I've never encountered the notorious party atmosphere that Carnival is said to have. I've never been on a cruise shorter than 7 days though, so I've always assumed that happens on the shorter weekend cruises. I agree that people who like to talk about this stereotype have either never been on a Carnival cruise, or have only taken short weekend party cruises. Carnival is definitely fun, but I wouldn't say I've ever seen any over the top rowdiness.