The first thing we learned was that cruising Carnival Lines means spending huge blocks of time standing in Carnival lines. It’s looks like the Motor Vehicle Bureau on steroids.
To be fair, you’ll really only stand in line: (a) to get on the ship; (b) to get off the ship; (c) to get something to eat outside the dining room; (d) to enter or leave the photo gallery; (e) to buy anything at the shops and (f) anyplace else that isn’t your cabin, the casino or one of the lounges after the shows. On the other hand, once you stand in 4 different lines just to get aboard, the shock wears off. After that, standing in just one line (no matter how huge) is somewhat of a relief. Good psychology there Carnival. Whack ‘em early then back off.