Birthday cruise

Booked this cruise spur of the moment in late December without knowing a thing about the ship; we had sailed on Carnival about 6 times prior so I knew what to expect.  As the sailing date drew closer I checked out some online reviews and I was SHOCKED to see so many negative ones!!  I was really starting to worry because I was so looking forward to this trip.....turns out you definitely CANNOT believe everything (in this case, ANYTHING) you read online.  Everything was wonderful!!  The ship is beautiful and well maintained, the crew is constantly cleaning and polishing everything in sight!  Our room was a nice size considering we had an inside cabin (due to the last minute booking) and our 10 year old daughter loved the retractable roof over the main pool; this meant she was able to swim as soon as we set sail!!  She also had a great time in Camp Carnival, made lots of new friends and attended every single "night owl" party (which BTW, is worth EVERY penny of the nominal fee!).

The food was really good at the buffet with a nice selection at lunchtime (which was open until 2:30-3pm every day!).  The Tandoor and deli by the adults only pool were incredible and I highly recommend checking both out for lunch.  The waitstaff in the dining room went above and beyond to provide exceptional service and the Pinnacle Restaurant (we ate there on my birthday) was outstanding.  Overall, the portion sizes were nice and big and the selection was also sizeable.  You will NOT go hungry on this ship!

I am really into fitness and signed up for the 4 session Boot Camp for $130; worth EVERY PENNY!  Cosmin (trainer) was awesome and put me through the wringer; I didn't feel as guilty eating all the bread and dessets after I took his class :o).

We are very experienced cruisers and have sailed on most of the bigger lines as well as some more exclusive ones and I have to say, for the price and the convienece of leaving from NY (we live in CT) Carnival does NOT disappoint.