My husband & I are seasoned cruisers. This was our first with Carnival and found ourselves comparing the ship & its services to other cruiselines. We strongly recommend: 1) redesigning the food buffet line, arranging items by group, resulting in shorter lines and 2) assigning someone to oversee what is missing, needing refill, noting what's out of order, etc.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
Considering that this was our first Carnival cruise & therefore wasn't given "frequent cruiser perks", it was pretty good. Upon entering the ship though, we didn't find the cruise staff very welcoming.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
Main dining room - menu was very good, but soups were always salty & most entrees needed additional seasoning. There are only 2 complimentary dining rooms on the ship. We were assigned to one & not allowed to use the other.
Specialty restaurant - service, food & entertainment at the Tepanyaki was excellent!
Buffet & after dinner hours - The way the food was arranged at the Lido Marketplace needs improvement compared to other cruiselines. There is a single line for everything! Example: before one can get oatmeal for breakfast, one has to fall in line, passing the fruits, bread, hot food, etc. to get to the oatmeal. Of course, one can always ask permission to cut in line, but every day? The same is true for lunch & dinner. Generally, the meats are tough.
The Fieri's burger place & the Mexican tomodoro were both very good!
The sandwiches during late evening hours were very good.
When the water & ice dispenser outside the Lido Marketplace was out of order, there was no "Out of Order" sign so people had to keep trying to use it only to find out that it wasn't working.
We found the dispenser for paper towels in the handwashing stations empty quite often & had to ask a staff member to refill it.
Many times, the cones in the ice cream station run out with nobody around to ask to be refilled.
We wanted to try the pizza one evening & found that there was a long line because the pizzas were still being prepared. Nothing was ready.
Overall, the ship needs someone to oversee the whole Lido Marketplace operation.
Onboard Activities
2 out of 5
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Compared to other cruiselines, there were no "imported" entertainers for the stage shows; they utilized their own singers & dancers. However, there were 3 shows that were magnificent!
Children's Programs
We didn't have children with us.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
I can't praise our steward, Jason, enough. He kept our room clean, tidy & well supplied with needed amenities.
The waiters & general personnel were friendly.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
The featured entertainers in the Atrium (lobby) were perched above, on a small platform that juts out from a floor 2 stories above. Cruisers could only watch them from afar & sideways.
Common areas & bathrooms were clean & well maintained but the bathroom signs should be bigger & more noticeable.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Our steward, Jason, was excellent! He kept our cabin clean & complete with necessities.
There were not enough lounge chairs to go around. Except for the picnic table areas far from the water, there is no shade!! The buffet wasn't organized. There were 2 lines for drinks (juices & water). I was on a line that had an empty water jug & had to cut in the other line to get water. The others on that line weren't happy (there were 4 who only needed water).
No, we didn't do an excursion.
Appreciate your review, especially coming from a seasoned cruiser but one new to Carnival. We’ve cruised all from Carnival except for one Princess cruise so it was nice to see your perspective.
If I take your sail of today to just be a mistype, when you meant you just finished the 4 day Bermuda itinerary instead (but can't be sure no cruise history in your profile), then you expected too much of the Entertainment division. Carnival has 4 set shows per ship, along with a minimum of 2 comedians per voyage. So, on a 4-day 1 port trip, there won't be any need for extra entertainers boarding the ship for a 1 night show. It is common for there to be 2 comics performing nightly on the first half of the cruise then switch out while in port for 2 new ones for the way back, but again with a such a short cruise they don't always do that.
I like your ideas of splitting up the Lido marketplace lines. Anything done to shorten the lines would be helpful. The pizza is always prepared fresh. This helps eliminate food waste however it also results in longer lines. They seem to move pretty quickly though.
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