MistyRo76

We were booked on the Paradise going to Cuba back in April, 2019. We had initially booked the last week of April (into early May) as at the time of booking it was the only April itinerary that visited both Cuba and Key West. Unfortunately, none of our regular cruise companions could go the week we initially planned to sail. A month or two after booking, I decided to do a quick check at pricing to see if we might score a price drop. When I logged onto the Carnival site and put in our sailing month and ship, I noticed there were now more sailings to Cuba. Carnival had changed some cruises that month to Cuba itineraries and now there was a Cuba sailing departing mid-month on our actual anniversary and it would end on my birthday. So it was perfect timing. Plus it allowed us more time in Havana and was considerably cheaper than our original booking. So I called my PVP and she got us switched over to the new dates. Even with having to pay a $50 per person rebooking fee (a restriction of our Early Saver booking code), we still saved about $500 total! Plus now, with the new dates, our friends and family were able to join us! We ended up with a group of about 20 people! It was perfect!

I am anxiously awaiting 2026 cruise dates to be available....any guesses as to when they will be released? It seems like the first half of 2025 has been out for a while now. I turn the big 5-0 in April, 2026 and want to plan a big cruise with all my family and friends! Hoping to finally get on one of the newer ships (MG/Celebration/Jubilee).

We took our daughter when she was 14 months old. Here is what worked for us: * Travel the day before the cruise starts. You and your kids will be much more rested and less stressed than if you get up at 4AM for an early morning flight day of the cruise. * I only packed enough diapers for our travel day and embarkation day. When we arrived to our port city, I went to a drug store/Wal-mart and bought a large box of diapers and a box of swim diapers (for use at the beach - not on the ship). I taped Carnival bag tags to both boxes and left them with our other luggage with the porter. They were delivered right to our cabin. We didn't have to take up extra luggage space with just a ton of diapers. It was perfect! * Bring a collapsible umbrella stroller. They fold up nicely and don't take up a ton of room in your cabin. Plus you can easily collapse them if you are taking transportation to your excursions. We used this all around the ship. * If you can swing it, get a balcony! This was a great space for the hubby and I to hang out while the kiddo was napping or sleeping at night. We also brought our video monitor from home. We hooked up the camera in the cabin and then could keep an eye on her on the video monitor from the balcony. Those balcony doors and windows are pretty soundproof, so if you're out there, you may not hear if they wake up. And the windows can be hard to see in as well. * We brought an inflatable bath tub - never even took it out of the box. For showers, I just took my daughter into the shower with me and got her cleaned up, then handed her out to dad to dry off and dress while I showered myself. it was so much easier than messing with that tub. * We had late dining and our kiddo adjusted just fine. We would take her to dinner in her stroller and the waitstaff would take it and store it for us while she ate dinner in the high chair. After night 1, they had a fruit plate waiting for her as soon as we walked in so she would have something to munch on while we ordered and had our apps. After she was done eating, they would bring her high chair back and she would usually just lay down and fall right to sleep. * Room service is also your friend. We would usually order her a sandwich or some kind of a snack from room service while we were getting ready for dinner. * We didn't bring many snack foods from home - again, takes up lots of luggage space and there are plenty of options on the ship. Take some ziplock baggies and fill them up with Cheerios from the buffet. They usually have some meats and cheeses available as well. And of course, all the fruit you can eat. You can also get milk cartons from the buffet. * Under a year may be too young for kids camp to leave them there, but they do have free play times. And the biggest piece of advice is go with the flow! Don't let the little things bother you and enjoy the time together.

Yikes! That's crazy!

yeah...chickens will eat anything! I have 5 of them, so I am well versed in that aspect! LOL

Thanks for the info! We were thinking of snagging one in the middle (#9-11 hopefully). With those clamshells nearer to your cabana, did you have issues with people trying to use your cabana while you weren't in it. A friend of mine rented a cabana several years ago and said that every time they went in the water, they would come back and find people in their cabana - even eating their snacks or trying to use the water equipment that was provided.

Thankfully I booked a cabana for our October cruise to HMC last week when it was $499. It is now showing $699 and sold out! As for the cost - the cabanas do accommodate six people, if you can, share the cost with another couple or family. Also, before I booked our cabana, I purchased $500 in discounted Carnival gift cards through AARP saving us 10% or $50 on the total cost. It's not a ton, but every bit helps. We've never booked a cabana before and likely won't again if the prices remain at $700 for the day. But looking forward to enjoying it on this next cruise!

We are cruising to the Bahamas this fall with a highly anticipated stop at HMC. It's been probably 6-8 years since we've cruised to HMC. So just wondering what has changed or been added to the port in those years. We will have our 9 year old daughter with us (and our friends will have their 12 year old daughter). Is there a water park/splash park/pool area for the kiddos to enjoy? Of course they will want to spend a lot of time on the beach, too. We have a cabana rented and are trying to figure out which one to choose. If we didn't have the kiddo, we would definitely go further down the beach where it's quieter. How long of a walk is it to the port area/kids play areas from say Cabana 9? Is lunch still served in the same lunch pavilion? Are there other food options available (food for purchase) outside of the snacks that come with our cabana? Can we get our cabana snacks and drinks replenished throughout the day? First time renting a cabana! 🙂 Thanks!

One of my best memories was when we cruised for my brother and his wife's 15th anniversary. We had a group of about 25 including family and friends. I had arranged a surprise anniversary celebration for them on the night of their anniversary. I worked with Carnival to book a private a space for our group for 2 hours to include free drinks, snacks and a cake. This was pre-Cheers - so the free drinks for highly welcomed! LOL They booked us in one of the conference rooms that was located behind the cigar bar. One of my accomplices was able to hold up my bro and sis-in-law after our dinner and then lure them through the cigar bar and to the conference room. They truly had no idea and were blown away when they walked in and we all yelled Surprise! It was so much fun! Another special memory was when my sister and I took our mom on a cruise the year after my dad passed away. My parents were married on Valentine's Day so we cruised that week. We figured it may help with her grief at her first Valentine's Day without my dad to be with us on a wonderful vacation. Early in the cruise, we met a wonderful group of guys (who happened to only live 2 hours from me) and they just immediately bonded with our mom. They were calling her "Mama" all week and we were so sweet to her. Two of the group even sent roses to our cabins on Valentine's Day. They made us all laugh so much that week and it really helped her get through a very tough time. And 14 years later, we are all still friends. We stay in touch and visit each other regularly and have taken many cruises together over the years! Two of the group even surprised my sister and I by booking our last cruise without telling us. We were so shocked when we saw them in the boarding area. That's one of the things I love most about cruising - the wonderful friends we've made along the way!

Thanks! Fish Fry is definitely on our list! I've heard of Adastra Gardens as well. Sounds like a neat place. How long should we plan to be there if we go?

Thanks for the info! it's been years since we've cruised to Nassau and often we just stay on the ship at that port. But we will have the kiddo this time and want to get out and explore.

Thanks! My next to-do was going to be to research Cabana locations to figure out where we want to be! I will make note of 9-11 and try to snag one of those! And thankfully, I'm Platinum so we can board early to try to get our desired Cabana location!

Hi! Was looking for info on Arawak Cay (aka The Fish Fry) and came across your post. Just trying to get the lay of the land - if we did Junkanoo beach, the Fish Fry is only about another 10-15 walk from there? Are there any decent free/inexpensive beaches near the Fish Fry that would be worth checking out?

We will be visiting Nassau in October. I haven't been to Nassau in years and the last couple times we've cruised there, we just stayed on the ship. But we'll have our 9 year old daughter with us this time so we want to get out and have some fun. Any hidden gems that we should check out? Maybe places not overrun with tourists? Smaller beach clubs (preferably free beaches or relatively inexpensive) or places for good local cuisine. Thanks!

Thanks! That's exactly what I did! Showing only 2 cabanas left...so I grabbed one just to be sure we got one!

We have a stop in Half Moon Cay on our October cruise. Was considering booking a Cabana there to have a place to keep our stuff and get out of the sun a bit. But I would also like to maybe do the stingray excursion or something fun with our 9 year old daughter. My question is - if we book the Cabana, will the system allow us to also book another excursion for the same location?

I've only cruised once since the restart, so I'm definitely not burned out on anything food-wise from the main dining room menus. But I do agree that bringing back the port of call items would be a welcomed change. I also think that while ship specific menus would be cost prohibitive, it could be fun to add some options maybe specific to a ship's homeport. For the ships out of NOLA, added some more Cajun/Creole dishes could add some spice to the menu (pun intended). Or out of Miami, some additional Cuban/Latin inspired dishes. There are things that Carnival could do to add a bit more variety. Maybe even change or expand the "Didja" menu items - frog legs and ox tongue are getting a bit old.

Good to know! Hubby and I will probably each get one and split them so we can each try both. But there may be a third app that catches our eye!

If you can find the email address to the ship’s maitre d, you can let them know that you are traveling as a group so they can accommodate you. We had a group of 8 who did Chef’s Table together on the Paradise in 2019. This was before you could book Chef’s Table through your cruise manager page. So we had to email our booking in. But they were able to accommodate our entire group. Our Chef’s Table seating held at least 16 I believe. I would also verify this with the Maitre D when you get onboard. They lost our booking as we booked it so far out. We kept waiting to get our invites sent to our cabin with the date and time of the seating. When it didn’t come by day 3 when inquired, and they didn’t have any record of it. They had a change over in Maitre D on our ship between when we booked it and when we sailed and it got lost in the shuffle. Luckily the Maitre D was able to get us accommodated. We did have copies of all of our email communications about our booking which helped!

Question - we are taking our daughter on a cruise this fall. She does not have her own phone yet but would like to be able to message with her while at kids camp or if we give her a little freedom or if she’s not with us for any other reason. We have an old iPhone that isn’t hooked up to a cell plan any longer. If we connect it to the ship’s WiFi could she access the messaging system thru the hub app on that phone? Sorry…maybe a dumb question but I am not very technologically savvy! Lol

Are you meaning in order to link your cruise bookings with others you are traveling with for the purpose of being seated together for dinner? I've never done it through Cruise Manager on the Carnival site. But you can have your bookings linked by calling Carnival or your travel agent. Then, if desired, you'll be seating together if you have assigned dining. And it will link you together through the hub app so you can request reservations for brunch or anytime dining and be seated with people in your group. You can also easily chat and text with people in your group through the Hub app.

Yes!!!! Thanks for posting the link! I’ll have to re-read your review and take some notes on the tips and tricks now that I’ve finally booked this cruise! I’m also now remembering the tip about breakfast in the Havana area! Gonna have to keep that tidbit tucked away in my brain so it doesn’t escape like all the other important info I need seems to!

I’m not sailing until October and I’m already thinking about food! Lol But this all sounds completely out of this world and I can’t wait to try it all! I know the hubby will enjoy it too!!

That looks amazing!!!!

Thanks! Would love to hear about your experience when you return!