Carnival Cruise LineReviews of carnival.com

⭐️⭐️ First-Time Carnival Cruiser — Already Frustrated Before We Even Sail My family and I are scheduled to cruise with Carnival in December 2026, and this will be my first Carnival cruise. Unfortunately, the planning experience alone has already left me extremely disappointed. For starters, after paying what I consider a significant amount for this vacation, I was surprised to learn about the additional drink package costs, including having to pay extra for things like soda and certain beverages for the kids. When you’re traveling as a family, these additional charges add up quickly. I understand that cruise lines have optional packages, but as a first-time Carnival guest, I did not expect so many added expenses after already paying thousands for the trip. My bigger issue, however, has been the customer service. When I asked to speak directly with a manager, instead of the manager actually coming to the phone, the representative repeatedly went back and forth between me and the manager, relaying messages. If a customer specifically asks to speak with management because an issue has not been resolved, why not allow the manager to actually speak with the customer? I also requested a TWO-WEEK payment extension because my family recently experienced a death and I am going through an extremely difficult period. Our cruise is still approximately three months away. I wasn’t asking to cancel the trip or avoid paying my balance—I simply asked for an additional two weeks. I was told they could only extend it seven days. There seemed to be absolutely no compassion or flexibility for a customer dealing with a genuine hardship. Between the added costs, the customer service experience, the lack of flexibility and researching the older ships, planning this vacation has become more stressful than exciting. I have cruised with MSC and had a much better overall experience, and Virgin Voyages is also looking like a better option for me going forward. A vacation should begin with excitement—not frustration months before you even step onto the ship. I sincerely hope the actual Carnival cruise experience in December changes my opinion, because right now, based solely on the planning and customer service experience, I am already questioning whether Carnival will ever be my choice again after this trip. Carnival, please remember that sometimes customers aren’t asking for special treatment—they’re asking for reasonable assistance, communication and a little compassion when life happens.

I was very disappointed in the atmosphere on the cruise. I think people forget that you can have fun and enjoy a trip without having to lose your self respect and consideration for others. It felt like a floating "sin-fest". It was not a "family fun" ship as much as it was a party ship that allows children. The staff were mostly very friendly but some of the dining staff were not familiar with the food ingredients being served, which can pose a major issues with any food allergies. The buffet is a mad house with a "herding cattle" routine. The pool is not kid friendly, but they enjoyed the waterside. A lot of nickle and dime charges throughout the trip.

The food was great last time I went, but this time it was hit and miss. Nothing made me like omg I loved that. The bed was like sleeping on a cardboard box, I was uncomfortable every night and woke up in pain. For $1000 a room I expect to be comfortable and the good to be satisfying.

The only thing I have bad to say about the Carnival is that they need a policy on wearing bathing suits without coverups in the food areas. The women have gone too far with their butts out in the food areas. We do not wants to see their butt while we are eating. Some families are there with young children as well. Have some respect!

cruise sydney to Moreton islands the cruise was great staff & food and drinks great and a good price and the ship was clean and tidy but the Cloud 9 Spa was a rip off and we had money taken taken out of our a/c without our permission , sessions changed and wrong sessions put on our a/c made a complaint on the ship and was told to follow it up when we got home sent follow up complaint 20/4/26 still waiting for a response total shambles

Most of the staff was very courteous, especially our room attendant, he was probably my favorite, very sweet guy. My only complaints would be on cruise day they closed down 2 of the pools to clean them and the buffet closed early, so for like, 4 hours, everybody had to stand in line on the Lido deck for the hamburger, Pizza, etc to get food because nothing else was available. I think on the last day they should have at least a small buffet available all day long so people don't have to fight for food.That was very difficult. I don't have plans anytime soon to go on carnival cruise I'd rather spend my money and go on a better cruise line.

Was a very fun time . But I was charged for my excursion 2 times and the food made me sick the entire trip. My grandma also .i wanna try again was told my cruise was a training crew also and it showed .

My husband, myself and 2 children cruised on the Celebration Jan 19-26, 2025. For the most part we had a great time. The food service and quality was a repeated let down. The first night I was a few minutes earlier than everyone else. They wouldn’t serve me anything without everyone there. Fine I get it but a kind explanation from the server or some sort of dining etiquette handbook beforehand. If this is a major rule that they have I feel like it should’ve been broadcast. The waitstaff made me feel like the 2 shrimp cocktails I ordered were for people that didn’t exist. Instead of explaining the policy they just ignored me until the rest of the party joined me. The second night we made our reservation and the 10 minute time limit expired as we were standing in line to check in. They wouldn’t seat us and we had to start a new reservation for a 40 minute wait. One of the other nights I made a reservation and service ends at 9. My table showed it was ready at 8:59. They wouldn’t seat me even though the entire restaurant was full. It was just myself because the rest of my family was sick with norovirus. I worked in restaurants for many years, no one wants a table one minute until close. But a single person with an entire room still full, c’mon. The whole dining experience really was disappointing. This meal service was included in our cruise package but man they weren’t accommodating and we felt like if we weren’t buying the up charge meals they didn’t want anything to do with us. There were a few fantastic and fun bartenders. Again the service however lacked. They would take our drink order and then take 5 other people’s order at the same time. Fine, except they didn’t give drinks in the order they were taken. There were multiple times I received my drink after other people when I ordered first. If you get chatting with any of the employees they are more than happy to tell you that they work 14 hour shifts for 9 months with no days off and are only paid tips. Come on Carnival treat your employees better. This cruise was very apparent that the employees were burnt out. We had fun family time don’t get me wrong but it was daily that we encountered some type of negative service. The ship itself had lots to do and any other food experience was pleasant. The sit down dining experience just left a poor impression.