Showing posts with label carnival cruise. Show all posts
Showing posts with label carnival cruise. Show all posts
Top 5 reasons you need to try out Carnival Cruise Lines
I constantly hear from clients and friends that they don't like Carnival even though they have never sailed on them, they feel this way simply because they heard something bad! Sadly many of them are missing out on a great Cruise Line. When someone has a bad experience they tell everyone, but when that same person has a good experience, they don't share it the same way. Also, Carnival doesn't jump when there is bad news about them, they fix the situation and move on from there. Here are my family's top reasons why we love Carnival and you should consider them as your next family vacation!
#1 - Ports visited in the Caribbean
On Carnival Cruise Lines my family has visited Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Honduras, Belize, and multiple ports in Mexico!
Disney has 4 ships and they all pretty much follow the same itinerary schedule month after month.
Their newer ships the Fantasy and Dream sail year round out of Port Canaveral. The older ships float between a few departure ports, but no where close to the number of ports that Carnival offers!
I absolutely loved Curacao! It was easy to get around with my daughter in a wheelchair from the ship too. Very few ports are easy to get around by foot/wheelchair as Curacao is. We enjoyed strolling through the floating markets and shops without being haggled as we've been in the more common ports that ships stop at.
#2 - Departure Ports!
I guarantee you are closer to a Carnival departure port than a Disney one. Carnival even sails from all the departure ports that Disney does! New York, New Jersey, South Carolina, Florida, Texas, New Orleans, California.... Where is your closest port? Message me to plan your cruise from the best port near you!
#3 - Dining... mmm Pizza!
Carnival Cruise Lines MAKES their pizza on board! You can see them mix the dough, toss it and add your toppings. The great thing about this is that you can make special requests. We love the quality pizza aboard Carnival ships. On Carnival you can get pizza 24 hours a day. It was great to have pizza for breakfast one morning!
Disney Cruise Lines Magic Ship uses BOXED Amy's organic pizza, do I really need to say more? Pizza is only offered during certain times in the afternoon. My kids said the pizza in the dining room was different tasting, so not sure if it is boxed there. I'm not a fan of my children eating pizza at dinner on a ship when there are so many other great options on the adult menu. The newer ships do make their pizzas on board but again they are only available during certain times of the day.
I can't find a picture of the salad from Carnival but it gave you the option of Caesar or plain. Disney only offers Caesar salad on the room service menu. When I asked Disney if I could just get a plain salad they said no, that the food for room service is pre-made... Disney didn't even have veggies and dip as an option on the room service menu!
#4 - Downtime!
On Disney we felt like we had to do everything, because it was Disney and it cost us $$$!!! On Carnival, we all read a book, played some card games together as a family, relaxed through dinner. Laid on the top deck and star gazed after dinner.. While Carnival has activities around the clock, we didn't feel that urge to do EVERYTHING. It is amazing how much of our time on Disney is sucked up by waiting for events to start and meeting characters.
My family enjoys taking a card game to the promenade to play before dinner a few days throughout the week. We walk off of a Carnival Ship feeling like we got quality time together and feel relaxed, not stressed!
#5 - Casino!!
Disney does not offer casinos, ALL Carnival ships have one! I don't think this needs more explaining!
If you are still nervous about sailing on Carnival, consider their 110% Guarantee! If you realize in the first 24 hours of sailing that you are on the worst vacation of your life, Carnival will get you home and offer you a future shipboard credit incase you want to give it another try. I have NEVER had a client use this program!
On Disney we felt like we had to do everything, because it was Disney and it cost us $$$!!! On Carnival, we all read a book, played some card games together as a family, relaxed through dinner. Laid on the top deck and star gazed after dinner.. While Carnival has activities around the clock, we didn't feel that urge to do EVERYTHING. It is amazing how much of our time on Disney is sucked up by waiting for events to start and meeting characters.
My family enjoys taking a card game to the promenade to play before dinner a few days throughout the week. We walk off of a Carnival Ship feeling like we got quality time together and feel relaxed, not stressed!
#5 - Casino!!
Disney does not offer casinos, ALL Carnival ships have one! I don't think this needs more explaining!
If you are still nervous about sailing on Carnival, consider their 110% Guarantee! If you realize in the first 24 hours of sailing that you are on the worst vacation of your life, Carnival will get you home and offer you a future shipboard credit incase you want to give it another try. I have NEVER had a client use this program!
To talk more about cruising contact Jennifer today! 412-716-5065 or jenniehenn@gmail.com
~ Jennifer
Cruise Specialist
A Tour of the Carnival Fantasy
Charleston is newer to the cruising industry than most of the Florida ports. This is one port that is best to NOT arrive early. Park and Sail packages are the way to go for this port, and I'd be happy to set that up for you! If you park at the pier, they have air conditioned motor coaches that will pick you up and drive you to the boarding area.
As soon as you board the Carnival Fantasy you will see the business/computer area to the left.
Like all cruise ships they have you enter into the atrium for that jaw dropping moment. While the Fantasy is a smaller ship, it doesn't disappoint! There is always a bar as soon as you enter any Carnival ship! As well as guest services.
Carnival is always trying to make things better. As soon as you board they now have crew members standing at the entrance to guide you to wherever you want to be on boarding day.
Universe Main Lounge is where many events take place including port talks and nightly shows.
The Fantasy's Via Marina Promenade is a wonderful place to relax and people watch, or stroll the length of the ship while enjoying the view out of the floor to ceiling windows.
Candy Shop! They have a great selection. Try their cookies. While there are free cookies on the buffet, the ones at Cherry On Top are the size of your head and delicious! Our family enjoyed a package of cookies when we sailed on the Carnival Liberty last year and now they insist that we pre-order a package and have it sent to our cabin every time we sail! This is a great little treat if Grandma, or another family members wants to have a special gift waiting for you on the ship! Let your travel agent know and they can get this set up for you, as well as a variety of other gift options.
Our family loves card games and we always pack 1 or 2 when we cruise. Along the Promenade there are tables and other comfy seating areas that are perfect to relax , play game, or people watch.
Casino time! The casinos are decent in size and offer a variety of table games, as well as video poker and slot machines. There is definitely something for everyone that likes to gamble a little or a lot!
The Taste Bar is on my to do list every evening when we sail. Carnival has different restaurants on all their ships and at the Taste Bar they offer up bite size options from these restaurants. Carnival is the only cruise line that I hesitate when one of our favorite restaurants is not on the ship, one of those must haves for us is now Guy's Burger Joint, AMAZING! Although, the great itineraries and close to home ports win us over even if they are missing our favorite burger.
Bars can be found through out the ship and both main dining rooms have bar service.
This lounge was inspired from CATS the Broadway Musical. Here you will see Larger than Life packaging from some popular brands. Very whimsical club and worth a visit!
The Bistro is great if you like specialty coffees. Here you can get a milk shake, frappuccino or a yummy dessert as well. The Bistro is not included in your cruise fare, but the prices aren't much higher than your favorite coffee shop at home.
On boarding day you can get more information on Tasting events as well as the drink packages offered. These can also be set up in advance.
One of my favorite parts of cruise ships are the stairwells. It makes sailing so much more fun. This is deck 9 behind the bar looking down to deck 8 where the Jubilee Dining Room is located.
One of many areas where you can find live music (and some times a DJ) throughout your sailing.
The Verandah deck offers plenty of space for all those that need the sun!
Excuse my finger in the left corner, but this is the only picture I took of the Funnel aboard the Fantasy.
Not all Carnival Ships have water works, so for a small ship to have this much space dedicated to a water play area is awesome! This is located off the rear of the ship. There were plenty of lounge chairs in this area for parents to be near by while the kids (or adults that love to play like a kid) have fun!
Having a very short child, I always need to know the height requirements before we sail!
Adults only area, Serenity, is located at the rear of the ship on deck 9.
Wandering back to the middle of the ship. The main pool area is pretty cool looking.
Table tennis and chess are located near the main pool area and covered! Nice if you need a break from the sun beating down on you.
Circle C is the hangout area for kids ages 12-14. There are planned activities held here as well as spaces throughout the ship. They also offer dance parties and video game time. Club O2 is for ages 15-17 and offer similar activities. Occasionally these two groups are combined for organized events.
Cleopatra's Piano Bar is a fun place to meet up for drinks before or after dinner.
Across from Cleopatra's is the Pavilion Library.
Wandering the halls on deck 9.
Right next to the CATS Lounge is the Electricity Dance Club.
The supervised kids camp area, Camp Ocean, is for kids ages 2-11. On sea days they are open from 9am-12pm, 2pm-5pm, and 7pm-10pm. Childcare is available after 10pm for a fee. The camp is open when the ship is in port for families that choose to exit the ship without the kids.
This is one of the areas in the kids camp. They had games set up to play during the meet and greet. This area is mainly for ages 6-8 and 9-11, but they occasionally combine all the kids ages 2-11 if there is a low number of children on the ship or participating. We have experienced this combining of kids and it didn't seem to make a difference for our children since there were fewer in the camp program to start with. That rarely happens when school in the US is NOT in session,
Craft area! They also do some science based activities here.
This area is specifically for kids ages 2-5.
Having a child that has physical disabilities, I always have to check and make sure that she can access the camp bathroom on her own! Nice low toilets and a step stool for the sink! Works for us!
To book your next Carnival Cruise, contact me today!
Jennifer ~ 412-716-5065
jenniehenn@gmail.com
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