It was okay...

This was our first cruise with Carnival and I know I won't go on one of their Pride-sized ships again.  Embarking went well, but we had priority boarding due to having a mini-suite.  I did pick the wrong week to cruise from Baltimore (or NY) due to it being winter break for the school kids.  Heard there were aprox 600 kids on-board meaning the pools and hottubs were full at all times.  The adults-only area (Serenity) is a joke.  It was packed except when it was cold (days coming in/out of Baltimore).  I also had some spa activities.  Massage was great!  Nails and hair, not so much.  With 2 days at sea on each end, there just isn't enough to do onboard unless one is drunk or gambles.  I got the bubbles soda package and was very disappointed with it.  With my other cruises (not Carnival), purchasing a reusable cup comes with the package (it is extra and not needed for this program) and can be refilled ANYWHERE by any wait staff.  Carnival only gives drinks from the bar meaning when at dinner, we had to flag down a bar-staff person and it would be 10 minutes before they came back with the drink, forget getting a refill.  There was no incentive for them to help someone with a soda card as there was no automatic tip.  To top it off, even at the bar, the sodas were poured from a can not a fountain system.  This particular cruise has 2 seadays on either end (as mentioned before).  In following the cruise map, we hugged the coast.  I'm not a mariner, but wouldn't it be quicker just making a straight line down?  The port stops were short except for Port Canaveral.  When I cruise, I'm not planning on my longest port stop being in the states.  Freeport was extremely short, we made it back from our short excursion with 20 minutes to spare.  I also would like more dining options.  24-hr pizza was great, but the staff was inconsistent in the types as well as any organization in taking orders.  The caeser salad offered with pizza was in premade bowls sitting under the top counter. There was a grill that was open longer hours, but I only noticed it open a couple of times.  David's was very good and the service exceptional!  As for our room steward, ours was also exceptional. We also had a virus going around.  We weren't notified by staff, but the buffet staff started serving everyone, but not stopping those that grabbed the utensils anyway.  Plus staff was walking around with gloves and buckets with sponges and disinfectant.

Maybe we are used to larger ships (between this and a Breakaway size) that have more to offer during the sailing.