Overall, the service and cleanliness were great. In general, I like cruises and have enjoyed several in the past with my husband or a group of friends, but despite the fact that Carnival advertises heavily for family vacations, it was very hard with the young kids. First, it is ridiculous that you charge for children under 12. No other vacation destination does that, even ones that offer free child entertainment, etc. Second, we had two adjoining rooms, one with me and my 14mos daughter, and one with my husband and my other two kids (6yo and 3yo) but the only option for his room was two twin beds or one king (no murphy/trundle/bunk beds, and no room for a cot) so he ended up having to share a "king" bed with a big crack in the middle (which is more appropriately described as a double or small queen sized bed, by the way) with two children and did not sleep well at all. Regarding kids activities, we have a 1.5yo who was too young to go to kids club, a 3yo who didn't enjoy kids club and a 6yo who didn't mind kids club but honestly, she's very able to entertain herself so she does pretty well anywhere. We were also pretty disappointed with the Dr. Seuss activities. We brought the kids to kids club before the parade thinking that they must be bringing the kids to see it, and they didn't take them. Then the Dr. Seuss breakfast was less than great. First, they messed up our reservation and had a table set for 4 for our party of 16 and then gave us quite a bit of attitude about it like it was somehow our fault. We finally got seated and got our orders in, which took a LONG time (service in the dining room at night was AMAZING but not so for the breakfast) and then they called our table to go see The Cat in the Hat the moment all the food finally arrived. The portions were WAY too large for the kids and much more sugary than they needed to be (half the fruit loops on the french toast would have been more than sufficient). The yogurt parfait was so syrupy sweet that literally none of the 7 children in our party took more than one bite. Also, there were no great options for adults, the only non sugar laden options, steak and eggs, or green eggs and ham, were so salty you could barely eat them (and that is saying something because I LOVE salt). It was definitely not worth even the minimal extra $6 a person (we were even charged for my 14mos old??). We got through this cruise because it was my sister-in-laws 40th birthday but unless there is a way to improve the options for the children (liven up kids club, warmer pool water, kids pool, better/more kid-friendly activities, etc.), we won't be going on another one anytime soon.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Boarding went very smoothly. There was a gentleman at the Tampa port printing out boarding paperwork for those of us who forgot (around 1 or 1:30pm) and he was extremely nice and helpful (unfortunately, I did not get his name).
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
The food in the dining room was very good the first and especially the last night, and just alright all the nights in between and everything was very small portions. The buffets food inside and outside on the lido deck was good as well except for Caribbean night...I'm a big fan of jerk chicken but nothing was very good that day. Very disappointed with the Dr. Seuss breakfast (more in overview below) but the burger bar and the pizza counter were both a big hit with everyone. In addition, it was not clear that the drink package included a built-in tip at the end. We usually tip above standard gratuities anyway but it was a shock to see that charge at the end when we had gone through the whole cruise tipping as if the gratuity was not included. I'm sure we made some bartenders very happy but it should be made more apparent up front, not buried in the fine print. Lastly, I understand not including it on a 3 or 4 night cruise, but a 5 or more night cruise should include the steak and lobster dinner. That should not have been taken away.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Lido deck was lively as ever but the water was too cold for anyone to last long, should really find a way to heat it better and should definitely have more kid-friendly activities and a separate kids pool and pool area with kid-friendly activities. The Lido deck activities are very adult-focused and that is pretty much the only area on the boat that is a draw for kids so it's a bit awkward.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
live music was very good, comedy show was okay (guy better than the girl)
Children's Programs
1 out of 5
The older kids seemed a little more impressed (6, 6 and 8yrs girls), but the younger ones went once and fought us not to go back (3, 3 and 4yr boys), said it was boring. We were also disappointed with the quality of the Dr. Seuss breakfast and general lack of other kid friendly activities or kid pool/area. Maybe there's another ship that is more kid-friendly but this didn't seem to be it.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The service was great, everyone I encountered was very pleasant and friendly and their ability to learn your name after just one or two visits is astonishing. There was a very friendly Asian woman who worked at the coffee shot all the time and our dining room staff (Mark Melbert Panit Muares, Buatong Srisonghad and Melanie Valdez Salazar were AMAZING! We had a group of 16 people, 9 adults (some of whom were very hard to please) and 7 kids and they were all extremely accommodating, patient and great with the kids (and the adults that needed it).
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Other than one instance of stepping out of the elevator into a landing area with vomit all over the floor, everything was very clean and well-maintained.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
It was very tight, as would be expected, but comfort and cleanliness were great, our room steward (I wish I wrote down his name!) was very helpful and friendly. I had an infant with me and he was very willing to work in between her naps to clean. She was also sick one of the nights and they went above and beyond to clean/disinfect the room. He did a great job, very attentive. My only complaint was with my husband's adjoining room (one very tiny "king" sized bed with a crack down the middle for three people to share; more in overview below)
Ship tip
When dining inside at the buffet on the Lido deck, head all the way back, and tucked between the bar, the deli and the pizza counter, there's a hidden bunch of tables overlooking the water in the back of the boat, less crowded, quiet and great view (tables available outside there as well).
Been here several times, VERY commercial and not the cleanest but good/fun vibe with nice people overall. Although, this visit, some of the shop staff were extremely pushy, one even grabbed my 6yo daughter's arm and tied a bracelet to her wrist and then told her to ask mommy for it...inappropriate.
*Cruiseline.com is not a booking agent or travel agency,
and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. Our partners
(travel agencies and cruise lines) provide prices, which we list for our
users' convenience. Cruiseline.com does not guarantee any specific rates or
prices. While prices are updated daily, please check with the booking site
for the exact amount. Cruiseline.com is not responsible for content on
external web sites.
Contact us
Submitting...
Need help from a personal vacation planner?
Loading...
Find the perfect cruise with weekly tips and cruise deals for as little as $30/night!
Sign up for weekly cruise deals
Join other subscribers and get the best
cruise deals of the week in your inbox every Thursday.
