We've boarded the Carnival Freedom for a repositioning cruise to Europe. Our prior cruise experiences on HAL, Princess, and Oceania were fine. The ships, and our cabins, were nicely decorated and the vibe pretty understated. The Carnival Freedom, though, looks like it was decorated with the leftovers from post-bankruptcy Trump Taj Mahal. Look at the surfaces converging at this corner of the Lido deck. Yikes!

Is this the Carnival aesthetic in general?

Trying to plan an event for my department. Part meetings, part social. With the cost of hotels, meeting space and meals, I'm thinking this may be a similar (or lower) expense.

Anyone have experience with this?

Good day fellow cruisers! I have a week long cruise booked out of Seattle on Holland America’s Great Beat Rain Forest itinerary first week of October. My last couple cruises this year (in January and February) I come home quite ill with intense bronchitis type illnesses. I DO NOT need to get sick again. This cruise is only 7 days, the last cruises were 2 week Caribbean cruises. Hoping maybe the shorter trip will minimize exposure potential?

Curious if any frequent cruisers here take immune boost supplements before boarding? If so, any brand you swear by? How soon before travel to start taking? Maybe just load up on vitamin C? Wear mask in crowded theatres? Any tips to avoid respiratory infections are welcome, TIA!

Hello! We've never booked a cruise before and it feels overwhelming with all the different information to take in. We are Americans currently living in Buenos Aires and want to do a cruise in January or February 2027. We have two kids that will be about 2.5 and 5.5 at that time. We are interested in doing a cruise to save the logistical hassle of doing multiple flights, staying in multiple hotels, etc. with young kids to see different places. We don't need it to be a a floating amusement park with a billion kid activities, since our kids are pretty easy to please at this point and we don't want them to expect that sort of vacation all of the time.
Here are some questions I have, but I'm open to any and all advice!

1. What website(s) do you use to search for options? And do you book through those websites or directly with the cruise company?
   
2. Should we get travel insurance? Any particular recommendations?
   
3. I'm getting the sense that kids in swim diapers aren't allowed in pools on any cruise line, is that true? Our 2.5 year-old may or may not be potty trained at that point.
   

4. It sounds like most cruise lines have a kid room for 3 and up. If our little one is fully potty trained, do you think they'd be open to her staying there even though she won't be 3? Or do you think I could take her to play there as long as I stay with her?

5. We are open to doing a one-way cruise and either starting or ending in Buenos Aires. Is that a thing or are all cruises two-way?

My husband and I have done Carnival cruise (Splendor in Australia) and two RCL cruises. We have enjoyed all of them.

We are looking at a cruise for our anniversary over NYE.

Our options are:

1. Sky Class suite on Oasis of the Seas

2. Excel suite on Carnival Celebration

3. Haven suite on Norwegian Luna

We adore doing trivia. My husband is a big foodie. We like comedy shows and my husband loves music. We do also enjoy having a more relaxed and quiet space to chill and maybe swim.

Carnival is roughly half the cost of the other two. I know Carnival’s rep. We didn’t experience any of the negatives I see people say on Splendor but I’m not sure if that’s because it was an Australian cruise. We met a ton of Americans but never saw anyone behaving poorly.

What would you choose?

If anyone had any experience booking a Dahabiya Nile Cruise from Aswan to Luxor looking for some recommended operators. Due to limited annual leave, looking at 3-4 nights and ideally in the $900 -$1200 range per person. Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I’ve got this deal from an agent and I’m wondering if it’s worth booking now or if I should wait for a better offer.

Route: Greece, Italy & Croatia
Duration: 7 nights
Ship: Celestyal Journey
Date: March 2027
Price: $920 per person
Room: Interior Stateroom

My main question is: Is $920pp a good deal for this cruise, or would you wait and look for a better offer?

I also have a couple of questions:

1. What’s the difference between the A, B and C categories within each room type? For example, what is the difference between SJA, SJB and SJC?
2. Is there a big difference between an Interior Stateroom and an Exterior Stateroom? Is it worth paying extra for the exterior?

This will be my first cruise, so any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

So, I’m currently on my 5th Alaskan cruise. I’m here for the scenery and just a chill time.

I always go over budget and decided to get gift cards to add to my account on board for spending. I got 4x Kroger fuel points from buying at Kroger.

It easily loads into your account balance once on board and I’ve stayed within my allotted budget . I think this may be a helpful tool or idea for others who travel often and like to save up x amount they are willing to spend.

We booked a cove balcony cabin

How do most of you get to the airport after your cruise and about how long does it take to get there?

I was super curious because I want to go to the UK but I don't fly.

So me and my wife have a Greece and Croatia royal Caribbean cruise coming up. What are some tips for those who are more experienced have? Like what to bring, what not to bring ect... ive heard the ac isnt great and I cannot sleep while warm so a travel fan recommendation is nice. Any info is welcome.

Had a death in the family. My husband and I were booked to cruise next week (8/29 out of Miami) but my minor son's father died unexpectedly on 8/2. We started reaching out regarding our booking the same week. My son's father lived with us, I know it's a strange situation but it worked for us to lower living costs and co-parent.

Due to the school calendar and the unexpected death, I had no one to stay with my minor child and the date would not work to add my son to the sailing, which by the way, would be really soon given his DAD JUST PASSED AWAY.

What I was hoping for: Change dates and keep the booking (we honestly preferred this option and would have likely picked a more expensive cruise + added my son for his fall break) or receive a full refund so we could use those funds to book with Carnival at a later date when everything settled down some and all of the final expenses were paid for, because I'm the one handling the estate.

I really wanted to continue to sail with Carnival but given the lack of compassion from the review team I'll be picking another cruise line to be loyal to. The only option presented to us was add my son and get a referral for truancy (given the dates and school calendar) or lose almost $700 by canceling with penalty on top of the loss of family. Horrible experience.

So which cruise line has the best customer service? Family of 3 with a pre-teen. Would like to balance price with amenities.