About Carnival Cruises

Carnival cruise fares typically include your stateroom accommodation, most meals in main dining rooms and buffets, select non-alcoholic beverages like iced tea and lemonade, and access to a variety of onboard entertainment and activities. This often covers shows, pools, fitness centers, and kids' programs.

Carnival ships offer diverse dining options, including complimentary choices such as the main dining room with multi-course meals, extensive buffets, and casual eateries like Guy's Burger Joint or BlueIguana Cantina on many ships. Specialty dining venues, offering cuisines like steakhouse or Italian for an extra fee, are also available.

Onboard Carnival, you'll find a wide array of entertainment known as 'Fun Ship' activities, including Playlist Productions stage shows, live music, comedy clubs, deck parties, and casinos. Many ships also feature water parks (WaterWorks), mini-golf, sports courts, and supervised youth programs for different age groups.

Carnival's cancellation policy depends on factors like cruise length, fare type (e.g., Early Saver has stricter rules), and how close to the sailing date the cancellation occurs. Penalties typically increase as the departure date approaches, potentially resulting in the loss of the full cruise fare if cancelled very late.

Gratuities are not typically included in Carnival's base cruise fare but are automatically added to your onboard Sail & Sign account daily for crew members like stateroom stewards and dining staff. Guests have the option to prepay these gratuities before the cruise or can adjust them onboard in case of service concerns, though this is rare.

For most Carnival cruises, infants must be at least 6 months old at embarkation, though for longer voyages like transatlantic or Hawaiian cruises, the minimum age is 12 months. Guests under 21 years of age must generally travel with an adult 21 or older in the same stateroom, with some exceptions for married couples or those with parental consent for specific situations.

Carnival accommodates a variety of special dietary needs, including vegetarian, gluten-free, low-carb, low-fat, low-sodium, and diabetic diets, as well as common food allergies. Guests should inform Carnival of their dietary requirements at the time of booking or at least a few weeks prior to sailing to ensure arrangements can be made.

For most Carnival cruises departing from and returning to the same U.S. port (closed-loop), U.S. citizens may be able to use an official birth certificate and a government-issued photo ID. However, a valid passport is strongly recommended for all international travel, as it is required if you need to fly internationally unexpectedly, and is mandatory for some itineraries.