Carnival Cruise

Carnival Cruise Line is beloved by many cruisers across the world, but especially in North America. With more homeports than any other mainstream cruise line, a Carnival cruise ship is never too far away!

Though I've been on over 20 cruises, it wasn't until recently I stepped foot on a Princess ship. 

Growing up, my family primarily sailed with Royal Caribbean, but within the past year, I've branched out to Carnival to learn why they have the most "FUN" ships at sea. Seeking a more upscale experience, I decided to give Princess a try, embarking on Sun Princess upon her arrival in Fort Lauderdale. 

As one of the most popular cruise lines in the industry, Carnival Cruise Line operates a large fleet of 27 ships across eight different classes of vessels. Unlike other cruise lines, Carnival’s fleet has minor differences between its ship classes in terms of size and design. 

Carnival Cruise Line is best known for having the most fun ships at sea. In fact, they considers itself to be the most popular cruise line in North America with more domestic homeports than any of its competitors.

Because of this, you can find many residents who drive to their local cruise port to sail on weekend getaways with Carnival. Most are onboard to let loose and have fun in a laid-back, lively environment.

If you take one look at Carnival’s oldest and newest cruise ship, you can easily see how cruise ship design has evolved over the last few decades. While traditional ships were built to be smaller and offer a more simple onboard experience, modern-day vessels are massive, floating resorts.

Recently, I sailed on Carnival’s oldest ship in its fleet, Carnival Sunshine, on a quick weekend sailing from Charleston, South Carolina. Carnival Sunshine was first built in 1996, making her older than other Fantasy Class ships.

Less than two weeks after Carnival Paradise was forced to cancel a cruise due to Hurricane Helene, the 71,925 gross registered ton ship has been impacted again. This time, its departure on Thursday, October 10 has been canceled due to the impending approach of catastrophic Hurricane Milton. 

"Given the storm’s track, officials in Tampa have advised that the port will close ahead of the storm’s arrival, and we will continue to monitor the situation and provide timely updates as more details become available," reads an update shared to Carnival's website.

I recently sailed on my first-ever Carnival cruise, and it was packed with learning experiences about this iconic cruise brand, as well as discovering everything the Carnival Valor ship had to offer.

I traveled with a good friend and fellow writer, Allie, who is a Carnival Cruise expert. She showed me the ins and outs of what it’s like to sail with the cruise line known for fun and affordability.

From the upbeat environment of their "FUN" ships to exploring new ports of call, planning a Carnival cruise is exciting! However, nobody wants to overspend on their annual vacation, so it's essential to budget accordingly.  

Two Carnival Cruise Line guests are banned for life after smuggling a handgun onboard their cruise ship. To make matters worse, the couple posted about the incident on social media, catching the attention of the cruise line.