The boat swayed, rocked and rolled even in calm waters. Smelled like sewage the whole trip. Even when we were docked the boat vibrated like driving down a dirt road. Seemed the bars were always understaffed, wait time could be long. Not sure why they would wait for your pizza order before they would make a pizza, line was long and they made pizza when you ordered It instead of a pizza buffet. Daycare was great, my 3 year old loved it! this was a great kid cruise other than the smell and swaying. I would take Carnival again but not this boat. I also didn't like the drink package, it was time consuming having to provide a drink card so they could swipe it and you had to sign a ticket afterwards, I prefer the all inclusive "free at Sea" cruises, NO Hassle! The Charleston port was kinda dingy as well compared to other ports but we could drive there saving on the costs of flights. But the drink package as about the same as our flight cost would have been so that's a wash. Read Less

First off embarkation and debarkation were a total breeeze. Everything went smoothly and getting off the ship in Cuba and through customs was about a 10 minute process. Everyone was extremely organized. I have read other horror stories about going through customs in Cuba and in my experience they were all exaggerations. The upgrades to the states rooms were well thought, as we all know outlets are usually an issue in older ships. There were four usb plugs in my interior room which was spacious with plenty of closet and storage space. The ship itself is a little quirky but I got the hang of it. I am not a fan of a ship that you can not walk straight through (it’s a minor inconvenience and mainly something you adjust to after the first two days on board) the atrium is beautiful but has a lack of seating. This ship also has one pool which wasn’t an issue on our cruise but I can imagine it being packed on a cruise with more families/children. Food overall was great. Guys and blueiguana are my go to for lunch on this ship as the lido deck is more limited than other larger ships. Dinning room service and meals were some of the best I have had. The one thing that fell flat was the pizza. Carnival usually has the best pizza and it’s something I enjoy having late at night once the day is wrapping up but there was something so off about the pizza on this ship. Had it once and didn’t bother trying it again. The standout port on this trip and the reason I even booked it was Cuba. I mentioned above reading several “horror” stories of getting through customs in Cuba and either those were inaccurate or Cuba and the cruise line have learned how to stream line this process. You will have to fill out your visa which carnival gives you at embarkation. If you’re not sure how to fill it out or want to make sure you do it correctly guest services can give you an example of a complete visa or it will be in your fun times printout the day before you arrive to Havana. We booked an excursion through carnival. Culinary traditions and Cuba. It was hands down the best excursion. Our tour guide Viviana made the excursion she was informative and answered everyone’s questions. We started with a walking tour then drove down the Malecón. Had an amazing lunch at the Habana Libre hotel with a band and dancers. From there we went to plaza de revolucion, took pictures with old fashioned cars before finishing our excursion with shopping and a Cuba pairing of cigars, coffee and rum. If you’re thinking of going to Cuba do it and do it now. Cuba is changing that much is obvious and if you want to see it before it does don’t wait just go. Read Less

Embarkation process was wonderful, our arrival time was between 12:30 and 1:00. We arrived around 12:00 and we walked right on the ship. We had lunch on Deck 10 the lido buffet. I found the food to be limited, they have a themed lunch/dinner every day. French, Italian, All American, Good Eats. I didn't really care for it. The deli also in the buffet was good I had the turkey wrap it was excellent, hot dogs were also good.Guys burgers were great. We forgot to eat at Blue Iguana Cantina but I heard it was good. I thought the pizza was terrible, it was paper thin and had no taste so it didn't matter that it was open 24 hrs. The ice cream was wonderful also 24 hours. The dining room was closed for lunch, I was not really used to that on the other ships I have been on. We did eat in the dining room for dinner I found the food to be very good but thought the portions were small. I had the chicken breast it was seasoned well and moist but only came with 2 pieces of broccoli or a handful of peas and carrots. My husband had the pork chop and he felt the same and usually had 2. We chose this ship because of the itinerary, Key west, Havana, and Cozumel. In Havana bring toilet paper, towels and hand sanitizer. Go to the lecture about Havana you will learn about pee-pee coins, because you need to pay to use the restroom. We did the easy havana and fusterlandia tour and it was excellent. Raciel with havanaturs was our tour guide we had an air conditioned coach with a bathroom. All ports were amazing we did the ship sponsored tours. Our room was very nice we had a outside view it was perfect for us as we were not in the room much but we wanted a view and I could sit on the ledge and look out the window and look at the water. Our steward was Jay, he introduced himself on the fist day and brought us our bathrobes, and my complimentary water as I was a repeat Carnival cruiser he cleaned our room early when we went to breakfast, our room and the ship were always very clean. Everywhere that you went that somebody was always cleaning something. The shower was small but we did fit. The shower curtain was a joke and when we showered there was a large puddle outside the shower. Found the activities to be limited but that was fine because we were off the ship or eating most of the time. We did the trivia and trivial pursuit we had a great group of people. I was very impressed with the debarkation it was extremely well organized, we were off the ship and in our car on the way home in half and hour. The elevators were inadequate, so ended up taking the stairs most of the time, so we felt less guilty about the food we ate, because we burned it off going to the next level of the ship. Overall we had the best time and we would go again. Read Less

wanted to try a different ship and port......conquest was nice... staff friendly....food ok-with exception of the steak house!!!! It was over the top!!! the prime steak house was very nice wait staff very eager and helpful food was out of this world!!!! The chef came to the table and I could not have been more pleased!!! The "art of dessert" was fantastic!!! we will do this again! This meal would have cost more than $200.00 back home...Book early and enjoy! The Barbeque was not to my liking...On the Magic it was fantastic ...don't know what happened here on the conquest. I thought that the quantity of the food offered at the blue Iguana was lacking..two pieces of chicken on a burrito and five shrimp in a bowl come on. The spa was fantastic!!!! a young lady from south Africa gave me the men's day at the spa with a professional shave and haircut facial and massage..IT WAS SOOOOO GOOOOD! Casino was ok at first and too smoke filled for me so, after one evening there I did not return....cant there a smoke free cruise? Read Less

Cruised with my 20 YO Granddaughter. Had a great time despite having very few younger people on the ship. First time to Panama Canal. Tampa embarkation is a little more difficult to me having to park across the street but ok. Got right on the ship. Cabin was in good position on the ship but Cabin steward was not the best I ever had. Enjoyed the entertainment. Food was adequate but not anything to rave about. Both excursions that we took were fantastic. They cancelled one that we booked with Carnival so we took one from the port at Grand Cayman. The ship is in good shape and I liked the gaudiness. It reminded me of the good old days of cruising. Didn't miss Guy's Burgers, the grill took it's place and was good. Debarkation was easy. Off the ship with my own luggage and on the way home at 8:15. Read Less

This was our 10th cruise. 7th with carnival. For the most part, the ship was ok. They shortened the atrium to 3 floors so they could add more rooms. No more glass elevators. The funnel in the atrium is pretty cool. The elevators are a pain. Even when you get used to them, they keep trying to stick everyone in the same elevator. Oh well... Lol. What I liked..... Our room steward was great. Always prompt, friendly and fun loving. There was one issue with the room that most people complained about, but more on that after. The ship always seemed clean and well kept. The food and drinks were good. The entertainment, especially, the musicians, we're great. There were many other good points that I haven't mentioned. Ok, now what I didn't like...... First and foremost was the casino. I'm not much of a gambler. That being said, it's the smallest casino I've ever seen on a cruise ship. The worst part is that the ENTIRE casino is smoking. It stinks terrible. The worst part is that you can't walk on the 4rh floor promenade without going thru it. So even if you just showered and changed your clothes, you're either gonna stink or have to go up to the 5th floor to get around it. Doesn't sound like that big of a deal until you want to go to one of the other venues near the casino and you have to keep going up and down to get to them. If you're a smoker, you won't care. If not, you won't like it. Bad idea Carnival. The doors on the balconies should have been sliding doors not regular doors. So not only do you have to listen to people slam their room doors but also their deck doors. Gets pretty irritating after a few days. The wait staff in the dining room did a good job but seemed confused at times. I always got my food so no big deal. Just thought I'd mention it. The lido market place seems like it doesn't have that great of a selection of foods. Less than before anyways. They have part of it open from 11:30pm-1:00am. (Midnight buffet) The selection is the same 5 things every night. Boring really fast. Pizza is always there 24 hours, but that isn't as good as years prior. Like most of the ship, the Serenity is at the highest deck of the ship with no pool, just hot tubs. Stupidest thing they ever could have done. All of these new ships are adding more and more rooms. They need to add more pools so you can actually get in one on a sea day. By the time you figure that out as a first time cruise, they already have your money. Lastly, whoever designed the theater should be fired. The seating is terrible. Tons of places you can't see half the show. Small, again because they keep adding more rooms. If you have to sit next to the bar towards the back, you can forget trying to hear the shows. Between the mixers running and the drunks talking, forget it. They like to get on stage and tell you to keep the chatter down, but do nothing about it when it happens. Anyway, your definitely getting less for your money now than you did 5 years ago, but that is with every cruise line. You are getting more of one thing. That's RUDE PEOPLE. You know them. They're everywhere. The only ones that matter. You want to slap reality into them but know that you can't. Oh wait, the one thing about the room that was bad. It seems that they are re-using they're sponges or rags to much while cleaning the bathroom . Always had that sour dirty rag smell. Many complained about that.... Like the title says, "I think it's time for a new vacation"!!! Read Less

We picked this cruise because DW, niece and nephew had never been on a cruise and we wanted to make sure everyone would be ok locked in on the water. Embarkation went very smooth in spite of us being late (or maybe because of it, the world may never know) we had 11:30-12:00 check in but didn't arrive till about 1:00 and walked right on. Well after going through security and all of course. Guy's burgers were real good and the kids liked the hotdogs from the deli. Lido buffet seemed to be lacking in my opinion. Oh the food was good just seemed to be less verity than what I remember from my last Carnival Fantasy cruise. This could be from 1) my failing memory, 2) there really is less verity or 3) a combination of the two. We had anytime dining in the Golden Olympian and it was great. No lines, no waiting either night. Sorry if I offended anyone wearing my jeans on elegant night but we had decided while we were packing that we would eat on Lido that night but DW decided otherwise on the night of. Good thing it was cool the morning we left home or I wouldn't have had any long pants. DW did keep saying "I just don't understand the allure and all the hype of cruising" but as we were sitting discussing what we were having for dinner last night she said "too bad we can't just go to lido and pick up something, I miss that ship" so I think she is hooked. I see more cruises in our future! We only saw the America Rocks show which was pretty good, but if you go to the Venetian Palace to see a show, try to avoid the back seats on deck 3. The overhang from deck 4 will block part of your view and you may not be able to see the entire performance. Not sure about deck 4. The kids, 5 and 13, loved the kids clubs and didn't want to leave. Even the very shy 13 year old made friends. Now the 5 yo can make friends with a signpost so we knew that wasn't going to be a problem. Most people say not to take a 3 day weekend cruise, it's just a party cruise with a bunch of rowdy drunks, but I didn't see a lot of that, just pax having a good time and mostly respectful and polite to each other. Overall great cruise I just don't think I will do another short one. Just to much work (packing, driving, unpacking, etc) for the amount of relaxation time. Read Less

We chose this cruise because it appeared to be affordable and we had 25 people going. It was a disaster from the get go. I can’t blame anything on our cabin stewards. They went above and beyond to help us out. Dining in the celebration dining room was great. Entertaining and a decent selection. They do NOT update menus online so do not rely on the app to be correct. I guess they look at what you spend to determine how to treat you. We booked the Cat In The Hat Breakfast as soon as we got on board. We were told to be at the 8:30. When we arrived we were told we were bumped to 9:45 because of overbooking. So we had two upset kids that we had to pacify for an hour. I will say the breakfast was worth the wait. I wouldn’t recommend Carnival or this ship for families. This would be a great party ship but the activities are not what I expected. Camp for the kids was basically 20 kids in a room with a play kitchen. My grandson hated it and didn’t want to go back. We had a handicapped room because my husband has hip and knee issues and needed it. The cabin was beside the service elevator so it was extremely LOUD all night. We were woken up at 2am nightly by crew singing in the service area. We also had a fire on the ship which caused a bit of drama. People wanted to get to their kids and couldn’t. I am sure carnival will hear more from them. Read Less

5 hours from Mobile so we drove down. Getting on and off the boat simple and easy in Mobile. It’s a nice big port with $70/5 day parking. Get a better ship in there it would be worth it. We chose this cruise because we wanted to take our 4 boys (10 to 17) and it was cheapest we found. The boys thought it was awesome, and for them it was, my wife and I not so much. But before I go further I do want to say that everyone was super nice and friendly. It was my first cruise and if it wasn’t for people I know that wouldn’t lie to me it would be my last. It was like staying in a musty ran down motel with excellent room service (if that makes sense), the king size bed was so uncomfortable that I was ready to take the frame out in the hall and lay the mattress on the floor. We paid for extra for an ocean view which landed us at the main back of the noisy ship but that was a WASTE because the window had not been cleaned in so long that you couldn’t be 100ft past the back of the ship. The food was ok the best was Guy Fieri burgers and the Blue Iguana was great. We ate lunch there and dined at ships restaurant it was ok fancy food cooked up and served with a smile but lacked variety and flavor I thought. And believe me I tried everything 6 people 4 being teenage boys can put some food away and I tried everything that we ordered. The entertainment was ok I enjoyed name that song, the live music at the bar and marriage game was halirious. Kevin wasss ssso over the top but he wassss funny I thought (If you know him you’ll get that). The shows were ok except for the Country Roads show it was terrible I thought. The ports were ok, Progreso that shops were in your face almost. Cozumel the boys swam with the nurse sharks and stingrays they had fun but they had never done anything like that but it’s was like a petting zoo in the ocean where you can touch it if your fast enough to corner it. I’ve found out that I just can’t afford to take 6 ppl on a cruise. I’ll find a resort, condo, time share or something else because the 5 days on the boat with the excursion was over 6K. I just read over this... Lol I sound like a hateful old man but one of the easiest going guys I know. I just excepted more and better Read Less

If you want to experience the worst cruise ever, come aboard. If not, STAY AWAY!!!! The FOOD - TERRIBLE, the ROOMS-SMALL... the SHIP IS SMALL!!! And the staff is RUDE. In all aspects, this cruise is terrible. It is sad that we spent so much money on below-standards food and service. And they charge for everything. The food is disgusting and poor quality, and the staff seems to be unhappy and lacking enthusiasm. Expanding on the food, the truffle aioli is loaded with mayonaise, the prime rib is always medium rare no matter how you ask for it, our mac and cheese was served cold and smaller than a kids portion... I will never come back on this cruise ever again. I will never go on a Carnival Cruise again. And if you are reading this review STAY AWAY. I am embarassed that I went on this cruise and will never give them my money again. Read Less