This was my first cruise. I do have to say the embarkation and disembarkation went smoothly. All the crew/staff members were extremely helpful and nice. My Stateroom Steward was Sebastian. Sebastian was very helpful, caring, kind and hardworking! I did encounter a couple of issues, my bedding had some stains on them and our sink was plugged up. I reported my issue to Sebastian and he had the issue resolved in a blink of an eye. I do have to say I was not impressed with the pool area- The pool appeared green and about 300 people in it at one time. There is an adult (21+) area that had two jacuzzies and gave me the same feeling as if the water was dirty. So I did not go swimming in the pool areas at all. As for the food, everything was GREAT! I felt that the menu accommodated to all people. The shore excursion we chose to do was the ATV. Our tour guide was Diego. Diego was funny, knowledgable, friendly which made for a fun and entertaining ride. TWO THUMBS up for Diego and his crew! One thing that I did not like about the ATV was the route/course that Carnivals promotes on the website, is not the actual course you will be riding through. Carnival needs to update the website cause that is false advertisement. Read Less

Excellent 7 day itinerary, loved this ship and staff and especially our ocean view room. Very quiet and peaceful. Skip the excursions booked on board, much better value in port (Same tour half price) Camp Ocean is Amazing, they took wonderful care of our kids, made it seamless, and were super chill (not too many unnecessary rules) CABO: Had a beach day in Cabo, walked to Cannery Beach (Playa Empacadora) rented an umbrella for the day for $6 (they were asking $10). MAZLATAN: Took the 3hr city tour that you can book from the terminal, $30US and kids were free! PUERTO VALLARTA: Took our 4yr old on the "Dolphin experience and sea lion kiss" tour, it was perfect! The brochure had a min height requirement of 4'5" so we didnt book, but the Vallarta Adventures people had a booth on the dock and we asked and they said he was fine, so booked it from the dock. Included lunch but it was pretty average. Tour was awesome, I paid $46 to be an "Observer", but they yelled at me not to take a photo at the sea lion kiss (i did anyway, I'd paid almost $50 to be there!). BEHIND THE SCENE TOUR: Available on the last sea day, you can go on a 3hr behind the scenes ship tour, only 32 spots available, so book early, hightly recomend it if your interested in seeing what most passengers dont. $96 and you get to visit the bridge, engine control room, galley, back stage of the show, etc. Read Less

We chose this cruise because of the close proximity to Long Beach. Plus it was my birthday and did not have to fly anywhere. I read a previous review about calling the cruise a Wal-Mart cruise. It was every bit of that review and more. The ship was over run with young screaming kids. One fellow passenger asked a father of a screaming child to control the child. The father wanted to fight this passenger an elderly man. We sat in the dining room and after a party had left the table the personnel sorted through the silverware that looked unused and reset the table. Even the same coffee cups! At the formal dinner the place setting only had one fork. No salad fork. On other cruise lines there were several more utensils for appropriate usage. Last evening we sat in the buffet area and the bussing staff was no where to be found. Counted 12 plus tables with dishes that had not been cleared off for over 30 minutes. The dress code was not enforced at the main dining room.. People in shorts tank tops and hats on backwards. Stayed in a suite that had an outdoor balcony. The room was spacious and clean. The run frog bar has an amazing knowledgeable bar tender by the name of Spartan. He is the best ! The crew was friendly throughout the ship. The crew director, Savannah is totally annoying with her barrage of annoucements. she finishes each announcement with , "Say bye!" That has to go! 4 days is long enough. I guess if you advertise a low price you get what you get. Next time will be an adults only cruise! Read Less

This wasn’t our first cruise experience, but will for sure become the last on Carnival Imagination. The stinkiest ship ever. The nauseating blend of urine, bleach, old furniture, filthy carpets was so horrendous that I had to hold my breath when we first stepped on board. I should have left right then. We stayed on deck 7, right by the guest services. The room and bathroom were so stinky that I poured half a bottle of my perfume just to tolerate it. The filth and dirt are everywhere. The dirty baseboards, the stains on the carpets, dust and dirt in the buffet area was so bad that I would rather skip a meal that experience it. We were traveling with a toddler and it was a challenge for me to let him run freely - he would pick up trash, dirt, dust. In addition, in 4 days they didn’t change our bed a single time. We were provided with pillowcases with stains and I noticed them again on the last day packing. I felt so sorry for the crew and staff members who work on this ship. They are doing their best to provide great customer service. Benjamin and Jacki are always fun and cheerful. Kuddos to them! The choice of food in the buffet was very limited and mostly unhealthy. The dining menu was rather simple; there was not a single meal that I would say was exceptional. It was ok, mediocre, average. In fact, on the last day of cruising I got a severe food poisoning from a burrito that I had for lunch from the buffet. I spent all night vomiting and was so happy that this “vacation” was over. Never again I would go on Imagination. This ship should go for a full renovation because it is unacceptable for a company to treat their clients with such accommodation. Read Less

We went as a group of nine people. We enjoyed the Fun on the Sea and the tours at Cabo, Mazatlan, and Pto. Vallarta. The ship crew were very courteous, kind, and the service was Excellent. We were assigned in Deck 8414. I love the cute surprises Dennis created using a white towel. The cabin is always kept clean and sheets & towels always changed . . David (Peru) and his team served us during dinner at the Gold Pearl Upper. I loved that he remembers our names and call us by our first name. He remembers what drinks and dessert we love. I rate the team 11/10. . . The embarkation and disembarkation were done smoothly. . . I love the Entertainment and Activities. . . The excursion we chose at Cabo was Parasailing. I rate this FIVE STAR. We felt like we were celebrities and the three crew gave us their Excellent Customer Service. . .Yes, I will go again. Read Less

As an experienced travel agent I had not sailed with Carnival since 1989. We decided to try again, much to our dismay. There was nothing except the steak house to commend this cruise. The dining service was in some cases energetic but without adequate training poorly provided. The food was of poor quality. The music sources all had bass turned up so much above the rest of the music that all one could here was THUMP, THUMP, THUMP. The thumping was often heard a full deck beyond the source. Every venue was very cold, 67 degrees by actual measurement. The late evening entertainment provided by stand up comedians was ok but for the gratuitous foul language forced into the acts. There were as expected many children and teenagers. Unfortunately, many were using the corridors as a raceway throughout the day and into the late night. Loud conversations were often conducted up and down the halls without regard to time of day or night and thus often making sleeping difficult. The steak provided the only positive of the cruise. good food, well prepared and served pleasantly. Read Less

This was for my son and I to spend some time together before he spends all his time with his friends. We had a good time and enjoyed the cruise and time together. Embarkation was very fast and easy. Arrived at 11:15 for a 11:30-12 boarding time, and were on board by 11:30. Food at buffet was fair, the MDR was very good. We did breakfast in the MDR as well for better food. We were disappointed with the music, heard the macarena 3 times and YMCA 4 times. Felt like a bad wedding reception. Personally, would have liked to hear more classic rock, only 2 hours dedicated to it the entire week. Good thing I brought my ear buds! Service was great everywhere, whether it was the room stewards, MDR, "bus boys", even the "lifeguard" by the pool. Lots of entertainment, from ping pong, chess, board games, trivia, mini golf, etc. They need a lot more chairs by the main pool for movie time. We didn't get off for excursions, but that's what we wanted, to have the pool to ourselves and just relax. Had a great group of table mates for dinner and met up with a very nice family from Cruise critic on day 1. Disembarkation was very slow, but organized. The ship is ok, but a little warn (they were replacing a lot of carpeting in rooms as the week went on). The 4th and 5th decks have a MDR right in the middle of the ship, so navigating for to aft was interesting (can't always pass through). It was fun and great to laugh and relax with my son, but unspectacular and average. The only real negatives would be the amount of drunks and rude people. I know, it's the "fun" ship. The value in relation to cost is great, but I think I need to try another cruise line to see. This ship still doesn't have the pixels program to view your photos from your phone. I can never find the photos of myself in all the mess of photos. Read Less

My family and I went for the first time on a cruise. We didn’t really know what to expect, but we have heard it’s a lot of fun!! So this is how we decided to spend my mom’s birthday. We booked a cruise with Carnival Imagination! It was what we had expected and much more!! My family and I had a wonderful time! We felt welcomed from the first step we took on the ship. The entertainment program and the crew was fantastic! The cruise Director, Benjamin, (which by the way I will miss waking up to his “Gooood morning, ladies and gentlemen”) and Jackie were great! We enjoyed the shows throughout the day, as well as the evening program. So many things to do!! The dancing and singing was amazing, I truly felt like I was watching a show in Vegas. The entire crew had so much energy, enthusiasm, and happiness like it was the first time performing the show!! I do remember Ryan’s name because he celebrated his birthday the same day as my mom’s, but the entire crew was awesome!! The comedy show with Benjamin, Geoff and Michael was great!! We laughed so hard!! The host, CJ was very funny too!! The food and desserts on the buffet were very good, many different options to choose from. We were assigned to the Pride restaurant for dinner, where we had the great pleasure to meet Srdan. He was our waiter the first evening. He was very professional and also pleasant to talk to. Although we didn’t get served by him again throughout our cruise, he made sure he came to say hi every time he saw us dine. He went out of his way one morning, making us two lattes, when we asked for regular coffee, even though it wasn’t his section to cover. I also remember Dwi, Rody, and Wahyudi, our service team the second evening. The hostesses, Dragana and Martina were extremely nice too. Although they were there morning and evening, every day, working lots of hours a day, they were always welcoming us with a smile on their face. Viktor, our housekeeping member, was awesome too! Always making conversation with us, asking us how our day went, or what are our plans for the day. Every evening we came back to a clean and organized room, with cool towel faces welcoming us “home”! We know how many hours you guys work every day and my family and I would like to Thank Carnival Imagination and the entire crew for keeping us safe, your hard work and dedication, for offering us a wonderful vacation and making us feel special every day! See you soon!!! Read Less

We chose this cruise (4 day to Catalina & Ensenada) because we wanted an affordable, fairly short cruise. We had a great time and loved our cabin. The crew was amazing. They were always professional and friendly. We loved our cabin steward Arnold who even fixed a squeaky door for us. Our waiters, John and Samdani were the best! The comedians and musical shows were top notch. We loved the Buffet - always good food and good service. Food in the dining room - not so good. The Caesar salad dressing had no flavor at all and the fish was terrible. From other cruises, the dining room is usually the best, so I was disappointed in the quality this time. My biggest concern was the on board bathrooms. They were consistently dirty. Not one was being cleaned on a frequent enough basis. I even saw toilet paper on the carpets outside the bathrooms. Service on some of the decks by the buffet wasn't so great. We were on the back deck and observed every table had dirty dishes/food/glasses on them and it took about 20 minutes for someone to clear them up. Then it took another 20 minutes for the same guy to come back to clean them, but he did a lousy job. He didn't use any type of spray/cleaner and on a few tables, only cleaned half the table. The other big concern - the elevators. My daughter got stuck in one and had to pry the doors open to get out. They were constantly broken. There were lots of Trivia & other games, but the prizes are tempting enough to make me want to participate. Maybe offer the winners a free drink or something, not just a plastic ship on a stick. They really need to offer more activities for the 18-20 year old crowd. I don't know if I will cruise with Carnival again. Read Less

This cruise was an award to employees of my wife's healthcare facility. I had to pay my own way... We don't have any frame of reference. As a man, I know this may sound strange but I don't like large, tight crowds or high stress/high anxiety situations. Initially, I was kind of reluctant about going on a cruise and having to deal with wall-to-wall people. We drove to Long Beach from Phoenix and spent the night on the Queen Mary. As a first time cruiser, I thought it would be more stressful than bording an airplane. It wasn't! We got to the terminal early, they had a convienient parking garage nearby. We walked over to the exit of the parking garage and there was a gentleman collecting luggage for the cruise. I had pre-printed my luggage tags and attached them so I just left my bags with him! Easy peasy! We hung out in the sparse terminal for about 30-45 minutes. They started bording early, (we were in the 1:00-1:30 bording group) and we borded around 11:30. We relaxed until our bording group was called and we went up the ramp and borded the ship. Again, low stress! We borded the ship, were directed to the Lido deck for lunch and only had to kill time until our room would be ready at 1:30. We grabbed lunch, a drink and explored the ship. When we got to our room, our ID cards were tucked in behind our room # badge. We grabbed them, stuck it in the door and it opened. All we needed was luggage. I had noticed luggage carts near one of the elevators on our floor so I went down there and found our luggage, (they would have brought it to our room but we wanted our bathing suits!). From there on, it was smooth sailing! (No pun intended). We didn't have any expectations since we'd never been on a cruise but, I have to say, it was a riot! The party in the atrium every night was a lot of fun! I enjoyed seeing so many people having fun together. We saw a 70's and 80's show, a Motown show, two atrium parties, had an nice dinner, went to a, "Tase of Mexico" excursion in Ensenata to learn a couple of Mexican culinary staples as well as some tequila! (Margarita's while making food then 6 shots of tequila when learning about tequila). There were other excursions but we live near Mexico and the the towns don't vary much so we weren't interested in shopping. Our excursion was within walking distance of the ship so we walked back after our excursion. All in all, I only have a couple complaints. For first-time cruisers, you have to get to know the schedule for on-ship events. Also, there is a new schedule that is put out for each day of your cruise. Some are duplicates, some are different. We'll know to get a new schedule every day on our next cruise. Second, I never received any tickets to the excursion we paid for. I only had the receipt that I paid for it. They asked me for my tickets and I didn't have any! I figured they could get it off my "cruise card". No bueno. We got around it and they wrote a, "duplicate" pass but I didn't know I needed tickets. We're both 60-ish and like to relax in a kid-free environment. Don't get me wrong; we knew there would be kids on the cruise. They have an, "adult" area with two small hot tubs and a bunch of lounge chairs. That's fine. Except, they NEED MORE hot tubs and chairs! The chairs were always full and so were the hot tubs. This adult retreat needs to be bigger. On the Lindo deck, the hot tubs were always full of kids, surlely pissing them. I also thought the pool was quite small considering the ship holds 2000 people. These are minor complaints... Lastly, my wife and I like comedy shows. They had comedy shows every night. The problem was, the early shows, (9:30) were PG rated to accomodate kids! We would have to wait until at least 10:30 or later to see the adult shows. I think, if you have adult comedy, they shouldn't' have to dumb down their act to accomodate kids under 12. Give them their own show in a different room with, oh I don't know, Mickey Mouse telling Minnie Mouse jokes. What I'm saying is, when you're 60 and get up for work everyday at 3:45 AM, trying to stay up until 10:30 to accomodate children is not what I've worked for, for 45 years! I'm still giving the Inspiration 4 stars overall. We've already booked an October cruise, hoping there will be fewer kids.The whole experience was fun, enlightening, easy and memorable! Read Less

Overall, my family and I had a great time on the cruise and are discussing about going again! Embarkation: Getting to the cruise terminal was a mess, there was a long line of cars dropping off cruisers. There were even some picking up cruisers who had just gotten off. It took about 20 minutes to get from where you pick up the parking pass to where the drop off location is. Once we got there we realized it was because all of the cars were stopping at the front but if they were to drive more down there would be much less traffic. As we were getting off the car there were workers helping us to get our bags and they took them and said they would be dropped off at our room later, so we wouldn’t have to carry them around with us. The process after getting off was really fast, we were on the boat in under 20 minutes. We had lunch on the lido deck and it was hard to find somewhere to sit. We all ate hamburgers which were pretty good given they weren’t Guys Hamburger Joint. After getting our rooms our luggage came within 30 minutes. We were on the 1st floor, Rivera and since they were using the elevator for luggage it was tiring to go back up to the lido deck on stairs. Afterwards we wandered the ship until the mandatory safety briefing which was quite boring and crammed but important in case there to be an incident where we need to abandon ship. I would suggest giving yourself extra time to get there as there really was a lot of traffic to get into the parking lot regardless if you were parking or getting dropped off. My family took 3 12 packs of soda to drink whilst cruising as you cannot take plastic bottles on. We purchased a 12 pack of water from carnival and it was delivered to our room. We put everything in the little fridge once we got the chance to. Sea Day: There was plenty to do from going to the pools, the water slide, the hot tubs, to a variety of activities with Lee the cruise director. My family and I had brought some cards so we could play. The shows that they provided were really great and enjoyable for the entire family, in particular my 4 year old cousin loved them so much that I took him to both showings. I highly recommend attending those. Dinner: Dinner was always great and the staff were really attentive and tried their best to learn our names and our preferences at dinner, I.e. I always ordered a Caesar salad so he Kadek took note and already knew that was my appetizer. The best dessert that everyone has to get is the carnival melting chocolate cake. It truly is amazing and it’s what my family and I each and for dessert every single night. Even my 12 year old cousin who was supper picky about food and uninterested in trying new dinner items would attend just to get a baked potato and the carnival chocolate melting cake. The steak and the prime rib were really good and my mother really enjoyed the ribs as well as the lobster and giant shrimp for the elegant dinner. An important thing to note for getting to Dinner. You cannot walk across deck 3 or 4 and depending on where you are on the boat, you can get easily lost trying to get to your dining room. We at dinner at the gold pearl, towards the back of the boat, and we found it best to go to the 5th floor and then walk across towards the back near the piano bar and the lounge where the comedy shows take place and from there take either the stairs or elevator down. Food: There are many different choices to eat for lunch as well as late night. The burgers and fries at the grill by the main pool were always good. The 24hr pizza honestly wasn’t the best and it’s because the sauce was almost sweet. The best way to order pizza for us was to order it without the sauce although the chef gave us a weird look every time that we ordered it. The Mongolian wok always had a long line, I made the mistake of ordering the medium sauce which was like a green salsa and it ruined my entire dish. I’m not too sure how it tastes with the mild or the spicy sauce. The spicy sauce looked good on others plates though. I never really ate at the chefs choice but every day it was different. Then in the back by an adult pool there is an Indian place that I unfortunately didn’t get to try, and the deli. The deli was great, they have the best grilled cheese that I think everyone needs to go have of they are aboard this boat. Then upstairs is the BBQ place that much of my family enjoyed. The coffee was not the best as they do not provide creamer, so if you’re a coffee lover be sure to take our own creamer or you’ll find yourself purchasing coffee from the coffee shop on the 5th deck. They also had sushi for purchase, we got the tempura rolls and they were great, granted it was my first time having sushi and nothing to compare it to. The best place to sit down and eat at breakfast or lunch was upstairs by the BBQ because it was always empty and you could always find a place to sit. This worked for my family because we were such a big group of 11. Cabo San Lucas: First thing to note is that there is no port to get off the boat at Cabo. The way that you get off the boat is by taking a water shuttle. There are 3 different ways that you can get on the shuttle; the first is by booking an excursion through carnival, you will be on the firsts shuttles out in order to get to your excursion on time; the second is by waiting in line the day prior to get passes, after the excursion people are off they call pass numbers, once yours is called you’re able to get on a shuttle the smaller the number the earlier you can get off; the last is simply waiting until the shuttles are open, about 3 hours later. My family and I got the passes the day before on deck 5, there was a long line and wait to get them, you only need one person to go down to get them for the entire group. They are on a board and are almost like business card style and you grab what you want then go. When our number was called we went down to deck 0 and gave our passes (which they didn’t even look at our count) and we were able to get off. Once we got to the land we knew that we wanted to go to the beach and were trying to find a way to get there. Apparently you have to take a water taxi a short distance unless you want to drive or walk for 2 hours. I don’t know how true that is but we took the water taxi and honestly were upset on how short a distance it took us. After paying the taxi driver, when we got off we had to pay another fee to get off the boat. It didn’t make sense to me, I guess because we used the small port and that was the port fees. I don’t know. Anyways we walked to the beach. After walking on the sand there were things that looked like ice. Turns out they are Jelly Fish, so be careful where you step. They are dead so my cousin touched them and they didn’t sting but you could still possibly get side effects later. If you plan on eating at one of the restaurants on the beach I suggest just taking Uber (it works in Mexico) because the walk was wayyyy too long and that’s what my cousins used to get back to where you get on the water shuttles. Everything is expensive there so be careful on where you go unless you don’t mind spending money. The water and the beach were so beautiful and breath taking that I believe it’s something that everyone should experience in their life. The cruise ship passes the famous arch so get out there early to get some good pictures. It is extremely humid in the summer time. Mazatlán: After the tiring day at Cabo we all decided that we did not want to go to the beach, instead we wanted to go have tacos. When you first get off it is a little under whelming as there are crates and such, you take a little shuttle, like the ones at Disneyland but much smaller, to get out of there and into the city. We negotiated with a van driver who promised to take us to a really good taco place and off we went. He dropped us off and told us that he would be back in an hour and a half to pick us up. The tacos were actually pretty good and down the same street there was a Thrifty’s ice cream shop that we went to go eat at. He was right on time to pick us up and took us back to the port. Right across there was an Oxo, which is Mexico’s 711 we stopped there to buy some chips and drinks, this time they let you bring on plastic bottles. Puerto Vallarta: This was where my family and I had the best experience, My cousin’s dad come from Manzanillo to come see her. We got off the boat as soon as we ate breakfast and again bargained with a vender to take us to a beach that wasn’t crowded. On the way going to the beach we saw many restaurants and places that we recognized from the states, there’s a Walmart right when you get off the boat, but I’ll talk more about that later. We saw dominos, outback, Starbucks, Sam’s Club, and even a Macy’s. If you’re tired of the food from the ship and want something more from home, Puerto Vallarta will be the stop for you. I’m not too sure what beach it was that he took us but there were many little shops and restaurants. We were able to rent lounge chairs and umbrellas through a restaurant and we didn’t have to eat there. The ocean has very many rocks for if you aren’t wearing water shoes you can’t go in very far without hurting your feet. We mainly just relaxed and talked. My brother and 2 of my cousins went parasailing, and they said that they had a great time. It was $100 for the 3 of them, after negotiating. From $45 per person. We were ready to go to the boat earlier than what we had told the driver, we called him and he was there in about 30 minutes. Before we got back on the boat my mom, brother, and I decided that we wanted to stop at Walmart to buy some souvenirs and again more chips and soda. The Walmart was very big and had plenty of souvenirs to choose from for a low price. I highly recommend checking it out to get a feel for everything they have that you can’t get in the states. Again it was really hot and humid, just like Cabo and Mazatlán. Debarkation: There are two options on what to do with luggage, you can either carry it out yourself, and get off faster. Or you can have them take it off for you and get out later. You have to leave your luggage outside your door the night before. We choose to carry it off ourselves. We had to be out of our rooms at 8:30 so the only places to wait were on deck 5 or deck 9. It was honestly so crammed there was nowhere to sit on deck 5 that we just sat at the slot machines in the casino. When our deck number was called for debarkation. The elevators were so crammed because you could only use the front elevators. We went down the stairs with our luggage, only 2 floors. It was indeed crammed and hard to get in. once you push through past the elevators there is plenty of room. After we got off the boat it was only about 20 minutes until we were out of the cruise terminal. However, there was some festival going on that day, the LBC festival so because of that we had to wait an hour before we were able to get picked up because of all the traffic going in to the terminal. Again people were waiting at the front to get dropped off and picked up, if only some went further down it would go by a lot faster. Read Less

This was a 3 day cruise that departed Thursday and returned Sunday. This is my 3rd cruise. The first two were on Celebrity ships in the Caribbean. This cruise did not match up anywhere near the same quality as my first two cruises. The food quality was fair. The quality was somewhere between fast food and a Denny's or IHop. There was only pizza and ice cream available in the mid afternoon and late evenings. The entertainment was good though and always on time. The ship was smaller, the rooms were smaller and it was crowded. The passengers were about 40% families with minors, 50% adults between ages of 30 and 50 and the rest were seniors. I don't think I would do this cruise again. I was spoiled on my other cruises which had some of the best food I ever ate. I paid $1,470 for an interior room for 4 people. On line app to text was $5 per person, The after cruise mandatory tip was $42 per person. Drinks were $7.62 for a beer and about $10 for a mixed drink ( tips and tax included ). Read Less

For a family of 7 it was the right price. Boarding was easy and quick. We were able to grab a seat by the pool, take a dip in the pool and made our way to the wonderful buffet. The kids (4 of them) favorite part was of course the ice cream. My mom and sister's favorite part was getting coffee delivered to the rooms. The only downside was the kids zone for ages 13-14 was always closed. the other two age groups would be open. Both of our shore trips were great. We took the glass boat tour in Catalina and the Gold Coast Tour in Ensenada. We came along the devils home right outside of La Fonda where we stopped to take a stroll on the beach, get a free drink and eat some great chips and salsa. My mom is a huge Steven King fan so she enjoyed getting a closer look at the creepy home. Our tour guide was great. Our dinner staff was great and the entertainment was great. Wish they would extend the time for family kaorake and comedy shows. they were kind of short. It was kind of hard to enjoy the over 21 hot tubs when the 13-14 year club was closed so we had to be surrounded by the teenagers who invaded the hot tubs on the Lido deck vice enjoying their club that was open..... The food was awesome. everyone tried something new..... From alligator fritters, braised rabbit and frog legs. Plus the endless seafood on the menu. The only true bad thing about the cruise the pricing of the pictures. it was insane how expensive they were. Other cruises offer a great bulk pricing but Carnival doesn't. Spent over 150 for 10 pictures and left a lot of great pictures on the wall. But overall it was a awesome cruise. Thank you for a great time. Read Less

There was 5 of us. Two adults, two kids, and grandma. Everyone had a fantastic time. We purchased Faster to the Fun (FTTF). Worth every penny, especially for the tendering priority at Cabo. We were in the first group on embark, had immediate access to our cabins, dropped our luggage, and were on the Lido by 11:30. From then on our was one pleasant surprise after another. We found the food to be very good, and the choices plentiful. We ate breakfast or sea day brunch and dinner in the MDR every day. Our waitstaff was outstanding. Quickly learned or preferences and had a second shrimp cocktail on standby for the 14 yo. Our steward did a great job. Room and bath were always clean, beds made. He knew we went through lots of towels and we never ran out. Best thing is that 98% of the staff seemed genuinely happy and interested in making sure you're were having a great time. DW and I did the Chef's Table. I don't want to tell how good it was... But, it was an amazing experience. One of the most memorable meals of our life. Anthony, the Splendor's Soux Chef spent 2.5 hours with our small group of 15. Described every component of every course (11 in all). Educated us about the techniques and chemistry of the food preparation. He made it a truly amazing evening! Entertainment on the ship began and ended with Lee our indefatigable cruise director. There was so much to do! You've got to let go of you FOMO on this cruise. Great music throughout the ship. We enjoyed the various trivia contests, loved the comedy shows (both the family friendly... But especially the adult ones later in the evening... OMGosh!) One of the highlights for me was spending alone time with my 14 yo watching the "dive-in" movies. It was such great bonding time. There were a number of times (other than at meals) that I actually saw him NOT starting at his phone. Dad for the win!! Ok... That's it for this little novel. We all had a great time. Jo Bob says check it out! Read Less

This was our second trip this year on the Carnival Splendor and we were very happy with the number and quality of live music venues and performances, the food in both the restaurants and the buffet, and the service throughout. For live music they played a lot of classic rock as well as quite a bit from the 1980's and 1990's. We are not big fans of Latin Jazz, but if you are into that, they did feature quite a bit of that too. Unlike our Hawaii trip in January, the internet worked quite well throughout his entire cruise. It wasn't perfect but it worked as well as most of my other cruises. We'll be taking one more trip on the Carnival this year in October, the Transpacific from Long Beach to Singapore. We are looking forward to our return to this ship and spending 24 days on it. If we didn't love it so much we would not be willing to spend 24 days on, especially with very few port stops on that cruise. Read Less

This review is mostly about the food the first couple days because that and my family is my true passion (and the Yankees lol) This was the 4th cruise my parents have taken my family and my brothers family on. We were 10 strong. Embarkation was the easiest we have ever had. The long beach port was great. We arrived early around 11:30am from our drive from Phoenix in case we had any problems. We had trouble parking because the parking garage was not yet open because the spots were all taken by the cruise returning. They wanted to give me a flyer to park off site and take a shuttle back. I was not cool with that since we specifically came early to avoid that. I drove back around to drop off the luggage and family and asked the porter for advice. He said he thinks the lot would be opening up in a few minutes and to drive around a little and try again. By the time we unloaded the bags it was 5 till noon and I was able to take the curve to the left of the parking garage into the entrance to park. There were still very few spots but my brother and I both got spots. After that it was a short wait to get to security where they briefly checked identification and the kids birth certificates. Then they directed us to the open bag check x-ray person and in less than 20 minutes we were through security. We were on board in less than 30 minutes from the time we parked! Took the tips of other reviewers to go to to deck 10 to the BBQ. They were right! It was almost empty up there and paradise for myself who is not fond of crowds. We were a party of 10 and got 2 big tables which was great because we had all our carry on bags. Tried the BBQ beef that was the only food on deck 10 with some Kansas city Guy Fieri sauce. It was wonderfull. Very tender like it came out of a crockpot. (Tried it again a few days later and was inedible so you results may vary, but the pork was very good) Then we headed downstairs to the buffet. Went to the burrito station and had them make me a shrimp, rice, and bean burrito. My little 8 yr old Ryan asked for chicken and cheese and the guy was like that's it? They had tons of addins but he's a picky eater. We headed back upstairs to the rest of our family. Halfway up I turned to Ryan and said do you want me take your tray? I thought it might be too hard for him to navigate the stairs with his food. He said no and we continued our ascent. After passing the top step I turned around to see a proud look on Ryan's face that he cleared the stairway, except he didn't. He tripped on the last step and his tray went flying. I wasnt sure if he was ok. He wasn't. He was crying and holding his hand. He hurt his middle finger. When I looked at it I saw that already it was bruised and looked like it was crooked so I was sure it was broken. They asked if we needed assistance and I said I think so. We ended up icing it down. Thankfully the pain improved and it was not broken. Later that night I looked at the middle finger on his uninjured hand and it was more crooked than the hurt one! He's double jointed so I guess that's why his finger looked broken to me. Eventually after catching my breath from all this and getting cake and cookies for Ryan instead of lunch I was able to have the shrimp burrito and it was very good. Would get that again. Sat sea day brunch. I had eggs Benedict with hollandaise it was very good. Ryan had 12 hour French toast that was the thickness of 5 or 6 slices of bread! It was great and came with some dried peaches that were also great. Wife had pancakes with some kind of ricotta topping that wasn't great SUN night was one of the best if not the best cruise dinners I can remember. For those who don't know you can order as much as you want in the dining room. I typically order 2 appetizers, 2 entress, and 2 desserts and usually dont finish any of them unless its really great. Ths was the first of 2 elegant night where you dress up/ I started with the Mushroom bisque. It was creamy and wonderful. My brother Paul got blackened pork tenderloin appetizer on a crust with kale and cheese. He let me try it and it was SO great I had to ask for one. By the time I got it, I was already done with dinner but still ate it because it was fabulous. Best thing I've had on the cruise. I had the lobster tail which was bigger than I thought it would be. It also came with 3 large grilled shrimp that were very good. It was served over mushroom risotto which I didn't care for. I also had the sea bass. That came well after I was done with my lobster entree and I was so full but had to try it. It was terrific! I ate the whole thing. WHAT A DINNER! The second elegant night was Thursday night and it was also excellent. I started with the crab cakes and they were the best I can remember having outside of Baltimore. Very good crab flavor. I wish I ordered 3 and just had it as my entree. I also ordered the stuffed mushrooms in a tomato cream sauce and that was also very good. For my entree I got the fillet minon, but I wasnt in love with it so ate very little of it which was good because I was already full by the time it arrived. Some other dining room foods I enjoyed were the 2 different flatbreads, The brisket, Mac and cheese with bacon, eggs benedict, Hot apple pie and baked Alaska. We didnt do any paid excursions, but instead did our own thing and it was great. Cabo San Lucas: Theres no place for the ship to dock so you have to take a tender to get off the ship. The day before they hand out tickets to get on the tender quicker. We waited in line for 30 minutes to get on the boat an hour quicker so not sure it was worth it. I would go earlier next time maybe 20 minutes before the scheduled time. We took a water taxi tour before lunch. My brother bargained the guy down from $20 per person to $15. He was really great took us all around to many places and took a ton of photos of us at the famous arch before finally dropping us off on Medano Beach. Told him to return for us in 3 hours. We walked 5 mins down the beach to Omega Sports Bar and Grill. The Office is the most popular restaurant, but I had read more than a couple reviews of people getting overcharged so I was not going there. Omega was great. They had a very large hut covered seating area so we enjoyed lunch and beers out of the sun. After lunch our kids played in the ocean while we relaxed closeby. My wife enjoyed a very tasty mango margarita. I had a couple of beers. For lunch I had the special of 2 fish tacos and a beer for $6. It also added one beef taco. They wee all very good. Ryan got pancakes which was so beautifully presented I had to take a picture. It was served along side with mango, banana, cantelope, and pineapple. Our captain was right on time picking us up. Mazatlan: This was probably my favorite port. Wish we got off the boat a little earlier because we ran a little short on time. We started by walking the blue line which was not easy to find. After you exit the port on the street look for a volunteer in a blue shirt. They will point you across the street to a side street where the blue line starts and give you a map. We took that most of the way until we broke off to go to the market. Its vendors for a square block. The prices were just so cheap it was hard to bargain. I bought really nice shot glasses for gifts that were 4 for $5. I had bought a similar one in Cabo for $4 that he was asking $5 for and refused $3. After shopping we took a large pickup truck taxi to the ferry to stone island. It was only $10 for the 10 of us and it was a 5 to 10 minute trip. We gave him $15. The ride to stone island was also very inexpensive 35 pesos a person roundtrip which is about $2. Save your ticket to return later. We walked awhile to try to find the beach and were unsuccessfull. Ended up taking another pickup truck and he only charged us 50 pesos for all of us or $2.50. We gave him 100. It was quite a ways from the ferry so i dont recommend walking. We went to Letys for lunch which was very good and right on the water. I had shrimp skewers which came with a very good dark pineapple sauce. I also asked for a shrimp dipping sauce on the side which was very good, but didnt come until I was almost done eating. The water was wonderful and warm even though it was overcast and only about 84 degrees out. Water was pretty cold in Cabo so this was a nice change. After taking the water taxi back we couldnt find a taxi large enough to take us to the cruise port and didnt want to split up so we walked. Bad idea it was a far walk. Take a taxi. Puerto Vallarta: Started our day by crossing the street and going to Walmart. Awesome souvenir section! I bought magnets, tshirts, shot glasses, picture frames, and a photo album. Ended up spending over $100, but really got a great value. Since the ship was so close and we had 12 hours in port we smartly decided go put everything back on the ship rather than lug it around all day. After leaving the ship the 2nd time we took a left outside the port to the bus stop with a bench. After a few minutes we got a bus that said Centro. Its only 10 pesos a person or .50. The last person pays and must have exact change in pesos. I told the bus driver the street I wanted to get off on because I had a plan to get some street tacos. Highly recommend the bus over the taxi it was great both ways. I had trouble finding the exact taco stand I wanted, but there were many and the one we stopped at was great. Tacos Mi Esperanza on Calle Constitución. You can find it on google maps and its accurate to where it is. They were great and did speak enough english for us to get by. They let my 12 year old neice help them press the masa into corn tortillas and they gave all of the 4 children some dough to play with. Everyone had Chicken or Beef quesadillas and they were very good. Really felt like we were experiencing mexico there. After that we walked 5-10 minutes tp the Malecon (Boardwalk). That was really nice. We had perfect overcast weather around 85 degrees. We walked over to Cuates y Cuetes to make a reservation on the beach for dinner. Walked around a couple hours and then came back. Had a great dinner on the sand. Beach vendors did get a little annoying coming by every 2 minutes, but still had a great dinner. I had mixed fajitas with shrimp, beef, and chicken. Our waitress Dana was terrific and spoke very good english. She helped get us a couple blocks north of the Malecon back to the bus stop. Jumped onto the bus that said Walmart for another .50 and it got us back in about 25 mins. Disembarking was pretty quick. My brother got us tickets the day before so we could get off earlier, but it didnt matter much. He got baggage tag 6 and they ended up calling 6-10 right after they got done calling all the people with carry your own bags off. They never even checked our ticket to get off, but its possible if you had a higher number and got off early that your bags would not be off yet. It moved very fast and they called us around 940 to get off and we were in the car by 10:10. We stopped for gas about an hour into our return home to Arizona and my brothers car wouldnt start. Jumping it didnt work either. We went to Autozone a few minutes away and bought a wrench. Returned back to take out the battery and luckily it was dead. We replaced it and were on our way. Good thing we were driving together or it would have been very difficult. Great cruise had a wonderfull time with our family. Very thankfull to my parents for taking us yet again and having terrific memories to last a lifetime. Read Less

My husband and I wanted to go on a cruise to celebrate our 20th anniversary. We choose this cruise because it was closest to where we live and the date worked perfectly for us with our kids getting out of school for the summer. We completely loved the cruise! We got an inside room because I heard that you can feel the motion of the ship more in outside rooms. I was prepared for our room to be tiny, but it wasn't as small as I expected, which was great. With the closets and the desk drawers we had plenty of room this our things. Embarkation and debarkation were quick and easy. The food was great, especially in the dining room. The service in the dining room was excellent, and we loved the little shows that the waiters did at dinner. Our cabin stewardess was really nice and helpful, she fulfilled all of our requests and kept our cabin really clean. The selection of excursions was great. We went snorkeling at Catalina island and we went on a tour to La Bufadora while we were in Ensenada. We had a great time in both Ports. The day at Sea was fun, too, there were plenty of shows and games going on to keep us entertained. Benjamin, our cruise director, was really awesome and kept the fun going. The sea day brunch in the dining room was so amazing! Going on this cruise has wet my appetite for them! I would happily choose this particular cruise again. Read Less

My husband and I booked this cruise to celebrate our 20th anniversary. First time cruisers! We flew into Long Beach airport the morning of embarkation on Jet Blue (love this airline...most leg space I've seen in coach!) Took Uber to the port, stopping at a store to pick up our sodas/wine/champagne along the way. Our check in time was schedule at 1 PM. We arrived around 9:45 AM and were able to chat with some the passengers coming back from the cruise before us after having the port steward take our luggage. Once they opened up the building where we could check in, we sat back and relaxed. I believe after 11:30, they started to allow people to board based on the zone # given to each stateroom group. Easy to board and the buffet and bars were open on Lido deck. Unfortunately, awhile after 4 PM when we were scheduled to depart, they started announcing there were issues with the engines they were working on. Around 5 AM the next morning, they pulled us away from the port to allow another ship to dock while they were waiting for the tech from Miami to get there. No casino, no onboard shopping allowed due to not being in international waters. We were finally on our way just before 3 pm, with an adjusted itinerary dropping the Mazatlan port due to lack of time. Cabin 6409: Balcony room, queen bed and 2 pull outs. Well worth the upgrade as I spent several hours out on that balcony over the course of the trip as it was shielded from the wind and I could be close to my husband who had to rest frequently. Only 1 outlet which is outside the bathroom, so bring a power strip. Bathroom was cozy, but definitely doable. Every shower ended up with water on the floor of the bathroom, even with the curtain inside the bottom lip. Dining: We ate at the buffet, deli, and burger place, as well as the Black Pearl dining room. The food was really good in the buffet the first couple days. Enjoyed the omelette bar the most for breakfast. The buffet desserts looked amazing first couple days and the second to last day. Seemed like they didn't try so hard to impress on the other days. The Black Pearl was really good food and the staff were great! The deli was my go to. Entertainment: Cruise director Lee was amazing! I was impressed with how well he dealt with the frustrations caused by the delay! Never saw him off his game once...24/7 always sharing the positive points and what events were available. The entertainment staff were talented. Wished I would have taken the time to see more of the productions. The movie nights by the pool were great picks! Bingo was fun. Art auctions, so-so, but I'm not into that stuff much. Hot tubs were luke warm, just slightly warmer than the pools it seemed. Would bring our kids next time if we come back as there seemed to be lots of kids enjoying themselves at the kids/teens clubs Service: Our steward Sandi was awesome! I am amazed how he remembered our names and would call down the hall to us by name as we were out and about, just to see how things were going. That's personal care! We didn't buy any beverages on the trip, but saw the bar staff walking around, advertising the mixed drinks regularly. The DJ was great! Didn't like the slight overlapping of events. Ended up missing out on the beginning of events a few times. Cabo San Lucas: we bought a lunch to go, took a water taxi around the arch, then were dropped off at a beach. I had my own snorkeling gear, so saved money that way and saw some colorful fish. Were picked up on time and had time leftover to walk around and explore right around the port. Puerto Vallerta: Waited until last minute to get a shore excursion on board and ended up getting the last 2 tickets to a bus taking people to a beach. Were dropped off in front of Si Senor restaurant, sat down on some lounge chairs, and my husband enjoyed a 2 hr foot massage for $50. He loved it!!! Water was nice and warm but not scuba diving quality.Too many vendors hocking their wares. Got old quick. Nice time to just lay back and relax.... Got back to port early, so went across the street to the mall and walked around and shopped a little. We had a late departure due to a couple of drunk passengers slowly walking back over a half hour late. Mazatlan: Oh wait...that was canceled due to the engine trouble. :( Shopping: They advertised a coupon book to use at the ports as well as on board. $25 for the book and a ticket in the drawing for a prize. Waste of money if you ask me. Didn't use any of the coupons. There were plenty of coupons, but only a few for each of the ports. Many other ports, including Caribbean, were in the book, so might be worth while if you go on other cruises within the upcoming year.Also included a few postcards. I ended up passing it on to people going on the cruise after us. Spa: I hate paying a lot for a massage.... but did it anyway. Pretty good. Recommend going cheaper route and getting it done off the ship while at port. Deembarkation: Turned in our luggage the night before we left so we didn't have to lug it around after 8:30 AM when we had to be out of the stateroom. Had breakfast at the restaurant as we pulled into the Long Beach port. Very organized process and went smoothly. Took Uber back to airport, checked in our luggage to Jet Blue 6 hrs prior to departure, then took bus into the city of Long Beach for lunch to pass the time, then back to the airport. Compensation: $50/person on board credit, Mazatlan port expenses refunded. I, as well as many others, were pretty disappointed with the low $ compensation due to losing a day of the trip and missing one of the 3 ports. Read Less

I actually got married aboard the Carnival Splendor on embarkation day 05/25. The ship is unique in its decor, but even more so in its staff. Our cruise ended up leaving late due to engine troubles, but it was a fun and exciting cruise! My grandmother is in a wheel chair and has a hard time moving around, but everywhere we went their was someone there to help her! The Carnival Splendor staff seem to be a tight knit family and a truly fun to be around. Did I have to wait in lines to get my food, grab a drink, or ride the elevator? Yes, but the staff were always friendly and accommodating, so I’m not sure why people complain so much. Food was amazing and above our expectations. Entire ship was spotless! Someone even dropped something and shattered a tile and it was being replaced within the hour. Our room steward was always timely and so sweet. I think our party of 22 had an awesome experience that we will never forget and I look forward to cruising on the Splendor again in the future. Read Less

My grandparents did it to me, I have to admit it. God rest their souls, but they only did the fancy fancy cruises and would ROLL in their graves at the thought of us taking a carnival 4 day-er to mexico... So when I used some of the money grandpa left me to do this, Well I was nervous ok ... But Let me tell you, we were 100 % amazed and thrilled and delighted with our Carnival Inspiration journey. We cried when we had to get off Ok? I'm not kidding I really did cry. I mean, I dont even know who I am anymore. I just want to stay on the boat I even have been looking for job opps on board. It was literally just perfect. the food was honestly very good, and trust me I was again not optimistic. Thank You carnival !! most especially Thank you Ryan Rose !!! Read Less

This was our first cruise and definitely enjoyed it! I would give the staff service 5 stars as they always took care of us at all times! The Cruise director kept everyone informed and the passengers entertained every day. We were not impressed with the food but overall dining was good. The room was very quiet, clean and the bed was really comfortable. (Deck 4 cabin R195) We really enjoyed all the live music playing throughout the cruise. Lady Red at the Piano bar was a favourite! The bartender's were very tentative and professional. I loved the Spa Salon. Not something I normally do but ended up going twice to get a blowout special by Alexander S. Be prepared for bad weather, thankful I had warm clothes and we missed out on Catalina Island but it was for safety. Definitely can feel the rocking at times but we wore a patch and never felt sick. Embarkation and disembarkation went fast and smooth. Read Less

Carnival is a great value for those on a budget but I was really disappointed in the food. We had anytime dining. Here were some exceptions: 1. 5 stars: Featured Vegetarian dish--the head chef was Indian and the Featured Vegetarian dish offered each night for dinner in the dining room was Indian and fantastic (just get extra yogurt sauce if you can't handle spicy food) 2. 4 stars: Guy's Burgers. 3. 5 stars: Strawberry soup appetizer offered in the dining room 4. 4 stars: Caesar salad 5. 4 stars: ice cream (order the banana split off the kids menu for dessert, nothing else was good) In general, I found most seafood and desserts offered to be terrible and everything else to be ok. Steak tip: They charge you for the good steak at dinner but you can get a small portion for free at brunch (Steak and Eggs) Embarkation and Debarkation was a breeze in Long Beach Best fish tacos on the planet: Tacos Lily in Ensenada (your maps app should be able to find it.) Recommended by Anthony Bourdain (No Reservations, Season 8). Next to the fish market. A short walk from where the bus drops off passengers downtown ($8 round trip if you are not doing an excursion). We ate ceviche at another location and didn't have any tummy problems so yay! Service was wonderful. Bed was very comfy, bathrooms were nice and clean We had a 4 year old and she liked the kid's club Noise sensitivity. Bring noise cancelling headphones for anyone with noise sensitivity. Everything was so loud (DJ on Lido deck, Muster drill, any show in the lounges) my 4 year old had her headphones on almost the entire time we were out of our room. Seasick: I got a little seasick on the at-sea day. They will give you free generic seasick pill at guest services for free if you forget your dramamine Birthday: I celebrated my birthday on the ship and on the evening of the second day, they gave me a $50 credit at the spa for use on the 3rd day only. Frankly that left little time to make a reservation but the prices are so high, $50 wasn't really a big savings and I didn't use it. They also gave me a $12 credit for pictures and I did buy pictures. Bottled Water: Since this was my second carnival cruise, I got a large bottle of water free (sign up for the VIFP club) and it was enough, we didn't need to buy any extra water. Read Less

We took our family of 9 (2 grandparents, with daughters and 1 son in law, 4 grandkids age 9-16)....we had a fabulous time! Lots of entertainment for kids and adults! We felt our grandkids were safe running around the ship playing Clue and Hasbro games not to mention the arcade! 9 year old granddaughter had that ship figured out in one day! The cabins were kept clean on a daily basis as is the entire ship! All staff were very friendly and never failed to greet us with a good morning and a big smile! Highest marks go to June, Edwin and Marshal in the Black Pearl dining room! Excellent service and a very good personality for this job! Day in and out, June greeted us all with warmth, a smile and a great sense of humour! Great dancer too! My husband and I have been on many cruises some higher end than Carnival but the food and service on this cruise was far above any Celebrity etc cruise we have had! Shore excursion in Puerto Vallarta to Los Clentias (sp) hideaway was excellent and well worth the money! Very organized as was embarkation and disembarkation!! We were very,very pleased! Highly recommend this cruise line to anybody! It was a blast! We will be back! PS....thank you , thank you June for your excellent service...made our holiday! (mom Maureen) Read Less

I went on this ship as it was the only thing available at the last minute when trying to find a cruise to take my 30y.o. sister on who has never cruised before. I had done this itinerary twice before (Ensenada twice and Catalina Island once) and I had done this ship before in 2015 being in a wedding as my friend was married on it. The ship looks old, worn, and dirty. We saw crew members dusting the walls in the morning but important things like cleaning our oceanview window so we could have a clear view outside and pickup up trash in the public bathrooms were missed. The handwashing machine near Blue Iguana didn't work properly most of the time, just flashing a red light and and hand sanitizer near there was never filled. The bathroom nearest the buffet on port side, the air dreyer never worked and there were no paper towels available. Within 20min of boarding the ship we sat down in the buffet to eat lunch and the wooden bench part of the seat in one of the booths completely fell off the bench making my sister almost fall. Two crewmembers walked by, saw it was broken, and did nothing. Certain coffee makers and other drink dispensers didn't work the entire cruise. Our sheets had holes and there was only one outlet in the whole room. The food in the dining room was more miss than hit and no one encouraged hand washing like they do on NCL. I rarely touched the ladles and spoons to serve myself, using a blue cloth napkin instead, yet I'm still sick the day after the cruise. The casino house edge on roulette is insane with Carnival adding a B (bonus) green space to the the standard 0/00. The lady running the trivia was unfamiliar with the subject matter of some of the trivia games and while generally having people from all over the world work on the ship is an amazing display of diversity, in this case it made trivias less fun when you can't understand the host. Not only when running the Harry Potter trivia was she unaware of simple things like Ron's last name being pronounced Weasley and not Wesley but the second question asked was WRONG! "Of the three main characters, who is the oldest?" The correct answer is Hermione, yet on her sheet (and clearly because she's not versed on the subject matter to know otherwise) the answer says Ron, which is incorrect and leaves a damper on the experience itself when those running a trivia don't know the correct answers. German C, the DJ on board always looked like he hated being there. Nightclub hits was supposed to start at 11:30 in the dance club but normally he didn't stop playing oldschool or 90's hits until 12:15am or later making the fun of dancing to current music only last about 45min or so. Also, our server on the third night in Mardi Gras was not very kind nor patient. And the person staffing the pizza area in the back of the buffet always had an attitude as if you were bothering him. The Cruise Director Ryan Rose was great and so was his right hand man 'Fernando(?)'. They were the positives of the cruise. The two shows in the theaters while short and had basic choreography and wasn't anything new or exciting, was still entertaining and the male lead singer/dancer was very good. My sister enjoyed the nightclub but wished they played current hits starting earlier in the night since it ended early. Too many times she tried to eat a caesar salad but it either had too much or too little dressing no matter how she specified it. Overall she enjoyed herself so in my opinion if you haven't been on many cruises, or haven't been on new and large ships or haven't stayed in a balcony cabin before and don't have much to compare it too you may enjoy this cruise for a quick getaway if you are local to the area. Read Less

Summary: This was the first cruise on a Royal-class ship for my wife and myself. It was our 9th Princess cruise overall and a bit of a disappointment following the spectacular Panama Canal cruse we had on the Coral Princess last November. Positives: For the most part, service from the crew was excellent. Waiters in the dining room, restaurants and bars/lounges were very pleasant and attentive. Robert and Franco at Sabatini's were outstanding. Attendants at the Buffet could not do enough to assist. Our cabin steward, Donna, was excellent. Kory Minor, the piano player and entertainer at Crooner's, was tremendous. We had one run-in with a chauvinistic cook at the Trident Grill who was insulting to my wife. I reported this to the Front Desk, but heard nothing in reply. Otherwise, the crew was outstanding. The Ultimate Balcony Dinner is an incredible experience. This was the second time we have done it and it will now be a staple of our Princess cruises. We did it on Monday night while we were anchored off Cabo. Not sure how well this would work if the ship were underway, might be too windy. (Our first Balcony Dinner was done the night we were anchored in the Panama Canal last November.) Our waiters were attentive and timely without being intrusive. The food was all excellent (menu attached). The setting is so romantic! By all means, try this activity. It is easily worth the $100 price. We also loved the Super Tuscon Lunch at Sabatini's. Multiple courses all served with wonderful (and high-end) Italian Super Tuscon wines (menu attached) Our Mini-suite was smaller than mini-suites on other Princess ships, but that did not bother us at all. The new design is better than the old one, with the removal of the large desk and TV counter between the bed and sitting areas. Negatives: Although advertised as a “non-smoking” environment, there are many locations on the ship where the smell of smoke was irritating at best and unbearable at worst. Biggest problem area was the Casino on Deck Six, with its open ceiling to the shops on Deck Seven. Clothing and other items in the shops reeked of smoke. Also, poorly designed ventilation in the Allegro Dining Room on Deck six Aft drew in smoke from an outside smoking area. By the end of the seven night cruise, my wife's eyes were bloodshot and her throat sore and raspy. Due to this condition, we canceled a reservation to sail the Royal Princess to Alaska later this year and re-booked to the Golden Princess in 2020. The passenger population would overwhelm ship's resources on occasions. For example, the ship has 12 main passenger elevators, the same number as on much smaller ships. In comparison, the much smaller Coral Princess (2,000 passengers vs. 3,500-plus on the Royal) has the same 12 main elevators. This led to congestion and excessive waits during peak periods, such as show times and start of dinner hours. Also, crowds would build up outside of venues before the start of activities since there was insufficient room to handle the volume of people. Ocean Medallion has tremendous potential to be a great tool for future passengers. The functions which currently work are wonderful. But they do not work often enough. OceanCompass repeatedly crashed while trying to find my wife. I found it very frustrating to be wasting my precious vacation time attempting to debug this system. It could not even correctly locate me at times! OceanNow had limited menus. And it surprised me by charging for cocktails even though we had full beverage packages (Sip & Sail). I brought this to the attention of the Front Desk and they said I would find it in my Cruise Passage contract that drinks ordered through OceanNow would be charged. That is not acceptable. This system reminded me (a retired IT manager) of systems rushed into production before they were ready or properly tested in order to meet a management-directed schedule deadline. System quality should be the only criteria for determining system implementation. Read Less