Graduation celebration cruise for the kids - our 2nd cruise and won't be our last. Embarkation in Galveston was fantastic again. Drop off to on deck in under an hour. The Freedom was nice but we all preferred the Valor more (just a more beautifully decorated and themed ship despite the same layout). Service, food, and entertainment were all good. Nothing stood out as fantastic or negative, just good overall value. The only real complaints would be occasional foul smells by the elevators on the main deck. (2nd level) and the washers/dryers not working. Booked transportation in advance and went snorkeling at Doctor's Cave Beach in Montego Bay. Great value and looks just like a postcard. Did the Sea Turtle Excursion in Grand Cayman. It was enjoyable but not nearly the experience we were anticipating. Fun but a little let down. Shopping in Cozumel is always good. Absolutely ready for another! Read Less

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Our honeymoon was wonderful on the cruise. It was our first cruise and we really don’t have anything to complain about. Many thanks to our wonderful room steward, 1 Gede is his name. The crew on there is absolutely so kind and selfless. Thanks carnival dream. We didn’t have our children there but we definitely will for next time. I wish they’d continue porting out of New Orleans,Louisiana but that’ll give us chance to try something else there. The food was great and I like how the tips are automatically drawn so we don’t have to worry about cash on hand. The shows were excellent and hilarious. Alex our cruise director has such a vibrant talented personality. The ship had problems getting the anchor up and made up the time for it. The fellow guests were all so friendly. Of course you’ll have one or two who complains about just about anything but hey, grateful cruiser here and I would do it again with the dream. Read Less

this ship was great oval.Very big from the last one i did 5 years ago i can't even remember the name.Cabin was bigger and better i've to admit(interier).We never got the dinning we requested but the open time 630-930 daily option worked great with our schedule.Please have some money coz most of the free meals that comes with your cruise sucks butt.They have plenty to do from step on...to step off. Service around the ship and anything that you might need is fast considering it's so many people on board. port service to board is around 45 minutes wait. i even don't know why they give you the option on the slot time they want you to come. no one checks that time and there is only one line for everyone and on side VIP for faster checking if you've the suits and up on the cruise.Kids friendly ship. My 8 yr old would have had a blast. he's got to come next time.Coming back,yes that's a given.getting on was okey coz everyone wanted to get on. now lets get back to prices..you'll need an extra 400-800 to spend while on cruise. just like the airlines..you pay cheaper for bags if you pay online way before getting to the airport. when you get to the cruise and find out the internet sucks,too slow,very expensive and everything is cut off completely so that you spend money. trust me. get one drink package..because that lemonade they have is the nastiest i've drunk ever in my life. $ 3.45 for 1.5 L of water bottles.how many will you need for 5-7 days depending on the length of your cruise. anything...i mean anything that you'll buy on board is added a 15% gratuity. so them small amounts add up so quick you'll be surprised. the workers work around the clock to make sure your stay is great. But what i found out there monthly salary.. i saddened me so much. 2800 people,each paying $90 for gratuity and not even half of that goes to those hard working people. while walking around the ship.look around and see how many americans work here? it's less than 5 in the whole ship. that says a lot. we spent almost 400 on food and onboard wifi. so make sure you save up on those hidden fees. carnival is on the business of profit in the name of FUN ON THE SHIP. i think they could make some of the paid things free coz $1500 for two people a'int cheap. hope this helps someone out there. Read Less

This was our first cruise and we loved it. We departed from Miami, which we did not explore because what we did see in Miami we we're not impressed. To be honest it looked dirty and unsafe, but that can be anywhere. The food in Miami was amazing though. Getting on the ship was easy but we paid for a fast track so we would not have to stand in line as we have a 1 year old. The embrakation was smooth. They did a safety drill for each Munster station which was a mess. I suggest they scan room cards as you come in and pass out bands for children 12 and under that way you don't have to stand for an hour waiting to get a demonstration of putting on a life jacket. Other than that it was easy to go. The ship itself was beautiful and looked new. The 5th floor had a Casino for those who want to gamble and life music with an amazing band. The fun shops are small but amusing. The theater is huge and beautiful. The public areas were beyond clean. Oh there is a small playground for kids, my daughter loved it! Our cabin was awesome. It was clean as a whistle upon our arrival. The showers have shampoo and body wash dispensers so that is convenient. We had a balcony beautiful room but wish I got a room with a window only for extra play space.l enjoyed seeing a new towel animal daily after house keeping cleaned. Which is done daily. Dining OMG food galore!!! I ate 7 meals a day, the Lido deck had a great buffet. There were great restaurants to eat at that we're free. I didn't do fancy dining cause I'm on vacation with family not the President of the United States. So I can't tell you about the food you pay for. Room service food was delicious too and the employees that bring it are beyond amazing. One was from Thailand another from Bahamas and Ukraine, amazing! I did not do adult entertainment because o was more concerned we the my daughter having fun so I did that. Their we're movies every night. We did a parade and story time. Tons of pictures with Dr.Suess characters she loved it. I wish there were more activities like that for her during the cruise. The music selection was not my favorite but hey peoy want to party, but I think there should have been more of a variety! Service was stellar! Seriously if anyone complained they had to be drunk. The photographers we're amazing and professional. Housekeeping professional, hilarious and worked hard. Cooks well the best because they fed us. Capatin out of this world. Our Cruise director Felipe the best. And I remember Josh the guy who was always making a joke for the performances great and funny. Bartenders quick and polite. Room service quick and didn't mind me picking their brains! Ports Key West Sucks! Their only place to walk is Duval St and nothing is open when you dock. Boring during the day and I will stay on the ship when I cruise again and it's a stop. Cozumel, totally beautiful. The natives are hilarious and so friendly, they do everything they can to sell stuff but hey that have to make a living too. The atmosphere here outstanding! I'd visit Cozumel Mexico anytime. The save the sea turtles was an amazing excursion my older kids did it and said that was the highlight of their day. Disembarkation was a gaggle they need to exit those who paid for quicker exit first by floors not herd us into a room tells us to sit then now leave. Customs was friendly and polite. The biggest issue of leaving was Miami TSA rude, rude, rude except for 3 TSA women who was awesome by my daughter. Read Less

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This ship is pretty and because it is new, does not have the usual wear and tear. The dining choices are good (but you basically have to spend extra $ to get a decent dinner). Guys Pig has a good bbq lunch that is free. The bad: Havana: We paid significantly more for havana rooms in order to avoid crowds at the pool. But the Havana pool was actually more crowded. It was loud, packed and had no chairs. Not worth it. New elavators: Big swing and a miss here. They SUCK. They take longer, confuse the elderly. The screens used to select floors work poorly. Carnival needs to ditch this system. Beds: the “king” bed is two smaller beds pushed together. But the mattresses push apart, leaving a canton in the middle of the bed. Dining: The main dining room anytime system sucks. You have to check in on a screen far away from the dining room. It is chaos. Long lines, too crowded. Gym: the gym is WAY too small for a ship this size. Read Less

So...I was very hesitant to take this cruise after reading so many negative reviews! Fake News!!!! Some people are just negative in life and will find fault with anything. We had a FABULOUS cruise! This is my 9th cruise. I would put this ship in my top 3. Oasis and Allure being my top 2. Did not have any problems. Embarkation was an absolute breeze! Elevators were great! Took the first day to get used to them...but they really are very simple. Press the floor you want to go on...(press multiple times for people in your party to ensure an elevator arrives with enough space for your party)...letter of the alphabet shows on monitor...stand in front of elevator. What is everyone going on and on about?? Chris Williams, The Flying Scottsman, was our cruise director filling in for Mike Pack. Chris was FANTASTIC! Loved his afternoon show on the last day. His performances in the Atrium were energizing! Hope he is appointed the main cruise director of Carnival's next big ship. Kyndall Fire, part of the Fun Squad was also great and made the family games and trivia a lot of fun for all. Our dining experience was great. We were a party of 11. Pedro, Piotr, and Igede are a fabulous team. The food was delicious! Zoran at the Alchemy bar really knows how to make a good cocktail. Milos and Dodge make a great smoked boulevardier at Guy's Pig and Anchor and are swift and engaging with the guests. Loved loved the Blue Iguana Cantina. Breakfast burritos and lunch burritos hit the spot. Guy's Burger Joint had great burgers! Fries were a little overcooked. My kids loved the pizza...always a line! There really should be 2-3 people working there at meal times. We ate in the Italian restaurant and the food there was very good. Family comedy shows (PG) were entertaining and good for all ages. Enjoyed the piano bar with Gregor, but wonder why the piano bar sing along was only late at night and 18 and older. My teens would have enjoyed that venue if earlier in the evening. There are many quiet spots on this ship. Main pool deck, as any ship, was a little too loud for our family. We found numerous quiet areas on all decks. Always a seat or lounge chair somewhere! My kids loved playing the numerous games in the Library Lounge. The coffee at the Java Cafe was delicious. We enjoyed the National Parks movie in the IMAX theater and the chills and thrills ride. I thought the picture package was a little overpriced. We purchased a few and had them downloaded digitally to our phone which was very easy. Our cabin steward, Mr. M. did a great job with our adjoining rooms. The only thing I wish was that the times of the shows were a little later. We had early dining at 6pm. Like clockwork, we finished dessert every night at 7:30pm. The comedy shows and performances start at 7:30pm. It's a little tough to find seats. We skipped dessert two nights to try to get a seat, and our family still had to sit separately. At 7pm, the Liquid Lounge was packed! A whole half hour before the performance. You must get to the shows early! Vintage Pop was great! My kids enjoyed all the trivia games at the Ocean Plaza. The Fun Squad does a great job! Carlos is very hardworking and was great with the kids during Karaoke. We enjoyed listening to Crushed Velvet in the Ocean Plaza most nights. ALL STAFF was very friendly and engaging. We chose to walk off with our luggage and had no waiting time or difficulty. Would I go on the Carnival Horizon again? ...Most definitely!!! :) Read Less

I choose the carnival conquest to try a different ship one the food was ok and the ports we did was not the best grand turk, amber cove these stop I could of stay on the ship for this it was not a lot to do there. For this experience I will never go to these stop again. I will never go on the conquest again. We had a mini fridge in our room and it was dirty we ask for it to be clean out every day and still was not clean .I notice when they came to Clean the room they did not change our sheet every night I think that's very tasty. The boat was out dated the window look like they was never clean they was very dirty .its ok ship but I want never do this ship again now I love the vista very nice ship Read Less

We decided to try a Carnival cruise out of Galveston and picked a back to back 14 day itinerary that included a few ports we hadn't been to before. I knew not to expect too much from a Carnival cruise and as a result I wasn't disappointed. Embarkation was the best experience we've ever had in all our years of cruising. No waiting at all. Upon arrival at the cruise port around 12:30 pm we dropped off our bags, cleared security, had our ship card photo taken and then proceeded to walk onto the ship. It had been almost a year since our last Carnival cruise and there were some slight changes noted that have likely been done to cut costs. No longer do they offer the tasting bar where you could sample foods. All of the shows in the main lounge are either performed by the Playlist cast or an audience show (Hasbro and LipSync). They don't bring other entertainers on to provide a variety of entertainment. Fortunately they still have the Comedy Club which we quite enjoyed. We ate at the Steakhouse one night and were very disappointed with the quality of the food although we did enjoy the chocolate surprise dessert. Holland America charges the same price to eat dinner at their Pinnacle Grill restaurant and the quality and dining experience is so much better. Carnival's steakhouse is definitely overpriced. The food in the main dining room was moderately good and we were very fortunate to have an awesome dining crew. Food on the lido deck tends to cater to an American diet - lots of deep fried food. And after a week or so, became very boring and repetitious. Guys burgers are good to try once, but we asked for a plain bun otherwise they slather butter on the buns and grease them up on the grill which makes for a very greasy burger! I couldn't help but notice most of the people gulping down the burgers and fries probably shouldn't be eating that food!!! Our cabin stewards did a good job cleaning our cabin. The bed was terrible - I think they need new mattresses. The TV in the room was a very small, old flat screen TV with snowy reception and a poor remote. We requested bath robes which were nice. There was a lot of noise outside our cabin most nights as people tended to stay up late and party, and didn't seem to realize how noisy they were as they shouted to each other in the hallways. On sea days we liked relaxing on the Serenity deck where it tended to be quieter and we could read our books. We enjoyed renting bikes in Key West. We were very disappointed with the cruise port in Freeport where it was next to impossible to rent a taxi. Instead they only seemed to allow mini van taxis to the port and if you wanted to go somewhere they would not leave until the mini van was full. And getting back to the cruise port was uncertain. In the end we gave up and went back to the ship. In Nassau we went on a long walk over to the Atlantis resort area. The day we were in Roatan, Honduras it poured heavy rain most of the day. We did hire a taxi over to West Beach and when we got back to the port we walked around Mahogany Bay which was quite nice. We did a shore excursion in Belize City to the Mayan ruins which was fun. And another shore excursion in Cozumel where we went on a catamaran snorkeling and to a private beach. You definitely get what you pay for on a cruise ship and I think it will be awhile before I go on another Carnival cruise. I'd rather pay a little more and enjoy better food, a better cabin and more variety in entertainment. Read Less

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The Carnival Victory was a disappointment from the time we got on board. There were major mechanical problem. Four of the 6 hot tubs were not in working order, the food was mediocre at best and the service was terrible. You have to pay $20 extra for filet or lobster tail. so it is not really all inclusive.The ship was in dry dock for almost 3 weeks prior to our cruise, You would expect things to be in tip top shape. Many of the public rest rooms were out of service and the ones that were open were filthy. When I tried to talk to guest services regarding my concerns - I was told to call 1-800-Carnival when I got home!! The on board entertainment was good. Only bright spot on the cruise. Embarkation was a nightmare because the ship was not ready at the scheduled time. Even though the ship had an over haul it is still dated. Read Less

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We chose this cruise because we wanted a short cruise and wanted to try the Galveston Port. We lucked out because the Cruise Director Frankie was fantastic. The ship was clean, staff were super friendly, and there was a general fun, relaxed atmosphere the whole time. We are experienced cruisers and so we have high expectations for the fun factor but this cruise met all of them. Each day provided fun entertainment both during the day and at night. Also, the food was delicious - loads of fresh fruits and vegetables and also amazing desserts. The music was also a highlight - there were country bands, and also fun 70s and 80s music. The dancing and shows were excellent. There was the usual Hairy Chest contest and also the Love & Marriage classic Carnival show and interactive shows. We found it to be a really fun experience and would definitely cruise with Carnival again! Read Less

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