oh2bcruisin

I enjoyed this cruise and did very much like the ship itself.  I did not get off in any of the ports due to physical disability, however the ports looked beautiful from the deck of the ship.  The employees as always were excellent.  They do always genuinely seem to care that you are enjoying yourself.  The food was quite good.  I tried the American Table menu for the first time, and really enjoyed it.  I had your time dining, and had four different wait teams, all of them were efficient and friendly. The food was very good.  I also enjoyed the rotisserie and the tandoor for lunch some days, and also the deli and the lido buffet.  I liked the rotisserie and tandoor both very much.  Debarkation was also very well done, organised and worked well. The things on this cruise that were not so good, was the internet.  The new price is 72.00 (up from 60.00), and it would not work in the room at all.  This meant that I had to carry the ipad around with me on the ship, Once outside on an open deck it worked fine, and sometimes even from the promenade deck, but also could lose the signal there.  It did work, so was not a huge issue, just was not as good as previous cruises/ships.  I mentioned it at Guest services and the fellow said he thought it was just an issue with that ship.  The other issue was two very uncomfortable beds.  Tried one first night it was so springy and no support that the next day, due to room steward's suggestion to try the other, and found that mattress to be better, but also to the other extreme of firmness.  Again not a big deal.  I survived, but just think maybe that room is due for some new mattresses.  Speaking of room steward service.  My steward was very attentive and friendly, but the service was done only once a day in the morning.  This did work for me as I was travelling solo, but other passengers on the ship, mentioned that they were given a choice of morning or evening, and some said they got both.  Again not a big deal. The worse thing was smoke in the casino.  I do enjoy the casino quite a bit on my cruises, and I do know that they are a designate smoking area on the ship, but this time it was terrible.  I can tolerate smoke to quite some extent, but not this time.  I found my eyes tearing and my voice, throat going dry after just a few minutes in there.  So this time the smoke did affect my amount of play.  On the up side for the casino, was that it was quite generous to me.  I won 97.00 126.00 and on the last day 465.00 so it was not a total wash out lol.  All in all a great cruise, but just this time I noticed some of the above mentioned issues, which have not been issues in the past.  Still love Carnival and looking forward to another cruise with them some time in the future.

It was a 5 day cruise from Miami to Grand Turk and Amber Cove DR.  The ship is fine.  I really dont know why so many complain about the age of the ship, after all she is just 15years old.  The decor is; well yes; green, and blue, but I liked it.  I do prefer color to boring beiges, browns, etc.  I had a porthole room, and it was very comfortable.  The seas were quite calm mostly, and even though, I was so far forward, I barely felt any motion, or experienced any unusual noise for the location.

The staff on this ship were excellent.  They seem sincere in wanting you to have a great vacation.  From room steward, to dining wait staff, bar servers and waiters, casino staff, lido staff.  All exceeded my expectations.  I had "your time dining" and had a different wait staff each of the three times I went to the dining room, and they were all very good.  I was in and out of there in just over an hour.  I consider that very good, and dont like to linger over dinner, especially when I cruise solo, as I did this time.

I did not venture far from either port, and just spent a little time shopping at the ports and looking around.  They were both enjoyable.  It was especially nice to see Amber Cove, a new port, and I think once this place is fully operational, it will be a great place.  There were lots of signs in windows saying "retail coming soon". I hope to come back again some day and take a tour at both places and see more of the islands themselves.  

If I had to say one slight negative;  well it would be that i would not buy faster to the fun again.  I buy it mostly for the ability to debark with zone one, after self assist.  I just dont like hanging around that morning on the ship and I like to get off and make sure I get to the airport on time.  Well, this cruise, I swear 50 to 70 pcs of the passengers did self assist.  That left zone one and anyone after that at the back of the customs hall line.  Not good, when you have painful back issues, as I do. 

In fairness though, the port staff did a good job of directing lines, and the lines did move.

I also purchased the internet plan for 40.00 and it gives you unlimited internet for the duration of the cruise, only things like skype not included.  That worked well for me.  I have elderly parents at home, and like to get a daily email, just for my peace of mind.  The speed was decent.  Sometimes a little slow, but it worked for my purposes, and I would buy this again.

The food was good, especially the main dining room.  But I also think that there was more than enough to choose from at the lido buffet, and I even had dinner there one night.  I guess that I am easy to please, since I read so many reviews that slam the buffet.  I thought it was quite decent.  I also had breakfast and lunch at lido buffet, and cannot find fault with it.

The casino was neither good nor bad to me.  I played, and won a few small wins, but it kept me playing long enough to get one of those drink on us cards on day four of the cruise.  I had one evening and one whole sea day to make good use of it, and I did lol.  The casino staff that I interacted with were very nice, and the bar and drink servers were very attentive.  I did always add an extra tip per drink though.  

The only other thing is that 5 days is just not long enough!  I have always done either a 7 or 8 day cruise, and while 5 days is better than no cruise at all.  I will be sure from now on, to do a minimum of 7 days.  After all, I fly down from Canada, I might as well make the best of my time there.

All in all, a wonderful cruise as always.  I think Carnival should be proud of their employees.  I just cant say enough good about them.  They really make my cruise and vacation tops!  And Victory is a fine ship too.