Carnival Radiance July 18-22: Thoughts and Tips from our first (last?) Carnival cruise

[MattVegas]

First, to set a baseline: this was our second cruise ever... the first being a trip to Alaska with Princess. We had intended to book the exact same itinerary - and dates - with RCL, but because of our group's ages and cabin requirements we had to go with Carnival and their more lenient booking policies for the under-21 crowd. My wife and I were traveling with four teens (19, 17, 17, and 15). We booked three 'spa balcony' rooms close together on the port side of deck 10. 

 

Pre-Cruise: We opted for the at-home proctored Covid tests from eMed. Super simple, easy to use, and affordable. Highly recommended. And using the Verifly app to have everything sorted in advance made check-in at the terminal a breeze. One fail on my part: I did not print our boarding passes at home. This meant we had to stand in another line and delayed our entry to the terminal by about ten minutes. We also forgot to bring face masks - but there's an employee out front that will provide you with one.

 

Embarkation Day: The whole process was very easy and well organized. We had requested an early boarding time, which I would suggest - it makes lunch a lot more enjoyable. This cruise was at capacity, so long lines were common for food. Embarkation day is a good time to try Big Chicken or the BBQ place, because they are located further aft than all the other food options and the crowd isn't familiar with the boat yet. We walked right up to Shaq's at noon, no line at all. By the time we were done and walking forward to explore the boat, the line for the burger place was about 100 people long. 

 

Food: As advertised. Chicken/Burgers/Blue Iguana were all quite good. MDR was variable in quality but most dishes were successful. Fahrenheit 555 was booked solid a couple of days before departure, so book that early if you want to eat there. We did order a couple of steaks from there as an add-on in the MDR and they were fantastic. The 'Indian vegetarian' option that is on the menu nightly was completely inedible. The ability to reserve your 'any time' table through the app was a welcome way to avoid standing around in line outside the restaurant.

 

Staff callouts: Annalynn was our server on the first night. She remembered all six of our names throughout the cruise when we would see her in other areas of the ship, despite only having us that one time. She is incredible. Bambang is another MDR server who we loved. Our room steward, Ganda, and his assistant Andi are amazing. Zsolt, the Hungarian wizard behind the bar at Alchemy, was great as well. This is, by far, the best bar on the ship. Gabe, the cruise director, is a hoot. Also a hell of a dancer.

 

MDR Dress Code: This is where things start to go sideways for me. Carnival needs to either enforce their dress code, or do away with it altogether. It is nothing more than a suggestion. On 'Cruise Elegant' night, we saw baseball hats, t-shirts, flip-flops, a muscle shirt, even a teen in pajama pants. The hands-off approach to this issue is a brand decision, and it dumbs down the experience for everyone. One of the comedians called this a 'section 8 cruise' in his act. It felt like it much of the time. There were a lot of times during this four days that I felt like I was in a Walmart. I f%$#ing hate Walmart.

 

Catalina: The tender process is a total mess if you wait until the numbered group tickets are gone. We stood in a winding line through the hallways of deck one for 40 minutes. My advice is to go early. If you're going to rent a golf cart, make a reservation (one of the companies allows this on their website). They were all rented out when we finally got onto the island and there was a line of 30 groups waiting for carts to come back. Cute place, though. The brew pub is awesome and has a unique beer that is brewed with local wild black sage, picked on the hills above town. Highly recommended.

 

Ensenada: well covered by others on these boards. It's what you make of it. Be prepared to stand in a shockingly long security line if you return to the ship at the end of the day. Photo below. That night, Gabe hosted a dance party on the deck. It was well attended and lots of fun.

"Fun day at sea": It was pretty weird to be on a cruise ship that was just floating in the same place all day. This is clearly a three-day itinerary that they're stretching out to make a little more money.

 

(lack of) Oversight: The hands off approach around the dress code is, unfortunately, seen in other areas of the ship's operations. Security seems non-existent. There was an altercation between passengers, screaming profanities at one another and spitting on one another in the center of the Lido deck one afternoon. It went on for several minutes with no intervention. It was appalling. Speaking of the Lido deck, see the attached photo of one of the hot tubs, which by my count had 23 people in it. Including two kids eating ice cream cones. And clearly a life guard above thinks this is all just dandy. Kids running up and down the halls yelling at 3AM on two of the four nights. Groups of kids blocking the stairs by using them as a seating area on multiple occasions. There was just a ton of behavior that was completely disrespectful and selfish. This behavior is tacitly accepted by Carnival - they are sending a message that they won't interfere with your FUN... and you get to decide what fun means to you.

.

 

Maybe we're not in Carnival's prime demographic. I don't know. But none of this felt refined to me in any way. If the ship wasn't booked so full, maybe it would have been better. I don't know. What I do know is that their current business model feels like a race to the bottom. And if you don't expect your guests to act with class... many of them will not. I don't see a scenario where I would sail with them again.

[pinto18]

I think 3-4 day cruises in the summer will be a very different demographic no matter what the line. Don’t write off carnival. Try a 7 day cruise during the off season ( hard with kids I know)

we go on the Radiance at the end of august and got an inexpensive upgrade from an Ocean View to a spa balcony on deck 10. How did you like the cabins? Did you use any of the spa rooms?

[csm5986142]

27 minutes ago, MattVegas said:

I don't see a scenario where I would sail with them again.

 

Sorry to hear it was a bad experience.  I have been on Radiance twice in the last 5 months, and think it has a lot to offer for that size ship.  But I also agree, the 3 or 4 day itineraries can be an interesting experience.  In our case the cruises were extremely inexpensive, so I probably adjusted my expectations (it was better than being at home working!  🙂).  For the most part, I tend to seek out quiet areas away from the crowds, so the issues you mentioned might have existed on our cruises, and I just didn't see it.  I definitely noticed it was a younger (maybe louder?) crowd.

[odiesam]

We cruised on the following 3 night cruise on the Radiance (7/22-7/25) and would agree on most of the above review.  The only difference is we found the main dining room and buffet food terrible. It had very little flavor and seasoning. The Shaq chicken and Blue Iguana was much better but never open in the evenings.

 

The comedian and Gabe the cruise director was terrific.

 

This was our 16th cruise but only our 2nd 3 night cruise. Our other 3 night cruise was  6 years ago out of Miami on a much older Royal Caribbean ship but despite the “party” excuse of these shorter cruises, the Royal cruise was far better including the food.

 

We also will not cruise with Carnival again.

[cruisingguy007]

Meh, you think the 4-day was bad, do the three day drunk fest lol. When you really think about it, the 3-day or 7-day really make the most sense. If you do a 4-day, you might as well go for the 7-day since you already have to take 4 days off already, might as well take five and just add the weekend. The shorter 3-day also makes sense in that you only need to take off one day and can use the weekends. The cheaper cruises also attract a more, how to put this in a politically correct way....rambunctious groups of cruisers, not that that is a bad thing in and of itself, but add in economically challenged individuals/groups and that can be a recipe for low class behavior by a few that stands out (hence comedian section 8 cruise). If you give Panorama a chance, you'll notice a lot less of that, there may be a few but not large segments like the shorter cruises. Most people can't go hard for 7 days like the shorter cruises, plus many more drink packages on the shorter cruises. There is a big difference and it's the reason many won't take the shorter cruises and stick to 7-days or longer. I can fit in fine with either group and have a good cruise but certainly enjoy the chillness of the 7-day cruises much more. I hope others poor behavior didn't ruin your cruise otherwise and the rest was enjoyable. Any reports about the kids club experience would certainly be appreciated. Thanks for taking the time to review.        

Edited July 27, 2022 by cruisingguy007

[LatinaInTexas]

Have had that hot tub experience many times on long cruises taken when kids are in school. It would already be filled to capacity and a large group would show up and state I'm sure there's room for a few more. Yeah no even after a few drinks in not ok with sitting with a strange male body pressed against me😬

[cruisingguy007]

3 minutes ago, odiesam said:

We cruised on the following 3 night cruise on the Radiance (7/22-7/25) and would agree on most of the above review.  The only difference is we found the main dining room and buffet food terrible. It had very little flavor and seasoning. The Shaq chicken and Blue Iguana was much better but never open in the evenings.

 

The comedian and Gabe the cruise director was terrific.

 

This was our 16th cruise but only our 2nd 3 night cruise. Our other 3 night cruise was  6 years ago out of Miami on a much older Royal Caribbean ship but despite the “party” excuse of these shorter cruises, the Royal cruise was far better including the food.

 

We also will not cruise with Carnival again.

 

Not sure RCI will be much better out of LA, they had even lower prices than Carnival recently with their promotions. With the $250 credit card cashback and their promo, we could have done a 4 day for $700 with two cabins. The only reason I didn't was because of the cabin configuration issues, could not book a three person cabin in the sub category for some reason and I didn't feel like calling in, plus covid reports started going bonkers.  

[MattVegas]

2 hours ago, pinto18 said:

upgrade from an Ocean View to a spa balcony on deck 10. How did you like the cabins? Did you use any of the spa rooms?

The cabin was fine. It felt quite small but this was only my second cruise and on the other one we had a mini-suite, so YMMV. The showers can get crazy hot and are also capable of massive water pressure. Like take a layer of skin off strong. It's all selectable, so if you don't want to flood your bathroom, turn down the water pressure! As many have noted, the lack of power/USB near the bed is a bummer. Never utilized the spa at all, but the robes were a nice touch. I was pretty surprised at how loud it was in the room - we could hear every word of conversations happening in the hallways... but again, we don't do this a lot, so this might be totally normal.😆 We lucked out with the port side rooms because we had advantageous views on sailaway and at both ports.

[MattVegas]

2 hours ago, cruisingguy007 said:

 Any reports about the kids club experience would certainly be appreciated. 

The only time we used the 'kids club' was sending the 15-17 year olds up to 'Club O2' in the evenings when me, my wife, and college boy were 'adulting'... they made friends and had fun one night, but the next night was deadsville. I realized that cruising with *almost* adults in your party can be tough - they end up feeling pretty left out when a slightly older sibling can do a ton of things that they can't.

[cruisingguy007]

15 hours ago, MattVegas said:

The only time we used the 'kids club' was sending the 15-17 year olds up to 'Club O2' in the evenings when me, my wife, and college boy were 'adulting'... they made friends and had fun one night, but the next night was deadsville. I realized that cruising with *almost* adults in your party can be tough - they end up feeling pretty left out when a slightly older sibling can do a ton of things that they can't.

 

Interesting. Maybe the other kids were already out and about that next night? My kids end up cliquing up with other kids and we hardly see them after that. They prefer to dine/mingle/hangout with their larger sub group. They love the kids club and sometimes I think they have a better time than me now. 😆 

 

It will get interesting when they age out of the kids clubs. With no organized meetup for the 18-21 year young adult crowd, they may not be as enamoured with cruising as they are now. Deadsville is certainly no fun.   

[snowdogsmm]

We have to fly to ports so normally I wouldn't even consider a 3 or 4-day cruise but we will be flying to LA in November for a concert so are tacking on a 3-day cruise on the Radiance.  Timing was right and the price was to good to pass up.  Next up though is the Horizon in 24 days!

[ABQrobin]

3-4 day cruises are ALWAYS booze cruises.  Lots of drunks, lots of bad behavior, no way you will catch me on one.  Sorry you had to experience it.  If you try Carnival again, be sure to do a longer cruise, totally different crowd.

[happy cruzer]

Alot of cruise lines will not enforce their policies unless another cruiser complains and even then it is spotty.  They rely on people following the policies and/or picking cruises that match what they are looking for.  They stay in business going with the flow (and yes there are some who want enforcement but obliviously they are not a high priority). Your experience can be had on any of the major lines on short cruises during high season.

 

Hopefully you pick a better experience next time.

[DrSea]

CCL isn't for everyone. Consider sticking to PCL, HAL, X, and cunard if you care about "class". 

 

CCL, NCL, MSC, RCL, and Virgin may not be your speed if you don't want the party atmosphere. Even on longer itineraries, there will always be some form of partying onboard. And people never dress up on formal nights on these lines (never been on MSC or Virgin). People kinda do on PCL, HCL, and X. 

[canes20]

2 hours ago, DrSea said:

CCL isn't for everyone. Consider sticking to PCL, HAL, X, and cunard if you care about "class". 

 

CCL, NCL, MSC, RCL, and Virgin may not be your speed if you don't want the party atmosphere. Even on longer itineraries, there will always be some form of partying onboard. And people never dress up on formal nights on these lines (never been on MSC or Virgin). People kinda do on PCL, HCL, and X. 

I guess I have to do it without a GIF. We dress up.

[DrSea]

7 minutes ago, canes20 said:

I guess I have to do it without a GIF. We dress up.

I am not a fan of poorly behaved foul-mouth children.

 

But yes, I dress up. Not in a tux. Literally the same exact cloths that I wear to clinic, which is a tie, and dress pants and shirt. One of my guests gets dressed up really nicely and I would argue is the best dressed on the ship. They get a lot of compliments, gawkers, and death stares. 

 

OP, getting dressed up should be about you having fun, regardless of what others wear. I try not to let others dictate how much fun I have. Easier said than done sometimes if people are literally brawling. But for the most part I do me. It's all good.

 

If getting dressed up properly and having everyone participate is the pinnacle of your cruise exp, then Cunard is a great line for you. They take their formal nights very seriously and enforce the dress code. Some like the dress code enforced. Others like it lax and not enforced. Others like me don't mind what others wear. Live and let live. 

Edited July 28, 2022 by DrSea

[odiesam]

My opinion only : as long as everyone behaves( which they did from my viewpoint) but come on …. the food has to taste better than cafeteria food , which it did not!

 

Another complaint was the customer service desk which easily had a 30 min plus line!

 

To be to be honest after 3 cruises with Carnival we realized the food is just not very good (and we are not elite foodies); too many other cruises to try!

[Honolulu Blue]

@MattVegas:  Thank you for your review.  I'm sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise with Carnival.  Not all cruises suit all people.  I've heard about rowdy short cruises on all the main cruise lines.  And I've recently started to hear reports that Royal is starting to more loosely enforce their dress code policy/recommendations.  So, the other side of the tracks may not be so great either.  But I wish you well with whatever travel adventures you come up with in the future.

[Honolulu Blue]

On 7/26/2022 at 7:00 PM, MattVegas said:

they are sending a message that they won't interfere with your FUN... and you get to decide what fun means to you.

That's why I like Carnival and look forward to boarding another cruise from them sometime.  Obviously, neither you nor I like the extremes of this, but as long as others let me have my fun in the corner over there, my ability to care about what others do is weak.  JMHO.

 

8 hours ago, odiesam said:

My opinion only : as long as everyone behaves( which they did from my viewpoint) but come on …. the food has to taste better than cafeteria food , which it did not!

 

Another complaint was the customer service desk which easily had a 30 min plus line!

 

To be to be honest after 3 cruises with Carnival we realized the food is just not very good (and we are not elite foodies); too many other cruises to try!

I'm trying to remember cafeteria food from my university days ((disk drive click & whirr)).  As I suspected, my computer spits out the answer that Carnival food anywhere >> dorm food most days.

 

I don't blame you for your irritation with customer service lines.  I wouldn't stand in a 30-minute line.  If the issue isn't urgent, I'd wait until the next morning, when the line will almost surely be shorter.  I can't say that I've ever had to deal with Guest Services on the last evening of a cruise, when thelines (as I've seen and heard about) are often the longest.

[Nike4000]

Interesting review OP. Wife and I will be sailing on the Radiance next month and are eager to see if our experience matches yours. However, we typically avoid crowds (especially in the hot tub) and prefer sitting in a comfy chair reading a book in a quiet corner somewhere. So, it should be a fun comparison!

 

Also, regarding the plebes wearing jammies and, {{shudder}}, FLIP FLOPS to the MDR. <-- Please note the sarcasm in that line.  Who cares? I refuse to let anyone else's sartorial choices dictate my enjoyment of a meal on a cruise. I prefer to focus on the people I'm with and enjoy their company & the food I order. For comparison, last weekend we ate dinner at Fogo de Chão, an upscale Brazilian Churrascaria, and there were people wearing shorts, flip flops, hats, etc. Even nice restaurants on land have guests who don't follow the dress code. Should the manager have sent them back home to change their wardrobe?

[yellowfrog777]

Don't right off Carnival yet. Try a 7 day on Panorama or the 4 day Radiance when the kiddos are in school. It's a different experience. 

[Qchell]

I was listening to a podcast just this morning by a gentleman who sails exclusively with RCL. It was a replay of a live Q&A he had recently done.  I cannot tell you the amount of times he emphasized that RCL does not enforce the dress code in response to various questions. So I have a feeling that you may have lucked out on your previous cruise and people just followed the dress code.  

 

We tend to sail almost exclusively when school is in session specifically to avoid the children and spend time in locations where there are little to no children (Serenity deck, Cloud 9 Spa, nicer bars, etc.).  We always enjoy our cruises greatly!  

If you try Carnival again I hope you have a far better experience.  P.S.  I totally agree that Verifly app made things so much smoother.  We spent maybe a minute at the station to verify vaccination and testing status and we were on our way! 

[MattVegas]

23 hours ago, DrSea said:

 

If getting dressed up properly and having everyone participate is the pinnacle of your cruise exp, then Cunard is a great line for you. They take their formal nights very seriously and enforce the dress code. Some like the dress code enforced. Others like it lax and not enforced. Others like me don't mind what others wear. Live and let live. 

LOL not exactly the pinnacle of my experience. I come at this from this angle: I forgot to pack a pair of pants for this trip - I didn't see the 'cruise elegant' night on the schedule before we left. So I spent an hour of my Catalina time trying to locate and purchase some, so I could fit in and meet what I believed to be expectations. To find out that the time and expense were completely unnecessary was frustrating. My point is not that I'm disgusted by t-shirts and ball caps... it's that if you have a stated policy, you should follow and enforce it. But it seems like there are stated policies and then the actual policies, which are difficult for a first timer to suss out.

 

[MattVegas]

Another tip I forgot to mention.. WIFI. Do not purchase the 'value' plan. We got the social package for our kids; they were able to facetime with friends with ease from the lido deck. (package description indicates that video calls are not supported on the entry level)They were also able to get pretty good video calls from their rooms with minimal pixelation. My daughter's iPhone 11 was easily outperforming my 13 Pro Max, and I had the value package. So skip the midrange option! Can't speak to the higher end option... if it was a longer cruise I would have upgraded to that mid-trip. But you get good 5G/LTE on embark day and also you'll wake up with it in Catalina. When I woke up in Ensenada, incidentally, I had two emails indicating fraudulent password change attempts to my FB account, as well as a hack warning from my business website host. Not a disparagement of the cruise line in any way... I was not on airplane mode overnight, as my cellular carrier provides service through Telcel in Mexico.

[Jancruz]

I am trying t find out if the MDR is open on embarkation day or do you have to go to the buffet or one of the smaller restaurants??

Thanks in advance 1st 4 day cruise on Carnival..going with 9 in family..

Jancruz1