11 things I wish I knew before my first Carnival cruise

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.

Oftentimes, new cruisers have a lot of trepidation and anxiety about their upcoming sailing, and I was surely part of this group when I showed up at Miami's Terminal F on embarkation day.

Here are 11 things I wish I knew before my first Carnival cruise.

[glamchic]

Can’t wait to go on my Carnival Celebration cruise on my birthday this year 🛳️🌴🥰🐠🌺🍍

[frederickbrooks]

The Carnival sunrise was awesome, lots of people and lots of fun no complaints 😊

[morganerickson]

I have NEVER had an hour long wait at Guy's on embarkation day. Sorry that was your experience. And the steakhouse is FANTASTIC! Well worth the price.

[sharondalynnewton]

Sounds like you had a GOOD experience on carnival. I must try the celebration.

[merytsitmaat]

The muster drill that you described is the new e-muster drill. Prior to the pandemic, everyone had to line up at the lifeboats and be crammed in like sardines.

[AStormSociety]

Loved Carnival so much now I work there :) loll

[pattaccone]

Vista class is the best carnival ship I’ve been on, good combination of amenities, not as busy and still lots of fun stuff to do.

[meanmutton]

"I had issues finding my muster station" - that sounds like a REALLY good reason to have in-person muster instead of an electronic, virtual muster.

[Claudinistube]

We just got off our very first Carnival cruise. We did the 5 day Bahamas from Miami on the Carnival Conquest. Although it is an older ship..our time was incredible. The accommodations were great and the food was incredible!. Cocktails were very very good and not watered down and the entertainment on the ship was sooo much fun! We met people from all over the states and other countries too. Booking our next Carnival Cruise as soon as we get back home. We have heard from other cruisers that Carnival Cruise lines is the funnest cruise line out there. Hope everyone gets to experience this at least once in their lifetime. 🎉🎉🎉

[steveobrien]

The muster drill is for your safety---try telling costa concordia passengers that going light on safety was a good thing. (i'm a retired ships senior officer)

[jlawrence]

I consider myself a foodie. However, I have to say that the food on the Carnival Splendor was a lot better than Liberty of the Seas and there were a lot more free options. What I found most ironic is that the dishes that the kitchen screwed up on the Liberty of the Seas were also screwed up on the Celebrity Millennium. The MDR service on the Splendor was also superior to RC. A have taken seven cruises on seven lines ...

[QueenSuperJ]

I was on Celebration November 12-19, my first time on Celebration but not my first time on Carnival. I definitely loved the ship and had an amazing cruise! We won Family Feud! I had an Aft Excel Suite which was beyond amazing! Celebration has the best WiFi of any Carnival ship I’ve cruised on! I really enjoyed your video! ❤

[scherzva]

I’m Gold on Carnival and Diamond on Royal Caribbean. I like both.

[mnico]

Carnival Cruises are fine and food is good and even drinks at late night

[harlanabraham]

That is too bad this was your first Carnival Cruise. Carnival is great for having a lot of things included. Not a big drinker nor do like to go to sailaway parties. The food is really good on Carnival. The food isn't so good on RCCL or on NCL. Like traditional dining. Wouldn't like to go on the Bolt. The SteakHouse on Carnival Ships are really good. Carnival Cruise Line is a really good cruise line. The other lines owned by the Carnival Corp are pretty good too.

[tammybaca]

Embankment day yeah, it's busy, but after that it never those kind of waits....and I go EVERY year on a carnival cruise....never had those kind of waits.

[MavRick]

You’ll be able to go on 2 carnival cruise for every Royal cruise. Funtimes ahead.

[trolltrolling]

Carnival is known for their delicious food!

[stevegonzales]

Hour for Guy’s? That’s crazy. I never waited more than 15 minutes. I go on the Jubilee this March and it’s the same class as the celebration. So hopefully, I don’t wait that long for Guy’s because I gotta have my Guy’s burger and my rum punch as first meal.

[texlapam]

Nicely done and informative as well. The video editing was exceptional as well. I have been on more than a few Carnival cruises but not on the newest ships....YET!
This year for sure, since GLS got one of the new largest ships! Is "COMPLIMENTARARY" a real word? (just picking) nicely done