Travel Tuesday: Cruising With Carnival Cruise Lines

Comments (6)

1. 

   Execumama Tuesday - 22 / 03 / 2011 Reply

   Ooooh! This sounds great! I'm starting to realize that cruising is a cost-effective option for short (1 week or less) opportunities to chillax with the family! Hmm... good info!
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     Travelin Diva Tuesday - 22 / 03 / 2011 Reply

     Thanks Doll! I agree with you 100%... -- The Travelin Diva
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   taylorp24 Friday - 25 / 03 / 2011 Reply

   I find this so funny, because my sister and I JUST GOT BACK from a Carnival Cruise to the Bahamas! Since I have some experience on this particular line, I'll give feedback for those who may be thinking about cruising w/Carnival...Ok, so my older sister's birthday was Feb. 28 and for a (belated) birthday present, I booked her and me a 4-Day w/one overnight stay in Nassau Cruise to the Bahamas from March 6-9. I got us the Ocean Suite, the 2nd most expensive room next to the Grand Suite. The boat was the Carnival Sensation, and total cost: $1,657.64 ($769 PER PERSON + $119.64 fed. taxes). That is a STEAL folks, considering it would have been over $2,000 if we booked during summer. Now, if you can afford it, I would STRONGLY SUGGEST that you purchase either an Ocean Suite or Grand Suite(I believe they both come w/a balcony view). Reasons being: anything lower is essentially a box w/ a bed in it, and w/ the suites you get to be a VIP, which gives you a chance to skip the line to board(embark) and leave(disembark) the ship. This makes the process much faster and less painless(still sad for all those poor souls standing in that line...) Cabins are fine and decent for "backpackers" or kids cruisin' on a budget, but I feel it would be uncomfortable for a married couple or family. Now as for the boat itself: the Sensation is the smallest, oldest model they have. It is an ok size and has tons to do such as a mini-casino, some jazz and piano lounges, a karaoke bar, coffee shop, gift shop, spa and a gym, two separate dining halls, a fast food and seafood buffet, tons of bars and even a library. They also had a pool w/ hot tubs scattered about, but I found them to be rather small considering the number of people onboard. Now about those people...unfortunately, my sister and I picked March 6-9 to cruise. That was a mistake, as that just happened to coincide w/COLLEGE SPRING BREAK. We were in a bit of a culture shock to be on a boat w/about 92% LILY-WHITE COLLEGE KIDS! My sister is 31; I'm 24 but more mature than my age and looks. We tried to make the best of it, but quickly realized that we had nothing in common w/ these 19-24 year olds. The girls were vapid and frivolous; the guys were loud and obnoxious. Since all they did apparently was drink,drink,drink, and me and my sis are clean,clean,clean, our conversation consisted mostly of boys, booze, clubs, booze, and boysandboozetogether. We wanted to smash our heads into the wall, lol. But most of the kids were nice and friendly, and we did have a good laugh of it. There were some older, married(white) couples that we met, and thank God they were much more appealing to converse with. There was about maybe 12 other black people on the boat; not sure why the race demographic was so lopsided, but it's probably because many blacks do not travel out of country anyway and wouldn't think about a cruise. We had fun on the ship mostly by eating, ordering room service, and watching TV. The FOOD: if I may suggest, eat mainly during breakfast and dinner(and while on your land excursions if you can) in the dining halls. The food at the buffet bars looked, well, sick. My sister and I are healthy eaters and exercise regularly, so the options at the buffets didn't suit us. The rotiserrie/mongolian/fast food bar had many items, but some just looked weird. On the first day, I had some fries, 2 chicken fingers, and 2 chocolate chip cookies. My sister had what the chef said was prime rib, some macaroni (made w/strange white cheese), and c.c.cookies. Most people expect fries to be either yellow, or golden brown; mine were WHITE. They didn't look like they were cooked long enough even though they tasted ok, but I don't trust that ish. Didn't finish it. My chicken tenders were hard as nails and tasted just like processed chicken deep-fried in flour. My sister's "prime rib" looked more like "pot roast" and she said it tasted bad. Only thing we both liked were the c.c.cookies. But the kids? They were eatin' that ish like it was 5-star dining. So I'll say try it if you think your stomach can handle it. But trust me, even though it isn't gourmet quality, the gourmet dining hall food is MUCH BETTER. Now on to the trip itself: The Bahamas are just as lovely as you imagined in the postcards. Freeport has the most EXCELLENT tourist shops where me and my sis found stuff much cheaper than they would be in America (remember, Bahamas are an inport-only country, meaning all of their goods are duty-tax free. Yay!) I even saw the exact same bellydance belt from Northlake Mall and a pink sundress I bought a year ago in Burlington that I saw in America. But in America, the bellydance belt was over $60 at some Asian lady's dresstore in Northlake Mall, but in the Bahamas? $14. I quickly bought it. The pink dress I saw in the Bahamas was $34, and I bought it at that price in Burlington, but only because it was on sale; it would have been around $50 otherwise. If there was ever a place to spend money frivolously, it's the Bahamas! Now some important info about SHORE EXCURSIONS: Of course Carnival wants you to purchase excursions through them, and there's nothing wrong w/that. But they scare you into not buying excursions from the locals saying things like "They may exploit you because you're tourists","They're not very friendly", "It is safer to book through Carnival", but my sister and I DID book w/ the locals and it was just fine. And you know something else? It is MUCH CHEAPER to book w/ the islanders. We booked our excursions through ATLANTIS in Nassau, which was even better because not only was it cheaper, we got access to the entire resort for the day (You MUST check out ATLANTIS if you're in Nassau...) The locals could not have been nicer, more accomodating, or helpful. They were awesome. Remember, the majority of Bahamian income is from tourism, so they'll absoulutely work for that top American dollar. The Bahamian men treated us like princesses and kept commenting that we looked like we workout, and my sister said "It must be because they're used to seeing only overweight, pasty white tourists." I laughed at that one(cuz it was true...). When we took the water taxi, the ferrymen saw my sis and I and made sure we sat at the front...then ushered all the white people to the back (LOL! REVERSE RACISM! BLACK PEOPLE UNITE! SUPPORT EACHOTHER!LOL) Overall I'd give the entire trip a solid B. Even though we booked on an old, small boat, and had to endure snot-nosed college kids, the view of the Bahamas was worth it alone, and the ship is very fun. You should definitely check it out!
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     Taylorp24 Friday - 25 / 03 / 2011 Reply

     Just wanted to add: I didn't mean for that to be a college-level essay HAHA! Hardly ever comment on sites; love this blog for showcasing black married families and helping them stay intact. Keep it up!
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   NYCmusclez@hotmail.com Tuesday - 03 / 01 / 2012 Reply

   Hi there TaylorP! Glad you enjoyed yourself. I loved your article especially your racism towards the white passengers on board. Its okay because they were probably wishing you weren't there patting your weave over the buffet and making the place smell like a jergans lotion factory.
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   Hehe Tuesday - 21 / 02 / 2012 Reply

   Usually carnival ships are overrun by "black folks"