Is there any advice you can give when going on a Carnival Cruise to the Caribbeans?

Question

Also do you know if you have to pay a fee to go on the islands?

Answer 1

I've been on a couple, and had a good time.  There are usually several shore excursions set up at each port.  You will have to pay to go on those, but you can also just go ashore on your own and look around or shop, with no cost except the stuff you buy in the stores.  You already paid the daily visitor fee through the cruise line when you paid for the trip.

Carnival is very good at setting up everything for you.  There will be food everywhere, at a variety of places.  You can eat in the cafes at just about any time of day and night.  The one exception will be the captain's dinner.  This is not a chance for you to sit at the captain's table, it's a chance to force everyone into the dining room that night so that you can tip everyone in sight, from the 2nd assistant cabin steward to the maitre'd.  They gave us suggested amounts to tip the stewards, the waiter, the asst. waiter, the bus boy, the cook, his mistress, the guy that cleans the muck off the anchor, the old man on the beach, and the rats who desert the ship when it sinks.  We tipped the ones we saw the most of - the cabin steward and the waiter and busboy, but otherwise, we ignored the rest.  The ones we did tip were very hard workers, and took very good care of us.

Answer 2

yea, you should have gone royal carribean. You dont have to pay to get off the boat, but if you choose to do what they call excursions you gotta pay for those.

Answer 3

I am responding to your question and a few of the answers posted.  

To you:  Port fees and taxes are added to your cruise fare.  You should be presented an invoice that will state your cruise fare and list taxes, government fees and port charges on a separate line.  You are not charged as you walk off the ship.  Your extra expenses are tips, soda and alcoholic beverages as well as spa services.  There are also charges for some of the exercise classes and specialty services offered on board.  They are always noted.

To a few of your that responded:  Shame on you all that are telling this person to cancel and rebook.  You don't know what this persons demographic is.  Carnival is the worlds largest cruise line and got there for a reason.  They realize everybody is different and sails for a different reason.  Carnival owns Princess Cruises, Costa Cruises, The Yachts of the Seaborne, Windstar Cruises, Cunard Line and Holland America each selling to a different clientele.  When I see answers such as the ones listed I figure you are unhappy about your experience and are going to tell everyone that will sit still long enough.  When I walk into Target, I do not expect the same service as I do at Nordstorm.  I am also not going to pay the same prices.  Same with cruise companies.  Carnival has its place in the market and has developed their brand.  Some people don't find the price difference between Carnival and Royal Caribbean worth it, some do.  It is a matter of priority and preference.  That is why there are so many suppliers to choose from.

To the person who wrote about the tips.  On Carnival tips are only suggested.  On NCL (Norwegian Cruise Lines) they charge each person a mandatory $10 per day and then encourage additional tipping.  I feel this takes the value of the tip out of the consumer’s hand.  What is going to motivate the worst waiter in the restaurant if he knows he is getting the exact same tip as the best waiter?  Ask people who have sailed on NCL and Carnival where the better service was.

I am not certain if you have booked your cruise or not.  If you have, contact your travel agent.  If you did not book through a qualified travel agent, find one and they can take over your booking and assist you with questions.  There is no charge to use a travel agent.  If you have over 61 days before your cruise you can get a full refund on Carnival.  60 to 30 days you get a refund minus your deposit and 29 to 8 days you can get 50% of your total cruise fare back.  

Happy sails,

E

Answer 4

Not sure if you are going to the eastern, western or southern Caribbean. I went to the Eastern on Carnival Valor. It was beautiful! The water is so blue, filled with tropical fish. There is no fee to get to the islands. Here's what we did at the ports:

In St Thomas we took a cab into the main town area where they have the jewelry stores etc. We took a tour/ trip to the beach. Just a guy from St Thomas had a large open taxi car and he took us around the island. giving us a short tour. After the tour he took us to a beach (where we stayed for 2 hours then he came back to pick us up), there were 3 which you could choose from Magens Bay, Sapphire and Coki point. Magens bay is a popular beach, usually crowded, when it does rain on St Thomas the rain usually hits Magens bay. There is a small entrance fee to get onto the beach, $3 adults $1 for children. The snorkeling at Magens is poor. There are restrooms and showers as well as lifeguards, food and a gift shop.

Then there is Sapphire beach, the one we chose. It was the perfect beach, we enjoyed it very much. Its not a huge, but they do have good snorkeling at the reef at the end of the beach. There are some really neat tropical fish and my mom saw a turtle! There are also Iguanas behind the beach area, but they won't bother you. Sapphire also has restrooms and a shower as well as a restaurant close by.

Then Coki point, which I do not know much about, but I was told they have great snorkeling. You can find more info on these beaches such search in google. I wouldn't call this an excursion but it gave us a chance to see the island and spend a few hours on a beautiful beach. It cost us $25 a person. There were 5 of us, but he let the 5 year old go for free.

Hope that was some help for St Thomas. Of the three islands we stopped at on our cruise St Thomas was by far my favorite. The people living on the island are very friendly!

St Martin has a french and dutch side. The cruise ship docks in Philipsburg, on the dutch side . In St Martin, you have to take a water taxi or taxi to get anywhere, from what I remember there is not much just off the ship. So we took a water taxi over to the main shopping area. It was around $5 a person and if you got a pink wrist band you could come and go on the water taxi as many times as you want throughout the day. Again there are all the jewelry shops. So from there we took a cap to a beach on the french side, called Orient Bay. It is 2 miles long, but be aware it is a clothing optional beach, BUT the nude part is at one of the ends of the beach, so there are not nude people all over the beach. We did see 1 or 2 topless women walk by, but not a huge worry. Orient beach was beautiful but not calm due to numerous water sports going on. Jet skis etc. The snorkeling was not bad. There were washrooms and showers also.

Again not really an excursion, but we didn't want to pay a huge amount of money for an excursion booked through the cruise so we did out own thing. I would get some info on other beaches on St Martin. A few other things about Orient beach I forgot to add above is that there are quite a few vender's that walk the beach selling necklaces etc, but they are not overly pushy. It is much quieter in the morning, but as the day went on it became quite busy.

Nassau, Bahamas. I had always wanted to go the Bahamas, mainly because I wanted to go to Atlantis. The stop in Nassau is short, only 7am to 2pm. Doesn't give you a whole lot of time. We just took a cab to the beach.

If you are interested in going to Paradise Island, where Atlantis is located there is a fee to get onto the island. I believe the cruise does have an excursion to Paradise Island, but its expensive.

I don't have alot of info on shore excursions, we just enjoyed days at the beach. I'm sure they are fun, just alot of money.

Carnival is a great cruise line, if you plan to take the Valor, you will for sure enjoy yourself!

Happy Cruising!

Answer 5

I have been to several islands in the Caribbean and never paid a fee.  Make sure you book shore excursions as if you just wander around where the ship leaves you off you will see the same shops selling the same items on every island.  I Think the best islands are in the south, Barabados, St Lucia, etc as they get fewer ships.  Islands like St Thomas, St Maarten and Jamaica see alot of ships daily and things are anything but relaxing.

Answer 6

Is this already booked?  If it isn't I would strongly suggest going with Royal Caribbean over Carnival ANY day.  If you are already booked, I hope you don't encounter problems as I have had several with Carnival.

You pay port charges when you purchase the cruise.  The islands charge the cruise lines port fees and they in turn put it within your cruise price.  That is all paid for upfront.  After wards you don't pay to get off the ship, just for the shore excursions if you do any.

Best of Luck to you and have a good time!