I chose this cruise because of the high ratings the ship received for families. I have cruised with Carnival on different ships 2 other times as well as sailing with RCL and DCL. I booked the cruise as a gift to my husband for his 40th birthday. The ship had a scheduled dry dock which ended prior to this sailing. I thought that meant maintenance would be completed and the ship would be in top condition. Boy, was I mistaken.

The first day of our cruise was cancelled as well as one of our 2 stops. We were notified of this while traveling from Michigan. We were offered the opportunity to cancel with a full refund which I thought was nice, however, I was just arriving into New Orleans and thought we could make the most of the trip. We planned on renting a car anyway to get from New Orleans to Mobile and had a hotel booked in Biloxi. We were compensated with $50 per person on board credit and one day of our cruise fare credited to the on board account. I was completely satisfied with this. We decided to book a room in Mobile for the night that we would have been on the ship. Choices were limited because of a football event happening in Mobile, but we stayed within walking distance to the terminal and the price was not too bad. The weather was cold and windy the day of embarkation, but my spirits were high because I knew it would get warmer as we headed to Mexico.

Embarkation was extremely smooth. The best I have ever experienced. Everyone was helpful and friendly. We got right onto the ship with no wait and we carried our own luggage to our cabin. Some crew members even offered assistance to myself and my 8 year old daughter on the stairs which I thought was really great. Read more