We have been sailing with Carnival since 1989 and this cruise was so disappointing that we are now looking at changing to another cruise line. We have always loved Carnival and been vocal supporters of the line and experience. However our last sailing on the Carnival Triumph in January, 2016 has changed that.
Despite her history, the Triumph was clean and well kept. We boarded her using our Platinum benefits and FTTF for our daughters. We sailed through the embarkation process. We hit the Lido deck for lunch and that was our first experience with the sad, terrible food. The hubs hit Guy's Burgers. There was so much of the seasoning on the fries that you could not eat them and no seasoning on the burger. Oldest daughter is a huge fan of the pizza but was disappointed to find Carnival has changed to a thin crust pizza that is overtaken by grease. Chopsticks was OK but they were giving tiny portions. The baked desserts were still frozen.
We ate in the MDR every night for dinner. The food selections on the American Table menu are not good. My young adult daughters compared it to school food. Hubs said it was like eating cafeteria food. Bland, cold and limp. I have to agree. Even the family favorite Warm Chocolate Melting Cake was a bummer. The maitre'd asked us to give "love" (extra tips) to our wait staff since they were each serving more than 30 guests. I guess that is why our waiters just took our orders and scurried away. We have so enjoyed our dining experiences in the past. This was just mediocre at best.
The bathroom door would not stay shut. The cabin door would not open. Lights needed to be replaced.
Best part of the trip! We have never booked an excursion outside of Carnival until this trip. Food and service were top notch! I wish the entire trip would have been as good as Mr. Sancho's!
New staggered check in process is in full force. Many guests arriving ahead of their check in times were forced to wait outside in the cold. We had priority boarding so it did not impact us. FTTF was worth the cost for our daughters to board with us.