Sunday, April 21, 2024

43 Carnival Cruise Line tips, tricks and hacks to enhance your vacation at sea

carnival cruise line booking

“We have 19 small ships and riverboats sailing across the country in 2024, plus more boats and new itineraries coming in late 2024 and 2025,” said Alexa Paolella, manager of public relations for ACL. For the Cunard brand specifically, the line booked more guests during January than any equivalent period in the last decade, according to a brand spokesperson. In North America, Cunard has booked 28% more guests than any other equivalent period in a decade, and there was a 27% increase year-over-year with Queen Mary 2’s transatlantic crossings, Queen Anne U.K. A second new category has also debuted for the 2023 awards – Best Cruise Line for Service and Crew.

Onboard Experiences

When it comes to raucous, though, nothing on Carnival ships quite compares to the frequent karaoke nights on board. Sometimes held in a secondary lounge or a shipboard pub, karaoke on Carnival draws a big crowd. Passengers come prepared with rehearsed songs and sometimes even their own guitars. Every vessel has two main dining rooms and a casual buffet eatery where meals are included in the fare.

Onboard Activities

If it’s family fun you want, the Carnival Breeze or Carnival Freedom may be just the thing. If the ship is more important than the route, take a look at Carnival’s ship lineup and what each has to offer, plus where they sail. Carnival has an impressive fleet of vessels and adds more every year. There are currently 24 ships with more maiden voyages scheduled later this year. There are cruises as brief as two days and some as long as 31 days, depending on where you’re headed.

Royal Caribbean Cancels Cruise Due to Red Sea Tensions

A cruise can be an affordable vacation or a hefty investment, so make sure you make the most of your purchase. Carnival ships are all about fun, in a lively, let's-not-take-this-too-seriously sort of way. If you're sure you know what sort of cabin you want, on which ship, on which itinerary — and about a dozen other things — you can head over to Carnival.com to book directly.

The Best Ways to Book a Cruise - NerdWallet

The Best Ways to Book a Cruise.

Posted: Wed, 17 Apr 2024 16:01:35 GMT [source]

The Best Cruise Lines

The wide menu runs the gamut from traditional breakfast items to more savory lunch entrees and includes menu items you won't find on other days. If you don't get to try every dish you'd like, don't worry; you can always come back the next sea day. However, if you left your phone in the cabin or your eyes can't take the small print, ask for a traditional paper menu. Bolt is Carnival's new roller coaster attraction found on Mardi Gras and Carnival Celebration. The thrill ride is tons of fun, but a maximum of four people can ride it at any one time. Reserve a spot as early as you can to make sure you get to try the attraction.

So perhaps it makes sense that it has one of the most extensive children's programs at sea. The line has formal children's programming and activities for children as young as 2 years old through the age of 17. Design-wise, Carnival's cabins and suites are fairly basic and comfortable, if not super stylish. Cabins on recently unveiled or overhauled vessels have a soothing palette of creams and blues. Cabinetry in these rooms is a crisp and clean faux wood, and cabin bathrooms are neutral.

Take advantage of drive-to cruise ports

carnival cruise line booking

On one of Carnival's newest ships, Carnival Panorama, there's no RedFrog Pub, but the Smokehouse Brewhouse has a stage that's home to live music nightly and some of the ship's karaoke sessions. Other popular venues found on some Carnival ships include RedFrog Pub, which serves up Carnival's tasty housemade beers on tap, as well as plenty of other choices. Every Carnival ship has a casino, usually smack in the middle of the main entertainment deck. Carnival is also well known for the Punchliner Comedy Clubs on its ships, which draw quality comedians and can get a little raucous late at night with adult-only performances. The overarching idea for Carnival's ship deployments is that a large percentage of the U.S. population can reach one of the line's ships by car, saving the cost of flights. Note that the Carnival fleet is scheduled to grow over the next year with two more new vessels.

Most of these six ships (all but Carnival Venezia) have an a la carte barbecue-and-beer joint called Guy's Pig & Anchor Smokehouse Brewhouse, too. BlueIguana is a Chipotle-style restaurant, with yummy made-to-order burritos and tacos. Created in partnership with Food Network's Guy Fieri, Guy's Burger Joint offers burgers that beat anything you'll find around the pool on other mass-market ships and even most luxury vessels. Like other big-ship operators, Carnival packs a lot of dining options onto its vessels — some included in the price, some at an extra charge.

Dive-In Movies makes a big production out of the big screen over the pool, plus The Punchliner Comedy Club™ features family-friendly shows… and, uh, late-night shows for after the kids go to bed. You do not need to tip above this, though many passengers get confused or add a tip because they're used to always adding one back on land. Tip extra for impressive service if you like, but do not feel compelled to add an additional gratuity above the automatic one.

Don't waste money and landfill space on endless bottles of water on your Caribbean cruise. Instead, bring a reusable water bottle and fill it up at the buffet or in your cabin each morning. Many fun drinks come in souvenir glasses, especially at Carnival's poolside bars. What you're going to do with a container that's shaped like Carnival's iconic split funnel once you're back home is anyone's guess. They'll even pass the bottles from one restaurant to the next, so you can order something special in the steakhouse and finish it in the main dining room the next night.

carnival cruise line booking

The oldest, smallest ships in Carnival's fleet are the 2,130-passenger Carnival Elation and Carnival Paradise. The newest, largest vessel is the 5,282-passenger Carnival Celebration. Alternatively, travelers can book their cruise and pay using Financing Powered by Uplift. It's essentially a loan that you can pay back over up to 18 months.

Where you won't find Carnival ships, notably, is in Asia, South America or, for the most part, Europe. Unlike other big cruise brands such as Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line and Princess Cruises, Carnival doesn't spread its vessels around the world to draw a fly-in crowd. Aimed squarely at Americans, its trips are all about cruising close to home at a reasonable price. Impact on your credit may vary, as credit scores are independently determined by credit bureaus based on a number of factors including the financial decisions you make with other financial services organizations. All Carnival ships include food and beverages, though there are speciality dining and beverage options and packages on most ships that cost extra. While it won’t earn you VIFP points, the Carnival World Mastercard is a way to earn FunPoints, which you can use like cash toward your next cruise booking.

Parents can use these services to get a break or a night out away from their toddlers and tykes. Lanyards are ideal, especially for little kids, to keep your cruise card close when your clothes don't have pockets. Pack towel clips to keep your pool towel from blowing off your lounge chair.

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