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Don't cruise on this ship !! by
Andrew S from Connecticut Sailing date: Dec 2009Pros: The balcony Cons: Everything else This ship is a waist of money. I will only talk about the food side, but this should give you a little taste of what to expect. Much more to talk about but i wont bore you. Dining was ridiculous. Your options - 1) room-service - not much for a menu, may or may not show up, and dont expect it on-time in the morning EVER !! 2) buffet - bring a magazine for the wait and some extra seasonings for the extremely bland food 3) the dining room - bring more than a magazine for the line for this - totally ridiculous waiting in a line with 200 people all complaining that they haven't started seating you yet and then dont expect much for taste again 4) davids steakhouse - pay an extra 30$ PER PERSON to have 3 different unexperienced waiters try to impress you with extremely small portions in a loud environment because it is located basically in the atrium so you can hear all the kids running around and loud drunk shipmates.
This is a small portion of what a waist of money this ship was, however, if you can get a room for 20$ a night, i would say sure ! anything above that, i would say "go with another cruise line" Ship Qualitylooks like it has been the same with no renovations to make it more "up-to-date" didnt see anything special, **** I do need to say that there is tons of nudity in the ships decorations and art work, so be prepared to explain to your kids about certain body parts. Not sure why carnival, being a "kids friendly" ship, would think it is appropriate? Stateroom Qualitysheets smelled bad and looked unclean, had to strip my bed and get new ones 2nd day in. Bathroom smelled little worse than other cruises, and the darn venting fan is load and wont shut off. Ship Staff Qualityyoung, tired Entertainment & Activitiesunless you like 75-200 people for scavenger hunts and trivia. entertainment was D+ comedian forgot lines and had to bring out a cheat sheet. That was the funniest part.  4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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  Very disappointing-won't sail Carnival by
Mary D from Falmouth, MA Sailing date: Apr 2008Pros: bed was comfortable, Cabo San Lucas Cons: WATER, FOOD, decor of ship, puerto vallarta Be aware: you can not drink the water on the ship. not even to rinse your mouth after brushing your teeth. bathroom always had a terrible ordor. decor of the ship was so tacky. we have been on many cruises and this was the first time, that we decided NOT to eat in the dining room because the food was just as bad as the buffet...so why bother dressiing up??? water slide was hardly EVER open for the kids too... Ship Qualityprobably the tackiet, ugliest ship i have ever cruised on and i have been on many many cruises, on many different cruise lines. i won't sail carnival again unless the ship is brand new.... Dining/Foodmy dog would have a problem eating their food everyday. one world: horrible! Stateroom Qualitya little small but i will say the bed was very very comfortable! Ship Staff Quality
Entertainment & Activitiesi've seen better productions put on at my local schools!! Children's Programsshould have been great but my kids didn't like it...staff was unfriendly and acted like they didn't want to be there! 
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Mazatlan, Mexicoanother dirty city...we ended up paying to hang out at a gold crown resort. i was surprised at how ugly the beaches were. it seem i was looking at the same ocean from home (cape cod) ...not impressed at all
Don't Miss: local mexican restaurant that served the best nachos i ever had!! Puerto Vallarta, Mexicodon';t get off the ship...dirty dirty city, rotten beaches, beggers EVERYWHERE you go
hated hated hated it!!
Don't Miss: i can't think of one thing Cabo San Lucas, Mexicobeautiful port. went snorkeling and got stung by a portugese man-of-war so that stunk!
a lot of people did from the ship...loved the town...great restaurants, shops.
i would love to go back there and stay for a week there.
Don't Miss: Sammy Haggar'd bar "Cabo Wabo"--great live bands and drinks were great!! :) 2 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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Disappointment On The High Seas by
Suriya H. from Riverside, CA Sailing date: Nov 2007Pros: Wait staff at dinner and some revue shows Cons: Activities geared towards heavy drinkers and gamblers. The ship had very limited activities for non-drinkers and non-gamblers. The optional entertainment choices were poor with older movies available through pay per view and limited television channels. The stateroom was smaller than expected and small spaces for clothing. Ship Quality
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Mazatlan, Mexico
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Cabo San Lucas, MexicoDon't Miss: Cabo by Land and Sea 1 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Too much at Sea by
Pat C. from Phoenix, AZ Sailing date: Mar 2008Pros: Normandie Dinner servers were great, Hector and Hector Cons: Service and attitutes were poor at Mermaid Grill and Mermaid grill food were bad Service provided by purser to photographer were poor in customer service. They are complaining among themselves about their personal problems with each other.
Dancer and singer in the main show were amature and poor quarlity. Ship Quality
Dining/FoodMermaid Grill ethnic food was insulting. Stateroom Quality
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Children's ProgramsStaff at the service could be more postive and helpful. Poorly organized with flow of traffic of people check in and check out.
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Mazatlan, MexicoGood land tour guide. Buy the tour at the port, not on the ship.
Puerto Vallarta, MexicoToo dirty. No bargin on stuffs. Better buy in the USA.
Cabo San Lucas, MexicoBoat with bottom glass viewing was worth it. $12 per adult and child less than 12 is free.
Don't Miss: Massage on the port was great. 2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Boring days at Sea... by
Mary D. from Los Angeles CA Sailing date: Oct 2007Pros: Ports Cons: Days at Sea I am just not a cruise person. I found the days at sea tedious. Nothing to do. Shipboard activities were lame (for lack of a better term). Almost all adult activities revolved around drinking, so if you are not a drinker, there is not much to do.
Port calls were short, not much time to do anything.
You will enjoy this cruise if you enjoy sitting around the pool for days on end with a drink in your hand.
If you do choose this ship, check floor plans to make sure you are not adjacent to any entertainment areas. Don't forget to check the floor above and below you!
I was on the 5th deck forward, directly above the Taj Mahal (the auditorium) and EVERY NIGHT I could hear the shows below. Not a single nights good sleep. The Hotel staff refused to change my room, even when I asked to be downgraded from a balcony room to anything were I could sleep at night. Ship Quality
Dining/FoodLido Deck food is like cafeteria food.
The Dining room is good. I did't like that you had to share a table with strangers during breakfast and lunch. Stateroom QualityStateroom much larger than expected. Clean and tastefully decorated. Ship Staff Quality
Entertainment & ActivitiesShows were horrible.
Shipboard activities are similar to childrens party games. 1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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What a Let Down by
Donna K. from York, Pennsylvania Sailing date: Nov 2009Pros: The Shows Cons: "Closed Due to Maintenance" Signs Ship was not up to par compared to other ship I have been on. Thing were broken down and out of order not just for the day but the whole week. Signs of destruction and vandallism. Unfriendly crew. Ship QualityThe smallest cruise ship I have ever been on, therefore you feel alot of motion of the ocean and engine vibration, felt more like a tug boat. Dining/FoodMain dining was excellent staff and food, very dissappointed that you get dressed nice to go to dinner and get stuck sitting in a fast food style booth, never seen anything like that on any other ship. Mermaid Grill staff was very middle of the road and sometime even rude, the food there was OK for dinner but the breakfast was simply not for human consumption. Stateroom QualityCompared to the rest of the ship, the room was top notch and the Stateroom attendent was the Best Ship Staff QualityStateroom attendent was the only one who went above and beyond. Waiter in Dining room could not understand us speaking half the time and we had a hard time understanding him. Entertainment & ActivitiesEvening shows were great but during the day other then every type of trivia you can imagine there really wasnt much going on. Never ran into a lack of activities on other ships, usually so much going on you dont know which one to choose. Children's ProgramsThey did the best they could with the limited amount of space in the childrens area. Again on other ships the childrens play area is much larger. 4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Beautiful ship by
A Traveler from BOSTON,MASS Sailing date: Apr 2008Pros: Beautiful ship Cons: 8 yr olds mt in camp carnival in front of ship and my 10 yr old would mt at back of ship Although we reccommend ship , there were some things we were disappointed with .
1. Selection of food in Buffett dining area in Mermaid Grille was poor.
2. Staff was not friendly , first 2 cruises with carnival staff was much more friendly and livelier, probably something to do with working 80 hrs a week??
3. Las Vegas style shows , more specifically the dancers and singers were average at best , and poorly thought out shows and choreography ,forget las vegas quality . Although they had some excellent performers they flew in from Vegas that were excellent
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Dining/FoodThis is my 3rd cruise with Carnival and My Wife and I both believe the Selection of foods as well as quality have gone down . The selection at Buffett dining for dinner was far less than before , maybe had to reduce selection do to cost of fuel ?? offset?? Stateroom Quality
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Mazatlan, MexicoNot as dirty and polluted as Puerta Vallarta , but still seems like a 3rd world country ,I know I have visited alot of them
Puerto Vallarta, MexicoJust a dirty old and polluted city , seems like a 3rd world country , I have visited alot of them
Cabo San Lucas, MexicoWe loved Cabo , probably because it is newly developed and not polluted yet
Don't Miss: Glass bottom boat ride out to Peninsula , we saw Seals , Beautiful rock formationsful 2 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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a wonderful honeymoon gruise by
James and Linda P from Virgina Sailing date: May 2010Pros: the price of the state room and the room it self. Cons: shows on the ship and avalability of pools. I have traveled on this cruise line and Royal Carribbean numerous times. I would rate each high on rooms and service staff. but Royal Carribbean less on foods quality(not dinning room). All of the foods were very good on on this recent voyage. I would not rate the quality of the shows high as Royal Carribbean. I heard two comedies on on Royal and their were few off colored jokes as to be expected. But the comedy on this past voyage and true it said adults only but every joke was filty and if porn could be described this comedian tried her very best to do it. The music in the diffrent lounges was excellent. Ship Quality
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Entertainment & ActivitiesComedy act was beyond filty. every joke
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Freeport, Grand Bahama Islandwe just went shopping.
Nassau, BahamasThe gardens and city tour were great. I and my wife loved all the birds and other animals at the garden.
Don't Miss: Flamingo sHOW AND BIRD FEEDING AT THE gARDENS. Port Canaveral, FloridaAir Boat and Alligators a must do. The other tours are great but me and my wife had already been to those places.
Don't Miss: all the activities are great. 0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
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A very nice cruise by
A Traveler from Mt Holly NJ Sailing date: May 2010Pros: the food was very good Cons: where our room was deck 1 room 1116 The ship is a little confusing at first but after a day you get use to where everything is. Our room was under Starry Nights which is a Karoke bar and you can hear the music and chairs being dragged on the floor. Very annoying. After complaining about it for a few days Carnival was able to upgrade our room to a Veranda Suite with a balcony. They were very nice and understanding.
The food was very good but the Mermaid Grille area is very confusing. We found out the last 2 days there that that had a pizza area and a deli. Also if you have a soda card and you want a soda you have to find a bar which is all the way out on the Lido deck to get a drink. There is usually someone walking a round with a cart but only for ice tea, lemonade and water.
The excusions are very expensive and yes (even though I was told you cant) You can get a taxi for cheap to take you to the beaches in Nassau and Freeport. Nassau was very nice. There is a Pirate museum you can walk to (dont do the excusion from the ship. Total rip off) and Senor Frogs resturaunt/bar is a happening place. Freeport is a bit of a mess. When you pull into port it is not a pretty site. Its a big industrial plant and smells a bit like rotten onions. The excusion to the beach is a not worth the money. You can take a taxi for alot cheaper and its a publice beach at Our Lucaya. We did the Alligator tour in Florida which was alot of fun. You can ride an airboat to see the Gators and then sample some Gator Tail. Very delicious. Ship QualityIts a little confusing and on the first day of embarking its hard to find a place to sit and eat in the lido deck and in the Mermaide Grill Dining/Foodfood was good. I recommend the open dinning. Its a lot easier especially if you have children Stateroom QualityStaterooms are an excellent size and plenty of space for your belongings. Like I said before dont book on the first deck. You can hear everything. Go higher if possible. Ship Staff QualityAwesome, awesome. Wonderful people! Entertainment & ActivitiesAlways entertained and left with big apiles Children's ProgramsExcellent childrens program. My daughter had an excellent time at Camp C. Wonderul staff and plenty of things to do!
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Freeport, Grand Bahama IslandSmell port and the excusions are a rip off. Take a taxi at the end of the peir and go to Our Lucaya beach. Its a public beach and beautiful
Nassau, BahamasAn awesome place. Alot to see. Pirate Museum was a great place to go to and cheap. Dont do the excursion from the ship. Total rip off. Easy to walk too on your own. Beware of the people at the Straw Market. A little greedy with the prices.
Port Canaveral, FloridaAlligator tour was cool but the Love Bugs were out in full force and drive you crazy with there buzzing in your face
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Good news/bad news by
Lauren K from Chesapeake City, MD Sailing date: Nov 2009Pros: Carnival Cruise lines and the wonderful staff Cons: The inner city clientele out of Baltimore The ship itself is really nice. The renaissance paintings throughout are beautiful but I wondered about this ship with this interior on a purely tropical itinerary. Ship QualityI did notice some dirty or worn areas but I credit/blame that on the clientele... we noticed vandalism that took place on this trip especially in the elevators. Dining/FoodNormandie dining room food was exceptional - quite the best I've ever had on a cruise! Stateroom QualityCarnival's staterooms are a definite step above similarly priced rooms on other lines. Ship Staff QualityEven the rudeness of this cruise's clientele could not shake the staff who did everything within their power to please. Entertainment & ActivitiesShows were good, comedy acts could have been better. 2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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