This was a great cruise.
The highlights was that the food was the best cruise food we have had. The staff was great. Nic our room steward was wonderfull.
The ship was too big for our liking. It made all the public areas feel small like the pool deck. Also, they didn't enforce their no chair saving, but what cruise does, none I have been on.
The seas the first two days were rocky and the weather was chilly, but we were on the open ocean. This resulted in missing Great Stirup Cay.
I was disappointed to learn the we would tender to Cozumel, but a ship cancelled there and we were able to dock at a Carnival berth. I hate to hear the has been so much mass hysteria over caronavirus.
Overall this was a great cruise, just wish it was more family appropriate.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Went very smooth. Port Canaveral is a good port to board at. Very efficient.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Didn't have a bad meal anywhere. Service was great and we never had to wait very long or spend an extreme amount of time dining except for the last night.
The Manhattan Room Restaurant
4 out of 5
Great experience. Wish the music was put on the speakers in the back of the dining room. It is the exact same menu as the other main dining rooms, just has a dress code.
Garden Café
5 out of 5
Has a great breakfast selection. Other selections are good as well. I would consider this an above average buffet.
Savor Restaurant
5 out of 5
Our first dinner was here. They had New York strip. I ordered it medium rare and it was perfect.
O'Sheehan's Neighborhood Bar and Grille
5 out of 5
Robert was our server the first time and he was great.. The wings were awesome. There can be a wait to get a sest, but it is worth it. Service was very quick.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
Jogging Track
1 out of 5
I find it hard to call that a jogging track. More of an after thought with the ships design.
Breakaway Casino
1 out of 5
The smoke stunk up the three decks around it.
Pool
1 out of 5
Way to small. If you want to see what is occurring, good luck!
Free Fall
5 out of 5
Great water slide.
The Whip
4 out of 5
This was a good water slide.
Pulse Fitness Center
5 out of 5
They have a good number of treadmills.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
Breakaway Theater
4 out of 5
First, we watched Six. This show is not family appropriate at all! They had a magic show on board that was great. Wish they would have had more shows like this that were family appropriate.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The employees are really good. One area I liked was the managers working alongside the employees. I have never seen that on Carnival. They present a team approach.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
The ship handles the crowd well. However, a lot of space is used for stuff to do. That has resulted in common areas being to small. The poll area is way to small yo see what is happening. The stateroom hallways are very tight and hard to pass.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
We won a bid from an inside room to a balcony room. Glad we did. The rooms are nice and clean.
I really enjoyed the in room coffee maker. If you want, bring some of the small creamer cups from home. I had no issue going thru security with them.
Our room steward Nicolas was phenomenal. Our room was always well kept up.
The one negative was the size. Not much room as the rooms are smaller than the other ships we have been on.
Ship tip
When you can, make reservations for all of the shows and where you want to eat well before you get on the ship. If you do not have reservations, be ready to wait.
As always, Cozumel is a great port to visit. At first, we were told that we would have to take tenders ashore. However her, they were able to dock at the Carnaval piers. (We were on the Norwegian Breakaway.) We took a taxi to Chankanaab Park. The snorkeling here was awesome. This was our second time and the number and variety of fish had increased.
There were 6 ships in port which made for a lot of people. This helped the shop owners to not be pushy.
Cozumel is our favorite cruise port.
The immediate port area was ok. Nothing special. However, me and wife took a pedicab tour. Gregory was our tour guide. He was great. He is the reason I gave the port 5 stars. He took us around and offered shopping stops and a bar stop. We also went to a very old church that was awesome to see. While I would not have walked to these places on my own, it was very safe with a guide. This made the whole stop worth it.
The tender process was very quick and efficient. They started about 25 minutes early.
We took the public bus to Smith Cove. It is a free park with a small beach area. The snorkeling there was awesome. The fish and coral were plentiful. The water was also clear. The area was also not very crowded with maybe 45 or so people.
Went very smooth. They made several announcements that they were having longer wait times due to a thorough check of passports and previous travel history for coronavirus. However, it went quick and we were on the ship by 12. Park port canaveral is also very easy to use and saves considerable amount of money.
We checked some bags the night before. I liked the process of going through customs now with the facial recognition. It went very quick. NCL even started early. Was very easy and smooth which helped us get home quicker.
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