While not my personal favorite, Carnival puts out a very good product. Especially for a first-timer.
One thing not mentioned ... Cell Phone(s).
Once you get onboard, turn off your cell (and your son's) and lock them away. The cruise line won't charge you for using the phone, but they will charge your cellular provider for your air time and they will pass that cost on to you! Here's the kicker ... When you use your cell on the ship, the signal is picked up by the nearest cell tower.
Guess where that is? That's right. It's on the ship.
Then the signal is processed by the ship's relay equipment and converted to a sattelite signal, beamed up to the sattelite network and relayed back to the world. The cost? Well, in addition to whatever your cell provider charges you for regular usage, you're also looking at roaming charges, international service and most importantly ... sattelite time ... at an additional rate of up to $9.75 per minute (or fraction thereof) and yes, that does include texting ... !!
I have read reports of families with a couple teenagers getting cell bills in excess if $1,700 for a week's worth of chatting and texting ...
Fore-warned is fore-armed!
