Just got back from the 12-6/12-21 sailing to Hawaii. A cruise that, IMO, shouldn't have happened. As a matter of fact, based on information I found out later, the ship should have never left Long Beach.

Embarkation: A complete circus. It was nearly 6:30 PM before we cast away and set sail. That should've been our first omen right there. Just when I thought they were all finished loading up, here came another huge influx of luggage/supplies from the terminal. My best guess is they had a rather large amount of late arrivals, or were simply short staffed. Embarkation and check-in was another matter altogether. Complete disorganization. People standing around everywhere. We were in a suite so were supposed to go to the "Captain's Lounge" to check in. Instead, we were directed to an area with a small sign that said "priority", but noticed people already had their sign and sail cards in hand, so we asked around and the agent assured us we were in the right place. The line wasn't moving, so again I inquired and was told that we were to proceed to the Captain's Lounge, where the agent outside AGAIN pointed us in the direction of the "priority" sign. This game of cat & mouse went on for almost 30 minutes until I mentioned we were in a suite, to which yet ANOTHER agent sent us back to--you guessed it--the Captain's Lounge for check-in. It was complete and utter chaos. We somehow ended up with somebody else's cellphone too. Obviously a faux-pas that occurred as we went through security.

The Food: My son couldn't find anything edible on the buffet, so lived off pizza and sandwiches for much of the trip. Salads were OK. Deli was quite good. I still maintain that Carnival makes the best Reuben sandwiches on the high seas. Didn't try Chopstix, the Asian buffet. Nick and Nora's steakhouse was VERY good. Very large portions, excellent selection, and steaks cooked to order. Desserts were sinfully good as well. The food choices on the Lido Deck at Horatio's were rather limited and the presentation unappealing. There was no creativity or variety. The buffet most evenings featured one or two different meat options, with a heavy emphasis on rice and pasta dishes. Mystery food swimming in mystery sauces that looked like typical Thanksgiving leftovers. The dining room meals were passable, however nothing memorable. Food often arrived lukewarm, and the waiters/servers seemed overwhelmed at times The coffee was battery acid. There were many different teas featured and my wife said they were OK. The usual "free" drinks on the buffet were iced tea that looked (and tasted) like swamp water, sour lemonade that required three packets of sugar to make it drinkable, and plain old water. Milk, apple, and orange juice was only available during breakfast. Omelet station was good. They claimed to have "run out" of 2% milk halfway through the trip, yet somehow it magically reappeared towards the end? Even the dessert table wasn't that great. Everything looked precooked/prefrozen, just thaw and serve. The buffet cheesecakes were those boxed ones you buy at the grocery store and one day the Lemon-Meringue pie they advertised as such actually turned out to be Banana Cream pie. No big deal. Read more