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For family-friendly fun and American-style cruising on some of the world’s most popular cruise ships, look no further than Carnival Cruise Line. Boasting a large fleet of impressive ships, each with a different take on the Carnival theme, the perfect ship is waiting for you to hop onboard and cruise off into the sunset. Offering a huge range of restaurants, live shows and entertainment, as well as exciting daytime activities for every age, a Carnival cruise opens up a whole world of possibilities for families, adults and solo travellers alike, while simultaneously transporting you to some of the most popular ports in the world.
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When it comes to dining, a Carnival cruise ship offers plenty of options to suit everyone’s needs. Choose to reserve a table for either an 'Early' or 'Late' sitting, or opt for 'Your Time' open-seating, which offers a more flexible approach to dining on a first-come-first-served basis. Be sure to save at least one evening to treat yourself at a speciality restaurant too.
There are plenty of breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner and snack options onboard, with speciality restaurants, main dining rooms, and more casual low-key options.
From Pan-Asian specialities to freshly cooked pizza and mouth watering burgers, Carnival Cruise Line has a restaurant to suit all palates. Highlights include Guy's Pig & Anchor BBQ, Mongolian Wok and Pizzeria del Capitano. If you're looking for a more classic cruise ship dining experience, the Main Dining Room is always on hand, while casual eats can be found at the Lido Marketplace.
While they may not be included in your cruise fare, Carnival Cruise Line's impressive speciality restaurants are well worth splashing out on. Popular choices include Emeril's Bistro, Seafood Shack and Bonsai Sushi. For a truly elevated mealtime, book yourself a spot at the Chef's Table and enjoy fine dining and a private tour of the kitchen.
Carnival Cruise Line make every effort to ensure everyone with a food allergy or special dietary requirement is catered to onboard, but all of these requests are largely handled while onboard your Carnival cruise. So, while you should still mention this to your cruise consultant ahead of time, you will need to make sure you're speaking to the Head Waiter in the main dining room on your first day. This is a little unique for cruise lines, but you can find out more about Carnival Cruise Line's current policies in our blog on the best cruise lines for food allergies and special diets right here.
If you’ve got some energy left after a busy and jam-packed day of exploring, the onboard entertainment on Carnival cruise ships are bound to keep you going for a few more hours after dinner.
If you are considering embarking on a family cruise, Carnival Cruise Line is among the best when it comes to all the gang having an unbelievable cruise experience. There are a number of award-winning children’s clubs on each cruise catering for kids aged between 2 and 17, from teenage hangouts to late-night programmes to an immersive Dr Seuss experience (adults are allowed too!).
In addition, Carnival Cruises also offer Night Owls, a paid-for babysitting service between 10 pm and 3 am, where children 11 and under can be cared for while you take advantage of the ship’s nightlife. It's run by the Camp Ocean staff who have professional childcare experience to make sure your children are safe at all times. For more information enquire onboard.
While it’s nice to have some time apart, Carnival Cruise Line also likes to bring the family back together again thanks to its extensive range of family-friendly activities where everyone can make memories together to last a lifetime.
Carnival Cruise Line offers itineraries all over the world, with their Caribbean, Mexico Riviera, and Bahamas cruises being especially popular. Alaska itineraries are also a top Carnival destination, while Carnival Mediterranean cruises remains a favourite among families.
Many Carnival cruise ships depart from the United States, so for the British market, the line is popular for fly-cruise holidays which can begin at four large UK airports. These departure airports are Gatwick, Heathrow, Manchester and Glasgow while other regional flights from other UK airports are available at a supplement.
Carnival Cruises also offers cruises that sail to Iceland. For some useful travel inspiration, read our blog - Top Things to do in Iceland.
Carnival Cruise Line's newest private resort is Celebration Key, located on Grand Bahama. Opening in July 2025, it will feature a wide variety of adults-only and family-friendly activities. Split into five portals, including Paradise Plaza, Calypso Lagoon, Starfish Lagoon, Pearl Cove Beach Club and Lokono Cove, the whole family will have a blast at this extraordinary resort. Read more about Celebration Key on our blog - Top 5 Things to do on Carnival Cruise Line’s Celebration Key.
No matter what your age, you’ll always find something to do onboard Carnival cruise ships with such a broad range of activities to choose from. There are attractions where children can make friends, exhilarating options for thrillseekers, and places to simply relax and enjoy some quality time on the ship.
There are also immersive classes onboard, such as mixology and cooking classes if you're looking for something a little different.
Whether you’re a couple or single travelling alone, or you’ve left your little ones at the kid’s club and are looking for a little peace, Carnival Cruise ships cater just as well for adults as they do for the younger guests. Some of the highlights include:
For further inspiration, read our handy guide to 25 free things to do on a Carnival Cruise.
Whether you're travelling as a couple or as a family, a Carnival suite is the perfect way to make the most out of your cruise holiday. More spacious than staterooms, you'll have more than enough room for sleeping and relaxing, as well as your own balcony offering sweeping ocean vistas. What's more, you'll even get to enjoy some extra perks, including priority embarking and disembarking, bathrobes and priority reservations at restaurants.
The dining dress code onboard all Carnival ships is 'Cruise Casual', which means no shorts or swimwear, but jeans and t-shirts etc are fine. There will also be one or two optional Carnival Cruise formal nights known as 'Cruise Elegant' evenings during your sailing, on which you are invited to don more formal attire such as a ball gown, cocktail dress, or suit.
See here for more information on our blog - A Quick Guide to Carnival Cruise Line’s VIFP Club.
Carnival Cruise Line have set into place three year sustainability and financial targets. Called SEA Change, the 'S' within it stands for sustainability. Planning to reduce the carbon intensity of their fleet by more than 20%, they support the adaptation of alternative fuels, and want to include more environmentally-friendly technologies within their ships, including advanced air quality systems and shore power. They also want to promote sustainable tourism on each of their sailings.
Carnival Cruises is one of the best cruise lines for vegans, with almost every ship in the fleet offering a refined menu of vegan dishes, from vegan sushi in Bonsai Sushi to plant-based treats in BlueIguana Cantina and more.
Fun ship, little outdated, clean and tidy, spacious, fantastic entertainment host
I would not recommend this ship.
Excellent
Fabulous entertainment, food is good in the dining room but the buffet could gave been better but there were plenty of other places to eat especially the guy friars burger bar and pizza oven pizzas.and the deli. The ship is starting to look a bit tired in places but this didnt stop us having a fabulous holiday.
Carnival Cruise Line ships all provide satellite internet access. To use this guests must purchase one of the three internet packages, Social WiFi Plan, Value Wifi Plan, or Premium WiFi Plan. These can be bought before or during the cruise, for the whole itinerary or just for 24 hours.
Yes, to use anything with a UK-style plug you will need an adaptor as all Carnival Cruise Line ships are fitted with US/European plug sockets.
It is possible to smoke onboard Carnival ships, however this is only permitted in certain areas. Areas are unique to each ship, and will be sign-posted.
Carnival Cruise Line is a casual cruise line, and guests are free to wear general comfortable clothing such as shorts and tshirts, sun dresses, and jeans etc. Swimwear should not be worn in restaurants, and on Cruise Elegant evenings guests are asked to wear smart attire such as cocktail dresses, evening gowns, pant suits, and tuxedos.
All items available to purchase onboard are prices in US Dollars, however note that cash is not accepted onboard.
Both a bottle of beer and a glass of wine cost upwards of around $6 each.
If you have a dietary requirement it is important to discuss this with the head waiter on the first night of your cruise. While there are options for different diets in most restaurants, the dining room is the only one in which alternative menus can be arranged.
Yes, if you'd prefer to have breakfast, lunch, dinner, or indeed a pick-me-up snack in the comfort of your own stateroom, you can order room service at any time of day. Cold items like salads, sandwiches, and desserts are included in your cruise fare, but hot meals come with an additional charge.
There are complimentary water fountains which can be accessed by all passengers. The tap water in the cabins is also drinkable.
Guests must be over the age of 21 to consume alcohol on a Carnival Cruise Line ship.
Yes, as a family-oriented cruise line Carnival ensure children are well taken care of at their kid's clubs. Camp Ocean caters for 2-11 year olds, but has sub-groups within it to ensure little ones enjoy age-appropriate activities. Then there is Circle C for 12-14 year olds, and Club 02 for those aged 15-17.
If adults want some time away from the little ones to enjoy a special evening, they can book a place for their children at Night Owls. Open to children aged between 6 months and 11 years, this fun facility is open until 1am and costs a small additional fee.
Yes, there are kid's menu in most dining venues with everything from mac 'n' cheese to fresh fruit salads.
Yes, however babies have to be a minimum of 6 months old at the time of embarkation in order to sail.
No, unfortunately Carnival Cruise Line do not provide baby food or formula onboard their ships.
