Next month, I’m going on my 10thcruise. Since cruising is a type of vacation I enjoy, I frequent several cruising message boards and Facebook groups. One statement I see frequently on these discussions is: “Carnival is the Walmart of cruise lines.” What does that mean, and is it true?
Disclaimer: I have never sailed on Carnival, but I shop at Walmart all the time.
Reputations of Walmart and Carnival
Walmart has the reputation of being cheap. Sometimes that’s a good thing, and other times not.
I buy most of my groceries at Walmart because it has the best prices. Sometimes, I buy other non-grocery items there as well. But, I know that they might not be the highest quality.
For example, my daughter wanted this desk lamp for her birthday. It was only $4.97. She wanted it because it looks like the lamp from the Pixar movies. I have no expectation that it’s going to last for years.
Carnival has the reputation of being an inexpensive party ship. Its slogan is “Fun for all. All for fun.” It’s the cruise line known for drunk, party people. In fact, after an accident on board the Carnival Valor just a few days ago, rumors are already swirling that it was alcohol related.
For sure, both Walmart and Carnival have had some PR issues. Walmart faced criticism earlier this year when it changed the job responsibilities of the greeter position, thereby excluding people from disabilities who already had the job. Walmart has been sued for gender discrimination, and the company has been ruthless with its suppliers.
Carnival has been in the news lately because of its pollution problems. It had to pay a total of $60 million in fines for illegally dumping into the ocean and covering it up. And who can forget the incident in 2013 when the Carnival Triumph had a fire and was stuck at sea for days? It became known world-wide as the “poop cruise”.
Carnival Cruise Pricing
Carnival currently has 26 ships sailing under the Carnival name. Note that the corporation also owns several other cruise lines including Princess, Holland America, Costa and more.
In some cases, Carnival does indeed have the lowest prices. When I searched on Expedia for 3- to 5-night cruises out of Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, Carnival was the cheapest if you’re not picky about the ship.
However, Carnival’s newest and greatest ships are not always the cheapest. For example, I priced a cruise over Spring Break 2021 leaving out of Galveston, Texas. For a family of four, the Carnival Vista rings up at $4126 for a balcony room. Royal Caribbean’s Liberty of the Seas, which is not quite as new but was recently refurbished, is slightly less at $3872.
Change and Innovation on Carnival
In recent years, Carnival has been trying to shed its party ship image in favor of fun, family-friendly cruising. The cruise line rolled out “Seuss at Sea” in 2014. This program incorporates Dr. Seuss characters into the kids’ clubs and special programming.
The newest ships on Carnival have features that are every bit as family-friendly as other cruise lines. In addition to water slides and Dr. Seuss-themed splash areas, guests can pedal around the top deck on the SkyRide. When the Carnival Mardi Gras sets sail next year, guests can experience the first actual roller-coaster at sea!
Indoor fun on the new ships includes Hasbro, The Game Show, Family Feud Live, IMAX theatre, CLUE: The Murder Mystery and more.
Have you seen the Carnival commercial with Shaq? Looks like fun!
Why Cruisers Love Carnival
Since my family hasn’t sailed on Carnival, I can’t really say if Carnival is the Walmart of cruise lines. However, I reached out to our blog readers on social media to find out who likes Carnival and why.
Laura has sailed on Disney, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian and Carnival. Her family prefers Carnival. “We feel like it is the best balance of value and amenities. With Carnival, we enjoy the entertainment, and there are many family-friendly options. When we compare the price to what we receive, it has consistently been the best choice for our family.”
Mary Anne’s family likes to sail Carnival for the “ropes courses, the sky bikes, the Imax theatre, and the ‘games and stuff’ put on by the fun crew like Life Size Sorry and run-around-the-ship Clue.” Her family can also get two balcony cabins on Carnival for a lower price than one room on Disney Cruise Line.
Anna has sailed on Norwegian and Carnival and says, “Everyone on Carnival is pleasant. I have never had a problem that wasn’t fixed immediately.”
Several of the readers who responded to my question feel that Carnival has the best food! “We also all LOVE the Guys Burgers, BBQ and the Blue Iguana Cantina…and oh my goodness, the Caramel Popcorn Creme Brulee!”
My Opinion
I think the phrase “Carnival is the Walmart of cruise lines” is offensive and is a form of vacation shaming. Admittedly, it’s hard for me to shake my image of Carnival as the rowdy party cruise line. But, my perception of the brand has improved over the last year.
While my family hasn’t yet sailed on Carnival, I’m not ruling it out for the future. We are taking baby steps away from DCL with Royal Caribbean, but we may continue to expand our cruising options.
Have you sailed on Carnival? Do you think it should be compared to Walmart? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW VARIOUS CREDIT CARDS AND AVAILABLE SIGN-UP BONUSES
Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
I have sailed 36 times with Celebrity, Princess, Royal Caribbean, Disney, Premier, Holland America, and Carnival. I prefer what the first four cruise lines have to offer overall. I enjoy the elegance as opposed to the Las Vegas atmosphere that Carnival offers.
I started sailing Carnival because it was the most affordable family vacation for 5 in the 80’s and 90’s but their clientele has changed over the years. They have become more rowdy and unconcerned about how they dress and behave. I don’t enjoy seeing people in their pajamas all over the ship and neither do I enjoy seeing people throwing up because they had to much to drink. Believe me, they were not sea sick. With that said, after a long hiatus, my last 2 cruises on Carnival, an 8 night on the Conquest from FLL in 2017 because I loved the itinerary and a 4 nighter on the Imagination from LA in 2018 for the convenience, cured me from ever sailing them again. I literally felt like I had walked into a Walmart or the Stratosphere in Las Vegas. Not everyone that shops at Walmart wears their pajamas there but I have never seen that at a Target and I see it every time I go into a Walmart. Maybe that’s why Carnival has been dubbed the Walmart of the Seas. I will say a couple of good things about Carnival: their food is very good, especially Guys Burgers and the Blue Iguana Canteen, plus that wonderful Molten Lava cake they serve up in the MDR. They also have great crew members. I met enough of them on my 12 cruises with Carnival, but they alone are not enough to get me back on board, and not even the lure of a brand new ship.
Newer ships are my favorite because they have so much more to offer. Royal Caribbean has done a great job of upgrading their older ships with some of the new stuff offered in newer ships for kids and families. Celebrity and Princess are wonderful, but if traveling with children, pools are all they have to offer. Disney is absolutely amazing, I just find them a bit too expensive for my budget, though I have sailed with them on 3 separate occasions and was able to find a good rate. They seldom drop their prices, but once in a while they do.
Holland was nice, but their crowds are a little on the older side and they don’t have much to offer for the younger crowds. I have looked at NCL which I have not yet sailed but I find that there is so much that is not included in the price that I have shied away from them. I think I’ll stick to my first 4. They never disappoint!
When we cruise on Carnival we often feel uncomfortable because were the only “gringos” on the ship.
We’ve done several cruises on Carnival and it just depends on the ship and itinerary. The shorter ones on older ships are more boozy in general whereas the weeklong itineraries in Europe don’t have that feel at all. Our last four night I was amazed at how many people on the cruise had “blue collar” jobs. You really don’t get that on Disney for example. I think it’s great that the more affordable price allows all sorts of people to be able to experience cruising and the quality is still really high
Most of the cruise lines are mass market. I’ve sailed a lot on Carnival, MSC and NCL but have also cruised on some others. In my opinion anytime you book those 3, 4 or 5 night super cheap cruises on Carnival or NCL you will get a “booze cruise” environment. Sail longer Carnival or NCL itineraries and it is a different experience. I like Carnival for the same reason I like Walmart. Price and they have selection. NCL is more like Kmart to me. They compete in the same markets but offer a lesser experience. Royal is more like Target I’d guess. Nicer but less flexible on some stuff. Celebrity is like Macy’s or maybe Kohl’s. Princess is maybe Dillard’s, MSC is like an Italian Nordstrom’s maybe. Fun to compare all this. I like Carnival but I’d compare their frequent guests to Southwest flyers. They are all self proclaimed experts in travel and think it will always be the best and cheapest and are willing to put up with cattle car experiences. Personally I think the best main stream cruise lines for all around service, etc. are MSC, Disney and Cunard but they are all different experiences.
I have cruised on Carnival several times, and I think it’s fine. I’m not going to address environmental concerns here as it’s a whole separate can of worms.
Anyway, it really depends on a ship as well as itinerary. If you are cruising Alaska in May, you are unlikely to encounter a rowdy crowd whether you are sailing Carnival, Royal Caribbean or whatever. It’s a different story with weekend cruises to Bahamas. Overall, it seems like Royal Caribbean is more suitable for families with kids. But again, depends on the itinerary. Food is pretty good on Carnival, on par with Royal Caribbean and Norwegian. Staterooms tend to be a bit bigger on Carnival.
Overall, value-wise in apples-to-apples comparison Carnival will usually win. However, my husband prefers to steer away from Carnival cruises because we have encountered too much drunken behavior in the past. That said, there is no guarantee that Royal Caribbean would have been much better on a similar itinerary. It’s about perception and bias, I guess.
Yes, Carnival is the Wal Mart of cruise lines. It isn’t just about “cheap”, it is about the quality and type of people who choose Wal Mart or Carnival (generally speaking). See peopleofwalmart.com
I’ve gone on a few Carnival cruises over the years and have had bad experiences, not with the ships or crew, but the trashy clients. I’m by no means a snob, wealthy, or old. I’m a working class millennial and I’ll stick to RCCL every time.
@A Thanks for your perspective. I joined a Carnival FB group, and the funny thing is that many in there have referred to RCCL clientele as snobby and stuck-up. It seems that with cruising, people stick to one brand. My older kids loved our last RCCL cruise.
So, we cruise carnival…every ship from Imagination to Vista….and nope, I never shop at Wal Mart. I do find it offensive when people assume things. We love our time together and enjoy that we can do a 7 day cruise and 7 days at WDW on the same vacation because we choose Carnival.
Cruising is terrible for the environment. They burn bunker for fuel which is little more than liquid coal. They cause massive silt plumes in port that suffocate nearby reefs. They dump their garbage and sewage at sea based on laws based handful of crew not fleets of ships with thousands aboard. They dump legions into ports disrupting the economy and culture, always playing to the lowest common denominator leading of tee shirt shops and cheap imported trinkets. Carnival is the worst of the worst having been convicted of violating pollution laws then caught red handed doing it while on probation. https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/cruises/2019/10/03/carnival-cruise-line-not-doing-enough-to-clean-up-pollution/3850107002/ . Have fun
@Mike Yes, I mentioned Carnival’s pollution and cover-up issue in the post.