Brett J.

I have been on 6 cruises (that's really not a lot as I am about 102 in age) and most of them have been Carnival.... Yes Carnival is a major pain to get Checked into... it is chaotic organization that lends its self to long liines and lots of wait Timmer, but they get you on eventually. Once on tHeir cruise ships are a plethora of activities, fun schedules, food, drinks and all day excitement! Relax if you want... they will get it for you. Party if you'd like... they have lots of options. Eat if that is your desire... it is a never endinng Buffett or dining experience! This is my preferred cruise line above any other I have been on. They have thee destinations, the fun options, the activities, and the WOW to do it in style.

Keith A.

Took a cruise in June 2019, first time on Carnival, but 3rd time on a cruise. Booked my trip on the Carnival Vista. Flew to TX a few days early to see friends in Austin, and go to San Antonio, and Houston as well. Got notified a few days before we were supposed to board the Vista that there was a problem with the ship. Turned out the ship could not be repaired and could not go fast. So they cruise that was already at sea was going to come back late and instead of my cruise leaving on Sat morning, it would leave on Sun morning and instead of 7 days it would be 8 days. Instead of Belize, Honduras, and Cozumel, it would be Costa Maya and Cozumel. The ship was not able to go fast enough to get to Belize and Honduras. Carnival handled this very professionally and sent plenty of email communication. They gave me 2 options, cancel and get a full refund or go on a modified cruise. They paid for my flight home, gave me $200 in on-board credit, and gave me 50% discount of the total I paid to use on a future cruise before end of 2020. They also paid for an extra day of rental car and hotel. When we got back, the ship went out 1 more time, but then it was going to be going into dry dock 3 weeks early and they paid for 90% of their employees to fly home 3 weeks early, and with pay. I think Carnival handled all of this with class and professionalism. They also had to find more on ship activities to do since there were now going to be extra sea days. All of the staff remained very friendly, positive, and made jokes at their own expense. Matt the cruise director did a great job, made every experience fun and entertaining. he shared some great stories and kept everyone's spirits up, all things considered. He made the best of a bad situation, and tried to keep everyone happy. The ship was fine except that it was slow. There were plenty of food options from the main dining hall, to Guy Fieris bbq, a wood fired oven to cook you a pizza to order, blue iguana Mexican food, and 10 or 11 more options. There is also room service 24x7. The cabin stewards keep your room very clean and make little animals out of your towels. There were sky bikes, obstacle courses, water slides, a private serenity area for adults, pools, movies, a spa, etc. If you haven't experience a cruise you should try it. There is so much to do on board and then there are excursions off the ship at the various ports that you stop at. It is nice to go to sleep and then you wake up at a new port location. You don't have to worry about logistics getting there with flights, rental cars, etc. There are wifi and drink packages that you can buy ahead of time to get a price discount. I think you are allowed to bring a 12 pack of soda with you on board though.

Allan B.

I just finished the 20 minutes online review at Carnival. Overall score: 2/10. If you like being with 4,000 passengers, 25% who are immobile (I have never seen so many electric handicapped vehicles in one place); 10% with Biden;s disease; 50% obese to morbidly obese (and equally rude / oblivious); and most of the balance foreign-born who loaded their plates as if the next asteroid was going to hit the Gulf and it was their last meal) THEN you will love it. I forgot to mention the 20% of alcoholics chained to the A) bar B) the casino C) rolling around as if they were in a Cat IV storm. I suppose that was Carnival's plan all along, if you're bombed out of your mind on $15 (including automatic non-reducible 18% gratuity - als on all paid food) drinks, then the non-existant or off-key "entertainment"; smells of adult Pampers in the cabin sections 24/7; MIA security; flaunting of every rule like no smoking on inside cabins...no offensive tee-shirts or gang wear...etc.; then you won't notice any of the above, right? I am not that hard to please, but when I deliver a four pages handwritten data-driven and professional letter in person to Guest Services and there is no response even post-cruise; then I am a once and done with Carnival and their inane 1940's decor prominent in orange and burnt sienna and a cabin slightly larger than our walk-in closet at home. I recommend for you: "No and never" with Carnival. Heard that from several people who had blind hope that their second Carnival cruise could not possibly be the same or worse than the first. Bad surprises come true.

Deidra B.

Went out on a 7 day Cruise on the Vista, LOVED the VISTA! We sailed to Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and Montego Bay Jamaica. We had a balcony in the Havana area and we absolutely loved it. We were on Aft balcony on the 6th floor. A LOT of the action very close to our room down to the 5th floor to the WONDERFUL Steak house and SUSHI, and up to the 10th floor AFT for the delicious Italian restaurant. We paid extra to dine twice at the steak house, once at the Italian and once at the Sushi, once at the Seafood Shack. All GREAT choices, but the steakhouse was my favorite. The Havana area is private and you can only access with a wrist band showing you are in the Havana Area. We had a pool and 2 large hot tubs to ourselves and a BAR a few steps from the hot tub and pool where we received excellent service! Our sailing there were 5,000 people on board. I was absolutely shocked to hear this as you could not tell walking around and going to events. Boarding the ship took literally less than 15 minutes to get onboard. The only time we experienced long lines was on the Sea Day Brunch, which was worth the wait. WE loved the Red Frog Bar they had happy hour specials daily and people flocked in there to get these huge drinks they called "fishbowl" I never had one but they were very popular. I would go again on this ship for sure and do the Havana Area again as well. The Karaoke on board was a lot of fun, we played games in the game room/library. Basically just had a very good time. Our friends balcony they opened up for us right next door so we had access to each others balcony. We did have a few hiccups. The first night we were on board we had reservations for the steak house I had booked well in advance, but the reservation was lost. I had emails to show the reservation but the guys we spoke to at the Restaurant were basically "sorry" and that was about it. I was not happy about it but it certainly was not going to ruin my good time onboard! I did not care for the main dining room food and only ate there 1 time. I had a flank steak and it was a bit subpar. Going on another Cruise in May so will update after that cruise!!!

Nancy C.

My preference as a traveler is to plan a trip longer than ten days and explore every corner of foreign cities. Wake up at he break of dawn and don't sleep until the vacation is over. No, it's not as good as it gets. Yes, I am a fan, of Carnival the cruise line. Each ship can have a review of their own. The cruise is great, if you want to do nothing but relax, gamble, and get drunk. That's exactly what I did on the Breeze for my 7 day family trip with my kids in March 2017, and what I did on my short 4 day cruise on the Valor this past weekend. Breeze is absolutely no doubt about it better. just kidding. It's the newest ship to the port of Houston. That's a perk, but it's so big. If you like big crowds this is the party for you! Just remember disembarking is not fun ever. Good news, the mandatory meeting is in designated air conditioned auditoriums. The food in my opinion was better on the Valor, from the buffet to the sit down dinner. Keep in mind the Valor is old. The shower seemed to not drain properly. I didn't complain, I showered quickly so the water wouldn't go all over my bathroom. The Valor did have that silly mandatory meeting you have to do on every cruise outside. Everyone lined up liked sardines, sweating profusely! It was awful it felt like forever but I am sure it wasn't more than five minutes. I swear I didn't listen to a word they said because of how uncomfortable I was. I suggest you skip it on the Valor the rule breakers had to do it inside. How awful for them! "tsk tsk." (note my sarcasm) Regardless, only a sourpuss can have a bad time on a cruise.

Shantel K.

Sailed on the carnival Breeze Sept 26-oct 2. This was our first cruise and all I can say is that I'm hooked. We were on the 7 day cruise that took is to cozumel, Belize and rotana. Let's start at the begging. Embarkation. We arrived in galveston at 930 am. Our check in time was 12 pm. We parked at www.portparking.com. I highly suggest you use this facility as it is safe and the service is impeccable. After we parked the car we were driven to the terminal, we arrived and our luggage was off loaded. We got in line to wait for our turn to board the ship. We waited in line about an hour and then we were moved through the que to security. After security we went upstairs and checked in, we meet with the service agent and finalized our boarding areangements. Everyone was friendly and helpful. We then waited to be called. They on board the ship in stages and we only waited 30 minutes. When our turn was called we started on our adventure. We went to our room and dropped off our carry on luggage then went exploring the decks. Let's talk food. The food is never ending. I gained 6 pounds. Sign of a successful cruise indeed. The lido deck is where the buffet is located as well as the 24 hour pizza and guys burger shack. We ate so much food it was crazy and it was all good. You also have scheduled dinning time and we ate in the blush room. We had a wonderful cruise director, Mike. He always kept the party going and there were always scheduled activitiesl throughout the day. The ship was clean, fun and we were always entertained. Our cabin steward made towel animals everyday. The ports were awesome and the crew did a great job keeping until informed and getting us to our excusions on time. I can honestly say it was an amazing time, money well spent and we have already booked our next cruise for next year.

Mica M.

First and foremost- it's my bday! Secondly -'carnival Valor is the worst. I'm currently standing at the safety meeting and 3 ppl have squatted on the ground to avoid heat exhaustion. I'm disgusted at the "show of safety" by having a poor speaker system to describe what to do in case of an emergency. They have tv screens in every room- why not stream the safety procedures Or provide them via the $5 per device app? I am posting this and pics to show the elderly and young about to pass out. The speakers in C9 on the second floor didn't work- hopefully If something happens - we can show our room keys (which we had to stand in a concentration camp Style line to manually hand in and scan. I'm hurt that my bday is ruined right now (oh and my bags aren't here ). #neveragain

David O.

First time on Carnival but not on a cruise. And I have to give them major kudos on everything. Yes when we first got there the line to embark was long but that had nothing to do with the cruise line it was TSA, and for all of us who travel a lot, we know they are slow. Found out though that if I put my TSA prescreen on the boarding pass I could have moved a whole lot faster, oh well live and learn on that one. But once we got on board of course the elevators are slow, well havens it would have been expected with everyone trying to get up them at once but it was ok, we did not have to wait too long for one. Once we got to our room it was nice, clean we had some complementary water from our room steward, his name was JoJo and he was as nice as he could ever had been. Remembered our names every time we saw him, always left us little things (cookies, water, chocolate strawberry's) I mean wow this guy should be moved up if he has that much attention to detail. Bought the cheers package, boo part of it was it does not kick in until the second day, so you have to pay for drinks the first day. Cruise director Schwartz was amazing, always had high energy and kept us very informed of what was going on the ship when we at see, and on port days he always expressed over and over the time to be back. Came to every show we went to and was always getting the audience to interact he was a real joy and lots of fun. If every carnival ship has one of him they will always be great. Then there was Maria at the coffee bar, on the second day she remember our coffees and how we liked them, and as soon as she saw us she started making them, and they were perfect every single time. And to top it off that lady can sing, she has a beautiful voice, I personally think she should be looked at being moved to the shows. Jose from Cozumel, man he knew that ship backwards and forwards. Every time we seem to have gotten lost or could not find what we were looking for he always stopped what he was doing and walked us to where we needed to go. Then there is Olivia in the Havana Bar, I sat down and really did not know what I wanted to drink, so she asked some questions and came back with this chocolate shake looking drink, it was awesome, so good that I had to ask repeatedly if she was sure there was any alcohol in it because I sure could not taste it. Then one night I was sitting out on the deck having a cigar and a pain killer (great drink by the way) When Aleksandar Rakic came up out of the blue and started talking to me, at first I had no idea who the guy was but turned out he is the assistant guest service manager, I never would have guessed that he was so nice and friendly. And every time after that I ran into him he remembered me and always took the time to say hi and shake my hand. You know you sit and read these reviews that give Carnival a bad name and I would love to see these people who write them do the Carnival cruise ship peoples jobs for a month, I am willing to be everyone would be fired within a matter of days. These are some of the hardest people I have ever seen, they are always cleaning and doing something, they never are just standing around like people in customer service are, (IE, the people in your local stores.) I have already booked my next cruse with Carnival and will now only sail with them, I have used the other big ones we all know who they are and they were good at the time, but Carnival blew them out of the water, so not going back to them.

Kelly L.

This is my review for the Carnival Freedom cruise of 7 days to western Caribbean from Galveston, Tx. This is my second cruise. 1. Embarkation: We flew in Houston Bush airport. Took a cab ride to Galveston for $120 for 2 persons. You can book a shuttle through the cruiseline or shuttle.com. Embarkation can take a long time unless you are there super early or take a chance at the last hour or pay for VIP checkin. 2. Facilities: Typical Carnival decor. A lot of neons, 80 ish style. There are 4 pools, 3 hot tubs, water slide. There is a serenity lounge area for adult only which is quite nice. The gym is nice with plenty of treadmills, equipment, and a whirlpool jacuzzi! The staff does a good job of keeping everything clean. We had a suite so it is spacious for a cruise ship. Bathroom has a double sink, jacuzzi bath tub. There are plenty of closet space, a seating makeup desk. 3. Food: The Guy burger joint and blue Iguana cantin is a nice addition. The burger is freshly made and pretty. The taco is quite fresh! There is 24 hour pizza. The buffet is descent with different choices and menu everyday. The themevis mostly Latin or carribean food. There is a mongolian wok only opened during lunch time. Overall, food is descent to serve 3,000 plus guests. There is no soup choice though not even with room services! 4. Staff: overall nice and friendly! 5. Port entertainment: - Cozumel: Took the Mayan ruin of Tulum tour. $85.99 per person. It is interesting tour but it takes a long time to get there. 1 hour ferry to get to Playa del Carmen then 1 hour bus ride to the ruin. They stopped at a touristy shopping area for 15 min. There is not much stuff to buy there but you can get water and snacks. At the ruin, the tour guy discussed about the history of ruin for about 45 min then you get 1 hour to explore on your own. There is star buck and subway at the entrance of the park. Overall, it is not a bad trip. It is very hot there. So bring plenty of water, hat and sunblock. - Grand Cayman: tender boats will take guests in. If you book excursion via carnival you will get on the tender first otherwise you will have to wait first come first serve. We actually did not get off the ship since my fiance did not feel well. However, other guests were quite happy with the stingrays excursion. - montego bay, Jamaica: We took the Dunn ' s river water fall and Bamboo beach excursion. $99 per person. It is not a bad excursion but it takes a long ride from the port to the water fall (2 hours there and almost 3 hour back because of traffic. ) our tour guides are nice and works hard to make sure everyone have fun. It is not hard to walk up the fall. Make sure you have water shoes or you can buy there for $10. The water is refreshing. Unless your camera is waterproof don't bring it in with you even if it is water resistant. The tour guys at the fall will make a dvd and sell for $40 at the end. Bamboo beach is a small beach area. There are many tourist groups there. They will serve you chicken bbq and unlimited rum punch and mojito. We had 1 hour at the beach then head back to our cruise. If you are in Jamaica it is worth to do it once! 6. Disembarkation: expecting a long long wait! The custom takes a long time! We had our luggage picked up the night before. We were off the boat by 10 AM. 7. Entertainments: there are lacking on the cruise. they have movie placed on Deck 9 by the main pool from 730 to midnight which is the main entertainment! Overall, it is a good option to explore the Caribbean without spending arm and leg! Things must have: - sunblock - hat. It is very hot and sunny in the Caribbean. - bring plenty of water. - they have descent hair dryer. - shampoo and conditioner is very generic. So, you might want to bring your own - medications: beside your daily medications, bring Tylenol, Motrin, med for sea sickness etc. They have some at the Fun store but very expensive. - if you are planning to get drunk, might want to buy there inclusive deals otherwise it is quite expensive. - air freshener. Candle is not allowed on the ship. - hand sanitizer - wifi is very slow even with their best speed option which allow only one device at time. You can access email, facebook, tweeter etc. But forget about working! - bring extra plugs for your device. There is only 2 wall plugs. - for US citizens, you can use passport or driver license and birth certificate. They don't check these at the foreign ports but you do need these documents to check in first time and at the Disembarkation. - mostly casual beach clothes. There are 2 cruise elegant nights at the main dinning. For the cruise casual nights, you can wear jeans at the dinning room. - there are a lot of different ethnicity and age groups. So be patient!