On Dec. 1, 2012, My friend and I boarded the Carnival Liberty for a Western Caribbean cruise. I have sailed with Carnival on two previous occassions and had a great time. I had read about some problems online with Carnival and was a little leery but figured they were probably just cranks. Carnival's lack of service and care about their passengers began almost immediately when it would take days, even weeks and a lot of rude behaviour from employees to get the simplest question answered. Even though I qualified for the past guest party prior to their new "loyalty" program, they refused to honor it on board, instead, giving me a coupon for a drink at breakfast.

The embarkation process was smooth, as was the debarkation. Other than that, it was like cruising in a used car lot full of salesmen. A cruise is supposed to include food, accomodations and activities. Unless you are happy with garbage like "Sun-up Stretching" at 7am or the multiple trivia contests, there is very little in the way of included activities. Everything else is designed to squeeze more money out of you. You are constantly being told to buy, buy, buy. The shows were both the same shows I had seen on a cruise 8 years ago. they weren't changed or updated one iota.

The food was abysmal. The best way to describe it was cold and old. I am a chef and know how food should be served. The staff at Carnival don't have the first clue. There wasn't one dish, other than cream of wheat, that came to the table any hotter than luke warm. Most dishes were prepared improperly and tasted downright nasty. The waiters were as cold as the food. Don't go on Carnival expecting the old grandeur. The midnight buffet has been replaced with hot dogs at 11:30. The wait staff shows are nothing more than them swirling napkins over their heads. No chocolate buffets, constantly running out of food at the buffet, powdered scrambled eggs, no bacon at breakfast, pre-cooked re-heated food in the dining rooms, it was worst than a bad fast food restaurant. Read more