Passengers were kept lined up outside the entrance. Loyalty Program Protocols were ignored at the time of embarking and by Guest Services. Ports staff were very rude, as they attempt to keep people in line while blocking people who claimed to have special privileges based on Loyalty Program of the Cruise Line. Guest Services staff, seems to be unable to deal with issues related to Loyalty Program protocols. They have four staff people (during rush time) for Blue, Red and Gold passengers; and only One Staff person to handle Platinum, Diamond and Rush to Fun (who are mostly inexperienced cruisers with lots of questions and problems. Holding that line for long period of times. Toilets malfunction in our stateroom for day one. Finally we had a flooded bathroom. Corridors were dirty. Food -same one-as in every ship. Salads were stales and moldy. Embarkation as disembarkation (it happened again) was a nightmare. Felt like corralled cattle by the elevators. Wonder why we continue to booked with them. Well, not every ship is the same. Just bad luck this time. Bazinga! Read Less

The positive is that the ports of call we loved ... Amber cove and Grand Turk. Our cabin we had was a grand suite u98 . Room was clean and comfortable. Out cabin Stewart was great along with the dining staff . On the down side. Food on buffet was fair at best. Terrible selection. Dining room was hit or miss. 2 nights paid for an upgrade for surf and turf. One was good. The other was half the portion size. The last 2 nights dinner was good. Casino was way tight . Couldn't hit a nickel. . The worst part was the ride. This was my 5th carnival cruise with the last one being through hurricane Michael. This ship rocked horrible the whole cruise. Won't be going back to Elation.... But still like carnival. I think this ship needs overhaul to stabilize it better . Going through hurricane Michael was smoother than calm seas on the Elation Read Less

Chose this cruise because the port is 20 minutes from home. Been on many cruises and this was the 3rd time on the pride. It will be our last. The ship needs to be placed in dry dock for a complete refurbish. Many areas are rundown and rusty. Windows are filthy. On other ships, I would see crew cleaning external areas while we were in port. Never saw this on the pride. The food has gone downhill as far as free food in the dining room and buffet are concerned. The most edible free food are the guys burgers that closes at 6pm and blue iguana cantina that closes at 2. In the dining room, hot food is never hot. Dinner in the buffet is very limited and lukewarm. I wonder if this is a health code violation??? They have the same side dishes every night on the pride in the buffet. While passenger behavior and lack of class or decorum is not in Carnival’s control, the ship could do a better job in dealing with it by making sure staff nearby know to call security before things escalate. I personally witnessed two ladies get into an altercation at the omelette station. They were close to getting into a physical fight but the other lady walked away after arguing very loudly for at least 5 minutes. I was about to go for security myself because the staff just stood there. I was in the serenity area where a woman was yelling all sorts of profanity at her husband. Everyone in the area at the time could here this. I felt bad for the guy but the calm, nonchalant way he responded indicated he was used to it. Very sad. The wife was tacky in behavior and appearance. Security was called on a woman during the comedy show because she would not stop criticizing the comic for saying profanity used for females. He tried to deal with it and even apologized but she would not shut up. It was an R rated show so best to stay out if easily offended. Better to use foul language at the comedy show than on the serenity deck as I witnessed. No one used the hand sanitizers except me before getting food at the buffet and no staff asked them. There were long lines of people and no one else used the sanitizers while I was in line. I kept my own hand sanitizer wipes with me and used them on my hands before I ate. I witnessed an elderly couple grab cookies off the buffet using their bare hands because that station was not open yet and the tongs were not set up. They, of course, touched all of the cookies as they reached in. I said something and the dessert attendant removed the cookies. You would think a couple looking to be in their 80s would know better. Given issues with norovirus and other ship bacteria, keep your own sanitizers and do what you can to protect yourself. These are just a few examples. I could go on. The behavior spanned across all ages, races, and ethnicities from what I witnessed. It was a rainbow coalition of poorly behaved and tacky people and not about one particular group of people. On a positive note, our room attendants were nice. Everything was clean except for the refrigerator. The cruise director Dr. E was hilarious. The best cruise director I have had in the 15 cruises I have been on. Servers were good to us. Been to all of the ports before and did not do anything but relax. No excursions. They did a good job of cleaning up the port in Freeport but there are still signs of the storm as one of the restaurant buildings is still closed. The only excursions available were by the ship. We were not interested in shopping or going to the beach in Freeport. We would rather fly to another port than get back on the Pride. Read Less

Unhappy crew and staff that needs customer service training. Most of the staff was very slow in response. They seemed tired all the time. Seemingly hating their jobs. Very old decrepit ship that needs to be dry docked. Rusty walls, rusty sides, worn out floors, peeling pool sides, rusty pool sides. Dirty pool water looking more yellow than clear. Fraying deck chairs. Fraying and dirty carpets in inside areas. Cabins falling apart. Worn and old. Cabin was hot all week. No fans available. No clean sheets all week. Constant knocking on the door even with the "snoozin" sign hanging on the door. Cooks need training to produce edible food. Sometimes restaurant staff was rude, especially in the steak house. Cabin room service food was really terrible. Cold, tasteless and disappointing. Time to replace the ship and the staff. Not worth the price with such and old outdated ship and unhappy staff supplying poor customer service. Read Less

I chose this cruise because my family wanted to cruise and not have to fly to do it. I had been on this ship before and it was ok. I thought it would be better this time since it was a few years ago since my last trip. SMOKING, SMOKING, SMOKING, I had no idea that carnival allowed smoking on the ship, at almost 4 areas. I was sick the entire time, the smoke caused lung issues and breathing issues for me the entire trip. I had to mostly stay in my cabin due to the smoke all over the ship. None of the areas were enclosed, so therefore the smoke was everywhere! I could not enjoy the casino, due to smoking and neither enjoy the activities in the main lobby areas due to the smoke all over! So really I hated the trip! Due to the smoke I needed some meds from the medical clinic, however if you did not catch them when they were open u had to wait 4 or 5 hours when ever they decided to open up again! Hint: medical facility should have 24 hour access on a ship! There were very few daily activities planned, got very bored with eating and sitting in the dining areas, absolutely nothing to do during the day! Food was barely warm, at all times, fries always cold! Never saw any sanitizing on the ship. RCCL always sanitizes the ship right before your eyes! Carnival, please order sufficient supplies in your medical unit, I was told the simple over the counter med., I needed was sold out, and it was the second day! Waters were really rocky and no explanation or notification was given at anytime about why the ship was so rocky the first two days of sail! Guys burger place had the (car wash rags for napkins) absolutely poor taste. Not looking forward to traveling with carnival again! Read Less

My husband and I cruised this ship 09/30 until 10/5 what an disappointment. Our intention with booking was finding an Itinerary that did not port in Nassau. This seemed to do just that. However on our way to Amber cove the captain announced there were mechanical issues with the ship that had to do with the speed and would not be able to stop in Amber cove but would port in Nassau. Passengers were given a $50 onboard credit and that was it. Keep in mind that this ship had a problem with this same mechanical 3 weeks before that ended up on the news. We thought there was no way this wasn't fixed. I spoke to crew members that informed me that our sailing was actually the 3rd sailing experiencing the same issue. During the whole sailing the boat was unsteady rocking up and down which I believe had something to do with the engine problem because the sea wasn't bad. I called guest services after we returned but the response I received lead me to believe that Carnival really didn't care at all. We live in Orlando and cruise frequently. This was #8 on Carnival. We booked a Grand suite at $1700. and expected an much better experience than we got. Read Less

Reason we chose this cruise: It was in a day drive, low budget and fit into fall break for our teen. Embarkation and disembarkation was very smooth and efficient. Ship was old and dated and many of the areas on the ship had cosmetic issues - tiles off of walls, cracks and rust. After the second night in the dining room we successfully found a great service team that we stuck with for entire cruise. The last night after returning from dinner we entered the hallway to a terrible smell and crew members frantically trying to vacuum up the water that was about 4" in the hall. Many cabins were flooded and people could not get belongings. We were moved to 2 rooms as there were none that could accommodate 3. In room with my wife and teenager somebody early in the morning just walked into the room without knocking. Read Less

This cruise line was chosen by a family member to have a family reunion. Checking onboard in Baltimore was quick and orderly. Once onboard we explored the ship while waiting for our cabin. Once in the cabin, the amount of rust, holes in the steel from rust, and rusted through stiffeners was quite noticeable on our balcony. It was also covered in salt. Needed to use a towel on the hand rail and chairs before we could sit outside and watch the ship sail. Food served in the dining room was often slow and lukewarm. Staff appeared to have more tables assigned to them than they could handle efficiently. Meals on the lido deck were repeated almost every day. Very little selection and lukewarm food. Highlight of the food scene was Guy Fieri's Burger Bar. Only place on the ship where you could get a hamburger between the hours of 12 noon and 6pm, the only hours it was open. Well seasoned hamburgers, served hot. Cabin attendant was good and maintained the cabin to perfection. Cruise Director was extremely annoying and was on the PA system numerous times through the day with extremely loud singing that was almost unintelligible. Speakers on the PA system were overdriven and hard to understand. This was my first cruise on Carnival and will be the last. I much prefer RCCL. Read Less

My sister cruised aboard the Carnival Magic from September 22-28. As this was our first cruise we were excited; however, Carnival stamped out that excitement real quick! Carnival does a real good job of letting passengers know their money, not their experience, is what matters most. If we could get our money back we would! CONS 1.A lack of decent water. The water available for free from the drink fountains and restaurants tasted horrible, like old ocean water (not exaggerating). It was UNdrinkable. In order to get drinkable water you had to purchase it. From room service it was $4.40 for a large bottle (what we can get for a $1-$1.25 here!). 16oz bottles were 1.25 IF purchased from the ship coffee shop. 2.They sold everything they knew people would need or want (going ashore? Here’s some cold water for a price! Want something hot from room service? Here are a half-handful for a price, got a headache? Here’s some aspirine for a price etc…) 3.They push alcohol like IT is water. There were workers walking around constantly asking if we wanted these alcoholic beverages. We constantly told them no. Couldn’t eat in peace for them. At one point my sister told one who wouldn’t take no for an answer not to come around asking us again. It truly felt like the workers were pressured to sell these drinks; the look of disappointment, or sheer annoyance on their faces when you wouldn’t take the bait was truly off-putting. {The same can be said for the spa workers; it got so annoying having them shove flyers at us for their over-priced services. And the attitude of some of them was not quite the turn off. I believe they are also pressured to make sales, and that is sad.} 4.Every fountain had bad lemonade; that is all they had to drink with lunch or dinner. It was not fresh made so it was very strong and artificial tasting; not good at all. Only In the mornings could you get orange juice cocktail or a Guava juice drink (this was actually the best juice offered). If you wanted a soda you had to be ready to fork over $3 bucks a can (that’s right, 12 ounce cans). I’ve included a picture of the toddler cups – the ONLY cups they had for the fountain drink. 5.Mediocre food: The Lido buffet was nothing at all to write home about, and the lines were so long that by the time you got your food and sat down it was cold. Also, I am allergic to seafood and the way they had the food organized at the buffet I often could not eat it due to saucy seafood being passed over the non-seafood items, or possible utensil mixing because everything was so close. The best places were Guy’s Burger Joint and the Deli. Guy’s Pig and Anchor Bar was ok to (this and the burger joint were closed at 6 or 2:30 respectively). The Ship Dining rooms (Southern Lights and Northern Lights Restaurants) were okay. Service was quite slow so, again, lukewarm to cold food. The restaurants did not handle the crowds well at all. The waiters, though nice, were overwhelmed and provided service that failed to impress. And at these restaurants, though free, were the same bad water and bad lemonade – unless you wanted to pay for soda or alcoholic beverages. The food was so disappointing that we opted out of our planned steak house dinner; we weren't impressed enough to take a chance paying $38 each just to be disatisfied. 6.Ship not clean: A. The ship carried an odor, especially in the hallways where the staterooms were. Oftentimes it smelled like sewage. If you have never smelled that before, take my word for it- it stinks! The smell really caused some of us to wonder what was going on with the workings of the ship. B. The carpets need serious cleaning. We kept socks on our feet when in our room, but we were shocked at how dirty the bottoms of our socks got and so quickly! I forgot to take a picture of them, but they were just shameful! I saw some people walking around with barefeet...not a good idea. C. The windows were filthy. You couldn’t really take good pictures from the windows because they were in such need of scrubbing (see pics). This was not 1 trips worth of grime; it has clearly been a while since they washed those windows. 7.Old Bedding: Carnival obviously tries to keep bedding until forced to replace. Our sheets were old and had pill-balls on them (see pic). 8.Rude, disorganized, unclean room service: The room service order takers were rude. There was a charge to order hot foods from room service. You could only get cold sandwiches for free from room service until 10pm. After that everything cost you. Cleanliness was questionable. They replaced our ice one evening, and I am so glad we didn’t use it. The container was mildewed (see pics)!!! We didn’t see it till the next morning after ice had melted. We could not eat/drink as comfortably after this. 9.A hassle filled vacation: getting off the ship at Half Moon Cay,the first stop, was so disorganized. Extremely long line waiting for a “ticket” (which they ran out of) to get off the ship. The whole set up made no sense whatsoever. The first stop at Half Moon Cay left a lot to be desired; there wasn’t much to see or do, but of course there was plenty of alcohol to buy! 10.The Medical Facility was hardly, if ever, open. My sister needed some help and was directed there. They were closed. They were closed the next morning/day etc. We never saw them open! She ended up just getting Tylenol from Room service, for which they charged her $1 per pill. 11.The rooms do not fully match the description/images on their website. The pictures are taken deceptively. They are not as roomy as they appear for “suites.” The beds are smaller than twin size. 12. The cigarette smoke practically permeated all of deck 5. The most comfortable seating on the outside decks were in smoking sections. So if you don't smoke or cannot take the smoke due to say, asthma for example, it could be a little difficult finding a perfectly comfortable spot to sit. 13. The serenity area of Deck 15 was just okay. The elevator was not always on, meaning a pretty good walk up from deck 10 (If I remember right). It is also next to the water slide area, only separated by a little divider. So if you are sitting outside in the serenity area of deck 15 then it is not always that serene, as you can hear the water, yells, and laughter from "water park guests" a few short feet away. PROS Our steward was nice and kind to us. The majority of the ship’s staff was nice. I had a good cheesecake from the coffee shop, and the price wasn’t too shabby. The coffee shop also had almond milk or soy milk for those who are allergic to dairy; that option, to my knowledge, was not available elsewhere aboard ship. The positives of the trip really had nothing to do with Carnival. The scenery was the best thing of the trip, that and watching the water. The stops had beautiful scenery, and Amber Cove was the best port of the 3 stops we made. **I cannot and do not recommend anyone cruise with Carnival. My sister doesn’t even want to take another cruise (period!) after this experience with Carnival. Many of our fellow travelers said it was the worst cruise they had ever been on. They kept singing the praises of Norwegian. So if I ever cruise again it will be with Norwegian, but never ever again will I go anywhere on any Carnival ship! They should be ashamed of themselves! Read Less

Due to a continuing health issue, we chose this cruise’s Eastern Caribbean schedule. I will preference this by telling you I’m a Platinum level. So how can they screw up the embarkation and disembarkation. Embarkation went smoothly. Disembarkation, so so, this time we decided to carry our luggage off the ship. We received our waiting area location, right next to the “fast to the fun” quests. When the time came to disembark, the cruise director came in said Platinum quests can go, all the Fast to the fun people headed for the door. The cruise director stated we are all platinum today. Don’t know how you feel but I earned me status. Once on the ship my wife and I took a tour to become familiar with the ship. Standard layout for Carnival’s older ships. We hung out until time for the muster drill. This is where it starts to go downhill. We get to our muster station, it’s 90-95 outside. We stand there for over 30 minutes waiting on the safety instructions. Finally they give the instructions, lasted less than a minute, and had to wait another 30 minutes to be released. Our luggage did not come until right before dinner, we selected the early dinning. So much for being priority. Headed down to dinner, table mates were great, we hit if off from the beginning. I was surprised at the lack of menu selections. Portions were small and the taste was less than savory. Service was great, waiter took very good care of us. Standard entertainment you would expect from Carnival. We went to the comedy club, comedians were great. Standard lido deck entertainment, nothing new there. Our ports were nothing special, San Juan, Grand Turk, St Thomas and Amber Cove. Took an excursion to St Johns, beach was OK, water was rough, due to the storms out in the Caribbean. On our way back to St THOMAS they break out the rum punch, as you can imagine some, many indulged way to much. To the point that I had drinks spilled on my hat, Hands stepped on and people falling all over me. Not a good trip back. Once back we headed to the ship. We noticed a longer normal line to board. Again we stood in the backing sun for over 30 minutes to board. The metal detector broke down and they had to wand everyone. You would have thought to open up the other gangway. The onboard ship experience was less than stellar, smokers know no boundaries, the smoking areas were well defined, however some felt they could walk the ship with lit cigarettes. Smoking on the balcony was common, yet I did not see a single Carnival crew member say a word. I understand what to expect on a Carnival cruise, drinking, parting, and general a wild crowd. However, I have never been on a cruise with so many cabin, balcony doors slamming shut at all hours of the night. People running up and down the hallway every night at 2am. My wife and I have decided we will not sail on a Carnival cruise again. We are going on a Celebrity cruise end of October. Read Less

250, million Dollar renovation what a joke had an interior spa room it was very nice the Stuart was excellent but other than that I don’t know where they spent all the money on the spa was very nice the food was so so very overcrowded the pools were terrible the shows were so so they nickel and dime you to death just watch out for all the waiters only wanna do is serve you tons of drinks I wouldn’t go on carnival again We did a personal behind-the-scenes tour met the captain he was very nice other than that the ship is nothing to rave about 20-year-old Rheem promised ship that should’ve spent their money someplace else they’ll get five years out of it and then they’ll retire and sell it to somebody else I wouldn’t go on it very overcrowded out of New York Oh just one more thing their cruise director the flying Scotsman is terrific he is the best thing they have if they lose him the ship is dead Read Less

This was my first cruise however my parents were with us and they had been on many cruises. We were extremely disappointed as soon as we stepped on the ship. This shop had 2 tiny pools, 3 whirlpools and an over 21 area that did not mean anything. The pools were so small it was impossible to get in. There was 1 store, a tiny candy shop for kids and 1 jewelry store. Nothing at all to do. They had a treasure hunt for the pictures that team members on the ship had taken. Each day you had to go on a search. No link or sign in to make things easier. I know I missed pictures and was very disappointed. Now the food that’s a whole different story. The buffet was so packed that it became too much and it was easier not to eat. No healthy food at all. It was also beyond hot. How can you stand in a line for an hour to eat in the heat. It was complete insane. The ports were beautiful and the staff was top notch. It is unfortunate that a ship like that has to have such bad reviews because the waiters, housekeepers and all were simply amazing. Unfortunately this ship left a really bad taste in my mouth and probably will be the first and last cruise for my family! Read Less

My husband and I chose Carnival for our honeymoon cruise. This was my 5th cruise with Carnival. After this one, we most likely won’t choose it again. The worst part was other passengers who were loud and obnoxious. No class! Kids running all over the ship unattended by parents all hours of the day and night. People going into dining areas dripping wet from pool and no shoes. Staff never said a word to them. Plates of food left on the stairs constantly. People walking around with portable radios turned way up. Carnival’s line of standards has seriously dropped. We filled out our survey. Haven’t heard a word back and don’t expect too. We have friends who have been on recent CCL ships with same experiences. So this is a new common trend across the board. Beware before you book. All they care about is getting your money. Not the experience you had on the ship or else they would address the issues happening on the ships. Read Less

We booked a couple months in advanced but were still able to get a balcony room. The room was still very tiny. We were on the 5th floor and out floor smelled moldy. There were holes in our curtains and the deck was very dirty. Our room was M245. The cruise director deon was great. There were alot of activities. The food at dinner was great. The breakfast buffet was poor. Half Moon Cay, was a joke! I could of stayed on the ship and had a better day. There is literally nothing on the island. Hopefully carnival does some updates in the future. They were doing maintenance on the ship the whole time of the cruise which was VERY LOUD and unpleasant. The ship gave us an onboard credit for the spa but didn't do us any good being that we dont go to the spa. I would never cruise on sensation again! Most likely will never cruise with carnival again Read Less

My husband and I cruised royal Caribbean in the past and after finding their staff rude and condescending Carnival seemed like the logical choice when we were looking for a cruise line to take our kids on for our family vacation. So first let down was during embarkation, going through security my husband who is a former active marine gets stopped because he has an hollow bullet bottle opener on his keys. A gift I bought him because it was a bullet fired in Iraq during a former tour that had been custom made. Keep in mind this is hollow with a tip so dull even if it was fired it would bounce off its Target. I might be able to overlook this if we had not made it through security with a wine bottle opener that not only had a stainless steel corkscrew on it but also a 2 inch straight blade. So please tell me what the more dangerous thing ? So thanks for the appreciation for your veterans service. The towel policy is completely assanine , while most ships have crates of white towels for you to take from, Carnival makes you sign out every towel you take with your folio number , which is yet another 4 digit number for you to remember on top of your room number. AND ! If you are in a room that is ajoined to another room don't think you can check out and return towels to your ajoining room account where say your husband and 2 kids are assigned , no no no , your folio number only , doesn't matter your one big happy family , keep track of everything you sign out or prepare to be harrassed . But THE CHERRY ON TOP of everything had to be ..... Carnival makes it super nice and convenient to pre pay for things. Which we did with everything we possibly could ! Paid for the rooms in full ... Obviously that's required but we also paid our gratuities in full , paid for our excursions in full , all 4 of our kids bubbles packages as well as my husband's cheers package . We also placed a $15 limit on each of our children's sign and sail cards to visit the arcade or the candy shop or whatever they chose to do while enjoying their time on the ship. So the kids go to the arcade and spend their money and two days later my husband and I go to the arcade with them to play and everyone's cards are declined , so we proceed to guest services to see what's going on and much to our surprise our children have racked up somewhere around $600 worth of an arcade tab. So we ask what happened to the $15 limits and carnivals guest service response ? Why didn't you come to the service counter to verify the limits were properly set on the first day on board ? Well I don't know , how about the fact that the first 2 days on board the line for guest services was 2 miles long wrapping around the boat with a 2 hour minimum wait . And considering I took care of everything BEFORE I got on the boat my idea of vacation is not starting it off verifying that you did your job ! Everything else was taken care of , we had the tickets for our excursions , our kids were able to get their hearts desire of soda and my husband his fill of alcohol why would this not also be taken care of ? So what else did Carnival do or say ? Nothing and we got stuck with a $600 arcade bill , a pretty hearty mistake for us to have to cover , so thanks for that treat Carnival. The one good thing I have to say is about the dining team. We had a crew from the Philippines, the primary guy serving us was GERENE and he is fantastic ! Day 1 he had our kids drinks memorized as well as my husband's preferred drink beverage. He was always on top of everything , interacted with our kids so well , catered to our picky eater without batting an eye and knew everyone's names at the table by the second night. Truly the only people on board that made the cruise enjoyable and worth the money we spent. In the end I would rather pay Royal more money to have rude service people who do their jobs than pay carnival to have them completely fall short of impressive customer service or even mediocre service . Read Less

Destination cruises are just that. You board a ship with the intention of having an amazing onboard experience as well as having wonderful destination experiences. To that end, this trip is definitely what you make of it. The onboard entertainment was less than overwhelming due to the repetitive with the string instrument trio playing EVERY evening and one of the two comedians having NO routine WHATSOEVER - he concluded his last nights TERRIBLE performance with asking the audience to give him a break (from our silence) and taking a bow to let us know that he was finished. The lines for meals were insufferably long irrespective of whether it was breakfast, lunch or any of the snack stations (pizza, burger, or BBQ). We had breakfast in the Southern Lights 3rd floor dining room and you could not be in hurry for that meal insofar as breakfast there was at least a 45-60 minute undertaking. The dinner portions were the smallest of any cruise that I've been on and it was rare to hear anyone in our party RAVE about their evening meal. Now to the destinations - Half Moon Cay (supposedly the Bahamas), Grand Turks (a 7 mile long by 1.5 mile wide island attached somehow to Turks and& Caicos) and Amber Cove (an $86 million dollar Carnival Cruise manufactured destination on the Dominican Republic). None of these destinations can be remotely associated with what one would perceive the Bahamas or Turks and Caicos or the DR to be. They're Truman Show-ish prefabricated stops affiliated tangentially with sovereign Caribbean nations but requiring no passport for passengers to disembark and infiltrate. Tantamount to changing sets in a Hollywood production. Now I do understand that the resort industry would not appreciate 4,000+ people infiltrating these luxurious $1,000+ a-night resort towns with their world famous beaches for 6-hours at a time; but we didn't visit the Bahamas or Turks and Caicos or the DR. We visited Carnival prefabricated (or owned islands like Half Moon Cay) destinations with no organic link to these sovereign Caribbean nations whatsoever - unless you consider the very industrious and ubiquitous Jamaicans who worked EVERYWHERE...NO PROBLEM MON!!! I'm married to one, so that was a plus!! Overall, this trip was disappointing. My floor, our cabin smelled like no other ship I've ever been on. The internet (a $15/per day up-charge) NEVER worked!! The entertainment outside of the Showroom was mediocre and the cruise director Simon's "lovely jovely" (yes JOVELY) was not as nifty as his million repeats of him saying it would suggest. Read Less

This was my platinum cruise and was very convenient choice for us but I absolutely do not want to ever go on this ship again and will def rethink ships remodeled! This ship was old and had a negative history. ( fire,arrest and even a death ) So in order to save the ship they had to change the name and redo. Big problem was they didn't think it all through or just didnt care) It was a smaller older ship. The corrections made them more money and passengers more annoyed They did away with laundry rooms on most floors and added more rooms. They made everything we like smaller! They added more dining choices BUT many are for a price! They took away much of the dining space ( free) and left people waiting in ridiculousy long lines for food... The pools were literally standing room only ! Serenity did not have their own pool either. SMOKING!!!!!!!!!!!! I smelt smoke pretty much everywhere. I know this is huge issue for many but one would think remodeling would help things but it certainly did not. Carnival ships are set up the worst of all ships when it comes to avoiding second hand smoke,, In order to get to certain areas you have to walk through the casino which is ALWAYS disgustingly full of smoke! Not only that but the area is open to all the floors of the atrium so the smoke hits everyone! Constantly seeing people walking around with their faces covered. They have very very little food for kids and it was an issue just to get milks and juices. unless the go to the camp carnival, there is nothing for them to do. They took away most of the free room service . It now only goes to 6p . After 6 you pay! To sum it up. They added more rooms to make more money . More people with less room to play ( except casino) less free dining, Read Less

We sailed on the Carnival Sunrise as part of a large 40+ group of friends, so we did not choose this particular ship or itinerary. We have sailed with Carnival before and are Gold level members. Embarkation: We were pre-assigned a time to show up to check in for boarding. That was excellent and went very smoothly. Hats off to Carnival and the NYC port for making what used to be a nightmare, a pleasant experience. Cabin. We had a balcony cabin on level 6. We were near the Atrium. The room was quiet despite the loud night-time parties in the Atrium. The room location was ok for most areas of the ship we frequented. Our cabin steward and staff were extremely friendly and efficient. Our plumbing worked fine! Balconies were cleaned during our cruise, which was nice. Plenty of USB & AC outlets for our electronics. Air conditioning was sufficient. Public areas: The pool areas were crowded as usual on a ship, especially on sea days as you would expect, however, the pools are too small for the number of guests on board. We did not even want to go in as there were shoulder to shoulder people in the pool most of the time. NOT INVITING!. The lack of staff to clean the dishes from the pool area made for a messy area much of the time. Poor ship design between the Guy's Burger joint and the Lido Marketplace made a narrow passageway that caused traffic jams constantly. I was always afraid my food would be knocked into and spilled moving from outside to inside. The coffee/tea area, ice cream machine and the pillar/railings make for a very narrow 2 way passage. The air conditioning in some areas either did not work or was poorly designed. We found "hot spots" all over the ship. Food: The dining room food was fine, wait staff worked very hard. Most of the time I received what I ordered. The Lido marketplace buffet was overcrowded most times, It seemed to run past the stated closing each day as there were still people waiting in line to get food at the closing hour. Buffet food was ok, not exceptional. We ate there only twice. Guys burger joint was fast and good, the Blue Iguana Cantina was OK but fast to get food, Pig & Anchor was excellent! Highly recommend if you like southern BBQ! Lucky Bowl was excellent! No lines to speak of most of the time. we ate there frequently. Did not try the 24 hour pizza but we heard it was good. Did not try Bonsi Sushi (extra charge), it was empty most of the time. The Red Frog pub was a large area, not crowded, beers were ok. Personally I did not like the Red Frog "red ale", but the Toasted Amber was good. The ship seems to have only 4 flavors of ice cream (chocolate, vanilla, strawberry & butter pecan). Only the first 3 are available soft serve, butter pecan is available in the dining room with the other 3 flavors. Personally I wanted more choices in the dining room as Ice cream ins my choice of dessert. Not a fan of cakes, etc. Lido buffet was also one of the poorly air conditioned areas of the ship, it was hot most of the time, which made eating uncomfortable. Staff was good cleaning the tables. Ports of call: Grand Turk: The ship dock at Jimmy Buffet Margaritaville. Just a pool/beach stop, nothing to see there. Food & drink is for purchase only, not free. We took a private trolley tour with Island Trolley Tours (not a ship excursion). the were excellent. If you want to see the island, this is the only way ($30/pp) Ship tour is twice that. Buy tickets on beach or online prior. San Juan: Ship docks right in town, El Morro is a long walk but do able with the time allowed. Amber Cove: Another pool stop. Pools are very crowded both in Margaritavile & Amber Cove. Nothing to do there other than shop & swim in the waist high water. We did not swim in the pools as we dislike over crowded pools with no shade opportunity other than hiding under a foot bridge. Disembarkation: Handled well. we lined up around 0830 to get tags. we had tag # 8. This got us off the ship around 1030. We waited in the Liquid Lounge. The only complaint I had was I did not have any idea when our number would be called. We had someone picking us up and I was not sure when to tell him to be at the dock. Geting off the ship and getting our luggage was excellent, and efficient. Customs was a breeze! Final thoughts: Level 3 was the best serenity area on the ship. Forget the official Serenity deck as it was also overcrowded and no shade. Deck 3 off the Atrium was quiet, had a panoramic ocean view, a nice breeze, and was near the Atrium bar. Plenty of deck chairs also! If you like crowds, loud parties, so so ports of call and long lines...this is the cruise for you! Read Less

If I could do two and a half stars, I would. We decided to do a cruise, which was not something we had ever done before. We decided on this ship because it was well priced, out of NYC (which is where we live), recently refurbished, and Carnival has a good reputation as being a family friendly cruise line with great kids amenities. The Good: The stewards and other staff were lovely. Very nice and friendly. The Bonsai Sushi Restaurant was very good and well priced. Lucky Bowl was a terrific lunch time option if you didn't mind eating soup for lunch when it was 90 degrees out. The lobster rolls were good at the seafood shack, but also had an additional up-charge. The fries were consistently excellent. Chris Williams (the cruise director) was a lot of fun. Puerto Rico was an excellent port and we had a terrific time there. The kids really enjoyed putting on their bathing suits and watching movies while in the pool on the Lido deck. The Average: I was in one of the Port Hole rooms and one of the beds is obviously a sofa that is converted into a bed. It was very hard. My husband slept in the other bed which was far too soft for me. In room entertainment is very limited. Our snorkel excursion at Grand Turk was fine. Trivia contents we mostly esoteric and not real competitive trivia. The Bad: Honestly, where to begin? There were lines for everything. The ship is very poorly laid out and very cramped. They said the anytime dining and the set time dining had the same menus, but they did not. My kids (7/9/10) HATED the kids club. After the first day they referred to it as "baby jail" and refused to go. The reason for this cruise was the great amenities for kids. While they liked the water slides and the ropes course, that was about it. For a ship that was recently refurbished, it was very run down. Sewage smells in the hallways, the sprinkler head in our cabin was held on with duct tape, doors did not close, things had already fallen off the walls and elevators consistently did not work. Restaurants: (in order of appreciation): Bonsai Sushi (mentioned above) -- up-charge Fahrenheit 555 -- up-charge. The Waygu beef was excellent, the lobster bisque excellent, and that was about it. It was as good as any third tier steakhouse. The service was OK. Seafood Shack -- up-charge Excellent lobster rolls and fries. The crab was meh. Avoid the oysters. Lucky Bowl -- Included VERY good, as long as you are okay with soup on a hot day. Cucina de Capitano -- Up-charge. Pretty consistent pasta place. Not sure why there needs to be more than a $5 up charge on this. Hit or miss at lunch (when it is free). Meat Lasagna was odd. Felt like it was made with brisket. The Pizza place (I can not remember the name) - Included. It's good. Sunrise Restaurant -- Included. VERY hit or miss. The service is slow. The waiters mostly didn't understand special requests and you would have to ask multiple times. The food went from absolutely awful (salmon my first night...sad shrimp cocktail) to delicious (my kids loved the pork chop. The chicken breast was very good). Avoid the fruit "soups". They taste like melted ice cream. Brunch here was surprisingly good, however, and I highly recommend the brunch spaghetti. It was delicious. Guys Burger Joint (burgers) -- Fine for burgers. Tastes like fast food, which is is. Blue Iguana (Mexican) - Not great. BBQ Place -- never tried. Deli - (hit or miss) Lido Marketplace - AWFUL. Badly laid out. No concept of line management. We did this as infrequently as possible, but it made all the other restaurants around it feel cramped and uninviting. The food was truly awful with the exception of the Indian buffet day for some reason.(I tried it that day as a joke and was pleasantly surprised). I will not do a carnival cruise again. avoid. Read Less

Usually good. Limited choices Poor quality, poor service in main dining room. Buffet cut choices by more than 1/2. Afternoon is a burger or pizza. Not a whole lot more. Long lines at buffet, pizza took forever to make. Long line as well there. Deli: forget it. One person helping long line, and selections have changed. Found many areas dirty. Public bathrooms not cleaned enough. Ship showing its age. Rust around doors. Shows: well boring. Not the best. Not great for kids. Same show we saw on another Carnival cruise. Oh, but if you want to have stuff sold to you every minute, well then come on board. That they excel at. Will sell you anything and everything, and pushy to make you buy. Drinks were good, but some bars took quite a while to serve you. Hey not every Carnival cruise can be the best. This one did let me down in many ways. Hopefully we’ll give them a try again in the future. Read Less

We chose this cruise as a family vacation for 16 of us. We love cruising and have probably done about 6 over the years, but this was our first Carnival cruise, and sadly will probably be our last. This crew is MISERABLE, never, EVER have I ever met a staff so UNFRIENDLY! Our only saving grace was our waiters, other than that, NO ONE ! Yes, we all have bad days, but to be down right rude to guests is unacceptable. For example being told, "Isn't that what the sign says?" (with a shake of her head) after asking a simple question at one of the stores on the Promenade, having eyes rolled at you by more than ONE staff member, or having pictures swiped out of your hand at PIXELS... What is that about? I believe this ship is severely understaffed, and yes, that will cause unhappiness with the crew, but honestly you expanded the number of guests to close to 4,000 and yet did not increase your staff (I asked, they didn't!). So, what does this result in? LONG lines EVERYWHERE (ex: food, and events), not enough seating to adequately meet the needs of your guests, oh and did I mention, grumpy, rude, staff? You go on vacation to get away from it all, this was a rude awakening for us. Every other cruise we ever went on had staffs that went above and beyond, and truly deserved praise (, to actually have my room steward ask we twice, "So, you mean you want me to come in twice a day?" ....LOL, ummmmmmm, yes, a steward straightens in the morning, and folds down the beds at night. What am I missing? Is this not a "Carnival" norm? This is a beautiful ship, and with all this being said, we made the most of this vacation. My issue is really with Carnival, we are long time Royal Caribbean guests, and wanted to give the FUN ship a try, but this was it for us. When you invite almost 4,000 guests aboard, the expectation is that it will be a memorable experience for all 4,000 on board, I mean after all, isn't that what they paid for? I understand this is my opinion, and others may feel differently, however, when 16 people in one group agree that this was the worse cruise experience any of us have ever had...I am glad I wasn't the only one to experience it. Like others, I was so excited for this cruise, and now that it is over, this is the ONLY negative review I have ever written. When someone as easy going as myself has a problem, believe it! Read Less

Honeymoon, no airfare required, Platinum status with Carnival this cruise seemed like a great option. 2 days prior to sailing we got call to upgrade from french door interior to balcony for $300 total. Since this was our honeymoon sailing we did it. The entire cruise I received all paperwork for another couple. Our room steered even called us by these names when we finally met hi m on day 4. Despite going to guest services several times, the name confusion continued until the last day when we received a bill in the other peoples names. Once we met the room steward, he'd did a good job, our room was clean, but there was no interaction with him or friendly banter. He did write a Happy Honeymoon note on the mirror on day 5 and they were a few towel animals during the week. Room was comfortable, balcony very rusty, bed very comfortable. The headline shows were AWFUl, the cruise director phenomenal, Take Two and Coconotes Band were very good as well. Overall the safe was present, but not friendly, warm or welcoming with the exception of a few bartenders. The overall dining experience was terrible. Food served cold continually. overcooked or undercooked. Tablecloths only on formal night and no type of dress code is at all enforced. Drink service was very slow in dining room and the buffet food was awful. The best places to eat were the taco/burritto bar and Guys Burger joint. The pizza was even gross. I watched the entire cruise officers pass by passengers without even a smile or a nod. We resorted to paying for there steakhouse for the last two nights and the food was good, but the service was extremely slow. I am not a news cruiser and I rarely feel as passionate as I do writing this negative review. My honeymoon was not acknowledged and my platinum status was not either. So disappointing. I am booked on the Sunrise in November and I think I am going to cancel. Read Less

Book another cruise, it’s not a vacation, this experience only consists of many many lines. The buffet area is really small to accommodate all the passengers, the line is constantly very long to get food. People would take their time picking out what they want slowly in the pile of food which also delays the line. Then you have people that are afraid to line up again, (after about 15-20 minutes of waiting) They take piles and piles of food so they don’t have to line up for a second time and end up wasting food. In addition, they take all that food the tray is almost empty for others who have also been waiting. I must say the lucky bowl is quite fast and very good but they are not open all the time. The pizza is open 24 hours. The crust is really thin but it’s good. Again, the line is extremely long. A woman in front of me ordered 7 pies, taking all the pizza that was left. Everyone behind her ended up waiting another half hour for more pizza to be made. The burger place is good but the line is also horrible. The deli is not always open, you do have lots of options. Cold and hot sandwiches, but the line is horrendous. At the buffet, my mother in law wanted two pieces of corn so instead of lining up, we nicely asked a woman on the line if we could go in front of her to get it and leave. The lady behind her started getting loud and insisted that we line up. Her attitude was uncalled for and extremely rude. Everyone on that ship was there to have a good time, I see no reason for her to have yelled at us. We never had a problem letting someone just grab what they wanted as long as they asked. There are not much choices with restaurants, you have the sunshine and radiant, the servers are overly worked and you can tell they are super tired but still continue to do their jobs. I must say the waiters are doing their best to keep everything very professional. The food is not a big deal, and there are not much choices, but it’s better than lining up. All the other restaurants such as: Sushi, steak house ($38per person), and Italian food require an additional charge. Why is there an additional charge for food on top of the $6,000 that we paid for the 4 of us. We were all very excited to visit Grand Turks. What a disappointment. The beach is only a few feet away from the ships, leaving very little room to swim. The area is so dirty. There is garbage everywhere and a lot bugs crawling on the sand. I kept asking cruiseship members which chairs and umbrellas belonged to carnival-no one was able to answer me. Every chair we parked on some guys comes up to us harassing for us to pay $25.00. They said the beach chairs in the front all belongs to them and the beach chairs in back belongs to carnival. No cruise members there for us to ask and by the time we settled everything down we just gave up arguing with him and just paid him. On top of that there’s an area where these ppl have a horse tied up on this tree, the smell at that area I felt like we were in a zoo. San Juan is nice and all site seeing and shopping Amber cove my kids really enjoyed it cause the pool is big and nice. Plus shopping area is big. Entertainment; we’ve been to many cruises the cruise director, the Scotsman is okay. He told us when we see him say “Hi Chris” guess what when we see him he really don’t want to be bothered. In front of a big crowd of ppl he’s all nice and approachable but in reality he’s like don’t bother me! Same ppl doing singing and dancing every night, not too entertaining, magic show sucks just this one guy doing only jokes and card tricks. Juggler is a good show. Pool and slides: don’t bothered going to the pool it’s alway very very crowded. There’s only two small pools for 3800 passengers, WTH. Teenagers running everywhere. During the last day of cruise we had to call security cause kids where knocking on our doors running away. Then we saw them throwing ice cream cones on the stairway. We booked 6 cabins for a family reunion, the pulled out beds is so old and painful to sleep on it. I paid extra for a suite cabin, we have a couch that can turned into a king size bed, the most uncomfortable and hard bed ever. Aches and pains the next day. We made a complaint about the bed with guess service, they gave us a foam top that did nothing. Bottom line don’t spend your money on this cruise ship, the ship is small to accommodate all the guests. Everything they want to charge. They kept the casino open all the time so they can take your money. It’s the worse and last carnival cruise for us. We are done with them. Read Less

We chose this cruise because the port was New York which was a manageable drive. The embankment was annoying we sat in boiling heat waiting to get onboard for about 2 hours. Once onboard, we had to PAY for drinks and could not use Cheers pkg until the next day. The entertainment on the ship was great, talented dancers/singers, hilarious comedians, the folks running games onboard were friendly and personable. The karaoke was disappointing at times because usually loaded with kids- no separate adult sessions. The so called ADULTS ONLY area was impossible to use due to folks leaving their stuff there all day long. There was ONE buffet for the over 3,000 passengers(ship was overbooked). The wait to get food at the Buffet was usually about 20 to 30 minutes. The food in the main dining rooms where dinner is served was less appealing than the buffet so we didn't bother to waste our time after trying it a couple times. The room stewards were amazing because not only did they clean your room in the morning and at night, they gave you personal attention. Due to the poor design of this ship, you had to walk through the Casino located on deck 5 in order to get from one side of the ship to the other. While the entertainment and a handful of crew were amazing, the overall experience was unpleasant. In the end, the value we got for our money just did not amount to much and we would not go on this ship again. In fact, I am not sure we would do CARNIVAL again. Read Less

1. This cruise out of New York to Turks and Puerto Rico and Dominican republic was 9 days it was way to long.... we loved Grand Turks it was a beautiful island and good for beaches and snorkeling. The rest of the ports was not good we had to take a taxi to the beach a ways away in Puerto Rico. Amber cove was just owned by carnival they had zero access to beach we could not go in the ocean not even if we rented a kayak you could not go in the water. The DR was super expensive they wanted $120 for the 3 of us to be taxied to a beach. We never went. The pool at Amber cove was small 3ft deep not something to be thrilled about at all. We didn't want to go into the DR because of all the scary things happening with deaths and such. My Husband took a quad adventure in Puerto Rico not impressive at all it was 1 hr drive to get there then you had a 1.5 hr on quad that you only went 15 mph you couldn't go any faster very boring no wildlife then back on a bus ride 1 hour back, definitely not worth the price at all dont waste your time on this excursion. On the cruise the juice tasted like pure concentrated juice you could not drink it it was gross. We were bummed about the 24hr food the only thing that was open the whole time was a pizza place the pizzas were small and very thin crust. They closed all the other food early. The buffet food was not impressive very bland not much flavor at all we had to salt everything. The one thing we loved was the sea bass and steak. The lines for food were sooo long Everything else we were not happy with. The restaurant was nice but the service was very slow. I think I know what's happening they book the cruise to the MAX of people then you have to wait a very long time for food. Always a long wait for food. The very best thing that they have going for them is their self serve soft Ice cream. This cruise is definitely meant for people who loves the heat and doesnt mind waiting long periods of time for food and they just get drunk. This is a drunk cruise. LOTS of people drunk. The water slides is super small. No elevator to the top so my son in a wheelchair could not go on the slides. Oh and you can forget going swimming in the pools there is 2 very small pools that were packed with people we never used their pools the entire time we were on the cruise. The water in the pools were so gross brown in color. You had to pay for everything on board including wifi, drinks beside nasty juice, water & coffee . We downloaded the hub app they said you can keep in contact with your family why on the cruise well you even had to pay for that $5each person such a rip off. Seriously we paid over $1000 per person to go on this cruise and they cant even pay for us to keep in contact with our loved ones on the cruise. (The people you came with not the ones back home) so for the price of this cruise we are NOT happy with the service the cruise itself was supposed to be brand new uumm no not even close they may have put new rooms in and new carpet and new restaurants in but there were alot of stuff on board that we noticed was not new. The layout of the ship was poorly constructed. They were sawing off railings at the buffet while people were trying to eat. I know they have to fix things but they could have waited until most people went to bed not during lunch hrs. The hub app doesnt even work half the time they dont get my messages. They let people smoke inside the casino and the smoke travels to the other floors. The A/C in the rooms has a max on it it was not cool enough for us as there was 4 people in a small room. We had to ask for fan. The main show with the singer's and dancers not very good. Their singing was poor( best off lip singing sorry) and their shows were mostly sexual which I felt was distasteful. Some bartenders we watched didnt give full shots when preparing drinks Read Less