I feel their should be a tour given to first time cruisers. they should be given a packet explaining what restaurants are included, where the shows and other activities take place, a list of items not to buy or they will be confiscated and held before the item is bought. all this would have made the cruise better.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
could have been better. once aboard seemed like cruise members didn't want to do much for us
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
2 out of 5
buffet was good, don't know about anything else, because we were never given anything to tell us what dining areas was included in our package.
Onboard Activities
1 out of 5
don't know . didn't know where anything was , in fact, the last day was when we finally found out there were more than 10 decks.
Entertainment
1 out of 5
area should have been marked caution may have bright stage lighting at times . this one show we made the lighting gave me a migraine. this done me in for the night.
Children's Programs
anniversary cruise no children
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
our room steward was great. If not for his encouraging smile and friendly Hello this trip would have been a total disaster
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
cleanliness was really good. design don't know without a map it is hard to explore, especially since my wife walks with a cane.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
The comfort and size was suitable. Cleanliness was very desirable. it was very well kept.
Ship tip
Make sure you get a map of the ship. Make sure to find out what restaurants are included in your packet. find out what decks have the entertainment.
we were left behind and my wife started having trouble with her knees, we could not do the excursion. we stayed close to the ship. this is where I give Carnival and their officers a real big Thank you and good mark. After they heard about the problem I was fully reimbursed for the excursion. Once again Thank You.
They kept changing what elevator was to be taken, so my wife had to disembark with the rest of the passengers. This was rough with her walking with a cane . If it wasn't for the guards in the terminal, this would have been bad.
Sorry you didn’t take time to educate yourself prior to boarding. Did you hook through an agent or directly through carnival? There are tons of websites, YouTube videos, even books on cruising for first timers. Your travel agent or personal vacation planner should’ve been able to help you with much of this. Thankfully, you chose a small ship to get you started. Most if the ships in the fleet are quite a bit larger. Hopefully you found enough things that you’ll give cruising another try.
PS your dining room was is listed on your sail & sign card. This would also have been set up through the Carnival website for bed configuration, dining times and what cc is attached to your sail and sign card.
Carnival Hub app is for free and shows daily what's going on, dining options and deck plan. Also Carnival's website where you got your boarding pass has everything that is available on the ship what is included and cost extra.
on the hub app or a paper list of the activities, it talks you where all the activities will be at for the day. everything is on the carnival site or even through Google.
If you had done any research you would have found that carnival does do a tour. Get to meet your fellow travelers, many have cruised before and have good advice.
If you did not prepare to know what was and was not included on your cruise ahead of time, you should have asked people, both crew and seasoned cruisers who would have given you information you were lacking on your first cruise. Many seasoned crusers, like myself, would answered all your questions if I had been on your cruise and you explained you were a first time cruiser and wasn't sure how things worked on a cruise ship. Given your review though, I'm not sure that Carnival is possibly the best fit for you and your wife. Especially if you are an older couple. If you had a travel agent, they also could have told you what meals and restaurants were included in your cruise price.
All Carnival ships do have an embarkation day Get to Know Your Ship (free) tour approximately 3 hours prior to the published sail away time and Guest Services is open 24 hours daily for any and all questions. In addition to that a simple read through the FAQs section of the Carnival website prior to boarding would of answered may of your complaints.
Cruising isn’t for everyone. It sounds like more research prior to the cruise would’ve made for a better experience. Most of the issues you had such as knowing which restaurants were included, what cost extra, the layout of the ship, etc. can be easily found on the Cruise Line’s website. There are also numerous videos, online where people have given tours of the ship.
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