I took a Carnival cruise from 9 to 16 October to Nassau, St. Thomas, and St. Martin.

This ship holds close to 3,000 passengers so it took a while to load. The loading area was very hot and we had some people pass out. If you sail on this ship arrive at port early, lets say by 9:30 a.m. This should reduce the wait in line.

Once on board things went well. The ship is less than one-year old and still seems new. Cabins were nice and I liked my stateroom with balcony.

For the entire trip the food was good. Same goes with the overall service. The crewmembers and staff were very accommodating.

Once we left Nassau the seas got rough. Matter of fact we had some seven foot seas. This ship really rocked and rolled in spite of its 900' plus length. Wife and many others became deathly sea sick. Eating dinner was challenging. Kind of like eating during an earthquake that just won't end.

If you want to avoid food lines at Rosie's place go upstairs to the fish and chips place (noon only). Never a crowd as most passengers don't know about the place.

We stayed on the 8th deck. Seemed to be a lot of kids running the passageways. Where are their parents? Alse some people like to party all night in the passageways. There are 23 bars on this ship and they chose the passageways.

Carnival has a great kids program. I don't have kids but those who did really praised this setup.

If I was 21 again I would like Carnival just fine. Now in my dotage I like peace and quiet so I would try another line although wife says she is done cruising. Carnival does have great prices. The emabarkation procedure went about as well as could be expected. I was off the ship in about one-half hour and bags were in place with nothing lost or pilfered. If you don't like lines try a smaller ship.