Our cruise was cancelled and rescheduled twice due to the pandemic over a 2 year time frame, so our excitement level to be cruising again was off the charts. I am trying to reconcile my expectations with the travesty of this trip. The haphazard disorganized embarkation was exhausting and a test of my patience and once onboard the clues were all there to how the upcoming week was to go. Our cabin steward informed us he would only be attending to the cabin one a day, while not a huge deal a definite difference. There was no turned down service or mint on the pillow, again the world isn't going to fall apart without a mint just one of the little touches not done. I had not been on a Carnival ship that had the Seafood Shack and was looking forward to the fried clams, no luck there they did not have them and would not for the entirety of the cruise, which brings me to the food. The buffett food was atrocious and unless you wanted a salad or fruit was not worth the effort. The dining room which we tried twice was not much better, everything was dried out and over cooked. The only good food was at Guys Hamburgers and the Blue Iguana. The 2nd day they ran out of the ingredients to make Pina Colada's and it was virtually impossible to get waiter service poolside. We later found out the ship was almost at full capacity and they were running at half staff and it was obvious at every turn.

While this isn't Carnival's fault the ports were uninspiring and the vendors hawking bordered on harassment, it was unlike anything I have experienced at any cruise port.

I would not choose to cruise on Carnival out of Long Beach again. I will stick to the east coast departures and I hope those are not a repeat of this experience. There was not a single situation that was unbearable, except the food, just a culmination of a lot of little things that affected the overall experience.