We first decided to return to Carnival, after not sailing that line since 2007 (sailing RCCL and NCL) because I had reward points to redeem, giving me a pretty great deal. I booked it, keeping an open mind. As the year went on since booking it, I read some fabulous reviews, and began getting more and more excited. Let me tell you we were very pleasantly surprised. Carnival was 100% more fun than the other lines, totally living up to their slogan as the Fun Ships. Our CD was “Donkey”, and I can honestly say he was the best CD we ever had in all our cruises. The ship had entertainment galore, music happening everywhere, and we caught comedy shows nearly every night. Top it off with Dive In Movies out on Lido deck, was a great way to unwind at night. There were plenty of bars, but we loved the Red Frog Pub. The food was out of this world! Great grab-and-go choices for day, and the MDR food was always hot and tasty and varied. We had YTD, in Sapphire Dining Room on Deck 3 fwd, and requested Roxanne and Jenni every night as head waitress and assistant waitress. They were the best!! We were a little shocked at the buffet lines, though. We did not experience that on RCCL or NCL, as they were set up as “stations” that you just popped over to, but Carnival had a long line into their buffet, which pretty much kept us away from the buffet, unless we showed up at 7am when it opened, and most people were still sleeping. We ate at the Sea Day Brunch on both sea days, and loved it. We ate lunch every day at either Guys Burgers, Pig and Anchor BBQ, Blue Iguana Cantina, the Deli, our the Pasta Bar. All great choices, and helped us avoid the crazy buffet lines. That is one area Carnival needs to redesign and improve on. The other area that we disliked, was all the smoke in the casino. I thought smokers had to stay in a separate area, but they were everywhere, and it kept us out of casino most times. But all in all, Carnival deserved the high over all rating I gave it as it was a truly fabulous cruise, and excellent ship. Can’t wait for my next one! I have the Magic booked for my 50th Anniversary in 2020. This cruise was my 49th Anniversary celebration. Oh, BTW, we had FTTF, which I will buy hands down any time it’s offered. I loved that it took me only 10 minutes from hotel shuttle to seat in priority waiting area, then right on ship and to cabin before the huge masses board. FANTASTIC and worth every penny, in my honest opinion.