8
85Sooner
Guest
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
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
