We had a 6 day cruise. We really enjoyed it. Plan to go again next year. Probably go to different ports though.
Embarkation
3 out of 5
Driving into the port we were unclear where to go to get to the ships. The port could use better signs or more signs. The staff at the port would not let our group sit together while waiting to get onto the ship even though seats were available. we walked in together and had cabins next to each other yet they demanded that two of us sit in another area. I did not understand that persons problem so I did not argue with him other than tell him the rest of our group is over there. no one in our group could figure out this guys problem.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
The food was great ! I was able to try foods that are normally too expensive to order in a regular restaurant . Pizza is available on 10 deck AFT 24/7. you are pretty much limited to cheese pizza or peperoni. Ice cream cones are available on 10 deck 24/7 also. Really good Cheeseburgers and fries are available something like noon to 5 pm daily. There are breakfast buffets , Brunch buffets, supper buffets, and even some late night buffets on 10 deck. there is a two layer restaurant on decks 3 & 4 AFT. You do your regular sit down dining here. The elegant nights dinners are served here also. Here I was served Salmon, Fillet Mineon, steaks , chicken, lobster, …..
I especially liked the Baked Alaska and Melting Chocolate Cake for dessert. Although the hand dipped ice cream was good also. Breakfast, lunch, and evening dinner was served here on 3 & 4 deck. We enjoyed eating both here and on 10 deck (Lido).
There are also restaurants and bars on the ship that cost extra/ not included with the cruise. I enjoyed a milk shake on deck 5 and some ice-cream on deck 4 in a candy shop. both were really good!
Liquid Lounge
5 out of 5
We really enjoyed the liquid lounge. 12 Broadway singer/dancer/actors put on shows. Something different each night.
Guy's Burger Joint
5 out of 5
Cheeseburgers were great! We loved them!
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
There is an IMAX Theater on deck 6. We watched Joker and Gemini man there. It cost $9 or $10 for these two movies. They also have some movies that are cheaper. Lido deck (10) has a movie screen over one of the pools. You can watch movies for free there. Spiderman and an Avengers movie played there among other movies. Cabin tvs had on demand movies. Some are free.
We watched a lot of shows in the Liquid Lounge on decks 4 & 5 forward. 12 Broadway singer/dancers/actors put on shows that were really good.
Several pools, a water slide, a couple of hot tubs aft are available for guests that want to use them. There is an Arcade on deck 6 . I think the casino was on deck 4. We bought a few items in the stores around the Atrium.
Pixels
4 out of 5
They had photographers all over the ship. 2- 5x7 of a picture is almost $20. Extra pages are quite a bit cheaper. To save money just pick out a few that you really like and buy extra sheets to give to friends and relatives. They have other sizes of pictures. I just used 5x7 as an example. Pictures themselves are really good. I took a star off for excessive price.
Horizon Casino
2 out of 5
They had a lot of nice machines. Payoff did not seem to be as good as casinos where I live so I only played a little bit as I was loosing too much money too fast. I had actually taken more money for the casino than I played, but when I lost half of it in less than 10 minutes I did not see any point in playing.I talked to one lady that won $900. Someone said they saw someone win a thousand. Over all I did not hear of winners. Just big losses. Of cours I did not talk to every person who played.
The Fun Shops
5 out of 5
We enjoyed looking in the various shops. Bought a few items.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
We watched a lot of shows in the Liquid Lounge on decks 4 & 5 forward. 12 Broadway singer/dancers/actors put on shows that were really good.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The majority of the crew were happy and very polite. I only saw one grumpy crewman . he was wearing a white uniform up on 10 deck late at night. a few days latter I saw him again. He seemed to be having a better day the rest of the times I saw him. I did not have any issues with the crew. most were really helpful as I had a lot of Dumb questions as this was my first cruise. They were happy to help.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
I was amazed at how large the ship is ! Most people pressed the buttons for the elevator then took the stairs as the elevators are really slow. They got tired of waiting on them. I was told that they are smart elevators. By the end of the cruise I referred to them as dumb elevators. So there is opportunity for improvement there.
The bicycle Sky ride is advertised on Carnivals website as having a weight limit of 300 pounds. I'm 263 which is lower than 300 but on the day I went up there they was weighing people and told me I could not ride because I am over 250. If they are going to continue to use 250 as the upper limit then you need to change the website and advertising to reflect 250 so people are not embarrassed by being in line and refused.
A person was helicopter airlifted from the boat when we were out in the ocean near Cuba. So it is possible to get off the boat between ports if you have a serious medical issue.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Our cabin was 6263. it had a large king sized bed, a sofa, tv, lots of closet space. plenty of room for two people. Family had the next cabin to ours, so the man who cleans the cabin ( I Made) opened the partician between our balconies. We really appreciated that. Cabin and restroom was clean. Cabin Staff friendly. The shower is really small. If you are used to having your spouse wash your back there is not room in the shower for that.
Ship tip
Beside the light switch near the door is a slot to put your ship & sale card in. the lights and electric plugs to charge your phone don't work without a card in the slot. I found that a business card will satisfy the sensor. Also, When they tell you to not be late returning from a port of call they mean it. we were docked next to the Vista in one of the ports. They left people who where running on the dock. I am told that they only wait if a Carnival vender gets you back late. If you explore on your own return early!
There is opertunity for improvement in the port. We did enjoy the Zoo before we left Maimi. You need a whole day or more to see it all. This was not a ship excursion though. we just went.
Falls is nice. Walked down to the beach. That was nice also. If you want to climb the falls at the park a guide will go with you and tell you where to walk, dont take a camera and put your billfold, passport, money in a water proof case as climbers get really wet!
I have dust and mold allergies. Some perfumes bother me also. Something in the air burns my eyes. Also makes it hard for me to breathe. On a future cruise I would stay on the boat at Jamicia. You should consider that if you have allergy issues.
Bars, beaches, diamond stores. Went to buy an item at one of the diamond stores. Caught the salesman trying to switch the product to a cheaper version. so we did not buy anything.
We enjoyed Cozumel. Bought a lot of tee shirts. 8 for $20 in some of the shops. also bought some Rum Cake.
A friend of mine took several cruises. He liked Cozumel so well that he quit cruising and started flying straight to Cozumel for his vacations.
Even though the ship issues 24 different tags to make so over 3,000 people are not running for the door at the same time. the port customs building is set up with 3 zones instead of 24. Our 7 bags were scattered all over the place. took over an hour for the 6 of us to find all 7 bags. There is a lot of oppertunity for improvement here.
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