First Carnival cruise was pretty good!

Carnival Radiance Cruise Review to Mexico

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 35

Overall rating:

3.9 out of 5
Carnival Radiance

4 Night Catalina & Baja Mexico (Los Angeles Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 30, 2021

Ship: Carnival Radiance

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 2 years ago

Review summary

Overall, pleasantly surprised by this trip. I will likely be traveling on Carnival again at some point in the future.

Embarkation

4 out of 5
A bit slow with a persistent glaring horn that was very annoying to listen to, but otherwise no issues.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5
The food in the MDR was very good each nigh we went (Your Time dining). We only ate at the buffet once, which was so-so. The options didn't look impressive. We tried Cucina Del Capitano at lunch (upcharge for dinner) which was very good. Guy's Pig & Anchor Bar-B-Que was a let-down, but the burger I had at Guy's Burger Joint was delicious. I was happy there was a 24/7 pizza spot - the pizza itself had a good taste, but was pretty flimsy. The chicken at Big Chicken was not bad, just a bit stringy the second time we went. I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the drinks I got at just about every bar (this was our first time getting a drink package). Oh and finally, DO NOT order room service - you're better off eating cardboard.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

Entertainment

5 out of 5
We only went to so many things, but were ultimately happy with the entertainment on the ship. I wish Disney had as many live musicians scattered throughout the ship at different times of day. Several people were speculating that some of the performers became ill since they were constantly changing the entertainment schedule and didn't have the live theater (which we didn't see) performances beyond the first night. In any event, everyone in my party was impressed with the quality of musicianship on board. I encountered other entertainment (trivia, etc.) only in passing, so can't really speak to those.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
I was overall happy with the service. Everyone over at Disney likes to talk about how their service is incomparable, and while that may have been true pre-Covid (the service on the Wonder in 2018 was absolutely phenomenal), the difference is seems to be minimal now. Mind you, I'm comparing just one 4-night period on one ship with another, but still - if I'm going to be paying that massive Disney premium, I'd expect a night and day difference with Carnival.

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5
Cabin issues were the only ones that really stuck out on this cruise (but still weren't so terrible). First, the A/C barely cooled the air (if at all), which is a particular problem for me because I get warm very easily and strongly prefer to have a cool environment before going to sleep. I couldn't imagine how the experience might have been during a summer cruise. Second, it seems plumbing was not a priority in the recent major renovation. In particular, hot water was a very scarce resource - on one night, the hottest setting was lukewarm at best. Also, they did not change out sheets one day and had to ask for the following day. I don't know if this is the norm or if I've just never noticed before, but they really should be changing out the sheets every day. Along similar lines, it seems Carnival only has them service the room once a day versus what I'm accustomed to (twice). Not a huge deal, just something to keep in mind. We were happy with our room steward - friendly guy, not much to say there.

Ports of call

Ensenada, Mexico

3 out of 5

Disembarkation

4 out of 5
Average process, just a bit slow.
Was this review helpful? 35

10 Comments

snowwhite74    2 years ago

Thank you for the review I'm leaving on that cruise next weekend and have been concerned if it was good with all the new restrictions

CurlyCruiserYAY    2 years ago

Curt34    2 years ago

Thanks for the review.

javawoody    2 years ago

Appreciate the review

BeachDiva    2 years ago

Thank you for your review. I sail her on 1/28 and have been concerned about the plumbing problems I’ve been hearing about.

AuntPinkie    2 years ago

Appreciate your feedback. Carnival changed to service once per day at the start of the the restart. They have been trying to go to it for a long time. Glad you enjoyed your cruise.

izrgreen    2 years ago

Thank you for the review.

PiratesWorld    2 years ago

Thanks for the info

Gwbigdog    2 years ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise. Ac issue us a big deal

cruising2004    2 years ago

Thanks for sharing.

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