Synopsis- great ports of call based on the price. Due to an unforeseen medical emergency with a passenger we lost out on Grand Cayman as we ported at Key West the first night out of Miami. 15% off the next cruise is barely recompense. Water park onboard needed repairs half of it didnt work. Ship looked rusted on the exterior and needed a white wash.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
was okay- a delay boarding due to problems with the gangway
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
food was fresh but often mis-matched options.. Turkey or ham at the carvery then spaghetti and egg rolls as sides. Better coordination needed to match the sides with the meat selection .Guys burgers were great! Buffet shuts down too early at 930PM if you go to a show the only food option is pizza afterwards
Onboard Activities
2 out of 5
the main water slide was not working for the entire cruise...the dumping bucket at the water park wasnt functional throughout the entire cruise
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Comedians at punchliners were excellent, Violinists in the atrium were excellent.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Room steward was excellent catered to our needs appropriately. Bar staff excellent. Food service staff excellent. Bar staff friendly and accommodating. Went to the dining room only twice for dinner and servers were friendly. One night in the buffet there was a staff who was crying and in crisis and another staff was trying to console her. Neither worked in food service and had uniforms from another area of the ship. I am a psychologist and almost wanted to intervene.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
The architectural design of the ship was good...plenty of room in the public areas corridors and stairwells. Plenty of seating in the lounges, bars, promenade and poolside. The ships exterior was horrendous- rust everywhere...I ve been cruising with carnival since it started on the TSS Mardi Gras in 1990 at every ports there were workers painting the hull and the exterior with whitewash. Now no signs of painting while in port.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Bathroom cleanly no smell of feces. Bedding clean and crisp. No bar wear in room had to ask for water and wine glasses. Our steward brought ice to the room each night at our request.
Ship tip
Time your shore tours appropriately to coordinate when food venues are open Same with shows- if your going to see a show make sure your aware of when food venues close or you will just get pizza and snacks if your a night owl.
Due to a medical emergency onboard the several hours after departing Miami our ship had to port at the navy base in Key West to med evac the passenger- never made it to Grand Caymen. 15% off the next cruise is not acceptable compensation for missing the Cayman port.
Great port- planned activities on our own away from the tourist trap that carnival operates for those who dont want to venture out of the "compound" We spent the day in West Bay- laid back and leisurely day at the beach.
Impoverished city no beaches. All shore tours take an hour to get to their destination on top of a 30 minute ship to shore water taxi ride to downtown. After leaving the official gated compound for cruisers.....the locals began heckling- "go home Trump people" Carnival shore tours were way overpriced.
Cozumel is excellent as usual- Ive been there a dozen times on cruises over the past 25 years. The problem is that there were 9 cruise ships in port that off loaded thousands of cruisers which created gridlock like midtown Manhattan. Great for Cozumel's economy but not very relaxing. We chose to not do a shore tour and went to the beach but all the beaches are full due to cruisers. How about stopping further up maybe in Cancun or another location- Cozumel is getting kind of old already. It takes 20 minutes to walk through the Carnival tourist trap built up at the pier with all the shops bars and restaurants. Its great if your elderly or disabled and dont want to venture out to see the island.
walked off as usual- as we stay another week in FL post cruise. Nengah of cabin steward allowed us to keep the luggage in the stateroom until after breakfast until the herds of people disembarked.
Ports aren't guaranteed. I went on a cruise and were suppose to go to Ocho Rios and Grand Cayman. We didn't make either one. We went to Cozumel and Freeport. We didn't get anything.
I went in November and got 0 when we were sent to Nassau instead of grand Turks. Grand Turks was the reason I choose that cruise. Super bummed. We should have got something. And yes I did complain.
Thanks for the review and glad you had a good time. Great tip on timing. I think the "miss-matched" buffet food is the chef trying to provide variety. If they only served one "matched" meal then people would complain it was too boring.
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