As some of you may know, my husband and I just celebrated our 10th Wedding Anniversary by cruising to the Bahamas as we did for our honeymoon in 2013.
It was lovely to spend time, just the two of us, enjoying blue skies, sunshine and crystal clear ocean views. A picturesque getaway to be sure.
Still, while the views and chance to take some time alone were fully appreciated, I have to be honest and say…
We’re not sure we’ll do a Carnival Cruise again.
I can’t speak to other cruise lines, as Carnival is my only experience.
I thought I’d share some thoughts because I know Carnival tends to be affordable and more attainable than some cruises. (I mean… that’s really the only reason we booked with them again this go around).
Still, by the end of our week, Derek and I decided that there were some definite pros and cons to how it all went and I thought I’d share it in case it might be helpful if you’re considering cruising with Carnival.
This is, quite obviously, purely an opinion, and I know not everyone will feel the same.
The Pros
Let me tell you a few of the reasons we chose to cruise! Some of the reasons are specific to Carnival cruises, some are a bit more general.
It’s Affordable!
As Derek and I were trying to figure out the perfect cruise for our anniversary trip, we did look for other cruising options, specifically Christian cruises. But we quickly found that Carnival was one of the only ones that would fit our budget.
If you aren’t picky about your room choice, you are disciplined about avoiding all the tempting “extras” on the ship, and just kick back and enjoy what’s free (and there’s a lot that is!), a Carnival cruise can often fit into what many people spend on an average vacation. Cruising sounds fancy, but if you know the ropes, Carnival can actually be a pretty affordable option!
All Inclusive!
This right here is the reason I chose a cruise for this celebratory trip. We could have gone anywhere. We could have done anything. But most affordable options would have meant an Airbnb with a kitchen. And that would mean shopping, cooking, and cleaning throughout the trip.
The thing I remembered loving the most about our honeymoon trip was that it was all inclusive. While there are a few higher end options like sushi and surf n’ turf that you’d have to pay extra for, there are a TON of free and varied food options available basically 24/7. (Y’all… all you can eat soft serve. That’s beautifully ridiculous.)
So, basically, I saw a chance to escape the daily grind of shopping, cooking, and cleaning. I saw the opportunity for my husband and I to indulge our somewhat different tastes in food with little trouble or inconvenience… and we gladly took it.
Perfect Way to Unplug
Perhaps my favorite thing about cruising is how easy it is to unplug. To put down your phone and hardly look at it except to snap a few photos here and there. See, you can choose to pay extra for an international plan, or you can pay daily for the ships wifi options, but otherwise, you have no service, no wifi, no reason to sit staring mindlessly at a screen.
I got the limited wifi so that we could message my parents as they had our boys and needed to be able to contact us in an emergency. But other than that, taking photos, and utilizing the cruise app, Derek and I hardly looked at our phones for the week. And especially now being business owners, on land, we would have been ignoring many calls and messages and that’s still distracting, even when you choose not to answer.
Not to mention, social media can make for a pretty dumb addiction and really steal away your attention. But that wasn’t an option for us, and it was fantastic.
Excellent Service
I cannot speak highly enough of how outgoing, courteous and helpful we found the crew to be. From helping us navigate checking in… (we may or may not have neglected to bring the very necessary birth certificates we needed to board), to room service, to dining service and everything in between. The service came with a kind word and a smile at every turn. The towel animal creations left on your bed daily are sure to warm your heart.
The Cons
Now the drawbacks and negative elements I’m about to list may very well exist on other cruise lines, but Carnival is our only experience and thusly that’s the only experience I have to share.
Hidden Fees
I mentioned in the “Pros” section how affordable a Carnival Cruise can be. And that’s true. But it doesn’t negate the hidden fees or incredibly tempting add ons that can stack up quick if you aren’t aware or prepared for them.
It may not seem like much but on our first cruise, neither of us knew that we’d be charged nearly $100 to park in the secure cruise parking lot. While that’s a fair price, it can be a lot of money if you aren’t prepared to spend it.
Also, if you think “gratuity” for the staff has anything to do with gratitude and having any say in what that looks like, think again. I’m honestly still confused as to how exactly it all worked, but if you choose to make a purchase of any kind, the gratuity is automatically tacked on to what you pay, and then there’s a space for you to add the “tip”, as if you haven’t already been charged for it. You will end up paying far more than what the original item of interest was listed at.
You are charged an automatic gratuity for your room service. Now, it’s not that I don’t think you should pay gratuity, and it’s not that I don’t think the workers deserve it, (as I said, the service was OUTSTANDING), also I understand people can be jerks and not tip at all, which is awful. But having no say in what you pay makes it feel very disconnected and can tack on more than you bargained for. There was even once we tried to tell room service to skip our room as we didn’t need anything, but they chose to service us anyway. So you can’t really even opt out of service if you attempt to.
Some of these fees are avoidable… but some aren’t and it’s hard to calculate them into your budget.
Over Indulgence
Now, I mentioned in the “Pros” that I chose the trip to avoid shopping, cooking, and cleaning… but the truth is that the atmosphere of entitlement and over indulgence ended up being more than I bargained for.
I enjoyed having a prepared buffet at every meal, but the fact that an abundance of food is at ones fingertips at any moment quickly grows old. By the end of the trip, I actually felt sick to my stomach at the thought of it. Where does one find the balance of enjoying oneself without being a disgusting glutton. Derek and I weren’t always eating but when you’re constantly surrounded by plates piled high, when someone in the room is always eating, when self-control is seemingly the farthest thing from anyones mind… it starts to feel super unhealthy and little disturbing.
Another struggle for us was leaving our dishes for someone else to clear. Now, I don’t mind forgoing washing dishes for a week, but there isn’t even a place to take your dishes when you’re finished. You’re expected to simply get up from your table and walk away without even cleaning up your own mess. For me that was too much. The least I could do is clear away my dishes and make a place available for someone else. Since this wasn’t possible, we would at least stack our dishes neatly at the end of the table, or sometimes place them on another dirty table to open up the one we’d been sitting at. (We like to sit out on the deck and sometimes tables were sparse.)
It almost felt like taking advantage of those so kindly serving us to expect so little of ourselves.
It really settled on us how physically unhealthy the whole atmosphere felt. What was meant to simply make life a little easier, quickly felt entitled, lazy and perhaps too indulgent for anyone’s good.
Unwholesome Atmosphere
This last concern probably has more to do with the particular cruise line. I’m sure there are more wholesome cruise lines than Carnival.
Perhaps I should expect a party atmosphere when the name of the cruise line is “Carnival”, but still, what’s advertised as family friendly is perhaps not quite so family friendly as one might think.
You have to be very discerning of what shows you attend. I would say most of them aren’t kid friendly and some are just plain inappropriate for everyone. “Family friendly” pretty much just means nothing worse than you’d see on TV. And lets just say there are many reasons we don’t watch much TV these days.
And sure, you could decide to forgo the shows altogether out of an abundance of caution… except for the fact that certain and often inappropriate games and shows take place in some of the most public areas like the pool deck and the atrium. Sure, as adults we can choose to look away, but there’s no guarding your children from certain things you’d really rather they didn’t hear or see.
Add to that an atmosphere of unhindered alcohol consumption, smokey casino’s, and barely half dressed humans, it can feel very spiritually draining by the end of the week.
Wrapping Up
I really hope I don’t sound like I’m complaining. Vacations are just expensive endeavors and we all want to make the best choices with that money, so I just think sharing our experiences with one another can be helpful!
Believe it or not, Derek and I really did have such a lovely week. We quickly scouted out some of the quietest spots on the ship and spent a lot of time there chatting and relaxing. We were able to finish needful conversations that are often (understandably) interrupted. We spent beautiful mornings out on our balcony studying the Word and ended most evenings taking time to do the same. Most of what we didn’t like about cruise life, we were able to push aside and enjoy the natural and widespread beauty of the ocean and the islands we visited.
I just figure cruising is something many people consider trying. Carnival may seem like the affordable, go-to option, and while our trip was really lovely, I want to be honest and offer what I hope are some helpful thoughts to consider if you ever were thinking of giving it a go.
That’s all for today, folks!
My Family Freedom 