Carnival Cruise Line - Should You Go?

I recently took a cruise on Carnival Cruise Line and departed from Miami and visited San Juan, St. Martin and St. Thomas. The trip was a 7 day 7 night cruise and featured lots of things to do. Here is what I experienced.

The first thing was boarding the ship. You have to go through security and get your photo taken before boarding. This photo is encoded on your pass card. You use this card to get back on the ship after you leave to explore the islands. You can also use the card for shopping and ordering drinks on board.

When you get to your room, your luggage is already waiting for you when you arrive. So, you board the ship without struggling with your luggage which is awesome!

You have the option of getting a room inside the middle of the ship - no windows. Or you can get a room with a porthole - rip off. Or you can get your own private balcony - worth it. If you have the means, get a room with a balcony. This makes the trip that much more fun. I promise.

Excursions are fun mini vacations away from the ship that give you the feeling of really experiencing new and different things. For instance, you can go kayaking to a certain location in the ocean and experience bioluminescent sea creatures. Or you can go Snuba where you walk on the bottom of the ocean with a safe and easy breathing tube. Of course you can go snorkeling and para sailing but I think you should do something that you haven't ever done before or can't do anywhere else. To help you out, please get on their website and book your excursions a week before you leave.

Dinner was a scheduled affair and I was told we would sit with a group of people. At first, I didn't want to sit with strange people I didn't know but it ended up being one of my favorite aspects from the trip. My wife and I met some intelligent and fun people and had a nice time. When you eat in the nice restaurant, and they bring you lobster and you feel like another one, just ask your waiter and he will bring you another one. It's that easy. No additional charge.

Room service - you are expected to tip your waiters and other wait staff so be prepared. When we ordered room service, it took about twenty minutes for them to bring us our food but it was all included in the cruise - no additional charge for what we ordered. The only thing extra was the tip for the wait staff.

The casino is nice but it doesn't have a card room. Other than that it was nice.

The shows in the grand theater were okay, I am not much for musicals and Vegas style entertainment but they weren't bad. We did have a magician one night and he was unbelievable. My favorite part about the grand theater is that during the day, they would have bingo. I usually hate bingo but the staff makes it fun and it only costs $20 a card.

The bars around the ship are nice but one in particular was very upscale and seemed to have every top shelf liquor you can imagine. They even had a nice selection of cigars. The upscale bar had nice tables and leather chairs that surrounds a three string quartet that plays every night at 7pm.

The cruise was definitely worth it and I would recommend it to anyone going on a first time cruise but I have to say that Carnival seems like the discount cruise line compared to Norwegian or Royal Caribbean - but then again, you're going to pay a premium for a premium cruise line.