What is included on a Carnival Cruise Line cruise?

You don't need to spend extra money beyond the cost of the cruise fare.

Technically, when you purchase a cabin on a Carnival Cruise Line ship, you are paying for everything you need on your cruise. You'll have a place to sleep, as much food as you want at sit-down restaurants, and some more casual options.

Related: Carnival Cruise Line explains big changes to its casino program

You won't be thirsty either, although your drink options will be basic and quite limited.

A Carnival cruise does not require additional expenses, but most cruises do spend extra money.

The mistake that many people make is jumping on board without knowing what is included and what costs more. Not knowing can lead to awkward moments and paying more.

In most cases, the various extras you can purchase on a Carnival cruise cost more if you wait to purchase them on the ship.

Jason from Travel Scouts shared exactly what is included in the cruise fare in an episode of his popular YouTube series.

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The carnival includes a lot

Transcription:

You can have an amazing vacation on a Carnival cruise without paying extra money after boarding. In this video, I'm going to quickly share with you everything that is included 100% free on a Carnival cruise so you can properly plan your cruise. We are going to talk about accommodation, entertainment, activities, food and dinners.

And I will give you all the information quickly. Soon. Welcome to Travel Explorers.

My name is Jason and we are your cruise information channel. We bring you the cruise news and information you are looking for quickly without wasting your time. So if you love browsing, consider subscribing.

Well, the first thing you need to understand to properly budget for a cruise vacation is what the base cost of the cruise actually is. There are four areas that make it up. The first of them is the base rate of the cruise.

That's the price of your ticket. That could be as little as a few hundred dollars per person. Number two, and it's not always as advertised, is the cruise taxes, fees and port charges.

Think of them like paying taxes when you buy something in a store. It's not in the sticker price, but it's part of the cost. Now, these will vary depending on things like the length of your cruise and the ports you'll be visiting, but plan for them to make up 10-20% of your base cruise fare.

Number three is tips. Now, technically they are not necessary, but you will find that the crew works very hard and tips are highly recommended. Currently, basic gratuities on a Carnival cruise are $16 per person per day in a standard stateroom.

Then number four is your transportation costs to and from the port. So here we're talking about plane tickets or gas costs, and then maybe food and lodging. These are all based on your own transportation planning.

This is what is included in your cruise fare

Now, apart from these, you can get on the cruise and have a great vacation without any additional costs. So, let's talk about what's included in the base cruise fare. First, let's talk about your accommodation.

We're talking about your stateroom here, and of course, your stateroom is included in your cruise fare. Some refer to this as a cruise cabin. With each stateroom on a carnival cruise, several things will be included.

On the one hand, you will have a flat screen television. You will also have a safe in the cabin. There will be adequate storage space.

You will have individual air conditioning. You will have a full bathroom and they will provide you with beach or pool towels. Next, you'll also get plenty of entertainment options included on a Carnival cruise.

Every day you will have production shows and various types of entertainment. You will also have the chance to attend comedy shows with some of the best comedians from around the country. Each Carnival cruise also features numerous lounges offering live music, games like trivia, and other entertainment.

Now a quick tip for sailing with Carnival. The larger the boat, the more entertainment options you will have. On big ships like the Mardi Gras, the Celebration, the Jubilee, something unique always happens.

But look, regardless of the size of the ship, one of the things I love most about traveling with Carnival is that there are always lots of good things to do and great entertainment. And since we're talking about things to do, let's go ahead and talk about the activities that are included in a carnival cruise. Every Carnival cruise ship has a gym so you can continue exercising while you're at sea.

You'll also find things like basketball courts, foosball tables, and the like. Now, these differ from ship to ship, so check out a tour on the YouTube channel or visit Carnival's website to find out what's available on the ship you'll be traveling on. Included in your cruise fare, you also get pools and hot tubs.

There will now be several of these that will be available. Now, there may be one or two that are off-limits and you must have a certain stateroom category to access them, but the vast majority of pools and hot tubs are available in the base cruise fare. Another thing that both children and adults love are water slides.

Those are included, and throughout the year they have programs for youth, from two-year-olds to 17-year-old young adults. And what's one of the best things about cruising? It's that food. So look, great question.

The carnival includes a lot of food.

What food is included in the base rate of the Carniavl cruise? And look, let me tell you, the special meals that you pay extra for are great, but there's a lot of great food that's already included in your cruise fare, so let's talk about them. There are a variety of dining options for breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner and late night snacks. One of those options you have is in the main dining room, a great place to sit and enjoy a pleasant meal.

You also have a Lido restaurant. Here you have the Buff A area, and this is where you can get a wide variety of food throughout the day. And one of the special food options on a carnival cruise is Guy's Burger Joint.

Guy's Burger Joint is possibly the best burger on the high seas. I would highly compare Guy's Burger to Chili's Burger, so it's so, so good, and you can stand in line and get as many as you want. You'll find it to be 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 and enjoy that great BBQ option. They also have the Blue Iguana Cantina where you can get tacos, you can also get burritos.

They have it available for both breakfast and lunch. And then some Carnival cruises will also offer Street Eats. With Street Eats, you have a variety of food truck-style portions.

Excellent meals, they have different things every day. I love eating on the street. And then there's Shaq's Big Chicken.

That's a great place to have breakfast. You can also get 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's her new favorite place to eat chicken.

Also included in the base price of the carnival fare is the Mongolian wok. You also have the old-fashioned barbecue on some boats. You can also eat at the Chibang restaurant on some boats.

This has Chinese and Mexican cuisine. Another favorite on a Carnival cruise is the pizzeria. The pizzeria is available and serves pizza from 9:00 in the morning until 4:00 the next morning. (That has been changed to midnight.)

And then there's Kelly's personal favorite, which is soft serve ice cream and frozen yogurt. Okay, so think about this for a moment. Think about all the different food options you have.

In the main dining room and so on, you can have steak, sometimes you can have lobster, there are great burgers, there's ice cream, there's pizza, there's Italian food, there's Chinese food and there's Mexican food. You have all these different cuisines and it's all included in the base cruise fare without spending a single extra cent. Now let's talk about the drinks that are available to you at no additional charge on a Carnival cruise.

I am about to share with you a list of drinks that are available. They are now available in the main dining room. They are also available 24/7 at the Lido restaurant.

There is non-bottled water, lemonade, tea, hot chocolate and non-specialty coffee. See, this is why Kelly and I love cruises so much. You get all the food, you get the amenities, you get the entertainment and you get to visit other countries and experience their culture.

If you tried to buy plane tickets to visit the same countries, get hotel accommodations, buy the same food and get tickets to the same entertainment, the cost would be enormous. The value of a cruise is amazing. Now, if you want to know everything that is available to upgrade your Carnival cruise for an additional cost, some of those additional costs are minimal, I will share it in a video that I will post very soon.

So make sure you subscribe and hit the notification bell so you don't miss that video. The next video will be out soon, but until then, keep scrolling and we'll see you in the next video.

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