Carnival Cruise Lines?

coronado11

Anyone gone on one before? Im choosing a cruise because we have ever been and the cost is for everything! Food included! Ill have spending money of course but its way cheaper that paying for airfare hotel and THEN something to do. Opinions?

AprilH81

First, a cruise does NOT include everything, but it does include a lot.  

Typical cruise fares include your cabin, meals (although some specific restaurants have an additional cover charge) and water, iced tea, lemonade, hot tea and coffee (specialty coffees are an additional expense) and most entertainment onboard.

You will still need to pay crew tips, soft drinks, alcohol, shore excursions, casino, spa, and other similar things will be extra.  Not to mention airfare and ground transportation in the ports and to and from the pier.

I have been on two Carnival Cruises and while I had fun on both, I would not go on them again.  In the last few years they have had a lot of mechanical issues that have made the news because they greatly affected passenger comfort and they got a lot of bad press for the poor way they handled it.  

I would recommend spending just a little more money and trying Royal Caribbean (I have been on three of their cruises).  Their ships are prettier and the newer ships have a TON more activities (ice skating, surfing simulators, rock climbing walls, etc).

A cruise is a great way to get a good price for a great vacation.  You can visit several islands and only pack/unpack once.  You can party all night and lay by the pool all day or you can go to bed early and play all day, or don't sleep at all and party 24/7.  

I would spend a lot of time on www.cruisecritic.com and read about the different cruise lines (Carnival, Royal Caribbean, NCL and Princess are the four biggest cruise lines) and the different places they go.

Good luck!

jenna8984

PP is correct that you still need to pay for a lot including alcohol, soda, excursions, gratuities, etc. 

I have been on 7 cruises and I personally think Carnival is the "walmart" of cruises. They are the cheapest because they suck. 

Royal Caribbean is a step up- cleaner, better decorated, better food

Celebrity- is my favorite, best food and since it's more expensive you get a better quality of people on board. Not to be rude, but you know the people at Walmart, you don't want to be surrounded by them on a cruise hahah 

Cruise critic is a great site like PP said as well. 

P.S. Inside cabins are the cheapest but they don't have any type of window or porthole so it feels very claustrophobic like you're in a closet, spring for the window. 

Starfish622

We are going on a southern caribbean cruise on Celebrity and actually we got a beverage package that includes alcohol when we booked. I think they are running the same deal right now but I'm not sure which cruises it includes.

JoanE2012

Whenever I hear Carnival, I think of swarms of kids.  We'll never sail on them.  We've only been on two ocean cruises, one Royal Caribbean and one Princess.....we enjoyed both of them.

16maybeless

Carnival is definitely known as the party boat. Apart from their mechanical problems, they are often the cheapest sailings, so they attract a very different clientele from Norwegian, RCL, and Princess. That's not a bad thing, if you and your SO are into a party atmosphere and don't want the most luxurious lodgings! But in the industry, Carnival does get the rep for being inexpensive and more of the "motel of the sea."

For more information ,go on CruiseCritic.com. They have a lot of reviews and insider info about specific sailings and ship lines in general.

alithebride

I've been on 1 Cunard transAtlantic, 1 princess week Caribbean, 1 celebrity week Caribbean, Disney week Caribbean and 2 carnivals-12 night medit and week long Caribbean. Every line has had pros and cons. I have found strong and weak in each. Cruise critic is an excellent resource. Do your research.

mlg78

Carnival may be cheap but watch sales. I went on Royal Caribbean for our honeymoon and had a wonderful time in the southern Caribbean. I just booked another trip for us on 11/2/14 to the western Caribbean and four friends are also coming along. We currently have a balcony cabin for $1,322 for the both of us...a great deal for $661/person! We also have a $150 onboard ship credit to use toward excursions, drinks, etc. Check them out.

mlg78

Carnival may be cheap but watch sales. I went on Royal Caribbean for our honeymoon and had a wonderful time in the southern Caribbean. I just booked another trip for us on 11/2/14 to the western Caribbean and four friends are also coming along. We currently have a balcony cabin for $1,322 for the both of us...a great deal for $661/person! We also have a $150 onboard ship credit to use toward excursions, drinks, etc. Check them out.

princessleia22

Yes, the more expensive ships are nicer, but there really isn't anything wrong with Carnival if that's what you can afford.  You can still have a great time for a great price.  Also, look at some of the discount booking sites.  They often will sell cruises at much cheaper rates, especially as you get closer to the cruise.  Some that may be worth looking at are: CruisesOnly.com or VacationsToGo.com.  You may be able to find a nicer cruise for same price.

Most of the additional costs people talk about are optional items, such as casino, excursions, alcohol, etc. So if you are really on a tight budget, you can skip a lot of those expenses.  You can get buy with just drinking the free juice, coffee, iced tea.  You can do the free on-board activities and just wander the towns at the stops, rather than spending a lot of money at the spa or on excursions.  I've been on cruises when I was younger & poorer, where we didn't have money to spend on anything and didn't buy any of the extras... and we had a great time.  We really just paid the cruise fare and the mandatory tips... nothing else.  It was on an older Carnival ship and it wasn't fancy, but it was one of the best vacations I've had.  We went on 3-night cruise and spent total of $600/person (including airfare, spending money, and everything).  Vacations are all about your attitude and what you put into it.  You can have a horrible time on an expensive vacation or you can have a great time on a cheap vacation... the cost isn't everything.

You can bring 1 bottle of wine and 12 pack of soda or water on-board with you.  So, especially if on shorter cruise, you can use those to bypass the expensive drinks on-board.

A few expenses you do need to consider are:

- transportation to/from airport to cruise port (in some cases this can be expensive... we looked at cruise out of Port Canaveral, FL and it was $60/per each way from airport!). If you drive there, parking at cruise port can be expensive ($15-20/day). 

- mandatory tips - they add these to your account to be paid at end of trip.  I think it's $11 or $12 per person per day on Carnival right now.  If you have horrible service you can ask to have these reduced or removed, but that it the primary income for your housekeeping, room steward, waitstaff, and everyone else that helped you all week, so its not advisable. You can also give additional tips to specific people if you feel the need or desire.  Tipping room steward, bartender, or waitstaff early in the trip can improve your service.

- Be prepared to have a little bit of spending money for ports.  Even if you plan to just wander around or go to beaches, there could be costs for taxis (if needed) or even beach fees.  Not all of the ports have beaches right near by, so you may need to get taxi to get there. My "cheap" cruise stopped in Key West & Nassau.  In Key West we just walked around the shops near port.  In Nassau we took taxi to a nice free beach (several of us shared & split cost) then just wandered around shops near the port.  But, our only real expense was taxi and a few souvenir's.

CMGragain

I just returned from my 17th cruise.  If you have never cruised before, Carnival might just suit you.  There are ways to save on a cruise.

1.  Get a good travel agent to book it for you.  There is no charge for their services, and they can help you with questions.  They know the deals, and can save you money.  (Internet sites are all travel agents -most are anonymous.  Expedia, Travelocity, VacationsToGo, etc.)
2.  It is your responsibility to get to the port before sailing.  Most cruisers fly in the night before and stay in a nearby hotel.  If you are driving, there are hotels that will let you park in their lot while you cruise, and shuttle you to the dock.
3.  Don't even THINK about skipping travel insurance!  You NEED it!
4.  Don't buy anything on the ship.  Repeat, don't buy ANYTHING on the ship.
5.  Check the liquor policy.  If it is allowed, bring on some wine or champagne and celebrate in your cabin.  Drinks are usually watered down on cruise ships, and they are NOT free  Bar bills can add up fast!.
6.  Food on the Lido deck buffet, the main diningroom, and poolside is usually free, but there are special restaurants that do have a hefty cover charge.  You don't need to eat there.
7.  Soda is not free, but some cruise lines have a card program that covers a lot of soda for a charge.  If you love Coca-cola, this may be a good idea.
8.  You will be charged about $24 per day for your tips.  Pay them.  Don't stiff your poor cabin stewards.  They need that money more than you do.
9.  Stay out of the casino.
10.  Review the available shore excursions on line and plan your activities ahead of time.  Do at least one unforgettable thing.  If your ship stops at the private island, you'll have a lazy day at the beach.  Reserve a sunshade.  They sell out fast!
11.  Take advantage of the many activities on board.  Most are free.
12.  Take your own photos.  The ship's photographers charge outrageous prices.  Ask other passengers to take pictures of the two of your together.  If people know that you are on your honeymoon, they be happy to do this!
13.  Go to www.cruisecritic.com and sign up.  There is a ton of information there from people who have been on many cruises.

jsquared62009

We went on a Carnival cruise for our honeymoon and loved it. It was a Mediterranean cruise so I think it had less of a party atmosphere than their Caribbean ones usually do (never been on the Car. ones but just going by what I hear). Like pp have said...it's a great option if that's what you can afford. Obviously you cannot go in with high expectations but I also never once felt like it was "cheap." The food was pretty good and the ship was nice (it was the newly remodeled Sunshine). Definitely do your research and choose the line that's right for you but if you're looking for a honeymoon on a budget Carnival might be right for you.