ARIZONACRUIZIN

This was the first time on this ship and in reading some reviews from other websites we were a little nervous of what we would experience.  However we found the ship to be very nice and the staff was great.  Everything we have come to expect when cruising Carnival met our expectations.  As reported from others, some of the venues were a bit small such as the comedy club,  from where we sat we could only see the comedian on a TV screen but we still enjoyed the show. No problem finding chairs in Serenity but in the Lido Buffet area many people use the seating for playing games and reading which made finding seats a bit difficult.  Only disappointment was in the boarding process, we are Platinum and that went very smoothly but for this entire group they did not offer the welcome aboard pictures. We did had others that had purchased Faster to the Fun and they boarded next but their cabins were not ready.

We had an AFT Balcony Havana Cabin whereas the cabin was nice but these cabins have no privacy due to the Havana area below.  With Balcony cabins you can leave your curtains open to enjoy the view of the ocean. With the Aft cabins you cannot since the Havana area can see directly into your cabin ad balcony area.  The Havana area was great, no large crowds but would no book these cabins again.  Also you can hear the Havana bands playing until 12:45am nightly. 

This was our first experience with the American Table, very disappointing for us.  We do not eat seafood and the other items were not to our liking, They have the Steak and Chicken option but we found the Chicken overcooked and very dry. 

Overall we really enjoyed the staff and the ship.  Not as fancy as previous ships but some of the new areas were great, Skyride, BBQ

The overall vacation experience was great. We really enjoy the relaxation of the sea days and we spent the majority of this time in the Serenity Area which was very peaceful.  At times it was crowded and we noticed the same people taking lounge chairs that would disappear for hours.  I notified the person at the desk but they didn't do anything even though many people were looking for a place to relax.  The food was very good and the menu selection was better than I anticipated for a 15 day cruise.  The service in the MDR was ok, but in the defense of the waiters, there were people coming in up to an hour late.  That really disrupts the service for everyone for the tables they serve.  The only other issue was with the times the Sports Bar and Alchemy Bars would open.  They would post a time but this would be the time the staff began to setup so the area would not be open for 30 minutes past the time posted.  Also in the Sports Bar they would have events listed but no one available to change the channels.  We had to to go Guest Services and then wait sometimes 30+ minutes for someone to be located to come in.  We had outstanding service from the waiters in the Casino. We would put this cruise with itineraries we would do again.