Carnival is an inexpensive cruise line compared but the dining experience was poor We sailed on the Celebrity Silhouette two year. ago and had excellent food. I met the chef and all but kissed his spatula. We sailed on the Carnival Vista last year and the only decent place to eat was Guy's burger joint. We won't be going back to Carnival.We were on the RCCL Allure five years ago and it was good. But it seems that the overall quality of dining room food is going down especially on Carnival.Carnival cuisine used to be OK but not the last couple of times we have sailed. The dining room service was good but due to congestion there were a lot of minor accidents. The cabin service was good and was never late. The room service menu seemed limited compared to past cruises even compared to other Carnival cruises we have taken but it was delivered fairly promptly. Guys burgers and the Bar B Q was the best food on the ship I wish I could have eat there every meal. The entertainment was good . The rock and Roll show was entertaining to a boomer like my self. The Carnival shows are among the best I have seen The only reason I can see to sail on Carnival is the low price, but I only get so much time off and it is not worth spending it on an inferior cruise, We sail next on the RCCL Brilliance and hope it is a good experience Read Less

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Firstly when we got onboard it smelt like poop then go to the cab and there's no water they fix that then only cold water. The crew was not the nicest. The bartenders were kind of rude when you just ordered a Coke. The food was okay nothing great not much on the buffet to choose from if you don't like seafood. The cruise director and shows were great. The amount of marijuana that was smoked on the boat with a bit too much for my liking. People were smoking it in the smoking section as young children were walking by. The pools were always overcrowded and hot tubs. The Pizza Chef was very rude. The serving staff in the dining were awesome. The guest services Workers were always very rude when you went up there. The merchandise in the shops were good priced in my opinion they are very pleasant employees. Read Less

This was my third cruise (after Norwegian and Celebrity) and my kids' first cruise in honor of high school and middle school graduations. Such a huge disappointment. The food was ok - don't bother with the buffet for literally anything, ever. The burgers and pizza weren't bad. The steakhouse was ok but not worth $35/person. The restaurant was ok... our server was actually great but the food was just ok. There were SOOOOO many small obnoxious children so the pool was overrun. And there were so many jack@sses that camped out on the basketball courts and wouldn't let anyone else on that my 14 year old son (who is 6'5" and fantastic at bball) was literally not allowed to play the whole week. This was supposed to be this fantastic, memorable, bonding trip and at least we all agree on one thing - Carnival SUCKS. I'm not scared off from cruising - just from this cruise line. btw the balcony had a door instead of a slider - another bummer. Read Less

We choose this cruise by dates available at the time. For the first cruise not knowing what to expect it was a good experience. Only real complaint was the food during the dining time. We found that you could eat better at the Lido deck in the food court. Burgers and Mexican food were great and no extra charge, that was a huge plus. Dining hall server was very friendly that was the only plus to that experience. Had a wonderful Seward, we was very friendly and called us by name every time he saw us. That was very welcoming. Easy off the at the ports. We caught rain at Cozumel. It all worked out though. Our excursion guide let us go at a later time. So we got to experience the dolphin swim. We had a great time in progresso on our excursion. They were very helpful and knowledgeable about the Myan ruins. Answered any questions we had. Super friendly! Over all will go again. Thanks Carnival! Read Less

We went on this cruise to celebrate our daughter graduating high school! I am actually torn between a 3.5 and a 3.0...but I have to do a 3.0 First, the good parts. It was short. Catalina was amazing. Ensenada was pretty cool too, but we all loved Catalina the best. What did we do on Catalina? We rented the golf carts for 3 hours. So fun and the best thing to do. After that, we went to town, shopped, and had the BEST LUNCH EVER at the Lobster Trap. Omgosh, it was so good! You just can't go wrong with this place. In Ensenada, my husband picked a "resort"...which was basically a hotel with some fake sand. We spent a few hours..the pool was not heated and again, it was a fake beach. But, we made the best of it. We then went into town and had a great lunch at the El Corralito. So much food and really yummy too. You for sure want to split here. Now, on to the ship. It is a little run down, not horrible, but pretty dated. They have no control over kids. We had a family of like 30 on our floor and the kids were allowed to constantly run around and treat the halls as a playroom. I just really believe staff should nip this. If I need to sneak away and take a nap in MY ROOM, I should be able to without kids running up and down the hall. Some parents suck. Staff needs to monitor the halls better. The food has really gone downhill. We went on Carnival cruises in 2011, 2012, and 2014. Food was really pretty good. However, starting with our 2017 cruise, and now our 2018...not so good. Actually pretty awful. Just feel like the quality has "left the ship". Three people in our group actually had mold on their tortillas. :( They did right and gave those three people a steak dinner the next night...but still...eww. After a 4 night cruise, I was ready to be done with the food. Overall, it is a decent cruise. Short but sweet. Not too long. The ports are fun and cool. Great get away. If you can handle the negatives. Read Less

Service and Staff were amazing and so nice, from the wait staff, cleaners and entertainment staff. All work 6 days a week many many hours per day. Cabin- good size, we had a balcony which we loved, not sure if I would have enjoyed a port hole. A tight bathroom, but it did the job! Beds were very comfy. We were 8247 very close to the adult pool and buffet dining. Dining- the dining room for the set time seating was in my humble opinion a little over the top, 20 years ago it would have been a wow factor, but today too much on the eyes. Our set time was 6 or 8, 6 was too early but dining at 8 got you into the comedy club or the shows at 8:15. Just a note- I thought the food was very good, you would never go hungry. Drinks - we got the drinks package and whilst it was 56 USD a day pp it included, pop, vitamin water, monster energy drinks, specialty coffee and premium brand drinks, the cucumber with a kick of spicy vodka is amazing. The boys Martin and Lucian ran the Alchemy bar and they have some beautiful drinks- they will make you anything and have some beautiful wines. There were 2 Elegant night during our 7 day cruise- the first night everyone dressed up but only 70% dressed up. Whilst it was nice to dress up, there was no real "special-ness" attached to dressing up, fireworks would have been nice, or a special meeting with he staff and the same entertainment that shut down at 11pm, except the nightclub that stayed open every night til 2-3. Entertainment - all was good, the band that played in the Frog were AMAZING, the comedy was good and the nightclub was for the younger Read Less

This was our 5th cruise with Carnival and first on Paradise. We will not be returning on Paradise. Although the employees on the ship were exceptional the ship itself was horrible! Two nights we woke up to the smell of sewage and it lasted all night. The morning that we were debarking my daughter got sick from the smell and was nauseated for the rest of the day. It also seems to me that the food is not as good as it once was. Every time my husband and I went to get food the only thing opened was Guys Burgers or the Pizza place. On our way home (we drove) we stopped by Chic Fil A and that was the best food we hadn't eaten all week. There is only one pool and it was so crowded everyday that you couldn't put your toe in. The same goes for the hot tubs. Our cabin was good and roomy. The steward was always nice and helpful. I was just so disappointed in this ship! I hope Carnival will get their act together before we have to switch cruise lines. Read Less

Although the Paradise is a older ship, she has been recently remodeled and overall we found it to be a very nice vessel. The kids loved the water park and there was always enough room there. Our room steward Gusti took great care of us and always had a smile and friendly words. The wait for the Elation dining hall was a little excessive at times but once inside the staff was top notch and worked hard each night to give us a great experience. Room service was fast and friendly and they went out of there way to make sure we had everything we'd need with our meals. The ports of call were great and things were smooth and on time. The only complaint I had was the bartender at the pool bar (Red Rum) seemed to really be phoning it in. Maybe they get burnt out with the unlimited drink crowd but I'm not enough of a drinker to buy that package and when I'm splurging on a fruity tropical drink I'm not looking for any old thing...When I asked about a drink (fresh italian) I had had in the main dining room, the bartender cut me off before I finished talking and just said main dining like I was going to go there while they were closed to order my drink rather than just politely explain they only work off the menu. Once I chose a different drink I waited a few minutes for him to chat up his bartender buddy at which time he brought back my drink in a plastic coke cup with no garnish and an inch below the top of the cup. He then squirted grenadine on top and handed it to me plain (white hard plastic cup, no straw, no garnish, unmixed). I had to ask for a straw and then stir the grenadine in since it was just hanging around thickly at the top. This cost me 11 bucks. Later I ordered another drink in the casino and it was mixed in a shaker and served in a nice glass with garnish so I imagine it was just a bartender having a bad day at the outside bar. Overall it was a fantastic vacation with some of the best cruise staff in the business and the bar issue was just a minor hiccup in an otherwise incredible trip. Happy Travels! Read Less

Limited to travel in June I would love for carnival to retire the ship sensation and use a newer ship for This Bahamas destination. I don't have the opportunity to cruise on the newer ships because the cruise line uses the same ships in June to this destination. I take my parents with me and they deserve to cruise on the newer ships. Come on Carnival make that change for my parents and all the other cruisers who deserve to experience the newer ship. Atlanta Ga 2018 carnival did an excellent job with embarkation and debarkation. We arrived at 3p to ship. The process was fast and easy. The staff was nice. They were smiling and very pleasant. We needed to wheelchairs and help with our luggage and they had them readily available. I liked Guy's hamburger station. The food was delicious The omelet station was good also. Come on Carnival make that change for my parents. Read Less