We are experienced cruisers and, due to our timeline and desire to spend a few days in New York City, we decided to give Carnival Cruise Line a try. I must say we were disappointed from embarkation to disembarkation!!! We waited in line ~2 hours to board and, once aboard, we found our bags outside our room door(not inside). We had a balcony cabin, which we found clean and sufficient; however, our cabin steward was no where in sight. At no time during our 7-day trip did he even introduce himself to us. If, by chance, we stayed in our cabin until late in the morning, we would not receive cabin service until evening (even with a 'Request Service' tag hanging on the door). Upon returning from dinner on our last evening, we found nothing in our cabin relative to disembarkation information. I had to navigate the hallway to find the steward's pantry, bang on the door and request luggage tags and instructions... really, beyond belief!!!

The ship itself was large but not well appointed. It was hard to navigate, and the public rooms seemed remote, with no large, open expanses.

Entertainment was 'so so'.....one night good, the next tolerable. Overall, the ship's atmosphere was low key. It was anything but a charged, positive, happy environment. I have to wonder if the employees are disgruntled with Carnival. Read more