Some good, but mostly not so much.

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 6

Review summary

This was the first cruise for my wife and I. The weather, overall, was very bad. Cool, overcast, with drizzling rain, mostly. We had one day that was partly sunny, enough to catch a few welcome rays on deck. Trying to nap in the deckside lounge chair, though, was a fool's errand, with all the noise (mostly people talking loudly). We had a stateroom on the 5th deck, starboard side, ocean view. The room was small, but comfortable enough. You do not hear the people in the adjoining rooms; however, the hallway is often full of people, kids, etc., who come in loud and clear. The bed was quite comfortable, and the gentle rocking of the ship was pleasant. Still, I had a hard time finding sleep. At one point, the gentle rocking turned to a more pronounced rolling, to the extent that the glassware on the counter began sliding to-and-fro, briefly. I honestly don't know how these boats don't capsize, as top-heavy as they appear! Food was mediocre in the buffet, poor to good in the Sunset restaurant. I ordered a shrimp creole that was passably good for dinner one evening, but most of the dinners were unremarkable in their quality. The best meal we had, in my humble opinion, was the breakfast with the fresh-made everything omelet, oatmeal, and lox and bagels with cream cheese. Coffee was not too bad. I got a burrito from the Mexican cantina (Deck 9 or 10, in the open, adjacent to the pool and Jacuzzis) that was decent. Make sure you download the app, so you can make reservations for your meals! Several times, we waltzed into our seats for meals, past a long line of people (so it really was worthwhile, despite my reluctance to get yet another app, register, log-in, create...etc) The best thing about the cruise, for me, was meeting people from all over. I met several people in the sports bar, as well as the Frog pub, and had nice conversations over a variety of drinks. I tend to go for the IPA's, coming from a long stint in the Great Pacific Northwest, and they had a couple of pretty good ones. I could summarize by saying that being trapped on a boat surrounded by the largest collection of poorly dressed ill-mannered obese riff-raff I’ve ever seen, going from one meal to the next, is most definitely not my idea of a good time, but I do not wish to be mean, or condescending. Just calling ‘em like I see ‘em. I realize most folks do not place a priority on getting into the gym 4+ times a week, and, as mentioned, I did meet some very nice people. There is one thing that sticks in my craw, that you should be aware of: On the website, there is a page titled "Post-Cruise Assistance", or something to that effect. I was trying to get a reprint of my 'Sail and Sign' statement, because I couldn't sleep Wednesday late, so I got up and went to the Casino to get a drink, stuck a twenty into a video poker machine, and got lucky and won $90. I did not see this reflected on my settlement statement at cruise end. When you go to the form on the webpage for getting a copy of your statement, it asks for your booking number, which I got from the confirmation email from Carnival. When I try to submit it (3 times), I get the old 'This field is invalid' trick, over and over. So then I went to the support email for Carnival, and, lo, after three emails, still no reply. It's not about the money. So good luck, ya'll! I doubt if I'll be sailing with Carnival again!

Embarkation

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

Onboard Activities

Entertainment

Service and Staff

Ship Quality

Cabin / Stateroom

Ports of call

Long Beach (Los Angeles), California

Catalina Island, California Did not visit port

Ensenada, Mexico

Disembarkation