This was my third cruise, first time on Carnival. I traveled with my husband, 2 year old son, and my parents. We had an oceanview stateroom, my parents got a balcony room. My experience was so awful, I don't really even know where to begin. First off, we got a cabin on the very bottom deck, second to last room at the back of the boat. The cabin itself was OK, but the location was awful as there was a loud, constant vibrating noise once the ship set sail. And when it docked, there were loud vibrations as the anchors or whatnot dropped. We asked multiple times to be moved, but they said they were full.

The ship itself looks like 1995 threw up all over it. It desperately needs to be renovated and redecorated. Gaudy, colorful, vinyl everywhere. I don't know what blind person decorated this ship, but it's really ugly. The rooms are all pink, red, and gold. The hallways have a dank, musty smell. The bathroom sinks are pink.

The food. My God, if there was one thing that could have saved my opinion, it would have been the food. But this food was AWFUL. If you think a cheap Vegas Buffet or Hometown Buffet is good food, then you'll be in heaven. If you have any standards at all, prepare to be hungry for 5 days. I ate because I had to, but in 5 days X 3 meals per day, I think I only had 1 or 2 items that were decent or satisfactory. The food in the Lido Buffet is the worst. They schlep out the same tasteless/mayo-smothered salads day after day. On the last day, they did have a chocolate fountain, which was nice. The anytime-dining at the Galaxy Dining room food was a little better, but it was verrrry sllooow. The service in the Dining room was almost always good (ie polite and friendly) although sometimes the waiters were a little dense. There were a lot of options, but again, the execution and quality of the food left A LOT to be desired. I remember going on cruises on Princess and Royal Caribbean, and there was so much excellent quality food, but not on Carnival. Quality leaves A LOT to be desired. Read more