Overall we had a great experience on our first cruise. We had an amazing time and would definitely cruise with Carnival again. We will try a different (bigger?) ship next time.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
We stood in line for a long time but I think that’s inevitable.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
All the food was delicious. There were so many options. We ended up eating 4 meals a day.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
My husband used the fitness center and running track. We we swam in the pool once. They were both satisfactory.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
So much to do and see. We went to a show almost every night. We watched the “dive in” movies every night. There was a violin trio outside the dining room that we stopped and listened to a few times. Everything was very entertaining.
Children's Programs
We did not bring our children.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
All the waiters and dining staff as well as our room steward went above and beyond!
Our only complaints with staff:
-someone at the Adventures desk pretended they had no idea about an ongoing issue with one of the excursions (after someone at guest services had admitted they’ve been having problems with that particular excursion.) Everyone had been refunded 30% because there was not enough time to snorkel. Snorkeling is the main thing we wanted to do so we booked another snorkeling excursion for a different port of call. We were hoping to be reimbursed $25 more to make up the difference for the other excursion. He said he couldn’t do that, but what really bothered me is how he played dumb. The excursion was advertised as a 4 hour excursion. I booked it before the cruise and it said it was 7:30-11:30. When the tickets were delivered to our room I noticed it said the start time was 10:30 instead of 7:30. We were supposed to be at Grand Turk from 7:00-2:00. Starting at 10:30 would put it over at 2:30. We went to guest services to ask about it and were told that the ship would wait for us. Then during the excursion the ended up telling us we wouldn’t get to snorkel because there wasn’t time. We went back to guest services after and were told it had been an issue with that particular excursion. (Adventure Combo Excursion)
-The spa staff constantly tried to up sell our massage and sell us expensive skin products. Not very relaxing.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
There were some areas that didn’t seem to be designed very well. In particular, the beverage areas right outside the buffet on Lido deck were placed in a narrow hallway. So all the traffic into the buffet area has to go past a bunch of people trying to get drinks. It didn’t seem there were ever enough deck chairs for everyone. We did find everything was kept clean and maintained.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
This was our first cruise and our room was a lot bigger than I imagined. It was just my husband and me. The bed was comfortable. It was clean. The blow dryer worked well. There were USB plug ins on the headboard of the bed so we could easily charge our phones at night.
It was so beautiful. Lots of good photo ops. I liked that it was smaller and not super busy. We did an excursion that took us away from the cruise port area and we saw so many donkeys! They just roam the island. (I would not recommend the adventure combo excursion as the excursion people and carnival can’t seem to get the timing right.)
It was really pretty and a nice place for a beach day. We went snorkeling, had lunch, and then headed back to the ship early for a massage. I wish I would have had lunch on the ship. The beach buffet wasn’t bad but there weren’t a ton of options, and the burgers at Guy’s Burger Joint were way better.
It was very busy and I felt like we were bombarded when we got off the ship. It was a bit confusing. We were able to get a taxi pretty quickly though. We had a day pass at Warwick resort. It was adults only, nice facilities, good food and drinks.
Yes I had a problem with the air-conditioning while on our last trip They never fixed it ! So I called once we got off the ship it took 15 minutes and we had a $300 onboard credit for our next cruise and received 20 percent back from the cruise we had the issue on !! So yes call and Tell them Your not happy with how it was handled and I am sure they will make it up to you !! It’s worth a try at least !! Good luck !!
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