This was not the Carnival cruise experience for which I had hoped. While some staff were warm and welcoming, many were apathetic. I don't know if this is because they are drained or some other reason, but it left me feeling not well attended to as a guest much of the time. The overall experience felt highly stressful too much of the time starting with embarkation day which was disorganized and took far too long. The bed in my cabin was so hard as to make my first night one of my worst night's of sleep ever. The food was often disappointing for me and others in my family. So much so that my husband and daughter didn't even want to eat in the main dining room most of the time. However, specialty dining options cost extra. This leads to the cruise experience feeling like a big money grab. The free coffee in the buffet area upset my stomach so badly that I was forced to pay for the specialty coffee just so that I would not get sick! That should not be so on a cruise! Lines to get into shows were ridiculous, so we missed out on many things. We were put in a dangerous embarkation situation in Saint John because there was not enough staff monitoring things. We were literally almost crushed by passengers coming up the escalator. Crew monitoring would have eliminated that risk. To top it off, we all came back with COVID. No mitigation of risk whatsoever on this ship. Don't cruise with anyone at high risk. I will stop there. I could say more, but I just want to put Carnival (and perhaps all cruising) behind me. That makes me sad because I have loved cruising in the past.
Embarkation
1 out of 5
Disorganization, unreasonable delays, lack of communication, super long lines
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
Main dining room: The food was hit or miss. I had some delicious dishes such as the alligator beignets, short ribs, barbecue ribs and various soups (overall the soups and omelets were fantastic). Other things were sub par such as the prime rib and fried chicken. Desserts felt generally basic and repetitive. I was not impressed by the main dining room and service was so slow that it interfered with enjoying evening events. For specialty dining, we had sushi, which was delicious and fresh though service was also very slow. Guy's Burgers felt overhyped IMO-that was just okay for me. The buffet options were fine, but not great. My favorite thing in the so-called midnight buffet was the chips and salsa and popcorn chicken.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
There were many onboard activities, though I only enjoyed a small selection. We had some rain, which interfered with some of our plans. If you are traveling with kids, there is lots for them to do. The very small pools seemed to be a hit with the kiddos. I loved my massage in the spa-my masseuse was great, but be prepared for them to push expensive products and additional services. I didn't make it to the fitness center but my sister did and said it was crowded.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
The cruise director, MarQ really turnt up the events that he hosted, so I enjoyed those. Some of the trivia was lots of fun. One trivia event was not because the host went into a stick where he started blaming us guests for the challenges around embarkation/debarkation...that was a miss. They have incredibly talented musicians and singers onboard performing music from a range of genres. I enjoyed all of the music and the one show that I attended. Lines to get into shows were ridiculous though. Between the lines and the extended times at seated meals, I missed out on all of the comedy shows and most of the musicals unfortunately.
Children's Programs
No little kids
Service and Staff
2 out of 5
My room steward was kind and helpful. Sometimes the waiters were warm and welcoming, sometimes not. More senior service staff made it feel like they were being bothered when you asked for anything, including help with important things like food allergies. They would ask the right questions but their tone and manner conveyed "Why are you even speaking to me?".
Ship Quality
2 out of 5
I guess it was clean. However, my entire family has returned with COVID-19 so I don't know...Perhaps they should consider returning to required testing and vaccine mandates before sailing. There are many elders who cruise. My 70+ mother and aunt were among and both now have COVID. I am not happy about that. There are no precautions whatsoever in place. COVID is not gone. It is now endemic. If they cannot take mitigation steps, then cruises will need to end.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
The cabin itself was very nicely designed in terms of size. I loved the look of it. The balcony was a nice space. The lighting was good, temperature control was perfect. The TV channels were a little lacking for night time wind down viewing, but that was okay. The bed was awful-way too hard for me. My hubby and daughter didn't mind it since they like very firm mattresses. I personally was in pain as was my sister trying to sleep on it.
Ship tip
Don't sail with anyone who might be at risk should they contract COVID.
The vaccines do not stop transmission. Even suggesting reinstating vaccine mandates is unscientific and discriminatory. Nothing is stopping you from walking around in an N-95 and bathing yourself in sanitizer.
*Cruiseline.com is not a booking agent or travel agency,
and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. Our partners
(travel agencies and cruise lines) provide prices, which we list for our
users' convenience. Cruiseline.com does not guarantee any specific rates or
prices. While prices are updated daily, please check with the booking site
for the exact amount. Cruiseline.com is not responsible for content on
external web sites.
Contact us
Submitting...
Need help from a personal vacation planner?
Loading...
Find the perfect cruise with weekly tips and cruise deals for as little as $30/night!
Sign up for weekly cruise deals
Join other subscribers and get the best
cruise deals of the week in your inbox every Thursday.
