Carnival Cruises
An ultra-fun, vegas-style water park of a ship for the whole family
The Ship. The ship’s profile is quite well balanced, with a rakish (but short) front and rounded stern.
A WaterWorks pool deck has lots of water and sports amusements – including a long orange multi-deck ‘Twister Water Slide’ and a catch-you-off-guard ‘Power Drencher.’ There’s a Seaside Theater screen for poolside movies and a laser light show, but the general open deck space is small considering the number of passengers carried. Meanwhile, Serenity is an adults-only, extra-charge retreat, with two large hot tubs on deck.
There is a full walk-around open promenade deck lined with deck chairs, and four ‘scenic whirlpools’ are cantilevered over the water for good views.
On a lower deck, The Ocean Plaza, with around 190 seats, is a comfortable place by day and a trendy entertainment venue by night. Its indoor/outdoor café and live music venue has a bandstand and a large circular dance floor.
The Caribbean-themed interior decor is extremely bright. Many of the public rooms, lounges, bars, and nightspots are located on two main public room/entertainment decks, which are accessed via an 11-deck-high atrium, whose ground level has a cantilevered bandstand atop a large dance floor.
Jackpot is the colorful lively casino with gaming tables and slots. Other rooms include The Song (Jazz Bar), and Ocean Plaza, quiet during the day, and with live entertainment at night. Internet terminals are scattered around the ship, but lack privacy. There’s a 232-capacity conference room, while The Library has a bar, board games, but few books.
Carnival Breeze is a big floating playground, carrying almost 5,000 passengers when full. It has lots of facilities for young families with children, who will love the outdoor pool deck and its facilities. However, there’s no escape from the incredibly loud rap, rock, and vocal music throughout the ship.
Accommodation. There are numerous cabin price categories, priced by size, grade and location, from interior (no-view) cabins to much larger ‘spa’ and balcony suites. Whether you go for high end or low end, all include plush mattresses, good-quality duvets, linens, pillows, and tropical decor (even cabin doors have cabana-style slats to get the mood going. The decor is a mix of light browns and nautical blues, but accommodation deck hallways are bright, even at night. Note that cabins on Deck 12 are subject to lots of noise from kids having fun on the deck above – so forget that afternoon nap.
Dining. There are two main dining rooms: Sapphire (midships) and the smaller Blush (aft), each with main and balcony levels (stairways connect them), and two small restaurant annexes, for small groups. Note that the two main dining rooms are not open for lunch on port days.
Don’t even think about a quiet table for two, or a candlelit dinner on deck. This is all about table mates, social talk, lively meals, fast eating, and fast service. Tables do have tablecloths, silverware, and iced water/iced tea whenever you want it. Choose either fixed time dining (6pm or 8.15pm) or flexible dining (during opening hours).
Overall, the food is carbohydrate-rich and non-memorable (it’s banquet-style ‘batch’ production cooking, after all), with simple presentation, few garnishes, and many dishes disguised with gravies and sauces. The selection of fresh green vegetables, bread and bakery items (these are thawed and then baked from frozen ‘starter’ dough), cheeses, and fruits is limited, and there is heavy use of rice, canned fruit, and jellied desserts.
‘Spa Carnival Fare’ provides a healthier food option. Vegetarian and children’s menus are also available, but they wouldn’t get a generous score for their nutritional content.
Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse (and bar) has an extra-cost à la carte menu, good table settings, china and silverware, leather-bound menus, premium-quality steaks and grilled seafood items.
Lido Marketplace – a copy of the name used aboard (sister company) AIDA Cruises ships – is a large, self-serve buffet facility, with indoor/outdoor seating (lower level) and indoor-only seating (upper level). Designated areas feature different types of ethnic cuisine. The venue includes a Mongolian Wok on the upper level, open for tablecloth-free buffet dinners (no candles). Cucina del Capitano is an Italian extra-charge eatery, also on the upper level, with pasta served at lunch and ‘authentic’ Italian specialties at night.
On pool deck there’s Guy’s Burger Joint (for burgers and fries) and BlueIguana Cantina (for Tex-Mex fast-food items including burritos, tacos, and enchiladas). Other eateries include Fat Jimmy’s C-Side BBQ (for grilled items such as kielbasa/Polish sausage, grilled chicken breast, and pulled pork sandwiches), and Bonsai Sushi (Carnival’s first full-service sushi restaurant), with decor by graffiti artist Erni Vales, and sushi, sashimi, and bento boxes by Carnival.
Kids also get their own restaurant towards the top of the atrium.
Entertainment. The 1,964-seat Ovation Showlounge, located forward, spans three decks, with seating in a horseshoe shape around a large proscenium arch stage. Sight lines are generally good, except from some of the seats at the back of the lowest level. Large-scale production shows, with lots of skimpy costumes and feathers, are typical, together with snappy cabaret acts, all accompanied by a live showband.
The Limelight, aft seats 425, and has a stage, dance floor, and large bar. For late-night raunchy adult comedy, it becomes the Punchline Comedy Club.
For an active movie experience, check out the Thrill 5D Theater, where the seats really move you.
Spa/Fitness. The expansive 23,750-sq-ft (2,206-sq-m) Cloud 9 Spa is positioned over three decks in the front section of the ship. The uppermost deck includes indoor/outdoor private spa relaxation areas, at extra cost. A spiral staircase connects the two decks.
The spa offers a wide range of treatments, and there are 10 rooms for this. An extra-charge Thermal Suite features the sensory-enhanced soothing heated chambers: Laconium, Tepidarium, Aroma, and Oriental steam baths.