This is a MUST READ!
I have just returned from a Cruise to Cozumel on the Carnival Esctasy.
I have been on 6 previous Carnival Cruises to numerous destinations and of different durations, and have always had an amazing time.
Because of this, we recommended that our company celebrate it's 20th Annivesary celebration aboard a carnival cruise, and my company booked 36 on this cruise.
The cruise was absolutely awful.
The First Huge problem was the food.
The food on the Lido deck the first day was terrible. The stuffed tomatoes appeared to be stuffed with the bean soup of the day. And every item seemed to be made of similar ingredients and leftovers from previous meals.
I got food poisoning from this meal, that wound up ruining my entire cruise!
I spent the balance of the cruise throwing up in my cabin on the Empress Deck.
The few rare times I was able to make it out of my cabin, once to the dining room, I was very sorry, for there were so many food additives, preservatives, and meat tenderizors (msg), added to the food that I got a migraine after just 2 bites, sending me double reeling back to my state room with the completely upset digestive system and a migraine added to the mix.
I was so weak near the end of the cruise that my husband insisted I eat something, and suggested we try a place we have not previously eaten at, the grill. "What could they do to a cheese burger?" my husband inquired. Well, they added more food additives or msg or something, because, again, I got a migraine after two bites of their cheese burger.
In all fairness, I am sensitive to chemical additives and artificial sweetners added to food, and avoid them. But, I have never had a problem with Carnival's food in the past. The food has always been freshly prepared with quality ingredients in the past, so I felt very safe eating on board, and saw no need to bring my own food along on the cruise.
What a mistake and a suprise it was to find the food so heavily laced with chemical additives.
I was hearing a lot of complaints on this cruise from many many other passengers about the food. The food was pretty terrible. I can with confidence compare the food on the Esctasy to a very low grade cafeteria.
The same sauces were used in many of the dishes whether vegetable or meat. the same items repeated numerous times from day to day. There seemed to be little variety offered. The same few deserts were offered night after night, with no variety or diversity. And none of them were the famose signiture deserts offered in the past.
The recipes used to prepare the food in the dining room have definitely changed too! Certainly none were offered from Carnival's recipe's from their famose dining room cook bood. The food was truely terrible.
I cook better here at home than we got on board this cruise.
The change in the qaulity and lack of diversity in the food alone was enough to convince me that this was indeed my last Carnival Cruise!
But the problems did not stop here.
The boat was opperating on just one engine, and one stabilizer.
The ride was incredibly rough and rocky. I asked the Carnival Employees and ships crew repeatedly what was up with the rough ride.
I rode through a tropical storm on a cruise to the Bahamas that was smoother.
The carnival crew repeatedly all said all was well.
Well all was not well, and we paying American Customers are not idiots! And we do not like being treated like we are, as you cover up obvious problems like they did not exist.
The sea sick bags were widely used on this cruise.
I am insulted that I was not told ahead of time and given a chance to refuse to board a broken ship. Thank goodness the only working engine did not overheat and seize while we were in the middle of the gulf, stranding the boat.
In the very least I would have liked to prepare myself for the rough ride that cruising with one stabilizer was going to create, let alone one engine.
The staff was not very accomodating on this cruise. I had numerous people sailing in our large group experience continuing and ongoing problems that on other cruises would have never happened, or had crew members happy to assist with.
I am now back on shore, but unable to return to work as I am still dealing with the effects and weakened state from the food poisoning I experienced from the Food offered on the Lido deck.
Carnival has definitlly succeeded in cutting a lot of corners while finding ways to cut costs, the result though is not a quality cruise, for Carninval has now taken the fun out of Sailing.