The last time I was on a Carnival ship was in 1995. My family took a Western Caribbean cruise out of Miami, and I have only a few memories from that trip, including being deathly afraid of stingrays. What I don't remember is the price my parents paid, versus the value they received on board. Today, Carnival is known for rock-bottom pricing, being "The Fun Ships," and occasionally catching on fire.

I love cruising and wanted to see for myself what Carnival was like on board. So, I found a cheap single-person fare for a four-night sailing from Long Beach to Catalina Island and Ensenada, Mexico on the Carnival Radiance. I paid just $185, plus port taxes, for my own cabin for the voyage. Keep reading to find out how the trip went!

Pre-Cruise and Boarding

The cruising industry is still requiring fully-vaccinated passengers, with some limited exceptions. Carnival uses the same service that airlines use, Verifly, to validate vaccination cards and speed up document checks at the port. The process was seamless and allowed me to enter a separate line at Long Beach. In addition, I had to take a COVID antigen test three calendar days (or less) before we departed, which I always do at Walgreens. They've never asked for my insurance card, so there's no added cost to me.

I try to not fly in on the same day of my cruise, and I caution anyone against this strategy right now, due to lots of last-minute delays and cancellations by the airlines. So, I stayed the night at the Renaissance Long Beach, using a 35,000 point Marriott Bonvoy certificate I receive from my Amex Marriott Bonvoy Boundless credit card each year, saving me $300. Hotel costs are nuts right now and this hotel should regularly charge no more than $200 a night. The next morning, I opted to take the 30-minute walk to the port, rather than Uber, because it was a nice California morning.

Most cruise lines are requiring an arrival window and I was given 9:30 AM, which is the earliest allowed. I had a short health check, a review of my COVID documents, a quick wait for check-in, another COVID document review, and then I waited until boarding began at 11 AM.

 

The Cruise

The Carnival Radiance is a newly-renovated ship, so updated that they actually renamed the ship! And parts of the ship definitely felt new, including the main dining room and some of the included specialty restaurants on board. There were four "up-charge" restaurants on board: the high-end steakhouse Farenheit 555, El Capitano Italian, a to-go seafood counter in the buffet area, and Bansai Sushi. Otherwise, food like Shaq's Big Chicken, Guy Fieri's Burgers, Blue Iguanta Mexican Food, and the main dining room were all included in the price. Overall, I had low expectations for the food and felt that the food was superb, especially given the price of the cruise.

Entertainment is also hit-or-miss at sea. We recently sailed on Disney, which has the best broadway-style shows I've seen afloat. While Carnival doesn't have as elaborate a program as Disney, there was live music everywhere on the ship (something I didn't see on my subsequent Royal Caribbean sailing), and the two comedians on board were actually funny! Overall, this was a truly impressive aspect of my Carnival experience.

A drink package is an option for folks that want to imbibe while on board, which I didn't purchase this sailing. However, the Alchemy Bar near the back of the ship had high-end crafted cocktails available for purchase. I found that the Red Frog pub had great daily specials that brought my per-drink cost down as well.

Service, I found, was similar to other ships, which is to say it was excellent. The crews on these cruise ships hustle to make sure you have an excellent vacation, and the Carnival Radiance crew was no exception.

Overall

Cruising is one of the best values for travel this summer, something I talked about on Tampa news recently. If you're in the market for a good value vacation, Carnival might be a fit for you. While this is not the cruise for those that enjoy formal nights, refined dining, and a quiet atmosphere, those looking for fun can definitely find it on board the Carnival Radiance.