My wife and I recently celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary and thought a cruise would be a beautiful way to celebrate. We chose carnival because of the price and reputation as a fun line for our first cruise. Am I ever happy with my choice !! We had a blast. Upon reading many reviews and opinions, we went with a positive attitude and ready for fun... After all, a whole week with no kids or phones couldn't possibly be ruined.

ROOM

We booked the cat 11 sweet on the verandah deck and loved it. I called ahead and purchased the room decorations and sail away gift pack customized for anniversaries and my wife melted when we entered the room. I was very happy with the suite and the balcony, simply beautiful and spotless. Our room steward was polite, fast and nearly invisible the whole stay. When we needed something, he provided it with a smile. I have to mention also, the bedding is wonderful also. My wife always carries her own pillow because hotel pillow are notoriously terrible. She didn't need one on this cruise, Carnival's bedding was perfect. My wife and I also enjoy a drink now and then. We brought on a bottle of our favorite for when we were in the room and our room steward was nice enough to make sure we always had fresh ice for our drinks.

FOOD

We definitely enjoyed the food. Lido was a little bland, but honestly, how can anyone cook a buffet style meal and please everyone? It was convenient and satisfying, who can ask for more? The Coconut Grove bar and grill was also very good. Great presentation and value, good food, and once again very convenient. We only attended one dining room meal on formal night. It was great, I had the prawns as an appetizer and 2 lobster tails. One of the best tails I've ever had. My wife had the soup and lobster and loved it. We had Great service, the service staff was very entertaining and more than polite and courteous. NO COMPLAINTS AT ALL ON FOOD !!

ENTERTAINMENT

We attended both shows, and had a blast. Excellent Vegas style entertainment. We were actually shocked at how good the shows were. The lido deck entertainment was also fun, we had a blast at the hairy chest competition.

EXCURSIONS

Since we live in Fort Lauderdale we did not go into Key West as we've been there many times. We just stayed onboard and enjoyed the ship. We did however disembark in Calica with the intention of taking a taxi into Playa and doing some shopping. We went to the taxi stand and were rented a vehicle and driver to take us to Cancun for the day and be our personal driver for $140US. What a deal !! We had a blast, stopped where we wanted, rode around, had a ball !! WOW IS THE SILVER JEWELRY CHEAP IN MEXICO !!!! REAL TOO !!!

MISC

Overall we had a blast. I couldn't find ONE thing to complain about. I don't understand what the negative reviews are from? They must be cruising on a different planet or trying to find problems. Were already planning our next Carnival cruise and cant wait.