This was a Bare Necessities cruise, which, from our past experience, has an extremely friendly passenger base and very-well coordinated activities. This cruise was a disappointment, mainly due the apathetic service and really iffy food from Carnival. Compared to the Celebrity Constellation's cruise in 2016, this cruise was simply sub-par. I'm not one to send food back, but I did so at the sit-down dinner 3 times. These 'sit-down' dinners are supposed to highlight the chef's talents, but the (limited) buffet options were actually better.
The staff ranged from excellent to snarky. Instead of seating us with other passengers at dinner, we were told to "sit wherever you like", which diminished meeting folks (quite a highlight on the Celebrity).
Everyone we did meet agreed that this cruise was simply not up to standards, especially when comparing it to last year. Carnival is know as the "fun ship", not for quality ~ and I'd have to agree that Carnival is the 'Wal-Mart' of the cruise line, 'tho it's not any less expensive.
Ybor City is fun on a weekend, but not much to do on weekends. Tampa is not a very pretty city.
We rented bikes and enjoyed touring the VERY touristy city this way. It's a fun port, but very commercial.
Carnival's own little 'Wal-Mart'. Don't spend any time here; go see the real city.
Get away from the commercial ship's area and go see the town! We rented bikes and had a fabulous time among the locals.