r/CarnivalCruiseFans

My wife and I (both F in our 40s) booked our first cruise for later this year and I was excited to try the Chef's Table experience but I'm reluctant to book it because of her dietary aversions. Other than one allergy (peppers), she is just a really picky eater who has a lot of dietary aversions to things that she just doesn't like to eat, and she doesn't like the idea of booking a dinner reservation 6 months in advance without knowing what's on the menu to know that it's not going to be a bunch of food she won't eat. (edit: e.g. she won't eat anything with onions, anything with mushrooms, most seafood, that sort of thing...)

I tried calling Carnival customer service and they were not able to help to tell us what would be on the menu.

I was thinking that we might just wait till we're onboard and go to guest services to ask for a menu but was worried reservations might be full up by that time.

Is there any way to find out the menu in advance? I've found Main Dining Room menus online and wasn't sure if Chef's Table plans their menus 3, 6, 12 months out or so.

Hi guys,

My wife and I are planning to go on a cruise with our baby who will be 11 months old at the time of sailing next October on the Carnival Venezia. This will be our little one’s first cruise and first official family vacation together as 3. For my wife and I, this will be our third cruise together but only our second on Carnival. We’ve narrowed down our options to two itineraries. Both options will stop in The Bahamas, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.

We wanted to know if Ocho Rios is better or if Montego Bay is better? Also for those of you who have been on the Venezia what are your general impressions of that ship?

Additionally, are there any recommendations/experiences you guys can share for traveling with an infant?

Also, are there any destinations/itineraries that you guys would recommend that we consider taking in the future?

Options:

Option A : Miami > Celebration Key™ > Ocho Rios >Grand Cayman > End: Miami

Option B: Miami > Celebration Key™ > Montego Bay > Grand Cayman > End: Miami

These are both considered:
6-Day Western Caribbean from Miami, FL

Thank you guys in advance for your recommendations! We want to make this a memorable first vacation as a family and look forward to cruising with our little one!

BEWARE BEFORE BOOKING A SUITE ON CARNIVAL VALOR

I normally don't make posts like this, but after weeks of trying to resolve this privately, all I've received is a polished apology.

My family spent extra money to book a suite because the view and additional space were important to us. I deal with claustrophobia, so having a functioning window and being able to enjoy the ocean view was one of the main reasons we paid the premium price.

The problem is that the window shade was not damaged during our cruise—it was not working from the moment we walked into the cabin. One of the primary features of the suite was unusable before we ever unpacked our bags. The shade remained stuck, preventing us from enjoying the ocean view that we specifically paid extra to have.

In my opinion, that suite should never have been rented in that condition.

That wasn't the only problem. We also experienced:

• A window shade that was inoperable from the beginning of the cruise, preventing use of the suite's ocean view.
• A whirlpool tub with dirty jets, visible debris, missing sliding doors, and a soft, spongy area in the bottom of the tub.
• A shower leak.
• Electrical concerns with a lamp in the cabin.
• The cabin not being set up as requested upon arrival.
• Pencil and marker marks that had not been cleaned from areas of the suite.
• Priority debarkation benefits that were not honored.
• A concerning incident involving our children that added unnecessary stress to what was supposed to be a relaxing family vacation.

When you spend thousands of dollars on a vacation and pay a premium for a suite, you expect the accommodations to be fully functional, clean, and ready for guests. If a major feature of the room is already broken before guests arrive, that room should either be repaired before sailing or disclosed before being rented.

Since returning home, I have sent emails, provided photos, submitted documentation, and followed every step Carnival requested. Weeks later, the only thing I have received is a polished apology.

No refund.
No future cruise credit.
No meaningful compensation.

Just an apology.

The most disappointing part isn't even the cabin itself. It's the fact that Carnival appears to acknowledge the issues occurred, yet believes an apology alone is sufficient after guests paid a premium price for an experience they never fully received.

I'm sharing this so others can make an informed decision before spending extra money on a suite aboard Carnival Valor.

At this point, I feel like Carnival has made it clear that once the cruise is over, customer concerns become far less important than customer bookings.

Customers deserve better.

My family is going on a cruise next week. We have a large group so my husband and I are in one cabin, my parents and couple siblings in another, more siblings in another, and my grandparents and youngest sibling in the last. My grandparents have decided they may not want to go on the cruise for multiple reasons. This would leave my youngest sister in the cabin “alone” in the online booking (obviously would not do that in real life). Could we just replace my grandparents with my parents to this cabin or at least one of them? My grandparents know they’ll lose their money but they don’t want us to lose that cabin to give everyone more room. Also still need it for my youngest sibling. Has anyone had anything similar happen? Yes, I know to contact guest services but they are currently closed in my time zone so I will do it first thing tomorrow. Just wanted to see if anyone else has had something similar happen. Series of unfortunate events!

This is my wife and I’s first ever cruise and we were assigned deck 9 on the Mardi Gras and I was just curious as to if anyone has any experience with it. We are cruising with family and they are on the same deck floor. Any and all experience welcome. TIA!!

I'm a fairly seasoned Carnival cruiser, but I have a situation I'm not familiar with.

My husband and I are cruising in less than 90 days, and two of our friends have decided they want to book the same sailing. One friend wants to pay their portion in full right away, while the other would like to take advantage of the Flex Pay option.

My question is: when making the booking, can the friend who wants to pay in full use their bank card to pay their share immediately, and then have the other friend use Flex Pay for the remaining balance? Or does the entire booking have to use the same payment method?

I priced out the essentials value package for my kid and it came out to $400. This plan comes with the value wifi.

Then I priced out cheers with premium wifi and it came out to $319 even with service charge.

How do they figure this is a good deal. Am I missing something?

I'm going solo on a 4-day out of Long Beach Port. It's my first cruise but then I'm flying straight to Vegas after for an extended vacation. I'm planning to bring a large sized suitcase and a smaller carry-on and use a backpack as my "personal item" with all my valuables stuffed in it instead of a purse.

This is fine for the plane but I didn't take into account the luggage limitation on the ship. Is my backpack going to be counted as my carry on? The language on the website makes it sound like having two cases isn't a strict limitation. Other places say I'm only allowed 1 suitcase. I will not be able to cram everything into one case and leave the $mall bag behind.

Will I be okay or should I give the cruise line a heads up?

My 11 year old and I are cruising out of Tampa at the start of July. I would normally stay close to the airport, but thought we could stay close to the cruise port in order to see some of the sights. The hotel is about a 15 minute walk from terminal 3, and we will only have back packs and one carry on. Is it possible to walk to the terminal? Has anyone done it and can provide feedback?

I am taking a cruise that stops at PRincess Cays soon. I rented an umbrella w/ 2 lounge chairs and it’s my understanding get to use the priority excursion tenders. Here is my question- I am traveling with myself, my spouse and my 1 small child so I only rented one umbrella. It is designated for 2 people only. Are they strict that only 2 of us (with tickets) will get to use the excursion line for tenders?? I don’t need a second umbrella with 2 additional chairs but don’t want to have an issue with us getting split up.

Just got off a four day out of Miami, carnival sunrise. This was our worst cruise by far. For starters, my MIL’s balcony separator was kicked open on two nights by the extremely rowdy adjoining room cabins next to her. She is 70 for reference. Security was basically ZERO help and suggested that if it happened again, which is did, for her to go out on the balcony and try to video it happening. Sure, a 70year old lady is going to confront a bunch of young boys essentially breaking into her room at 2am.

Second, we didn’t realize that was the poop cruise ship and it absolutely still smells like sewage in certain parts of the ship.

Third, the people on the boat were overall the most disrespectful, rude, entitled, exhausting people I have ever been on a cruise with. I’ve brought my kids on several cruises but if this is the current state of carnival cruise, count us out. I will surely miss Guys Burger and some of the other things I love about cruising with Carnival, but no thanks.

I feel really bad for the staff that have to just take it from these rude people.

Everything you see on social media was sadly true with respect to our cruise and this will be our last on Carnival for a good long while.

I have a cruise booked in August for my boyfriend and I, it’s 7 days and we’re going to Montego Bay, grand cayman & Cozumel

I’ve already paid gratuities & We weren’t planning on buying any excursions, but I was wondering how much spending money would be a good amount? I just want to get a good idea on what I should be expecting

If you were on that cruise over the weekend THAT SHIT WAS EPIC ! The energy on that boat was completely unmatched ! Idk where to even start! I went pretty much solo & came back with some friends that I want to keep as long term friends. Everyone left the drama at port & straight partied. So any of you questioning to go solo, DO IT! Keep an open mind & you’ll never want the cruise to end. DAAAAAAAAAAAAVID !

Update!! I just got the call FINALLY! We're all good to go! Thanks everyone!

So we're on the Firenze waiting on a phone call from carnival to let us know what room has been assigned to us. We were escorted from the check in lines all the way onto the ship. They also took our luggage so they could change the tag with our room number on it. We were escorted, Passing by everyone in line...

Its now 2:26pm and we still have not received the phone call yet.. was wondering if anyone has any idea what the deal is? Is anybody dealing with this right now as well?

When are we gonna be able to check in to a room? Any advice on what we should go or do?

Me(21) and my husband(23) are going on Carnival Firenze next week Mon-Fri. We are excited but I'm looking for a little advice on must dos since this is his first time and my first time cruising as an adult, and I'm a little worried since we don't drink. Tips and tricks would be appreciated.

Sailing on the Celebration, and I was able to catch a show by Roman yesterday (which was great!). He also has another show today, so I am wondering if the set would change between days. Also, about how long would it be until the lineup of comedians change for a 7-day cruise? I couldn’t really get a clear answer for this on google regarding carnival ships, and the comedy shows are easily my favorite pieces of entertainment on the ships.

First time going on a cruise - the Mexican riviera 7 days from Long Beach LA in Jan 2027. Just wanted to know, as a single male going with my male friend, will it be overcrowded with families and kids?
I know this isn’t a singles cruise but I don’t want to be overwhelmed with kids.
Also, do they have any singles events or ways to meet people besides going to bars? Do people on cruises generally like meeting single travellers?
Cheers,
Eli

Hi! I went on my first carnival cruise last month and I gambled enough to start getting some casino offers. They’re offering me discounted rooms with drinks on us In the casino and $200 OBC. it says I have to book by June 15th. I was wondering if I don’t book one of these, if they’ll send me offers for DOUE instead which is what I really want. They offered me DOUE for some Alaska sailings, but I don’t really want to go to Alaska, I want to go to warm places on my cruises lol

would Carnival possibly consider giving me a discounted rate on DOUE instead? I really don’t wanna have to only be playing in the casino to get free drinks, i feel like like that will be annoying and very inconvenient.