Cruise Line: Carnival
Sailing Date: September 19th, 2002

Let me tell you about my experience. I was a first time cruiser. I enjoyed it on a whole and would love to try it again (next time not during Hurricane season). I was on the main deck in an interior room (no view).

Here are some highs and lows of my trip.

Highs: It had a comfortable room with a medium size bathroom. If you were planning on having more than 2 people per room, I would think twice. Two people would be comfortable, but more than that would feel cramped.  The bed was comfortable. The room service was great and prompt The continental breakfast that can be served in your room is nice if you don’t want to face the world with out your first cup of coffee The food on the Lido deck was good on a whole (some was a little cold, but what do you expect from buffet style)

The main dinning room was wonderful. I had the best prime rib ever. Service was wonderful as well.  Entertainment, such as games and other planned activities were a lot of fun. Guests had chances to win small prizes all over the ship (prizes ranged from free bottle of champagne to beach towels)

The Cruise Director Troy (??) was really funny and handles the crowd well. The midnight buffet looked amazing (I did not try it though) The animal towels (I got 2) are too cute (not sure what I had on Friday, but I think it was a bunny, could have been a pig on Saturday, I got an elephant) The town of Vera Cruz was at the post as we were leaving Saturday around 5:00 pm. They all had blue and white balloons that the released. It made my last impression of Vera Cruz a little better than the one I had while walking around the city. The casino was a fun time.  Juggler was a riot, very talented man. Jill Miller, the singer has a great voice. If you missed any of the scheduled talks while aboard the ship, you can just look at channel 2 and they always had a taped version of everything. The talent show was funny (saw it on tape) The comedian (a Texan) was too funny.

Lows: No cold air was in my room; the air conditioner was not working. It wasn’t until Saturday that anyone came to even look at it. When they did come to check it out, they merely took the cover from the ceiling (where the unit was located) leaving a gaping hole in the ceiling. The only cold air that I got was when I stood under the whole directly. The original destination was supposed to be to Cozumel, but because of the looming hurricane, plans were changed and a new route to Vera Cruz was made. No prior notice was made. No announcements were made either. Had I not noticed a flyer at the check-in table, no one made any reference to it at all. Vera Cruz was not an enjoyable port. Locals were moderately rude and were not used to having tourists. No bargaining was to be done by the locals. Only 2-3 market places were even worth going to see (and that isn’t saying much)

I will never complain about crazy Houston drivers again. Traffic laws seemed to be merely a suggestion to local taxi drivers. The excursions that were made available to us in Vera Cruz were disappointing. The offered Scuba diving (sold out immediately), 3 really similar tours of the city and 1 white water rafting tour (overpriced) that was well over an hours drive away from the port and you only got about 1 – 2 hours on the water. The water in Vera Cruz was much like Galveston, which was very disappointing. I can see that anytime. The crew was from all over the world and sometimes that created a hard time with communication. You were never sure if you got the answer to the questions you wanted. The times for the debarkation were wrong. It told you to be in 2 different places at once. When I asked Chad (one of the hosts) about which time and place were the correct one, he told me both. Go figure.

The carnival dancers were not the highest of quality. Don’t get me wrong, it takes guts to get up there day after day, but some were just not good at all. A few were talented. One wouldn’t know how to smile to save her life. The Broadway production that was done on the formal night on Friday was bad.

I have seen better productions from a high school drama/dance group. I ended up leaving half way through the show. The Miss Saigon sequence was enjoyable though and some moves used during that segment were great. A little risqué for the younger audience.

Throughout the entire cruise, everyone was repeatedly telling you what you should tip. They wanted you to tip people who you never even saw (head waiter, etc.). Neither one ever showed me to my table, asked how the service was, etc. so I thought that was odd. I usually tip well, so I took offense to the constant reminders.

No area maps of Vera Cruz were provided, made city travel difficult. We were in port about 2 hours before most of the shops opened for business. One of the shopping places highlighted by the ship was simply a Wal-mart. I wasn’t allowed in because I had a backpack.

Pictures in the photo gallery were way over priced (twenty dollars for one 8 x 10), smaller pictures were not available for sale until you purchased the larger photo. It felt like a huge scam. I expected to pay a lot for some things, but not for photos.

There were a lot of unruly children all over the ship. Camp Carnival did it’s best to entertain them, but parents should take responsibility also for the kids.  Drinks were a little over priced, but that was to be expected. The drink of the day was listed in the Carnival Capers Newsletter, but it never told you what was in it. I almost took a drink of one, with out knowing it had coconut in it (I am allergic to coconut). I had asked, but the bartender couldn't understand what I was asking.

All and all, I had a good time. I would love to try it again, maybe next time try a different time of the year.