We had a great cruise! The staff made it wonderful, Marcelo the cruise director was amazing, Francisco from the entertainment team was wonderfu! Yes the ship is old, but there is a lot of fun to be had and the price is right. You will be happy!
Embarkation
5 out of 5
We signed up for embarkation at 230pm and the wait was minimal. Everything was very organized at the port and we were on the ship quickly. Since the cruise didn't leave until 10pm and all aboard time wasn't until 8pm we dropped off our things and got back off the ship to spend some more time in Old San Juan. Our luggage was delivered by 6pm. Just after our cruise set sail we did experience a scary situation when the entire ship lost power twice and generator power was needed. They eventually narrowed the problem down to the ventilation system which meant for a while there was no AC. However, the problem was resolved in less than an hour, but it was long enough to terrify my 10 year old.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
We chose 'Your Time Dining.' We fell in love with one of the groups of wait staff and requested them each night. So many people are now choosing this type of dining that an entire dining room is dedicated to it. The food in the dining room was very good and there were plenty of choices. The buffets were decent. Breakfast was generally boring and we found ourselves selecting cereal over the hot food choices. The other buffets offered a large variety of choices. The pizza was excellent but during prime time did require some patience. There was one unique 1130pm buffet which was a mexican theme and very good. Alcoholic beverages were good and prices were what we would expect. $5 ish for a non alcoholic pina colada and $8 ish for one with alcohol.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
There is one small pool that we never went to because it was always crowded. The ship has a 'water park' area but it was open variable hours and so we only went a couple of times. The ladder to the highest was often VERY windy so it does require some calm nerves. The ship included several 'life size' Hasbro games such as Yahtzee, Sorry, Guess Who, Hasbro the Game Show and live action CLUE which lasted the duration of the cruise and was WONDERFUL!! There is a 9 hole miniature golf course which was fun, but occasionally closed due to extreme winds. There were two table tennis tables that we regularly waited for.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Although we didn't get to every show, the ones we saw were outstanding. Great comedy, great performances. We were very happy with the entertainment.
Children's Programs
3 out of 5
My 10 year old didn't enjoy the kids club because his age group was often mixed in with the younger kids. My 13 year old enjoyed the young teen group but it sounded like there wasn't a lot of control among the kids and my daughter felt picked on by the 'cruise clique' as she called it and the leader didn't do anything to control it.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
OUTSTANDING, OUTSTANDING, OUTSTANDING! Everyone was friendly and helpful and seemed to genuinely want you to have a great trip!
Ship Quality
2 out of 5
The ship is old and in dire need of a dry dock. There was a lot more dust and dirt than I would expect and generally everything just seemed old--carpets were dirty, walls were dinged up. The ship is very small compared to other ships. There aren't 'extras' you see on other ships--like an upscale dining area or a spacious atrium. The ship itself is just 'ok'. That being said, it was a wonderful cruise and we were able to look past these things.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
We had an inside cabin. Our kids slept on beds which pulled down. We expected small small so that was not an issue. However, the cabin wasn't really clean. My son found a bra and a child's toy from a prior guest above his bed on a ledge that has clearly not been cleaned in a very long time. One of the bathroom lights was out the entire trip and never got changed. The vent in the bathroom had at least 2 inches of dust in it. The bathroom was dingy in general. In real need of a make over.
Ship tip
Go into the cruise with low expectations. We heard people complain about everything all week long. I can only assume they didn't read any reviews ahead of time. Download the Carnival Hub app so that you can have all of the activities at your disposal. Research ports ahead of time and print out maps of the area if you do not plan to do a tour. The ship has nothing. When you get off the ship at port (and NOT before) they will give you a crappy map that doesn't give you an idea of where things are besides the stores they want you to visit. We traveled on a different cruise line recently and got a nice detailed map the night prior to the port so that we could plan ahead. This trip we didn't feel comfortable.
We opted to 'walk off' with our luggage. The only 'down side' is that you can't walk all the way down. They required us to stop at the 4th floor (after walking down) and then take the elevator the rest of the way to 3. It added on unnecessary time. Once we got down, we waited about 10 min for customs and were on our way.
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