Carnival Cruises Port — Attraction in Galveston

There is so much to consider when cruising and having been on a few cruise ships I would honestly say that this is by far the largest vessel we have been on and the most expensive cruise line that nickel and dimes you for everything. I will detail the pros and cons of sailing with the cruise line so you can make an informed decision about which to choose. For us it’s a NO! Pros: It is a very large ship with lots to do. They have nightlife for partiers and family shows. The have a large selection of free food options for all your tastebuds and picky eaters in your party. Our favorite place to visit was Shaq’s restaurant. It had one of the better lunch options for chicken and fries. The Shaq sauce is amazing. It has a pinch of heat and sweet taste the leaves a nice burn in your mouth. If you’re looking for a milder option check out Guy’s restaurant. His burger was decent but definitely not what we expected in a bad way. His restaurant in our opinion was more of a con than pro. Service staff: These are some of the hardest working people we have ever met. We throughly enjoyed speaking to them and loved getting to hear their stories. They were very friendly and had lots of tips to make our experience enjoyable. Chibang was a restaurant we frequently went to dinner to as Ni Made made us feel at home. She was so sweet, kindhearted and compassionate with our kiddo. Our housekeeping staff was also amazing. Budi is so kind and mild tempered. He was always willing to help us with anything we needed and made our room wonderful every day. The photographers were a bit pushy to get photos. But they did do a great job taking amazing pics. I have a con to mention about this later on. The captain did a fantastic job keeping us safe during several violent storms that hit TX. While we had a few nights of rough waters, he made sure we were on a safe path to and from our destination. Well done captain! If you decide to book with this line you should get the stateroom with a balcony. The room is very spacious and had ample storage to hold all 7 luggages with clothes. Shore excursions were great! We enjoyed Honduras and 2 stops in Mexico. While VERY short it was well worth the visit as we wanted our kiddo to experience Xcaret like we did years ago. We had air conditioned transportation to and from our locations on every excursion. Our drivers were safe and very friendly. While a tourist destination, they do make it known that tips are the only way they survive during low season so they really push tips a lot. Cons: Value for what you get is terrible! This cruise line will milk you for everything you have, especially if you’re sentimental. As I mentioned, the photographers are pushy but amazing. We had lots of photos taken, approx 165. Carnival, THE MONEY KING, charges $18.99 for inside digital downloads and $22.99 for outdoors downloads. The prices are the same per photo for 8x10 prints. The special “studio time” with a photographer at the final consult will range from $299 for 3 photos and $4300 for an album of 20 photos and a slideshow. Now if you have lots of money then it’ll be well worth it because the photos and slideshow are amazing. However, that price was way more than what we paid for on Disney and it discouraged us from wanting to rebook any future trips or recommend this cruise line to anyone. Wild passengers- We’d never seen so many out of control passengers on one ship. We witnessed rude passengers tossing a “closed” sign on the floor because they arrived late for breakfast. We saw people getting questioned or arrested by security on a daily basis because they were drunk or wanting to fight other passengers. We saw kids drinking alcohol that apparently their parents may have given them. We also saw people having “relations” in the water while on the excursion in Honduras with families in close proximity. We heard kids running through the halls at 2am screaming at the top of their lungs. When we took the elevators daily there were drink glasses and plates with food tossed in the areas by the stairs and...

I have been about 67 days at sea now , 5-6 different ships and almost a platinum member when I reach 74 days. So when I speak, it’s with experience. First I can say the boat really makes the difference. Then, the Cruise director Andy Mercer really made the experience enjoyable, very funny and helped the cruise move along with a nice pace, with humor and laughter needed as it can get stale at sea. Especially,if lots of sea days.

The people who are your dinner servers and room steward and typically guest services (except with chat issues) are always very courteous and willing to help you. The most noticeable difference over last boat and few years is food quality in main dinning has become considerably mediocre, compared to other ships i have been on, this one was the Dream for second time. While the food was better than Lido deck food, to get the quality dinner, Carnival pushes the +$23/per person/meals as options for the upper echelon food that was once the standard. Now completely subpar.

We had three rooms in CloudSpa and the AC units were partially working We found ourselves always left sweating in sleep time. The rooms were never cool. The steward and guest services were notified but maintenance never resolved during the 8/7 cruise. Many on deck 11 FWD complained not just us.

Then there is their so called chat service via iPhone app and Android. Carnival has the audacity to charge to use it, while only $5/guest, it’s garbage. Chats are delayed and often people get messages after the event you’re trying to plan. Quit being cheap and upgrade your wireless internal service and endpoints. This is the only way to keep up with friends/family on mile long ship as cell service is extremely costly in international waters. My 9 year old nephew was lost because he could not get response from his mom on chat. She said messages she sent failed and never got to him. Luckily we ran into him on Lido. He was in a panic and rightly so with 5k people on board. His mother was in a state of disarray too since she could not connect with her son. However, this is another Carnival ploy to get you to pay $15-20/ day for a social media package x8 day per device for things like facebook messenger (chat service that has proven it works).For a family of 8 we would spend more than $900 just to keep in touch and schedule activities. FYI adults don’t care about social media we care about planning and finding family when lost or needing to get them a message without walking a mile each way from FWD to AFT, especially myself who has a cane needed to walk.

Next is smokers and casino. They have placed the casino in middle of deck 5, where you have to cross through a smoke filled area to get from front to back of ship. Deck 5 were shopping located, so it’s a pain to reroute back to another floor to walk around it. For those with smoking allergies or just not looking for second hand smoke inhalation, your only option is reroute to a floor below. Deck 4, where they so conveniently place the non- smoking casino. At least it’s to the right of walkway. Then there is their Art work, another scam, I am still waiting after two years or more for one of the five originals I purchased. Don’t waste your money, sure you can get some cheap champagne but it’s an auction scam that just waste your time. Go to Sea Brunch or another activity instead. Last was excursions were limited in Bahamas, definitely a sales pitch giving you only partially what you paid for. For example we had five at about $125/person. Our section was adults only but there were kids/those under 21 in sections right next to us. So while dedicated host were wonderful, it was a fabricated marketing ploy and the resort was not adults only as on brochure. Also not equipped, as they resort could not even sit our family, as they did not have enough chairs available with umbrellas. This was one option selected because so limited choices. Carnival needs to return to the quality experience they were renowned. It’s good that other cruise companies don’t match days at sea or I...

Very first cruise on the jubilee! Firstly, the port needs an updated sidewalk. Sure the bricks are beautiful and historic but not wise for ppl lugging heavy luggage and risking breaking a wheel. Overall, it was easy on and off, definitely a chaotic zoo with 5k ppl but enough staff guiding you to right place and being friendly! All wishing us a nice cruise. Overall, the jubilee was a blast! Pros were ample amount of bars, beautiful exquisite design. Every corner and crevice of this boat is unique and designed and decorated so cool. You’ll constantly see new things over the course of 5 days or whatever walking the same halls cause there’s just that much to look at. Staff is so nice. Housekeeper was so polite. Endless entertainment in the days and evenings. My biggest criticism as a younger cruiser (mid 30s) and as a couple, all the live music entertainment ended by midnight. Piano bar did last call at 11:40 on a Friday night. It’s kinda of ridiculous to turn people away at that hour on a cruise and tell them to either go to only casino bar or the limelight lounge. I dont wanna be arounf cigs and the limelight definitely attracts a certain crowd and thus requires ample security. It’s more of a club feel. We didn’t feel too comfortable there. But overall it’s fine, just wish they had the Latin music still going or a musician somewhere else. Above all, the Lido deck is absolutely dead except for two parties the entire 7 day cruise at night. One 80s party and another party that ended by 11:30. Probably the absolute biggest critique is that the hot tubs and pools close early too and get roped off. People are paying big bucks $$$ to be on these boats. It’s not right to have amenities open LATE. Maybe you’re a couple with kids and the only time you have to go in hot tub is at midnight. Im sure they have some lame justification for it like for safety reasons, or another excuse but personally i think it's absurd. ppl should have the right to choose. Our cruise director Kyndall Fire was okay. she was funny and hilarious at times but overall way too loud for me. Ppl seemed to love her. but my gf couldnt stand her. shes just a little too brash. Being out of galveston your gonna have a heavy texas crowd which i appreciated. makes a more non PC crowd. which i respect. Overall, super amazing dining experience. the drinks were so amazing and unique. loved the options. but think they are not accommodating a younger crowd like myself. and they need to either get with it, or im gonna find a cruise that doesnt roll up the carpets at 9 pm and close off pools and hot tubs. its ridiculous. Went to mahogany bay, costa maya and Cozumel. Stayed in port in first two and were plenty awesome. Cozumel did air bus tour and had a good time. But for some reason had to be back on boat at 3:30 which is so early when we didn’t even leave till 5:30+ and lastly, it’s all FUN and enjoy till the last day or two… it’s MAKE SURE YOURE OFF AT 8:30 sharp!!!!! Like dang ppl. Act like ppl didn’t just spend thousands to be here. Calm down. As a first cruise, I got a bit queezy. As big of a boat as it is I still felt it. On the positive, with 5,500+ ppl on board it wasn’t AS JAMMED as I expected. But definitely a little packed for breakfast buffet. Elevators are quick and there’s plenty. At least majority of ppl let ya squeeze in… and if they don’t, screw em, it’s a cruise ppl. Too much to do too little time. Make room. Be polite. And have a good time! My girl and I caught a cold tho. Not sure if it was from the dolphin swim or just from the boat in general with that many ppl. Def would do it again! Get the drink package....