Carnival Cruise–the party ship of the cruise industry…or is it? This February, we took our first-ever Carnival Cruise to the Bahamas, and I have to say, it was not at all what I expected! From what there actually is to do on board to navigating port stops, there was a lot that took me by surprise. So if you’re about to embark on your virgin voyage with Carnival Cruises, too, here are some essential things to know before you go.
A Carnival Cruise is Not Really a Non-Stop Party
I’ve always heard of Carnival Cruises being the “party” ships. In my head, that translated to tons of dancing, loud music, etc., pretty much all the time. But while there is something happening just about every minute from 8 am to 1 am, it’s not necessarily partying. There are several designated parties throughout the week, but they usually only last for 15 minutes to an hour, and they’re in one contained location.
A couple of these are led by the cruise director, who keeps things upbeat and fun by leading everyone in coordinated dances, like the Cupid Shuffle, Wobble, etc.
Additionally, you can attend some late-night “after parties,” which typically follow the evening musical shows. On our cruise, there were short 15-minute parties in the Sunshine Atrium right after the musical show, and then anyone who wanted to visit the Limelight Lounge for music hours and late-night hits with a DJ around 10 or 11 pm.
There’s Always Something Happening
Despite the fact that a Carnival Cruise isn’t a non-stop party, there is something fun happening from pretty much 8 am to 1 am every single day.
I have a lot more info about this in my Carnival Cruise review, part 2, but there are so many different entertainment options, it can almost be overwhelming! Some of the highlights include:
- Trivia parties
- Ice carving
- Mixers
- Music hours
- Comedy shows
- Family game shows
- Bingo
- Musical shows
- Massage tasters
- Seminars
- Art auctions
- Q&A Sessions
- Movie nights
- Photo ops
- Karaoke
Every day is just an endless list of fun! They left a pamphlet on our door each night with the next day’s activity breakdown, but we also utilized the Carnival Cruise app quite a lot, because we could save all the activities we were interested in, and it would create a separate timeline for us and send reminders. That made it much easier to manage our days.
A Carnival Cruise is Like an All-Inclusive Resort
I felt like we were getting a great deal for 7 nights of food and transportation, but I didn’t realize quite how much other stuff would be at our disposal for this cruise!
Once you get on the ship, everything you need is readily available for you, nearly 24/7. You can have all the food and drinks you want at the designated restaurants, there are almost unlimited entertainment options, and the staff makes you feel like the world revolves around you with quick and friendly service.
I was blown away by the number of restaurants we could eat at nearly any time of day, including a midnight buffet! And at nearly every turn, we discovered some other fun thing to do beyond the pool (but more on that in a bit). If you’re the kind of person who just wants to pay upfront and know everything is taken care of, a Carnival Cruise is definitely a great option for that.
Carnival Gives Away Tons of Free Stuff
I was shocked at how much stuff we got for free during our cruise through raffles, scavenger hunts, and just showing up!
Raffles & Freebies
The on-ship stores hosted some sort of giveaway nearly every day, giving at least one person the chance to win onboard credit, free jewelry, and more. Everyone who attends also receives a “barrel of fun,” which is a small charm. (I didn’t really like these, but some people did.) They also give away free charm bracelet chains pretty much every day to anyone who wants them, and you can get discounted charms throughout the week.
We even attended an onboard art auction and won a free piece of artwork! We got to choose between two pieces, and we absolutely love the one we picked out! And at both the auction and an art scavenger hunt, we received a small free piece of art just for attending.
Not to mention, they’re constantly running more raffles at the spa, small events, and shows, so you have the chance to win everything from free merch to onboard credit, spa experiences, and more!
Port Scavenger Hunts
In addition to this, the ship put together two super-fun scavenger hunts for our port stops in Bimini and Nassau. We had to stop by the Carnival Insider desk to grab the pamphlet with the stops, but then all we had to do was show up to the different shops around each island and ask for our freebies!
In Bimini, we got a postcard, a silver bracelet chain, and charms. In Nassau, we got another bracelet chain (gold this time), several charms, a couple of rings that change color in the sunlight, and some stickers. Nothing huge, but they made for some nice souvenirs for me!
At each stop, the shop clerk initialed that we had stopped by to mark that spot off our list. Once we completed the scavenger hunt, we dropped it back off at the Insider Desk for a chance at yet another raffle.
The Carnival Cruise Food is Shockingly Delicious
I was very pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed our meals on board! Despite the fact that the staff is serving thousands of people throughout the day, we had some incredibly memorable meals.
Each night, we had dinner at the Sunset Dining Room, which had a delicious rotating menu every single day! Not every meal was perfect, but we had multiple dishes we’d want to eat again, including lobster tail, tasty pastas, leg of lamb, and more!
The buffet was noticeably lower quality, but for a buffet, it was pretty tasty, too. I was especially surprised about this food because of the sheer amount they had to keep out for such long chunks of time.
But they also had multiple places throughout the day where food was made to order, giving us the opportunity to have fresh pizza, burritos, custom pastas and sandwiches, and more!
Last but not least, there are several restaurants on the ship that are not in the all-inclusive package but provide a more intimate and upscale dining experience. We had dinner one night at Ji Ji Asian Kitchen, and it was one of the most delicious meals I’ve ever had. The portions were huge, and they made each course as we finished the one we were on. It only cost $24 per person, but the presentation, portions, and flavors were easily worth $100 at a normal restaurant.
There’s So Much More to Do on a Carnival Cruise than the Pool
You may be picturing long days lazing by the Serenity Deck pool, but don’t limit yourself to just that!
Every Carnival Cruise is a little bit different, but you’ll find plenty to keep you entertained above and below decks–and I’m not just referencing the shows.
On the Carnival Sunshine, we had access to….
- A waterpark, complete with a splash zone and 3 slides
- A dual ropes course
- Mini golf
- A basketball court
- Ping pong, billiards, and foosball
- Shuffleboard
- Giant Chess
- The Serenity Spa
- An arcade
- A casino
As you can imagine, we quickly filled up the time between shows and events with all this other fun stuff! And aside from the casino and arcade, all of these activities were included with our ticket!
You Can Spend a Lot of Money Onboard
While your cruise ticket includes everything you need for a whole trip of fun, there are definitely a lot of wants you can spend your money on.
Specialty coffees, alcohol, souvenirs, spa treatments, shore excursions, artwork, arcade or casino tokens…it can all add up fast–especially since you’ll make all your purchases on your Sail & Sign card, which is attached to your credit card. At the end of the week, you’ll receive a full breakdown of your bill, but it can be easy to lose track of your purchases if you don’t make a point to stay on budget.
Port Times Absolutely Fly By
In my head, we were going to have three fun days in the Bahamas to really dive in and explore…in reality, we had less than 24 hours combined in all three ports.
I believe our longest port day was 7 hours, and that includes the time you need to get off the ship, get through security, and return to the ship. This can take quite a while because of the sheer number of people doing the same thing, and the boat is almost always further away than you think it is, so you need to set aside plenty of time to walk back, too.
Of course, there’s always the imminent threat that the boat will leave you if you get back too later, so that’s more incentive to call your day short and make sure you return with plenty of time.
Because of this, we really only had time to do about 2 things in each port. In Bimini, we did a reef shark snorkeling tour and the Carnival scavenger hunt (while we browsed the shops), and in Nassau, we went on a 5-hour swimming with pigs & beach day excursion, then more or less ran through Nassau to do the scavenger hunt there because we had about an hour once we returned.
As a result, I didn’t really feel like I was able to “experience” the Bahamas in a meaningful way, which was disappointing. But for me, it’s that much more incentive to make a return trip in the future–but on my own time, not Carnival’s.
Closing Thoughts on Our Carnival Cruise Adventure
All in all, I was very happy with our Carnival Cruise, but I have to admit, I was very surprised by all of these! Some of them, I knew what to expect to an extent, but the actual experience was more than I’d anticipated.
What about you? Did you know all of these already, or are some of these surprises to you, too? Let me know in the comments below, and don’t forget to like, save, and share before you go! I’d also love it if you took a second to subscribe to the free Carried Away Travels newsletter to join the community and stay up to date on all the latest travel tips!
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Last but not least, be sure to poke around the blog for more helpful travel information, from cruises to adventure travel. Until next time, happy travels!
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