You Get What you Pay for (Caribbean Cruise)

Author: irene r.
Date of Trip: August 2010

My family and I just returned from a 5 day cruise with Carnival to the western Caribbean. The price was great, and we booked a week before. As a result, we had our stateroom (very nice and spacious) on the bottom deck (the crew was one floor below). Throughout the night there were all kinds of banging and/or yelling or fighting (usually around 3 a.m.). The entertainment crew (with the exception of the director, his assistant, and Lewis) bordered on rude (with her sarcastic comments/answers) to bored and indifferent (wish-I -were -somewhere -else attitude).

Our dining table faced an emergency exit door, a wall on my left and a galley kitchen on my right. After complaining, we got another table where we could see (not out of) a window. Service was excellent, but perhaps the thing that made this vacation unsatisfactory is the apparent “bending” or lack of enforcing rules. People entered the dining buffet area in bikinis or bathing suits (no shirts or cover-ups) and sometimes barefoot. On “Elegant Night”, jeans and baseball caps were worn by some. Some men walked anywhere on board shirtless. Some children ran around shoeless (esp in the dining areas). Often they were in elevators unsupervised.

While at an adult comedy late night show, the host specifically stated all children had to leave. There were children that remained in the room and certainly the numerous waiters turned a blind eye to this. At any given time, you would find children in the jacuzzi going underwater…it just is unacceptable. These are health risks and an overall blatant disregard for rules and others. I don’t care what the price is, I will never be on a Carnival cruise again.