Monday, April 1, 2024

Best & Worst Carnival Cruise Ships Ranked By Reviews

best carnival cruise line

Carnival Jubilee is the newest Excel-class ship in the fleet, sailing from Galveston, Texas. Adults also have their own space at the Serenity Adult-Only Retreat with swaying hammocks and a bar. If you’ve ever thought of going on a cruise ship, you’ve probably heard about Carnival Cruise Line. Each vessel in the Carnival fleet of cruise ships is guaranteed to be a fun ship. Carnival Conquest is one of the line's oldest ships, but it's also a ton of fun.

Related Cruises

Take them to Night Owls where competent staff will watch over them until the early hours of the morning. Kids will also enjoy Seuss-a-Palooza storytime or Build-a-Bear Workshop at Sea. If you want to visit the Mediterranean, Caribbean, or Alaska, the Carnival Legend should be your first choice. This 2,124-passenger ship debuted in 2002 and was fully refurbished in 2014.

Best Carnival Cruise Ships Ranked

Serenity is a great place to relax while your kids are on the water slides or at the kids club. There’s no roller coaster or fancy sky ride track, but instead the ‘classic’ cruise activities – poolside movies, karaoke nights, comedy clubs, nightclubs and so on – are packed every evening. Carnival Liberty isn’t quite ‘no-frills’ but she isn’t fancy and in-your-face either.

Godmother Named for Biggest Ever Princess Cruises Ship

That said, Carnival has seen the success that some of its competitors have had with a bigger range of upscale accommodations, and it's eyeing more suites for future vessels. The new Mardi Gras and Carnival Celebration each have 180 suites — more than twice the number of Carnival's other recent ships. To get connected, you’ll have to purchase a Wi-Fi package, which you can do in advance of your trip or on board, which may cost more.

Other interior attractions and activities

Rooms are spacious; some come with exclusive perks like access to the Havana Pool area or unlimited use of the spa’s thermal suites. Kids will also love that there’s an onboard waterpark, kids club, and a Build-a-Bear Workshop at Sea. Carnival Mardi Gras is a recent Carnival ship launched in 2021, and it offers the best Carnival cruise experience. It is one of Carnival’s newest ships and the first cruise ship to have an onboard roller coaster. On board, expect the same quality of service and blend of Fun Ship features as you find on other Carnival ships that have been upgraded. She has some quirks, including the kids club being situated close to the spa and Serenity decks, but she offers a relaxing cruise for all ages.

best carnival cruise line

Some cruises are geared more toward entertainment for adults than families. In addition, a fourth Carnival ship — the not-yet-in-the-fleet Carnival Firenze — will begin sailing four- and five-night cruises to Mexico out of Los Angeles in May 2024. With two to nine-day cruises from Tampa to the Caribbean and the Bahamas, Carnival Paradise literally takes cruisers to paradise islands. The ship brims with fun amenities like the WaterWorks splash zone and the relaxing Cloud 9 Spa. Carnival Breeze is ideal for a short cruise out of Galveston, Texas.

Best Carnival cruise ships: Here's which ship you should sail - The Points Guy

Best Carnival cruise ships: Here's which ship you should sail.

Posted: Mon, 07 Aug 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

About Carnival cruises

The younger children in this age range (12-14) are grouped into what's known as Circle C and have their own dedicated lounge on ships. It's a place to get together to talk, watch movies, play video games and take part in other activities. In fact, when it comes to waterslides on ships, Carnival is the cruise world's king. There's now at least one waterslide on all but one ship in the Carnival fleet (Carnival Luminosa) — something no other line can say. The top decks of Carnival vessels are covered in family-focused attractions – pools, waterslide areas and bustling fun zones with such draws as ropes courses and miniature golf. 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.

Which Carnival Cruise Ship Has the Best Pools?

Passengers can learn to cook everything from Carnival's classic warm chocolate melting cake to its popular saffron risotto during one- to two-hour classes that cost $30 to $59 per person. 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. Every Carnival ship has a casino, usually smack in the middle of the main entertainment deck. The latter venue was created in partnership with Food Network's Guy Fieri and serves a free lunch on embarkation and sea days, with all items smoked on board. In addition, every ship has at least one — and usually several — extra-charge eateries.

Cruises

You could never say it was a dull ship, but it maybe has too many features in too small a space to ever be relaxing. It’s smaller than many other Carnival ships, and yet there’s so much crammed onto it. Unfortunately, this does mean some venues are small, and so queues are large. And others have unusual positions – including some spa rooms directly below the (noisy) kids’ club. Until Mardi Gras launched, the idea of a roller coaster on a ship felt like a running joke – as more and more features were added to modern ships, when would they just stick a roller coaster on one? It’s helped by the popular Lanai Promenade that wraps around the ship on the lower deck, which offers a bit of respite from all the fun of the rest of the ship.

These ships represent the latest additions to Carnival’s lineup, offering passengers new experiences and amenities. From the mouth-watering Italian dishes at Cucina del Capitano to the fresh sushi at Bonsai Sushi, there’s a culinary journey waiting for every palate. The ship’s accommodation options are varied and thoughtfully designed. The Family Harbor staterooms and suites, for instance, come with exclusive access to the Family Harbor Lounge, a haven for families to relax and regroup. However, with so many ships in their fleet, making a choice can be a challenge. Ahead, we break down the best Carnival cruises, giving you a clear picture of what each ship brings to the table.

However, you’ll want to find the best Carnival cruise ship to fit your needs, budget and vacation preferences. The Carnival cruise ships that have a roller coaster are Mardi Gras and Carnival Celebration. Their sister ship Carnival Jubilee will also have a roller coaster when she launches in 2024. The best Carnival cruise ships for partying are those which don’t have the very latest family features, since they tend to be filled with kids. The Carnival Sunrise is one of the best – it always has a lively atmosphere and the Bahamas itineraries are great for partying.

Indeed, if you're going on a Carnival cruise, the odds are you're driving to the ship, not flying, and you're probably not paying much more than you would for a trip to a local beach town. See how your selections stack up, or go back for some new ships to compare. While it won’t earn you VIFP points, the Carnival World Mastercard is a way to earn FunPoints, which you can use like cash toward your next cruise booking. Our partners cannot pay us to guarantee favorable reviews of their products or services.

The drinking age on sailings on Carnival ships in Australia is 18. All vessels operate on a "cashless system," with any onboard purchases you make posting automatically to your onboard account. You'll receive a Sail & Sign card that you can use to make charges. Most vessels have standard North American-style, 110-volt outlets in rooms, as well as European-style, 220-volt outlets. Most Carnival ships have self-serve launderettes on cabin decks with washing machines, dryers, irons and ironing boards. The launderettes also have vending machines that dispense small boxes of detergent and water softener at $1.50 per box.

She has worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and has taken over 30 cruises. Now, she helps over 1 million people per month to plan their perfect cruise holidays. P.S. If you’re interested in other cruise lines too, then check out the guides that I also have for the Best and Worst Royal Caribbean Ships and also the Best and Worst NCL Ships. If you’re interested in a wedding cruise, or a Carnival honeymoon cruise, consider going for older ships rather than those where there are busy crowds everywhere. As well as the Waterworks Aqua Park, there’s also the Tides Pool with whirlpool, the relaxed Summer Landing pool, the Beach Pool with beach theming, and the exclusive Havana and Loft 19 pools.

Carnival Pride is one of the older ships in the Carnival fleet now, but it has been well looked after. The age does show a little in the decor choice – bold renaissance artworks give the ship a little more of an antiquated, dated vibe. Whether that’s in the things you can do on-board, the variety of food options, the live performances and the interesting itineraries around the Mexican Riviera, Carnival Panorama is loved by many.

Carnival has been rolling out faster Wi-Fi systems across its fleet in the last couple of years, such that you can now stream video on some ships. Pricing changes over time, but the fastest "premium" service on Carnival vessels was recently priced at $21.25 per day when bought in advance ($25 per day when bought onboard). For the most part, Carnival ships don't have quite as many features on board as Royal Caribbean or Norwegian vessels, in part because they're not as big. They're still packed with a variety of attractions, including multiple entertainment venues, casinos, spas and lots of deck-top fun zones such as water parks and ropes courses. Choosing the perfect Carnival cruise can seem overwhelming with so many options available.

No comments:

Post a Comment

White House Correspondents' Dinner Preview: POTUS, Politics & Media

Table Of Content What are some of the best guest houses to stay at in California? How To Watch The White House Correspondents’ Dinner With P...