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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. Then, when it’s time to cool off, visit one of Carnival Horizon’s flashiest, splashiest features—Dr.
Learn About Credit Cards
Whether you use a travel agent or not, make sure to maximize your credit card points when paying for the cruise by using a credit card that offers extra points for travel purchases. This could be the Chase Sapphire Reserve, which offers 3 Ultimate Rewards points on travel and dining (excluding the annual $300 travel credit). There's also the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, which brings 2 Ultimate Rewards points on travel and 3 Ultimate Rewards points on dining. 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. You'll find at least one of its ships sailing out of pretty much every major port city around the country.
Family budgeters beware:
Carnival has a point-based frequent cruiser program, the VIFP Club, that has five tiers, ranging from Blue (requiring no points) to Diamond (200 points). The social and value plans cost $18 and $23 per day, respectively, when bought onboard a ship. If you're a U.S. citizen on a cruise that starts and ends in a U.S. port, you'll need a current passport or an official copy of your birth certificate and a driver's license or other government-issued photo identification to sail.
Youth and Family
Note that Carnival's two oldest ships — those that are part of the 1990s-built Fantasy Class — have relatively few balcony cabins by today's standards. (After retrofitting, several have around 150 balcony cabins, out of a total of more than 1,000 cabins in all.) In part because of this, Carnival has been phasing these ships out of its fleet in recent years. 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 more ship in the series — Carnival Jubilee — will arrive in December 2023.
In addition, every ship has at least one — and usually several — extra-charge eateries. The two venues have flat fees of $49 and $24 per person, respectively. 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.
Continuing our Carnival Venezia ship tour inside, and in keeping with the Italian theme, Carnival Venezia's spa on Deck 12 has gone for a Roman Bath-type theme, with columns, mosaics and painting of lounging Romans being pampered. Carnival ships are all about fun, in a lively, let's-not-take-this-too-seriously sort of way. As you might expect, pricing for ships will generally be lower during offseason periods such as September, October and parts of November. During the evenings, there is an official dress code, but it's pretty laid-back.
Carnival Venezia Ship Tour
Carnival adds an automatic service gratuity of $16 to $18 per person, per day to final bills, depending on the cabin category (children under the age of 2 are exempt). If you are unhappy with the service you receive, you can adjust this amount at the Guest Services desk before disembarking. Also, an 18% gratuity is added to bar bills and the cover charge of the Chef's Table. On the vast majority of Carnival ships, there's not just a single waterslide but a whole water park area.
Carnival Venezia's Main Dining Room Has.. A Gondola
Carnival Cruise Line Unveils Updates to Travel Advisor Booking Platform - TravelPulse
Carnival Cruise Line Unveils Updates to Travel Advisor Booking Platform.
Posted: Mon, 15 Apr 2024 20:10:00 GMT [source]
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 drinking age on sailings on Carnival ships in Australia is 18.
Who sails Carnival Cruise Line
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 is one of the world's biggest cruise lines by passenger capacity, with 25 ships that together offer nearly 80,000 berths.
While the tour has only been available for booking onboard, it has often sold out early on embarkation day before all guests have boarded. When you choose to apply (and are approved) for a new credit card through our site, we may receive compensation from our partners, and this may impact how or where these products appear. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information. The top Diamond level (200 points) brings such added perks as unlimited free wash-and-fold laundry service, a guaranteed seating time in the main restaurant, a dedicated toll-free number for sales and service and a one-time room upgrade.
Carnival fans are quite peeved about this, and you should be, too. Carnival allows you to bring one bottle of wine or Champagne per person onto ships at boarding plus up to a dozen standard cans or cartons of nonalcoholic drinks such as sodas. 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. 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. Carnival also uses its big theaters for lots of interactive shows that involve you, the passenger, getting a little silly.
They’ll love The Chef’s Table—the perfect spot for an intimate chef-guided, multi-course meal. Two restaurants we’re especially excited about are brand new on Carnival Horizon—Bonsai Teppanyaki and the world’s first Guy’s Pig & Anchor Smokehouse | Brewhouse. Carnival Venezia's Burano Sunshine Deck is at the aft of the ship and offers an alternative to the ship's Lido Deck, which has limited space to sunbathe and can get overcrowded at peak times.
Most Carnival guests are aware that behind the scenes of their cruise vacation there's a bustle of activity to deliver fun memorable vacation experiences, but few have gotten an up-close look at these inner workings. 'Behind the Fun' is an exclusive opportunity to experience an array of "back of house" areas that are vital to a ship's daily operations. As well as the central pool, there is also a stage for crew-led fun, and a large screen for showing outdoor movies. On the upper levels you'll find plenty of spots for sunbathing or sitting. Once a cruise this area is turned into an Italian-themed outdoor market where you can sample food and drinks. The pre-booking option will be of great help for guests who want to ensure their spot on the tour but who have later embarkation arrival times for their cruise vacations.
Carnival Cruise Line’s popular “Behind the Fun” onboard ship tour will soon be available for all guests to reserve before they ever set sail. 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. The second-to-highest tier, Platinum (75 points), brings such perks as priority check-in and boarding, priority debarkation, priority dinner reservations, priority spa reservations and priority water shuttle boarding. Platinums also get complimentary wash-and-fold laundry service (with a limit of two to five bags, depending on the length of the cruise). As is typical with cruise line loyalty programs, lower tiers don't bring all that much in terms of truly valuable benefits.
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