From start to finish, our cruise was really great. My husband and I are very go with the flow type of people and didn’t let a whole lot bother us. We did notice that there were several people around us complaining about one thing or another. Our few complaints surrounded around the pushiness of the up-selling from the staff and the debacle I experienced in the spa with my mani/pedi.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
This was by far the best embarkation experience I have ever had. The new appointment process was great and went incredibly smooth and was through the check-in process and on the ship in under 30 minutes
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
The food was excellent like always. I didn’t have any complaints or concerns. We ate at JiJis specialty restaurant and was blown away by the incredible experience. The food was outstanding and the overall vibe was so relaxing and wonderful.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Overall, the onboard activities were pretty good. We didn’t use the it was center but it was topnotch. The cloud 9 spa was great. We bought the couples package and relaxed in the steam rooms and the heated loungers often.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
The small entertainment bands were great. High Dynamics was definitely the best band we have ever had the pleasure to enjoy on any ship. The one man band of John was also spot-on. The late night ocean plaza band was also amazing.
We watched the main performers the first night of the main event when they did the the white feathery larger than life act. It was incredible and was the best ballet crossover I have ever watched. We had goosebumps watching and it was simply amazing. However, the soul bound was just off and completely missed the mark for us. We didn’t enjoy it at all. The 80s one was pretty cool with the lasers and drones, but we enjoyed watching the band and not the actual performance. It felt more like a rave than a performance. The last show, we opted to not even watch and stayed and watched high dynamics all night.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Overall the staff was incredible. Always so friendly and eager to help. I was however frustrated on several occasions this cruise. I have never cruised with carnival and had to repeatedly tell people no. No matter where I was, someone was trying to sell me something or get me to upgrade and buy some service. We spent $1200 on onboard spending. This was not because people were selling to us, but because of things we wanted to buy. It was very frustrating having to tell people no and having to walk away from them to get them to leave you alone. It takes away from the whole point of a relaxing cruise.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
The ship was obviously brand new and the overall cleanliness was great
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Overall, the room was great. We do wish that there was a tad bit more closet space, but overall it was great.
Ship tip
Don’t get a mani/pedi on the ship. I got one on day one. While the process was nice and it was relaxing, it took three hours. The polish didn’t last 3 days and the lady who started the process left halfway through and another lady took over. Instead of starting where the other lady left off, she started all over again. She began to scrape my feet even after I told her that the other lady had already done that. My feet were soooooo sore the i tire trip. I struggled on my excursions as my feet were so sensitive and couldn’t wear my heels with my dresses for formal night so tripped on my long dresses all night. They were too rough. It has been two weeks since my pedicure and my feet are just now starting to heal a bit but are still sore.
We got off the ship with Matt on his jewelry and diamonds international excursion. It was a lot of fun and he was able to get us some great deals. The town was pretty cute and we enjoyed exploring. For those who don’t like getting off the ship to eat at the local fare, this may not be the stop for you. There is not a lot of shopping per se and it’s more of a ward town. There wasn’t easily accessible beaches, at least none that we saw. We enjoyed the trip, but it is not for everyone.
This port was great once you got out the main gate. We heard a lot of complaints in regards to the shopping portal the ship drops you at. You are ina tiny gated area and surrounded by taxi drivers that want to charge you a fortune to take you to places you don’t really care to see. We paid one $30 to take us to golden area and he dropped us on a random pier with a bunch of people selling goods on the side of the street. After walking through the large group of people trying to sell their goods on you for “almost free” we kept walking and stumbled upon a wonderful restaurant on the beach and some other great sites. Once we got the taxi to to go back it cost us $3 to get to the other side of the city. The original taxis definitely price gouged for convenience. I would recommend walking out the gates and hailing a taxi a few blocks down the way.
This was by far our favorite stop. We took the hidden Mexico river lunch excursion and got to see the parts that most did not. We had so much fun and loved every second of the entire experience.
Loved “go with the flow”.
If your a complainer please stay away from all fun areas or better yet stay home. There was a lady on my last cruise that wanted to lay at the bottom of the waterslide and scream at everyone for getting her wet. Lol.
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