We love Carnival for the value, comedians, interesting ports, and friendly passengers. This cruise was great except for a few details.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Smooth, fast, no long lines anywhere.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
We enjoyed the main dining room. There attention to detail was not perfect, and service was slow unless we asked for quicker completion of dinner. Food was good. The prime rib was better quality than on previous cruises. It was hard to understand while a cruise with mostly senior passengers did not have bran cereal options. They offered raisin bran in the Ocean Plaza and by room service, but ran out after two days. They brought more on board on day 12, and offered it at the buffet. They ran out again the day before debarkation. There were four sugar filled children's cereals offered everywhere all cruise long.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Loved the 8 comedians who each did multiple shows. Production shows were just OK. Mark Preston was great.
Children's Programs
No kids
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Staff miss some details. No glasses in the bathroom on arrival. No trash can day 10. Waiters remembered drink preferences some days but not all. Biggest complaint was a crew member filling a very large personal container with ice at the buffet, while a long line of passengers waited. There must be places crew can do that without inconveniencing passengers.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Typical of Carnival. Good overall, and handles crowds well. We hate the smokey casino. Carnival needs to offer some smoke free ships. Smoke from the casino spills into the atrium, and nearby areas of deck 6.
Lot's to do. Zipline was below average, but Flying Dutchman was unique and worth doing once. Enjoyed Sunset beach bar and watching planes land right over our head.
Snorkeling at sculpture park was fine. Fresh caught lobster grilled on the beach was outstanding. They were very large, served with champagne and garlic bread.
Caught a cab to Brimstone Hill Fort. Very interesting. We spent two full hours, but would have stayed at least 30 minutes more, if we hadn't pre-arranged with cabby. 10 mile drive takes 35-40 minutes each way.
Excursion to the Baths on Virgin Gorda was good. The Baths are excellent, but visiting with 120 people in a group makes things less pleasant. We recommend hiring a private charter boat to really make an outstanding outing. They are expensive but worth the investment.
Sounds like a really nice cruise. I wish Carnival did more Journey cruises of 10+ days with different ports like this itinerary. Many of them have our preference of cabin location booked before we can make commitments. We were able to get on the 16 day Transatlantic from Barcelona in October, but would love more in the Caribbean to islands not visited on the 7 day cruises. We need to let Carnival know what we need as seniors and frequent cruisers (including the bran cereals)!
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