Unorganized Carnival cruise staff at ports of call & terrible food/dining experience!

Item: Carnival Paradise
Rating: 3.1
Author: meg1873

Carnival Paradise Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

meg1873

Contributor Level: Deck Hand

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 10

Overall rating:

3.1 out of 5

Verified Review

5 Night Western Caribbean (Tampa Roundtrip)

Sail date: November 27, 2023

Ship: Carnival Paradise

Cabin type: Oceanview

Cabin number: M130

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 6 months ago

Review summary

I have travelled on Carnival many times and this ship is by far the worst I have cruised on. The ship itself is old and needs to be refurbished or dry docked. There is little to no glamour to the dining room or lobby area. The common areas were frequently dirty and had spills or stains. Select staff were wonderful, but overall, there was little to no communication from most of the staff. The cruise director was not engaged with us except for once a day. The waiter in the dining room forgot our food and commonly let us run out of drinks. There was mass confusion by staff upon arriving at Grand Cayman, resulting in us missing out on excursions and only having 2 hours before having to be back on board. The selection of food was awful and often uncooked or cold. Coffee machines were consistently broken, and after many complaints water jugs were used. Food was often put away by staff during mealtimes and we had to frequently request cruise officers to inform the kitchen staff to put certain food items back out.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Very good. Very efficient and thorough. Little to no wait to board.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5

The food was terrible. Food was often undercooked or cold. Waiter in dining room forgot our order multiple times. Often let us run out of drinks. No paper menus are no longer available. You must scan a QR code to view the menu. We turned off our phones for vacation and was questioned by the waiter for our lack of use of technology.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

Pool area was nice, along with the hot tubs.

Entertainment

4 out of 5

Shows in the theatre were great. DJ was good but playlist seemed to be on repeat.

Children's Programs

No children were brought with us.

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

Select waiters in the pool area were great with delivering drinks and cocktails. Room steward was very friendly and flexible to meet our needs.

Ship Quality

1 out of 5

The ship is old and desperately needs to be refurbished or dry docked. Alot of the common areas were dirty and had debris or spills on the surface.

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

The room was clean and spacious, as much as a cabin can be, however again the ship needs to be refurbished or dry docked. It was cold when we set sail and there was no heat to the room. Passengers were all complaining and requested blankets.