Not What I Expected From Carnival

I had been on 4 different Carnival cruises prior to this cruise to the Bahamas. I felt like Carnival was a great value for the money and had no real complaints (I'm not that picky of a traveler and a vacation is what you make it). But my experience on Carnival left a lot to be desired given my expectations based on prior experiences. 

I purchased this cruise for 2 high school friends as a sort of reunion (class of 1981!)!  I preordered champagne to be delivered to our room so we could toast our trip upon arrival. The champagne was there but no glasses to drink it with, no ice to chill it with, and only one drinking glass for three people. I tried to call room service or our room steward but the phone did not work. My hunch is they knew the phone wasn't working before we even got on the boat. We complained to guest services and they comped us a bottle of wine at dinner and refunded our faster to the fun fare. They were gracious and respectful but couldn't do much more than that. The phone issue was compounded by the problem with our room steward. We never saw him, we couldn't call him so consequently we could never get room service, or ask for ice etc.... A different room steward suggested writing him a note and that helped. It was disappointing. 

On the whole the food was good. We had one meal in the dining room that was almost inedible but I figure when you are feeding the masses there's bound to be a meal that could be better somewhere. I loved the Asian food in the buffet, and I'm not a buffet person. 

The ship seemed dirtier than ships I've been on in the past. Overflowing ashtrays, food plates and cups sitting out and around the ship. By the end I had come to the conclusion it was a training ship or a training run. That's fine, just tell me so I ca lower my expectations or pick a different cruise line. 

We did the kayaking excursion sponsored through the boat in Freeport. Loved it! The lunch was simple but that was ok, I wasn't going for that. I'm a beach gal and I loved the beach after kayaking. I would do that again!  There is nothing really in Freeport beyond the vendors just outside the boat. In Nassau, we hired a private taxi service that provided private tours and highly recommend that!  Awesome day filled with history, beer drinking, amd beaches!

I had never been to the east coast, or the Caribbean in the summer so I wasn't prepared for how hot and HUMID it was!  The heat index was around 102-105 so it was difficult to be outside without water. Every pool was FILLED and finding shade or a breeze difficult. No fault of Carnival really. But I doubt I'll go back to the Caribbean in the summer- at least on a cruise ship where it's almost impossible to get in a pool to cool off. 

Not a horrible vacation. I don't know if it's possible to have a horrible vacation but definitely not up to expectations