Let me start with this..we are Disney people, but I very much wanted to love this cruise. I was looking forward to a new line, seeing new ports, and I was psyched beyond belief. I arranged a meet and greet, decorated our door and booked port excursions with glee. As we debarked this morning, I couldn't get off that boat fast enough.
I will start with the good: Carnival's food, especially their desserts, is amazing, head and shoulders above DCL. The entertainment staff, headed by Cruise Director Steve, are awesome, and I would think that even if I hadn't won the 80's music trivia AND the Movie Music trivia.
The bad? The boat is showing it's age, and the cleaning staff could take a cue from Disney. The shelves in our bathroom were coated with dust, our stateroom appeared to have not been vacuumed in weeks, and our balcony was covered in paint that was peeling from the ceiling. I asked on Sunday for the balcony to be cleaned, and yeah, that got done on FRIDAY.
Cabin was showing wear. Nicks in the closet doors, and the drawers did not line up. Balcony was beyond nasty, paint peeling from the ceiling that made it rain paint chips when the wind blew. Major vibration in this cabin, so much so that the TV was jiggling constantly.
This is an industrial port. My son and I got off the boat just to say we had been there. Did a little shopping and the locals are friendly and not aggressive with the sales push at all.
The embarkation process is painful because the gangway was damaged.