I’ve been on multiple cruise lines, including Disney Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, and Princess Cruises, but somehow never got around to trying out Carnival Cruise Line – at least not until September of 2024.
I married my husband in October, but before I could meet him at the altar, my girlfriends and I had to celebrate with my bachelorette party.
When my bridesmaids and I were looking for things to do, a Carnival cruise rose to the top as the best option. It only makes sense, considering my passion for cruise news!
So, my bachelorette party became a bachelorette weekend – with myself and five bridesmaids sailing onboard Carnival Radiance for a quick getaway cruise to Ensenada, Mexico, from September 27-30, 2024.
Not only did the dates work well for everyone, but a short cruise was shockingly affordable and all-inclusive.
Including the cruise fare, an excursion in Ensenada, and multiple meals in the fine dining venues onboard, our individual totals came out to less than $500 per person at the end of the long weekend.
Meanwhile, according to wedding authorities like The Knot, the average cost to attend a bachelorette party is $1,300 per person as of a 2023 study – and where we live in Los Angeles is easily on the higher end of that spectrum.
But while we all had a wonderful weekend at sea, I couldn’t help but take note of some good and bad surprises I wasn’t really expecting during my first Carnival cruise.
Embarkation and Debarkation Was Shockingly Easy
Carnival Radiance Docked in Long Beach, California (Photo Credit: Mariusz Lopusiewicz)
In the past, I remember arriving at different cruise ports at my scheduled arrival time, only to spend sometimes more than an hour waiting to get through the check-in process and board the ship.
I expected there to be a wait this time, too – as we didn’t choose the earliest arrival time when we completed the online check-in process, nor did we choose to invest in the Faster to the Fun package.
However, embarking at the Long Beach Cruise Terminal was quick and easy. It only took us around half an hour to go through security, verify our passports, and make it to the Lido deck. Our checked luggage even made it to our stateroom early.
Read Also: Do I Need a Passport to Go on a Cruise? – Full Guide
Even the muster drill was simple and took less than 10 minutes. All we had to do was find our muster location when we got onboard, check in with a crew member who gave some safety information, and watch a brief video.
Debarkation was similarly easy. We chose our departure time in our Carnival HUB app during our sailing, which only took a moment, and essentially walked right off the ship when we were ready.
The Serenity-Adult Only Retreat Became Our Oasis
Carnival Radiance Serenity (Photo Credit: Catie Kovelman)
Even though we chose to sail on the Fun ships, which are known to host a party-loving crowd, my friends and I are not big partiers.
However, we discovered the adults-only Serenity Retreat shortly after embarkation – and it instantly became our favorite spot onboard.
It was quiet, peaceful, and not crowded. We never had an issue finding enough lounge chairs for all of us.
In fact, we spent almost our entire first night and sea day in the Serenity Retreat – playing cards, reading, lounging, chatting, and even ordering drinks and room service directly to our loungers.
Other Passengers Were Very Kind
Carnival has a bit of a reputation for fights breaking out onboard, which in my opinion, is not deserved. I didn’t see a single fight, but saw many acts of kindness.
While I did encounter more intoxicated passengers onboard than I noticed on my previous cruises with other brands, everyone I met was friendly. Other passengers were always quick to say hello, smile in the hallways, or hold a door open for another guest.
The Speciality Restaurants Blew Us Away
Carnival Radiance Restaurants (Photo Credit: Catie Kovelman)
As part of our celebration, my parents were generous enough to pay for dinner at the onboard steakhouse (Fahrenheit 555) for the six of us – and the experience was better than I expected.
I honestly wasn’t sure how a non-luxury cruise ship would compare to my previous fine dining experiences on land or on luxury cruise ships. But the petite filet I enjoyed was arguably one of the best I’ve ever had. It was perfectly cooked, juicy, and so tender you could cut it with a butter knife.
After dinner, the waiters brought out a special cheesecake for dessert and wrote a congratulatory message out of chocolate sauce, which was a special added touch.
We enjoyed our meal so much that we decided to dine at Cucina del Capitano the next night, which is another specialty dining venue that serves gourmet Italian cuisine, and had an equally amazing experience.
Food Allergies and Safety Were Always a Top Priority
Carnival Radiance Cruise Ship (Photo Credit: Felipe Sanchez / Shutterstock)
One of my bridesmaids has Celiac disease – meaning she can’t eat anything with gluten, nor can she risk any cross contamination with something that has touched gluten.
We were worried that the crew members would not be as careful as they were or that she would be exposed to gluten by accident. But in the end, we were pleasantly surprised by how seriously everyone took her allergy.
Not only were we greeted by name at every sit-down meal, but the waiters listened to her carefully about her allergies at each and every sitting.
Her meals were always brought out separately from the rest of ours and prepared in a separate location within the kitchen.
She even got her own butter and butter knife to go with her gluten free bread so there would be no cross contamination from sharing butter with the rest of us.
Endless Problems With Our Cruise Cabin
Carnival Radiance Cabins (Photo Credit: Catie Kovelman)
Because we knew we wouldn’t be spending much time in our staterooms, we decided not to splurge – opting for side-by-side interior cabins with three of us in each room.
The layout of the rooms themselves were fine – albeit a bit cramped – with two twin beds and a rollaway bed that certainly worked for our purposes for a weekend.
The issues we had were due to cleanliness and necessary features in our cabin simply not working.
To start, when we first entered our cabin on Day 1, we had a stranger’s dirty sock in one of our beds. Thankfully, we told a cabin steward who removed it quickly and provided us with fresh bedding.
Then, our toilet wouldn’t work. The first night, it wouldn’t flush. The second night, it wouldn’t stop flushing. Finally, sort of like a grand finale, our bathroom started to flood on the last night of our sailing.
Of course, as the icing on the malfunctioning cake, our room phone wasn’t working and wouldn’t let us call guest services for help.
That said, we eventually found a member of the housekeeping team in the corridors who called a plumber – but it took a long time for him to arrive and even longer to make the necessary repairs.
Meanwhile, in the room next door to mine, my bridesmaids kept finding mysterious screws every morning in the same spot. We never figured out where they came from.
And in both cabins, the air conditioning did not always work – and it was sometimes too hot to sleep comfortably.
The Pools Were Always Crowded
Carnival Radiance Lido Deck (Photo Credit: Catie Kovelman)
While all we packed our bathing suits, we never really got a chance to use them. In our entire weekend onboard Carnival Radiance, we never made it into a pool or jacuzzi because they were always very crowded.
That said, I can now say from personal experience that the crew members do enforce the anti-chair saving policy they cracked down on earlier this year.
I saw several notices about no chair saving on reserved seats and crew members even asked us if people were coming back when someone would leave to use the restroom or get a snack.
The Wi-Fi Didn’t Always Work
We pre-purchased Carnival Wi-Fi packages in advance – but were only somewhat satisfied with what we bought.
When the Wi-Fi worked, it was great – and was arguably the best internet service I’ve ever had at sea. I could text, use social media, and stream my favorite Netflix shows at night with no issue.
However, we encountered problems with the Wi-Fi going in and out during the sailing. We also had issues activating our WI-FI packages in the first place – with the HUB app not wanting to recognize that we had made it onboard on embarkation day.
When we tried to message on Carnival’s app during periods when the Wi-Fi wasn’t working, we discovered the messaging feature was an extra $5 per person.
While $5 certainly isn’t a hefty sum, it struck us the wrong way after the Wi-Fi we already paid for wasn’t working.
It Was Always Loud – Even Late at Night
Evening on the Carnival Radiance (Photo Credit: Catie Kovelman)
While we knew Carnival was the party ship, we were surprised at how loud it always was – even inside our staterooms at night.
During the day, the DJs were blasting music by the pool and keeping the party going inside – sometimes even playing music in the dining rooms.
But late at night, themed parties were hosted in the main atrium of the ship – and the sound carried all the way into our staterooms.
Other guests would then come back to their staterooms late at night or early in the morning, yelling and hollering, with seemingly little regard for other guests who might be trying to sleep.
Thankfully, this annoyance was nothing a good pair of earplugs couldn’t solve for us.
The Main Dining Room Was Hit or Miss
While Carnival Brand Ambassador John Heald always posts tasty looking menus on his public Facebook page, we discovered that our meals in the main dining room left something to be desired.
While some of the entrees were good, others were bland and the portion sizes were quite small. On our first night, the chicken I ordered was rubbery and unseasoned – leading to me going for a second dinner on the Lido deck.
Read Also: Free Carnival Cruise Dining Options You’ll Want to Know (With Menus!)
The other dining venues onboard, and especially the nicer restaurants that aren’t included in the cruise fare, were much more appetizing to us.
Would I Cruise With Carnival Again?
Catie Kovelman on Carnival Radiance
While we did encounter some unexpected snafus, we ultimately had a great long weekend sailing with Carnival.
Especially as a group trying to take a vacation on a budget, Carnival was a great value for the money and we made memories that will last for a lifetime.
While I might plan a couple of things differently or splurge for a nicer stateroom because of my experience, I would be open to trying out other ships within the fleet – such as the more recently launched Carnival Jubilee or Carnival Firenze.
But ultimately, I do believe your cruise vacation is what you make of it. We set out to have a good time and laughed it off when things didn’t go to plan – and we had a wonderful voyage because of it.
Source: Cruisehive.com
