Horrible experience

Carnival Radiance Cruise Review to Mexico

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 20

Overall rating:

2 out of 5
Verified Review
Carnival Radiance

3 Night Baja Mexico (Los Angeles Roundtrip)

Sail date: February 02, 2024

Ship: Carnival Radiance

Cabin type: Oceanview

Cabin number: 2402

Traveled as: Large Group

Reviewed: 9 months ago

Review summary

Horrible experience. Crew was very uninformed, Wi-Fi was expensive and DID NOT WORK, absolutely no water is included for free, over crowded, and not fun at all. And I’m super glad to have tipped on the card for me to find out there is essentially a 50 dollar gratuity taken from us daily.

Embarkation

1 out of 5
Horrible. They asked if we had ever been on a cruise and we answered “no” and they shrugged and sent us on our way. We had no idea how to obtain our keys, to find out after 45 mins of trying to find someone with an answer, that our keys are on our door with our name and cards, for anyone to simply take or go into our rooms.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5
Nothing special or bad.

Onboard Activities

1 out of 5
Pools were disgustingly filled to the brim with humans that you couldn’t find a place to sit in or outside the pool

Entertainment

2 out of 5
You had a comedian that was inherently sexist and NOT funny. We walked out mid opener because I didn’t feel the need to be subjected to rude behavior “painted to be blue humor”. There’s a difference between blue humor and rude sexism.

Children's Programs

I have no kids

Service and Staff

2 out of 5
I constantly was in search for a bathroom and staff constantly had no idea where the bathroom was

Ship Quality

1 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

1 out of 5

Ship tip

WATER SHOULD ALWAYS BE INCLUDED FOR FREE. Absolutely DISGUSTING to me that i am essentially forced to constantly buy water. This is a boat that prides itself in getting their customers drunk, probably because they don’t give water to help sober them up.

Ports of call

Long Beach (Los Angeles), California

3 out of 5

Ensenada, Mexico

3 out of 5

Disembarkation

1 out of 5
Had no instructions or understanding how to disembark. They only do the instructions via announcement which was useless for most people I assume. It is also not Deaf or Hard of Hearing friendly.
Was this review helpful? 20

13 Comments

DFromATX     6 months ago

A little research goes a long way. (There’s free juice, water, and tea at every drink station.) First time cruising is a learning experience especially if you booked it on your own. A good travel planner would have come in handy and been able to tell you all the little things. With that said, maybe cruising is not for you - and that’s ok too.

pamigirl1     9 months ago

I went on with 65 family members it was awesome I was on a 4 day and I’m booked for 5 day in October same ship I loved it

JennByJupiter     9 months ago

And sometimes you give what you get so be careful what you’re giving

Flcruisepro     9 months ago

A little research goes a long way. Also, many experienced cruisers will help first time cruisers if they just ask.

YosemiteBaby     9 months ago

Sorry it wasn't for you. Like others said, research, ask customer service, or even ask other cruisers.

byhisgrace     9 months ago

There water is usually next to the tea/lemonade dispenser

dsorel     9 months ago

Sorry your 1st cruise didn't met your expections...Althought, a bit of research from your part by reading Carnival FAQ's before boarding or simply looking at a Youtube video online would have made this trip way more enjoyable. By the way, YES you can get free water onboard. You cabin tap water is safe to drink and all bars, restaurants can serve you glasses of water by simply asking kindly. Also, in the buffet area, there are self serve water machines with glasses as well as free tea, coffee and sometimes juices. Also, regarding dissembarkation, they usually put letters of a paper on your desk explaning how it's done. Otherwise, guests services agents are there to answer your questions 24/7. Voilà!

cruising2004     9 months ago

Water is free! Disembarkation information is placed in your stateroom the day/night before departure. Sail and sign cards are placed in mailboxes or slots for your stateroom on embarkation.

Dumfy75     9 months ago

I’ve never been on a Carnival ship but I knew without having to read other comments that there would be free water! And yes as you pointed out, humans seem to like the pool.

ahawk20     9 months ago

We are so sorry you couldn’t find the free & abundant filtered water on your cruise. We always bring our Hydro-Flasks from home for just this reason. You could buy one fancy aluminum bottle of water on the ship and keep refilling during cruise.

karlgrgurich     9 months ago

Water is included for free. It comes out of the tap.

HarryMess     9 months ago

I never trust reviews written by anyone who couldn’t find the complimentary water, lemonade, and tea during the course of their cruise.

kdlady     9 months ago

This is a bogus review. There is free filtered water available from the tap at every bar and restaurant, and the bathrooms are clearly marked on every deck (usually in the same spot on every deck as well.)

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