This was my first long cruise with Carnival as my previous cruises had only been 3 or 4 days. It was also my first time cruising with my kids ages 6 and 4. We booked an oceanview cabin and opted not to get a balcony because with 2 small kids I did not want the added stress of keeping my kids off the balcony.
I will say that we had a blast on the cruise. The kids went to Camp Carnival and had so much fun with all the different activities and it allowed my husband and me a chance to relax.
We also had the most amazing wait staff. Mario and Dika were by far the best part of each evening meal. By the 2nd night they had my kid's names memorized as well as preferences for drinks and booster seat ready.
The only drawback was the Serenity Deck for adults was far from Serene b/c it was filled with loud obnoxious drunks. And also some obnoxious drunk adults that were in the family area should have stayed in the serenity area! 
