It was an OK cruise. We got a good deal thru Lori Segal @ .
Our 2nd Carnival cruise. 11th overall. Our 5th to Western Mexico. We probably won't go back on Carnival even though they are very convenient to our home.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
No covid test at the pier. They checked our test results from a day earlier & passed us thru. We had sailed on Norwegian in Sep & at Thanksgiving. NCL did not ask for our pre-boarding tests, but did a rapid test at the pier. (All tests have been negative.)
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
Did not partake of the ONE specialty restaurant. Ate dinners in the main dining room. One night the Southern Fried Chicken was dry..I don't ever remember anyone else in my 75 years cooking it dry. Very disappointed. Other meals were generally average. The Christmas turkey dinner had lots of turkey & gravy. It was good. My wife had a quesadilla appetizer. It came with a DOT! of guacamole! I've never seen so small of a portion. The only ice cream by the scoop was in the dining room..no ice cream in the buffet. Soft serve was available 24 hours a day. We did have a great 7-layer chocolate cake, available only in the dining room..never in the buffet.
Onboard Activities
2 out of 5
Nice pools, basketball court enclosed in netting, miniature golf. I was going to try the water slides this time (didn't on the 2 NCL cruises) but missed again.
Entertainment
Early shows were in the middle of our dinners & we are not "late" night people.
Children's Programs
No children. There seemed to be a lot of children on board but they weren't seen too often.
Service and Staff
1 out of 5
The staff were very accommodating.
Ship Quality
1 out of 5
The ship was clean, except for some rust. It is an older ship. The Main Dining Room looks like a 1970's Mediterranean motif. Lots of purple grape lights on the ceiling.
The buffet was always confusing in its layout.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
Good sized. Comfortable. Then the A/C went out. They weren't able to fix it quickly. Offered an upgraded cabin, but it was quite a bit farther from the dining areas (my wife has mobility issues); we settled for an equivalent cabin 2 decks higher, closer to dining. We lost a half day of shore time in Cabo the second day due to the move. The Guest Services Supervisor Jana was very nice about trying to offer some compensation, but the only specialty restaurant time available was 9 p.m. We asked for a couple of slices of cake, she sent a whole cake! (We gave it to our room steward, hopefully to be shared with staff.) She also sent chocolate strawberries, cookies & milk, a cheese tray. We were stuffed.)
Ship tip
There is only ONE 115 volt outlet in the cabin. Bring a small power strip, but disconnect when you leave your cabin..Fire hazard.
There are some good value deals for excursions on the pier..just no guarantee you will be back in time for ship's departure.
We "collect" paper mache figures of "old people." Very hard to find anymore. One local fellow took me to about 5 stores before we found a treasure trove of them. The figures looked like they had been there for years and the vendor wanted way too much for them, so I only bought 3 (of the 10 or so that he had).
We anchored out & took tenders to shore..NO piers for cruise ships. The port is AMAZING! Fishing boats & tour boats & yachts of all sizes going in & out. You had to get into a queue to get into port. With a giant catamaran on your tail! It was very busy.
Again, mobility issues. We sat in one of the lobbies for awhile until the lines thinned out. Then just melded in. There was only one elevator so we chose the ramp..it is VERY long but accommodates a walker or motorized wheelchair. Otherwise it was very smooth. No covid checks disembarking.
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