Overall we enjoyed our cruise. Our cabin steward was great. The staff was all great overall.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
So we have been on the Mardi Gras twice now. Some changes we've noticed in just a short amount of time.
Not a lot of dining options at all for lunch on port days. The hours are very minimum and basically it's the buffet which only had one island open, guys, shaqs or pizza/sandwiches. First time we sailed Mardi Gras I didn't notice this. But I also didn't have my kids the first time so didn't care to eat lunch.
Dining for dinner was pretty easy to get into. But we always went early. I will say I think the quality of the food this time was not as good as in November. We did not end up going to the bbq. They took it off the reservation list and when we showed up right at 5:30 we were told there was already a 45 I will say they still have a lot of dining options. But the quality has declined.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Not really a fan of most of the shows. We do enjoy the comedy. The comedians were ehhh. We've seen some of them quite a bit and they use the same material. But we still enjoy going.
Our kids enjoyed the cat in the hat.
The pools were extremely crowded. We stuck with the back patio pool. This one seemed to be the least crowded.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
Children's Programs
3 out of 5
We sent our kids to the club only twice. The first time they seemed to enjoy it. The second time was more of "free play" and they all were in the same class. They said there wasn't anything to do. I did have to go back and did notice that the room was empty aside from a few toys that didn't have all of the pieces. So I can understand it was pretty basic. I would have expected more toys and activities during "free play" to keep the children occupied. I heard a few other kids crying when they had to go to camp. So I would say they do the best they can with what carnival provides. I feel like carnival can invest in making the kids camp a little nicer where kids look forward to going there. Only one of my three enjoyed it overall.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Most all of the staff was very friendly. They are definitely overworked and very short staff. If you buy the drink package be prepared to go searching for your drink most of the time. We had some staff that went above and beyond.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
This sailing they did an amazing job. Especially considering that it was at capacity. There were tons of kids onboard. Our cabin steward was probably the best we have ever had at getting in and out of our room like a magician. I didn't see as much food laying in hallways and elevators so I think they did a great job.
This used to be our favorite port. It has really declined and is unfortunate. The beach has been completely taken over by locals trying to rent you chairs and umbrellas. The free chair section is much smaller than it used to be. The water in front of the free chairs is extremely rocky...so to get the better water/beach area you have to walk further down but you will be harassed the entire way to rent chairs that have been tagged with graffiti and umbrellas that are tattered. We just put our towels on the sand and one of us stayed with our items at all times. So in my opinion the beauty of grand Turks beach isn't the same.
We got off very quickly. We did self assist. We are platinum so we went down to the comedy club at about 6:45. We were off the ship and in our car by 7:30.
Appreciate your detailed and informative review. Interesting the difference between your two sailings on the same ship. Glad you mostly enjoyed your cruise
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