The cruise itself had some very nice features. However the organization from start to finish as I mentioned above, was terrible! We spent most of our time together as a group being that my daughter and son-in-law were celebrating their first wedding anniversary. My wife and I went on the cruise to make some more lasting memories with these two. Keeping that in mind was just about the only thing that made this cruise worthwhile. I have went on cruises prior with other cruise lines, but I will never cruise again on Carnival.
Embarkation
1 out of 5
From the moment that we showed up to the Carnival port, there was nothing but mass confusion. We arrived early parked our vehicle, walked a vey long way with our luggage just to find out that there was no direction anywhere, guiding us to where we should proceed to get on the boat. We were at port entry D in front where we had parked along with about 30 other people in the vicinity. We finally saw a janitor who informed us that Carnival leaves from port F, about another two hundred yards from our location. No signs or direction from anyone anywhere.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Food was very good and available.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Activities abroad the ship were fun and entertaining. The piano bar and the bands and activites at the Red Frog were fantastic.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Every service attendant on the ship seemed kind and helpful, until we disembarked the ship.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Common area were cleaned and well maintained, but I found it a bit ironic that the best way through the middle of the ship, either to bow or stern was directly through the Casino, where they allow smoking. Breathing in the second hand smoke and getting the smell on my clothing was not my idea of a good time!
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Nothing but good vibes form our cabin experience. Comfortable and clean.
Ship tip
Don't expect any clear direction from the port, or any of the literature on board, the paperwork is written very vague, not detailed at all regarding the shows and activities, and the PA system is not very good and has a lot of dead spots.
No excursion, but as mentioned we had a very difficult time just figuring out where to board the ship. No signs or Carnival staff to direct, it was a very frustrating way to start your experience!
Our snorkeling excursion was cancelled due to bad weather. I would not recommend walking and touring alone, it seemed like a lot of potentially shady people around.
Grand Turk was definitely a place that I would be glad to visit again. By far the best port of the three. We did a snorkeling excursion that we enjoyed.
They disembarked the boat by status and then by your letter, A,B,C,D etc... Our party on the Cruise consisted of my wife, daughter, my son-in-law and myself. We had a twelve hour drive ahead of us. Our kids had a sticker called first to the fun, on the top of their paperwork that we did not know about but they had signed up for. They got off the boat almost two hours ahead of us. We explained to multiple Carnival staff before that time and during that we had a 12 hour drive home, but it made no difference to them at all. I am 62 and my wife is 61, they could have made an exception! Our letter was G. We were watching people disembark the ship from above when we noticed that people were just leaving the ship at random, regardless of their letter sequence. Every time that we would go down to floor # 4 where they were starting the process, the staff would tell us to go back up to floor 5 and wait for our letter to be called. It was total madness!
I travel solo and I have never had an issue with direction in Miami at Port for Carnival. I am leary of things like not having clearly marked areas because I am alone. I have sailed on the Sunrise and Conquest out of Miami and it's always marked where to go and there has always been people to show me where to go if needed. As for Faster to Fun that your family had, I'm sorry that you guys didn't have that and had to wait. But that was a perk you guys could have purchased as well. Seems like some of things you complained about could of been avoided if you looked at your boarding passes or purchased Faster to Fun
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