Carnival Cruise Reviews 2024 UPDATED: Ratings of Carnival Cruise Line

Table Of Content

• Norwegian Bliss Dining Guide to All 19 Specialty and Free Restaurants
• 10 of 27,673 Carnival Cruise Reviews
• BTimmer's Almost Live Sydney - Seattle 4/10/24-5/12/24
• Our Signature Day-By-Day Carnival Jubilee Review: What It’s Really Like Sailing on the Newest Ship from Texas
• ***LIVE*** from MSC Divina YC (Yacht Club) - Western Caribbean Miami 7 April to 18 April 2024
• Wonder of the Seas Cruise Ship Review

Fortunately, Icon of the Seas' nighttime entertainment is also a great equalizer. Its ice skating performance, rendition of the Broadway hit "Wizard of Oz," and multi-disciplinary dance, swim, and dive show are complimentary to all guests. On the other hand, if you plan to spend most of your time exploring ports and partaking in onboard activities, the type and location of cabin might be of less importance.

Norwegian Bliss Dining Guide to All 19 Specialty and Free Restaurants

That means its "space ratio" — a fancy cruise world term that refers to the amount of space on the ship per passenger — is at an almost unprecedented level for a cruise vessel. Specifically, it's at 93, far above the 60 to 75 that is typical for luxury ships. But after a major overhaul in early 2023, part of a relaunch of the Crystal brand under new owners, it's back to being one of the leading luxury ships at sea. As is typical for luxury ships, the top decks of Crystal Serenity aren't loaded with the amusements you'll find on large mass-market ships.

10 of 27,673 Carnival Cruise Reviews

Generously sized, Fior di Pesco marble-topped nightstands flanked the bed, with perfectly placed task lighting floating off the wall just above them. However, it's a lounge without a bar, and it comes off as a dead space on the ship — a room that is rarely used. Crystal Serenity is the new flagship for Crystal, a luxury cruise brand that is at the same time all-new and decades old.

BTimmer's Almost Live Sydney - Seattle 4/10/24-5/12/24

Like Umi Uma, it was completely gutted and rebuilt during the ship's overhaul in early 2023 and looks brand new. It's an eatery that was on Crystal Serenity for many years before its overhaul, and it has thankfully made a comeback under the ship's new owners — albeit with an all-new look. All that extra storage space in the bathroom was in contrast to what some may consider a lack of enough storage space outside the bathroom. While the suite featured a walk-in closet for storage, as I mentioned above, I found it oddly small for a suite of this size, at around six feet by six feet.

Our Signature Day-By-Day Carnival Jubilee Review: What It’s Really Like Sailing on the Newest Ship from Texas

There were separate controls for each of these, so I could mix and match the water delivery devices to my liking. A 49-foot section has been added to Silver Spirit to bring it up to Silver Muse standards. Cruise Critic is an online cruise community with more than 650,000 ship reviews of 700 ships from experts and cruise aficionados. A budget vacation on Royal Caribbean's new wildly popular Icon of the Seas is possible.

Swimsuits with cover-ups also are acceptable when dining near the pool at the Trident Grill, Tastes and Marketplace eateries. The 2023 and 2024 sailings to New England, Canada and the Caribbean will depart from various North American home ports, including Quebec City, Quebec; New York; Miami; Bridgetown, Barbados; and San Juan, Puerto Rico. From September 2023 through January 2024, Crystal Serenity will be based in North America for sailings to New England, Canada and the Caribbean. After that, it'll set off on an epic, 141-day, around-the-world cruise from Miami that will continue through June 2024. While Crystal Serenity isn't particularly focused on families, it does offer a small teen center and children's playroom on Deck 12, just off the main pool area. A third entertainment space on the same deck as the Stardust Club, the Hollywood Theatre is a traditional cinema playing recently released movies and also broadcasting live sporting events at times.

Less than half of Icon’s 28 eateries are complimentary, so you’ll likely repeat meals.

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In fact, one of the first staffers I met after boarding, the butler for my room, was Prince Jose, who I called out by name for his great service in the last story I wrote from a Crystal ship in 2021. That was nearly two years ago, but he recognized me, and I recognized him, and we immediately got to talking as if no time had gone by. And the big news for Crystal fans as the line restarts is that more than 80% of the crew has returned. Now, after an 18-month absence from the luxury cruising scene, Crystal Serenity is back and — dare I say — better than before. “And if someone has cruised before–or considers themselves an avid cruiser–we hope this list helps introduce them to new options, whether an entirely new line or new possibilities offered by some of their favorites.

If you want alcohol and sodas, be prepared to pay for a beverage package. However, depending on the size of the ship, they could be farther from entertainment and dining areas. On big ships, there may be 10 or even more flights of stairs between your cabin and the pool, sun deck, buffet, and other amenities found at the top of the ship. There will be elevators, of course, but you should expect queues at busy times. Pioneered by Norwegian Cruise Line, solo traveler cabins are becoming more common across the industry. Whereas for many years solo cabins were usually interior grade, there are now oceanview and even balcony cabins available for solo travelers on some lines.

Wonder of the Seas Cruise Ship Review

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Cunard Queen Mary 2 (QM Cruise Ship Review.

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About 40% of the ship's accommodations (151 out of 377) are Sapphire Verandah Suites. Measuring a whopping 537 square feet including balcony space, these are unusually spacious suites for a main cabin category on a cruise ship. Each of these suites, notably, has a separate sitting room and bedroom, a walk-in closet and a large bathroom, as well as a 107-square-foot balcony. Originally built for 1,080 passengers, Crystal Serenity is now configured to hold just 740 passengers — even as the size of its public areas (lounges, bars, restaurants, etc.) hasn't changed.

You feel like you want to order a whiskey drink here, and indeed, it's home to both a special Manhattan menu and a Negroni menu. It also serves as the ship's piano bar, with a pianist playing most nights. Finally, Crystal Serenity has a special 14-seat dining room called the Vintage Room that guests can book for exclusive private dinners that combine an elegant set menu of five to seven dishes with wine pairings for each course. Seven-course meals in the room, including wines, are presented over about three hours in the room and cost $300 per person.

Just be prepared to stay sober, repeat meals, and pay at least $265 a day. This will likely result in you being allocated a cabin at the front or back of the ship, but it will save you money. Decide how much you’re willing to spend and remember that while the cabin is important, you’ll also want to budget for on-board activities, excursions, beverages, and other expenses. During the evenings, the official dress code steps up to what Crystal calls "evening resort." For women, that means dresses, skirts, pants, blouses or sweaters, dark-wash jeans with no rips, or tailored dress shorts. For men, it's button-down shirts, collared polo shirts, sweaters or smart designer sweatshirts, dark-wash jeans with no rips (only when accompanied by a jacket), chinos, and a sports jacket or blazer (the latter being optional).

All of the dishes, which include ahi tuna poke, hamachi crudo, oven-roasted cauliflower, ricotta gnocchi, California street tacos and chimichurri steak, are placed in the middle of the table and meant to be shared. Given that, there would have been logic to using more of the suite's ample room for storage. Crystal Serenity's array of cabins and suites is relatively simple to understand.

McDaniel notes other ways in which ship size affects the cruising experience. “There’s also a greater space ratio onboard, allowing for less crowding and more space for guests to spread out and enjoy,” she says. The line’s newest ship, Silver Nova, which holds 728 passengers was ranked as the Best New Luxury Ship. This environmentally-friendly ship, which began its inaugural cruise in August, 2023 is the industry’s first hybrid luxury cruise ship.