What did you learn on your last Carnival cruise?

[tunisbridal]

I learned on the pride there are no deck chairs in the shade

 

 

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[pooksma]

On our last cruise, I learned that it is so worth it to try the special homemade ice cream flavours. Yum!

[Thebosn1]

That Carnival has absolutely no intention of doing ANYTHING to control out of control kids, or hold the parents accountable.

[Baylormonica]

1. Faster to the fun, totally worth it!

 

2. Cheers package:

Pro: No scary alcohol bill at the end of the cruise.

Pro: Total freedom to order most drinks (I highly advise checking the exclusions)

Pro: Water bottles (small) & sodas included!

Con: I felt like every day I started the day with a deficit of 10 drinks ($10 a piece) to make up for the amount we spent.

Con: My husband is not a huge drinker, i'm a moderate drinker, and we could never drink enough!

Conclusion: It was a great honeymoon splurge so we felt like we were totally unencumbered, but will not do it for the next cruise.

 

3. They will totally let you take dessert from the dining hall back to your room to enjoy! (Probably common knowledge, but just in case)

[Hypaiceangel]

If it's same excursion then Carnival will price match.

 

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Now that is something I didn't know! Great tip.

 

 

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[Quilcruisers]

I learned from cruise critic that if you order room service, to keep the tray for times when you need to carry multiple plates at the buffet. This came in handy for me because I had a sick husband this cruise and he could not carry his own food and I was fetching food for him and myself every day. Sometimes he ate in the cabin but sometimes he made it upstairs but could not stand in the lines. Also a good idea if you have small kids.

 

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[Hypaiceangel]

I learned from cruise critic that if you order room service, to keep the tray for times when you need to carry multiple plates at the buffet. This came in handy for me because I had a sick husband this cruise and he could not carry his own food and I was fetching food for him and myself every day. Sometimes he ate in the cabin but sometimes he made it upstairs but could not stand in the lines. Also a good idea if you have small kids.

 

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Does Carnival not have trays at the buffet Jess days?

 

 

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[PhillyFan33579]

It is guaranteed at least once a cruise when I am sitting at the Alchemy Bar someone will order a drink (beer, Bloody Mary, etc.) that isn’t sold there.

[Hypaiceangel]

Does Carnival not have trays at the buffet Jess days?

 

 

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*these days

 

 

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[bury me at sea]

Does Carnival not have trays at the buffet Jess days?

 

 

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No trays at the buffet. Keeping one from room service is a very good tip.

[dchurchward]

While my last Carnival cruise was many years ago, I learned that the extended balconies on the Pride were well worth it and great for my children. I also learned that many of the merchants in mexico would try and sell stuff to my young children.

[Hypaiceangel]

No trays at the buffet. Keeping one from room service is a very good tip.

 

 

 

That's an excellent tip!

 

 

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[Joebucks]

1. Faster to the fun, totally worth it!

 

2. Cheers package:

Pro: No scary alcohol bill at the end of the cruise.

Pro: Total freedom to order most drinks (I highly advise checking the exclusions)

Pro: Water bottles (small) & sodas included!

Con: I felt like every day I started the day with a deficit of 10 drinks ($10 a piece) to make up for the amount we spent.

Con: My husband is not a huge drinker, i'm a moderate drinker, and we could never drink enough!

Conclusion: It was a great honeymoon splurge so we felt like we were totally unencumbered, but will not do it for the next cruise.

 

3. They will totally let you take dessert from the dining hall back to your room to enjoy! (Probably common knowledge, but just in case)

 

I thing I learned is most people won't admit that they didn't make a wise choice with Cheers. You are the exception lol

[Can'tWait2SetSail]

When you have the drink package you drink a whole lot more in the beginning of the week versus the end of the week. It's not cost effective, you just cannot keep up that pace.

 

Speak for yourself.

[PhillyFan33579]

I thing I learned is most people won't admit that they didn't make a wise choice with Cheers. You are the exception lol

 

Cheers has always been beneficial for us, even though me wife is not a big drinker. On days she doesn't drink much, she usually has at least 4-5 drinks a day with all these drinks costing a minimum of $10.95 (mimosas, wine, alchemy drinks, etc ). When you add in the several coffees and waters she gets every day, she is around the breakeven point every day. Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on your perspective), I never have an issue not benefiting from Cheers.

[Buckimion]

Limited-mobility cabins are not for even the simplest of wheelchairs.

[indygirl76]

I learned - via the amazing anytime waitress we had - that a shot of Frangelico poured over vanilla ice cream is a fantastic(!) dessert. :D

[pianoplayerla]

On our last two Dream cruises, I've learned Serenity does not mean quiet and peaceful. More like lido deck minus the littles .

[sokoriah]

We re-learn on every cruise how lucky we are to live the life we live.

 

Also, discovered last cruise that Thanksgiving dinner in the buffet is much better than the MDR. Real carved turkey, huge shrimp, steaks...glad we were too tired to go to dinner that night and made quick run to the lido.

[Warm Breezes]

I learned a few things on our 10th Carnival Cruise, 17th cruse overall on the Carnival Fantasy last October. They were:

 

I have become a Balcony snob and I don’t think I will book anything less even on the short cruises.... I felt cooped up even with the portholes.

 

People sailing out of Mobile are very down to earth and like to party.

 

Mikey is a great CD.

 

The serenity deck hot tub is a great place to go on a rainy port day.

 

I still don’t mind the smaller ships.

 

I can win enough in the casino to get free drinks [emoji484] and leave the ship with a nice ring from my winnings[emoji857][emoji183].

 

 

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[Quilcruisers]

We re-learn on every cruise how lucky we are to live the life we live.

 

Also, discovered last cruise that Thanksgiving dinner in the buffet is much better than the MDR. Real carved turkey, huge shrimp, steaks...glad we were too tired to go to dinner that night and made quick run to the lido.

 

 

 

This is so true. We learned the hard way on our thanksgiving day cruise last year. We scoped out the buffet because our teens did not want to go to the steakhouse. They had the best options. Excellent chowder, carved turkey and all kinds of sides. We didn’t want to eat but had to sample some of the food. I won’t book the steakhouse that night this time.

 

 

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[Quilcruisers]

Another thing I learned is the cooking demonstration is awesome. Bring your appetite and don’t go to brunch right before going. It’s usually noon on the first sea day. They prepare an excellent meal and serve samples of the meals. Although we just finished brunch, we went and had a fabulous meal, including soup and dessert. Now it’s samples of each item but very filling. Look for it in the fun times or mark it on the hub app and go early. I was there at 1130 once and that was a good time to get a seat. This last cruise we missed it and we got there right at 12. They were full and they only have it once.

 

 

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[simplelife]

The difference between Carnival excursions and independent excursions is typically like night and day. I wouldn't go on a Carnival excursion if you paid me.

We have found that an excursion booked through the ship often has non-cruise people on it as well.

[Hypaiceangel]

Cheers has always been beneficial for us, even though me wife is not a big drinker. On days she doesn't drink much, she usually has at least 4-5 drinks a day with all these drinks costing a minimum of $10.95 (mimosas, wine, alchemy drinks, etc ). When you add in the several coffees and waters she gets every day, she is around the breakeven point every day. Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on your perspective), I never have an issue not benefiting from Cheers.

 

 

 

I think we are going to do it for our upcoming cruise mainly because I know that if we don't I will numbers crunch every time I order a drink and probably hold back and not fully enjoy myself. When we've had the drink pages on Celebrity, which also includes waters and specialty coffees, etc., we found that we definitely drank a lot of non alcoholic drinks too. In contrast to Norwegian, which charged an arm and a leg for bottled water, we definitely did not drink as much as we should have. For me, the drink package is for piece of mind and knowing that I am neurotic and will otherwise be calculating the cost of each drink all trip long!

 

 

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[blarko]

I just learned that the Lido buffet has the same foods for dinner as the MDR, including the same desserts! The one dessert I never did see on Lido was Melting Cake.