First, we arrived at the pier around 12:30 to find the ship just coming
in. We dropped off our luggage and went back to town for lunch. Came
back around 3:30 to embark. We had VIP check in which was .....well....
not very VIP. They had one gentleman processing the paperwork and he
literally could not type. Add that to the fact that a 2 couples were at
the counter and had not filled in any of their paperwork. They were at
the counter for over 30 minutes alone. NOTE: If you do not speak
English and have not filled out your paperwork then step aside. It took
over 2+ hours just to get our cards That happened after the other
registrar (who until then had been only working with guests for a
wedding) became available.
She knew what she was doing and the booking
flew. Then off to stand in a line to get the photos which also took
forever. One of the Carnival wedding planners saw us and helped us get
through with the wedding party so not all was bad.
We were in the Penthouse suite. Very nice and highly recommended. The
ship was clean but we had to go right to dinner due to the delays. We
cast off around 8:00 pm and took in the first show. Above average high
school level which was pretty much what we expected.
Muster drill was
at 10:00 am the next day and that was interesting given the clientele
on this cruise. Our waiters Joselito and Rudy were A+++++ fantastic.
The meal offerings for the first couple of nights was great but the
selections went a bit downhill toward the final few days. Overall food
quality in the dining rooms was very good. On the other hand, the food
on the Lido deck made us nautious until we figured this out we were
kind of queezy Bar service was excellent.
One thing we missed was, on past cruises there was a station on the TV
that went over all of the excursions.
They had a very bad version of
this so it was really hard to get a grasp on what we wanted to do. We
ended up in Progresso and after hearing many stories from past cruisers
decided just to go look around at the pier shop. My sister and her
family of 5 decided to not buy an excursion on board and went down to
the pier where they got the same excursion and saved about 150 bucks.
They went to the ruins and had a great time.
In Cozumel, we decided to try the same thing with the excursion
situation and went at it on our own for the Playa Mia Beach break as it
was the only excursion that was even close to family friendly (for
small kids)
Even after saving 100$ it was still way too expensive.
$200.00 just to go swim at a beach is just ridiculous. Then come the
add-ons 6$ for locker, 6$ for umbrella plus additional 6$ deposits for
each. but don't leave your umbrella alone. some staff member will come
gather it up and there goes your deposit. The buffet was ....well.....
a small buffet and was okay. Beer (don't know what kind) was given in
small plastic cups that you had to go get (very little service) The
beach was nice but hard to walk on and the water toys were located
about 75 yards off shore. You can rent a Jet ski for 60$ for 30
minutes. Which we did not do.
Cozumel has lost its natural flavor and
has become a commercialized port and the folks are nearly as aggressive
as I have seen in Jamaica.(This will probably be our last time in
Cozumel).
Camp carnival (for the kids) was GREAT. The Kids could hardly wait to
go back each day when it was open.
I did notice alot of the cost cutting measures that Carnival has
adopted.
IE: entertainment. Night 1- cast review Night 2- Another Cast
"extravaganza" Night 3- Talent show Night 4 Extreme country with cruise
director playing the fiddle Night 5- Cruise director juggling
He was one of those cutesy tutsy types that IMO really does nothing.
There was a definite lack of events with the crew on deck.
The music
during much of the time was piped through the sound system. Nothing
like a bad rap version of a Richard Marks 1980's song to keep you in
the island spirit . We missed
having the live bands. Finally, I am generally not one to judge but the
clientele on this cruise was strange. The Red hat ladies were
everywhere and most were really nice. There were lots of non English
speaking folks from the Middle east etc..... which was unusual for a
cruise leaving from Houston. I thought I had a weight problem before I
got on this cruise.
Now I feel like a world class athlete. My lord
people! Oh and walkers and scooters all over the place. While I am no
fashion consultant there is no way some of those bathing suits and
mumus (yes lots of mumus) looked good.....evenn in the store. whew!
Lastly a few notes that we noticed that have changed in the last 3
years since our last trip.
Photos------ My lord carnival, you do not need 40 different backdrops
for everyone to take theoir pictures and 22$ a pop for 1 8x10 is a
little bit outrageous.
Excursions-------- Be careful, Carnival has eliminated alot of the
excursions (that are still on their website) and the prices are too
high. For goodness sake, to charge people to shop?......... If you see
an excursion that you like, just debark down to the pier and there will
be people holding signs for the very same excursions (with the same
folks) for half of the price. I expect to pay a bit for the service but
we we starting to feel nickled and dimed to death.
Tipping----- used to be you would put your money in an envelope and
give it to your steward/waiter etc...... Then they allowed you to put
it on your card and you received a card and envelope to hand to your
waiter/steward etc..... NOW they just automatically charge you first
thing and you don't give anything to your steward/waiter etc.... which
made us feel as if we were not tipping at all. Soooooo after another
100$....... That needs to be changed back.
Servers----- Where were the servers pushing drinks on
deck??????????????? I have never been on a cruise where they were not
tempting you with lovely concoctions.
VIP-------- Is no different from non- VIP
Get a real cruise Director and some high level entertainment and I do
not mean a dancing monkey.
Summary------- Great for first time cruisers as long as they are aware
this is a "beginner cruise" or for highly experienced cruisers who know
what they are doing and where they are going and don't care about the
excurions- shows etc... they just love the cruise experience.
I know everyones experience is different and this was just my view. I
welcome yours.
Hope this has been helpful and we look forward to our next outing
(probably on RCCL)
Happy Cruising