Returning to Carnival after many years

Hi all. We are seriously considering a short family cruise out of Galveston with 3 years olds. We have not been on Carnival for many years and I'm sure there have been lots of changes.

We have cruised on other lines recently so I'm hoping you can help with a rundown of Carnival-specific changes that we should know about? I'm thinking embarkation, dining choices, cabin selection but you may have some other inside tips.

Thanks!

Welcome back! Changes on Carnival since 2001 which is what your signature indicates was your last cruise with them:

Your Time Dining- there are 3 choices for dining time- Early, Late or YTD-you go to eat at whatever time you want. You can sometimes have longer waits for YTD especially if you go during prime time, so the earlier the better (6 PM).

Galveston has staggered check-in. When you book your cruise and complete your online check-in, you'll be asked to pick a time you want to check in. This has nothing to do with what time you board, although naturally the earlier you check in, the earlier you'll board.

Faster to the Fun- Carnival has an option for purchase ($69.95) where you can buy one PER CABIN, not PER PERSON, and it will allow everyone staying in that cabin to check in whenever they want (regardless of what staggered check-in time you have). Other benefits to FTTF-

• You can go straight to your cabin when you board- great to drop off carry-ons.
  
• Your luggage will arrive sooner- remember to have the porters put the orange luggage tag on them or they may not arrive early
  
• you get to use the VIP line at guest services
  
• You get expedited tendering at ports where your ship doesn't dock
  
• you get priority debark at the end of your cruise.
  

You'll have to research this and determine if it's worth the money to you and your party.

Other dining options- previously all they had was the dining room and the lido deck buffet. Now many Carnival ships have other dining options- some you pay a small fee, others are free. If you go to Dining Options on the Carnival site it will tell you which ships these restaurants are on and if there's a charge. Here's a few:

• Steakhouse- $35 pp - totally worth it, IMHO
  
• Cucina del Capitano- $15 for dinner, lunch is free
  
• Bonshai Suhsi- pay per menu,
  
• JiJi's Asian Kitchen - not sure of the cost, never been on a ship that has one. I think it's around $15 as well.
  
• Guys Burger Joint- free, lunch- THE BOMB according to many cruisers (I'll let you know after my Sept cruise!)
  
• Blue Iguana Cantina- free, breakfast and lunch (think Chipotle)
  

There are others, these are just a few.

Carnival now has an excursion guarantee- if you find the exact excursion you bought through them (and it has to be exact, trust me) for a cheaper price outside of Carnival, they'll give you 110% of the cost of your excursion.

I'm sure there are a bunch of other changes, but these are the ones that come to mind first.

Oh- forgot to mention, with 3 year olds- they have Camp Ocean, a kid's club, which is open at certain times of the day where you can drop the kids off for free and they'll keep them entertained. There's also a paid sitter option through them for later at night.

Most ships also now have a Cat in the Hat breakfast that the little ones love- book it as soon as you're on the ship because apparently it fills up fast! It's $5 pp.

Thanks you so much Shaded Lady! Those are some good tips and exactly what I was looking for.

There's also the cool waterpark/splash zone area for the kiddos on the Breeze

No more chocolates on your pillows. :mad:

No more chocolates on your pillows. :mad:

No loss as far as I'm concerned, but some really seemed to like them. I thought they were awful. Just personal preference I guess! ;)

If chocolates on your pillow are important you can always bring a bag of kisses and pretend your room steward put them on your pillow.:D