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Nick Gaspar
Age: 37
Occupation: Self-employed
Number of Cruises: 5
Cruise Line: NCL
Ship: Star
Sailing Date: September 26th, 2004
Itinerary: Mexican Riviera
My family booked a penthouse on deck 11 for this cruise, the Star's first trip
to the Mexican Riviera. Two days into the cruise, we were offered the chance to
upgrade to the Garden Villa on deck 14, a 6,000 square foot suite which normally
goes for $26,000 for eight days. While this suite was exceptional in space and
design, we were stunned by certain things during this cruise:
1. The food was TERRIBLE. Carnival is several notches higher than the garbage
served on this ship. The main dining rooms are awful, as it is obviously the
intent of the company to push people toward the pay restaurants, where the food
is still very inconsistent. And because you pay for tips ahead of time and don't
ever have the same waiter, there is no incentive to receive decent service.
Passengers everywhere were seen complaining about the food, which should be a
highlight of any cruise. Believe me folks, it was everything from burned bagels
to mystery meat to running out of lobster in the specialty restaurants after
paying the additional fees to eat it.
And the buffets? Made me long for the horrible high school cafeteria food I ate
twenty years ago. Everything, I mean everything, was stale/cold/low quality.
It was awful...and I am not exaggerating one bit. The whole free-style cruise
concept has evolved into a scam, and you can tell that the staff knows it.
2. If you are looking for an upbeat cruise with activities, forget it. During
the sail-away party, the ship could have been mistaken for a morgue.
3. When you book a penthouse or higher, you are told you will have a butler who
will cater to your every whim. The Garden Villa even comes with its own private
butler. Be prepared to be frustrated by sighs and complaints when you try to
order room service from a specialty restaurant (even though you will be paying
extra despite already shelling out $26,000) or if you call him while he is out
drinking with this crewmates.
If Carnival Cruises get a 5 on a scale of 1 to 10, NCL should get a 0.
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