Table Of Content
For the most part, Carnival ships sail relatively short voyages of three to eight nights. Note that the Carnival fleet is scheduled to grow over the next year with two more new vessels. As noted above, the line has ordered another sister vessel to Mardi Gras and Carnival Celebration that will be ready to sail in late 2023. In 2001, Carnival transferred their first new build, the 1982 built Tropicale to Costa Cruises. Through the rest of the decade, the line would continue to sell, or transfer the other 1980s built ships to other lines, with the Jubilee in 2004, Celebration in 2008, and Holiday in 2009.
Ships
Dubbed Carnival Kitchen, it's located near the ship's main restaurants and is a seriously tricked-out venue complete with nine state-of-the-art, marbled granite cooking stations for two and a dedicated dining area. Also, there are always several music venues where you'll find live performers in the afternoons and evenings, including — on some ships — the Atrium Bar and a secondary hub area called Ocean Plaza. There's almost always a piano bar that's home to lively singalongs. 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.
Onboard Communication
The kids clubs have dedicated counselors who ensure children are always having fun, and parents can slip away to an adults-only bar for a cocktail or the Serenity Adult-Only Retreat to catch some sun. Then, as night falls, you can come back together for a special meal in the main dining room or JiJi Asian Kitchen, which specializes in regional Asian cuisine. Carnival Luminosa (formerly the Costa Luminosa) is for you if you want to sail to destinations like Alaska and Australia. It also offers occasional itineraries through scenic transpacific spots like Fiji, Tahiti, Hawaii, and Japan.
Is everything free on Carnival cruises?
And because the ship is so small, it's easy to navigate, and I always end up making friends with the delightful crew onboard. Aside from the main pool, which is the hub of much of the line's fun activities, almost every Carnival cruise ship also has at least one waterslide, with several having multi-slide water parks. Additionally, several have a top-deck SportSquare that features a colorful collection of outdoor amusements, including Ping-Pong, billiards, foosball, mini-golf, Twister and a SkyCourse ropes course. In addition to entertainment spaces, the interiors of Carnival ships are loaded with other venues where passengers can kick back and let loose day and night, including a wide range of bars, lounges and nightspots. Carnival Spirit sets sail from home ports around the United States to Alaska, Hawaii, the Caribbean, and the Panama Canal.
Throwback Sea Day
If meat is more to your liking, pick something from the grill — free-range chicken, a pork chop or prime New York strip steak — instead. However, Sodamin truly shines with his latest venture, Rudi's Seagrill on Carnival Cruise Line's Excel Class ships, which are the newest in the fleet. Carnival Sunshine (formerly Carnival Destiny) is 10 years old and a fan favorite.
It's a place to get together to talk, watch movies, play video games and take part in other activities. Unlike some lines, Carnival has resisted the trend of big-ship operators carving out whole sections of deck-top areas for the exclusive use of passengers staying in suites or willing to pay hefty access fees. In short, there's a ton to do up top on Carnival vessels — and it's almost all available to every passenger on board the vessels at no extra charge (the roller coaster is the only exception). In fact, when it comes to waterslides on ships, Carnival is the cruise world's king. There's now at least one waterslide on all but one ship in the Carnival fleet (Carnival Luminosa) — something no other line can say. The top decks of Carnival vessels are covered in family-focused attractions – pools, waterslide areas and bustling fun zones with such draws as ropes courses and miniature golf.
Onboard Celebrations
Carnival Cruise Line Sets New Goal to Raise $50 Million For St. Jude Children's Research Hospital® by 2030 - Carnival-News.com
Carnival Cruise Line Sets New Goal to Raise $50 Million For St. Jude Children's Research Hospital® by 2030.
Posted: Thu, 29 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
However, for many years it chose not to follow rivals such as Royal Caribbean and MSC Cruises in building ever-bigger ships. Mardi Gras and Carnival Celebration are now the only Carnival ship on the list of the 50 biggest cruise ships. People on Carnival cruise ships hail primarily from the United States, mainly the south and Midwest, but you'll also meet folks from Canada, England and usually a handful of other European countries. In general, Carnival ships are among the most affordable at sea. It's not uncommon to find Carnival voyages to the Caribbean, Bahamas or Mexico starting well under $100 per person, per night including all taxes and fees — at least in the offseason.
That said, given the complexity of booking a cruise — there are a lot of decisions to make during the booking process; trust us — we recommend you use a seasoned travel agent who specializes in cruises. Members earn one point for every night they sail on one of the line's ships. The drinking age on sailings on Carnival ships in Australia is 18. A slightly more expensive "value" plan, at $19.55 per day when bought in advance, adds access to email and most websites. Carnival Panorama also houses Carnival's first cooking classroom.
A Guide to All 27 Carnival Cruise Ships
In addition, vessels offer extra-charge laundry and, on select ships, dry cleaning services. Carnival vessels based on the East Coast and along the Gulf of Mexico mostly sail to the Caribbean and Bahamas. Some East Coast ships also head to Bermuda, New England and Canada. On the West Coast, sailings to Mexico, Hawaii and Alaska are the norm. Carnival's biggest operations are out of PortMiami and Port Canaveral in Florida; Galveston, Texas; Long Beach, California; and New Orleans — all major cruise hubs. You'll also find Carnival ships in such secondary cruise ship ports as Baltimore; Charleston, South Carolina; Mobile, Alabama; and Jacksonville, Florida.
Carnival ships are all about fun in a very laid-back, unpretentious, nothing-too-fancy sort of way. Indeed, if you're going on a Carnival cruise, the odds are you're driving to the ship, not flying, and you're probably not paying much more than you would for a trip to a local beach town. More recently, as of October 23, 2022, Carnival Cruise line Passengers are not required to provide COVID-19 test prior to their arrival if the passenger is vaccinated and boosted. On July 31, 2021, after numerous delays, the highly anticipated Mardi Gras entered service, sailing year round from Port Canaveral. In 2001, the new Panamax size Spirit class debuted with the Carnival Spirit, the first of the four-ship class within the Carnival fleet.
Note that it is important that the name on your reservation be exactly as it is stated on your passport or other official proof of nationality. All this said, we recommend checking Carnival's website before sailing for the very latest on requirements. Carnival also offers dedicated tween and teen programs on ships for children aged 12 to 17. The younger children in this age range (12-14) are grouped into what's known as Circle C and have their own dedicated lounge on ships.
Rooms are spacious; some come with exclusive perks like access to the Havana Pool area or unlimited use of the spa’s thermal suites. Kids will also love that there’s an onboard waterpark, kids club, and a Build-a-Bear Workshop at Sea. Carnival Jubilee is the newest Excel-class ship in the fleet, sailing from Galveston, Texas. Adults also have their own space at the Serenity Adult-Only Retreat with swaying hammocks and a bar. Originally debuted in 2021 as part of the Costa Cruises fleet (an Italy-based subsidiary of Carnival), the Firenze will set sail as a Carnival ship — with an Italian twist — in Spring 2024.
Most onboard activities such as shows and deck-top attractions are included in the fare. Carnival has been rolling out faster Wi-Fi systems across its fleet in the last couple of years, such that you can now stream video on some ships. Pricing changes over time, but the fastest "premium" service on Carnival vessels was recently priced at $21.25 per day when bought in advance ($25 per day when bought onboard). Meanwhile, for passengers hoping for quiet time away from the kids, many Carnival ships also have an adults-only Serenity retreat area on their top decks with padded loungers, daybeds, hot tubs and often a bar. The arrival of Mardi Gras and Carnival Celebration over the past two years has marked a major turning point for the line. At around 180,000 tons, they rank at No. 15 and No. 13, respectively, among the world's largest cruise ships — the only Carnival ships to crack the Top 20.
One or two nights a cruise, there will be a more formal "cruise elegant" night where men are expected to turn out in dress slacks and a dress shirt, preferably with a sports coat, or even in a suit. The suggested attire for women on such nights is cocktail dresses, pantsuits, elegant skirts and blouses. The exceptions are any Carnival ship based in Australia, where pricing is listed in Australian dollars. Nonalcoholic drinks in glass or plastic bottles are not allowed.
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. Later in the year, the name was revealed to be Carnival Jubilee.
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