Unfortunately, this was our worst cruise (vacation) experience ever! My daughter chose a 3-day family cruise to Mexico to celebrate her 40th birthday. My husband and I traveled with my daughter, her husband, their 3 children and her father and his wife. Her birthday falls on February 1st, the closest weekend being February 4th, which this year turned out to be Superbowl weekend! We love football, are Pittsburgh Steeler fans, so looked forward to watching the game on a big screen with other football enthusiasts. Little did we know we would barely be able to watch the game, due to rowdiness.

Carnival has a reputation for being a "party cruise line", and we like to have a good time, but "party" was hardly the word for what went on on this ship. I have never seen so many "out of control people" in one place in my life. As we walked down the hall to our room, our neighbors (several) had their door opened with "rap" music blaring out of the room. I called security to see if we could change rooms and were told the ship was full. When I asked if they would ask the revelers to quiet down, I was told "we (Carnival Paradise crew) have no control over what the passengers do". Made me wonder if anyone was in control of the ship. And this was just the beginning...Over the course of the 3 days, we witnessed more exhibitions of public intoxication, fights in the hallways, people passed out, the list goes on. As we disembarked in Long Beach, several young men were going aboard (they looked like security) and one said, "Was this a cruise for parolees?"

The ship is in need of a drastic remodel, though I can see why Carnival wouldn't spend money on a ship whose passengers don't appreciate nice things. We paid extra for an oceanview stateroom, which consisted of a porthole you could barely see out of. I had to climb over the bed to get into bed, due to lifejacket storage, in the corner. Read more