U.S. Cruise Reviews

The staff on this cruise were exceptional. Very friendly and helpful!  The food/restaurants were outstanding. While we didn't get to go to Coco Cay due to bad weather, the cruise was a great time.

Enjoyed the cruise; food was excellent; service and friendliness of staff was great. Missed one day at Coco Cay because of weather. Overall was happy.

Our 9 day cruise from the Port of Baltimore was great fun. It was very convenient leaving from Baltimore.  We cruised seceral times before of Grandeur of the Seas and always had a nice time.

Had so much fun. Everyone was so nice.Our room attendant Rudy was great. Food was good-loved the suite perks-though I'm not sure it was worth the high cost.

Outstanding staff, entertainment, and food. Would have liked more on-board educational offerings especially about the ports visited. A highlight was presentations by captain and crew about ship operations, their backgrounds, and living conditions on-board.

I thought everything was great. Everyone was very nice and helpful. I was celebrating my birthday I like the balloons  in front of my cabin, I love the hospitality  the entertainment, the different selections of foods and restaurants. etc.

Comfortable quarters...Stateroom with balcony. Great food, lots to choose from and always well presented. Service amazing...humour shared, personable and well prepared. For those that wish entertainment ...enough for all! All in all thank you Star Princess cruise!

Ports of call were excellent.  Evening dining room choices were very limited although service was excellent.  Dress code in dining room very poorly enforced with many people dressing casually wearing jeans, tennis shoes and t-shirts.  Formal dining evenings were also severely lacking in proper attire.  Ship smelled badly in some of the hallways and also outside decks.  Must have had some plumbing issues.  The wood rails in certain areas of the ship, were severely worn needing sanding and varnishing and also some rust.

We enjoyed all the sea days...I think there were six in all. Food was not as good as Celebrity cruises but if you didn't like a dish you could always order something else. In fact they often suggested that. Luckily there is an adult swim lounge area. We loved the promenade.  The library was in a poor location - sort of the middle of a pathway and above a game playing area so noisy.  We loved watching the people on the Flowrider. There is always something to do on this ship.  The acts were not big productions but rather comedians, hypnotists, singers.  The ice show was outstanding. spectacular in fact. Certain muster stations went on certain days so that worked out well.

For starters, our Suite was upgraded automatically by Royal Caribbean (Owner's Suite), and it was a very nice surprise.  We love cruising out of Sydney, and always plan on a few extra days in the city.  This cruise was 12 nights, with 2 stops in Fiji, Vanuatu, Mystery Island, Isle of Pines, and Noumea.  The beaches on Mystery Island and the Isle of Pines were absolutely beautiful. 

The Explorer is still a very nice ship, despite it's age.  The food in the Dining Room and Windjammer Buffet was very good...pretty consistent with the other ships in the fleet.  Chops Grill was outstanding, and our waiter, Alfredo, made it a great experience.  Our Suite Concierge, Elizabeth Wong, was the best we have ever experienced.  Wonderfully engaging, pleasant, and knowledgeable.  In addition, the bar service provided in the Lounge by Jose and Eka was excellent.

Both embarking and disembarking were a breeze.  Finally, our agent, Patricia Opera, was once again outstanding in every way.  Patti has helped us select and plan cruises for several years, and we use her services exclusively.  We would highly recommend her to all cruisers...new and experienced.

We especially enjoyed  New Zealand! The scenery unbelievable. The land tour done by Denise was great. What a great, caring hostess! We had been on this particular ship before so knew what to expect except to find a bunch of "tweens " on board for Holiday. Lots of kids!

This was mine and my husbands first cruise, also our honeymoon. Unlike many reviews I've read, the staff was very catering and very helpful if we ever needed anything. The food was good, I'm a picky eater and they always had something on the dinner menu I would eat. I LOVED Diane ford in the comedy club, she was amazing. All in all, a great trip. Nothing I would have changed! 

The staterooms are spacious and comfortable except the beds were more firm than I like.  The food in the Windjammer is pretty much the same every day and got boring.  We visited the dining rooms instead, and there was good variety and the quality of the food was great.  The ship is nice, but did not have the wow factor I expected for the price and for a new ship.  It was difficult to get into the new attractions as they required reservations and were booked up before the cruise began.  The staff and crew on the ship were great.  I felt that I received great service from everyone.

Entertainment was good and activities on board in general were good.  Didn't do any excursions.  Cabins were adequate and comfortable.  Food was not the best and anytime dining was a challenge.  Entertainment was great.  Locations that we visited were also great!

I loved the show Colors of the World and so many activities. And the other shows were great too! The food was overall good but could be improved. The little kids take over the Jacuzzis and I don't think are old enough to be in there but it is not regulated. Have more Jacuzzis that have jets that work. The lobster was amazing this time! We loved the all you can drink card. Skip Mazatlán and just to Cabo, Puerto Vallarta and Manzanillo. :)  Also, we called several times to dining reservations and guest services and no one ever answers the phone. Have more staff to answer phones.

Everyone on-board s charged for water, soda, juice -- anything you might want to drink.  The ship turned off ESPN in the rooms during the College Playoff games, but showed them in the bar.  The same thing with the Rose Bowl, they turned off ESPN during the game, but played it only in the bar.  I had heard Princess Cruises were known as the "Nickel & Dime" cruise, now I know that they are indeed a Nickel & Dime cruise line.

Only our second time on Carnival and it exceeded my expectations. Plenty choices of where to eat so lines weren't too long. Enjoyed playing bingo and trivia. The ship had activities for all our interest and quiet places if we wanted to read.

Carnival should take a look at revamping the employee compensation package as the employees seemed disgruntled and overworked. The employees also seemed to be asking for tips in passive aggressive ways, this was disconcerting and lowered the onboard experience. There was other evidence of cost cutting in the cleanliness of the ship as well as worn chairs and stained furniture and bedding. The overall food quality also suffered. Over the last ten years there a continued dramatic reduction in quality that will lead us to look elsewhere for our cruise needs.

I'm hardly certain where to start...with the food, I guess, which is usually a highlight of a cruise experience. It was terrible--at the breakfast/lunch buffets, the nightly dinner seatings, and the specialty restaurant we went to (Giovanni's)--both in regard to the offerings and the quality. And the portion size--the tortellini main course consisted of FOUR tortellini. There was no steak offering unless you wanted to pay a significant upgrade fee (more than a whole steak dinner at a regular restaurant). Water refills were infrequent and at no point was I offered a glass of wine with dinner--I had to hunt down the wine steward each night to request one.

There was at least one less public restaurant on board this ship than on the other four we've been on, so breakfast/lunch was a madhouse--if you could find anything edible. Even the french fries were consistently horrifically inedible. The only food option after 9pm was room service, which consistently took 1.5 hours to arrive and was nearly inedible.

I discussed the food situation with other guests and with the staff, and they all agreed. One staff member told me to never take an RC cruise out of Miami because they're the worst ones...but that's where they're headquartered, which seems odd.

Service in general was spread thin--across the restaurants, staterooms, and other areas--and nothing like we have had before.

The stateroom itself was dirty when we got there (lip prints on the mirror) and stayed that way. The beds were uncomfortable. The balcony was even smaller than usual and barely the depth of a chair.

The entertainment was okay-ish, other than the ice show, which was VERY well done and definitely of the quality I expect on a spendy cruise.

If this were my only RC cruise I would likely never cruise with them again. As it is...I've invested quite a bit to get to Platinum status and am not really sure where to go now.

As a gluten free person, I did great! Super wait staff. The island was beautiful, the Ice show was cool. It was a great experience. Whole boat was spotless!