We had a great cruise overall. There was always something to do. This cruise was among the first after COVID/vaccine restrictions were relaxed, so it was at (or very near) capacity and that was noticeable. Despite that, we never wanted for deck chairs or space in the pool, although some of the entertainment venues were filled to capacity. I found the lack of cooling on our room discomforting, but we like our room colder than most, normal people might not be as put out. The Carnival crew made experiences outside of our room a lot of fun, and at least one of us got our money's worth out of Cheers. I would recommend this cruise to others.
Embarkation
3 out of 5
Arrived at port less than 30 minutes prior to check-in time of 10:00-10:30. There was a massve number of people queued up already, the line stretched into the road in front of the facility. Come to find out, the overwhelming majority of the people there were hours early. Carnival finally started working the line to weed out the on-time folks from the early-birds. Once that happened the whole process was relatively painless, but a little slow.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Our party of 11 ate in the dining room every evening. We were usually the first table with everyone present and always the last to leave. We presume our group size meant our food was among the last to arrive. Aside from that the service was excellent. The food was very good but the portions were small. Not a problem since you can order multiple appetizers, entrees and desserts and try things you might not otherwise try. The menu is the same across all Carnival cruises based on the night of the cruise, so repeat cruisers will see the same things every cruise, but there are plenty of options (even when ordering multiples) to make it easy to not have the same thing twice. Sit-down breakfast was good, better than our local diner on most choices. Lots of variety there too, and you can order multiples. Most items at the lunch buffet were good, not everything was a hit though. The lines for the restaurants (Guys Burgers, The Deli, Blue Iguana, etc.) were typically longer than we wanted, but tolerable if you go at non-peak times. We felt the food options after 11:00pm were lacking. (Pizza, ice cream or room service) Ordering "room service" to wherever you are on the ship is nice but does cost extra. (Limited menu, not very expensive.)
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
There was plenty of trivia or our nerdy group. We recognized some questions from previous cruises, not that we remembered the answers. The over 21 pool was not overly crowded, we never ventured to the other one, but it looked usable when we went to get towels. Plenty of Karaoke, and you could actually get in a turn. Had the best (and most expensive) pedicure ever in the spa. Be judicious when they offer to sell you their care products. $$$$!
Entertainment
4 out of 5
The artists across the ship were hit-and-miss, some very entertaining, some not as much. But there are enough venues that moving on to something else was easy. We were not impressed with the Playlist Productions for this cruise. A boy-band trying to do country western just did not work. Our chief complaint was that Carnival did not empty the venues between performances which allowed a lot of people to monopolize seats for almost an entire evening. This left slim pickings for seating for most of the comedians. Piano bar was lots of fun.
Children's Programs
No children in our group.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The staff is exceptionally friendly and willing to assist anywhere, anytime. Even at 1:00am there were people in the dining areas ready to take away dirty plates. I always add $1.00 tip on every drink (I know, Cheers includes gratuity) that helps to keep the drink people coming back regularly. Even when I had to stand at a bar, service was prompt.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
This was my 2nd Carnival cruise and the ship layout was very similar to my first. This was helpful with learning our way around which can be confusing at first. Some of the decor looked dated (to me) but I think it was by design. There was constant cleaning. One window sill in the buffet dining room could have used a good wipe, but overall the ship was clean and well kept.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
HOT! Too hot! Uncomfortably hot. This issue is enough to get me to try a different cruise line. This was my 2nd Carnival cruise, both balcony rooms on deck 7, and both miserably hot. We complained on our first cruise, they brought us a box fan and said the system was "working as expected". We did not bother this time. We bring our own fans already, close the drapes during the day, all the things, but no relief. The temperature controller on the wall is a farce. Only one standard outlet for the whole room. No built-in USB ports in our cabin although our friends in a suite had them. (As did our previous balcony cabin). The mattress was worn and lumpy, my hips hurt by the end of the cruise. But, there was plenty of storage space and our luggage fit under the bed. The bathroom was good sized, the shower had plenty of hot water and it warmed up quickly. No complaints about the room size. Our friends in interior cabins said our room was definitely bigger. The balcony was roomy and visually private; but you can HEAR everything going on with your neighbors.
Ship tip
You can get to the not-so secret forward decks on level 6 and 7. Just go all the way foward in the hallway, there are double doors on either side of the ship. Can be very windy.
We only went as far as the market at the port. Docking at 1:00 and waiting for the disembarking crowd to thin out meant going out in the peak heat of the day. The walk from where we docked (we were only ship in port) was a little less than 1/2 mile. Be prepared for high-pressure sales and the need to bargain.
We took a taxi into town and hit the old market. We found things we would not have found in the mall at the port. Taxi fares added up quickly. Most sellers take debit/credit cards, but be prepared for the price of anything to magically go up 10-15%. The justification was card processing fees and/or sales tax. I recommend taking cash.
We chose to carry our own luggage in lieu of putting it out the night before to have Carnival take it down. But...for those carrying their own luggage, they call by muster station. We were H, a.k.a. the LAST muster station. So we ended up waiting as long as the first group to have their luggage carried down for them. It was very cattle-car like exit. However, neither of us saw any customs agents, so we cleared customs without issue.
Sorry if I’m too long winded! Just trying to touch on all of the touch points. YES, we are considering a higher price point cruise in the future. Room temperature is a thing for me, willing to pony up extra $$ to ensure our comfort. No disrespect to Carnival.
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