This site is very polished, exactly as you would expect from the world’s largest cruise line.

The homepage features a nice graphic of a cruise ship sailing across a background that changes the longer you stay logged on – it starts out backlit against the moon and after a few minutes is seen sailing across a sunrise.

The tool bar in the left corner directs you to everything you’d need to know about Carnival – from the size and history of the fleet, to various cruise packages offered, to activities and links to travel agents. Answers to all of your questions are here.

Click on a specific cruise under the cruise icon and get a map of the ship’s route, an itinerary of ports visited each day and arrival and departure times.

One nice feature the site provides is an Excite Search Engine. Type in a keyword that indicates what area you’re interested in learning more about and you’ll be directed where to go for an answer – a real time saver that helps you avoid looking through the entire site.

The only drawback to the site is you can’t book online. Making a reservation still takes a call to a travel agent, which they’ll link you to, or a call to Carnival’s reservation center.

But click on the reservation key and fill out the booking request form.

Tell Carnival when you’d like to sail, on which ship, whether you need airfare included and your preferred cabin class and dining time and Carnival will e-mail you back with a price.

Now that's service!