This was my first cruise in over 5 years, this cruise was awesome... The theming is good, many people kinda get a bit turned off by the American nature, but this is an American cruise catering towards Americans, each restaurant has a theme, the Lido one is themed to "Rosie the Riveter", while the any time dining is themed to Abraham Lincoln and the reservation one is themed to George Washington, other American events are portrayed as well, The Apollo 11 landing is in a nightclub, and the wild west is in a casino. Anyways, the slide is outdated, i rode it 100 times and it scraped my back so hard, it needs the new slides that are on the Sister ships. The Cheese Pizza at Pizza Pirate kinda tasted disgusting, the Cruise Director Kevin was mostly good, except he wakes people up, and the Cruise Sub-Director Georgia (not the state/country) was awesome as well. The cabin i chose was an interior bunk bed, it was better than expected, the dining staff were awesome, extra props to Mr. Norman for having great service, it is one of the cheaper, but awesome. Overall, it's a 9/10 cruise, good but needs fixes. Read Less

We are getting close to the end of an 8 day adventure on Carnival Magic and have a few negatives to report . The entertainment in the evening was not what we expected compared to our previous 2 cruises with Carnival. The only night we half enjoyed was the last night with the rock and roll of the 80's being played by the cast in costume. The entertainment on the main floor was much better with several different groups. The trio of female violinists from the Ukrane were the best. Some of the Pixel staff needs a lesson on customer courtesy as their new way of ordering pictures was very confusing and they were all 11x7 pictures but they didnt have one 11 x 7 frame to purchase and some of the help didnt even know how to order your pictures and didnt seem to care if you bought or not. We found most of the food ok but the dinner at night was great. We really need to put a shout out to our head waiter Joseph and his staff of Maryna and Cabata for the friendship they showed us every evening in the Northern Lights Restaurant. We hope to someday take another cruise and luck out to have them again. Also we would like to thank our housekeeping for the nice job of keeping our room clean and ice bucket filled. We did feel the carpet needed a good cleaning though. We will cherish all the fond memories we did have on this cruise though. We have previously been to Grand Turks but took the Rainbow Tour Bus for a tour of the island. My sister-in-law enjoyed it so that's what we had hoped for. A special thanks to Jaunita for her guide service on Bermuda. Very informative. My sister-in-law who took her first cruise with us at 83 years young got plenty of souvenirs to take back with her and we truly hope she decides to take another cruise in a couple years. My wife and I are planning an Alaska Cruise and Land tour in the next couple of years when she retires from her work. Once again, thank you Carnival for another great experience. Read Less

Have travelled with carnival in the past and it has been generally good and the dates of this trip worked for me. Let me say quickly that the ship was not up to the usual standard. Food not as varied as previous cruises and the ship looked wore and tired. However the main reason for writing was the fight that broke out in the Tiffany dining room on the 4th night. After a small period of rasied voices one person raised a chair above his head and smashed it into another person's head. This wasn't the end of it. The same person was going to hit the person again had he not been stopped by other guests. Security was called. And it took them some time to arrive at the scene by which time the culprit had left the scene. I did speak to security as i was a witnes to the crime and they showed no interest in me giving a statement and description of the assailant. Therefore for me as a guest, sercurity, passenger safety, and the risk this posses to vunerable peoples safty (a child was in the area and several disabled perople were in the area) leaves me with great concern about carnival attitude to the crimes committed on board. The passenger was taken to the hospital part of the ship and there didnt appear to be any police presence whe we arrived back at dock at the end of the cruise. With that being said i will never book with carnival again and advise others not to do it. I await carnivals response to this. If there is one. Also on a final note about security, let me not dwell to much on the issue with marijuana being smoked on board. Especially previlant on deck 11 the family area. After explicitly being told not to, what was sechrity doing about this. Again await carnivals response to this. Read Less

Chose this cruise because it was departing from Charleston, SC and going to San Juan. The food selections and quality was amazing. The entertainment especially Zack Daniels in the piano bar was great fun every night but Thursday. Thursday is his drinking night and he was not performing. The shows in the Liquid Lounge where really good. The Acoustic Jams with the young couple Unity entertained us almost every night. They sang a variety of songs and he whistles well while she plays the drum. Ketut and Joyce took good care of our rooms and the Omelet Station on the Lido deck in the Havana Bar was my favorite breakfast most mornings. I would recommend this ship to the 50 and older travelers. They made up 90% of the cruisers onboard. If you require a wheelchair to get on and off the ship this port and this ship does it better than any of the more than 14 ships of 6 different cruise lines I have traveled on. I can't wait for our next cruise on this ship in January 2020. Read Less

On the vista all the buffet food was so terrible we couldn't eat it, it was either over cooked or just plain bad. the dinning rooms food was better but most of the nights the food was not excitable. this was the worst ship I have ever been on, most of the time they closed one buffet line and everyone had to go to the other line, which the food was so terrible we didn't eat. all the other ships I have been on had excellent food on the buffet, so what was their problem. Also they need to have one elevator just for the handicap cause people are so rude to them. we had to wait for 6 times to get my sister on an elevator cause people were so rude and wouldn't let us on they would cut in front of us. the dis embarkment went well cause we talked to the cruise director and she told us how to get my sister off in a faster way. Read Less

Loved this ship design, loved the itinerary. But the service varied from excellent, to adequate, to poor. First time on one of Carnival's big ships. Plenty to do every day. Cabin service was excellent, some of the best I ever had. Entertainment ran the gamut, some very good music groups, I thought the show performers were quite average (the Cuba show was great), bar service was overall fine, but the dining service was poor. Slow, inattentive, and often wrong. The restaurant management did try to address it, but it never got solved. The comedy club is too small. Plan to arrive at least 15 minutes early for the adult shows to make sure you get a seat. The main theater is oddly designed. I'd guess at least half of the seats have some level of obstructed views due to odd seating angles, a flat main seating area, and metal posts. Loved the itinerary with plenty to do in all ports Read Less

the trip started out badly when we got a notification that our credit card was hit for $200 by Carnival before we even left on the trip. What! Called and told this was 'normal'. Requested a handicap cabin for spouse, It was a standard cabin with a normal shower stall but had a pull down seat. Had to take handles off scooter to get thru door. A foot high step to get into bathroom and a step (normally a ramp) to access balcony. Had to get a chair removed so we could even move in cabin with scooter in cabin. You'll love this one. the cabin safe require a credit card or drivers license to open/close. No, they didn't charge for use, but if we used my license and wife wanted in safe and I'm out on the ship somewhere, she would have to hunt me down to open safe. Instead of using the cabin key (used for everything else, rigtht?). Oh, and lockers in the gym were keypad, 4 digit open/close. DUH@ New rule: ship can't leave until all CPAP users verify they have them in their possession. They called the cabin 7 times asking if we had the CPAP. Each time the answer was the same, haven't received luggage yet we'll call you when it arrives. Oh,, and be prepared to pay for the needed distilled water. Good luck for lunch. The Lido buffet is not open for lunch. Also, stops serving dinner at 9:30 PM So no cookies/desserts post show time. Grab em early and put in room. Grand Cayman is a tender port which is usually no issue, especially if you have a carnival booked excursion. Wrong. We were on our own to catch a tender in time to meet our excursion on the dock. Crazy! Okay, good stuff. booked excursions at all three ports and everyone of them was wonderful. The dining room experience for dinner was very good. Never had to wait for a table using anytime dining. Service was excellent. variety of food was exceptional, Quality of food was good. Cabin service was excellent. However, the one time we ordered breakfast, it arrived an hour early. Somewhat inconvenient, but better than an hour late. Read Less

This wasn’t our first cruise experience, but will for sure become the last on Carnival Imagination. The stinkiest ship ever. The nauseating blend of urine, bleach, old furniture, filthy carpets was so horrendous that I had to hold my breath when we first stepped on board. I should have left right then. We stayed on deck 7, right by the guest services. The room and bathroom were so stinky that I poured half a bottle of my perfume just to tolerate it. The filth and dirt are everywhere. The dirty baseboards, the stains on the carpets, dust and dirt in the buffet area was so bad that I would rather skip a meal that experience it. We were traveling with a toddler and it was a challenge for me to let him run freely - he would pick up trash, dirt, dust. In addition, in 4 days they didn’t change our bed a single time. We were provided with pillowcases with stains and I noticed them again on the last day packing. I felt so sorry for the crew and staff members who work on this ship. They are doing their best to provide great customer service. Benjamin and Jacki are always fun and cheerful. Kuddos to them! The choice of food in the buffet was very limited and mostly unhealthy. The dining menu was rather simple; there was not a single meal that I would say was exceptional. It was ok, mediocre, average. In fact, on the last day of cruising I got a severe food poisoning from a burrito that I had for lunch from the buffet. I spent all night vomiting and was so happy that this “vacation” was over. Never again I would go on Imagination. This ship should go for a full renovation because it is unacceptable for a company to treat their clients with such accommodation. Read Less

I took a holiday with my family to Las Vegas and decided that, whilst in the US, we would take the opportunity to see Mexico on a cruise. We booked the 7-day Mexica\n Riviera cruise on the Carnival Splendor. My daughter is in a wheelchair and we booked one of the very few fully accaessible cabins on the ship - a Spa cabin (oceanview). It was not in the best location though - right at the front and near the top of the ship. Embarkation was relatively smooth although the facilities to get into and out of the cruise terminal to drop off and pick up were a bit chaotic. The ship, which was originally ordered/built for Costa but delivered to Carnival is very much like the Costa ships - full of vibrant colours. Food quality was generally good, but the experience in the restaurant was mixed, as was the buffet. Carnival only put tablecloths on the tables in the main restaurants on the 2 'formal' nights. On other nights the tables were much like those in the buffet. Service could sometimes be very slow, especially at breakfast. There was no dress code at all in the restaurant and although a few dressed up for dinner, most didn't bother with some coming to dinner in the shorts and t=shirts they had worn during the day. Entertainment was generally quite good, although the volume in the Atrium was sometimes deafening. The musicians though were mostly very good, especially the string quartet. Disembarkation was problem-free although again the picj-up drop-off in the terminal was chaotic and we had problems locating our taxi. The excursions in two of the three ports visited were well organised and informative, The last excursion in Puerto Vallarta missed a couple of stops out and, although supposedly being an adapted vehicle, did not have proper restraints and the two wheelchairs on the excursion could barely fit in. The experience in all three ports visited was very good, with friendly local people. Read Less

We got this cruise 2 days before it left and got the last room on the ship. We got #7335 which is listed as a handicap room and it is. The doors are on the side and both doors are 36" wide and the bathroom is very large. I didn't bring my mobility scooter because we were not sure the size of the room doors. There was enough room inside to put the scooter and access to a charging port. The crew is very helpful but I do not believe there are enough on the boat. It was like finding a salesperson in Lowes. We had many guests that were very rude and loud in the halls at all hours and no one helped. The battery in our door lock failed and it took 25 minutes to get someone there to replace it. Guy's Burger Bar is a new addition and they were very good burgers and fries. The pizza was not real tasty. The dining room food was good but in very small portions. We had 5 small shrimp in our appetizer the first two nights, and the last night we had larger shrimp, but only 3. The day in Bahamas was not great. Rain, the port walkways did not drain and were flooded, the tour bus was really small and cramped for me. The day at the private island was washed out by noon because of a major rain storm and everyone got soaked coming back to the ship. We enjoyed ourselves because we do not rely on any else entertaining us. We did our thing and the trip overall was good. Read Less

Hubby and I on our first cruise which was also our honeymoon. With a swollen ankle, this by far was heaven in paradise. The food was great with a big variety of different tastes. Alot of activities like Bingo, Dress up Attire for Dinner, art auctions and galore of different shops. It was great and I cant wait for the next one. The water was beautiful, the people where friendly and the drinks never ran out. The sunrise and sunsets were beautiful, and the clouds were so close it felt you could reach out and touch one. The stars were bright and we were able to see the big dipper. But what surprise me the most was how dark it was at night The whole experience was amazing, I will alawys dwell on this trip, and in my heart of hearts this trip will alawys remind me that I am finally living my best life. Read Less

The Good • Room Steward service was actually very good. He asked us up front if wanted our rooms serviced once or twice per day. That was the first time I had ever been asked that question. With three people in our smallish balcony room we requested twice a day. Both ice and towels were replenished every day. • Bar service was also very good. We got the Cheers package, and certainly didn’t break even this time. Carnival has a decent cocktail menu that is worth exploring. The crowds on the ship sometimes made getting up to the bartenders a challenge. You just have to horn in and raise your voice a little. The Lobby Bar and Casino Bar stood out for us. • Main Dining Room service and food quality were certainly decent to very good. I was a little disappointed that the traditional surf and turf on the more formal night has been completely replaced by the upcharge menu. This is a noticeable cut to us veteran cruisers. You can get a hanger steak and some sort of seafood any night on the menu, but it is not quite the same thing. Expected more from formal night menu. • Both Embarkation and Debarkation were painless. Since we didn’t have a car, and we checked our bags with the stevedore downstairs, it almost seemed like a walk on and walk off situation. Using the express option, we showed our Passport, got in a cab, and left for the airport. Limiting luggage to a roller board and a personal bag helps tremendously. • Scarlett’s Restaurant was as good as any premium dining experience I have had on Holland America or Royal Caribbean. Steaks were expertly prepared. Art for the Table desert has to be experienced to really fully grasp. Delicious and entertaining. Service was 5*. Sadly, the restaurant never seemed fully booked on the whole cruise. • For the first time in 15 cruises, I actually had to use the Ship Hospital when I developed a case of pneumonia. The very kind female physician from South Africa could not have been better. Steroids, nebulizers, and antibiotics were ordered exactly as they would have been at home by a good family physician. She made a point to call and check on me after one very rough breathless night in a hot room. The Bad • The ship was crowded. With 3,700+ passengers on board, the 800 people above typical double occupancy could be felt all over the ship. Lots of lines for just about everything including the elevators. Mid-ship pool was a mob scene that I totally avoided. Carnival just does not do as great a job as RCI at dispersing the crowds with activities of equal draw in different parts of the ship simultaneously. • The Lido Buffet for breakfast was absolutely the same every day. On Day One, I was satisfied that it was the quality of a decent cafeteria. If you are going to eat here every day mix it up with the omelet station or eggs cooked to order. They are almost hidden along the side walls as you approach the buffet. This buffet pales in comparison to any one of Holland America’s. Sometime you just long for a pastry and a bowl of Muesli - not the strange pale sausage covered in onions, reconstituted eggs, and frozen hash brown patties. No problem finding corn flakes and fruit loops if that is more your speed. • Some of our party were smokers, and this meant that we all spent a good deal of time in the smoking areas. Tucked away on an obscure portion of the starboard side of deck 10, Cocktail service was really very sparse in the largest smoking area, and a simple trip to the bathroom requires a trip to another deck. Though clean, public bathrooms seemed fairly scarce overall. Another more agreeable choice is a small area on deck 3 starboard exterior deck – at least it was convenient to the Lobby Bar. Non-smokers would have to go out of their way to be offended here. Lastly, 4-5 bar stools jammed into the casino end of the Dream Bar is the only interior choice for smokers. I guess this is good news overall for non-smokers, but don’t complain when smokers are five deep behind five bar stools in the casino. • Though I did not think the ship was in bad shape at all, the overall design was not my favorite. Decks 3 and 4 present you with the “You can’t’ get there from here” dilemma if you dine in the Washington Dining Room. Back up to deck five to cross over. You will repeat this maneuver many times. • The muster drill was a bit of a mob scene. Cruise Director, Kevin’s very acerbic voice booming over the loudspeakers did not help lower the temperament or the temperature. It certainly wasn’t a great introduction or welcome being jammed onto another obscure exterior deck on level four that I never saw again. The Ugly • Our room was way too WARM. Any sailing out of New Orleans in August will come with heat, but did not expect this in my stateroom. It was reported twice and we received four pre-printed cards that stated that our room met Carnival standards for temperature control. I witnessed one of these inspections. Indeed, the vent was 72 degrees. The only problem was that it did not blow sufficient air into the room. The two letters received from guest services stating that it was important that we call them immediately to make sure our issues with our room temperature were resolved - not helpful. These phone calls just resulted in two more pre-printed cards. It just pissed me off even more when I was told that fans were reserved for those with medical problems. Alas, out of the blue, they did provide a fan. It did help a great deal, but the room was still very hot for a person who is sitting on the side of the bed all night long with a full-blown case of pneumonia. Having never experienced this myself, I have a new respect for my patients who suffer for respiratory problems. • Others reported that their room was a bit cold. Avoid the whole block of rooms that include stateroom 7396 back toward mid-ship if you don’t want a hot room. Many of our neighbors said the same thing. Too warm, but I am sure it meets Carnival’s standards for climate control. Would I do it Again? Nope. Not this time, and that is a first time ever saying that in 15 cruise reviews from RCI’s old Song of Norway to Cunard’s QM2. This ship did not meet my personal standards for comfort. There are many varieties of “Fun”, and I am not swearing off Carnival as a whole, but I am the entire crowded Conquest class of their ships. DONE! I will also stick to longer cruises outside of summer or any other holidays, as I am more compatible with that Journey’s crowd and I am not even a senior yet. There are things that really shined about this ship, but I am afraid that the bad and the ugly outweighed the good on this trip. One last note. The Shore Excursion to Uxmal is worth every penny. This is a world class heritage site that would definitely use Carnival to tour. Progresso is a great stop if you don't go to Progresso. Too logistical to do on your own, but they do a great job for less money. Read Less

Don’t know where to start. Entertainment director was very disorganized. No one could understand him. He did not set up good activities. It was a total chaos on the ship. People were boarding on and off whenever they want. They initially provided the time to each deck but people were getting off whenever they want to. Staff was extremely rude and impolite. Food was horrible, lines were extremely long. Room services lost our bottle of wines which we bought at the port and then they were ignorant about that. Very bad experience with carnival. No help for people who were using walkers. It was major mess, no organization . Staff was the worst , no manners to talk to people. I felt like I was in military ship and staff was talking down. We were supposed to be in king size bed ( they joined two twin size beds and there was significant gap between beds). Very disappointing . Read Less

Elevator system on the Horizon was HORRIABLE. We took the stairs most of our cruise. They also need to have a separate elevator for the handicap and scooters. my mother had to spend most of her time in the room because of the lack of working elevators on the ship.Our stateroom was only cleaned once day after asking for twice a day am/pm. Food was not that great. Mike the cruise director was excellent he made the ship experience a little better. Also they need to start breakfast at 6am instead of 7:30 some folks get up early. Guest services employees need to be a little more friendly to there guest and not have attitudes. I have cruised on Carnival several times this was the worst. I do plan on crusing again on carnival to give them another chance and if no improvement I will be going on another ship.. Read Less

I am a former cancer patient. I entered remission just a few months ago and had my leg amputated. This was my first cruise. I want to start off with the musicians. There was music for everybody’s taste. But I enjoyed ALL of them. Luisa, Juliana and Juan in the Accidental String Trio were just...the only word to describe it was beautiful. Neil was singing and Jammin’ the reggae hits on the steel drums. And Rob was rocking it on the guitar. DJ JD with the hits. The Brassaholics with the amazing Maroon 5 medley. And the Latin Band covering latin hits. Emma, Layla and Francois brought so much energy throughout the whole ship. Vargus Mason with the jokes! T.A. Williams at the Piano Bar. Diana and other bartenders tending the bar at the Lobby very well, including the bartenders on Lido who also bring their energy to the ship. I tipped what I could. Next I want to say how much I really appreciate how kind, thoughtful, and caring the staff was. They always offered help. I don’t usually accept help but I made some exceptions. I also made some friends on the cruise. The whole experience is one to remember. They always had smiles on their faces, and always greeted as we cross paths. And as you’re reading this to all of the staff, I just want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart. I hope I get to meet you all again. Cheers "Let your smile change the world, don't let the world change your smile..." - unknown "My cup is full to the brim, I could go on and on, the full has never been told" - Buju Banton Side Note: Im looking for a job also (galvancromeo@gmail.com) all photos are unedited Read Less

We chose this cruise as a beautiful family getaway. I’ve traveled on several other ships and always had excellent service. Cleanliness smiles and great entertainment. This ship offered non of that. Not one good morning not one hello from staff. Everyone that works here looked miserable. I feel like I’m spending almost 9,000 for 5 people was a waste. I booked a room with a balcony because my husband is a smoker and is disabled just to find out that you can’t smoke on the deck The smoking area on deck 10 was terrible several people blasting music and dancing with their personal radio Floors by the pool were wet and no one was there to keep deck dry. Not to mention the sewage smell. Who wants to smell that while trying to relax on vacation. No pools for kids so the two pools they do have are all full of kids in diapers with life preservers kicking you because it’s so tight. The lido deck was a joke so unorganized. I tried to talk to the manager George but he walked away from me. Picture 40 people on a buffet line that doesn’t move. The one cook behind the line would carve one piece of meat and walk away to the hot line. No one should have to wait 25 min for food. The line for sandwiches was also a min of 30 min wait. They had one guy to prepare the sandwiches. This boat is grossly understaffed and it clearly shows with the staff and how miserable they are. We finally arrived at our first port so I called carnival and was told no one can help me. I wanted to get off the boat and fly home from Puerto Rico but wanted a partial refund of my trip from hell. No one helped me. The day I got home I received a call from carnival because I sent them an email. All I got was an I’m sorry and someone from guest services tried to contact me. Seriously people if guest services was trying to get a hold of me they would page you. If my Amex wouldn’t go thru I guarantee they would get. Hold of me. Stay away from this boat. Stay away. Terrible terrible terrible Read Less

Do not book a cruise on Sunrise!! The positives: The Flying Scotsman; family memories, Java Blue coffee shop, debarkation, free laundry (pay machine was broken) Negatives: Smell of sewage throughout ship Cabin bathrooms smell of urine Cabin 6365 is below casino, constant smell of cigarettes (lung cancer anyone?) LOUD - doors bang shut - Passengers - most of them were rude, for example: things I heard in the hallway (mid ship 6th floor): a parent telling a young child they are "retarded," toddlers left unattended, people encouraging friend to vomit in hallway (he succeeded), smell of marijuana Scantily clad passengers who left nothing to your imagination. Breakfast in dining room WAS FANTASTIC!!!!! Dinner in dining room - AWFUL (ending up just eating dessert every night) At 2 am, a group was outside our door talking loudly. My husband asked them NICELY if they could keep it down, to which they replied "f you, we will f you up!" Read Less

in 40 cruises this was the worst. if you have allergies DON'T GO ON THIS SHIP. even though we had notified the ta and the ship and the dining staff they couldn't get the food right for my grandson who has severe allergies. on other cruises there was no problem. the service was horrible in the dining room for both dinner and breakfast. excursions were ok we did a private one in st. martin . getting off the ship was crazy. we didn't go to the lecture as we are experienced cruisers they told us there were no more luggage tags available. we should walk our luggage off. a joke as my son had a baby and 2 kids and 8 pieces of luggage. I was very perturbed at the counter and they finally found some tags. the sports area was terrific. the rope course and the golf etc. were all together so the adults could watch the kids doing activities so that was good the shows were ok. ship was fairly clean. main problem was the service 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

We got disable-room , hard to get ,we like 14 days cruise. And was done over. Our balcony was not for wheelchair or scooters ,very narrow ,and doors were old ,we also got locked out .The room was very nice ,clean,great handicap-room . Spa was disappointing ,thermal loungers were in a small room ,only 6 ,no other chairs. Would not give us a refund ,waste of our money. The Flying scotsman was the Best ,the shows were great ,food was good. Room service was good. Embarking was confusing ,the staff did not know how to help. We went to the Musterstaion and were told it was on 3 deck ,not there ,hard to get back on the elevators ,when we got there ,it was over. They were bringing luggage to the rooms ,so most of the elevators were closed. Disembarking was a nightmare , we waiting over 3 hours before we got somebody to take us out with the wheelchair. Was so disorganized ,they did not have the staff to help the handicap . Everybody was so upset. SO the cruise was disappointing ,because the staff was not trained to do their job. Not going back on the Carnival . Read Less

we wanted to go on a cruise for our 16th wedding anniversay and to get away for a few days from our kids and just relax embarkation was a breeze as was disembakation got on ship before noon and our room was ready we were on deck 11 which we liked because we are smokers and didn't have to go far dinner in the main dining room the first night was not very good we had a very nice waiter but the problem was we had to have them take the food back 4 times because it was tought or not well cooked second nite in the main dining room was a little better it was a seaday where you dressed up plus we celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary the shows were more geared to people in the 20's and 30's on sea day we spent most of our time on the smoking deck and met a lot of nice people the bad part there were a lot of very young kids and they seem to run all around the only excursion we went on was an island tour at turks which was very enjoyable the only thing that we disliked was no wheel chair available to take you to the end of the pier i asked for one and they said they didn't have one on the way back to the ship we were walking when my husband who had his walker had problems walking and so did i so someone that was from the other ship in port called for a wheelchair for my husband and they brought on it had to be 100 degrees out we are from florida so we should have been used to the heat but we weren't in amber cove i got off the ship to fo shopping and they had the best idea when i got off the ship there was a rickshaw with a guy riding a bicycle and i paid the guy 6 dollarseach way to take me to the end of the pier Read Less

We departed from Jacksonville, FL and went to Nassau and Freeport. We left Thursday afternoon and returned early Monday morning. My friend and I are both wheelchair users. In order to help preserve the health of my shoulders, I rented a motorized scooter and left my chair in the room as I used the scooter to get around on the ship and for land excursions. The wheelchair accessible room we had was SO small. It clearly didn't start off as a w/c accessible room but rather it was updated to be up to ADA code at some point. Both of our wheelchairs and scooter didn't fit in the room so my wheelchair had to spend the entire time on the balcony. Not exactly the end of the world but it was an inconvenience and a surprise that an ADA room was not big enough to accommodate 3 mobility devices. If my wheelchair wasn't taking up room on the balcony and I was able to get out in the balcony it would have been impossible because like I mentioned, it used to be a regular room. The original layout had about a 1-2 inch lip leading out to the balcony which they "fixed" by affixing a piece of plywood to create a "ramp". It was the same deal with the bathroom. Completely unsafe and difficult to navigate. Regarding the bathroom, the toilet was VERY low which is a safety hazard for someone who is paralyzed. There is a reason why wheelchair accessible toilets are up so high. The beds were another issue. We literally SUNK into the bed. It was like being in a waterbed. It was difficult to roll over and even to sit up from laying down and neither issue was due to our disabilities. One other thing was the location of the thermostat for temperature control in the room. It thermostat was ON THE CEILING. In a WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE ROOM. What were we supposed to do? Fly to the thermostat? Our room was freezing so we call guest services and they said they'd be right up. So we waited a while as we realize we're not the only disabled passengers on the ship. When a half hour passed by they were like "OMG we are so sorry. We'll be right there." Well, "we'll be right there" was another half hour. VERY poor planning on Carnivals part on placing the thermostat on the ceiling Carnival REALLY needs to up their game when it comes to making their staterooms wheelchair accessible like their website says. To say we were disappointed is an understatement. Our room was U224 just to warn you. As far as the rest of the cruise it was fine. Super friendly people and wonderful employees. Our waiting staff in the dining room were awesome and always provided a fun dinner. Read Less

The crew on this ship is the most helpful, thoughtful and kindest of any cruise line we have ever sailed. We took our 91 year old mother on a cruise for Mother's Day.When we arrived Savannah the cruise director greeted mom and had a brief conversation with her. The next day mom received chocolate covered strawberries in the room. Wow! For the rest of the trip she felt like a rock star. What a nice gesture. Jess, the server in the casino bar was always quick with a drink and always remembered our names. (makes us feel welcomed). The staff at the Normandie Restaurant was just wonderful. When you travel with an older senior it can be difficult, but everywhere we went on the ship the crew were always so kind and helpful. We have sailed on different cruise lines and have sailed on this ship before. I would have to say that the embarkation process for this cruise is the best we have ever had. The staff at the terminal checks your documents and photographs you on the way into the building. Then you are sent through security. That's it! No standing in line for hours. After security we went directly on to the ship. WOW! We had a balcony stateroom that was plenty big enough for 3 adults. The room steward, Claudius was very attentive and our room was very clean and tidy every day. Read Less

First, the date I chose was purposeful and intentional! It rains 98% of the time. May is the least rainy time if the whole year. It did not rain a single time, at any of our stops and the sun came out! I figured, if I'm going to Alaska; I want to see snow and it all melts in the summer months... So May it was! We experienced sun, snow, green spring/ early summer colors and seriously, it was AMAZING!!!!! At every single stop the locals kept saying "You picked a good day. No rain today, and it rains every day here". The ship itself is well maintained. I only encountered ONE rude crew member and it was an American crew member in the gift shop. Everyone else was superb and helpful and kind. Our first stop was Juneau. We went whale watching. The crew on the boat were knowledgeable and friendly and very helpful! We saw humpback whales (a mom and baby) that breeched several times. We also saw eagles and and see lions and seals! Our second stop was Skagway. We booked 2 excursions because it was a long day in port. First we did a zodiac rafting adventure which I highly recommend! We were outfitted in all weather, WARM, sub Arctic deck suits with goggles, gloves, and face masks. Captain Jen was incredible as was her crew. She made the ride FUN by doing donuts in the middle of the water multiple times. We saw waterfalls that blew our actual minds and eagles and sea lions of all different varieties and otters playing in the water. We stopped for several photo ops. We were brought back to the staging area by the ship where the next excursion started. We did the 3 hour White Pass Railway Adventure. I don't even have words to do that trip up the mountain justice. It's not an exaggeration when I say the views were spectacular and impossible to really process at first. We saw lush green mountains and snow covered mountains side by side. We learned a lot about the gold Rush and how the railway was made, etc. Going through the mountain tunnels was exhilarating. You can't go to Skagway and not do the White pass Railway. We cruised Glacier Bay next. Please do yourself a favor and book a balcony (try to get an Aft Balcony. They go FAST and there are only 20 on the ship) and bring binoculars. I was brought to tears by the stunning beauty!!! You don't understand how INCREDIBLE it was. We watched the Margorie Glacier calve. First you hear rolling thunder then you see part of the glacier crash into the water making huge splashing waves. Some of the glaciers are ice blue and others not so much. When you cruise Glacier Bay, Carnival gives you warm blankets to cuddle up with so you don't freeze to death. All along the way we saw whales breeching and see otters floating lazily on their backs with their cute paws and heads just above the water. This was one of my favorite days!!! I was pretty much euphoric all day. Our next stop was Icy Straight Point. I didn't book an excursion here but my friend in the cabin next to me did. She went whale watching and saw multiple whales breech very close up. She also went on a bear excursion and saw brown bears. I was a little jealous if the pictures she got. We rode into town and saw how the natives live. Then we went to The Crab Shack. GO TO THE CRAB SHACK!!!! There we got Alaskan King Crab legs that were HUGEEEEE and Bloody Mary's full of crab meat, shrimp, and a crab claw!! The crab the best we've ever had and we were unexpectedly so full it wasn't even funny. Finally we went to Ketchikan. Here is my ONLY complaint. We were only there for 4 hours which is ludicrous because Ketchican is huge and we didn't get to experience even a quarter of Ketchikan. We did a Go Kart Adventure thru the rainforest. It was a gorgeous, sunny, dry, day so we didn't need the rain gear offered. The ride was kick ass and although I've seen some people complain that it wasn't long enough; we found it to be the perfect length. We stopped for a few beautiful photo ops and a quick snack and water. Our guide was Rhianna Marie! We wanted to put her in our suitcase and bring her home. She was GREAT. Our next stop was Victoria BC. from 7pm - 11 pm. Honestly, that's a huge waste of a stop. I would much rather have had more time in Ketchikan. I got the feeling they stopped in Canada just so Canada could try to make a few bucks off of the tourists. Not this girl! Let me just close by saying I will be booking another Alaskan cruise!!! You couldn't pay me to go in the heat of summer and get rain EVERY DAY and miss all the snow and be hot. Who wants to be hot in Alaska!? Not me.... 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