Overall, we loved this cruise. We had 3 balcony cabins for 7 passengers. The negatives: The halls were obnoxiously loud at night. Young kids out until 2am with no parents around running and yelling in halls. (That has seemingly become a new normal on all of our cruises) Large groups of passengers seemed to take over clubs and shows making it at times uncomfortable and irritating. At times some staff seemed slightly rude, which was rather shocking.
Positives: The ship is beautiful and laid out well so lines typically aren't an issue. Decks are spread out so you don't feel like sardines. The sea days are the best! 8 night cruising somehow is so much better than 7!
Embarkation
5 out of 5
In all of my cruises I have never walked from parking lot directly on to the ship. No standing around in line or sitting for a while. We literally kept moving directly to the ship! It was perfect!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
The food was good. Lines were not awful, typically.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
We lounged around the pools. My kids enjoyed the youth programs and the Sports Square. I enjoyed the walking area.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Most shows were good. The DJ was good.
Children's Programs
5 out of 5
My kids enjoyed their group activities.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Our waiters in the main dining room went well above to make things great. Our room stewards did the minimum to get the job done. I oddly found general staff on the ship to not be friendly. I know they are way overworked so I don't include the people cleaning and serving. The workers in the white uniforms seeming to indicate of level of officer/being in charge I found off putting. I also found a couple of the bartenders to be horribly rude, which was a new experience. I think most of this is due to the whole gratuity being automatically taken from your account issue. I know I can remove or reduce the gratuity amount at Guest services, but I miss the days that you gave everyone an envelope with cash. They had an obligation to "earn" it rather than simply "get" it. So, we still tipped extra to those who went "above and beyond".
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Very pleased with inside the ship and the cleanliness, in general. Though we did have to clean our balcony glass so we could see the water. The outside of the ship has been neglected.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
I loved our cabin. It was as I expected.
Ship tip
Be prepared for no sleep. Perhaps it was just our sailing, but people were up and down the hall all night being loud.
It was better than most. Carnival really needs to work on manning deck level elevators to be sure people don't get off when they shouldn't. If people would follow rules, it would go so much better. We were deck 9 and had people from decks 5 and 6 in front of us. Those decks were not called yet.
Yes , after 60 cruises with carnival , we have found there are many areas that need attention . Gratuities should be handed out when a job has been. Well done . We do not let carnival do it at all . The servers in all areas have the idea they don't have to care about anything and they are gonna get their tips no matter what . WRONG !! They do a good job we tip them . If not , ohhh. Well !
Yeah I found that leaving even a little extra for a tip could really change the service you got in the bars. After day 1 I started to get really good service, after I had shown my appreciation (through tipping) and made a point to be kind to them.
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