asecretmermaid

Thanks so much! This was the information I heard, initially. That was why I was asking about the Funships on embarkation day!!

Same here!! Takes ya where ya wanna go!😀

Good question!! They don't charge you for that day, which rocks!

Awesome!!! Thanks so much for responding!!😁

Due to Texas' weird liquor laws, do they still make Funships on embarkation day?:tropical-drink:🍹🤞

Just off the breeze today

This was our 8th Carnival cruise

2 on NCL and 1 on RCL

We left Carnival in 2014 for reasons I will share in my review below but decided to give it another shot as we sailed with a large family group

 

Galveston......we knew what to expect here so no problems. You have thousands of people getting off and trying to get on so just have reasonable expectations and all will be well. We parked in the B lot $85 for the week

 

The ship.......liked the Breeze layout a lot. Nice decor. Standard balcony state room with no issues. But the ship had a lot of rust which I was surprised to see as in previous carnival cruises there was always staff painting and cleaning. That has def changed as I saw nobody cleaning outside of ship or painting. Not saying it didn’t happen just saying I didn’t see it and I was looking. I felt the staff was overworked and lacked that high energy that we have previously experienced on Carnival. There were exceptions but across the board I felt this was an area that has had cutbacks

Our room steward was great. Our waitstaff was great. No complaints here and tipped them all generously.

Now here is where my issues were and why we left Carnival to go try NCL. And I’m not saying this is Carnival’s fault but their response to it they are responsible for. All week we saw dirty plates left all over the place. I mean on stairs, on benches, on the floors everywhere. What the heck are you people thinking? Do you do that at your own house? Good grief! As stated not carnivals fault but to see the same plate left on stairs for a couple of hours is 100% on Carnival and unacceptable. This leads into my 2nd issue. Again nothing Carnival can do except to try and change the culture but I have never seen so many rude people

In my entire life. And not kids.....grown azz adults. What makes it ok in your brain to rush into an elevator with your family of 6 without first letting people get off? Then when you say I need to get off here you are stared at like YOU are the problem. Yeah it sounds like a small deal and it didn’t affect me having a good time but these are just examples of the overall culture of the Carnival cruiser. We left in 2014 and cruised the NCL escape twice and saw none of the behavior we experienced on this ship. And trust me I am not an old fart. No offense to any old fart reading this

I qualify as a 52 yr old paw paw so.......

On NCL every encounter with a staff put a smile on our faces. When a plate was left on a table it was picked up within minutes

Everywhere you look they are constantly cleaning something. As you walk into the Buffet they had the twins spraying your hands with sanitizer whether you liked it or not. No rude people! No obnoxious people. I’m sure they were there but the culture NCL creates is just a few steps above Carnival. And it ticks me off because we really like Carnival but this experience cinched it. On to RCL and NCL

The prices work out to be apples to apples at the end of the day

 

Now back to some good. Schwartz is great as everyone says. Can’t get better. The lip sync show on the final night is not to be missed as they nailed it with this show!!!!

Cudos Carnival!!

Other shows and comedy were so, so. Typical cruise entertainment. Did the job

They have cutback on some of the live music we have seen previously on Carnival

The country duo the Calverts were great as was the Midas touch but after 7 days listening to the same band is just a bit much

Rotate a new group in mid cruise Carnival. Cmon

 

FOOD.....the cutbacks here are very noticeable if you have cruised Carnival in the past. Portion sizes lead to a lot of people ordering multiple entrees which kinda defeats the purpose imho

I found something I liked every night but the quality has def gone south

Didn’t try the buffet at all. I just can’t handle people putting something on their plate and eating it with their fingers as the continue thru the line. Call me a snob if you want. Again, you just don’t see it on NCL.....We ate breakfast in the dining room everyday which was very good but hey it’s eggs and pancakes but again enjoyed every morning

Steakhouse was by far the best meal we had. Fabulous steaks, awesome sides and the art of the table desert was incredible

Nice job Carnival!

Sushi was good but no soy paper which was a bummer for me

Red frog pub food is really good. The service was just horrible. They had 1 poor girl trying to wait on 15 tables. She did her best but expect to spend over an hour here to get some wings and Coc shrimp

Guys was good as always with the lines being there at all times but they get you thru. But......hey Carnival!!!! Ketchup is darn cheap to buy. How can you be completely out all three times I ate at Guys????

Again....cmon Carnival!!

Blue iguana was awesome. Don’t miss this as it’s a great place for lunch and breakfast

Pizza was pizza. They def need more staff here. Was very slow to get 2 slices of pizza

The guys working here looked like they wanted to murder every single person in line. If they offer you cheese pizza instead of pepperoni just trust me and take it or your gonna get stared down!!

 

Ports......Roatan.....we did little French key thru shore excursioneer. Great experience here with nice beaches, nice food, good drinks, but hey shore excursioneer.......your bartenders are both bartenders and pot dealers

It was expected as we are experienced cruisers but it’s still upsetting to have your daughter offered marijuana even though she is 24........bad bad short excursioneer.

Outside of that you guys nailed it

 

Belize is just a dump...nothing positive to say here. Been there before. Was hoping they had improved the shopping at port but it’s a complete waste of time to get off here unless you are diving or cave tubing. It’s an awesome place for that but Carnival needs to abandon this dump

 

CoZumel

We did the turf and surf thru carnival

Was pouring rain but we had a blast

Can am side by sides were new and well kept. Little power boats were fun but expect to get beat up as they are lite but I guess that’s the point

 

Casino was good. Smoking was pretty bad but hey it’s a casino

They need 2 crap tables

I play poker a lot but these electronic tables I just don’t like. I get that it’s what all cruise ships are doing. Tried to play a poker tourney but they couldn’t get the table into tourney mode. Just as well as the the entry fee is $150 but they only pay back $750

With 9 players . Cmon Carnival!!!! I’m ok with you guys cutting 20% but almost 50%

Just obnoxious

 

CHEERS....we all did it. Half our crew hit their 15 drink limit every night and it’s a hard cutoff. Drinks were good with good amounts of alcohol. NO complaints here

Yeah they could use more staff but it is what it is

 

Debarkation was smooth and we were in our cars by 9:15. Nice job

 

Long review but I wanted to give my honest thoughts both good and bad as I use these boards to plan our cruise and value everyone’s opinions.

 

Will I cruise Carnival again? No. I’m done

Did I have an enjoyable time? Yes just better choices out there

Is NCL a better experience? YES YES

Carnival used to be cheaper so with our large family it’s what we could do

But that’s not the case any longer. This cruise was pricey. It’s June I get it but it was more to take this cruise than on NCL or RCL when you factor in opting to pay for cheers

 

Glad to answer any questions

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Thanks So much for your unbiased review! I do have one question, first!! With Texas laws, are you able to still order Funships on the first day? I'm on my 15th cruise or so, and I agree with everything you have said! I love NCL and their customer service has always been fantastic!! Their ships are always clean and there is certainly a different vibe than Carnival. I haven't had any bad experiences with Carnival, however, I do see some cutbacks and a little less enthusiasm from the crew overall. I found NCL isn't as fun for my kids (11 and 18), so Carnival wins that department. I went on one RCL and I could take or leave it...not bad, but not great! If you enjoy NCL, maybe give MSC a shot! We were able to get into the Yacht Club on the Seaside, for a fraction of the cost of The Haven. Then we realized that the entire ship was dedicated creating a peaceful uncrowded feel, so we really didn't even need the Yacht Club! Empty hot tubs and pools, great drinks, and didn't come across a SINGLE rude person! We booked 2 more cruises with MSC, but I do miss NCL!:p:p:)

H

If you like Guy's, go over to Blue Iguana to get guacamole on your burger. Guac, Pico, Bacon, Chipotle Mayo is my favorite combo

I do that too!! Loooove it!:cool: