It's not that bad. I cant help much because i'm going on my first NCL cruise in a few weeks, but I've been on many Carnival cruises as well as Princess and Celebrity. Carnival is definitely a lively crowd, everyone is there to have a good time, and they do! In my experience Carnival has a ton of kids, and most of the parents let them run wild, so I would pick a week that is NOT during a school break. The food is subjective, I think its pretty low quality in the MDR and buffet but the other restaurants like guys burgers, the bbq, blue iquana and all the newer ones open during lunch are pretty great, which I missed on other cruise lines. There is a good amount of entertainment on Carnival, comedy all week, piano bar, shows etc, something every night where the other lines I've gone on didn't have that. I think NCL might be comparable in that regard but don't know yet. Plenty of variety with the bars too if you're a drinker. Carnival does a lot well, but the product is definitely changing, more nickel and diming but I think that's the same of all cruise lines now. Let me know if you have any specific questions maybe I can help. (I'm also from Central CT, Manchester to be exact)