We took a cruise in July for 5 nights to Bahamas. We had three forward Balcony staterooms on Verandah Deck Starboard side of ship. 4 people were first time cruisers and the rest this was their second cruise (first time on Carnival). We were hesitant about Carnival because of their past history, but I have to say that we had a great time.

First, I booked an early saver rate, and paid very close attention to the advertised fares that Carnival was posting. By being aggressive here, we saved over $750 off the initial booking price for all 3 staterooms. Most of that was deducted from the cruise price as we had not yet paid the final payment, but we did get about $150 back in the form of onboard credits. I read that people have had issues in trying to get Carnival to honor the lower prices, but it was very easy. All we had to do is fill out an online form (if you booked through a travel agent they did it for you) and were notified in almost all cases that same day if the price drop was honored. Only once it was not and I am not sure why, but at the end of it all, as I said, we saved a ton of money.

We also purchased Faster to the Fun ($50 per stateroom) and it paid off as we were on the ship literally 10 mins after arriving at check in and were on the ship and eating by noon. Our rooms were ready about 20 mins later and our luggage arrived just shortly after that. While in Half Moon Cay, we just went down to the desk and were on a tender in less than 10 mins (did not have to get a ticket and wait around). Getting to the island early allowed us to ensure we were able to rent a clam shell. On Debarkation day, we were in group 2 and were off the ship and in our car very fast. Read more