Carnival Cruise Line

Los Angeles

U.S.A.

Mexican Riviera

Mexico - All

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Carnival Dream

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Carnival Jubilee

Carnival Firenze

A great honeymoon cruise!

Hong Kong

We cruise on both Carnival and Royal Carribean. Carnival Firenze had a deal and we stayed in an inside stateroom. It had so much storage and great space! We were surprised with little things, like six double hooks hanging on walls, good plug in units and double night stands with even more storage. Carnival Firenze was elegant and the staff was excellent in every way possible.  Clean, fun, beautiful, and we will do it all again. My husband has a terminal cancer and had a few rough days, and the staff was attentive, professional and caring in every way possible. The food on this ship was good. We enjoyed the excellent main dining room and staff and there was always a place for us to go to escape the crowds. Embarkation wasn't the fastest, as we paid for Faster to the Fun and had to wait a few hours because the ramp going up to the ship at Long Beach was very long and steep. We needed a wheelchair and Carnival needs to do some brainstorming with this as others were waiting outside of the port with us, needed wheelchair  assistance. My husband was so thirsty waiting in the sun and needed a restoom. These didn't look available anywhere where we were told to wait for a wheelchair.

Beautiful experience and better than expected

My daughter and I had a delightful week on the Carnival Firenze! We had cruised the three ports of Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Cabo San Lucas previously, but saw some new things/places this time. We live about an hour from the port, so it was great not to have to fly. Since we cruise each year as a family of three, usually with a balcony cabin, I wanted this cruise for two to be a bit less expensive so I choose an inside cabin on deck 11, forward...all good! Service across the board was excellent, especially in the dining room with a team headed by Welly & Rus, the cabin attendant was great too, Sankara, and the dining room hostess/Matre d' assistant, Dewi, made our dining wonderful by allowing us to have a window table, which I loved. The cabin was on deck 11, below the water park, but very quiet, and just steps to the outside deck. Usually I book outside companies for our excursions, but was willing to pay a bit more this time and take the Carnival excursions since it was just the two of us and I wanted to feel safe in Mexico. The two stage shows with music/dance were creative and enjoyable. We heard varied genres of music all over the ship in the lounges, so there was something for everyone to hear. I also loved the arts and crafts on all the sea days, they were really fun! Tea time in the dining room was so popular on the 1st sea day that they ran out of many of the pastries/cakes, so that was sparse and disappointing, but they made up for it the next time with lots of deliciousness. My only criticism would be the lack of varied foods, and especially desserts, in the buffet. It's very different from how it used to be even three years ago and that was a disappointment to me as well. But there was plenty of good food in the dining room. We did not eat at the specialty restaurants. Joey, the cruise director was good, as was his team. I knew it would be extremely hot in all three Mexican Riviera ports in August and that's really the worst month to go, but decided to do it anyway and although we dripped A LOT, we were glad we went. It was a really great way to get away for a week from Southern California and I wish I was still onboard!

A Great Week on the Carnival Firenze!

I was torn whether to rate 2 or 3 stars. 

We’ve only cruised NCL before, so this was our first time on Carnival.

Our overall impression of the ship was very favorable. We traveled with our 8 year old daughter, so we did all the activities on board- the obstacle course, water slides, pool, build a bear, kids comedy show etc. ALL of these activities were great. We especially enjoyed the pg comedy show and the trivia games. 4 stars 

BUT we could not get over how bad the food was in the buffet and the dining room. I don’t think anyone is expecting fine dining from the buffet, but a lot was straight up inedible. We tried the Caesar salad from the buffet twice- the first time the lettuce was soggy and the second time while the lettuce was crisp, it had no flavor. None at all. My daughter ordered tomato soup in the main dining room. It was like someone opened a can of pasta sauce and poured it into a soup bowl. Oh and they are closed for a really long time between meal times to switch over the buffet. I don’t remember NCL being closed for such long hours between meals. The line at dinner was also massive because they only had half the buffet open?? Why?? 1 star

On the flip side, the food in the specialty  restaurants was some of the best food we’ve ever had. It was amazing. 5 stars- it was seriously so good 

So I’m not sure we’d try Carnival again. We shouldn’t have to pay a premium for every single meal just to have something edible. 

As a side note- the thing 1 and thing 2 breakfast was really fun but the food was pretty strange. Of course it was supposed to be, but some of our dishes were just not good because they tried to be too creative with them. Peanut butter and jelly stuffed French toast-  but it comes Inside a sphere that you can hardly cut into? It was not very expensive so I would still recommend. Just read the descriptions carefully. My daughter loved it.

The food quality really brings down the average….

We sailed on the Firenze's sister ship, Venezia, in January, and like that ship, Firenze is a lovely, Italian-themed place to spend a few days. This being our honeymoon, we popped for the premium Terrazza balcony room, and that turned out to be a mixed bag - we loved being able to access the Terrazza deck amenities, including a very nice breakfast that's served to order, a very quiet deck to relax on, and two hot tubs. The room itself presents really nicely, but it's short on closet space, and the big selling point, the panoramic balcony, is a lovely spot to relax...when you're not getting soot from the smokestack on you. We'd never stayed at the back of a ship before, and hadn't even thought of this. Given a chance to mulligan this decision, I'd probably have gone for an extended balcony one deck up, which has a canopy over it. Still, the views were unbeatable - we could look out our window in back of our bed and see the ocean - and having a big space to hang out in was very nice. 

Firenze is basically a restyled version of Venezia, and that's not a bad thing - both ships are comfortable, beautifully decorated, and offer a good variety of dining choices and activities. If you're looking for the "24 hour party people" thing on the Lido, you probably want to shy away from Firenze and Venezia, as the Lido deck is a smaller, more intimate affair than on other Carnival ships, and offers less sunbathing space. This, of course, is because both of the "Fun Italian Style" ships were designed for the Chinese market, and folks in China apparently aren't as into sunbathing as Americans are. On the positive side, though, the Lido deck does have a retractable roof that can be closed off for cold or inclement weather (as it was for most of our January Venezia cruise), so you can swim even when the weather's lousy; thankfully, that wasn't a problem on our cruise. And if you cruise either of these ships, be sure to check out the gelato - it's delicious, and at three bucks a serving, it's a great deal. 

Food quality was generally good to very good; the main dining room features a central court with a beautiful high ceiling and a replica of Michelangelo's "David" (with a fig leaf for modesty), and aside from occasionally slow service, it was a good experience. With our Terrazza privileges, we didn't use the Lido much for breakfast, but when we did, it was the usual Denny's quality food, high temperatures, and crowds that people gripe about. 

Be sure to check out to included dining choices on board - the Italian sandwich stand on the Promenade deck, and a spot on the back of the Lido deck that serves what I believe is Shaq's Big Chicken (awesome breakfast chicken sandwich). The only extra cost dining option we chose was the Teppenaki hibachi, which was a blast and delicious, as always. 

Overall, we have no qualms about recommending the ship, sooty deck notwithstanding.

Maybe it’s because our last cruise was on the Harmony of the Seas this ship was a bit disappointing.

It’s a fairly new ship, so the surfaces and decor are all new and Venetian-esque, if that’s your thing. But it’s clear this was not a Carnival ship.

The common areas felt crowded and cramped. When I first saw the Lido area I was like, “Is this it?”

Walking through the Lido marketplace, the passages are literally wide enough for two people to walk side by side. If there’s a line, which there often was, you’re now in single file territory. One person stopping and a traffic jam ensued.

Speaking of the lido marketplace. Half of it, along with the burger, chicken and taco places close at absurdly early hours. 

This means if you want to eat at the wee hours of, say, 8:30pm, no burgers, tacos/burritos, etc and half the lido shut down which meant long lines for the half that was open.

Activities were fun (trivia, karaoke, scavenger hunts, etc) assistant cruise director “Lindsey?” Was great and kept things lively. She even left us a personal handwritten note the day we left, which is really above and beyond.

No, it’s not fair of me to compare this ship to the Oasis class ships from Royal, but even comparing to something like the Navigator left a little to be desired. 

As for food. We liked the pizza, burgers, breakfast burritos, etc. Buffet food is about the same as most cruise ships. Main dining room was ok. Not amazing.

Just allright.

As Carnival Cruises go, this cruise met my expectations.  

FOOD: the food (and service) in Medici main dining was decent, and I enjoyed every meal I ordered on this five day cruise to Cabo San Lucas; there were members of my party, however, who were disappointed with the lamb dishes and the prime rib was sometimes described as "tough".   The Indian dishes were remarkable.  For breakfast, I enjoyed the Chicken Shack sliders and Tomodoro made really good arepas tacos and huevos rancheros.  The buffet had long lines every morning, so I avoided it entirely.  For lunch, Guy's Burgers options were fantastic, so we ate there twice--I highly recommend it.  We also did brunch in Michaelangelo's twice, and it was very good fare.  We did take advantage of the Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse for an up-charge ($50 per person), but it was well worth it.  It was my favorite meal on the whole trip. 

BARS: There are so many bars on this ship; we couldn't get to all of them.  Amari bar was by far our favorite (Try the Cucumber Sunrise), and Moda Bar made a mean Bloody Mary; I had way too many of those.   Bars didn't stock my preferred premium alcohol like Hendricks, Empress, or Bulleit Rye/Bourbon, so be prepared to step down if you're a fan of a specific level of libations.  If you don't have particular tastes in liquor, you'll be okay.

POOLS:  I did NOT enjoy the pool decks.  There are two swimming pools, but they are incredibly small and overcrowded with children.  The Serentity adult-only area had no pool, but it did have a spa that was too hot and overcrowded.  Furthermore, Serentity had very little shade, and it was very crowded, especially on sea days, so get there early.  If you can swing it, I highly highly recommend that you reserve a Terrazzo Suite so that you will have access to the private Terrazzo Deck 5 behind Moda Bar.  It was quiet, with lots of shade and sun, excellent bar service, and two spas (one hot and one lukewarm).  The only real quiet I experienced on the whole cruise was on that private deck.  I would NOT take this ship again without reserving one of those suites. 

ENTERTAINMENT: The casino (Deck 4) is massive (one of the largest I've seen on a cruise ship) and the machines really played with us, so I liked it a lot.  Shows were quaint, and the comedians were okay.  Dear Future Husband was sweet, but I've seen better productions on other lines.  Love and Marriage was a fun show to watch at least once if you can. Shows get filled, so get in line early or you will not be seeing the show. 

EMBARKATION/DISEMBARKATION: Embarkation took over an hour, so be prepared.  Disembarkation was super easy since we express walked off.  If you can travel light, I recommend it. 

CRITICISM: Some of the downsides: nothing was open until 7:00am, so if you're an early bird, this is NOT the cruise for you.  I had to wait every morning to get specialty coffee, but coffee dispensers in buffet were available if you don't mind the quality of your coffee experience.  Water: if you have the Cheers! package, you can only get one bottle of water every 5 minutes, so I had to bring my cabin mate's card with me to order two bottles of water at once.  It was a hassle.

Carnival Firenze 5-Day Baja California Cruise

This is the first time I have written a review, ever. But felt compelled to share my experience. Within the past year, I have gone on three cruises, with three different cruise lines. My mother has a hard time getting around due to recent knee surgery, so a cruise has been a good option for family vacations. 

A year ago, July, my daughter and I went on a Royal Caribbean 4-night trip out of LA. We took my mom and a 7-night Princess cruise out of Florida in May, and last week took a carnival cruise out of Long Beach on the Carnival, Firenze. 

Carnival was such a disappointment. The three items that stand out the most, was the rudeness of the staff, boarding, and quality of the food. Especially the buffet. 

Starting with the boarding process. The last couple cruises I took, I was super impressed because we literally walked on the ship.  This past week boarding the carnival ship took over an hour and a half. They had huge lines separated by boarding time, outside in the 90° heat. It reminded me of the cruises I took 15+ years ago. 

The rudeness of the staff was unreal.  My experience with cruises over the past 20 years was consistent attentiveness and the kindness of the staff. I was always super impressed, amazed that they could keep up a great attitude day in and out with endless vacationers. But somehow, they always put a smile on their face, and greeted you when you walked into a restaurant or were grabbing a towel. 

While on this Carnival cruise, the only staff member that was pleasant was the one our assigned to our cabin. We were treated poorly in the dining room, which was especially surprising. One dinner ended up taking 2 1/2 hours, without a single refill on our drinks. Anytime we asked for a basic need (ketchup for our french fries) the waiter acted very put out. We saw him yelling at his assistant waiter, which was super uncomfortable for us.  The dinner ended up taking long, due to the amount of mistakes, the waiter made on the food ordered. And I am totally fine, everyone makes mistakes. But when you’re afraid to ask the waiter to correct, that’s an issue. As mentioned before, the buffet food was not good, and the selection was poor. We ended up eating the pizza most days. I will say the experience at the teppanyaki restaurant which we paid an up charge for was excellent. That was our best meal by far. 

We had had several other experiences of rude staff throughout the four days. Another experience that stands out, I was with my 17-year-old and nine-year-old daughter at the gift shop, my seven year old was looking at some of the charms. The staff managing the store literally came up to my daughter, took the charm out of her hand and placed it back on the charm holder.  

My mother purchased a $2000 ring while on board, even the staff member at Effy wasn’t friendly. I actually told her not to purchase it based on the service we were getting, but she loved the ring so much she ended up buying it.  

By the fourth day, a sea day, we were all ready to get off the ship. There were no shows in the evenings, only half hour game shows they did in the theater. Just not the cruise experience I have been used to. Super disappointed and a waste of money and time. 

My opinions may be slightly jaded due to our Princess Cruise two months earlier. The kindness and quality of the staff was superb, in fact, we still keep in touch with a couple of the staff members on Facebook. 

Again, I don’t write reviews, but felt I needed to share my poor experience. 

I will never do a Carnival cruise again. And I will share my experience with others when asked my opinion.

WORST cruise ever… My First Review. 

I took this cruise to get closer to my platinum status. I went on the Cruise with my sister in law and her friends (one of her friends 9 year old daughter was celebrating a birthday). I took my 10 year old grand daughter with me. We went to Catalina and Ensenada. We debarked on Catalina by using a Tinder to get to land. I was shocked that we boarded the Tinder and was let off along side the ferry boat that carry passengers from Long Beach and San Pedro. We boarded between 12 noon-1pm and it was not that crowded. The ride was slow and smooth. I’ve been on Catalina Island twice and never remembered seeing a cruise ship off in the distance. I guess I took the ferry when a Cruise ship was not destined to be there. 

I found the Carnival Firenze to be a beautiful ship. Oh yes, it is bigger than Carnival Radiance (which I sailed on July 8 two weeks Before this sailing with my grand daughter). I spent most of my time in the casino this cruise, doing fun activities onboard with my grand daughter and walking around the ports. 

The Casino had nice machines that were paying( maybe to get us gamblers addicted to playing). We attended the “PG”comedy show onboard. They had some funny comedians and the comedian kept it clean and funny. The shopping onboard was good. I love getting the charm bracelets when they are on sale. The Ropes Course was funtastic with my grand daughter.  I had the opportunity to introduce her to the game of Chess with the large Chess board in the Fun Zone area. The Build a bear workshop was huge and full of people but they moved pretty quickly getting to our number (#53). I enjoyed seeing my grand daughter face light up when they start stuffing her bear at the workshop and then they sew it up. Picking out an outfit for her new friend wasn’t hard at all for her. She chose the carnival cheer leader outfit with some sparkling shoes. They had this heart that felt like a heart beat when you press it. That was an option to add to the bear when they were sewing the bear together. The bear could get a passport as well. There are additional charges for items named above on top of the cost of the bear. The bear even get a birth certificate so the child can name her new teddy bear friend. There is this cute little carnival drawstring bag that has two holes for the teddy bears arms to hang out. Oh yeah!!! Not only do they have teddy bears they have other stuffed animals a child can choose (eg. Shark, Turtle, dinosaur, etc…..). 

The food was good at dining each night. I found the Dr. Seuss birthday Breakfast to be satisfying and tasty. It was worth it! The atmosphere was exciting,  it was awesome to see the characters and be entertained by them and the carnival staff. 

I loved all the seating and the setup of the ship. I loved the upper areas around the ship where you can have a nice visual of what’s going on down below. I loved in the area where we enter the ship (the bar area).  The upper area(the floor above the bar area) where the stairs lead they had a section for the DJ to entertain us. The singers and entertainment staff would be there as well. You get a great Birds Eye view of them in that area. I also loved that there were stairs on both sides of that area. I loved that they had little tables attached to the upper area railing with chairs so you can sit and look at the entertainment in the designated area and at the people below in the bar area. I believe they might call it the Atrium where we get on the ship (the gangway with the bar). Now the floors are different from Carnival Radiance in that the layout of floors that you would find the lido deck, casino, shopping, photo gallery, etc…. The area you would find the photo gallery and a few other rooms and food destinations are not easily located. You would have to walk this ship pretty much to know where things are. I walked the ship early on the 2nd port day. It took me 1 hour with all the sight seeing I was doing on the top decks. I was taking photos and admiring the ship and Ensenada. I was also talking to fellow cruisers walking around and a few staff at certain locations onboard to get an idea of when certain areas open up and what will they be offering later on during the cruise. 

Let’s start talking about these Smart Elevators on board Carnival Firenze that became a headache and an exercise regimen. I was walking the stairs 85 percent of the cruise. Well, waiting on an elevator that is designated for your floor that you need to get to is time wasting. Why? Because the elevators appeared to be moving slow in this fashion. It was frustrating for me on embarkation day and when we returned back from our cruise and were set to debark. So the elevators are labeled with an alphabet.  When you press your floor number on the pad between the elevator doors it will tell you which elevator to board. So elevators do not stop at every floor. It will be designated to stop at a few floors (eg. Floors 5,10,12 might be the only stops for the elevator you are on when you get on it below or above the floors). 

Overall it was a fabulous trip where I had a disability room. I loved the open shower and the space I had in the bathroom. This room was assigned to me by carnival from the Hot Streak Casino offer. It was a small interior room near elevators on the 7th floor. The casino was a few floors down from my elevator and Camp Ocean for my grand daughter was a few floors up from my elevator. The lido deck food entrance was also at reach with my elevators. I couldn’t complain! Oh yes, there was noise from people walking pass my room to elevators but I could care less since I could sleep around noises and about the time we went to bed people were becoming scarce in the passage ways. I took carnival up on a repeat Cruise free room offer and I will sail again on this ship (without my grand daughter). This cruise will be my crossover cruise and I will reach Platinum status. YAY!!!!!! They have given me my benefits (I see my status when I sign into carnival and look at my information ). I’m priority boarding now with my luggage tags and can’t wait to get my perks on the 5 day cruise to Cabo and Ensenada on board Carnival Firenze. 

I had fun on my cruise and the staff was amazing. From the start of the cruise on sail away day all the way until our last day. My grand daughter and I were VIFP and have the “Choose Fun” Medal to prove it!!!! The staff from the Ropes Course recognized our fun energy on the ship. 

A little bit about Camp Ocean- they do not journey the kids out of that designated area. They do not feed them or allow food in the area. They are open at certain times. I believe somewhere between 10am-5pm then they are closed from 5pm- 7pm. They reopen from  7pm-10pm. No cost for those time slots. The cost come into play after 10pm until 1am. Please pick up kids by 10pm is there moto unless they staying over for paid hours. Please notify them at time of dropping child off if they will remain after 10pm. The line can get long close to 10pm. There is no way to time it just right to pick them up. Just be in line before 10pm if you don’t want to get charged for after hours.

I loved on this ship I got to do a family activity with my grand daughter in Camp Ocean. Astro Bingo was very educational and fun. We even Won by a game and got a prize for my grand daughter and a small plastic trophy. This cruise definitely gave me and my grand daughter bragging rights.

I am VIFP!!! Very Important Fun Person

We had an awesome time. I traveled with my DH, DS and his girlfriend. We loved the Firenze! We loved the food at all the food vendors we tried. We especially loved Guys Burgers and ate there several times. I, myself, loved the empanadas and ate there several times. 

Aside from the comedy show we didn’t catch any other ones. We were just not interested. What we did was dance just about every night to the awesome Firenze Tock Band. They were amazingly good! It was so much fun dancing to their 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s tunes. Im 77 yrs., the DH is 71, DS 29, the wonderful GF a mature 19. We all loved dancing the night away and the DS and GF had a great time sunning by the pool, playing ping pong, doing the rope course and our late time dining in the main dinning room was so much fun because of our waiter Joel. He was so attentive and so much fun. One night he pulled up the GF to dance with the waiters and she loved it.

Other things we did were the GF sang karaoke one night. It was hilarious. She had been telling us for weeks that she was going to do it so we thought she could sing well. But no she was awful but didn’t care. The last note she hit was scary LOL The DS ran up on stage and gave her a big hug and the crowd went wild! It was so much fun. She has guts to spare. 

About the food…it was fine. We weren’t expecting gourmet meals. Some dinners were better than others. The DH got the GF to try food she’d never eaten before. Frog legs for example. As I mentioned she has guts. 

As for ports…in Cabo we got day passes for a condo complex where my SIL has a timeshare. There the DS and GF rented jets skis. The DH and I hung by the pool. We had unlimited drinks and food. We all had a great time. In Ensenada, the DS and GF did a zip line through Carnival…they loved it. The DH and I did some gift shopping and ate some local foods. Good time. 

We would cruise on the Firenze any time. The only negative aspect of the cruise was huge crowds and long lines. Most lines went fast and the crowd didn’t bother us. We were always able to find seats for whatever we wanted to do. 

Also embarkation and embarkation, while there were long lines, went really fast and we had no problems. 

In conclusion…the staff from bartenders to wait staff, to room steward…were all wonderful and we loved engaging with them. Though it was crowded, the passengers we engaged with were very nice and many times helpful. We loved our cruise and can’t wait to do it again. If I have one tip…it would be to have patience and all will be well

Firenze Fun Time!

My wife and I recently embarked on our first cruise aboard the Carnival ship Firenze, and our incredible experience blew us away. From the exceptional service provided by the fantastic crew to the delicious dining options at restaurants like Bonsai Teppanyaki and Fahrenheit 555, every moment on board was truly memorable. Chef Roland from Bonsai Teppanyaki was excellent and had us laughing nonstop during dinner. 

One standout crew member was our cabin steward, Jo, who made us feel right at home with his personalized service, warm smile, and welcoming demeanor every day. We were also deeply touched by Carnival's dedication to honoring veterans through initiatives like the Hero Bar, where we had the opportunity to connect with other veterans and active duty members.

The cruise director, Joey, was great and entertaining and did an outstanding job recognizing and honoring veterans, adding an extra special touch to our cruise experience. Overall, our time on the Firenze exceeded all expectations, and we are already planning to make it our annual vacation tradition. Thank you, Carnival, for an unforgettable journey that we will cherish for years to come.

An Unforgettable First Cruise Experience

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