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Carnival Cruise Reviews

1 - 10 of 27,777 Carnival Cruise Reviews

Sail Date: June 2024

Review for a Bahamas Cruise on Carnival Sunshine

Review of Carnival Sunshine We booked this cruise for a first-time cruise for our grandchildren in June of 2024. We were excited about Princess Cays. The cruise was to stop in Nassau and Princess Cays. Due to rough seas, we were unable to Dock at princes Cay. Our second day at Sea it rained off and on most of the day. NO compensation was given for the missing port of call. I have been on ... Read More

Review for a Caribbean - Southern Cruise on Carnival Horizon

Best cruise ever - staff on boat were phenomenal - especially Christian at the coffee shop and Henry in housekeeping - amazing people ! All staff kind courteous and attentive - boat was spotless! So much to do in ship and great excursion opportunities ! Great for adults and families - great activities for all ages ! Dr Suess waterpark looked like the kids had a blast ! Comedians were funny - shows ... Read More

Review for a Bermuda Cruise on Carnival Venezia

Got back yesterday from 4 night to Bermuda. Food was dreadful in MDR Marco polo. Onion soup was dirty dishwater like shrimp cocktail had 3 less than medium shrimp. Always below par...and you are not allowed a menu! You had to read menu on your phone! None of the 6 of us had any service. So our nice waiter had to pass his phone around to us to view menu. Totally asinine. I cruise to enjoy, not to ... Read More

Review for a Mexican Riviera Cruise on Carnival Firenze

To be fair there were some good with the not so good. Good, Nice clean ship. Majority of the entertainment was great. Our room attendant was great. Joey the cruise director was super funny. Bad, food wasn't really good at all. The ship ran out of Celsius energy drink on day 2. We checked every bar on board and no one had any energy drinks what so ever. They ran out of bacon on day 2. There were ... Read More

Review for a Alaska Cruise on Carnival Spirit

Day one at sea was rough. Many seasick people including myself. After that it was great. The food and shows as well as other activities were very good. I really enjoyed the evening movies. The staff on the ship were extremely helpful. The cruise director did a great job! My grandson enjoyed the pool and hot tub. He also did miniature golf, ping pong, and loved the basket ball court. He did a ... Read More

Review for a Mexican Riviera Cruise on Carnival Radiance

I’ve been on other carnival cruises and this one was the absolute worst ship. This ships lacks things to do for entertainment both for adults and teens. The food was mediocre but worst of all this ship smells like crap, literally poo. Our room smelled so bad we had to switch rooms even after they said it was fixed. The hallways on the second and third floors smell like sewage. Customer service ... Read More

Review for a Caribbean - Eastern Cruise on Carnival Celebration

This was our first cruise and this is our last cruise. We signed up for this cruise for a family trip. Understaibly their are families, kids, teens and older people on this cruise. The kids and teens on this cruise were out of control and disrespectful. I know not carnivals falt but the moment they should have stepped in to set the standard and to make it known these situations were not going to ... Read More

Review for a Caribbean - Western Cruise on Carnival Horizon

I always love cruise but this Horizon was the worst cruise ever, food not good. very disappointed , look like a hunger games with the food , Meridian restaurant took forever to served our meal literally like 2 hour. Never again Carnival no organization and I only see once the cruise director .Only I can said the bar (alchemy) was good other than that I was. waiting to get out of this ship, ... Read More

Traveled with children

Traveled with disabled person

First, I am a soon to be platinum cruiser and have cruised many Carnival Cruises. I traveled with a large group of family members of all ages and disabilities/handicaps. This cruise was by far the worst experience ever! It all started at the Miami Cruise Port. The staff was rude and not friendly at all. Once inside, I was hoping for a more welcoming staff but no. Once on the ship, the rudeness and ... Read More

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I had the pleasure of sailing aboard Carnival Cruise Line’s newest ship, the Carnival Celebration. Our sailing was one of her first from Port Miami, I was invited to sail as a guest with a media group. Our itinerary was a seven-night cruise from Port Miami, and we sailed a Western Caribbean cruise itinerary with port stops in Cozumel, Costa Maya, and Mahogany Bay. In this review, I will be sharing my opinions after sailing aboard this fantastic new ship from Carnival .

Carnival Celebration is the second ship in the Excel Class, and she is 183,521 gross tons. The ship features 2,687 staterooms with a guest capacity of 5,374. She also has six unique Zones: Celebration Station, The Gateway, Summer Landing, 820 Biscayne, Lido, and The Ultimate Playground.

Carnival Celebration Review

This would be my first cruise aboard one of Carnival Cruise Line’s new Excel Class ships. I had only been able to have a brief media visit preview for a day aboard Carnival’s Mardi Gras before her inaugural cruise. I have sailed numerous times aboard many classes of Carnival Cruise ships , so I was excited to have the opportunity to experience this incredible ship firsthand.

Embarkation

On embarkation day, we boarded the new Carnival Celebration at Carnival Cruise Line’s newly remodeled Terminal F at Port Miami. This beautiful terminal is now enlarged and designed to fit the larger Excel class ships like Carnival Mardi Gras and Carnival Celebration. Our check-in went very smoothly, and the line moved quickly. Before long we were onboard exploring the ship.

Our assigned cabin was a standard balcony on Deck 10 in stateroom number 10458. We found it to be very spacious with a comfortable and well-thought-out design. There was also plenty of closet space and storage for our clothes and items for a seven-night cruise.

Here is a video tour of our stateroom onboard:

We also appreciated the excellent new accent lighting around the desk’s mirror and the bed’s headboard. The cabin also had a very nice-sized TV mounted on the wall. The stateroom’s new color scheme and styling were very friendly and contemporary.

The stateroom features USB ports on both sides of the bed and LED reading lamps. The desk area also had plenty of power outlets and USB ports. Overall, we enjoyed this stateroom during our cruise, and I am always impressed by the many details Carnival integrates into its stateroom design.

Carnival HUB App

If you plan to take a Carnival cruise, download the Carnival HUB App before boarding your ship. It is loaded with features that will make your cruise more enjoyable. This is a must to keep up with the daily activities, dining reservations, and available dining options throughout your cruise. Now that everything is done on the app, you must utilize it during your next cruise.

Cruise Ship

The Carnival Celebration is incredible with everything it has to offer. It has a complete waterpark for kids and even a mini-golf course. The ship has a nice-sized main pool on the Lido deck and two aft Infinity pools.

We really enjoyed the sizeable adults-only Serenity deck that now has its own pool. If you want a more exclusive experience, you can get a pass to the LOFT 19 area that includes padded loungers and access to the infinity whirlpool and attentive servers.

The Carnival Celebration is the second ship to have BOLT, the Ultimate Sea coaster. BOLT is full of drops, twists, and turns 187 feet above the water line at incredible speeds.

We feel this ship is special because it has so many unique spaces for families traveling together to enjoy.

Golden Jubilee

On Deck 6, the Golden Jubilee features artwork, memorabilia, and original pieces from Carnival’s earlier vessels perfectly incorporated throughout the space , bringing Carnival’s 50 years of fun full circle. We loved the reproduction of blueprints depicting the evolution of Carnival’s Fun Ships, including some hand-drawn designs by world-renowned architect Joe Farcus in the ceiling.

We also learned about the Original 17’ by 7’ full-height etched glass, nickel, and mahogany partition wall with 24 TSS Mardi Gras casino windowpanes, separating the bar from the promenade. This item and many others on display were carefully salvaged by fellow journalist and ship historian Peter Knego before these ships were destroyed entirely. I had the chance to sit down and talk to Peter about his work and many of these fascinating and historic items onboard the Carnival Celebration . Be sure to watch our interview with Peter Knego about the Golden Jubilee.

Dining/Food

The Carnival Celebration is loaded with dining options. Most of them are complimentary and exceptionally good from fan favorites like Guy’s Burger Joint and new options like Big Chicken and Street Eats. You will not go hungry on this ship.

One of our favorites is the pizza called Miami Slice onboard. We enjoyed this several times during our cruise and loved grabbing a slice and enjoying the alfresco seating nearby. This ship has a tremendous amount of outdoor seating options, and it makes the ship more enjoyable.

Fahrenheit 555

Our dinner at Fahrenheit 555 was awe-inspiring. I found the steak cooked to perfection. It honestly was one of the best steaks I have ever had. The service and overall experience were very lovely and a great value overall.

Rudi’s Seagrill

This was my first visit to Rudi’s Seagrill and I enjoyed the superb seafood and other items we chose. It has a very high-end experience feel, and I would consider it for a romantic dinner during your cruise. This venue should not be missed if you are a seafood lover and want to try something special during your cruise.

Guy’s Pig and Anchor

We were able to visit Guy’s Pig & Anchor and walk right up and be seated. We enjoyed the food very much. I love how this is complimentary aboard the Carnival Celebration. However, the noise level of the band playing was a bit overwhelming during our dinner. So you may want to eat when the band is not playing or be sure to be seated a reasonable distance from the band due to the volume.

Bonsai Sushi  

One night we visited Bonsai Sushi to sample some items. We had never eaten here before on any of the other Carnival ships , so we wanted to try some things. We enjoyed things very much. Our favorites here are the sushi and tempura dish.

Emeril’s Bistro

We visited Emeril’s Bistro 1397 and stopped in and ordered the Beignes for $5 (powdered sugar, strawberry sauce, chocolate sauce) twice during our  cruise  and LOVED them, and they were perfect.

We saw many people having full meals here, and it all looked and smelled amazing. Be sure to check out Emeril’s Bistro 1397 menu. To view the menu,  click here . One of the most significant issues aboard Carnival Celebration is all the excellent and complimentary food offerings. You won’t go hungry aboard this ship; we found everything delicious.

Cucina del Capitano  

We have had dinner at Cucina del Capitanto several times on previous Carnival ships, so we stopped in for Lunch one day during our cruise. I ordered my favorite linguine and clam sauce. I also ordered some added shrimp to make it extra special.

Dinner here is an incredible and unique experience, but the clam sauce they use for the lunch pasta is so wonderful that it is a must-have during any Carnival cruise for me. I loved it as always and enjoyed the enhanced items and service they had aboard the Carnival Celebration during our cruise. On past Carnival cruises, my family and I would always come here to eat while waiting for our cabin to be available on busy embarkation days. It’s so good!

Sea Day Brunch

During our cruise, we enjoyed a Sea Day Brunch, and I ordered the House Special Skillet Cake. In the past, I would always order Steak and Eggs. And my daughters would always get the incredible Mac N’ Cheese.

Sea Day Brunch is offered in the main dining room from 8:30 am until noon, only on sea days. If you haven’t been to a Sea Day Brunch, I can sum it up in one word, incredible. So set the alarm and don’t miss your chance for a great meal. Here is a link to the Sea Day Brunch menu – click here to view the menu.

Ports/Itinerary

Our cruise visited three ports in the Western Caribbean,  Cozumel , Costa Maya, and Mahogany Bay.  We also had three sea days.

In Cozumel, we did Tabasco’s Chef Maestro, Cooking & Tasting excursion booked through Carnival Cruise Line. This included transportation to and from the port.

This was one of the best excursions we had ever taken. Everyone in our group enjoyed it. It was a very entertaining and informative class from start to finish. We learned how to create a delicious 3-course authentic meal. Knowing the different ingredients and cooking techniques that made the menu items complete was delightful. The Tabasco Chef class is located on the second floor of the prestigious Blu by Dolphinaris facility. So the location was incredible, and we enjoyed the fantastic views and watching the dolphins in the pools near the ocean.

In Costa Maya, we chose to stay aboard the ship and enjoy everything it had to offer. Leading up to this port day, we hadn’t booked any excursions, so it was nice to have the ship tour ourselves while many of the ship’s guests were off the ship enjoying this port. If you haven’t done this before, you might be surprised how different the ship can be during these times. Suddenly, there are very few or no lines, and the whole ship has a different vibe. We chose to take it easy, have a slice of pizza al fresco, look at the many ships in port with us today, and relax.

Mahogany Bay

We took the VIP Premium All Inclusive Beach Day excursion in Mahogany Bay through the ship. We enjoyed the drive over to a very private beachfront resort and then were escorted to a reserved VIP area of the beach with lounge chairs, umbrellas, palapas, and beach towels.

The service, amenities, and food were all incredible. They even had some live music playing. I would highly recommend this shore excursion to anyone visiting Mahogany Bay. This was our first time here, and we loved it. This was one of the best excursions we experienced from start to finish.

Insights & Observations

During our cruise, we utilized a Wi-Fi package, and Carnival seems to have some of the best internet connections that work well around the whole ship, even in your cabin. My wife and I quickly connected two devices with our package and never lost service.

Shopping Onboard

Carnival Cruise Line has taken shopping to the next level. You won’t be disappointed if you are shopping for some vacation souvenir or a duty-free luxury watch or purse. During our cruise, our group toured the many shops and learned how the ship has exclusive items not only to Carnival Cruise Line but also unique items only found onboard this ship.

• Cruise Director Lee Mason

During our cruise, we had the privilege of having award-winning Cruise Director Lee Mason welcome us onboard and be our guide for Fun and escape for our week onboard. I took the opportunity to sit down for an interview with him. It was an absolute pleasure to meet Lee in person finally. He is such an impressive human. Please watch our interview here:

Overall the crew and officers aboard the Carnival Celebration were attentive and upbeat. During this cruise, we had the privilege of meeting the Captain of the ship and his officers, shop managers, and more. Everyone is very passionate and professional about offering guests a unique, safe, and enjoyable vacation experience onboard.

Entertainment and Comedy

One of my favorite things about taking a cruise is the entertainment and comedy available onboard. Sometimes you have more choices than time, but that’s a good thing, right?

On board, we attended several comedy shows in the Punchliner Comedy Club and the Limelight Lounge. The comedians were both outstanding and were so entertaining. They were also very approachable, shaking hands and taking pictures with guests as we exited the show. I thought this was wonderful and shows how touched guests were by seeing such talented entertainers live.

Watching live music during the cruise, up close from string trios, piano players, full rock bands, and more, makes a Carnival Cruise extra special. Most evenings, you could watch live music shows in six other venues throughout the ship. The choice and quality make for a memorable evening.

Center Stage (Celebration Central Atrium)

Both the Carnival Celebration and Mardi Gras have this fantastic new stage in the new large atrium area of the ship. The area is stunningly beautiful and loaded with incredible technology. However, Carnival is trying to do full-production shows here, and the demand to see these shows far outweighs the available seats.

This area wasn’t designed to seat enough guests for their current high-demand shows. The sight lines are ok for looking directly at the stage but not always for some of the show’s aerial stunts. So even if you can find a seat, it may be partially obstructed. We saw guests waiting in line for hours or saving the open seats on the higher levels to have a chance to see these fantastic performances.

So I believe they will have to offer tickets to this venue so it can be used in a more organized manner in the future. I applaud Carnival for using this space to its fullest, but it may have been too much of a good thing in this small space, and I hope they will utilize the larger seating theater for the high-demand shows in the future.

Final Thoughts

The Carnival Celebration is a beautiful ship that offers an incredible big ship experience for both families and couples at a great price. This ship is extra special with its unique dining and entertainment opportunities. If you don’t have a cruise aboard the Carnival Celebration, click here to keep up with the latest prices and deals.

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Carnival legend begins european sailings with upgrades, princess unveils extended 2025-26 japan & southeast asia cruise season.

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Carnival Legend

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Find a Cruise on Carnival Legend

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Traveler Reviews

A ship’s traveler rating is provided under license by Cruiseline.com , which manages one of the largest databases of cruise reviews and ratings by travelers. A total of 2170 guests have reviewed Carnival Legend , giving it a rating of 3.9 on a scale of 1-5.

Cruiseline Travel Rating:

Reviews by traveler type, most recent reviews.

we made friends for life on this cruise

May 29th, 2024

We enjoyed the pool and spa area, and we also tried different dining options

Traveler Type

Large Group

A good cruise from Tampa

May 19th, 2024

We much preferred the Princess cruises we did before this Carnival cruise. Did not like the layout and decor of the ship, and did like the main dining room experience.

Excellent Cruise

May 5th, 2024

Overall and excellent cruise. The staff and ship were great!

Super relaxing fun-time

While being an older ship in need of updates it was very comfortable. The people made it a great cruise. I loved our dining room staff, Tuty, Ryan and Tom were all great. And the idea of putting a dozen singles together at one shared table was BRILLIANT.

Singles/Friends

AVOID AT ALL COSTS

Apr 15th, 2024

Ah, finally off the Carnival Legend. Thank the Lord and all that is Holy. First time on a cruise, and very little positive to say. Abandon all hope, ye who enter this ship with the hopes of having a smooth, relaxing vacation. Where do I start? Get on the Legend, go to my room and it’s 110 degrees in the cabin. Their “solution” to get you to shut up is to give you a desk fan…you've paid 2800$ for a cabin and these guys give you a dusty fan to point at your face on day 1. Already pissed off and we haven’t even gotten into international waters. Going out of Norfolk due to the tragedy in Baltimore, the Cheers package did not start until 6am…Ok, nobodys fault, god rest their souls. I was determined not to pay more for drinks, so decided I’d go gamble. All 2000 people on the ship had the same idea, so the casino was standing room only…and not even open. At this point, we’d been rocking for 3 hours (departed at 7), so were approaching 1030pm and my room is hot, they’re charging for drinks that I’ve already paid 1000$ for, and the casino is closed. It finally opens but there’s nowhere to sit as every elderly and disabled person on a scooter has lined up like the Daytona 500 ready to gamble. Ok, fine, Ill come back at 3am when it’s less busy to play some blackjack….jk, no I won’t. Tables closed at 2am, as did the bars. So the table dealers only worked 3+ hours the first night?? What kind of casino can you not gamble after 2am??? I asked when they open back up, they say 10am. No tables from 2-10am is an absolute joke for anyone who’s ever been to a real casino. Back to the drinks. The package was supposed to start at 6am…what they fail to tell you is that all the bars are closed until 8, so you’ll walk around aimlessly until then. I paid 1000$ for the drinks for me and my girlfriend, if it says that it starts at 6am, we should both be able to get a drink at 6am if we desire. Nope, 8am because everything is closed. Finally, 8am arrives. “Hello sir, Can I have a double? “No.” “Ok, can i order 2 drinks?” “No” “Ok, how about a beer and a water bottle, you clearly want to control my drinking on my vacation” “No sir, you must wait 5 minutes between each beverage, alcoholic or not.” At this point all I can do is laugh. I gave carnival 5000$ for a room, excursions, and the drink package to be told I can’t order 2 bottles of water at the same time. The miserable week continues with various absurdity throughout the ship. Battling for every drink, sliced hot dogs labeled as keilbasa in the breakfast buffet, being denied trying to order a water and a gatorade at the same time, restaurants only open from 12-230, biting into your steak burrito just to find there’s no steak in it, just a tortilla and rice. 18% gratuity charges added to the seafood corner in which you are serving yourself…its part of the buffet, just a small extra charge for better quality food. When I bit into the hot dog labeled as sausage, I actually thought I was being punked. Gift shop has cartons of cigs but no lighters or matches. Everything had to be hunted down or begged for. My dad received a coupon for free wallet pictures…they actually tried to take away the coupon and say it was incorrect and shouldn’t have been given. That’s too bad, its in our hand now, are you kidding me? Finally, today, debarkation day arrives. We’re told to wait on deck 2 or 9. We choose deck 2, as deck 3 is the point of exit. An employee rudely tells us to get up, we can’t wait there. This stirs the pot among everyone sitting there holding papers that say to “wait on 2 or 9”. The employee eventually takes a hike because everyone else has also had it with the disrespect and rules on the ship. We go to deck 3 where we are also told we cannot wait, we must go to deck 9. The elevators aren’t working at this point, so they expect you to drag your suitcase up 6 flights of stairs. They continue to tell us that no debarkation groups have been called and nobody can leave as customs inspects the ship…unless you’re on a bus to baltimore. Finally, I was able to battle past the rude employees who lied to us about being inspected by customs…simply by lying myself and joining the baltimore bus group back home. Just like that, off the ship, and thankful to be headed back home. Myself and the 7 people I travelled with will never go near carnival legend again, we’ll likely try another cruise line. It’s a good cruise line for a 74 year old who wants to sit at a penny slot and chainsmoke virginia slims, or a 500lb tub of lard on a scooter who wants to eat greasy omelettes, or the rich, pretentious couple controlling the facebook group who are on their 40th cruise and can afford to buy crab legs and shrug their shoulders when something goes wrong because who cares, they’re going again next week. Definitely not for a 29 year old with student loans and a mortgage. I wouldn’t set foot on this boat again if you put a gun to my head.

1 cruise (first)

Wonderful Caribbean Cruise

Apr 10th, 2024

It was really good. No complaints.... I would like to change the layout of casino, so that smoking doesn't bother people who go through.

Family (young children)

Overall another good Carnival Cruise

Apr 8th, 2024

Overall I had a blast. This was my 3rd solo cruise, and met a lot of wonderful people.

It was such a Wonderful cruise experience

Apr 3rd, 2024

Everything was amazing. The staff the crew. Everything was excellent the food all day every day awesomeness very cleaned very attentive will definitely cruise with them again.

The Caribbean Cruise was superb

My family and I had a great time. We would do it all over again soon.

Family (older children)

AWESOME experience

The crew and staff were wonderful. Carnival did an excellent job after the bridge collapse to keep us informed so we could enjoy our trip.

2-3 cruises

Disclaimers about ship ratings: A ship’s Health Rating is based on vessel inspection scores published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). If a ship did not receive a CDC score within 22 months prior to the calculation of its Overall Rating, its Health Rating appears as N/A; in such a case, the ship’s Overall Rating is calculated using the average Health Rating of all CDC-rated ships within the cruise line. All ship Traveler Ratings are based on ratings provided under license by Cruiseline.com.

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Review of new menus on 4-day Sunshine

By momin05 , October 28, 2023 in Carnival Cruise Lines

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Hi all.  As promised, here are my thoughts on the new menu. We were on the first sailing with the new menus on Sunshine on October 19. It was a 4-day sailing. Overall, we were very pleased with the new menu. The quality of the food was much improved over our last sailing on Sunshine, just 3 months ago. Even items that were the same as the old menu were of better quality this time (penne mariscos, I am talking about you!)  

I was also worried about kinks in the process, being the first sailing with this menu. But that was also not an issue. On the 3rd night, the wait staff mentioned it was new menu and apologized for any issues. Maybe things were going on behind the scenes, but we didn’t experience anything. We had slow service one night (night 2), but I think we timed things wrong and had an inexperienced server. They were serving a lot of food as we were seated so it took about 30 minutes to have our orders taken. The other nights were very prompt. 

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We ordered papparadelle with braised lamb. It wasn’t that great. Very little lamb and the pasta sauce was just so-so.   

the roast duck rolls were very good.   

The crawfish strudel was also good.   

Sorry for the duplicate picture. This is going to be clunky. Inserting these pictures is not straightforward!

We had a variety of entrees. First, the BBQ salmon. It was good, seasoned nicely.   

We also had Cornish game hen that was better than I expected. It’s not something I would normally order because I mean, it’s just chicken. But it was good. My husband had the Szechuan shrimp. It was just ok. He had done the JiJi’s lunch that day and said it was no better than lunch.   

The winner of the evening was the 12- hour braised short rib. There was a similar menu item every night (except elegant night) and my dad ordered it every night. It turned out to be the winner every evening. I was very surprised at how good it was.   

There were six of us in this cruise and we were all able to taste each others’ menu items.  That’s how I am able to speak to so many of them!

I am really struggling with these pictures!  They seem to do better if I don’t also have text in the post. So, pictures up next. They should be self explanatory as to which one is which. 

Mmmm, seeing that short rib is making my mouth water. It was so tender and so tasty.   

I didn’t get pictures of dessert, but we had strawberry cheesecake and chocolate melting cake. Both as expected.   

The next night was elegant night and somehow I forgot to get pictures. It was the night we waited so long to have our orders taken so I guess I was just hungry!  For starters we had calamari, crawfish fettuccini, spinach salad and the corn chowder. It was all so delicious. I recommend them all and highly recommend the crawfish fettuccine and spinach salad. The calamari was so good, too. We had the calamari back in August, but this one was better. It had some peppers included that gave it a nice taste. It definitely had a New Orleans flair.   

For entrees we mostly had the prime rib. One person’s had a bad streak through it, but all the others were quite good. I order this on most cruises and had seen the quality go down, but I felt this was better. Maybe it is because I was smart enough to order it rare this time. It is so thin, I decided to go for it. It was nice and rare but was not cold, so we were pleased. My husband doesn’t eat beef so he ordered the chicken cordon blue and said it was good.   

We all had crème brûlée for dessert and it was good. We had it back in August and I would say it was the same. Interestingly, we also had it in JiJi’s back in August and there is a definite difference. JiJi’s is lighter with a lighter crust on top. Better, I guess, but we were not disappointed with the MDR version. Oh and I told my dad about the banana split option and he ordered it every night after the first night (he actually had ice cream the first night). It was a big hit.

On Night 3, we had frog legs, penne mariscos and parched pig ale and cheddar soup for starters. The frog legs were better than in August. The penne mariscos was the biggest surprise. This used to be one of our favorite menu items but it went downhill so much these past few years that I refused to order it. My mom ordered the appetizer portion and it was so much better than the recent past. Full of seafood and the seafood was cooked well. It had previously been tough, overcooked and not fresh. This seemed fresh and was cooked well. Also, we often had shrimp cocktail each night and it was the same as always. Oh and we had fried tomatoes this night. The menu doesn’t say they are green, but they are. And they were nice and tangy and very tasty.   

Actually, I see I am out of order. This was night 4. I will come back to night 3.   

pictures up next. 

For entrees on night 4 we had coffee glazed roast duck, the barramundi, braised beef brisket and Asian chopped salad with chicken. As I mentioned before, the braised beef brisket was really surprisingly good. Tender and delicious. It looks like I didn’t get a picture of it, but I did of the rest. The barramundi was over cooked. It would have been good if it wasn’t dried out. 

I forget to say, the roast duck was very good. That glaze was amazing. It was sweet, which I wasn’t expecting. The leg portion was a little dried out but the thigh portion was perfectly cooked.   

And here is the banana split!

Back to night 3. The issue here is our 4-night menu did not match what JH posted for the 4-day menu. I didn’t take screenshots of the menu while we were on the cruise because I had already taken screenshots of his posts. From an online search, our night 3 is the equivalent of night 5 of the 8-night menu. We had French onion soup that was very, very good. Somehow I didn’t get a picture. We also had stuffed mushrooms (good) and linguini and clams. I was impressed with that app. It needed some salt or something, it was a little bland, but it was full of clams and a nice surprise. 

For entrees, we had fried Mississippi catfish, chicken Parmigiana, pepper steak and BBQ pork spare ribs. I only got pictures of the catfish. I liked it but others thought the cornbread breading was too much. The other entrees were very good, with the spare ribs winning the night.   

for dessert we had tiramisu and it was better than the old version. Very light. Sorry I didn’t get a picture. oh, I got a fruit plate one night and it was delicious.   

also, on elegant night, someone ordered the panna cotta. We didn’t really know what to expect. It looked pretty, but I don’t know how good it was!  It’s a no added sugar dessert so I guess you can’t expect much.   

That’s all for food.  Overall, very pleased with the menu. And no worries about it being the rollout cruise.   

We don’t frequent the Alchemy bar often because it is usually so crowded, but in the last night it was not crowded.  We had some excellent drinks there. This is the “give me something chocolaty” and the remedy. 

We only had one port stop, Bimini. I was excited to go somewhere we had never been. We rented a golf cart and went to the casino, which was very nice. Complimentary drinks if you are playing. Different machines than on the ship, more like what we saw in Vegas in June.  Then we headed out to find some beachfront bars and conch ceviche. We were successful with both!  We really enjoyed the island.  To the left of the port is all resort-y.  To the right is all local. We ended up at Joe’s Conch Shack and it was phenomenal. We got to meet Joe and talked with him about his trade. Everyone was so nice. Then to radio beach which had lots of beachfront bars and much more of a beach than I expected.   

We enjoyed our short cruise. The ship was so different than August…it felt like it was only about half as full. I am sure it was more, but it was so different without all the kids. 

I was so disappointed that we missed the new menus on the Sunshine by 1 week! We got on the ship on the 9th! But we enjoyed the food we had! I had the penne mariscos on our cruise from the old menu and thought it was great as well!   

There were really no desserts on the old menus that struck my fancy so I got the melting cake every night. But I’m excited to have the key lime pie and cheesecake back on the new menus!    Thanks for your feedback and pics of the new menu items! 

Very nice review and pictures. Thank you for sharing this!

happy cruzer

We also really enjoyed the cornish game hen and coffee basted duck!  Great reviewy!

6 hours ago, Ideb said: Very nice review and pictures. Thank you for sharing this!

You are welcome. Hope it helps!

1 hour ago, happy cruzer said: We also really enjoyed the cornish game hen and coffee basted duck!  Great reviewy!

Good!  Duck is not something I would normally order in a restaurant, so this was a good opportunity. 

ninjacat123

Great review! Thx for posting 👏🏻

Thank you for the review and pics! Food definently LOOKS better than the past for sure!!  😃

Aloha.  Thank you so much for your posts and the food pictures. Our first Carnival cruise was decades ago and my wife did not like the food so she refused to sail Carnival again. Thereafter I would cruise with my brother in law occasionally on cruises out of NY. The food was never great but we had enjoyable times nonetheless.  I think they try hard but I cannot figure out why the food consistently is panned. That said, I would sail Carnival again but only with brother in law lol! 

9 hours ago, ninjacat123 said: Great review! Thx for posting 👏🏻

7 hours ago, z_cruisers said: Thank you for the review and pics! Food definently LOOKS better than the past for sure!!  😃

It all seemed like it was higher quality.

6 hours ago, LouChamp said: Aloha.  Thank you so much for your posts and the food pictures. Our first Carnival cruise was decades ago and my wife did not like the food so she refused to sail Carnival again. Thereafter I would cruise with my brother in law occasionally on cruises out of NY. The food was never great but we had enjoyable times nonetheless.  I think they try hard but I cannot figure out why the food consistently is panned. That said, I would sail Carnival again but only with brother in law lol! 

I agree. It isn’t 5 star restaurant quality, but it is solid. 

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Carnival Cancels Family's $15k Cruise 2 Days Before Sailing and Something's Fishy

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When you book a cruise, you're never just booking a cruise. Unless you live in the port city, you've gotta arrange transportation, whether you're flying in or road-tripping it. You also have to take time off work, maybe figure out petsitting, buy new stuff for the trip... overall, it's a big investment of time and money. Now imagine doing all that work in preparation, getting more and more excited with each passing day, only to have your cruise vacation snatched away from you at the last minute.

Meet the Banks family, who booked a $15,000 deluxe cruise with Carnival Cruise Lines a year in advance only for Carnival to abruptly cancel their trip two days before departure. Tiffany Banks, who originally booked the trip, went into panic mode trying to save her cruise vacation, but the more she dug, the fishier things became.

According to Tiffany (aka @thathippiedoc ), they'd booked the Presidential Excel Suite, the largest room on the Carnival Celebration . Between the deluxe cruise cabin, port excursions , bonus perks, and flights, the family had invested nearly $15k into the whole vacation. So when Tiffany found out that her trip had been cancelled the same day they were supposed to fly out, she was "flabbergasted."

Related: Passenger's Angry Video Goes Viral After Norwegian Cruise Cancels Antarctic Itinerary Last-Minute

Tiffany's efforts to get answers from customer service only led to more questions. The service agents disagreed on whether their reservation had been deleted in their system or cancelled from the Banks' end. Allegedly, the "only" replacement the lead agent could offer was a pair of interior cabins- an embarassing downgrade from the Presidential Excel Suite. A full refund was not on the table, no matter how much Tiffany argued her case.

After getting nowhere over the phone, the Banks family still decided to fly down for a Florida vacation and make the most of a bad situation. However, Tiffany wanted to go to the port one last time and see if she couldn't find a Carnival rep to "make this right"- and that's when the plot thickened.

In a follow-up video , Tiffany claimed that the reps told her that she'd been the victim of identity theft. Someone from British Columbia made a fake profile, added the Banks' booking ID to their online account, and cancelled the cruise. She wasn't too happy with their final offer, either:

"They were offering me a $10,000 onboard credit for future use if I post on social media that there has been positive resolution, even after telling them multiple times that we're not interested in sailing with Carnival ever again," Tiffany claimed.

Who's Really at Fault?

Thousands online sympathized with Tiffany, who never got her refund from Carnival Cruise Lines even after she proved she didn't cancel her own reservation. However, a few people did a little extra digging. A few days after Tiffany's story went viral, TikTok user @cruisinwithjenn posted a video showing where Tiffany had publicly shared her cruise confirmation page on Facebook, inadvertently broadcasting her email and booking ID number to the world.

"Anyone can take this information and your last name and put it into 'Manage My Booking' on Carnival and access your cruise," said Jenn. "Should 'Manage My Booking' be fixed to prevent this- yes. Will it? Probably. But it's the guests responsibility to not post private info."

While Tiffany didn't deserve to be the victim of identity theft, her critcal lack of opsec might be why Carnival refuses to accept fault or issue a refund in her case. As Carnival wrote in a statement issued to LADbible :

"While we are not going to comment on any specific guest complaint or incident, it is never a good idea to post personal information about your travel plan, including a confirmation number for a booking, which could allow a bad actor or identify thief to use that information in inappropriate or even illegal ways."

I don't blame Tiffany for feeling burned by Carnival Cruise Lines, and even when calling Tiffany out, @cruisinwithjenn agreed that Carnival's "Manage My Booking" system is too easy for bad actors to take advantage of with limited information. But let this be a lesson to all prospective cruisers out there- you never know who might be trolling your public posts. Keep your private information close to your chest, and save the public posts for vacation photos instead!

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Charleston, SC (29403)

A few clouds. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 72F. Winds E at 10 to 20 mph..

A few clouds. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 72F. Winds E at 10 to 20 mph.

Updated: June 18, 2024 @ 3:29 pm

• Full Forecast

The Carnival Sunshine cruise ship will be departing Union Pier half an hour early starting July 1, according to Miami-based Carnival Corp.

• File/Andrew J. Whitaker/Staff
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Golfweek has ranked The Ocean Course on Kiawah Island at No. 14 among the top 200 U.S. layouts built since 1960.

{span id=”docs-internal-guid-1874c9a3-7fff-a4a5-2b9c-90b159701f8c”}{span id=”docs-internal-guid-1874c9a3-7fff-a4a5-2b9c-90b159701f8c”}Past President of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society Leroy Petry, {/span}{span id=”docs-internal-guid-1874c9a3-7fff-a4a5-2b9c-90b159701f8c”}Bobby Cox of Sig Sauer{/span}{span id=”docs-internal-guid-1874c9a3-7fff-a4a5-2b9c-90b159701f8c”} and Congressional Medal of Honor Society Executive Director John Falkenbury hold the personalized handgun donation.{/span}{/span}

• Congressional Medal of Honor Society/ Provided

CO opened at 340 King Street in 2012.

Also, South Carolina outdrives most other states when it comes to top-shelf modern-era golf courses.

Carnival's Charleston-based cruise ship gives passengers a 30-minute warning

• By David Wren [email protected]
• Jun 18, 2024

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Carnival Cruise Line — which has long offered passengers a way to get onboard quicker, for a price, through its Faster to the Fun  option — is now giving everyone a chance to sidle up to the buffet or get that first fruity cocktail a little earlier than usual.

The Miami-based pleasure ship operator, which homeports its Sunshine vessel at  Union Pier Terminal in Charleston, recently said it will depart its downtown berth 30 minutes early for most of its final seven months in the Holy City .

Instead of leaving at 4 p.m., as it has done for years, the ship will now depart at 3:30 p.m. for its trips south to the Bahamas. The early sailings will take place July 1 through Nov. 28 and again Dec. 12 through Dec. 30.

The only voyage that isn't affected by the change is a 10-day jaunt through the eastern Caribbean that leaves Union Pier on Dec. 2. That cruise will actually leave later, at 5 p.m., according to Carnival's website .

The Sunshine's year-round trips will depart Charleston for good when Carnival's contract with the S.C. State Ports Authority expires at the end of this year. The SPA has said it plans to only host port-of-call day trips for cruise lines starting in 2025 as part of its plan to sell Union Pier.

Carnival didn't give a reason for the early departure policy, although the Cruise Hive  website speculated that it could be a fuel-saving measure. By leaving a little early, the Sunshine can travel at slightly slower speeds. 

"Tidal schedules, port operations, ship capacity and other factors all also play a role in departure scheduling," the website noted. "Cruise travelers should always stay in close communication with their cruise line for updated details on any possible itinerary changes, departure adjustments, delays or other notices as their sailing date approaches."

And if a 30-minute head start isn't enough, Carnival is still offering its Faster to the Fun program, which lets passengers bypass long lines with priority check-in and early cabin access. For cruises leaving Charleston, that service is available for $99.95 per stateroom .

Carding a 16

In golf, a 16 is an embarrassingly high score — unless it’s referring to the number of Palmetto State courses that have made a new ranking of some of the best places to play the game.

In this instance, Golfweek recently released its top 200 U.S. tracts built in the modern era, defined as since 1960.

South Carolina is home to a whopping 16 of them, led by The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort , which was rated at No. 14 overall and where the PGA Championship will return for third time in 2031.

All but two of the other layouts are along the coast between Georgetown County and Hilton Head Island. The exceptions are Sage Valley Golf Club  near Aiken, which was tied for No. 49, and the  Cliffs at Mountain Park in Travelers Rest, which was tied for No. 129.

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The others that made Golfweek's cut are: Congaree in Ridgeland (tied for No. 24); Harbour Town Golf Links and Long Cove on Hilton Head (Nos. 59 and 70 respectively); Secession near Beaufort (tied for No. 86); Colleton River Club ’s Pete Dye  design in Bluffton (tied for No. 107). Old Tabby Links in Okatie (tied for No. 134); Cassique on Kiawah (tied for No. 147) May River at Palmetto Bluff in Bluffton; the River Course on Kiawah (tied for No. 176); Chechessee Creek in Okatie (tied for 187); Caledonia Golf & Fish Club on Pawleys Island (tied for No. 187); and Colleton River's  Jack Nicklaus  layout in Bluffton (tied No. 200). 

Only Florida had more courses among the top 200 with 20.

The organization in charge of the  Medal of Honor Museum at Patriots Point found itself staring at the barrels of some guns when it reopened the military exhibit last month after a $3.5 million renovation .

They were gifts from New Hampshire-based  SIG Sauer Inc. , a firearms provider for the  Department of Defense.  The company donated to the  Congressional Medal of Honor Society  three custom-made stainless-steel pistols with grips featuring replicas of the nation's highest military award for bravery. 

The group, which is headquartered aboard the Yorktown in Mount Pleasant, shared the news on social media. It said the pistols will be added to its archives and collections.

SIG Sauer also gave similar sidearms to each living Medal of Honor recipient engraved with their names and dates of action, according to the society .

CO on the go

A southeast Asian restaurant launched on King Street in downtown Charleston a dozen years ago now has more options to fill pho and dumpling cravings in North Carolina than its home state.

CO recently expanded its reach to the Durham market by taking over a long-vacant space in The Streets at Southpoint Mall  near I-40.

It’s the seventh restaurant overall and fourth in the Tar Heel State for CO, which is owned by Collected Hospitality Group . Beyond its original Holy City establishment south of George Street, the company has taken the concept to Columbia, Myrtle Beach, Charlotte, with two locations, and Raleigh.

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David Wren , Megan Fernandes and John McDermott  of The Post and Courier contributed to his report.

John McDermott

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Megan Fernandes

Business and Tourism Reporter

Megan Fernandes is a Business and Tourism Reporter for the Post and Courier. She is an award-winning reporter, who has worked in the newspaper industry from coast-to-coast. 

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