Family of 4 with 2 teenagers and 50 year old active parents. Previous cruise experience various lines. This was a first time Carnival experience and we came back with a mixed review. We had an assigned time for 12:00 embarkation check in and we were on the ship by 12:30 with a 10 minute wait in line. I would not pay for the upgrade to check in early. Of course the buffet was crowded but we knew that was going to be the case and were ok with the crowd. Rooms were available by 1:30 and all luggage arrived by 5:00. This cruise was different in the the first fancy night was Day 1 due to NY eve festivities....

I as the owner of the account give this cruise a 4 (hubby-1, kids -3, me-4)The only thing I prefer is a ship that is physically maintained not to show rust and more pool space. The 2 small pools (saltwater) could be a deal breaker if it were warmer. We departed from New Orleans in 40 degree weather. Also, if youre leaving from the Gulf it's a bit different then leaving from the Ocean. You are slowly moving trough communities at least 8 hours...

Now on to the good stuff. We had 2 adjoining balcony (9342-9344)rooms on the 9th floor beneath the pool. Not sure how I didn't catch this but I would say if it's not a deal and you don't want to hear the chairs dragging skip this floor. The appointments of the room were typical although the balcony was much smaller than were accustomed to width wise. I'm 5"10 and my knees were not far from hitting the rail. We had 2 different room stewards and both were great. Introductions were made early, room cleaning schedule was made (we opted for 2x per day). We had room service every morning and went to the dining room for brunch or sit down. Both were good options. For lunch we chose the free alternate options which were magnificent (Guys bbq-sea days only), blue iguana Mexican -yum, pizza and guys burgers 5+. For dinner we stayed true to early dining with Lidia and crew taking good care of us. Shows were a bust except for Flick, comedy options were good along with the the different activities throughout the day. All in all I will go back due to the variety of options (even though I didn't like the pool situation)my kids may go back if a newer ship and there are more active options and my husband will never go back...our itinerary of Grand Cayman, Montego Bay and Cozuml was great. We did excusions involving the beach on all stops ( we typically veer out to the beach on our own) and had a great time. The highlight was Stingray city....I can honestly say this was one cruise where I didn't encounter the Cruise Director..Due to cooler weather he may not have been in typical places, but that was ok. My husband and I skipped the drink package and went for a Spa pass. The spa was thigh light and we enjoyed tha entities all days excep one. The fitness center was average (the ceilings felt too low) but the class offerings were good. I would sum,arise this by saying if you're easy going and know how to make a good time out of most you will have a great time. If you have things that are a must please assess the feedback to your must list. As a side note if you have issues with smoking please pay close attention as to where this is allowed..