Honest Thoughts about Cruising with Carnival

Over Fall Break, we went on a 7-night E Caribbean cruise with our extended family. I’ll admit, Carnival is not our go-to, but with multiple budgets to consider, we gave the Mardi Gras a try.

The Mardi Gras is a beautiful megaship. Beautiful enough to bump Carnival up our list? Keep reading for my honest thoughts about cruising with Carnival.

The Pros

• Being a mega ship, there are a lot of activities on board. We’re always particularly interested in keeping the teenagers entertained as its their vacation too. Bolt – the first roller coaster at sea – and the obstacle course were big hits.
• The Fun Squad is super energetic and extremely entertaining. Several of them should audition for Punchline Comedy Club.
• The wait staff in the Main Dining Room were fantastic! We looked forward to interacting with them every evening. And on the penultimate night of the cruise, the Main Dining Room serves lobster.
• The first Specialty Dining experience at select restaurants is complimentary.
• For the 3rd and 4th guests, the family balcony cabins have a convertible sofa bed, AND an upper berth so no one has to share. We don’t care for double sleeper sofas in cruise cabins.

@famtravebony

We’re on a 7-night E Caribbean cruise on Carnival Mardi Gras. Here’s a your of our balcony cabin 11350. #cruiselife #choosefun @Carnivalcruises

♬ Walking Around – Instrumental Version – Eldar Kedem

• Build A Bear partners with Carnival for an experience at sea. And you have the option to deck out your new friend in Carnival attire.
• Thing 1 and Thing 2 Birthday Breakfast is super cute for littles. As is the character parade.
• I became really fond of the Brass Magnolia as a lounge, and a spot to meet up and play cards or read. There was a variety of live entertainment that added to the ambiance. And the theming was on point.
• There are a number of free, on demand movies to watch in your cabin. Especially on a 7-night sailing, there are times you just want to lay in bed and enjoy a movie in the privacy of your cabin.
• Carnival cruises are a great value for budget-conscious cruisers.

• Amber Cove, Carnival’s private port in the Dominican Republic, is gorgeous. I imagine this investment on the north coast will be very extremely profitable for Carnival Corporation. There are a number of shopping and dining venues, along with excursions right within the secure port area. I’m finding more and more of my clients like staying within the cruise bubble, so this will be great for them. As for us, we opted for a snorkel excursion which was by far the highlight of the cruise.

The Cons

• There was way too much hard selling drinks, particularly “healthy shots.” I’ve sailed enough to know all cruise lines try to upsell whatever they can. But this was extreme. Multiple times a meal for the duration of the cruise, we were enticed to buy, “shots, shots, shots!” It got annoying, fast.
• As much as we loved our wait staff, the food was mid. I did enjoy the Mardi Gras cheesecake on embarkation day. They should really make this an every day staple.
• The O₂ activities (teen club 15-17) were advertised, but never set up at the designated time. After the first few days, the teens learned they had to specifically ask about the activity to receive the materials. I thought this was odd. For younger kids, this did not seem to be the case.
• The arcade was unmanned. Fresh off the Norwegian Encore and the stellar experience in Galaxy Pavilion, it was noticed. There was a phone and a telephone extension provided, but no one ever answered. The teens even witnessed a guest win a prize from a machine, only to open an empty box. Maybe he had to claim it at Guest Services. 🤷🏽‍♀️ My other gripe with the arcade is there is no plan to purchase. Just free reign up to $100/day.
• On multiple occasions the soap dispensers outside the buffet and in common bathrooms were empty. I’m sure this was a staffing issue. But with 6,500 guests on board and the potential for gastrointestinal virus to spread at an alarming pace, this was concerning.
• There were not enough quiet spaces to retreat to. And no library. Just a mobile library cart. Even the adult-only Serenity area was overcrowded and loud.

Observations

• There are a lot of kids. A. lot. of. kids. Consider yourselves warned.
• It was interesting to note that in more than 10 years of cruising, this was the first time we were on a sailing where perhaps 95% of the guests were American. And they all seemed to come from Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky. This even became a running joke in the comedy shows. I don’t know if it is the time of year (though we’ve cruised over Fall Break before and never encountered this) or there is some other contributing factor, but this stood out.
• On longer sailings, i.e., 7-nights or more, there is less of a party crowd, and more families. On shorter sailings, particularly the 3 and 4-night sailings on older ships where the price is rock bottom, you get more of a booze cruise feel. And this is true for any line. This is not specific to Carnival.

Final Thoughts

The pros definitely outweigh the cons. And for budget-conscious cruisers, Carnival is an excellent fit. If we were to plan another extended family cruise, or travel with friends and budget was the determining factor, we’d sail on another newer Carnival ship. But for the four of us, Disney and Norwegian are still our top choices. There just is no comparison. That said, it was a good experience overall.

If you’d like my help matching you to a ship and itinerary, know that I would love to assist.

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