I received an email advertising a really good price for a 7 day South Pacific cruise and jumped in

I have traveled on Princess and Royal Caribbean and was keen to compare

One very important item when boarding, ensure you have a hard copy or screen shot of your insurance certificate that clearly shows you are covered for Covid and cruising 

My document stated international Covid cover but did not mention cruising 

Without cruise endorsements you will not be allowed to board, many people including me neede to take out a policy on the spot to show the officials, this ship leaves on Sunday and my insurance company was closed so I could not call ever though I did te;;them I neede a cruise and Covid policy 

The ship has recently been refurbished and looks lovely, still very Italian with lots of brass and marble everywhere 

First impressions are real luxury fitoit, a huge casino and retail space and lovely glass fronted lifts that access 9 decks

We had a balcony at it was quite roomy, larger than the Caribbean and similar to Princess 

The cabins were always clean and well maintained though our cabin staff were virtually invisible and did not speak very good English, efficient but not very welcoming or personable but hey, he did the job 

Dining was excellent every night in the enormous 2 story dining room - a real four star experience for an entry level cruise 

We just booked every night for my time dining on the app and rarely waited longer than 15 minutes 

A similar menu is available in the buffet on deck 9 but fine dining is wonderful and also portion controlled as it too easy too over eat cruises.00 showtime 

Entertainment in the theatre was great, different shows every night and a great comedy lounge on deck 3 with a PG and adults version later with no holds barred 

The luminosa house band were fantastic with a great jazz rock combo 

Even night was party night and catered for most ages

This ship caters for families and adults who like lots of activities and is a good all rounder 

Princess catered mainly for a more senior audience with more moderate activities and entertainment 

Carribean focussed more on kids and slides so being in 40-60 age group makes this a good fit every need

The drinks package is expensive, over $100 compared to $65 on princess so unless you have more than 6 cocktails or 12 beers a day it’s not really worth it

Internet is also pretty pricey too but we paid less than $100 a day for a balcony four star restaurants waiters for your every need and 7 days touring a tropical paradise so that is very very good value.

Carnival Luminosa Review

A great all rounder

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Find a Carnival Luminosa Cruise from $587