Sunday, March 31, 2024

How to Save Money on Your Carnival Cruise

carnival cruise packages

With the Early Saver rate your deposit that you put down is considered non-refundable. If you have to cancel your trip, you’ll receive your deposit (less a $50 service fee) in the form of a cruise credit. So if you put down $300 as a deposit and then have to cancel, you’ll have $250 for use on Carnival in the future. This credit is good for two years from the cancellation date.

Shipboard Health and Safety

Rather than choosing a specific cabin, you are choosing a low cruise rate without knowing exactly what level of cabin you will get. Cabins on special sale, called guarantee cabins, are priced below the regular cruise rate. When you choose a guarantee cabin, essentially you are making a bet without entering the casino. You can save by picking a port near you and driving to catch your ship -- whether you are embarking from a port in Florida, Long Beach, Galveston, New Orleans, New York, Mobile or elsewhere. No need to deal with expensive flights or crowded airports. The advice we have would be to buy the package pre-cruise at a 10% discount.

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carnival cruise packages

On the other hand, if you do happen to purchase your drinks package onboard, you do have the option of starting the plan at a prorated rate whenever you want. For instance, if you don't want it on embarkation day, you can start it the next day. Finally, if you are traveling at the last-minute then you could run across a Pack & Go fare. These are specials that run close to the sailing date to fill up the ship. When you book the full fare — not just the deposit — is due.

carnival cruise packages

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Pampering spa and fitness facilities, high-tech entertainment venues, spacious accommodations and wonderful youth programs are among the highlights making Carnival Cruises an adventure of a lifetime. Deciding whether drink packages are a deal for you depends on your consumption habits. If you usually drink a soda or two a day, it's tempting to buy the soda package, to simplify things. But you could save money because under Carnival's policies, you can bring up to twelve cans of soda onboard on embarkation day. If, however, you also plan to drink a few alcoholic beverages per day, the Cheers drink package would include the sodas and cover the cost of beer, glasses of wine, and cocktails (up to $20 menu price). Carnival cruise deals are easy to find and generally straightforward, but you do need to know when to look and how to compare them to make sure you are actually getting a deal.

Carnival Cruise Line Cruise Deals

There’s a lot to do on this ship, so being able to sail for a week will give you time to get it all done. Price Doesn’t Mean ValueOne final thing to consider is that just because a price is low doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best value. In fact, we cover a number of cruises below that DON’T have the lowest prices.

Hotels With Cruise Shuttles For Every Major Port in America

If you intend on drinking quite a bit of alcohol on your cruise or just do not want the hassle of worrying about how much you are spending on drinks, pre-purchase the Cheers drinks package for a per-day fee. If you book before your cruise, you save 15 percent on a social media plan that gives you enough bandwidth to access the most popular social media platforms and airline sites. Onboard perks, such as a big free bottle of water, start with your second sailing. As you move up the five tiers, earning points for each cruise, the perks increase, eventually leading to such niceties as cabin upgrades and free meals at specialty restaurants. Often cruise lines offer special rates that cannot be displayed to the general public. By registering with Cruise.com you will be able to view these special rates and offers.

Carnival Cruise Line forced to make beverage package change - TheStreet

Carnival Cruise Line forced to make beverage package change.

Posted: Sun, 31 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Night Exotic Southern Caribbean Cruise

Every vessel has two main dining rooms and a casual buffet eatery where meals are included in the fare. For dinner in the main dining room, you must sign up for either Your Time dining (you go whenever you want) or Traditional Dining (you have a fixed table and time for dinner). Carnival vessels based on the East Coast and along the Gulf of Mexico mostly sail to the Caribbean and Bahamas. Some East Coast ships also head to Bermuda, New England and Canada. On the West Coast, sailings to Mexico, Hawaii and Alaska are the norm.

First, you’ll sail from LA to Alaska with three ports of call and sailing the Endicott Arm. We’re big fans of sailing Alaska and consider it a must-see. That’s why we searched Carnival’s schedule out more than a year from now to scout some of the most attractive deals in a variety of categories.

I Bought a Cruise Ship Drink Package. Here's What I Discovered - Cruise Critic

I Bought a Cruise Ship Drink Package. Here's What I Discovered.

Posted: Mon, 15 Apr 2024 23:27:38 GMT [source]

Carnival is also well known for the Punchliner Comedy Clubs on its ships, which draw quality comedians and can get a little raucous late at night with adult-only performances. 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. Carnival is the undisputed leader among North America-based cruise brands when it comes to affordability, which makes it popular with vacationers on a budget. Note that the Carnival fleet is scheduled to grow over the next year with two more new vessels.

The way to save on photos is to take your own onboard, but if you know you won't be able to resist the posed shots by Carnival's photographers, consider purchasing a photo package. In addition to alcohol, the Cheers plan includes specialty coffee, bottled water, soda and non-alcoholic frozen cocktails. Post-boarding Carnival Cruise promotions for booze are rare. Keep in mind that if you do go that route, you will have to buy it for all remaining days of the cruise.

A great deal on a fall cruise is this trip that departs Port Canaveral in mid-October. Depart from the Orlando area and you’ll have stops at Half Moon Cay (Carnival’s private destination), Grand Turk, and Amber Cove. If you want inexpensive but also want to cruise more than three or four nights, this is the least expensive 7-night cruise we found for all of 2024.

Also, an 18% gratuity is added to bar bills and the cover charge of the Chef's Table. While the free programming ends at 10 p.m., you can pay extra to leave your kids at Camp Ocean until 1 a.m. During those hours, Camp Ocean transforms into a supervised slumber party-type environment with games, movies, crafts and snacks, along with late-night parties called Night Owls. In fact, when it comes to waterslides on ships, Carnival is the cruise world's king.

If you find an Early Saver rate, then you are likely booking your cruise well in advance and getting a great deal as well. These rates offer the ability to choose your room location (a big plus for many people). As well, you have “Price Protection” included with the fare. September is a great time for cruise deals as kids are back in school, meaning lower demand from families to sail. Meanwhile, the weather is still warm so you can enjoy getting some sun and water even before you reach the Caribbean. If you want a cruise that’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience, this trip fits the bill.

Also note that often you won’t be able (or willing) to use the data on your mobile phone, so an internet plan with Carnival will always come in handy. Before you book your Carnival cruise, it's worth comparing prices with third-party companies such as Viator. Carnival Cruise Line has 14 homeports in the U.S., including 10 year-round ones, which is the most of any cruise line. We don’t have proof, but evidence suggests that the Caribbean was made for cruising.

That said, given the complexity of booking a cruise — there are a lot of decisions to make during the booking process; trust us — we recommend you use a seasoned travel agent who specializes in cruises. In addition, vessels offer extra-charge laundry and, on select ships, dry cleaning services. Carnival also offers dedicated tween and teen programs on ships for children aged 12 to 17. 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.

Maybe you'll find your second cruise line of choice -- deals on luxury lines like Azamara and Regent Seven Seas are just a few of the bargains you might find. To help you learn the ropes, Cruise Critic did some deep digging for you. We've done the math and spent hours sifting through Carnival cruise deals looking for the nuggets -- including calculating what kinds of things can make or break your deal.

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