Our first ever cruise was a great experience. The service surprised me the most. It was fantastic. Fun ports, good friends on board, strong drinks and relaxation!
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Our embarkation was so SMOOTH! We had a suite for this cruise and therefore had priority embarkation. We arrived around 10:30, quickly walked through security and were in the terminal right away. We sat for about 5 minutes and then were called to board the ship. We were on the ship, with drink in hand, by 11am. SWEET!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Dining options on the ship were plentiful. I usually had Blue Iguana cantina for breakfast and Guy's Burgers for lunch. Both were very good. I had Guy's Pig and Anchor on one of the sea days. It was really good too. The main dining room was so great! Our servers were very friendly and knew all our names (11 of us) by the second night. The food options were on the menu were good. We tried many things that we've never had the chance to eat before (alligator, ox tongue, etc.). I never ate at the buffet really, would just go in there for coffee and water. It all looked good, but it just wasn't my jam. Also only got one slice of pizza from the pizza joint (thought I'd have much more). Pizza was great, it was just that i was mostly full all the time, lol.
Cucina Del Capitano
5 out of 5
Just went here for the lunch (which is included in cruise pkg). The custom made pasta bowls were fantastic! Also seemed like not many people knew about it for lunch only a couple other people were there.
Ocean Plaza
5 out of 5
Really fun place were most of the trivia took place, along with live music entertainment. With the coffee cafe and Alchemy bar nearby, it was a cool place to hang out
Prime Steakhouse
4 out of 5
It was nice to have a dinner with just my wife that evening. Food was good. Not sure we'd go back though, not convinced it was worth the extra $70 (plus $60 for wine pairings).
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
There was plenty to do on board. Two main pools, fore and aft. Two fun water slides and big water play area for kids. The ship has a pretty big workout area. The ropes course was really fun. Tons of trivia contests throughout the day. Lots of other activities too.
Aroma Steam Bath
4 out of 5
Loved the feeling of this but it was way too hot for me. I went in several times, but could only hack it 2-3 minutes at a time.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
The shows on board were fun, but the level of talent wasn't the highest. Still enjoyable to watch. Saw just one comedy show and it was good. We loved the Dive-in Theater. Watching movies on deck 12 was really much more enjoyable than I expected.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The staff were fantastic! Lots of smiles and always helpful.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Ship was clean.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
The cabin was great, plenty of room. Location was fantastic. We were located right near the middle set of elevators which was helpful. Also near the laundry room.
Our group rented two of the eight cabanas available at this port. It was truly a spectacular day. Dedicated waiter service to bring us drinks and food on demand. Floaty pads were provided and i just floated out in the ocean with my drink for a large portion of the day. It was the excursion i looked forward to the most, and it didn't disappoint.
My wife and I planned on just browsing through the shops at the port but were offered an hour long city tour with rum tasting stop for $45 total (price was completely negotiable) and we decided to go for it. The van was a bit warm but the tour was informative and the driver and guide took us through a lot of the city. It was interesting to get an "unsanitized" look at the port city. It's always informative to see how people live in other places.
This port we booked an excursion to Chichen Itza in the middle of the Yucatan peninsula. It's one of the seven New Wonders of the World and we figured if we were this close, we might not get another opportunity. Now when I say "close" it's relative. It's a 40 minute boat ride to mainland Mexico, then onto a big bus for a 2 & 1/2 hour ride to the sight. This is a WHOLE day excursion when you factor in the travel time. The time we had at the sight was about an hour and a half. Chichen Itza is amazing and we're really glad we took this excursion. Our tour guide on the bus was so informative and he stayed with us for about 45 minutes once we got there giving us history on the different structures. After that we wandered on our own for 45 minutes and then left. Tons of vendors, that some may find "pushy", but this is their living and no one pushed too hard. Got back to the ship 15 minutes AFTER we were scheduled to leave, so booking through Carnival saved our butt on this one.
We had priority disembarkation. We headed down around 7 am and we waited in the fore dining room for a few minutes and then started moving and we were off the ship through customs and in our shuttle by 8:15 am.
*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.
