Carnival has accepted its place as the Greyhound of cruises. If you're looking for a booze cruise and want to wear a tank top and shorts to the dining room, this is the cruise for you!
Embarkation
3 out of 5
No major snags getting on the ship, helpful folks, but you've got to wonder why they are reviewing your documents on the top of a portable line quidepost instead of at a desk/table/anything where you're not blocking the people next to you.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
Guy's burgers are the best dining option on the ship. The burrito/taco place is a close second, and an excellent breakfast option. (crispiest potatoes on the ship.) The buffet is a cruise buffet. The main dining room was a huge disappointment. Gone are the elegant dining experiences, replaced by a Denny's routine. Don't look for a tablecloth and dedicated silverware arranged around a charger. Your waiter walks up with his hands full, waits for you to pick up your salad plate, then hands you your dinner, and you get to hold the salad plate in the air while he repeats the process until his hands are empty. And he'll tell you to keep your fork... OK at Denny's but not in a formal dining room. The wait staff have so many tables, they can't keep up and dinner takes forever. "Formal" night it was an hour for the first plate to hit the table, which really stunk because there was only 1 show that night, during our dining time, and it finished before we got our appetizers. Should have gone to the show... That night, dinner was 1:55 long. We never saw the Maitre'D the entire cruise. I suspect he was hiding.
Onboard Activities
2 out of 5
This ship was supposedly the first to get the Funship 2.0 upgrades. They must have gotten better with time, but it left something to be desired. 1 slide, a sad mini golf course, and a huge back deck with nothing on it. They left a lot on the table. Gym was nice if a little short on chest/back equipment.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
Comedy shows were available each day, and you could get into them, unlike in some larger ships that try to maintain a "small club atmosphere" on a 200Kton ship. Main shows were hard to judge as 1 was cut to singing on stools by waves and we missed the 2nd. Decent music elsewhere, although nothing stood out like on previous cruises. (Except for the Asian guy that bent the strings on his guitar during the rock show. He rocked.)
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
They tried, but they're overwhelmed by the ratio Carnival employs now. Cruise director's assistant was UNBELIEVABLY loud. Director wasn't bad, but he'd hand her the microphone and she would deafen everyone on the pool deck.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
Ship was very clean but there were a few places with consistent sewer gas. They're missing out on effective utilization of their deck space for amenities.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
OK, tiny. with the bunks down you can't maneuver around anyone without a dancing 3 pt turn. Cabin stewards USED to put bunks up during the day. Not anymore...
You took a budget-priced short cruise on an older ship, so I am not sure what you expected. Try one of the newer ships on a longer itinerary for a better experience.
I don’t get the greyhound reference but OK we’ve always cruise carnival and have a good time the price point is what attracts us we can go on two cruises a year instead of one some people just prefer something nicer and that is absolutely fine different strokes for different folks
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