We chose our cruise for a quick get away to break from my ever stressful job. Plus my wife's birthday was on October 20th so we decided to do something relaxing and fun. We booked the Carnival Paradise knowing it wasn't going to be fancy and possibly full of interesting individuals! Needless to say we were so pleasantly surprised. This ship, although older and smaller than some was absolutely great! It had some of the best entertainment that we've experienced on any other cruise line throughout our 25 other cruises we have been on. The food was exceptional in the main dining room and the wait staff, assistant maitre'd, the hostess, all the way down to the cooks were the most friendly we've ever experienced. We booked an interior cabin but enjoyed the darkness and coolness during the day and took some naps where we caught up with some much needed rest. We met great friends along the way who also enjoyed this ship as much as we did. Our favorite thing on the ship was a trio called "Skye Breeze" which consisted of 1 Viola, 1 regular Violin and one Electric Violin. They were from the Ukraine. They took modern classics from Queen, Aerosmith, Rush, Nirvana, the Beatles, Shakira, Taylor Swift, etc. and put them to a classical violin genre. It was mesmerizing and captivating to just sit in the atrium and listen to them. Would I book the Paradise again? Absolutely. Would I book Carnival agan? ABSOLUTELY!!! This was the cleanest ship we've been on and the staff is constantly scrubbing, sweeping and polishing the brass on the entire ship. Way to go Carnival!! This was completely unexpected but pleasantly accepted!!