As a longtime customer of Carnival, I cannot fully explain the disappointment of my experience on the February 9, 2025, cruise from Los Angeles to Hawaii on the Carnival Radiance.
The best thing about the cruise was the friendliness of the staff.
My room steward Bambang and his staff were exceptional.
There was a man at the Customer Service desk who was not nice at all. He refused to take my name when I went to make a complaint about the non-existent Wi-Fi on the ship. I paid for a premium package that didn't work for almost all sea days.
As far as the Radiance itself, the ship is old, uncomfortable and even though there was constant cleaning by staff it was very dingy. The woodwork on the ship was worn, the fabric on the cushions was stained. The Liquid Lounge main seating area was made of a bunch of hard as a rock parson chairs. To enter the comedy club, you had to go through the casino, through a long narrow hallway equipped with TV screens as there wasn't enough room in the club itself. This is not how this should work.
Now for the food, this is the worst experience I have had on any Carnival Ship. The very first night we went to the Steakhouse, and I ordered the lambchops. (I almost always order the lambchops.) They were cooked right, medium rare, but they were tough and chewy. The Veal Marsala I ordered in the Italian restaurant was not marsala. The food was adequate at best at all meals.
I understand that Carnival has no control of weather conditions but there were no accommodations for the loss of all outdoor activities. The Pacific was rough and the temperatures outside were cold and windy. I do not understand why the pools on the Lido deck were filled. There was water constantly on the Lido deck floors and no amount of squeegeeing removed this dangerous condition.
There were many people on this voyage that were sick, most not caring if they spread whatever illness they had.
Debarkation at ports was chaotic and mishandled.
This trip which was long waited for by my husband and myself was terribly disappointing.
Carnival made a mistake by treating it's best and most loyal customers to such shoddy conditions as most people on board were Platinum or Diamond.
As far as I am concerned, it is time to scuttle the Carnival Radiance, an old ship which has outlived its time.
Sincerely, Carol Harty
Recommendation: Fly to Hawaii, there are other cruises that tour just the islands