiring those passengers to go through extra stations to get Sign and Sail cards, but that's about it.
The next thing we noticed was that while the ship had been remodeled, it looked "tired" on the outside. The inside was much better (very clean) with the exception the dining room we were assigned had oxidized metal around the windows which made it apparent we were on an old ship. It was a little depressing to be dressed nicely for dinner and then feel like you were sitting in a scowl if you were sitting next to a window.