I'd do the same cruise again absolutely. We relaxed but we also went hard when we wanted. Service was amazing, the food was divine, especially the steakhouse. Our fellow cruisers were fun. The Fun Squad was terrific, especially Chloe, Char and Luiz (hoped I spelled those right). I really love that Serenity has a pool. The whole cruise was truly wonderful.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
We had FTTF and were in our ready cabin by 11 30 AM. It appeared passengers that didn't have priority followed quickly behind!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Bacchus main dining was great for dinner, breakfast and sea day brunch. We enjoyed almost everything, and the eggs Benedict are great, they poach eggs perfectly. The buffet was decent, it was very hard to find bacon cooked well, and Chopsticks should be open more often.
Nick & Nora's was superb, absolutely excellent both meals. Service at all venues was top notch.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
I went to 2 different creativity events, one sponsored by Michaels, enjoyable. Trivia was lots of fun, we did Friends, The Office, Movie quotes and movie music. 70's music trivia and 80's music trivia were actual events and a total blast. The Love and Marriage Show was hysterical, and the comedians were great, especially Happy Cole. We watched him twice!
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Our room steward Ghenja was excellent. Kept ice replenished and cabin clean, plus cute towel animals. Chloe the cruise director was incredible, energetic and could get the crowd going in seconds. Char from Punchliner and the Fun Squad was sweet and funny. Nena, a hostess in Bacchus, was a darling. Our serving teams at Nick and Nora's, especially Denis and Semmia, were fantastic. The head chef spoke to us for quite a while at the steakhouse and he's incredibly talented!
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
I loved the layout, it was straightforward. So many ships have you diverting to other decks just to get to the other side of the one you started on. This ship has an easy layout.
Constant maintenance was observed. The one problem was the funnel had a malfunction and spit oil or something at half of Serenity one day, and our Aft balcony was unusable for over half our trip because of it. Carnival is working with us to replace items and make it right.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
I loved this cabin. If it hadn't been for the funnel issue causing our balcony to be unusable, we'd book it again and again. It was convenient to Bacchus, Serenity and Alchemy Bar since it was aft, and it was quiet.
Ship tip
Make a list of things to try before you board. Get the cheese plate that's on dessert for an appetizer, get half priced fish bowls and discounted beers at Red Frog on Embarkation, go to any trivia involving decades music. Dance a lot.
We chose not to do an excursion since it wasn't whale watching season. When you are at the port, many men will try to sell you taxi rides and tours. Go through those people to the corner outside and you'll find drivers of the yellow taxis, much cheaper.
It was very hot and muggy despite being overcast. Many, many people try to stop you and sell things, you must have patience. Be ready to bargain.
We took a yellow taxi to the flea market, walked up the Malecon and caught a cab back to the port.
We chose to bar hop on our own but didn't make it to all the places because of rain. First Billygan's, which we loved. Then Cabo Wabo, which was a great time. We were not enthused with Senor Frogs. Also, we visited two pharmacies, one in town that locals use and once more touristy. No difference really except the one locals use wouldn't give us a prescription the other one did, they were both pricey.
Be prepared for a zillion sales attacks wherever you walk. Tendering sucks, we had priority tenders and it still sucked.
Mazatlan was pretty. At first all you see is shipping containers. Take the tram to the blue line. Look for the expats with blue shirts, they'll guide you on where to go and don't accept tips. You can take a golf cart taxi for about $5, or walk to the center of town, just follow the blue line.
We watched a couple of street performances, saw the beautiful church, and went to the market.
We took an uber from Long Beach airport (which is a lovely, close and manageable airport) to the Queen Mary. My third stay there, it's historic and awesome and could not be more convenient to the Carnival port (the porters brought our luggage to the cruise terminal the next morning). We then ubered to Roscoe's for a delicious meal and then walked to Von's to pick up our allowed 2 bottles of wine and 24 sodas
That night we had drinks and apps at the bar at the Queen Mary after exploring the ship.
We had FTTF which made it easy, we met in a lounge and were escorted off. We easily made our 10 50 flight out of Long Beach. I would NOT book that early without priority, and never would I book even close to that early if it was an LAX flight.
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