This was our first cruise and we selected the Carnival line primarily because it was the only line to offer a cruise which included Christmas Day and New Years Day. We booked a flight from Pisa to Miami and spent five days in Fort Lauderdale before the cruise. It was a pleasant suprise to find we had been upgraded to a balcony room (we had booked oceanview GUAR). The boarding process was fairly efficient; although we had completed and printed all the necessary documents before boarding we still found ourselves in a long queue with all other passengers. We couldn't really understand the need to complete forms pre boarding if we had to queue with others who hadn't. There weren't any signs to say there was priority boarding, so the next time we shall find out beforehand what to expect. Our luggage arrived promptly (within the hour), and our cabin steward introduced himself. Throughout the cruise the cabin staff were always very friendly, hard working and polite, as were the dining room staff. The cruise,cruiseline and island visits lived up to our expectations. However,we were disappointed with the bad service given by the Pursers desk, and their offhanded attitude towards their clients. We had reason to visit this desk at least half a dozen times during the cruise as our sail and sign account was never correct. We also found most of our fellow passengers to be quite rude, noisy and with a total lack of dress sense. (don't forget this was Christmas and the New Year). This cruise also had a large number of quite unruly children whose parents seem to care little about where and what their offspring were doing. Finally, we were horrified at the constant request for 'tips' from the Islands we visited and also the staff on the pre and post transfer buses. Perhaps this is because we are European and are not used to this. We 'tip' when we have received service over and above what one would expect, not as a matter of course. Generally speaking though we did enjoy our cruise and are looking at cruising again but not during children's holidays.