New to Carnival any tips or advice you can share?

[cheeseheads4ever]

My DW and I are thinking of taking a Carnival cruise. Are their any advice or tips you could share? We are used to Celebrity. What is Cheers? Im guessing a drink package?

Cost? Any discounts? Trying Carnival will we be disappointed? Any help or advice would be appreciated.

[Crusin Hogs]

My DW and I are thinking of taking a Carnival cruise. Are their any advice or tips you could share? We are used to Celebrity. What is Cheers? Im guessing a drink package?

Cost? Any discounts? Trying Carnival will we be disappointed? Any help or advice would be appreciated.

 

Stick to the newer ships ... some are over 20 years old

[cheeseheads4ever]

We are thinking of Sunshine or Breeze..

[Oh Not Him Again]

My DW and I are thinking of taking a Carnival cruise. Are their any advice or tips you could share? We are used to Celebrity. What is Cheers? Im guessing a drink package?

Cost? Any discounts? Trying Carnival will we be disappointed? Any help or advice would be appreciated.

 

Cheers is a drink package that will run $51.95 + 15% gratuity....that will get you up to 15 alcoholic drinks per day and unlimited soda, water, powerades, milkshakes. If you purchase it on the ship its $5 more per day, so the discount is pre-purchasing prior to sailing. Dont listen to the dolts who spout "duhhhhhhhh, sail the newer ships" If you ask them "why", they will say "because its newer" :rolleyes:

 

More importantly, what are YOU looking for? Convenience for embarking? price? destination? Specialty restaurants?. The Sunshine hands down has the nicest Serenity Area (over 21 yrs old) in the fleet. Now, if you have young ones, the Serenity area wont be a concern of yours. i suggest going on the Carnival website and just play around with the different ships and places. Whatever one you choose, you will have a great time....Enjoy!!!!

[JMAE]

We love the Spirit class of ships. The layout is easy and you can walk anywhere is a short amount of time. True they are older but they are kept in good condition. We love sailing on Carnival it fits our current life, never sailed on Celebrity but I have heard very good things.

[Organized Chaos]

Start with the Carnival website FAQ's. More than just FAQ's, it's a list of all of Carnival's policies broken down into categories. Very useful. https://help.carnival.com/

 

To purchase discount Carnival gift cards (10% off face value and can be used for just about any Carnival purchase, including on board), look on this board for the AARP & Allstate threads. Also, there's a thread called tips & secrets 2018, or something like that, somewhere on the first two or three pages of the Carnival boards. There's also a link in that thread to an older one that has a ton of tips and advice. Some don't apply anymore, but a majority of them are still useful.

[Lottacruises]

What is Cheers? Im guessing a drink package?

Cost? Any discounts?

 

You can get the very basic information from the carnival website.

[cheeseheads4ever]

Thanks so much!

[Kaylee196]

I love Carnival! Personally, I prefer a littler older ship. They aren't as crowed and price seems better. My advice...Take an 8 day out of Florida. Conquest out of Ft. Lauderdale or Sunshine from Port Canaveral! I love love love cruising Carnival. If you like the glitz and glam of the big ships then try the Horizon, it looks gorgeous...but like I said for the value and the extra days... I prefer older.

 

Cheers, like as stated above you get "unlimited drinks". Capped at 15 alcohol drinks in a 24 hours period 6 AM - 6AM. All other "virgin drinks", specialty coffes, bottled water, soda, honest tea, milk shakes, etc etc (no limit...just 5 minutes in between each). If you decide to purchase it, each person 21+ in your stateroom must purchase. It does not cover buckets of beer or tubes. It also can not be used on Halk Moon Cay.

 

Good luck with your decision!

[teknoge3k]

Cheers is a drink package that will run $51.95 + 15% gratuity....that will get you up to 15 alcoholic drinks per day and unlimited soda, water, powerades, milkshakes. If you purchase it on the ship its $5 more per day,

 

Just to add to this, that $51.95 is per person PER DAY and EVERY person in your cabin over 21 must purchase it. So if there are 2 of you going on a 7 day cruise, Cheers will cost $836.40. Something to keep in mind.

[ricew001]

I'm attaching a couple documents I found out here that I think are very helpful. The Cheers evaluator to see if it's worth it to you and the first time tips. Enjoy!

Carnival Beverage Package Evaluator (2).xls

Tips For New Cruisers.pdf

[serene56]

We are thinking of Sunshine or Breeze..

 

 

pick the breeze as your first carnival cruise.

And do NOT get on the ship and compare to Celebrity either.

 

two very difference experiences with Celebrity being a tad more upscale.

 

going in with this expectation will be good

[bar1068]

Just to add to this, that $51.95 is per person PER DAY and EVERY person in your cabin over 21 must purchase it. So if there are 2 of you going on a 7 day cruise, Cheers will cost $836.40. Something to keep in mind.

 

And....to add to that...buy discounted(10%) gift cards from AARP, Citibank, Allstate and maybe other places I'm not aware of, and the the cost of that $836 Cheers package goes down to about $752.....and those same gift cards could be used to effectively reduce the overall cost of the cruise by about that same 10%...

[calbred01]

Have been on several Carnival cruises and one Celebrity cruise and I did notice a difference in ambience on the ships. Celebrity was nice (would sail again) but hubby and I (both in our fifties) like the energy on Carnival a bit better. BUT as I have said I would sail Celebrity again if price & itinerary were what we were looking for. As for Tip: if you eat in the steakhouse on the first night (and sometimes second) you get a free bottle of wine or 50% (I believe) off others on the wine list. Free champagne at the art auction (I have never bought anything but it can be a bit of fun!) and when I did a wine tasting onboard the wine came with a bit of food so you can taste the difference what a wine would taste like with certain foods, BUT, the tastings were more like 1/2 glasses and there were 5 so I was ready for a nap when I was done!

[Joebucks]

Go in with an open-mind. You will find that it is a fantastic vacation with a value that is tough to beat.

[JHCruiser123]

These are great and I'm not even a new cruiser! thanks for sharing!

 

 

I'm attaching a couple documents I found out here that I think are very helpful. The Cheers evaluator to see if it's worth it to you and the first time tips. Enjoy!

[dsotm73]

I'm attaching a couple documents I found out here that I think are very helpful. The Cheers evaluator to see if it's worth it to you and the first time tips. Enjoy!

 

 

 

The tips are great, should be required reading for all new cruisers when they join Cruise Critic. Two updates: room service is no longer free all 24 hours, and the Carnival website no longer has the fare viewer.

 

 

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[Bookster99]

Start with the Carnival website FAQ's. More than just FAQ's, it's a list of all of Carnival's policies broken down into categories. Very useful. https://help.carnival.com/

 

To purchase discount Carnival gift cards (10% off face value and can be used for just about any Carnival purchase, including on board), look on this board for the AARP & Allstate threads. Also, there's a thread called tips & secrets 2018, or something like that, somewhere on the first two or three pages of the Carnival boards. There's also a link in that thread to an older one that has a ton of tips and advice. Some don't apply anymore, but a majority of them are still useful.

 

I can't find the gift cards anywhere. Sad face.

[dsotm73]

I can't find the gift cards anywhere. Sad face.

 

 

 

Google”AARP Rewards for Good.”

 

 

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[Ken076]

My DW and I are thinking of taking a Carnival cruise. Are their any advice or tips you could share? We are used to Celebrity. What is Cheers? Im guessing a drink package?

Cost? Any discounts? Trying Carnival will we be disappointed? Any help or advice would be appreciated.

 

 

Carefully read the Terms and Conditions for the different Booking Fares - some like Early Saver are a bit restrictive.

 

Carnival offers a Military Rate (and keeps your paperwork on file) that's usually pretty close to their Early Saver rate, without the Early Saver restrictions. Carnival accepts National Guard 6-year service.

 

Ken

[Qchell]

and when I did a wine tasting onboard the wine came with a bit of food so you can taste the difference what a wine would taste like with certain foods, BUT, the tastings were more like 1/2 glasses and there were 5 so I was ready for a nap when I was done!

 

They don't do the wine tastings any more - or at least not any of my cruises the last few years. :( It was one of the best wine tasting experiences I have ever had and I learned a ton about how much wine can impact the flavor of your food and vice versus. I so wish they still offered that, or I had taken notes of the pairings.

[Qchell]

Sunshine is a good choice if you want to try a lot of the various options offered across the Carnival fleet. My only caveat is that due to it having so many things on it, it does feel a bit cramped and the 'traffic flow' is not the best. Numerous free and specialty restaurants, neat Serenity deck, and plenty of things to do. Some of the specialty restaurants do have free lunches, so be sure to look for that.

 

I have not been on the Breeze - but have been on her sister ships Dream and Magic. Lovely cruises both times and I highly recommend hitting up the Tandoori (aft lido) for lunch. It's Indian food and it is the best food on the ship! She won't have as many specialty restaurants, but the rest of the included options are all there.

 

I think they both have the Cloud 9 Spa - but Sunshine's does not have a thlassotherapy pool (the reason my DH insists we get a spa room each time we are on a ship that has a Cloud 9 Spa).

 

I agree with others, check out the pages dedicated to each ship on Cruise Critic and on Carnival's website to see which has the features that really appeal to you.

[TitanSMES]

If you are a first time cruiser on Carnival you will have to help out down in the engine room shoveling coal like they did on Titanic. You should bring along the appropriate cruise wear as it is extremely hot down there. If you are in a Suite you have to pull a two-hour watch in the crow's nest to watch for icebergs and pirates! Just kidding. A belated April Fools Day!

 

Seriously, it has been my observation that the passengers tend to be younger and like to have fun. I am 65 and I have been on four Carnival cruises and have found that there is something for everyone, just like you would find on Princess or Disney.

[cheeseheads4ever]

TitanSMES,

That is super funny. I will bring my shovel with me. Thanks for the input. We generally are pretty easy to please so will give it a try.

We are mid 60’s and feel and act younger which could be good or bad. But enjoy the younger crowd...

Thanks again...:cool:

[A&Jfamily]

Sunshine is our favorite ship - we prefer her to Breeze's sister, Magic, which sailed full in December at 4500 people and it felt it. We actually like the smaller, more intimate comedy club that people complain about. We go early to make sure we get a seat if it looks like a crowd is forming. We also love the Steakhouse, Bonsai, Havana bar and Jiji's.

 

Clearly you are drinkers, so you will want to look at Alchemy Bar - fantastic addition to the Carnival fleet. The bartenders are top notch and masters at learning what you like and crafting personal drinks to your tastes.