All in all we had a wonderful expirience with a few small hiccups. I would sail this ship again.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Embarkation was a smooth and simple process. They accommodated the fact we arrived to the port several hours early. Wonderful expirience!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Upon arriving onto the ship we had to speak with someone in dining due to Cheap Cruises (whom we booked through) promising "my time" dining but delivering on their word. (Not a carnival issue). Carnival was very understanding and moved our 8:15pm dining to what we originally wanted. The wait staff was wonderful, friendly, and always knew our names. The food was delicious as well! The speed in which they feed so many people so fast is almost magical!
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
The downside to cruising a smaller ship is the fact there is only one pool. It stays full of children as well as the hot tubs in either side of the pool on main Lido deck. However, this is when the serenity deck becomes your very best friend! This is the adult only deck in which they definitely delivered! No children were seen there the entire cruise which for us was wonderful considering we did not bring our children. The water slide was adult friendly as well and alot of fun! The only issue we expirienced was finding lounge chairs in Lido. People would place towels on chairs early in the morning and "reserve" them through out the entire day which made it difficult to find somewhere to lay out near the entertainment stage. I believe carnival should have policies in place about unoccupied chairs over a certain time stent before the chair becomes available to anyone in need of one.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
The shows were amazing! The highlight of our entire time on the boat was the adult scavenger hunt. You do not want to miss this!! One thing to mention as well, the comedy shows were a huge hit on this cruise. (The comedians were wonderful) however, if you did not arrive at least 45 min early you would not get a seat. I think these shows should be moved to a larger area to accommodate the guest who would like to attend.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Our steward Mawardi was top class! I do not think they get enough recognition for what they do. Our room was always spotless and he knew our names from day one! He made our trip feel like being at home and that made all the difference. We did however run into some issues with luggage. You are allowed one 750ml bottle of wine person adult of age. Unknowingly I placed the wine in our luggage to be checked in thinking it had to be done that way. Apparently the wine has to be carried on, on your person. This resulted in them taking our 2 bottles we brought (which they did not give back upon debarkation). This was a huge bummer for us. Upon them taking our wine, they lost a bag that was inside my luggage which contained all of my toiletries to include my expensive blow dryer. I was disappointed in the fact I had to purchase a normal $3.50 bottle of shampoo and condition for $13 a piece with no compensation. They made a report but stated that anything lost in check in that is not a "full size" piece of luggage would not be compensated for, therefore I am out approx. $100 plus the $34 it cost to purchase shampoo, conditioner, and body wash board. Very disappointing expirience.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
The ship seemed to be in great condition for the age of the ship. The boat did have some rust areas as well as some small damage to some railings and stairs. However, keep in mind when you are booking this cruise that this ship is the heart of the fleet. It is the oldest in age so guve the appropriate assumptions when choosing this ship. We sailed through some rougher seas due to weather and ship sailed surprising smooth. I was actually impressed!
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Mawardi (our steward) was fantastic! Clean room every day by the scheduled time! He even wrote on our mirrors for our anniversary. The room was alot more spacious than expected and the bathroom to follow. Everything worked and the window glass in our room was clean when we arrived on the ship. I do believe it is time to update the mattresses and they were alittle harder than the last ship I sailed on, however they were still comfortable! We had them make a queen/king out of the 2 beds and you could tell in the center when laying down. Again, nothing major!
Ship tip
Learn the boat before you go! The levels of the ship are confusing with somethings being accessible from different ends of the ship on different levels. Also, there are only 2 smoking areas on this ship. In the casino or outside on upper Lido deck. With that being said the Lido deck stays full. I would recommend bringing a can of dip for your time in need if you have this as an option.
Best destination thus far! We did the Reef Snorkel and it was nothing short of perfect from the time we arrived! We also did the aviary available on the island. Do not miss this!!
I was least impressed with Cozumel. In my personal opinion is was very commercialized. We did the Coral Garden Snorkel, lunch, and tequila tasting. The staff were very friendly. The down fall was that there was very little coral to see. The water had several jelly fish (which is not the excursion sites fault) and were accommodating for the people who were stung. The lunch we ate were fajitas and they o.k. They did a step by step instructional on how to make guacamole. I typically do not eat this but wow! It tasted wonderful! The tequila tasting was very informative and delicious. Cozumel itself was beautiful and it is possible that the snorkel we did the day before just had a more beautiful area to swim.
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