We have been on Carnival cruises in the past but specifically chose this particular cruise for the ports and the exotic western Caribbean. The ship embarked from Tampa and was scheduled to stop in Cozumel, Roatan, Belize and Costa Maya. We were very excited about exploring Roatan, Belize and Costa Maya, as we had been to Cozumel on several occasions. We stopped in Cozumel and Roatan as planned, but we were told that we could not stop in Belize because it was too dangerous for the tender boats to transport us to shore due to the windy (albeit sunny) weather conditions. Although disappointed, especially since we had pre-booked an epic cave-tubing tour, we resigned ourselves to relaxing on the ship and looked forward to our time in Costa Maya. Unfortunately, the next morning we were met with a similar story that we could not dock in Costa Maya because the waves were too rough and again had to forego our planned excursion.... After several days on the ship, everybody was going stir crazy. There was nothing of note planned on ship in lieu of visiting the ports. The "fun ship" staff resorted in desperation to "activities" involving paper airplane contests and yet more bean bag tosses. Eventually the Captain arranged to return to Cozumel later that day and the ship arrived at 3:30pm and left at 7:30pm. There were only a few non-epic excursions offered by the ship, as the day was almost over. We took a cab downtown but most of the shops were closing and the open shops contained grouchy employees who had been dealing with cruise passengers from other ships all day. In addition, once we returned to the Cozumel port, we noticed that the shops downtown were exactly the same shops as those offered in the port (including Pancho's Villa Restaurant which we thought was a Mexican original). So we could have stayed in the port and had the exact same experience.
In terms of the change of plans, I realize that sometimes the weather is uncooperative. However, it would have been nice to go to a different port instead of the same port twice. Carnival offered a 25% discount off the top shelf price of a future cruise. However, the right thing to do would have been to offer 25% of our money back on the current cruise, as we expended a ton of money on our balcony cabin, the airfare to fly from New England and all other expenses associated with the trip, and used up valuable vacation time to go to places to which we never arrived. Basically we were on a floating hotel headed to nowhere. If nothing else, it would have been nice to get a free drink voucher or free internet access in exchange for the disappointment.....
In addition to the above, we had a few other issues. 1) The staff for the most part seemed completely stressed out. There were some who were not even friendly due to their stress levels. The Normandie dining room (your time dining) was always in a state of chaos. The wait staff were always dropping and breaking the dishes. They would forget basic items such as napkins or water and confuse the food orders. Room service would forget something every morning (something basic, like creamer for the coffee). 2) Speaking of coffee, it was HORRIBLE everywhere on the ship. We tried to spice it up with vanilla creamers that we brought from Tampa, but it was virtually undrinkable..... 3) It is impossible to get a seat on the Serenity Deck unless you get up very early and save your seat all day long, which is apparently what people did.... We could not get a lounger, cabana or comfy chair for the duration of the cruise. 4) The entire cruise is an advertisement for itself and for future Carnival cruises and constantly concerns $$$$ (I guess all cruises are the same....) Spend your money at the spa, the casino, the art gallery, the steak house, the excursions, etc. Spend, spend, spend! 5) There is a lack of communication about the ports. It would be nice to have some history, context or even a basic map (not a shady carnival shopping map!) Instead, the ports are all carved out away from the rest of the island and they all look exactly the same and sell exactly the same items. So why not stay in Tampa and "pretend" to cruise somewhere each day? 6) Carnival has no concern for the safety of its guests or staff. I know that you have to watch out for your own safety anywhere, including in the U.S. However, Carnival's attempt at a warning of recent armed robbery and other crime in Roatan was a tiny, tiny (microscopic actually) disclaimer on the bottom of the front page of the Fun Times on port day, which I did not even notice until that night after we returned from our Roatan tour and had seen firsthand the poverty on the island and men walking down the street with machetes.... My point is that in the same issue of Fun Times, there was a full page flyer inserted to inform guests that windows would be washed between 9am and 1pm.... 7) You cannot find a non-smoking area in the casino. Even at the few non-smoking slot machines, people are smoking! I haven't seen this many smokers in one place in years. The air is disgusting so stay away if you have asthma or other respiratory problems. To end this diatribe on a positive slightly happy note, it wasn't all horrible. I do have to say that this ship was probably the cleanest that I have ever experienced. Even late at night, I would observe the staff working hard to keep the common areas sparkling clean. The food was consistent, if not as inspired as past menus. The embarkation and debarkation processes were fairly painless. The gym is very nice, with high-tech machines and individual televisions. The taste bar is a nice perk. And finally, who could complain about room service for free, 24/7, even if they forget things at times...? Overall, the biggest disappointment was the lack of scheduled ports and the failure to provide a partial refund and for that reason I will likely not be inclined to cruise on Carnival again.
Room was very clean and location very private. Some vibration but you get used to it.