Still a great vacation, can't wait to go on the next one!
Embarkation
4 out of 5
We boarded the ship w/ ease. Had no problem getting through the terminal. They did a quick digital temperature scan. Made it to our rooms, dropped off what we had w/ us and made our way to the Lido deck. We didn't explore much, we had a 1:30 boarding time, the ship was scheduled to leave at 3:30 (1st out of Port Canaveral) we waited in line to grab some lunch. We waited & only a few people got in line behind us before they cut off the line. We were in the Mongolian Wok line, similar to an omelette line, everything is cooked to order, so we waited. While we waited, the call for the safety briefing goes out. We get our food, but we knew to head to our muster station. We get there, & they say no food allowed. Rather disappointing, especially since we had waited so long in line & the brief tastes we had it was very good. (perhaps best food on ship)
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
The restaurants/bars/ & staff were all excellent. However Carnival should step up the quality of their food. Drinks were great! The cook to order omelettes & Mongolian Wok were probably my favorites. Sometimes its hit or miss at dinner. The smaller restaurant/buffets tend to have better food quality. (so say I a self described 'foodie")
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Unfortunately we had a lot of wind and the ropes course & water slides were closed most of the cruise. Because of the wind it was cooler, and I (as a 6-5 275lb. man) was not getting into the already packed hot tubs. The pools were chilly at first, but by the end of the week we all got in at some point.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
The DJ / cruise director (Leigh) were good, we had a wet lido deck due to some light rain & when someone accidentally slipped & fell the party was over.
The one show we checked out was pretty cheesy, but it entertained us and saved me from losing more money in the casino.
Children's Programs
3 out of 5
While available, my child did not attend. From what I saw, it could have been fun. It might help if the staff approach kids &/or parents for an invite. Seeing it on the daily itinerary or hearing about it over the intercom may be enough for some, but not all. No staff was near the mini-golf/ping-pong or ropes course/ exercise equipment/ or sports deck any time we were there to say join.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The ships staff was awesome! I feel bad for them now that they are stuck on the ship w/ no where to go.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
We left right at the time when COVID-19 was starting to spike in the US. I could not have felt safer on the ship. We've been on a sister ship and while big & you expect to make a wrong turn or get off on the wrong floor, that's part of the fun of cruising. Everywhere you looked the crew were cleaning w/ a bleach solution. At almost every door, elevator, & definitely at every meal/drink line there was an anti-bacterial motion activated dispenser to use. At nearly all of the dispenser's there was a crew member politely asking everyone to use. On almost every update the cruise director gave he made mention that everyone needed to wash there hands. (simply remedy, sad how many people don't though right?)
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
The room itself was average size. We did not have a pull-down / fold out bunk which my kid I think was looking forward to using this cruise. Only a couch that converted to a bed. It was set up as my child's bed pretty much the whole time after day 1/one so other then sitting on the bed or the small "desk chair/ottoman" we did not really have a place to sit. I saw other cabins had at least 1/one chair (right near us, not a bigger room, different floor, or suite). We love the 2/two bathroom set up. Makes getting ready & taking showers easier. Another toilet would be nice, but we can't complain. Plenty of closet & storage space.
The worst part, we were the absolute last cabin. While normally we don't complain in a hotel about being at the end (near a stairway, away from elevator, not as much noise walking past the room) on a ship, we heard the engine & azipods banging away. Not the best sleep, & an early rise when pulling into port. (maybe I'll have to pack ear plugs next trip.)
Ship tip
Enjoy getting lost, she's big, eventually you get to where you were trying to go. Don't run on this ship, you'll fall, it's moving, relax, you're on vacation. Best tip I could share was what our room steward told us night one. Instead of taking the closest elevator to the floor we needed, then zig-zag around, just walk all the way down the long hallway of cabins until you get to the spot (front/mid/aft) of where you want to be, then take that elevator. (Opposite in reverse)
Looked nice. Unfortunately due to the windy conditions we were not able to stop hear. Had another fun day at sea for a total of 3/three - not what we signed up for but that's the chance you take.
Loved it! Did a private snorkeling excursion on a sailboat and had a fantastic time. Still see lots of damage from recent hurricanes. The area closest to the pier was still being used as staging area for power transformers. Senor Frogs was not open, pool was drained. Typically a spot we hit on the way back before boarding a ship.
Loved the port, especially like that the terminal/pier is covered & has A/C!
We walked around a bit, hillier then we thought.
Negotiate your tour rates. We ended up doing one far cheaper then the first few that hit you up coming off the pier. That said, we really only saw the fort... or well we used the fort as shelter during a tropical downpour. He told us about a few things, but cant' say we got our money's worth of even our negotiated rate.
We were unable to make the port call at Grand Turk. The Turks & Caicos opted to start turning away cruise ships due to COVID-19. Understandable as they are an island nation w/ few medical resources. Instead we went to Nassau, Bahamas. Beautiful of course, but have been fortunate enough that we've been there a few times before. We were a little disappointed, but again given the circumstances we rolled w/ the punches. I really wished instead of an additional day at sea we would have stopped in another port. Be it Key West, Freeport, Princess Keys, St. Maarten, St Kitts, Montego Bay, anywhere near where we already were. To have a week long cruise w/ 4/four scheduled stops & 2/two fun days at sea turn into a week long cruise w/ 3/stops - 1 of which was not on the original itinerary- & 3/three days at sea was disappointing.
We are patient travelers. We expect delays, but hope we don't encounter. On this trip the facial recognition scanners went down so that backed things up. All said, wasn't as bad as it could have been. I admit I was surprised that since we had been on a cruise and out of the country that they did not do any type of screening for COVID-19. We just grabbed our stuff and left.
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