So overall good cruise for big family group. Ship has great service and fun bars. Casino was good but very smoky. Food was good but only specialty dining was excellent. Too crowded feeling overall. It was a fun cruise but I will prob go back to Princess and NCL in the future.
Embarkation
1 out of 5
This was really the only truly bad aspect of our cruise. The NY terminal had a problem with one of the boarding gangways and there were delays of people coming off and us going on. We had an 11:30 boarding time but everything was at a standstill and 3000 people were lined up all the way to pier 92. Two extra hours in line with very little information from carnival employees. But everyone on line were very kind and patient.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
The food varied.
The MDR was good and some items were very good such as the muscles appetizer, alligator fritters, Creole shrimp, pot roast, melting cake, and bread pudding. The service was good but the experience never felt elegant.
The 555 steakhouse was exceptional. Outstanding cowboy steak, lamb chops, appetizers, and deserts. Service was very special, and the wine pairing was totally worth it. Best meal on board. Excellent!
The buffet was bad. Unappetizing overcrowded even for a buffet. People holding plates lined up along the wall moving slowly to limited options. Went once and avoided after that. Honestly a bad buffet.
Sea day brunch was wonderful in MDR. Guys and pizza and ans lastrata grill were great. Spiked coffee (chocolate lovers ) was excellent
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Pools too crowded
Water slide fun
Spa - no thermo suite - but sauna ok.
Not enough hot tubs anywhere
Piano bar - excellent.
Casino -fun and many people winning.
Trivia - just ok
Family Feud - amazing fun
Love and marriage game - typical
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Mark Q excellent
Violinists excellent
2 production shows excellent
Comedian excellent but lines to get in and venue truly too crowded.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The crew was very hard working and friendly.
But they struggled to handle such a large crowd in the MDR. Really need larger crew for 5000+ passengers.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Ship was new and clean. Italian theme was nice. Pictures of Venice everywhere. (Too many pictures of Venice actually lol) Italian theme was kinda like Italy in Epcot or at the Venetian hotel in Vegas.
The pools were just so small for the size of the ship. And the lido buffet seemed like it was not planned out well for such big crowds.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Cabin was fine. Prob should ask for mattress topper - kinda hard mattress. Aswar cabin steward was excellent. Always friendly, greeted us by name every day, got robes and wine glasses for us, towel animals and such. Very nice. Size of cabin was average. Italian theme was nice.
Ship tip
Piano bar was so much fun. Serenity deck was a great hangout. Bars (especially Amari) have some really great drinks to try. Good area to get away from crowds is outside on the deck 5 promenade near lastrata grill. At night you can see the stars from the “secret” decks on the bow where there are no lights. Don’t go on this ship if you want a lot of pool time. But slides were still fun.
Great seaport walk. Great lobster roll and poutine. Had a wonderful time in the Alexander Kieth Brewery tour. Touristy thing to do but fun and plenty of beer that we all enjoyed. Maritime museum was great.
Take the River Relics kayak tour. Exceptionally good. Find it on GoFundytours.ca or on Viatour. Amazing small group kayaking on St. John’s River about 20 minutes from port. The river is beautiful, the guides were awesome! One of the best things to do in St.John
The people working at the port are not Carnival employees. They work for the port authority. They change out their name tags, vests, whatever, to consider with the cruise they are working.
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