Carnival Cruise Line Reviews 452

Group of friends for my 50th ready to leave first day. Why? Boarding took 2 hours, Cabin one single bed only for my husband & I. Drain clogged with hair, blood splatter on ceiling and brown water pouring out of shower and taps, luggage damaged. Their response? no available cabins to move which was a lie confirmed by room attendant who pointed out available rooms. Sheet was put on the couch for 2nd bed. Video footage showing brown water told dont worry just sediment its safe. I asked would you bathe and brush your teeth in it? So they moved us that night tv & fridge, hotwater didnt work, but 2 single bunk beds. Asked to get off the ship, they would have to speak to captain. They finally offered the room they said they didnt have and we were in a interior queen room which was fine. Stayed on the boat for our friends. The ship had just been dry docked windows were unclean, power points were hanging with exposed conductors, light fittings exposed terminals. Im an electrician I notice this stuff. Worst customer service, I spent 20 mins trying to convince the woman at the service desk it really only had 1 bed she insisted it was 2. Gave 2 beverage vouchers, one drink per voucher. Ive been on a lot of cruises but I would never cruise with them again. Logged feedback of all the things that happened, they told me they cared and feedback was important to them, somehow after our treatment I doubt that. Don't book with them.

A Nightmare at Sea – Assaulted, Victimised, and Then Banned by Carnival
I never imagined that booking a cruise with Carnival would result in one of the most traumatic experiences of my life. What was supposed to be a relaxing getaway turned into a nightmare when I was physically assaulted by another passenger—only to have Carnival punish me due to requesting police intervention.

From the moment the incident occurred, Carnival’s handling of the situation was nothing short of disgraceful. Rather than taking immediate action against the aggressor, their security team treated me with indifference and hostility due to their lack of presence in the area, making it clear that they were more concerned with covering their own reputation than ensuring the safety of their guests.

Despite being the victim of an unprovoked attack, I was met with dismissive and condescending responses when I reported the assault. Carnival staff refused to provide meaningful support, offered no real assistance, and seemed to have no interest in investigating properly. Their so-called "resolution" was to ban ME from future cruises—as if being assaulted wasn’t bad enough!

This is beyond negligence; it’s outright victim-blaming. Rather than removing the dangerous individual from the ship and taking appropriate action, Carnival took the easy way out, choosing to silence the victim rather than address the real problem. This is a company that prioritises profits over passenger safety and public image over accountability.

If you value your safety, do not sail with Carnival. Their failure to protect passengers, their complete disregard for victims of assault, and their appalling customer service make it clear that they do not deserve your business. I will be taking further action to ensure this company is held accountable for their actions.

Avoid Carnival at all costs.

Crooks
They were NO help when i called 3 times to book so i booked online and it said i had till jan 6th 2026
I called to cancel march 2025 and they said i couldnt get a refund
The last time my girl did a cruise was with her daughter and sister a few yrs ago and the waiter Rob asked my girl and her daughter to have sex with him

Very fraudulant cruiseline
They lied to me
Took $100
Were NO HELP booking and rude
I was told they are the bottom of the barrel cruiseline and after a waiter was sexually a pig propositioning my girlfriend i would NEVER recommend carnival

Sail on Sunrise march 2024 Loved the ship, the food and the ports.

I Saul with Carnival at least twice a year and have never had a bad experience until I had to deal with post cruise customer care. This is the first time I have ever left an item in my stateroom. First off I’m just figuring out that you can’t speak to anyone. You have to fill out a form for lost item. So I did. 4 days later they send me another email that they are still looking for my item (iPad). In the meantime I was able to contact a lady that was on the cruise ship on the sailing right afte I debarked. She went to guest services and inquired about my item and they showed her that they had found it. They kept telling her that I needed to fill out the form, which I had already done. She checked again before she debarked and gave them my list item report number and they told her they no longer had the item. I say all this to say that I’m really disappointed in this process. It’s very frustrating that there is no one to speak to. I notices all inquiries post cruise are all forms to fill out. You can’t speak to anyone but they sure have someone to speak to while they’re trying to get your money to book the cruise.
This is just a warning to anyone who cruises to please check and recheck your cabin before you debark because it will be a nightmare trying to get your items back. And for Carnival…..you should really consider revamping your post cruise customer care policies. I cruise a lot but after this I may have to stick with Royal Caribbean.

My Horrific Experience with Carnival Cruise Line – A Story of Neglect, Mistreatment, and Cover-Ups

I never imagined that a vacation meant for relaxation would turn into one of the most degrading and traumatic experiences of my life. What started as a simple misunderstanding of Autism escalated into blatant mistreatment, false accusations, and outright human rights violations by Carnival Cruise Line.
• I was denied food, water, and basic hygiene items like soap and water in my room.
• My phone was confiscated, cutting me off from any outside help.
• I was not allowed to contact the Coast Guard or police, despite requesting to do so.
• My partner was charged with taking care of me as if I were a child, while staff asked her what Autism even is.
• I was falsely documented as saying I wanted to die—a complete lie used to justify their treatment of me.
• They revoked my partner’s alcohol privileges (for no reason), only to reinstate them later, which had NOTHING to do with my situation.
• Instead of addressing the harm they caused, they tried to cover it up with free specialty restaurant meals—as if food could undo the damage.
• They pressured me to take Ambien instead of simply allowing me to walk around to wind down (something I need due to Autism). They never checked my weight, health history, or whether the drug was even appropriate for me.
• After all of this, they banned me from ever sailing with them again by placing me on their Do Not Sail list.

This was nothing short of a complete abuse of power, discrimination, and a cover-up. Carnival had no knowledge of Autism, made false claims about my mental state, and treated me as if I were mentally incompetent. This isn’t just about a bad vacation—this is about mistreatment, medical negligence, and a blatant disregard for basic human rights.

I am sharing my experience so people can see how dangerous and untrained this company is when it comes to dealing with neurodivergent individuals. This should never happen to anyone else.

Carnival Cruise Liner, what a shame, I am 58 years old, I have been on many cruises with my wife, the management simply does not care about maintaining quality, they only think about making a profit, the buffet on 10 day cruises is of poor quality, almost always the same menu every day, disgusting hygiene at the buffet, no one washes their hands before entering the buffet and in other restaurants, the staff do not even care, after 4 or 5 days I start to see people with masks coughing, many people get sick, all this happens because there is no hygiene, what they do is cover it up so that the rest of the passengers are happy and continue to spend money. I say this because this is my second experience with Carnival, it is very easy to catch bacteria at Carnival. I was sick on two trips. 2023, trip from Sydney to New Zealand, got Covid 19. 2025, Queensland, I got Influenza, they charged me 1124 dollars for the medication and 10 minutes of consultation with the doctor, me and my wife together. Is this normal? I don't think so. I don't have this problem on other cruise lines, only on Carnival, Cloude 9 Spa Disgusting, I saw a naked man in the corridor where women and men enter all the time, they don't have wet wipes to clean seats and beds, it's very easy to catch bacteria, anyway, there's a lot more to say but I'll stop here, for me, never again on this cruise ship and where I have so much to choose from with different companies and companies with better reputations.

What’s really disappointing is that Carnival bought Cunard with the intention of helping its financial struggles, but instead of preserving Cunard’s legacy, they turned the QM2 into just another cruise ship. They stripped it of its true ocean liner features and turned it into something entirely different. What could’ve been a majestic successor to the great ocean liners became another generic vessel. Cunard deserves better, and so does the legacy of the QM2. Honestly, this brand would be better off just giving it to Cunard its self.

:)

Very Disappointing Experience

I had high hopes but was left extremely disappointed. The food quality was subpar, and the variety was very limited. Honestly, it felt like a complete rip-off for the price. If there's one positive, it’s that the meals are so unappealing that if you’re trying to lose weight, this might be the place for you. The lack of flavor and excitement means you’ll likely end up eating less, but that’s about the only benefit. At list stuff very friendly

My husband, myself and 2 children cruised on the Celebration Jan 19-26, 2025. For the most part we had a great time. The food service and quality was a repeated let down. The first night I was a few minutes earlier than everyone else. They wouldn’t serve me anything without everyone there. Fine I get it but a kind explanation from the server or some sort of dining etiquette handbook beforehand. If this is a major rule that they have I feel like it should’ve been broadcast. The waitstaff made me feel like the 2 shrimp cocktails I ordered were for people that didn’t exist. Instead of explaining the policy they just ignored me until the rest of the party joined me.
The second night we made our reservation and the 10 minute time limit expired as we were standing in line to check in. They wouldn’t seat us and we had to start a new reservation for a 40 minute wait.
One of the other nights I made a reservation and service ends at 9. My table showed it was ready at 8:59. They wouldn’t seat me even though the entire restaurant was full. It was just myself because the rest of my family was sick
with norovirus. I worked in restaurants for many years, no one wants a table one minute until close. But a single person with an entire room still full, c’mon. The whole dining experience really was disappointing. This meal service was included in our cruise package but man they weren’t accommodating and we felt like if we weren’t buying the up charge meals they didn’t want anything to do with us.
There were a few fantastic and fun bartenders. Again the service however lacked. They would take our drink order and then take 5 other people’s
order at the same time. Fine, except they didn’t give drinks in the order they were taken. There were multiple times I received my drink after other people when I ordered first. If you get chatting with any of the employees they are more than happy to tell you that they work 14 hour shifts for 9 months with no days off and are only paid tips. Come on Carnival treat your employees better. This cruise was very apparent that the employees were burnt out. We had fun family time don’t get me wrong but it was daily that we encountered some type of negative service. The ship itself had lots to do and any other food experience was pleasant. The sit down dining experience just left a poor impression.

My cruise in December I pre-pay $250 to use on the cruise. I put it in the wrong box I put in the box that’s it entertainment. I thought the casino was entertainment because they said I couldn’t use it. They kept my $250

Absolutely horrible experience! Rude staff. Incapable management. Archaic processes. Detestable food. Complete rip off! Avoid like there is no tomorrow! Disgusting experience! So many other fun pleasurable alternatives available that do not result in memories so bad that will last for a lifetime! Heed my advise

The treatment of our family and the reason for the cruise was absolutely disgraceful. Extremely unprofessional! They had absolutely no idea the mangers on board. Won’t be rushing back!

Not to mention the day excursion we did to whitehaven beach was an absolute was of money. Whitehaven beach absolutely stunning worth the visit. But we had 11 family members doing the day trip, time wasted signing the waivers resulting in lost time snorkeling which was the reason we were doing it and to only have 30mins snorkeling and was very disappointed. One member was a big boy now he was disrespected to be told he wasn’t able to participate as they don’t have a suit to fit no apologies nothing no compensation offered also not to mention discrimination. If there is a size limit then this needs to be clearly stated which it was not. I sent an email to the cruise line and no response whatsoever.

I booked a short 5 day cruise with friends, taking advantage of the part payments that Carnival offer. I now find that they have cancelled my booking, did not take subsequent payments and did not send me any emails to follow up. The call centre is adamant they sent emails but I know how to check a spam folder. The customer service person was rude, unapologetic and unhelpful. Will never use Carnival again.

We paid for 10 days trip with including visits of 3 islands but because of missing risk management of the cruise ( 2 passengers sickness) we wasn’t able to finish our trip.
The passengers insurance was mandatory ( paramedics, helicopter, doctors.. ) , so there’s not excuse for the captain.

Carnvail magic curise line Dec 14-21
hot tubs were disgusting,
our water in our hotel room ran brown yellow for a good 30 seconds . the second night in our hotel room my 17 month old daughter had a drug or medication in her mouth not from our own bringing. the customer service is horrible.

This is the worse cruise line. The ships are dated and everything is a money grab for these people. I cruised with them in September of 2024 to the Bahamas. The room was terrible (two twin beds pushed together), the food was horrible and the staff at Halfmoon Cay were really
RUDE! That being said it's not the worst of it. I ended up getting another cruise for NYE to celebrate my brother's birthday, because he wanted to go. I paid 1300 to fly to Long Beach CA. I put my flight times in the AP, so they were aware. I was cutting it close but it said on the Ap that I would be fine. When I arrived in CA on Monday 12/30 it took along time to get my luggage. I arrived at the doc at 3:05. We were told to talk to Jesus Mota because our cutoff was 3:00. He was disinterested and unwilling to help us. I observed him also treating someone else with disinterest whose luggage was lost.
The only thing Jesus told us was that we couldn't get on the ship. We were
stranded in Long Beach and left on the doc because of 5 minutes. The
rest of our party were on the ship. We were told to call 1-800- Carnival. When we called they said there was nothing they could do, mind you the ship was still there the whole time
After looking up what ootions we had we called Carnival back to see if we could meet the ship at Catalina Island (the first stop) they said no. They said if it was their fault or a flight delay they would do it but, no because it wasn't those things. They refused to work with us and had the nerve to hold money on my account for sign and sail even though I wasnt on the ship. They couldn't help us but they could hold my money? This Jesus Mota had no empathy or concern for paying customers. If you ask me he was on a power trip. It was
ridiculous. Another 1000 later and 14 hours my husband and I got home. It was the most disappointing and hurtful trip. This cruiseline is not interested in anything but taking your money and providing subpar treatment. We lost our vacation time( I'm self employed, no work no pay),
airfare, cruise fare and the additional expenses to stay somewhere until we could get out of Longbeach. Stra drd and tired what a way to usher the new year in. Carnival is an unethical company.They dont care about their customers. I'm a hard working person who makes very little so a vacation is a splurge for me. This really hurt. Don't use this cruiseline if you want a quality vacation. I would give them 0 stars if I could.

Carnival Celebration, December 22 to 29, 2024, room 8256:
Restaurant, including management, (Mr. Alex , Festivale floor 6)
and Leslie (waiter) are going the extra mile to serve their guests. Nopiani, the room steward, might have been the best we ever had on a Carnival cruise ship.
But a chain is as strong as the weakest link.
Guest services is another story. First visit on the first day about 4 pm I was treated so rudely (“you talk too much. You are keeping me from my lunch”). I was so disappointed, that I went to sleep with my eye lenses on. That resulted in a medical visit and I felt sick for 3 days. I tried to avoid visiting “guests annoying services” but had to on the 4th day. There was Amanda, who told me that I am trying to run guest services and when I told her that I will never board a Carnival ship again, she approved. Guest Annoying Services” confirmed that there is no special waiting line for suite guests. You should just wait in a 100 persons line. My idea was to have fun and think about business decisions. Well, if I am not welcome by such an important department of a cruise line, I would be very stupid to book another cruise with Carnival again. Will never ever do that whatever happens. Nobody with a right working mind looks for trouble while paying over US$ 5.000 for it.

I booked a 4-day family cruise with Carnival for my birthday; unfortunately, a week before the trip, my husband suffered a major heart attack and we were unable to travel. Since I was paid in full and the cruise date was so close, they refused to refund me my money. They would not even consider giving me a credit to use the cruise in the future! Disgusting customer service. Buyer beware! Book using a credit card that will insure your purchases!