Carnival Cruise

Throughout my 24 years of life, I have had the privilege of taking over a dozen cruises, the majority with Royal Caribbean. Despite being in my mid-20s, I have never found the party-like atmosphere of Carnival Cruise Line appealing. 

I knew their ships did not have the Broadway-style musicals that I am used to on Royal Caribbean's Oasis Class ships, and I had always heard that the food was mediocre at best. 

If you're planning a Carnival cruise in 2024, you might want to become familiar with the upcoming changes and additions that the cruise line is making. If you were hoping to visit Celebration Key, for instance, you'll have to wait one more year, as this port won't open until 2025. 

From increasing the cost of Carnival's drink package to redeploying ships from Charleston, South Carolina to Norfolk, Virginia, here are seven big changes you can expect that will impact your cruising experience in 2024 and beyond. 

I recently returned from a 5-night cruise onboard Carnival Vista. Even though this wasn't my first Carnival cruise, I had a feeling that there would be some things that I wouldn't get right since I am still new to the cruise line. 

Carnival Vista almost felt like another new-to-me line. With fewer complimentary breakfast venues, for instance, I found myself waiting in line at the Lido Marketplace, and I never felt the desire to eat there on Celebration! 

After taking a cruise on one of Carnival Cruise Line's newest ships, Carnival Celebration, I was interested in seeing how sailing on an older vessel would compare. 

While Carnival Vista isn't the oldest ship in the fleet by any means, the almost 8-year-old ship was much different than Carnival Celebration. I'm sure my next cruise onboard Carnival Conquest will be different, too! 

After spending $1,900 on an interior room onboard Carnival Celebration, I decided to book a $3,600 suite on Carnival Vista to see how the staterooms compared.

Having sailed on over a dozen cruises, I would not consider myself a novice cruiser. If you were to ask me about anything about a Royal Caribbean ship, I'd probably know the answer. 

Just a few weeks ago, however, Carnival felt like a foreign language to me. I had never stepped foot on a Carnival ship prior to my recent sailing onboard Carnival Celebration, and I was not quite sure what to expect. 

After three solo cruises onboard Royal Caribbean and MSC ships, I took my first solo cruise on Carnival Cruise Line and spent 7-nights onboard Carnival Celebration traveling to Amber Cove, San Juan, and St. Maarten. 

Not only was this my first solo cruise with Carnival, but it was also my first-ever Carnival cruise, so I truly had no idea what to expect. While I was worried that I would find the party-like environment overwhelming as a solo cruiser, I ended up loving every second of my trip! 

I had so much fun on my first-ever Carnival cruise that I am already looking forward to my next sailing onboard Carnival Vista. 

Since this was my first time on a new-to-me cruise line, it was certainly a learning experience. There are some things I wish I had done a little bit differently to make my vacation even better, but I am glad I can use this experience for future Carnival sailings. 

After fourteen cruises onboard Royal Caribbean, Disney Cruise Line, and MSC Cruises, I decided it was finally time to try Carnival!

I recently sailed onboard Carnival Celebration, their newest ship at sea that launched in 2022, and had a wonderful vacation. I am already looking forward to my next cruise onboard Carnival Vista. 

As with any trip, though, there were things that I thoroughly enjoyed and a few things I wish I could have changed; no vacation can ever be perfect. 

Here are 15 things I loved and hated about my first Carnival cruise.