Hello and congratularions on your upcoming trip!
As a couple others have stated, bo not try and compare your cruises.
Nothing takes the place of the first and each are good & bad in vatious ways.
The really great thing about Carnival is that you can do as much or as little as you want, but they do give you a lot of choices!
I also have to agree on the shows. If you do want to see them you need to get there an hour ealry and sit through bingo for a good seat. All the shows fill up early.
Same goes for the popular shore excursions.
If there is something that you want to do for sure, grab the list on your way to your cabin as you board. Look it over right away and drop it back off before you do anything else. They assign the excusions in the order they are placed in the box so you want it in there ASAP.
Carnival does give you the chance to have your picture taken a lot and my advice is do it!
It's something to do and cost nothing unless you buy. Besides, chances are that you will want at least one good picture and the more that you have to choose from the better.
Things will go wrong and you will probably forget some small details.
Try not to worry about it and DON'T let it ruin your trip.
. >>What kind of “adult†things would you guys recommend doing?<< 
Sorry to laugh here but as 'adults' in our mid-40's, we actually try to be the "party people" that you are trying to leave behind!
My advice is just go and do you what ever suits your fancy at the moment.
See a show, book a shore excursion or just sit on the deck and eat pizza at 3AM.
We did all that and enjoyed every second of it!
Enjoy your short countdown and cruise!
