I can say that we've done Carnival and NCL. Don't write off Carnival completely. Most of the criticisms you hear about Carnival ("Motel 6", "Wal-Mart", etc) come from people who have never sailed the line, or did so 20 years ago when things were very different. Most fo the bad-mouthing comes from a few RCCL fans, and it almost seems like they're trying to justify the higher fares on RCCL. To be fair, some Carnival "cheerleaders" do the same thing, almost as if they're defending cruising on Carnival.

The only major differences between Carnival and NCL to us were Freestyle dining (a big plus in favor of NCL), ship decor (generally more fun and whimsical on Carnival, more elegant on NCL, a tie for us), and the kids club (a big plus in favor of Carnival, and why we'll be going back to CCL as our primary cruise line). I can only assume that RCCL is similar, since they chase the same demographic as Carnival and NCL, though their newer ships do have a wow factor that CCL and NCL lack. Carnival ships are nice, clean, and well-maintained, the crews are friendly, and the food is good. Camp Carnival is generally rated second only to Disney's kids club.