This was an amazing Thanksgiving cruise for my family. We ranged from 4 years old to 64 years young and fun was had by all. There was no cooking and cleaning this year! The staff was great, the itinerary was amazing and most importantly the hot sunny weather was our best friend!
Embarkation
5 out of 5
We had a check-in time of 12:00-12:30. Once the shuttle dropped us off, we were on the ship 30 minutes later. Could have been quicker but some family members were held up with security doing random checks with the drug dogs.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
The food is not the greatest but it was good. Never had a bad meal in the main dining room. The waiters we had were awesome. We were a group of 22 and they did not skip a beat with us. They were very attentive and looked out for our little ones. They accommodated our special requests for birthdays, anniversaries, special meals. They truly went above and beyond what was expected.
The buffet food was okay as well if you wanted to brave the lines. It was always long lines… breakfast, lunch, or dinner. But what do you expect on a sold out ship the week of Thanksgiving? We knew it would be like that when we booked the cruise so that’s that!
There’s always Guys Burgers (which also had long lines) but worth the wait. We definitely ate there more than once. Oh yeah, can’t forget about Blue Iguana (yummy).
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
The kids (ages 4-16) enjoyed the pool, splash pad, water slides, and rope course.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Our entire group said they enjoyed everything they went to (comedy club, piano bar, night club). I missed out on quite a bit while hanging back with the little ones. We did see the stage shows and they were entertained. We enjoyed the CD and Mo-Mo!
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Not one single complaint! Everyone we encountered was pleasant to awesome.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
We were familiar with the layout since we cruised her sister (Breeze) a few years back. Easy to navigate and learn your way around. Some furniture could be replaced as we did notice some rips and tears on pieces. However, it is a clean ship and staff was always wiping down common touch places.
It’s a nice island but I was underwhelmed. The cruise lines have other private islands that are better. Carnival also need a better way to tender passengers. It was too much chaos. Half of the passengers didn’t make it to the island until 1:00 or later and the bbq buffet was shutting down at that time.
Loved Aruba. Our large group rented 5 cars and toured the island. Stopped at baby beach and it was absolutely AMAZING. We had the whole day to explore the island and we made every second count.
This is where improvement is needed from Carnival and Miami port. This was only my 2nd cruise with Carnival, the first being several years ago and I didn’t remember that you have to line up to get numbers for your luggage to disembark. They started handing them out at 11:30. I got to the location at 11:50 and all the numbers were gone. I wasn’t even surprised at this. It’s a sold out ship and they are just left there for all to grab. I was on my way to guest services to see what the next step would be when I encountered a mass amount of the numbers just thrown on the floor. So, myself and a couple other people scooped them up. Our best guess was maybe some kids took them and thought it would be funny? There were a lot of people looking for numbers so I’m not sure what their outcome was.
Once we exited the ship, it was a nightmare looking for our luggage. It was so congested with porters and passengers. The conveyor belt took up so much space until you couldn’t walk. They really need a better system.
@javawoody - the tenders were in place but only 3 of them. From what I could see, 1 was being used for the staff and the food to go to the island. They were giving out numbers to get on the tenders and it took hours for the transport. I have never experienced this on any of my other cruises. I believe the process began about 9:00 that morning and some of us didn’t get on the tender until after 12:00. Very unorganized.
Appreciate your detailed and informative review. Carnival has announced a change in debarkation starting the first of the year. Supposedly taking away the need to get numbers from the board. Hope it works better. Glad you enjoyed your family cruise. We sail on her for NYE. Can’t wait!
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