You don't need to spend extra money beyond the cost of your cruise fare.
Technically, when you buy a cabin on a Carnival Cruise Line ship, you're paying for everything you need on your cruise. You will have a place to sleep, as much food as you want from both sit-down restaurants and some more casual options.
Related: Carnival Cruise Line explains big changes to its casino program
You also won't go thirsty, although your beverage options will be basic and fairly limited.
A Carnival Cruise does not require extra spending, but most cruisers do spend extra money,
The mistake many people make is getting onboard without knowing what’s included and what costs extra. Not knowing can lead to some uncomfortable moments and paying extra.
In most cases, the various extras you can buy on a Carnival cruise cost more if you wait to buy them on the ship.
Jason from Travel Scouts shared exactly what’s included in your cruise fare in an episode of his popular YouTube series.
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Carnival includes quite a bit
Transcript:
You can have an amazing vacation on a carnival cruise without paying any additional money after you board. In this video, in rapid fire fashion, I'm going to share with you everything that is included 100% free on a carnival cruise so you can properly plan for your cruise. We are going to talk about accommodations, entertainment, activities, food, and dining.
And I'm gonna get you all the information fast. Coming up. Welcome to the Travel Scouts.
My name is Jason and we are your cruise information channel. We get you the cruise news and information you're looking for quickly without wasting your time. So if you love cruising, consider subscribing.
Okay, the first thing you need to understand to properly budget for a cruise vacation is what the base cost for cruising actually is. There are four areas that make this up. The first of those is your base cruise fare.
That is your ticket price. That could be as little as a few hundred dollars per person. Number two, and not always advertised quite as much, is your cruise taxes, fees, and port expenses.
Think of those like paying taxes when you buy something at a store. It's not on the sticker price, but it is part of the cost. Now these will vary based upon things like the length of your cruise and the ports you will visit, but plan for these to be around 10 to 20% of your base cruise fare.
Number three is gratuities. Now these are not technically required, but you will find that the crew works very hard and the gratuities are highly recommended. Currently the base gratuities on a carnival cruise are $16 per person per day for a standard stateroom.
Then number four is your transportation expenses to and from port. So here we're talking about airline tickets or gas costs, and then maybe food and lodging. These are all based upon your own transportation planning.
Here’s what’s included in your cruise fare
Now aside from these, you can get on the cruise ship and you can have a great vacation without additional costs. So let's talk about what's included with your base cruise fare. First, let's talk about your accommodations.
Here we're talking about your stateroom, and of course your stateroom is included with the cruise fare. Some refer to this as a cruise cabin. With every stateroom on a carnival cruise, several things will be included.
For one, you will have a flat screen TV. You will also have an in stateroom safe. There will be adequate storage space.
You will have individual climate control. You'll have a full bathroom, and the beach or pool towels will be provided. Next, you will also get loads of included entertainment options on a carnival cruise.
Every single day you will have production shows and various kinds of entertainment. You will also have the ability to go to comedy shows with some of the best comedians from around the country. Each carnival cruise ship also has numerous lounges where they feature live music, games such as trivia, and other entertainment.
Now one quick power tip for cruising with Carnival. The larger the ship, the more entertainment options you will have. On the big ships like the Mardi Gras, the Celebration, the Jubilee, there is always something unique going on.
But look, regardless of the size of the ship, one of the things I love most about cruising with Carnival is there is always plenty of good things to go do, great entertainment. And since we're talking about things to go do, let's move on and talk about activities that are included on a carnival cruise. Every carnival cruise ship has a fitness center so you can continue to get that workout on while you're on the high seas.
You will also find things such as basketball courts, foosball tables, and things of that sort. Now those differ ship to ship, so check out a YouTube channel tour or check out the Carnival website to find out what's available on the ship that you're going to be on. Included in your cruise fare, you also have pools and hot tubs.
Now there's going to be several of these that are available. Now there may be one to two that's off limits where you have to have a certain stateroom category in order to have access to those, but the vast majority of pools and hot tubs are available in your base cruise fare. Another thing that's loved by kids and adults alike is the water slides.
Those are included, and year-round they have youth programs for kids age two all the way up to young adults age 17. And then what is one of the best things about cruising? It is that food. So look, big question.
Carnival includes a lot of food
What food is included with a Carniavl cruise base fare? And look, let me tell you, the specialty dining where you pay extra for, it's great, but there's plenty of great food that is already included with that cruise fare, so let's talk about those. There is a variety of dining options for breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner, and late night snacking. One of those options you have will be found in the main dining room, great place to sit down and have a nice meal.
You also have a Lido restaurant. Here you have the Buff A area, and this is where you can get great varieties of food throughout the day. And then one of the special meal options on a carnival cruise is Guy's Burger Joint.
Guy's Burger Joint is arguably the best hamburger on the high seas. I would liken Guy's Burger very much to a Chili's Burger, so it is just so, so good, and you can get in line and get as many of them as you want. You will find that it is a very popular free food option included on a carnival cruise.
But Guy's Burger is not your only option. You can also eat at Guy's Pig & Anger BBQ Smokehouse, taking in that great barbecue option. They also have the Blue Iguana Cantina where you can get tacos, you can also get burritos.
They have this available for both breakfast and for lunch. And then some carnival cruise ships will also offer Street Eats. With Street Eats, you have a variety of food truck style servings that you have.
Great foods, they have different things every single day. I love Street Eats. And then there is Shaq's Big Chicken.
That is a great place to get some breakfast. You can also get some great lunch options. Now look, Kelly, she loved Chick-fil-A, she loved Zaxby's, but after going on a Carnival cruise that had Shaq's Big Chicken, that is her new favorite place to have a chicken meal.
Also included in the carnival base fare price is the Mongolian wok. You also have on some ships the Old Fashioned BBQ. You can also eat at Chibang Restaurant on some ships.
This has both Chinese and Mexican cuisines. Another favorite on a Carnival cruise is the pizzeria. The pizzeria is available serving pizza from 9 a.m. in the morning all the way to 4 a.m. the following morning. (That has been changed to midnight).
And then there's Kelly's personal favorite, which is the soft serve ice cream and frozen yogurt. Okay, so just take this in for a moment. Think about all the different food options you have.
With the main dining and such, you can have steak, there's times you can have lobster, there's great burgers, there's ice cream, there's pizza, there's Italian, there's Chinese, there's Mexican. You have all of these different cuisines and it is all included in your base cruise fare without spending an additional dime. So now let's talk about the drinks that are available to you at no additional charge on a carnival cruise.
I'm about to share with you a list of beverages that are available. Now these are available in the main dining room. They're also available 24-7 in the Lido Restaurant.
There is non-bottled water, there is lemonade, there is tea, there is hot chocolate, and there is non-specialty coffee. Look, this is why Kelly and I love cruising so much. You get all of the food, you get the amenities, you get the entertainment, and you get to visit other countries and experience their culture.
ALSO READ: Top travel agents share how to get the best price on your cruise
If you were to try to buy plane tickets to visit the same countries, to get hotel accommodations, to buy all of the same food, and to get tickets for all of the same entertainment, it would be an enormous cost. The value of cruising is amazing. Now if you wanna know everything that is available to upgrade your carnival cruise for an extra cost, some of those extra costs are just very minimal, I will share that in a video I will be releasing very soon.
So be sure to subscribe and turn the notification bell on so you don't miss that video. That next video will be coming out soon, but until then, keep on cruising, and we'll catch you in the next video.
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