I'm new here, but had to post my thoughts. I am a travel agent who specializes in cruises so I hear comments all day long from people about how their past cruises went. Regarding Carnival...I hear everything from "it is a trailer park at sea" to " We absolutely LOVE Carnival." People come from different walks of life and have different expectations. Certainly, no ship should go out in ill form...Two years ago I was on a Holland America sailing and part of the motor stopped working- Still had a great cruise because the service and ship were all in excellent form. I sell more Carnival cruises than the other cruise lines combined...why??? Because people want "the least expensive cabin." Very, very few people call me and ask for a suite or even a balcony...people tell me "who really cares what the room is like, we are never in it anyhow." My response is usually, "You might be IF you got a nice room to enjoy. It is easy to slam Carnival, but when people are calling because they want a 5 night cruise for two for under $500 total, you have to wonder what they are expecting....it won't be the Ritz! I sell a lot of Holiday and Fantasy (out of New Orleans) sailings, and strangely, people don't complain about it. If it is a health hazard it definitely should be reported. There is a great website called Cruise Bruise that reports issues on cruise ships. Take a look at it if you want to see what really happens on ships.