Carnival Cruise Line. - Mobile, Alabama

MITCH C.

Sailed on the Carnival Magic ship.
Getting on the ship at the start and getting off the ship at the end of the cruise was painful, ridiculously slow, unorganized, etc, etc.
Ship is outdated, dirty, needs alot of work on it. Water coming out of the sink had rust in it. Food was mediocre at best. When they had bacon on the breakfast buffet and it wasn't everyday, they would give you one piece at a time. When I ordered 8 pieces of bacon in the dining room, waiters where almost speechless. "You want 8 pieces?"
Guy's hamburgers and his BBQ restaurant where the best food on the ship. BBQ only open on sea days for us.
Staff were the shining light on this cruise. There were numerous ones that do not understand English, but they were nice and all tried to help. Stateroom attendent was most excellent.
Security people definitely have an inflated opinion of their worth. Rude and hateful. Got chewed out for standing in the corridors in a line.
Carnival lacks any decent nonalcoholic drink packages other than a "bubbles package". Which is cokes, pop, sodas, whatever you may call them. Not a drinker, but tried to get a bottled water, hot tea, hot chocolate type, nope, they don't offer that. They want you to purchase the expensive alcoholic beverage package or a bubbles package.
Their app is a total joke. When it worked, was hard to navigate, incomplete, would not give you any decent information. Crashed on me and would not allow me access, even after uninstalling and re-downloading three separate times. App is necessary for disembarking the ship.
Had to use a QR code to access menus in the dining rooms. Sucks even when they worked.
Overall I cannot recommend Carnival to anyone. Period!!

Ke'Mayriah W.

This rating is regarding my recent cruise with Carnival (3.3.25-3.7.25) and their recent compensation per stateroom on ship GLORY!

My issue is that there should be a consistent policy and there’s not. This is not the first time mother nature took place but more was offered to the travelers such as $200 onboard credit and 50% off future cruise, but yet we get $100 on board credit and bingo cards. The captain/directors told us it’s a corporate issue, but it seems the corporate policy is it’s up to the captain/directors of each cruise. Carnival is a huge company and it’s not the first time it has happened, so why is there not a specific plan in place? Why are fingers pointed at each other; captains/directors vs headquarters The compensation was highly unfair and not throughly thought through. Time people took off work, expenses on their travel to their port, and paying for the cruise to give only a $100 per room not even per person. Carnival this is a true disappointment.

I have always spoken highly of Carnival, which is why our recent experience on Carnival Glory was truly disappointing. This was my husband's first time sailing with Carnival and my son's first-ever cruise, and unfortunately, it did not meet our expectations.
The ship's amenities were underwhelming—there were only two small pools, no designated toddler pool area, and the water slides did not appear safe or up to code. The food quality was another major letdown. Items like French toast lacked flavor, and the syrup options were subpar. There was no consistent availability of kid-friendly options such as chicken fingers, chicken nuggets, or properly prepared mac and cheese on the buffet line daily. The primary food choices seemed to be limited to hamburgers and hot dogs, and much of the food was served cold. There were also misleading signs near food stations advertising items that were not available, such as remoulade sauce at the seafood shack or even Buffalo shrimp (no sauce on shrimp) and Caesar salad at the salad bar (last day only at the buffet line). Even the ranch dressing was watered down, seemingly stretched to last the duration of the cruise. Beverage choices were also limited, with juices like apple and orange only available at breakfast, and no variety beyond that.

The Welcome Aboard show was underwhelming, consisting mainly of staff introductions rather than an engaging performance. Not many performances/shows daily in the theatre (amber place)

When we were unable to dock, I believe compensation should have gone beyond just port fees and excursion refunds. While I understand that weather is beyond control, guests do not pay for a cruise just to remain at sea. The $100 per stateroom compensation was also unacceptable—it should have been per person, not per room. Other Carnival ships were able to dock, and while some additional entertainment was provided, more shows should have been added to make up for the disruption. Only add entertainment was karaoke, bingo (have to pay), deal or no deal (have to pay). Already got people money from casino, drink packages (liquor and bubbly(soda))

Additionally, I booked a simple foot and ankle massage, yet the focus was primarily on my legs. While I still enjoyed it, my main reason for booking was to alleviate discomfort from plantar fasciitis.

The outdoor projector screen, which should have been an enjoyable feature, had a large black block that obstructed the view, making it difficult for guests to fully watch the movies.

On a positive note, Eddie from the entertainment team was fantastic, and Stephan was an excellent choice for cruise director. The music selections were enjoyable, and the Kids Club was satisfying.
However, despite these positives, I will not be booking Carnival Glory again. I hope the ship is retired as planned, as it does not uphold the standard I have come to expect from Carnival.

Ashley L.

The Mobile Alabama cruise terminal was a bit of a challenge to get into. The Google maps vs. the entrance signage didn't align but with the help of security we made it to where we needed to be. The employees were super helpful and assisted us with our issue regarding travel documents. The Carnival Spirit was absolutely wonderful. The ship layout was easy to navigate. Our suite was perfect! Room #6189 has everything you need for a 5+ day cruise including closets, robes, mini fridge, balcony and it's positioned in the middle of everything. Aero, our steward was amazing! I requested ice for our wine since it wouldn't fit in the mini fridge and he kept ice all 6 days. The dive in movie screen was a big hit for us. I enjoyed watching the movies while lounging in the pool.

Heather M.

Carnival has The Spirit ship cruising out of Mobile for 6 months out of the year. I’ve been on at least 5-6 different ships, including the new Celebration and Mardi Gras. I liked Spirit a lot. It obviously wasn’t as big and new as Celebration, but it is better than Elation out of Jacksonville. Ship by ship the same plate is a bit different on each one. The chef on Spirit is doing an excellent job. I had really good food on Magic out of Cape Canaveral as well. Oh and Spirit goes to more destinations than Elation, which only goes to the Bahamas. Jacksonville has better parking though. The parking needs much improvement in Mobile. Overall, I’d definitely recommend cruising on Spirit and they also had an excellent gym and a painting studio that I have not seen on other ships. Fabulous kids clubs as well.. for each age group.

Sophea H.

Great experience & so much food & fun & entertainment as usual! This is the 2nd time that we went on a Carnival Cruise. First time was our Honeymoon & now for our 5th anniversary. We definitely enjoy cruise life! We love the All Inclusive meals, fun aboard the ship, there’s so much fun things to do on there. Food was everywhere, all day everyday! We never go hungry. Our rooms was always clean every time we came back from some event & those cute animals towels gave a personal touch. We were so spoiled & I did not want to go home once it was time to leave.

Gary R.

We've been on 3 cruises this year and have 3 scheduled for 2024, and 3 booked for 2025. We've had excellent service for the most part on all of them. They have good food, there's always something new to try on the menu. Almost 24hr pizza, burgers, late night buffet, steak house, theres always more than enough. Tip your bartenders and your glass is never empty

Lori C.

The food was excellent. Some of the best I've had on a cruise. We were on the Spirit. Medium sized ship but it was perfect. Easy to get around. Beautiful decor. Able to dock close in without tendering. Very stable even though some of the days had rough seas. My only negative would be the entertainment shows were only so-so. Comedians not very good or funny. Great movies on deck. AND this is the first cruise I've seen a dedicated lifeguard watching the main pool. Good job Carnival.

Coronda G.

My cruise was perfect on Carnival. We will definitely be sailing with them again