What I Wish I Knew Before I Sailed a Carnival Cruise

they say you always remember your first and it's true i say on my first carnival cruise years ago on carnival valor if you're wondering since then i've taken more trips on the cruise line including the absolute first cruise back after the pause and sailing and each time i feel like i learned something new about sailing on the cruise line from places that are off limits on the ship to how to score a free lunch in specialty restaurants here are the things that i wish i knew before i took my first trip on carnival let's start with a little talk about the people on the ship now my first cruise ever was on a different cruise line that rhymes with royal barian and to me there's a definite difference between a lot of the passengers that you'll find on carnival and what you'll find on other ships everyone on any cruise ship they're going to be in a generally good mood but it certainly feels like the average passenger on carnival is much more serious about having fun it's hard to explain but it's just sort of a vibe around the ship it starts with things like door decorations i see way more of these on carnival than on other cruise lines and the general mood of people on board is more outgoing and more upbeat than what i feel like i see elsewhere striking by conversation with practically anyone is a cinch you'll see people dancing everywhere around the pool deck and some of that caught me off guard as believe it or not i am not a lion dancer carnival calls themselves the fun ships and that's not just some slogan seems like it's a way of life on board now i've found that many ships are laid out to where it's straight forward on how to get around they're usually paths that stretch the length of the ship from the back to the front that go through the central areas with carnival in my experience that's not the same every ship is different but the ones that i've sailed on they've always seemed much more chopped up so instead of a nice clear way to get from point a to point b it seems like it involves walking as far as you can in that direction then you have to go up or down a floor and maybe around something before continuing on your way in fact i found that if you were on one end of the ship and you want to get to the other end it's much simpler just to find a deck that's dedicated to cabins instead of public areas these cabin decks they have long straight hallways that make it much simpler to get the length of the ship specialty restaurants love them or hate them they are a fact of life on cruise ships carnival's no different in fact they seem to have more free spots to dine around the ship compared to other cruise lines even so spots like jiji asian kitchen and guys barbecue smokehouse they charge extra to eat there in the evening there's also the steakhouse and sushi that are extra money but one thing that you learn once you sail on carnival is that many spots including gigi guys barbecue and cucina del capitano they offer lunch options that are free now don't expect the same menu and service as you get in the evening for instance gigi serves up stir-fried dishes instead of the full menu still it does open up your options for lunch and it also gives you a chance to try some of these restaurants without having to pay extra if you talk to anyone at sales on carnival before the chances are good that somewhere along the way guys burger joint is going to be brought up for those that have not been initiated guys is an included spot serving up burgers and fries by the pool what makes it stand out is that the burgers are out of this world and i am not making this up the secret ingredient is velveeta cheese sauce on the burgers it may sound a little weird but it turns out delicious you'll notice that the spot gets super busy especially on days at sea one reason is that it keeps limited hours on trips i've sailed it's open from noon to 6 pm so if you have your mind set on a burger for dinner then you need to get there early as well if you're wanting one around lunchtime then don't be surprised if there are lines for the first hour or so of it opening up if you can wait until mid-afternoon for lunch or snack there's hardly any weight at all one thing i will never understand about cruising on any line is why it's so hard to get a drink of water typically your choices are ahead all the way to the buffet or to get it from the bathroom sink in the cabin and that just feels wrong you can also bring some with you when you board carnival as they allow you to bring on cans or cartons but you don't often see water packaged like this even if you did it means lugging around heavy water bottles with you from home now it wasn't until a couple of times sailing on carnival that i realized they offered bottled water for cheap for about five bucks you can get a 12 pack of water delivered to your stateroom before you even board now every time i sail i get a couple of these so there's always something to drink in the cabin if you've ever taken a cruise anywhere then you know that the fare you pay just the start of what you'll spend in fact about 30 percent of what cruise companies earn in revenue comes from onboard spending drinks wi-fi specialty restaurants shore excursions the costs add up that's why one thing that i love about carnival is that they offer a lot more value than what i feel like i get on other cruise lines take the drink package on other lines this can be upwards of a hundred dollars per day and then you have the daily gratuity tacked on as well carnival however they charge around 55 per day plus gratuity the same seems to go for nearly everything from restaurants to internet access across all of the cruise lines that i've sailed only msc seems to come close to offering the same value for purchases on the ship as you will see with carnival it makes it much more comforting to spend on the ship knowing that you're getting a decent deal unlike some cruise lines carnival isn't huge on having exclusive areas of the ship or restaurants where only some guests can enjoy but there are a couple of spots that you should know about the first is the serenity deck this is open to all adults on the ship but it's closed off to kids you'll find hot tubs a bar and tons of loungers so what's the big deal while the regular pool area is hopping it can also be crowded and loud but the serenity area is much less crowded much quieter if you're someone who wants to relax it is a gym on the other hand if you're sailing a newer ship like vista or horizon or panorama or mardi gras then you might notice some beautiful pools and hot tubs located at the back of the ship with seemingly few people around them the small crowd is because this area is reserved for havana guests only this special section of the ship features different style rooms but also exclusive access to the swimming pool if you're not staying there sorry you are out of luck just one other thing to know that if you do book one of these rooms all guests need to be 12 years or older just one more thing before i go i want to know what you wish that you knew before you sailed on carnival for the first time what surprised you what didn't you know i'm asking because there are a lot of people watching this video who haven't sailed the line before if you share your experience in the comments below could make someone else's cruise that much better thank you for watching i hope you learned something useful and until next time happy cruising

Channel: Cruzely.com

Views: 427,354

Keywords: cruise, travel

Id: YVnjf1FrlCo

Length: 7min 58sec (478 seconds)

Published: Tue Feb 01 2022