Carnival Cruise Lines

The Fun Ships

Once dubbed the 'K-Mart of the cruise industry' with a reputation for hosting frat house drink-fests at sea, Carnival has not only shed its party-hard-on-a-budget image, but grown in the process. Now the largest cruise line in the world, they compete head-on with the pricier options by offering good food, top-notch entertainment and spacious cabins. While they live up to their tag line - The Fun Ships - think family fun, not booze cruise. The exterior décor borders on psychedelic, but sets the tone for having a blast at sea.

Why Go?

• Outstanding kid's programs
• Family-oriented, casual cruising

Passenger Profile

Because of its family-oriented approach, Carnival has one of the youngest average passenger ages of all the cruise lines. Young families with kids ranging from toddlers to teens make the bulk of the passenger list, but honeymoon couples, empty-nesters and every age in between cruise with Carnival. During summer and school breaks, the demographic swings severely to the more youthful end. No matter when you cruise, with anywhere from 2000 to 3000 passengers on board, you're bound to find someone in you peer group with ease - should you choose.

Staterooms

Spacious rooms throughout their fleet of ships make Carnival appealing to families. In sharp contrast to the colorful exterior décor, the cabins are quiet and understated, but surprisingly functional. Depending on the ship, up to 80 percent of the rooms have ocean views, and most of these have balconies. While the color TV has CNN, ESPN and movies, email and Internet access are not currently available in every room.

Dining

One of the first cruise lines to offer flexible dining, Carnival lets you pick from four dining times. For those who don't want to dress for dinner or make reservations, the poolside Lido eateries are come-as-you-are during standard dinner hours. Specialty menus are available, but pricing varies.

Onboard Highlights

• Activities - Camp Carnival, offering supervised activities targeted specifically to children of different age ranges, is available on all ships throughout the year, not just when school's out. With reading and writing programs, science projects, and the just-for-teens Club O2, there's never a dull moment.
• Nightlife - Entertainment cemented Carnival's reputation for fun. You can dance under the stars to live music, shake your booty at the disco, relax in a jazz bar, see Broadway-style productions or laugh yourself into hysterics at R-rated comics. Of course, you can also flirt with Lady Luck at the casino.
• Theme Cruises - Past theme cruises have included an eclectic range of topics like psychic healing and NASCAR. Check their website for current themes, which change frequently.

Shore Excursions

Each cruise offers shore excursions that vary with the destination and cruise length. The website gives detailed descriptions and summarizes the duration, activity level, items included and price range in a handy chart. You can book online or make your own arrangements if their side trips don't suit you.

Need to know

• Dress Code - Except in the dining room, where they enforce the no-jeans policy, casual daywear goes for just about every activity. Dark suits are a suitable alternative to tuxedos on formal nights, but you can always rent something fancy at Carnival's eveningwear shop.
• Tipping - You can either prepay tips or have them automatically added to your Sail & Sign account. Some cruises might require gratuities to be prepaid. At the end of your trip, Carnival also allows you to 'adjust gratuities (up or down) for any individual on the Dining or Housekeeping staff.'
• Smoking - Smoking is permitted in designated areas and cabins. Smoke-free areas include the restaurants, the theaters and the indoor pool where food is served.
• Internet - You can access the Internet 24 hours a day at the Internet Café, or bring your laptop and surf at wireless access points throughout the ship. Regardless of how you access the Internet, the same fee applies.