Carnival Legend - South Pacific Cruise March 2018 (last departure from Sydney before proposed refurbishment.) No all-inclusive alcoholic drink packages are available on Carnival departures from Australia. My wife’s favourite pre-dinner drink is Gin & Bitter Lemon. Bitter Lemon is rarely available, or even known to exist, on most cruise ships. Carnival, however, permit you to bring 12 bottles or cans (600 ml or less each) of non-alcoholic beverages on board in your carry-on luggage. Drinks brought on board this way must be consumed in your cabin. Inspection of carry-on soft-drink was minimal. I am not trying to encourage the smuggling of contraband on board, but I observed that the first person supposed to do so did not look in the carry bag at all. The second person simply looked in the top of bag to see that the top package was still in the original cardboard set of 4 bottles. I would not recommend putting anything in your checked luggage that should not be there, as the scanners seem to provide clear indications of what is inside. My suitcase was impounded to be opened and searched. In ignorance, I had packed a small electrical power board. That was detected despite being in the same plastic bag as a host of other permissible electrical items - power adapters, battery re-charger, electric shaver, small USB electric fan, laptop cable & mouse etc. As a consequence, my bag was not delivered to my cabin until 8 hours after boarding. It was accompanied by a form letter inviting me to attend to open my bag and observe the search. That was obviously too late because the contents of my bag had already been ransacked and the power board removed. The cheapest gin available neat was Bombay Original at AU $8.75 a nip. On most (all?) days you can get a double nip of spirits for an extra $5.00. There is an ice dispensing machine in the Beverage Bar towards the rear of mid-ship. Standard cocktails, including ‘Drink of the Day’ cost $12.95. My wife’s favourite cocktail when cruising is Pina Colada, or similar. A good value option on the Legend was the frozen Caribbean Colada available in the Red Frog bar for $10.75. Alcohol could be tasted in this drink unlike some of the other cocktails. Especially poor were the pre-made ’Drink of the Day’ that staff hassle you to buy from their carry trays. On the beer front, there is Thirsty Frog Summer Ale on tap at $8.95 (brewed exclusively for Carnival by The Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel in Sydney) if you want to try something a bit different. Otherwise, the imported beers available cost only marginally more than the standard Australian brews. The 500ml cans of Heineken seemed good value at $8.50 Drink menus are not made readily available apart from the Red Frog, Casino and Sports bars. You may have to ask to look at the most common drinks menu at the other general bars. These show prices for a range of cocktails, spirits, beers and wines (including prices by the bottle). Not all items were available at all bars. If you are dining at the main ‘Truffles’ restaurant, on decks 2 and 3, the food menu for each evening will include daily specialities in addition to some standard favourites. In addition, there is an international speciality featuring a starter and main dish from a different cuisine each evening. There are some premium meal items towards of the end of the menu for which there is a surcharge. I had a travel voucher for $25, given to me by Carnival on behalf of their booking agent, which I used to order a premium meal but it was not credited to my account. No reply from Carnival despite 3 queries so far. Take a copy if you get such a voucher. The food menus also show some ‘featured’ wines. Make sure that you ask to see the main wine list also. This is more extensive and presents some more economical options, with bottle prices starting some $20.00 below those of the featured wines. We dined and shared our opinions with 2 other couples. The standard of the food was generally good for cruise ship dining, with the level of service higher than I have experienced on other cruise lines, but below that of Royal Caribbean. The starters were generally OK but unremarkable. The fact that the serving sizes were quiet small did not present a problem as the waiting staff encouraged us to order multiple starters. Vegetarian spring rolls were a regular starter item, but they were served with, supposedly, a different type of dipping sauce each night. I don’t understand why this was considered to be a good idea with some mismatched sauces being offered, such as ketchup style tomato sauce on 4 occasions. When I am eating away from home, one of my guiding rules is not to order a dish that I am certain will be inferior to my own version, due to bulk preparation, time constraints and/or skimping on the quality of ingredients . I think that it is better to try the unfamiliar and hope to be rewarded. By not observing this principle, it was inevitable that my dining companions of Mediterranean background found the Lasagne and Moussaka they ordered to be unacceptable. There was some doubt about which dish was which and whether either of them contained any meat. Another largely uneaten dish that was purported to be chicken chow mien, which it most certainly was not. It looked like pasta and cabbage in squid ink. Nonetheless, my wife and I personally did not encounter any dish that was unacceptable. Our companion diners were happy with their meals, apart from than those mentioned above. Deserts were generally much enjoyed So, with 6 people having at least 3 dishes each per night for 10 nights, the occurrence of only 3 or 4 real failures represents a very good standard of overall performance. We did not eat at the ‘Nouveau’ restaurant on Deck 10, where surcharges apply and higher standards could be expected. There are moderate additional charges for the Bonsai Sushi restaurant on Deck 2. Breakfast Apart from providing table service, albeit slow and some times missing the mark, the breakfast at ‘Truffles’ seemed to offer nothing more than could be had at the buffet in the ‘Lido ‘ on Deck 9. In the buffet area, most people seemed to prefer sitting as close as possible to the food stations. This behaviour may be a product of evolution. I don’t know. There was a number of people wandering aimlessly through the food self-service areas, even though they had no apparent intention of obtaining any food themselves. Some adopted the role of a stationary guard (or in numbers, as guards) to protect the sources of food from being approached by other passengers. Again, this may be an evolutionary thing perhaps. When mobility and agility assistance devices and perambulators are strategically deployed in the construction of pedestrian barriers, however, I wonder if it might not sometimes be deliberate. Perhaps it is just plain old lack of consideration for other people or lack of self awareness that is to blame. Anyway, assuming that you will eventually be successful in obtaining some food, my tip is to retreat to the peace, quiet and shade-covered fresh air of the outdoor ‘Serenity’ (adults only) area. There are several cosy tables for couples which I found were never fully occupied at breakfast time. We ate at the same table most mornings. Eating early to avoid the rush is probably a very good idea. Personally, that is not a viable option because I love to snooze on and off during the morning until such time as the last of my previous nights alcohol intake has been fully metabolised. There was no tomato juice, but that is not uncommon. The other fruit juices were incredibly sweet. Iced tea is available as an alternative, or to dilute the juice. Coffee Tip: At the free self-serve beverage station closest to the mid-ship lifts there is a machine where you can select the style of coffee you want, e.g. cappaccino, short black etc. Good enough for me. There was no freshly carved baked ham available for breakfast or lunch (except for Easter Sunday lunch), which was a disappointment. I am not a huge fan of bacon but there was plenty to be had and I was told that it was very good. There were 2 types available - moist or extra crispy ‘Australian’ style. One of the made to order omelet stations also has the usual offerings of boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, baked beans etc. The poached eggs were fantastic, whereas in ‘Truffles’ they were overcooked, cold, dry and slow in coming. Buffet Tip: Always look at the back of serving areas, behind the self- serve, where you have to ask staff to serve the items. That is usually were the best stuff is to be found, such as Eggs Benedict and Salmon & Poached Egg Muffin with Hollandaise Sauce. Lunch in Lido Again, early is the way to go here if you can manage it. The advertised starting time was midday, but the buffet opened shortly after 11:30 a.m. There were some very tasty, well prepared meals available most days during the cruise. Some of the best I recall were: Goat Biriyani Salt and Pepper Calamari Lamb Meatballs Chicken Tandoori Rogan Josh Beef Rendang Madras Chicken Fried Fish & Chips Baked Seafood Pasta Baked Fish Dishes Goat Rendang Glazed Baked Ham (Easter Sunday only) Pork Vindaloo Fritto Misto Seafood Risotto On some days the buffet meals on offer were not to my taste or were badly prepared e.g. beef stir-fry made from shoe leather with braised pork of similar impenetrability on another day. Buffet Tip: It may be bleedin’ well obvious to most that you should survey what is on offer (without getting in the way of others) and take small servings of those dishes that show the most promise before doing a taste test. Having identified the highlights and the rejects it is time to plate-up with the winners. I am still amazed by the number of people who simply join the queue at the first food station they encounter and pile heaps of each and every dish - in the order that they become available - on to their plates. Geographical proximity, to me, should not be the over-ridding factor when making food selections. Lido Highlight Nearly every day, high quality cakes, pasties and pies were available for a sweet finish to lunch. On my previous cruises with other lines I have searched without reward for a simple slice of cheesecake or custard tart. Instead, only canned fruit, jelly, horrible dry cupcakes, slices and multi-coloured sponge cakes have been made available. On Carnival Legend, many of the sweets were delicious, including: Key Lime Pie Red Velvet Cheesecake Cream, Cherry and Flaky Pastry Stacks Blueberry Cheesecake Pizza Pirate and Carnival Deli When the Buffet is having a bad day, or as worthy alternatives, these 2 places prepare meals made freshly to order. Tip: You need to know the correct procedure for ordering. A bit ‘Soup Natzi’ in style on my cruise, especially with the pizza. When you approach both of these food counters from the front there is no clear indication of what items are available or the procedure for obtaining them. On the third day I discovered the secrets. The menus are actually in small perspex stands. At the Deli, the menu was facing outwards on the left-hand side of the counter, not on the front counter where orders are placed. A staff member will approach you and ask you want when they notice that you have found the menu and they will proceed to prepare your hot or cold selection of sandwich for you. In the case of Pirates Pizza, I found the menu on the left-hand side of the counter which was divided from the right- hand side by a rope. On the left-hand side, behind the counter, there was a man feverishly flouring and forming lumps of dough into pizza bases. This person was only 2 feet in front of me, but did not acknowledged my presence . I asked some pre-pubescents on the right-hand side of the rope if the dough-wrangler was in fact the person who took the orders. They nodded to indicate the affirmative. This was the demographic, I was confident, would know the correct way to procure free pizza. I guessed that it would be best to wait for dough-man to finish preparing the current batch of bases before attempting to speak to him.. While I waited patiently, 2 different people pushed in front of me and tried to speak to the dough-flinger. I did not hear what they asked him or what he said in reply. I do know, however, that both retreated hastily and went away. I was glad it was not me who had offended. Another thing I noticed while I was waiting was that the number of people standing on the right-hand side of the rope, behind the soon-to-be-teenagers, was growing rapidly without any of those new persons appearing to have placed an order. These were older people were looking all around observing, trying to fathom the methodology through which possession of pizza became a reality. I placed my order when flour-figers permitted me so to do. Some of those behind the youngsters on the right-hand side of the dividing rope, having observed my success, came over to queue where I had placed my order. I now, as I was entitled, proceeded to the ‘collection’ side of the rope and stood behind not a small number of people who, I was pretty sure, had still not placed an order. We all watched, as the man who cooked the pizzas out the back - not the person who took the orders - brought them out to the front and sliced them. To my amazement, he then gave six different pizzas to six different kids with absolutely no discussion at all about who had ordered what. All he had was a restricted view of the counter through a hatch. The cook continued to bring out pizzas from the kitchen and hand them out to the correct individuals without discussion until he called mine “Who is Quatro?’‘ I then, not without some feeling of schadenfreude, had to ask to be excused by the people standing in front of me and ask them to allow me passage to collect my order. As I passed through, a few of these people moved to the correct side of the rope to place their orders. A few gave up and went away. Most continued to stay where they were. They might still be there. Why did I not talk to these people and enquire if they had already ordered or if they knew how to order? I did consider it briefly, then I recalled my earlier observation: ‘There was a number of people wandering aimlessly through the food self-service areas, even though they had no apparent intention of obtaining any food themselves. Some adopted the role of a stationary guard (or in numbers, as guards) to protect the sources of food from being approached by other passengers……...I wonder if it might not sometimes be deliberate. Perhaps it is just plain old lack of consideration for other people or lack of self awareness that is to blame.’ I did not offer to help the confused pizza seekers just in case they were persons who fell within the categories described above, who frankly, if I may be judgemental and intolerant for a moment, really piss me off. Pies, Sausages and Burger Stations The pies were small, but not very tasty, tidbits. Mostly greasy flaky pastry with little filling. Coincidently, perhaps, there appeared to be a similarity between the pie fillings and the previous days bistro casseroles. I did not try the sausages. They are never good at sea. Regretfully, I did try a pre-prepared cheeseburger. It was still too dry after adding some of the salad items and sauces that are available. (Real) Coffee Bar (Surcharge) Not my cup of tea. As mentioned above - Coffee Tip: At the free self-serve beverage station closest to the mid-ship lifts there is a machine where you can select the style of coffee you want, e.g. cappiccino, short black etc. Good enough for me. Self-serve Ice Cream and Frozen Yoghurt Available from machines on each side of the The Grill Deck 9. Read Less

This was my 1st cruise so wasn't sure what to expect. Arriving at the terminal I found it to be a relatively smooth process at every point we had a crew member giving us information has to where we had to go. Once we where onboard and in our room we were greeted by our stateroom attendant Pat she looked after us all trip nothing was too much trouble for her on my husbands birthday we returned to our cabin to a message on our mirror and a voice mail msg wishing him a happy birthday. Everyday we were greeted by a new towel animal on the bed which was cute.good on the truffles restaurant was very good always prompt and hot considering the amount of people being served at one time. Our wait staff Hazman and madde were always pleasant and professional but still heaps of fun every night they did a little dance routine for us no matter how busy they were. Entertainment was great our Cruise Director Jen was awesome keeping the fun going all cruse keeping us up to date with everything. Loved the trivia days / nights and the theme nights. Missed out on a couple of shore excursions because they were full ( will know next time to book early ) great cruise for families maybe next time will go out of school holidays has it was a bit loud at times, but we did still have quite time in the adults only area. I will consider bringing my grandchildren next time, has there was so much for the kids to do. All in all a great time was had and looking forward to my next cruise. Read Less

After being told all the horror stories of cruise boats I am happy to say that my experience was wonderful and I am glad we choose the Legend. Very friendly staff, Thanks Yordon and restaurant staff for making our dining experience extra special and we loved Showwww Time. Thanks to Jerry for all the towel animals. I was very impressed by how clean the ship was kept, someone was always into any mess immediately. The whole trip was stress free and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute. We were very lucky to have such a good bunch of guests and staff on board. I Loved all the shows they were extra funny and entertaining. It felt like every guest had their turn to participate and get to enjoy the fun. Jen was an excellent hostage really loved the entertainment team and dancers. Really looking forward to the next trip :) see you again soon Read Less

This was a 5 day cruise departing Melbourne to Tasmania. From the time I got on I could not believe the dated décor of the ship, brown everywhere you could not escape it. Very dated ship with poor activities and poor amenities. The cruise was full of children and those from the less fortunate class. Buffet terrible and dining room food terrible very little choice and stone cold most nights. Service was average and table company very bad, prefer not to be forced onto a table with other people as you never know how this will go. Our 2 couples on table were not really interested in communicating. Terribly boring show time each night same every night. Theme night very disappointing less than 30% participating and 1.5 hours disco music not well organised very boring. I had not been on a cruise for 40 years and was shocked at what was on offer. Would recommend you choose a better line I think the Carnival Line is one for those with very limited budget and not wanting the finer things in life. Never again. Read Less

This was our first cruise and we chose Carnival for the child care and child friendly services offered. Really, really wish we had done more research before deciding this looked like the best option. The embarkation and disembarkation were fine, we were more than happy to get off the ship as quickly as possible. We were fast-tracked at embarkation because of the age of our child (2 years old) which made things much easier as waiting in a line that long would have been a nightmare with him. The ship itself needs a lot of work. Everything, EVERYTHING is dated, not entirely clean, and just feels like it hasn't had upgrades or possibly even maintenance in a long time. We got an upgraded Balcony stateroom, which looked great in the pictures, but didn't live up to that at all. The room itself was clean, however one of the bedside table lamps wouldn't turn on. The bathroom was just barely clean. There was what looked like mold on the inside of the shower screen, there was a pool of water in the glass dish in the shower and the exhaust fan in the shower didn't work, which left everything in the shower and powder room steamy and moist. The shower area was probably the most desperate part for an upgrade. If that alone got some love I could probably have forgiven the rest of the room. I'll start with the included dining in the main section (the name eludes me). This was sub-standard at best. The food was left out a little longer than it should have been. I saw people trying to reach fresher food beyond the stale stuff at the front being told "It's all the same" No, it's not...because the fresh stuff is fresh, the not so fresh stuff is...not fresh. The eggs were probably the worst part of breakfast as they were curdled, wet and the couple of times I risked getting them a lot of it had a crust from sitting under the heat lamps. There were maybe 1 or 2 meal options that were pretty good, the rest were both very low quality and sometimes looked a little unsafe to eat if I'm perfectly honest. My husband and I weren't feeling too flash after the first night and it definitely wasn't sea sickness *wont go into too much detail and TMI's* I'm sure the restaurants and paid dining areas were fantastic, but I'm not prepared to pay a huge amount of money when I was under the assumption that even if food is included in the price, it should still be edible. I thought I would get fat and happy as I've heard this is the norm on a cruise. I can pack away food quite well usually....I met my match here, and not in a good way. I'll move onto room service. Basically paying for things in the included section of the dining to be delivered to your room. So, if you're feeling particularly lazy (and trust me I get it, that's kind of what a cruise is all about) you get room service. So we only bought "freshly brewed coffee" and "hot chocolate" through room service as we felt paying for things we could get for free was a bit silly. I'll now explain why we ordered these things through room service. There are NO options for milk, bar full fat and skim. You can get soy, but you have to pay for it, through room service. a coffee with soy milk wasn't too pricey so we ordered 2 on the second day along with the complimentary soy milk, any additional soy milk was an extra $3 per cup of. Now, the "freshly brewed coffee" is actually Blend 43 in boiling water, delicious...if you don't mind the taste of dirt. This is not "freshly brewed coffee" this...is a joke. The Hot Chocolate was equally disappointing, being as it was a sachet of Nescafe powdered hot chocolate and some boiled water. Fortunately this was able to drown a portion of the taste of Blend 43 out of the coffee, making it just barely drinkable. Comon Carnival, these things are provided free at hotel and motels, why am I paying 3 bucks for them?. We unfortunately didn't get to enjoy much entertainment and activities so I can't comment on those and can only say that what we saw in passing looked good. Our son had almost recovered from a cold and the residual nighttime cough turned into a full blown cold again on day 2. We brought him to the medical centre and were told it would cost $120. Pricey, but OK, we made peace with that. He had his vitals checked and then we were put through to the Doctor, who asked us questions about the vitals, because she didn't seem to have any record of the tests that had just been done, and had to go and re-do most of them (why?) We were asked to sign a couple more times, never told of any extra costs associated with the visit. At the end of the cruise I look at the tally of costs and there is a whopping $260 dollars worth of medical expenses that has been charged to our credit card If there were extra costs associated with the visit I would have appreciated BEING TOLD. There was not one mention of any other cost than the initial $120. This was unacceptable. While I hate having to pay that much to visit a doctor and get some meds, the costs should have been explained in full, not partially. While I know most of this review is negative, I want to actually end on a positive note. The staff were awesome, they were always friendly, our stateroom assistant dude (forgotten his title, sorry) was amazing, he remembered us by name and always said Hi to our son. We had no issues with the staff, I think the problem is staffing in general, in relation to cleanliness, there just aren't enough staff, corners will be cut if you don't have enough people to do the job properly, that falls under bad management, the staff were fantastic. The drinks were great, although a bit pricey. We didn't mind paying a little more than we expected as they were made strong. They made an unpleasant cruise more tolerable in a long island ice tea haze. Would never do this again, this has put us off going on any cruises in the future. If, for some reason, we did decide to do it again we wouldn't take our kid. The Daycare was fine, although our son didn't really want to be there and kicked up a fuss on the one night he was well enough to be in it. Just would have been slightly better without the kid, want to be truthful, we have a terrible child, we love him...but he's also a nightmare. If your kid's a nightmare, best leave them with relatives. Read Less

First up, check in line was over 90 minutes to get from the start of the queue to check in, till the security line. Water was provided, but it took forever to march up and down 6 lengthy lines. However saying that, once I was seen, I had my sail and sign card and checked in, within 3 minutes. Can't understand why the line was so long. Once onboard I found my eyes needing sunglasses to get the glare out of my eyes. The person that designed the interior of this ship was on some kind of banned substance. I found my way to the cabin and was quite surprised at the actual size. This was probably the only redeeming feature of the cabin. The bathroom had dark blue tiles, and the vanity was aqua marine (light green). The colours clashed badly... I didn't meet my stateroom attendant once. Not even to pick up a tip, so he didn't get one. I called several times on the phone and it went unanswered. However the room was cleaned well, but only once. On most cruise lines, the cabin is serviced twice per day, not on Carnival. The food was a mixed bag. Some things in the dining room were totally acceptable and not bad at all (spring roll and carnival's chocolate desert) others such as the steak was inedible and looked like an shoe insole. The pizza was actually decent. On the last night we tried Nouveau, I ended up with stomach problems after eating the food there. It was the last night, and was ill from about 1am to after I got home. No point reporting it as I didn't leave the cabin on the last night till I disembarked the ship. There was the obligatory fight, between a family and an older gentlemen. Luckily people jumped in to stop it escalating and security were there quickly. What is it with these people? It started again after about an hour, and again security were on to it like a flash. It's a long time since I've been on Carnival, and probably my last time. There was also a point in the cruise where the deck collapsed, and they had to fix it. This happened on day 2, and the area was sealed off for the remainder of the cruise. If the price is right, do it, because a cruise is a cruise, even if it's a bad one. Melbourne doesn't have a lot of choice, and hopefully more cruise lines decide to make Melbourne it's home port. Read Less

We selected this cruise as there was a Special pricing: Nearly 50% off!! So that being said " You do get What You Paid for " Cabin-Balcony was ok but the Balcony itself was rusty and not in the best condition. Our Dining service waiters-Second Sitting were excellent. Interacted with the guests and made dining a fun time. Me( male) and 6 ladies. 4 had never cruised before so to them it was great. Food was quite good considering the number of people being fed. We bypassed Akaroa due to weather conditions according to the captain. Akaroa you disembark via Tenders. However there was small rumour, not verified, that the reason for bypassing Akaroa was that there was a mechanical issue(fire?) and we had to stay overnight in Port Chalmers for repairs. I guess we will not know if this is correct or not. Entertainment: Showtime dancers, costumes and setting were excellent-to a degree!! Given that 60% of the guests were possibly 60 upwards shows were loud and very heavy. If there had been at least one show catering to nice , easy to listen to music it would have been a bonus. Trivia was the main focus during sea time but after doing Trivia 3 times enough is enough. Overall if you can get a discounted costing on Legend and are happy with a No Frills environment then this ship may be for you. However as we have been on Princess 4 times and Holland America 3 I would not go back to Carnival. Read Less

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I was one of a party of 16 experienced cruisers aged in the 50's and 60's who had come together to celebrate a 60th birthday. We had a fantastic cruise despite being on Carnival Legend. None of us were expecting a 5 star cruise when we boarded but we didn't expect what we got! First off the good things:- 1. The omelettes in the buffet were very good. 2. They used fresh milk (not UHT) throughout the cruise. 3. Our cabin steward was good. Now for the not so good things:- 1. What did they have in mind when they designed the decor of the public spaces, it is horrid. The theme is dark brown woodwork with gold filigree accents and grey amphoras.. The brown makes it dark and dull and the amphoras of varying sizes are decorations, table supports, staircase and railing balusters. Whilst standing in the main lobby area waiting to disembark at Dunedin I counted over 300 amphoras. The accommodation passageways are not so bad but there is still lots of brown and bronze. Cabin decor is OK. 2. The food in the MDR was mediocre at best and to compound the problem it was never served hot, warm was the best. Lunch or dinner was the same. What didn't help either was the wait staff were pretty hopeless (bar one). We were on two tables of 8 per table and the food and drink orders were continually mixed up on the tables and between the tables. Having come off a RCL cruise a couple of months ago the contrast was stark. 3.The food in the buffet was just as bad and the organization was pretty hopeless. On this cruise full of Australians, operating out of an Australian port during an Australian deployment if anyone wanted Vegemite it had to be requested from the servery staff. Most of the time at breakfast the toasters toasted only one side of the bread and the buffet appeared to be short staffed. For the evening meal they would gradually close down the serveries around 8.00pm and shut the whole thing down before 9.00pm leaving the pizza bar the only option to get some food. 4.Alcoholic drinks are expensive and the selection is poor.Stick to canned or bottled beer if you want a bit of life in it, the draught beer was usually cool and flat as a tack. Beers $8-9 , Cocktails $13 and Spirits around $10 and they have the hide to charge another $1.25 if you want a mixer with it. For the budget conscious they will give a $2 discount if one buys a bucket of 4 beers, a whopping 6% discount. 5. The staff seem disinterested and disengaged and there never appeared to be enough people about. 6. Early on before the cruise I tried to book an excursion on the Taieri Gorge Railway on the Carnival website but there was nothing listed so I did it privately direcy with the railway. We ended up booking a shuttle into town, a hop on hop off bus tour of Dunedin, the afternoon Gorge Railway trip and then a shuttle back to the ship. Cost was $NZ140 or about $AU130. The ship did eventually have an excursion which was the Gorge Railway picked up at Port Chalmers and the railway back to Port Chalmers. Cost was $AU230. That's a $100 booking fee by the ship. 7. The big slide developed a fault halfway through the cruise and couldn't be used and won't be fixed for another couple of months because parts, and approval to fix I suppose, have to come from the USA. Stiff cheddar for future cruisers. One of our group who has done a few Carnival cruises said it was by far the worst he had been on and usually the product is OK. A few of us said it was like a Tiger or Jetstar cruise where one continually has the hand in the pocket. I think it might be a cunning plan by Carnival Corporation to make P&O Australia look good. Like the Mastercard ad:- Cost of the cruse? Cheap Amount of Fun? Heaps Cruise with Carnival again? You'r Joking Read Less

It was ex Melbourne and was advertised heavily as the inaugural cruise. The ships is so tardy, so old and weathered. No maintenance done at all. Our suite was vibrating non stop impossible to sleep. When reported nothing was done. This was the same results every time we needed guest services, no one cared about anything. Terrible attitude. Most passengers were so drunk and alcohol was never restricted at all, so very rowdy, dangerous and scary all of the time. Forget having a quite dinner, impossible as drunks everywhere. When we asked the staff to stop serving alcohol we got nowhere. So much for their so called zero tolerance policy, a total lie. Management should all be fired. No communication from the bridge, even when long delays where happening or the ship just stopped with no explaination at all. Food was great for the first night then downhill ever since. Read Less