Sail Date: March 2016
Destination: Mexican Riviera
Embarkation: Los Angeles
Parking was easy and the walk from the structure to the check in area was very close. The check in process was quick, a few minutes, and then we were told to wait in a specific "Zone".
We waited in Zone 2 until they allowed people to start boarding the ship.
Although priority boarders and Zone 1 were ahead of us the boarding process was very quick and smooth. It seemed like in no time at all we were on the ship.
I feel I must say that the staff on board are all amazing. I have nothing but great things to say about the staff in every area we were at. They are very friendly and seemed to go out of their way to help you in any way they could. I simply cannot say enough good things about the people working on the ship. Amazing people. That made the short comings of the cruise a little less of a big deal.
On our previous cruise we stayed in a suite but this time we stayed in an internal cabin. We figured since it was just for the weekend the More smaller cabin would due. Plus the price was great.
We are a family of four. The bed was quite big with plenty of room. On the walls there were pull down beds that each of our sons slept on. Once those beds are pulled down it makes it tougher to get around in the room.
If you need to use the restroom in the middle of the night and do not want to turn on a light so that you do not wake others, you will need to watch your head so you do not bang it on one of the fold down beds. Even with the tight quarters the room was nice. That's what we get for being cheap and squeezing four into an internal cabin. I am not complaining as I feel we got what we paid for. This is just a heads up to anyone thinking of doing an internal cabin with four. I think the same thing would happen if you had a sea view cabin right across the hall. If you can swing two cabins that might be a better option.
Now the food. hmmm on previous cruises the food seemed better. I personally do not go insane with the food. I eat the same amount that I do when I am not cruising. But if you like to eat a lot of cruises this cruise has lots of food.
There is a buffet that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. There is a great salad bar located close to the main buffet and an area that has desserts. The food is not bad. If you are picky and only like certain foods I am sure you will find something you like. They also serve pizza pretty much 24 hours a day. However, the pizza is not that good. But it'll do the trick if you feel like having a slice or two or three.
You are assigned a dining area where restaurant style seating is available. In these areas you are seated and given a menu. Here you have a decent selection of food to choose from. Plus you can eat as much as you'd like.
On previous cruises you could order a steak and lobster and if you wanted another lobster you could ask. But now you have to pay $20 for steak and lobster and a few other selections. On previous cruises you did not have to pay anything extra. So this was a new thing to me.
In my opinion on past cruises the food was better. One night I ordered grilled mahi-mahi and it came out hard and dry. I was unable to eat it. I ordered lasagna and it was ok. Another night I had the prime rib which was good. Our last night I had grilled chicken breast and it was a bit over cooked but I ate it.
On this cruise they had a Dr. Seuss breakfast that you had to pay a small fee to take part in. I think it was $5 per person. Although the place was decorated kind of cool the food was terrible. I think it was a cool idea but it was executed very poorly. Do this at your own risk. I would not do the Dr. Seuss breakfast again. We were the first to arrive and be seated and the absolute last to have our order taken. We saw people leaving as they were finished with their breakfasts while we had not even had our order taken yet. It was so bad I left to go eat in the restaurant.
The shows and entertainment on the ship was good. Our boys wanted to go check out the kids club area and they enjoyed it. The live entertainment is good too. For this all to be included in the cruise price it really cannot be beat.
The shopping on board is not so great. They have a cool store that sells watches but other than that the gift shop is weak. My kids were wanting to check out the toy selection but it was really weak. The gift shop had little to nothing that interested any of us. I was surprised because you would think people would enjoy shopping on the ship. I feel Carnival is lacking greatly in that area. There was a great candy shop though.
That pretty much wraps up the things I wanted to say. I think this is a great family vacation. Carnival has a few short comings but no show stoppers at all. For the price you get an excellent amount of things to eat and do on the ship.
This cruise is very family friendly. We would do it again as we truly did have a great time. Less
Published 04/01/16