Our family just returned from an 8 day cruise on the Carnival Horizon. While I and my husband have cruised before (many years ago), this was our first cruise with the kids and it was different.
I have several friends that are planning or wanting to go on a cruise, so I thought I would write a little bit about our experience, in hopes that it will help someone else with their planning. If their is interest in any certain area, I will gladly make another post that goes more in depth on that subject.
BEFORE YOU GO
1. Unless you live in Florida (or near another port) and don't mind taking a 3 day cruise on the fly, book well in advance. The fairs are cheaper, you have longer to pay and you will have your pick of dining times and excursions. You can also just pay the deposit now and have until 90-75 days before your cruise to finish paying it off.
2. Social Media is your friend. Go ahead and find out who your cruise director will be and follow him on social media. He/She will give you insight into the entertainment on board and you will get a feel for your Cruise Directors personality. I also follow John Heald, Carnival's brand ambassador. He can help with a variety of requests, problems, etc. He has a strong following of avid cruisers who are also very helpful and tips are posted all the time. Chances are (if you're cruise is in the next 6 months or so) someone has made a Facebook group. Join it. You will meet some of your cruise mates before every setting sail. Fun activities like gift exchanges and game nights are all set up through these groups as well.
3. If you are on a budget, then budget. Even the under 60 crowd can join AARP Good For Rewards and earn points by taking surveys and quizzes. These points can translate into 10% off Carnival Gift Cards. You can use Carnival Gift Cards to pay on your cruise, pay for excursions or can be used on board through your sail and sign card.
4. Decide what is most important to you about this trip. You can pay for your cruise and travel to port expenses and literally not ever spend another dime. But, there will be lots of temptations and opportunities to splurge as well. What are you wanting out of this cruise? Are you a foodie and want to try all the food options? Do you collect souvenirs? Are you going to pay for that perfect picture the onboard photographer took (man, are they good.)? Will you spend money on drinks (alcoholic, bottles of water, cola, specialty coffees, etc?) Do you want once in a lifetime experiences? Knowing what you want and where your weaknesses are will better help you budget and be realistic.
5. If you are on a budget, I would strongly recommend getting a lower grade room (interior or ocean view) versus a balcony. I sprang for the balcony on this cruise and while I enjoyed it, I also found myself still leaving the room to go up on deck so I could see the other sides view. For our next cruise (which may or may not already by booked ) We are going back to an interior room. The interior room will let us cruise more often and spend more money on excursions. Like I said before, priorities.
6. Speaking of cabins, where should you book? Everyone has a preference and it will depend majorly on where you spend your time onboard the ship. My two favorite cabin spaces are either the lowest decks (because it makes getting on and off at the ports so much easier) or the lido deck (it is so convenient to be on the deck with the pool and the buffet when you are traveling with kids).
7. Don't forget to set your dining time. On this last cruise, we chose the early seating in the main dining room. We normally eat around 6-7PM so it made sense. However, the PG comedy and other family friendly shows all were at 5:30 or 7:30 making it nearly impossible to make the shows. Seriously, dinner is an hour an half process, but soooooooo worth it. For our next cruise, we are choosing Our Time Dining. With Our Time Dining, we can eat after the early shows, but not too far off from when our kids are used to eating. We also felt guilty the nights we skipped the dining room, because our waiter always asked where we were and always had the kids beverages for them set out already. It really was great service. Our Time Dining will allow us to experience the dining room when we want and also choose other options with out feeling like we are expected somewhere else.
8. If you are going to buy one of the drink packages (cheers or bubbles) do it before you get on the ship, it is cheaper. We bought the cheers package because I wanted everything paid for and to not have to worry about money, but honestly, it was not worth it. We will be buying only the bubbles package next time. The bubbles package does not cover bottled water or specialty coffees though. However it does cover Shirley Temples.
9. Faster to the Fun. Faster to the Fun is an "excursion" found under the port you embark from. Only one guest in the cabin needs to purchase it and all the guests reap the benefits. It will give you priority boarding (so board earlier) and a priority boarding line (shorter, so you aren't standing outside waiting). Once on board, you get to use a dedicated guest services line (so much shorter) and will give you priority at tender ports (when you have to take boat from the ship to the island). At the end of the cruise, you will also get to pick your disembark time. You will see people argue if it is worth it. I personally think the convenience is worth it, especially on the bigger ships or if you have early excursions booked in a tender port. They sell out fast, so if you think you want it, go ahead and grab it. If you later decide you don't, you can always cancel the order and it will be refunded .
10. Make sure you and everyone in your party has downloaded the Carnival Hub app. The messaging feature on the app is $5 per person for the length of your cruise. This will be the best way to communicate with people in your party while on board the ship. You can also search other guests and add them to your messaging if you meet someone on board that you want to communicate with. It will also have all the open/close times of ship amenities and entertainment schedule.
ON BOARD THE SHIP
1. Children under 2 or that aren't potty trained are NOT allowed in the pools or splash pad areas on board the ship. NO SWIM DIAPERS. Plan accordingly.
2. You have to go to the muster drill. Its like the mandatory fire drills at school mixed with the flight attendants safety briefing but take much much longer.
3. Your kids 12 and under will have to wear a bracelet that says their muster station through out the cruise. (ok, well, they are suppose to). I personally found this kind of ridiculous (I get why) but my 11 year old did not want to wear it off the ship and have a crazy tan line. However, if your kids plan on going to the kids club at all (and are under 12) they will have to have it on. Club Ocean starts at age 2 and goes through age 11. They are split up 2-4, 5-8 and 9-11 I believe. 12-14 have their own club and 15-17 has their own, both separate from club ocean but with lots of activities and friends.
4. How much movement you feel on the ship, depends on the sea. The first few days we could feel the ship moving quite a bit. It kind of felt like drunk walking while completely sober. It did not matter where on the ship we were, we could feel it moving. If you are prone to motion sickness, take meds with you. The last few days, the sea was completely calm and we did not know we were moving at all.
5. Food. Their is so much food. The main dining room, Lido buffet/marketplace, the pizzeria and several other restaurants are all included. The food is fantastic. However, if you are a budding foodie, you may want to spring for some of the paid specialty restaurants. The Horizon had Japanese, a Steak House and Seafood Shack just to name a few. All of it was an experience. For a family of 4, we spent between $70 and $130 at each of the specialty restaurants we tried.
6. Gratuities is a thing. You have the option of prepaying your gratuities when you book your cruise or it will be added to your sail and sign account at the end. I highly recommend prepaying so you aren't hit with it at the end of the cruise. You, of course, could have it removed, but these people bust it all through the cruise. I have never seen harder working people. Personally, I prepay the gratuities and will add a little extra to people who really go above and beyond (the bartender who met me on day 6, I ordered 1 drink and the next day she new my name and the drink I ordered, or the waitress who saw my daughter standing in line at the bar for a coke and got her out of line and gave her the entire can, yeah, they got a couple extra dollars).
7. Speaking of which, yes, if your child wants a drink, he or she will have to walk up the bar. If you bought the bubbles package for them, they will have to go. It will be on their sail and sign card, not yours.
8. Also, you can set a limit for how much you want to allow your children to charge to their sail and sign cards (if any) during the cruise. I let my kids wander with out me and I wanted them to be able to play at the arcade with friends or buy candy from the candy store, so I have them $100 limit. Obviously, if you have a 2 year old, you wont want to give them any charging privileges. You can set this up before hand online or you can wait to be on board and go to the kiosk or guest services.
9. You have to dry off and put on a cover up and flip flops to go into the Lido Buffet area from the pool. Even if you are just passing through from one pool to another.
10. If you are going to buy the photos taken by Carnival photographers, do it before the last day. Once you step off the ship, your pictures are gone. Carnival does not save them.
What else would you like to know about cruising Carnival with a family or just in general? What questions do you have? I would be happy to answer them!
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