We were on this same cruise. It was my 11th on Carnival and DW's 7th.
I went with really low expectations after having taken the Liberty on a 3 night Memorial Day weekend cruise this past May.
THE PROS
This was our first cruise on a Spirit Class vessel and we absolutely loved the layout of the ship. Far better than the Conquest class. Service was excellent by both the wait staff and the cabin steward. The shows were typical but decent. Nano in the piano bar was a lot of fun and we stopped by there 3-4 evenings.
We had no issues at all with the change in the ports due to Ian. We'd just been to Bimini on the Liberty in May so we knew where to go and what to expect. Nassau was way more of a madhouse in town than I remember but we did the excursion to the Blue Lagoon Island in the afternoon and loved it!
Embarkation at Baltimore is a BREEZE. It is so easy and I've never had that easy of a time anywhere except with Princess in FLL.
THE CONS
Serenity isn't really serene anymore. With the addition of live music in the afternoon it isn't very peaceful, even though it is a steel drum with a backing track. It was also very crowded because it seems to be the largest area for people to be on deck during sea days.
There is no dress code or enforcement of whatever dress code exists. I witnessed a man without a shirt eating in the buffet. No one said a thing. There were also men with cut off/sleeveless tshirts and baseball caps eating in the dining room. If Carnival is going to permit this that's fine, but don't publish a dress code and then not abide by it.
Multiple times we smelled marijuana and also cigarettes being smoked on balconies near us, despite a sticker on the balcony door stating there is a $500 fine for smoking on the balcony. Again, if Carnival isn't going to enforce the rules why have them?
CONCLUSION
This will probably be my last time on Carnival after 11 cruises with them. I really found in 2019 that Princess is far more preferable to what I'm looking for in a wide variety of ways. Mostly we've outgrown the loud drinking all night kind of crowd (if that's your thing no judgement from me, just not us as we approach 60) and things were a bit more serene/subdued on Princess so we are going back with them in February.
I guess I'm turning into a fuddy duddy old man so take my review for what it is worth LOL😁
