Carnival Going Downhill

I have been on over 25 cruises and have sailed on Carnival for the majority of them and I must say that they are certainly cutting corners on the quality of food in the dining room.  The selection was poor and the only way to get a decent steak is to pay a $20 surcharge in the dining room or go to the specialty restaurants for $35 per guest.  The grilled salmon was always overrcooked and the Caesar salad dressing and soups tasted watered down lacking flavor.  I really didn't expect to see fried chicken and lasgana on the dinner menu as I can eat that at home.  The food on Lido hasn't changed in the past 20 years.  You will be fine if you want hamburgers, fries, hotdogs, and pizza. We had anytime dining for dinner and only had one decent waiter.  Several could not get the orders correct and one even told us they were leaving  Carnival in three months as it was so bad compared to Royal and Celebrity cruise lines.  The balcony cabin was very small and don't plan on smoking on it after October 9, 2014 as they are smoke free including electronic cigs.  Also, they have moved all smoking from Lido open deck on one side of the ship to deck 10 were there was little shade.  They finally put about 12 chairs out with umbrellas after so many complained. Expect to pay over $7 for one beer and about $12 for drinks.  Cozumel  and Isle of Rotan were good but not much to do unless you book an excursion except shop in the same stores at all ports.  Belize and Costa Maya were boring with little to do.  Costa Maya we were met with security with machine guns and afraid to go outside the cruise area which had a few shops and Carlos and Charlie's and Senior Frogs. Drinks were over $18-27 for one mixed drink depending on the size and a beer was $7.  Overall, I was disappointed and plan on paying a little more and going on Royal, Norwegian, or Celebrity.  The quality of cruisers will also be much better as most didn't attempt to dress appropriately for dinner and most we observed didn't have any manners. If this is all you can afford save up for a better cruise line is my recommendation.  The only great part was the one main show  in the Venetian Lounge and the late night comics.  There was nothing to do during the day if you came back from port but eat or lay in the sun.  No activities were going on until after sailing that evening.  Also plan for a bad Port Canaveral experience with little directions on how to get to your ship, dropping off luggage, and parking attendants rude and you pay $120 to park there.