We enjoyed our cruise. We will book another soon. The food was probably the most disappointing part of the experience. We wanted more quality seafood options included and got prepackaged shrimp. Lobster tails were $20 per meal if we opted for that. Desert options were very limited. Late night dining was limited to pizza and ice cream.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
Parking at the port was very expensive.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
2 out of 5
Truthfully, I expected more from the food. Maybe it was because I’ve always heard so much about the cruise food. The buffets were really nothing special. We walked by them but never ate because it seemed everything on them was exactly what we had back home. Also, the he only seafood options were additionally charged which seems a bit much since it is a cruise. I was expecting endless lobster and shrimp with lava cakes and endless fruits. I got Mac and cheese and prepackaged products. “Free” drinks included water, unsweetened tea, watered down lemonade, and fruit punch. Water was quite warm most of the time. I didn’t try the specialty restaurants because they were so much more expensive.
Platinum Restaurant
3 out of 5
Staff was FABULOUS but food options were not to my expectations.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
My 12 year old enjoyed the pools, slides, and kids club. However, the pools were always cram packed. It was difficult to find a chair to sun in and when we asked the staff to install more, they refused and we had to untie and unstack ourselves. The adults only area was packed with loud, drunk spring breakers every single day. I don’t believe our ship had a rock climbing wall and I never found the fitness center.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Ships performers and DJ are awesome. The musical stage productions (I saw 3) were great! The times were sometimes difficult to make because of dining times and we ended up with bad seating for every show. DJ kept the music coming and did a great job keeping everyone moving. Cruise Director Cookie was always smiling and energetic.
Children's Programs
4 out of 5
My 12 year old enjoyed Circle C. However, I felt there could have been more structured activities. Most of the time they sat and played on computers. Young teens do enjoy their electronics but getting them unplugged more would’ve been better.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
All wait staff, room service staff, room stewards, and bartenders were EXCELLENT!
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
The few elevators they have are very slow. My husband had knee surgery years ago and, with all the stair climbing, had a hard time even waking the last 2 days. He ended up spending the last sea day almost entirely in the room because of problems getting to different areas of the ship.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Very nice since. Roomier than I imagined it would be. Very clean. Unfortunately we didn’t have a cute towel animal awaiting us when we arrived though. We were looking forward to that greeting and had talked with our son about it who was disappointed. Otherwise, the room was always clean and if we had needs our room steward was very attentive.
Ship tip
Be prepared to walk a lot of stairs. Take your sunscreen and USE it.
Attended an excursion booked through Shore Fox on the Ship Mate app. Wonderful excursion where we visited the salt flats, flamingos in the mangroves, XCambo ruins, and Silcer Beach Club
We were discouraged from checking bags because of the length of time it takes to release the bags which meant the elevators were even more overcrowded on disembarkation day. We were rushed very early that morning the get out of our rooms but were told it would be best to keep all luggage with us to disembark quicker.
Part of your problem was cruising during Spring Break. I realize that is necessary with children but you need to be aware it increases the crowds. Rarely is there a towel animal on embarkation day due to the work to completely turn over the cabins, sorry you were disappointed. The food choices have changed over the years on all cruise lines, but if you want unlimited lobster you will be paying a premium rate for that sailing. Cruisers have requested a more casual feel for their experience and Carnival has bent to that demand. Sadly, that includes some of the food choices and activities available. If you want more pomp, you'll have to pick a more expensive venue.
*Cruiseline.com is not a booking agent or travel agency,
and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. Our partners
(travel agencies and cruise lines) provide prices, which we list for our
users' convenience. Cruiseline.com does not guarantee any specific rates or
prices. While prices are updated daily, please check with the booking site
for the exact amount. Cruiseline.com is not responsible for content on
external web sites.
Contact us
Submitting...
Need help from a personal vacation planner?
Loading...
Find the perfect cruise with weekly tips and cruise deals for as little as $30/night!
Sign up for weekly cruise deals
Join other subscribers and get the best
cruise deals of the week in your inbox every Thursday.
