Carnival Cruise Lines

I went on a cruise on the Imagination in January. I was VERY disappointed in the staff on this ship. I have cruised before on Royal Caribbean and had wonderful experiences. But this was horrible. I was given a piece of meat that was too tough to cut with my fork, and asked an assistant waiter for a steak knife. He replied "That's not my job." Not I'll see if I can find one, or they are available over there, or any such thing...."That's not my job". The room itself was adequate, but when one leaves the ship at 6AM, one doesn't expect to find the room still unmade and the room service trays from breakfast still in the room at 1 PM. Cruise lines are known for their outstanding food. Not so with Carnival Imagination. Cold rubbery lobster, watery eggs, cheesecake that tasted as if it were made from Jack cheese. The last day of the trip, we were told that there would be an informational meeting for the passengers about returning to Miami, and since we had done some shopping we th... Read more

I guess it depends on what you want in a cruise. We've sailed on the Ecstasy 3 times now. It's very family oriented rather than elegant. The kids program on this ship is amazing. There were 650 children on board with us (in october) and we barely saw them :-) It might not be the most elegant cruise line, but it's very affordable. Sure they nickle and dime you on drinks and merchandise and excursions, but so do all the others. You don't have to buy those things or do the excursions. You can stay on the ship, kick back and/or eat until you blow up :-) I loved it...

The ship and crew were good. What I don't like is that after already spending money for the cruise, they try to nickel and dime you to death with overpriced drinks and outrageously expensive shore excursions. I know its a business and they want to make a profit, but come on, $5.95 for a simple rum cocktail that maybe costs them 50 cents for ingredients? Be reasonable, and charge three bucks and I would have ordered them. Just because you have a captive market doesn't mean you need to try to shake them down for every last dollar, that's bush league. As for the food, the breakfast and lunch buffet, it was mediocre. The dinners were very good. The staff was always very professional. All in all, Carnival Cruises have no elegance about them, but they don't profess to. They are like Denny's, very basic, nothing special about them.

We just returned from our first-ever cruise, and it was with Carnival. So I can't compare them with any other ones. I will say that it was a great experience. The wait staff were all young people from other countries like Croatia, Belarus, the Philippines, Ireland, etc. All of them were so polite and eager to do things for us. Traveling was a little rough because the waves were choppy, but that can be expected in January. The price was very affordable. But I noticed that they will try to find a way to get money out of you every time you turn around. They're always coming around offering to sell liquor, and they constantly take your picture whether you're posing or not, then hope you'll buy said photos. And there are gift shops and gambling rooms. Fortunately, I have zero interest in casinos or alcohol, so I didn't lose my shirt on this trip....just enjoyed being waited on and having some great meals - and making friends with total strangers.

the absolute worst holiday I have ever had. the food was nothing special, we paid for a trip to mexico and came all the way from alberta. we had spent 10 days prior in hollywood, san diego, annaheim, long beach and santa monica beach, only to find out instead of getting the trip we paid for to puerto vallarta, mazatlan and cabo san lucas, we get to go to ensenada what a dump, san diego been there done that and oh yah catalina island, you could swim there from long beach where we boarded the damn ship. O joy what a holiday sure glad I spent 2000.00 on air to get there, the 1000.00 on hotels waiting for the trip, the 1000.00 for the hotel after not getting the trip the 3000.00 for the cruise that would only be worth about 1200.00 Makes me wanna go again, NOT!!!!!!!! People before you book with CARNIVAL you should check out some reviews. I know that at least 250 people got off this ship due to dissappointment all the way around. the food, the service, everytime you turn around they want... Read more

loud music 24 hours a day, kept from relaxing and sleeping

I love Carnival Cruises. Staff is wonderful, people are friendly, rooms are big.