It was difficult to navigate the ship with limited direction, very few signs, some staff could assist others didn’t have a clue. Housekeeping staff was awesome. We paid for excursions, although the money spent for the benefits received was severely overpriced. No guidance was provided on what to do, where to go or how to get there. Our evening dinners were great.. there we a few oddities with the proteins on the menu on what you thought you were expecting versus what was actually served. Chalk it up to American cuisine and what others believe it to be. All in all I would rate the service staff outstanding. There needs to be a “1st time cruisers” class on how to get the most out of your cruise. We bought “faster to the fun” option. Only thing it got us, was on the boat quicker, no benefit to any excursion and didn’t help with debarking the ship as we were promoted through the line to get off the boat and out the door with no mention on when we we to get our bags, as they had been picked up earlier the night before, needless to say, if you don’t have them in hand before exiting customs, you’ll have to wait at least ‘3’ hours to get them, after everyone else has left the ship, gone through customs and are well on their way home. The note we recurved the night before told us what to do to get off the boat, but no additional mention, of what to do when you get to the terminal.. We don’t travel internationally very often, so we were oblivious as to what was expected. (It always helps to know how to Stop before pressing the gas). Will we cruise Carnival again? Maybe? Did we have a good time? Mostly. Was the drink package worth it? Absolutely Was the excursion worth the cost? Nope Were the meals good? Mostly Was “Faster to the Fun” worth the cost? Don’t feel so. Read Less

I’m shocked at the negative reviews, other than a few that compare cruises that cost twice as much. This is our 15h Carnival cruise, though we are not Carnival loyalists. Many NCL cruises, quite a few MSC, one RCCL, Princess and even an SS France or two! We thought the public spaces were great. The Sirenity lounge is about 3 or 4 times the size of other ships. Something for everyone there. Quiet up in the bow, more part of the Lido elsewhere, but with great seating and no kids. We loved the Havana bar which doubled the Lido seating, into much more grownup areas. I think many passengers never even discover the options there, huge at breakfast and much (free) and dinner (several for pay, Asian and Italian). The cabin hallways are wide, bright and beachy. The cabins and balconies are very dated and worn, however. Our balcony floor was almost disgusting, even after a power wash. And the bathroom while clean was, well, not up to par; damage to sink and floor. We chose to be happy with the clean part. The staff was wonderful. Everyone, fro our wonderful cabin attendant, Anok, to the waitstaff in the Havana, Lido, FDR and elsewhere could not have been friendlier, often initiating conversations. IDK where all the negative reviews come from. I consider myself a foodie, look for high levels of service, but set the bar appropriately- not going to hold Carnival to standards of a line that costs significantly more - and Sunshine more than met expectations. I am glad she is home ported in Charleston and look forward to many more. Read Less

The cruise was relaxing. We went to Princess Cays, where we got a Sanctuary Bungalow that we enjoyed very much. We weren't fans of the Nassau market off the port since we don't like having all the vendors constantly trying to convince you to go into their shop (or get your hair braided). The food in the MDR was great. We had your-time-dining and only had to wait once. We enjoyed the music shows and went to both showings both times. I wish there had been more of them instead of only two nights. The main reason for my review is to share a warning about room E82, and really all the rooms around there. I had no idea how loud it would be in that room due to the music in the Atrium. I had researched the room beforehand and hadn't seen any warning, so I decided to add my own review afterward so that others would know better. This isn't something that would be better one or two rooms further away. The noise was loud enough that I wouldn't recommend any rooms in the midsection of the Emerald deck at all. I would recommend going with a different deck, or perhaps all the way in the Aft section. Read Less

CONS: * Raised daily parking to $20 a day * Ship feels way over capacity with the additional cabins. It's a constant battle everyday trying to find a chair outside anywhere. No exaggeration its rediculous. * Food in the dining room seemed like the worst choices in any of my 8 cruises thus far. For the first time ever only ate there on formal night. * Outside movie night again good luck finding any seats unless you go extremely early *Air conditioning was not very comfortable at all within cabin. Always on the hot side. *Comedy shows or any shows were almost impossible to see due to the over population of people and the extremely small venues *Guys burgers on other ships were the best I've ever had, just very average on the sunshine * Ran out of food and condiments. Due to the overpopulation the ship would run out of mayonnaise or French fries for a day or two until it hit port. *Room television is outdated with limited channels *Bathroom seemed smaller then usual. If sitting on toilet had to put one foot in the shower. *Room refrigerator just barely gets cold *Twin beds pushed together to make a queen but it separates every night so you either fall in the crack or just sleep far apart from each other. * Pizza place always a long wait *Sandwich place always a long wait *Blue Iguanna mexican always a long wait *Not many shelves in the cabin to put clothes *Bars were very slow for drinks. * 2 Ice machines always struggle to produce ice. *Only two pools and very overcrowded. The adult pool seems to of once been the kiddie pool because half of it is 2" of water. *Not much to do on the boat unless you just want to gamble. PROS: *Sandwich place was the best food there *Blue Iguanna was good *Breakfast in the dining room has steak and eggs every other morning. The steak is a filet and by leaps and bounds the best single meal you can receive on the boat. *Dining room for breakfast or brunch was good. Read Less

I know a lot of people love this ship, so we were excited to try it out. I found the layout not as easy as other Carnival ships. The dining room service was the worst in nine cruises. Normally, the dining room staff blows us away. I’m not sure if they had a lot of trainees, but I was unimpressed. The taller guy at the Java Blue Cafe (his tag was covered) was, by far, the best service we received. The milk shakes there are awesome, but the blue velvet cake they are still advertising as their signature dessert doesn’t exist. The spa charged us twice (once a couple months ago and again on board) for the thermal spa pass. I don’t like ships that force you thru the smoky casino to get everywhere. It was weird that the Serenity Deck was connected to the regular Lido pool deck — it was not serene. Half Moon Cay was awesome. Adam the Cruise Director was really good. All in all, it was a decent cruise, but not my favorite ship and the service could use a lot of improvement. Read Less

Ok we just got off the Carnival Liberty on their four day Bahamas adventure from Port Canaveral. 1. We got a Captain's Suite 9199. Nice cabin, best views of any cabin anywhere. But, if you want a view from the balcony, you will have to stand up. Had a tough time getting our steward. Yet, he was very nice. The only perks you get is getting on the boat. You can come earlier than your posted time. Starting at 10:30am. (Don't call Carnival. Their staff just looks at a computer FAQ base that you can access. They could help with nothing else.) No other perks but two water bottles. Oh, and we had to complain because of the sewage smell coming from the front bathroom. I really thought these reviews I read before couldn't be true, but they are. 2. Teen Club O2 total loser. We had three teen boys and the activities were like, "Choose your own.....this or that." So lame hardly anyone showed up on Memorial Weekend. 15 was max for Manhunt. Plus, they were closed......alot. 3. Someone please update the Fun Times online so people can get a glimpse of what a daily schedule is? Plus, is there a white party or a red and blue party? What? Make up your minds and let people know before they board. Put some things in the APP before you get on board. In your online check-in. Give us info please. 4. The comedy shows were fantastic. 5. Flick, the cast was impressive but the writer/producer sucks. As a writer/director, my job is to tell a story. What the heck was this story about? The song selections were OK but your transitions were unintelligible. Director, why choose songs that your cast have a hard time reaching the top notes? Several top notes just not there. Lighting great. Sound OK. Circular fan use for James Bond: Genius. Second fan use for wings: poor. Video projection use excellent. The guy at beginning with hat? The solo dancer guy? What is he trying to learn or find? Choreography fine except when adding the protagonist to the mix. Everyone one in our party enjoyed it but had no idea what it was about. About movies: Pure Imagination from Willy Wonka then to the next song, just weird. Horrible transition. The medley of science fiction was well done. Short thematic bursts, knowable movies and their songs. There are hundreds of more iconic movie themes. Two Whitney Houston songs from the Guardian? Really? That was just to show off the cast member. You choose music that propels the story, tell the story through all mediums available, then make sure song and cast meld, and you've got a great show. This could have been a highlight not a head scratcher. 6. America Rocks: Maybe, for an international cruise, rock and roll might have been a better theme (Then you could have used Elton John or Queen). Again, songs outside the range of the cast. Cast did well in spite of the producer. 7. FOOD. Breakfast: stick to the omlette station. Real eggs vs powdered. Stick with room service for the morning. Except our second room service: muffins hard, bread hard, apple juice mix waaaay off, and got the order wrong. Lunch: Terrible selections and taste for the Lido Buffet. Mongolian Bar good. Chocolate buffet great. The chocolate cake on Lido buffet as good as any dessert anywhere. Fruit boring mix of melons, I'll take the Norwegian Hawaiian cruise any day for the fruit. Here is the review of other options: Guy's Burgers-best thing on boat, Ol Fashioned BBQ aft deck 10, hard to find and get to, not really ol fashioned we have ten places better in our city. Did not eat Mexican. Deli is good (not the fries, stick with Guy's fries). Pizza was packed after shows because everyone wanted something but did not want to pay for room service. Always a long line. Dinner: We had the 6 o'clock dinner at the Silver Olympian Restaurant. Had to ask our waitstaff for almost everything. I had soda package and I had to request every time. Wife had hot tea, had to wave down and ask each time. Our boys had lemonade, they came to fill that fairly early. Big pet peeve: Guys are busy, but they should stop when you are talking to them. I had two requests and after I got the first request out all I saw was their backs. Stop, look, listen until customer is finished talking. I don't care how fast you are trying to get the first crowd finished to get the second crowd in. Otherwise, great service. Great desserts. Steaks tough generally. Italian, keep out the peppers and onions which flavored whole meal. Rattatoie: don't get. If you expect it like the movie, nope big chunks of green pepper, onion and tomato. 8. Room Service. NOT FREE after 10pm. Beware. Their free selection is pitiful too. Disney Cruise has free 24 hours and it has pizza, burgers, chicken fingers, sandwiches, ice cream bars, much better than Carnival. Their events are designed to be late to make sure you would not make it back to your cabin before 10pm. 9. Stops: Nassau is always good. Princess Cay is fine, but the snorkels sold out before we got there. Really? A chance to make money and they run out? They burnt their food so we came back for Guy's burgers at lunch. 10. Money. Carnival takes the opportunity to separate you from your money while on the cruise. Everything costs extra. Better steaks and items extra $20 at dinner. Anything they carry costs extra. Free drawings, got to go through auction first. The cost for evening room service, ridiculous. Money to get on board early. We were either presented with opportunities or commercials to spend more money constantly. Not quite as bad as a time share promotion. Spa, went on Day of Nassau,. Since pretty much everything was closed until noon, I thought I would get a massage. The online pre-rates were $103 to $126. They had openings but were $176??? I read a review about sales during excursion days. NOT TRUE. I asked about the lower rates, they said they were pre-cruise only. Nope, I turned around. 11. Accessibility. Great on the ship. Only one ramp unbreachable was the ramp into the boat itself. My electric scooter got caught going in and out. Plus, they do look out for you if you are a wheelchair party. Thank you staff. 12. Activities: Youth club terrible, even though it got high ratings from others. Trivia was fun. Enjoyed Hasbro's Trivial Pursuit, otherwise not a ton to do, especially for families. They only showed two movies a day outside. Could have been continuous. Cookie was the best cruise director ever. He deserves the promotion he is getting. 13. Layout. The Liberty is confusing. Decks 3-4 cannot be gone through since the Gold dining room takes up the middle of the decks. The only way from front of ship to back of ship is to go to the far elevators on other end on ship then go down. Main pool deck too small for all on board to gather for party. Can we say, Get a Theme. Gaudy and no consistency describes the decor of the Liberty. Especially the Theater. MOST of these items are minor and may not dissuade you from Carnival. If you want the best food: Disney You want the best shows: Disney. Best youth Club: Royal Caribbean. Coolest excursions: Norwegian. Best Dinner Staff: Disney. Best Suite perks: Norwegian. Sorry, but Carnival is not on the list. Read Less

Our 14th Carnival cruise and we chose The Sunshine. We had 1 inside and 1 balcony, cabin was pretty well average, bathrooms seemed smaller than most. Dining was challenging at best. Food has gotten downright bad. Food had no flavor, even pizza was tasteless. Deli was good, as well as Guy;s Burger. The entertainment was good, but the theater was dated. All the workers we encountered were great. Carnival needs to find a new port and drop Nassau. It with all it's income and visitors, should have a new air conditioned vendors area, instead of all the vendors selling the same thing in booths you can't find anything in. This port hasn't changed since 2004. Ship overall is on the downside, I may try RC on my next cruise. Charleston could be the best port in US if they would tear down the old warehouses and build a better port. Being platinum didn't help except disembarkation the last day.Carnival needs to give passengers more public areas on all new ships. You can't just build biggers ships, just for more cabins and more people. Read Less

Embarkation was terrible. We had done some rearranging (traveling with a group of 7 after a cancellation) of the cabins due to an illness. All of this was done with a Carnival phone agent before the cruise. She assured us everything would go smoothly at the port. Not true! Took several people and a bunch of wasted time to straighten out who went where even though this had been done earlier... Staff was very mixed, some staff obviously didn't want to be there, others were good. Cheers package worked well for us, and many high-end drinks are included. Pool VERY packed on the sea day, stayed on ship during Nassau day and enjoyed the uncrowded pool. Dinner in the MDR was a highlight of the cruise. Good food and service. Really enjoyed the prime rib, lamb shank, and salmon cakes. Breakfast in the MDR had great avocado toast with poached eggs and a nice smoked salmon--I combined these for a very nice morning meal. Buffet had good food, but huge lines and indifferent staff. They shut down sections even though people are already in line. There is also no healthy food available in the late afternoon. Only burgers. I understand the galley must prep for dinner in the late afternoon, but can't they at least keep the salad bar open? Entertainment is below average. The comedians were both fantastic--but not the musicians. Also, they use canned music for background instead of a live band--NCL is better than that. Piano bar was fun, though repititious if you go more than once. Went to Taino Beach in Freeport, 20 minutes in a broken down taxi for $7 each person--but nice beach and $5.75 gets you a chair and they keep the beach clean. Nassau, stayed on the ship and enjoyed the lack of crowds. Nice Caribbean buffet lunch that day with no lines. Fitness center has good equipment and an ocean view. Debarkation was more big lines. Only one guy scanning cards. ICE did their usual slow job of checking passports--but that's not the cruise lines fault. Read Less

This was perfect for our two first time cruisers. Not too big, not too long and ports that have lots to choose from. Same great Carnival food, service and dance parties as the big ships. Benefits of a smaller ship and carnival include fastest and friendliest dinner service at sea. Also way easier to get on and off of than a mega ship. It was a younger, rowdier crowd than we’re used to seeing on cruise ships out of Florida. Older ship with no rock climbing walls or ropes course and only one pool. But maintained very well. It works for a short cruise with one sea day. I wouldn’t want a longer cruise with more sea days on this ship. Drinks were way more expensive than any cruise we’ve ever been on. You need to have planned excursions tours or daypasses in Bahamas. We always go to Atlantis in Nassau. We got a day pass for viva Wyndham fortuna in Freeport. Was really great day. Kayaking some snorkeling pools great beach buffets snack bars and drinks included. They have a scuba shop but we did not use it. Read Less

I don't even know where to start!!! I have been spoiled by Disney cruises and now that my daughter feels she is too "old" to travel Disney we choose Carnival out Charleston, SC Cons: 1. Don't book/pay for ANYTHING in advance prior to getting on the ship. Trust me you will have to fight/dispute charges later, so just pay when you get there. 2. Don't bother to reserve arrival/boarding time or pay for parking in advance because regardless if you pay in advance, or choose a boarding time, it is first come first serve. We waited in line for 1 hour 25 minutes just to park! 3. Be prepared to park your car and then take a van/bus to the boat!!! Crazy! 4. Be prepared to hike up 3 levels of ramp prior to getting on the boat. 5. Please, please....BRING YOUR OWN SEASONING!!! The food is soooooo bland!!! 6. Bring your own soda and water. The drinks provided for "free" are HORRIBLE!!!! 7. Not much to do on the ship. Most of the activities weren't too engaging and didn't cater to the vast mix of ethnicities on the boat. 8. Speciality restaurants are a JOKE!!! The Fahrenheit 555 had the worst view. I can't tell you have many times I tried to avoid looking out at the life boats while eating, but it was the only view they had to offer! They took forever to serve the food. And cruising is supposed to be an opportunity to taste different types of food. Be prepared to only select 1 option from the starter, main and dessert menus. You can't try additional items. The price of the steakhouse on the Carnival cruise is about the same price as the Disney Palo, and trust me, you will leave the Disney restaurant stuffed from the vast amount of options you get to choose from. 9. If you purchase the "Bubbly" soda package, be prepared to be treated as less than! The servers know that a can of soda more than likely won't come with a tip, so that take their sweet time making your drink. If you don't watch them, they will serve you left over soda from previous cans, so ask for ice and the entire can and pour it yourself. After all, you are paying $40+ for soda if on a 4 day cruise. 10. The absolute worst was getting off the boat. They tell you to sit in the Liquid Lounge and line up your luggage because this is the only way to depart the ship. While you are waiting the entire remaining passengers on the ship are upstairs getting off the boat without lining up. So we sat in the Liquid Lounge for NOTHING!! 11. Be prepared to take a 10-15 min ride to the Princess Cay beach. NOTHING about this ship is just one-stop. Everything requires a bus, van or boat to get to the next point of interest. 12. I learned they don't drain the pool every night. By the 2nd afternoon the water was so murky that I didn't allow my daughter to swim. DISGUSTING! Pros: 1. Kids Camp Ocean was great. At least from a kids point of view but they have the nerve to charge after 10pm. That is the time when most adults are up and about! Overall a terrible experience. I tried my best to be positive, but there was just nothing positive outside of getting amazing rest once I was able to adjust to the hard mattress or the lumpy couch. Katute was great at providing services for the cabin. Really nice gentleman! Will never travel with Carnival again. This was my first and last experience! Read Less

My daughter and I took a mini vacation for her birthday . The crew on this ship made her feel so special. Ray our steward was awesome. The crew in the Sunset dining were truly amazing . We met Bradley the art gentleman and had a good conversation with him. and Mikey the cruise director will keep you laughing he was awesome. Andre who works on the lido deck bringing you drinks he is the bomb! has some really good dance moves. We enjoyed the shows , the food. We ate at the Italian restaurant on the first night and they sang to my daughter in Italian. They sang to her in the Sunset dinning room as well. We like the Sunshine and all the activities were awesome. We will definitely sail on the Sunshine again. The Matre D was awesome in the Sunset dinning room I hope he dances with us next time , LOL.. Read Less

Where to start... 1. Lines, be ready to wait in a lot of them. From dining, boarding and getting off the ship you will spend 10-15% of your awake time standing in some kind of damn line. Also be prepared to have terrible communication from the cruise director as to where you should ACTUALLY go to stand in line as well as poor planning on how to execute service excellence Examples A. Initial boarding - 15-20 Agents are there to check international travel documentation, rolls through semi smooth. Exiting - Only 7 agents to check documentation, causing major delays in getting off the ship. *important if you have a flight to catch. I’ll also mention you are in a steel building in 100 degree Jacksonville heat with no AC. Dip security personal announces “welcome back to the real world, citing line length and to suck it up”. They already have your money, at this point they don’t care about your experience. 2700 people exiting the ship and only 7 lines. Example B. Dining We went here on our honeymoon and never once got to eat breakfast or lunch together. It’s unorganized lunchroom chaos. You can’t start out in 2 different lines and arrive at your table 20 minutes apart. Example C. Excursions If you are told to be on deck 3 to exit the ship; don’t plan on going to deck 3 and expecting to walk off. The line to exit starts on the deck 4 and wraps down two hallways. Don’t expect a carnival agent to actively be communicating this or managing the lines either. This also pertains to your final exit from the ship as well. It’s not that it’s an oversight; it’s just that they don’t care enough to come up with another system. Additionally, Princess Kays lunch had impossible lines for Hamburgers and hotdogs the entire time we were there. We weren’t going to take an hour out of our time there to stand in that line. We are when we got back on the boat. But seriously, 2700 people in two lines to get hamburgers and hotdogs. 2. The “cheers” package. If you think this is going to be all inclusive , its not. It’s limit of 15 alcoholic drinks a day (does not apply on the carnival owned Princess Kays island either, you are paying full price there). This is somewhat expected however here at the ‘extra’ limitations. A. If you are an early riser and would like a coke product or an energy drink in the morning; don’t expect to get it before 8am. Additionally, expect to wait in a separate line if you want a coke with your lunch. *Most important, they won’t give you a unopened (single can) of coke to add ice to and drink in the morning before the bar areas open. I had to ask for a supervisor after my wife requested one for me and got shot down. B. “I’d like a double” is taboo with Cheers. They don’t have the capability of pouring more than one shot at a time. You have to wait 5 minutes and get back in the line and wait for another shot to be added to your glass. Lines vary, but expect a double of liquor to take 15-20 minutes total. Additionally you can not pay extra for a double.m205 3. Beach chairs and pool size Chairs are less than an inch apart from each other on the ship and at the carnival resort. Expect to be right on top of one another and to see many people trip trying to navigate between them. If you don’t like crowds, then you will never swim in the pool. It’s filled to capacity most hours of the day. It’s roughly 1/4 of an Olympic pool size for 2700 guests. 4. Entertainment Pro- Actually really good music Cons- Emphasis on jewelry purchases and art auctions. A lot of emphasis on this. Comic/magician from Chicago was terrible. 5. Broken elevators, 2700 guests. Do the math. 6. Beds are similar to those you’ll find in a camper. 7. Dinners were all actually really good; with great service. Everything is loud. Like REALLY loud. Don’t expect to communicate with other guests if you are a stones throw from any entertainment venue. 8. Carnival rates the ship for 2056 passengers (guests). We were told 2700 were exiting the ship. Read Less

We had been looking forward to this cruise for sooooo long. It was the first one for my husband and the second one for me (although mine was 20 years ago on the no longer existing Big Red Boat). Unfortunately, was not a very good experience for either one of us and will definitely not go back on this one. Cons: *Embarkation was a nightmare! The parking and the walking just to get to the building to check-in should have been our first red flag *Not impressed with the food at all. I can't imagine that Guy Fieri would put his stamp of approval on the burgers. *Buffet ran out of food during peak dining hours at breakfast, lunch & dinner *Not enough help at the food stations, especially the Pizzeria. I felt really bad for that one poor guy trying to keep up with all the pizza orders. *You are encouraged to purchase spa services, excursions, drink packages, etc. online. However, the inclusion of gratuity is not consistent so we were unpleasantly surprised by a $50 gratuity added to our spa service that we had pre-ordered online. *If you pre-order spa services online, they are cheaper but at that point you don't have an itinerary so it is easy to book at an inconvenient time. *NOTHING started on time! Our safety meeting was 45 minutes late which meant we were late leaving port. Both of our spa services were 30 minutes late. Bingo never started on time. Everything was hurry up and wait. *Smoking only allowed in a small section on Deck 10. Well guess what? Parents taking their children to the child activity centers have to walk right through that area. REALLY? *Yes, you can smoke in some areas of the casino and we found out from fellow cruisers that there is a very small area you can smoke in on Deck 3, but the staff doesn't tell you that. *Did you know that the shops aren't open when you are in any port? We didn't. Wasn't fun to run out of cigarettes and have to wait almost 3 hours to purchase some more. *They stop bar service at 5:00 PM on Deck 10 every day. Why? *We did casual photos on board one evening. At each background, we asked if we would be able to purchase portraits of different sizes and were told yes. Went to purchase photos and 8X10 was all that is available for those photo shoots. *Our first massages ever were in the Cloud 9 Spa. I was not impressed. After they talked us into upgrading our service and then charged us incorrectly, they kept trying to push products even after us telling them politely no thank you several times. I had so many sore spots on my back for several days that I flinched when my husband would find one. *The itinerary and app featured a preview of a new, rare color changing gemstone that was going to be featured on board. The sign sat outside of the jewelry store every day. The day/time of the event, we went to check it out only to find out that the jewelry never made it on the ship. Ok, so why would you keep physically putting the sign out every day? *After we got back on board from Half Moon Cay, activities were very lacking. Couldn't they have at least had a DJ on the Lido deck? *They ask you to settle your Ship & Sign account on Day 4. So, they have 2 people working guest services - 2! Spending almost 2 hours in line to dispute charges on your account definitely does not help with the fact that you were already really disappointed with the entire experience. Pros: *We were allowed to board before our scheduled check in time *We were upgraded to a Cloud 9 Spa balcony room which was amazing and had a great location. Our room steward, Jimi was awesome! *Loved the heated seats in the Thermal Suites *We had a cabana at Half Moon Cay. So worth it (even though our cabana was the only one that wasn't ready when we got there). Half Moon Cay was absolutely stunning and having the cabana to go back to to cool off and relax was perfect! The cabanas have air conditioning, ceiling fan and a misting fan. You are provided with a huge bag of tortilla chips, salsa, sour cream, guacamole, veggie and fruit trays, 2 large water bottles, 2 sodas per person, snorkel gear, water floats, an outdoor shower, 2 lounge chairs and a table with 4 chairs. *We pre-ordered the Cheers drink package. Definitely worth it! *Disembarkation was a bit better. They did have shuttles that took you and your luggage (that you had to bring off the ship by yourself) from the ship to a midpoint in the parking lot. *The Epic Rock show was phenomenal! This is one not to miss! *We finally found the omelet station on Day 3 which helped make breakfast better. We did not eat in the dining room at all. Looked at the dining room menu each day and nothing sounded good. We tried most of the different food stations but weren't overly thrilled with any of them - the food quality or the service. For first time cruisers, the lack of communication and direction was very disappointing. Unfortunately, I can't give this experience more than a 2 out of 10. Extremely disappointed overall! Read Less

This was our first cruise and unfortunately very disappointed to say the least. This should not be listed as a “family friendly “ cruise line.Drunk adults everywhere, unsupervised children running and screaming down the halls,I’m honestly shocked that families bring small children and expose them to that atmosphere. We attempted several shows to get away but there was no escape including the pool that was way too small to enjoy. The food was mediocre at best on the ship and the buffet provided at Half Moon Cay was a disaster! Who goes to the Bahamas to eat cheap hamburgers and hotdogs with 3,000 people at one buffet?? The highlight of our cruise was the VIP dolphin excursion❤️we all enjoyed the dolphin interaction and would recommend. Our first impression is that Carnival caters to adults only. We will stay clear of Carnival and perhaps stick to quiet relaxing retreats we can enjoy as a family. Read Less

Sailed out of Port Canaveral on 5-17-2019 on a 3 day cruise, I’ve sailed a few other times with other companies, 5 cabins were with our party, it was my birthday and a present from my wife,my 3 children joined along with other family members. First afternoon out slide and pool got closed off. Saturday was spent all day in port, still not opened and they closed off basketball,volleyball and putt-putt. Went to complain and after asking to speak with supervisor they brought in 2 deck supervisor, after expressing my issue the pool deck supervisor smiled and said a kid puked in pool and they can’t discharge in port, although they had closed while out to sea the day before. All courts were closed due to rain shower while sutt was being released from the big whale tail which settled on floor of courts, which they were sweeping up around 11:30am no one returned for another 6 hours to mop the courts, finally opened courts, pool was not cleaned till 12:00-1:00 the last day of the cruise and didn’t open for several hours after that. Trip just sucked, and for the pool deck supervisor, to just stand there and smirk while I expressed my disappointment. Even after pointing out that she was smirking at me. Just really proves they have no compassion for there guests. I was very upset with them as it was very hard to entertain 3 kids for 3 days and for them to look at all the other ships at port with kids playing on water slides, basketball, volleyball and see the disappointment in there eyes just was heart breaking and again to have her keep smiling! If your going with children pick another cruise line, and if something goes wrong don’t expect anything from them. Read Less

I chose Carnival Sunrise because it left from Norfolk and was an easy departure point as I was taking my entire family on the cruise. It was the first cruise for many of them; so their first cruise experience. I have sailed Carnival before and have enjoyed the experience. I can not say the same for this trip. I had high expectations since I had heard so much hype about the renovations and upgrades. I was disappointed and wondered where the money was spent. There was a lot of rust in places, loose carpet, and general maintenance issues. There were long lines in the Lido marketplace at all the meals. The flow wasn’t very good. The Lido deck did have the water slide which my kids enjoyed. There was also putt-putt golf, basketball, fossball, and a pool table. My family enjoyed the pool and the rope course. My kids did enjoy their trip and the travel and the visits to Nassau and Freeport. I was disappointed in the quality of the food (very bland). The chefs seemed to want to be innovative, trying to mix flavors and textures. But the food didn’t have a lot of flavor. I heard that Guy’s BBQ was good, but I didn’t enjoy it. The Guy’s Burger Joint was awesome as usual. And ice cream was always available. The wait staff at our table in the dining room was good, not great. They seemed new and not quite sure of their role. Our waiter, Idewa, was very pleasant and good with the kids. There was no anticipation of guest needs or desires as I have experienced in the past. Service was also slow. And the “shows” in the dining room were not on par with what I have enjoyed on past cruises. I was also disappointed with the dining experience as this was a family trip. My two sisters and I had booked the cruise together and requested family to be seated together for the early dining. Unfortunately, my sister and her daughter and granddaughter were placed on the lower level and the rest were on the upper level. When she bought this to the attention of the maître d’, she was treated rudely and told that it was too late to make a change. The entertainment, family-wise, was not family friendly. I did not attend many of the shows because they weren’t age appropriate for my younger grandchildren. And the movies were PG-13. On my previous Carnival cruise 2 years ago, I spent every evening on the Lido deck watching family friendly movies. I never watched one movie on the Lido deck on this cruise. There was very little TV programming for children either while we were in the cabin; just Cartoon Network and Blue’s Clues. Room-wise, I had a spa balcony. I was originally on Deck 2 with my family, but after two room changes by Carnival, ended up on Deck 11. Not a hardship by any means. But I had requested adjoining rooms because I was helping my daughter and son-in-law with their children. I was told there was no adjoining rooms on Deck 2. Lo and behold, my two sisters arrived to find they had adjoining rooms where I was originally supposed to be on Deck 2. They had not requested adjoining rooms. There were highs and lows. Pictures were not great. Photographers were more interested in quick shots without much imagination, and not much quality. I bought a couple of my family that were ok, but discarded a lot because they weren’t very good. And as one previous reviewer commented, you were nickleled-and-dimed a lot. Disembarkation: what a cluster. It took us two hours to get off the ship. Decks were called in order, and since we were on Deck 11, we were called last. It was very difficult to get an elevator. We made it to Deck 5 and sat on the floor with our luggage for an hour. We had to be out of our cabins by 8:30, and not a lot of available public space to sit with the kids. Once our deck was called, we finally made it on an elevator to Deck 3, then were unable to get off as the area was jam packed with other guests. I can say things did go quickly once we were around the corner and in the hallway. I think feeder lines on Deck 3 and more assistance from staff for crowd control would have made this easier. Overall, I give this cruise and ship a 3 out of 5. Read Less

I booked this cruise for my boyfriend's 30th birthday. It was my second cruise, both booked with Carnival cruise line. It was my boyfriend's first cruise ever. The day of embarkation, we were able to get on the ship before our check in time- which we appreciated. However, when we got on we decided to take a tour of the ship and were inside on level 4 when the power shut completely off. We were in pitch black darkness for about 5 minutes when the power came back on, then shut back off suddenly. The power eventually came back on. At that point, I was extremely terrified but my boyfriend convinced me not to let our money go to waste. Not one employee on the ship spoke about it, they acted like nothing happened. Aside from that, the ship is extremely extremely old and outdated. We booked about two weeks out and ended up getting an interior cabin on level 2. IF you decide to cruise on the Liberty, I HIGHLY suggest to NOT book a room on any level below 4 or 5. Aside from the fact that the ship rocked pretty heavily the entire duration of the cruise, our room rocked and vibrated the entire trip. We would get motion sickness on a higher floor and wanted to go lay down and rest in our room which only made us feel worse. The entire level 2 stinks like sewer. Our evening dining consisted of us sitting across from another couple at a booth which we were not expecting and did not like at all. Our sea day "open seating" brunch was not actually open seating. They sit you at a square or rectangular table with strangers and do not allow you to move seats even if you request to. Most of the employees did not speak English very well and weren't very helpful. I asked my housekeeper for a room service menu one of the nights and he said "it is in your room" and it wasn't. It wasn't a big deal at the time. But we later saw him in the hallway on the next night and asked him again and told him it wasn't in the room. It was like a battle trying to get the menu. My boyfriend spent quite a lot of money playing at the casino everyday and at one point the manager of the casino area offered us both free drinks. The waiter came around and I asked him for a menu for my order, he rushed me and said "every bar on the ship offers the same type of drinks, so what do you want?" rushing me. I tried to think, without a menu, what the name of the frozen drink was I had the night prior. He came back with a frozen virgin drink. This could have simply been avoided if the drink waiter would have brought me a drink menu. There was a massive amount of people this weekend and we were unable to even find a seat at the comedy shows, even after arriving 15 + minutes early to them. We missed out because we didn't want to stand during the comedy show. The embarkation process was HORRIBLE. They advised levels 1 and 2 to depart 1st. So, luggage in tow, we arrive to level 3 where we exit the ship to find that we can barely exit the elevator because the entire floor is crammed with people trying to get out. We didn't move for 15 minutes and had to squeeze our way thru. There was not ONE Carnival employee trying to guide people. We still tipped everyone that served us because that is the courteous thing to do. All in all, this trip was just okay because me and my boyfriend are very open minded and made the best of every single situation. However, I will NEVER cruise with Carnival again. And will tell this to anyone I know. I am so disappointed in the service that Carnival failed to provide. Read Less

First Cruise for us a learning experience you might say. The idea of a cruise is neat but this particular one was a complete disappointment. Embarkation was super crowded and a bit confusing. Forget lunch on boarding day. The buffet was totally out of control, crowded, full of inconsiderate people and extremely long lines ( 20 minutes in the deli line - that didn't even move ) then after moving to the buffet line another 20 minutes to finally get to the food line with people butting lines to be with family. Cabin was nice, relatively clean and well appointed with a cool view from our balcony. Our Stateroom Steward Ady was pleasant and make sure our room was clean and stocked well. The bed which was supposed to be a King size was in actuality 2 twins together with a " gully" down the middle. We though peace would be on our balcony at sea. Not so some times, neighboring rooms though that it would be a great place to blast Rap music and smoke weed. Dining in the Golden Room was wonderful. Food was tasty and our Wait Staff, Oliver, Olaf and Benjamin were outstanding. Entertainment was okay more suitable for younger folks. So bottom line this kind of cruising is not for us. We'd rather spend that money on a nice resort where there are no unruly , inconsiderate crowds. Read Less

We just returned from a 6 day cruise on the Ecstasy. I booked late and you were able to arrange a table for 6 at our preferred time. I admit I had low expectations for our 19th cruise as we just wanted to insure our friend William Schaecher had a great 1st cruise! Imagine our amazement that this older craft gave us a wonderful experience and based upon the crew possibly our best cruise ever! You guys even arranged perfect weather, calm seas and bubbly passengers to entertain us. Our dining experience was excellent ! The Matri’d Aaron is a phenom! Not only did he arrange our dining but he managed the most active dining teams I have ever seen. All of the staff danced and sang and Aaron led the way! Well done sir! Well done all! Every single night! Our personal Dining team (Rudy Head waiter, I Gusti and Carlo Table 343 Windsong) were prompt, efficient, personable and very kind. What a wonderful team. (Team- Station 241.. Team Head Waiter-Fernandez, Rudy Gallardo; Team Waiter-Castillo, Carlo Castillo, and Ass’t Team Waiter Adhi, I Gusti Ngurah Rismayana) They took great care of us (6) and several other tables (2-12 seaters) with flair, gusto and a FUN outlook! We had a chance encounter with a head waiter- Reluca (Also WindStar ) in the Windsong dining room for breakfast. She is on her way home for a vacation and judging by our experience it was well earned. She always smile, waived and spoke with us where ever she saw us! Our Cabin Steward I Madi (R200) was very attentive and always a presence. His Towel animals were grand (Susan Squealed every night to see the next animal). We had only requested evening turn down but most days he neatened 2 times. Wonderful The ship is well maintained and meticulously groomed. The highlight for me was the CD the lovely Kyndall Fire! She is a bouncy, happy entertaining presence! From on stage to back stage or non-stage (We had missed our zone call out and when she saw our lanyards she escorted us out of line and had a fun-staff member escort us off the ship. And the entertainment staff (Playlist cast)! The harmony, movements and talent of each dancer and singer was clearly part of a team effort. The America Rocks stage show integrated at least four of the multiple person music group that usually provided excellent entertainment just outside of the Casino! They were blended with the Playlist cast it was wonderful! Never noticed it done before and what a wonderful sound and vibe. So thanks John and Ecstasy! What a wonderful time was had by so many ! Thanks! Read Less

1) The ship: This is an old ship, pretty run down. The decor though is charming, in a kinda old world Titanic/Tiffany style. The best thing was the lighting and the quaint corners. 2) The dining experience: The dining room (Silver or Golden), if you get a table close to the window, is very cozy and makes for a nice romantic dinner with "candle" light. The food in the restaurant is decent. Nothing to wow, but the taste and presentation was good. The service was very good. Servers were extremely nice and accommodating. My partner is omnivore and I am vegan. The dishes they prepared for me were excellent, both in taste and presentation. However, there was just one dish (no choices) for me, and it was lacking in protein, with the exception of the last day. The tofu steak was absolutely delicious. They had no appetizers and no desert for me. Just plain salad and a bowl of fruit every day. My partner had a variety to choose from. Everything was good for him but nothing special. On the menu they had a vegan/vegetarian dish every day listed, but they didn't have it. With the exception of the last day, I got a variety of the same plate every day: plain couscous with tomato sauce and one small plain vegetable. No protein. 3) Food during the day: Breakfast: The buffet was standard. For omnivores, eggs, bacon, baked beans, a variety of breads and pastries, cereals, etc. For vegans, just potatoes and baked beans or oatmeal and fruit. Non dairy milk had to be ordered and I stood there for a good while waiting for it. There was a breakfast burrito stand by the pool. No beans, so no vegan option. Only egg and meats for filling. They also had a small deli stand, but they also had no vegan options. Lunch: No options for vegans, besides a Mongolian wok. No protein option. Just noodles and vegetables. Omnivores could choose from chicken, beef, fish, or mussels. To my surprise they had no Indian or Vegan vegan dishes. All was very heavy meat oriented. No vegan pastries or baked anything. No tofu, no lentils or beans. No vegetable dishes without butter or meat. Just fruit for desert. They only had pizza available for times outside the buffet times (lunch until 3:30 am, dinner until 9:00 pm). The pizza was freshly made by one person, so the lines were very long. For vegan option they had a mushroom pizza without cheese that was actually very good. Regular pizza was ok. Thin crust and spare toppings, but fresh and not heavy. They also offered a gluten free crust. 3) Entertainment: This was the poorest category. No band, no music by the pool (besides a recording of an extremely annoying keyboard that one person pretend played with one finger), no games (besides one hairy chest contest which was blah). The pools were very small. The main pool allowed kids so it was usually full of them. Very small pool. The back pool was adults only, but it was also very small and there was zero entertainment. There was a comedy club with a comedian who pretty much repeated the same jokes. Humor based on obnoxiousness, which could be funny at times but, again, repeated every night so it would def be a one night kinda thing. The show was a rock performance with singers who were painful to listen to they were so off key. One really good dancer (wow). The rest not good and very much out of shape, huffing and puffing and sweating. 4) Ports: Nassau wasn't great. We walked to Cabbage beach, which was a nice 45 min walk through town. The beach was so so. Just very poor with local people trying to make a buck best they can. Everything looks run down and sad. Atlantis seems to have a monopoly and everything around it fell apart. Not worth to get off the ship. Freeport was much better. We took a taxi to a small beach called Paradise Cove, which was great. Low key. It is in an area away from tourism, in a zone called 8 mile where most locals live. They charge 4.50$ for beach access and a fee for locker, snorkeling equipment, kayak, chair, umbrella, etc. We brought our own snorkeling equipment. The beach is by Deadman's Reef. It is amazing for snorkeling since you can easily swim there from shore. It is seldom deeper than 4 ft until you get to the reef. There are no dangerous currents. We saw big sea turtles and a ton of fish along the corrals. They have a food stand where everything they offer is local and made from scratch. My partner had Concha and I had sweet potato fries. Delicious. It was 4 $ for local Bahamian ice cold beer. They offer excursions online there but don't buy that. It is much cheaper to get there on your own and if you bring your own equipment, its a fun afternoon for little money. We rather tip the locals than spending money on arranged shore excursions. Overall: Negative: The ship was run down and dirty. There was vomit on the stairs that stayed there for days. An invasion of love bugs that was only half way cleaned up. Rust and erosion everywhere. The food was below average, with little to no variety. No protein options, no variety, no deserts or appetizers for vegans. Little to no (or bad) entertainment. Sad, small pools look and smell like old city pools. Positive: Really nice room (balcony), excellent cabin steward, nice and friendly staff everywhere, really nice and hard working servers. The cocktails we tried (Mojito, Bloody Mary) were great. Strong and freshly made. Recommend this cruise? No, we will not repeat a Carnival Cruise. Read Less

Chose this cruise as it was the only one available during our time frame leaving from Port Canaveral. I will say that the departure location is very good and if you pre-register and arrive at your designated time - boarding was fantastic and fast. The ship is worn out and in need of new carpets, paint, beds ... pretty much everything. Beds were terrible! Windows were dirty. Entertainment was lacking - and ship was packed full. The dining room food was terrible in our opinion. The appetizers tasted and looked like they were out of a freezer box - awful. Food was cold and dining room service was severely lacking. We tried it twice and then decided we were better off eating at Guys Hamburgers/Taco Bar or buffet. Buffet food was decent. The carpet in our balcony room - level 7 - had a cord or something under it that was easy to trip on ... no idea what is was. The room servicing was good. - however they never cleaned up our balcony. There was a bottle cap on it when we arrived - and it was still there when we left. Debarkation was a nightmare - and nonsensical. People were sitting with their luggage in the elevator lobbies ... waiting and waiting. We finally asked to leave - and upon exit noted there was no waiting to physically leave the ship! Would not recommend unless you get this cruise for next to nothing (we paid premium). Did enjoy the ports. Read Less

We cruise about four times a year, mostly with Carnival... We were given "special" recognition for a "Milestone" with them, our 25 cruise on Carnival... We can make an objective comparison.. First, the "muster" which we all dislike, was the most unorganized and delayed I have experienced. In addition to that we could not hear (legibly) any of the instructions. No one was around showing people how to put on the vest and MANY were on cell phones, talking in groups and one brought a beer....Next, we were scheduled to sail at 3:30... Muster lasted till after 4.. No sailing. Back to the room, waiting for the shops and casino to open.. No sailing.... It was three hours before we got under way. No communication; no explanation.. It doesn't seem like much to Carnival, but that was three hours out of our vacation. Many other "minor" inconveniences occurred, but time does not permit mentioning them. The day we had plans for Nassau, we requested room service breakfast so we could get out and start. Both my wife and I need food to take our morning meds.. We requested 8/8:30 delivery. At 9:15 I called and was assured it was "on the way"... An hour later my wife called and they were very apologetic, but again another two hours out of our vacation.... Finally, and most importantly, the casino is totally not what we expect and have experienced. I will not go into the MANY disappointments with the "Hosts".... hey seemed to cater to the "tables" and not put much attention on the "slots"... We spend more money than most table players and are much less obnoxious than some of them... But they made sure they were "taken care of". All-in-all, I will avoid the Liberty in the future. And this is a shame as there were MANY people that went out of their way to make us comfortable... Carnival, "for what it's worth"...... Read Less

I have been on 10 cruises so far, mostly Celebrity and Royal Carribean. This was my first and LAST Carnival Cruise. We decided to take a quick last minute 7 night Western Carribean cruise out of Port Canaveral in a SPA balcony cabin. WHAT A MISTAKE. The food was horrible, the cabin steward only offered once a day service, we had to beg for extra towels, their dine anytime, required us to get into a line every time before the meal and get a table assigned to us and then proceed to another floor where the restaurant was located and give the table # to the staff. Really??? We ended up eating in the buffet area as the food in the dining room was bland, extremely small portions, and long wait times between courses. The buffet area dining tables were always dirty, the window shelf areas along side the tables were disgusting. Most of the time the sanitation stations had no product in them. Low and Behold, the last day I wake up with a horrible sore throat and miserable cold. NEVER AGAIN WILL I CRUISE CARNIVAL. PS. If you like tons of drunken sloppy 20-30 year olds, this would be your dream cruise. Read Less

Well where do start. I know how about Sunday morning at 7am where the crew was dragging some big item across the floor and banging with a large hammer. How about the disgusting smell at the elevator entrance that makes you want to commit. I realize it's a cruise and your not suppose to set in your room but maybe having more than 5 TV channels that repeat programming over and over. Now let me get to the main complaint. The food on this ship is horrible. Why do you only have one buffet that is a hodge podge of nothing. Why is it shut down multiple times a day. Why does the most popular thing in the ship the burger place close at 6 everyday. Even the Mexican place closes. If you choose to wait till after 6 to eat you either go to the nicer dining hall or eat the crappy buffet. Sorry I have been on other ships and this was not an issue. Even the nicer dining hall sucks! Our room was decent but that's about it. Rumor has it this ship is leaving and a different one is coming to Charleston. Hope so because if not this is my families last one. Oh one last thing. My wife can occupy herself and have fun about anywhere but she is bored out of her mind because there is nothing to do on this boat. Be warned, drive on down the coast and get on a other boat. Read Less

I sailed with a group of ladies. The dining seated was constantly messed up to keep us together. I realize we had a large group, but what happened to assigned seating. Breakfast in the Imagination Room, we were always told that we had to wait for the rest of the group to show up. We would then look around and find other members of our group already seated. When we asked to be seated close to them, we were told they couldn't do that. The food wasn't like I remembered it was either. No special dishes like duck or escargot, many American dishes like mac and cheese and fried chicken for a main dish. Two elevators were down and being worked on. While we were at Freeport, there were maintenance workers everywhere I looked working on the ship. The ship rocked back and forth the entire trip. I am not sure if it was the Captain sailing to fast or the age of the ship not have stabilizers to avoid to rocking Many people said that they weren't going to sail again. Our window leaked water into the room on the last night. I called maintenance. They didn't send anyone to look at it. I really think that Carnival needs to retire the Elation. Read Less