Carnival

I tell you what – John Heald certainly earns his wages.

The former Cruise Director for Carnival Cruise Lines is now their Brand Ambassador, and he spends most days answering hundreds of questions and requests from fans on his popular Facebook page (with the help of his assistant, Jacinta).

However, not every message he receives is written in a polite way. There are many people who feel entitled to have a go at John, either because they don’t like his humour or because they feel he owes them something.

I’ve taken a look back over just the last couple of years and found some of the craziest comments and questions John’s received – you won’t believe these people are serious!

1. Please just renovate the bathrooms for us

There are plenty of people who write in to John expecting a certain level of VIP treatment, but this is a whole other level.

Asking for the electric hand dryers to be uninstalled for the bathrooms for this one cruise, just to accommodate this one family, is so extreme. It’s obviously impossible, and also it shows no concern for the other passengers who, you know, want to dry their hands after washing them.

I understand that the child may be overwhelmed by the noise, but there are definitely alternatives that don’t require major bathroom renovation.

2. I understand that you are not Mr. Healthy

This one is less about the subject matter of the complaint, and more the way they speak to John.

John is one of the first people to admit that he is not skinny, but that does not entitle people to speak to him about his health in this way.

And the assumption of “obviously from your size you are not worried” is a whole other level of crazy. That’s just not how you speak to people!

3. Stop other people having fun!

This complaint is another that’s very entitled – expecting John to make sure that door decorations are banned from cruises.

Not every cruise line is the same, and Carnival is definitely one where fun takes priority. So I’m sure there’s no way door decorations will be banned. The fact that this Carnival guest assumes that others should stop having fun just because they think it’s tacky shows how selfish they really are.

Also, if they banned door decorations, where would we see the upside-down pineapples being displayed?

4. Let us bring our own tablecloth – and then wash it for us!

Hoo-boy, this one is a little crazy. It’s written from John’s perspective about a message he received from a guest who demanded they bring their own tablecloth from home, but then have the crew clean it and place it on the table from them.

The crew are there to help you enjoy your cruise and, within reason, they will do all that they can to make your cruise as special as possible. But they aren’t your personal slaves and you can’t expect them to have the time to cater to such requests!

John generally has patience for guests but for him to call out the request as “jaw droppingly astonishing” shows just how far this customer wanted to push things.

5. Disrespectful non-American crew

As a Brit, I know that I’m an outsider on this one. A Carnival guest wrote to John to complain that the crew weren’t stopping their work and standing to attention during the playing of the US national anthem.

But, here’s the thing – most of the crew aren’t American either.

Speaking broadly, I know that many US citizens have a real sense of national pride and they treat the anthem with a lot of respect.

That doesn’t mean non-US citizens need to do the same, though!

6. Stop posting dessert pictures and lose some weight!

Here’s another jab at John’s weight from a ‘fan’ on his Facebook page. “You need a diet plan and soon” is such a personal insult.

Look, enjoy yourself on a cruise. Eat lots if you want to. Or don’t, if you prefer to watch what you eat. Just stop judging other people.

As long as they aren’t being rude or unhygienic then what does it even matter to you?

7. Cancellation rules shouldn’t apply to us!

I’m very lucky that, so far (touch wood), I’ve never missed a cruise. I tend to make sure I travel the day before embarkation if it’s anything more than a couple of hours, because you never know what could happen en route.

However, if I did miss the ship, I’d know two things – 1) it’s not the cruise line’s fault, and 2) I can claim on my travel insurance.

“We didn’t purchase travel insurance” is not a good enough excuse to ask the cruise line to pay in the form of a future cruise credit. Even if something wasn’t your fault, it’s on you to have insurance.

Suggested read: Why You Need Cruise Insurance

8. We’ll clean, thanks – stop trying to help!

Yikes, this was a long one!

The cabin stewards generally do a really good job of getting cabins turned around between cruises, and keeping them cleaned throughout.

I’m not going to say that they’re always perfect, but most people are happy with the work they do. And in general, cruise ship cabins are much, much cleaner than hotel rooms.

You shouldn’t need to pack your own cleaning supplies – and then trying to get the cabin stewards to leave your room alone so that you barely tip them isn’t fair.

While it’s unfortunate, cruise ship crew rely on tips. Removing them to pay a pittance because you’d rather do their job for them is not helpful. You wouldn’t get in a taxi and tell them you’ll drive but will only pay a tiny portion of the fare!

Suggested read: Want To Remove Gratuities On A Cruise? Read This First.

9. How dare you not have country music!

Carnival’s a cruise line that has to cater to a huge range of guests and they can’t have every type of music represented onboard.

I understand that the cruise line does sail out of Galveston but not everyone cruising from Texas is a Texan. A lot of people will travel to the port from across the US and further afield too!

So not having a country band onboard doesn’t reflect badly on Carnival, in the eyes of most people anyway.

And if you really need a certain type of music to enjoy your cruise, there are plenty of themed music cruises you can book, including the Texas Country Music cruise!

10. Stop lying and sail to my schedule!

This person wrote to John to complain that the ship wouldn’t stay in port to watch the rocket launch from nearby – I’m assuming they were sailing from Port Canaveral.

If you want to watch a rocket launch, I’d recommend going to a launch-watching site. Rockets are launched from Port Canaveral at least 50 times per year. If you want to enjoy a cruise to the Caribbean or Bahamas, book a cruise.

You can’t do both – and you can’t expect a cruise ship to deviate from its schedule, pay loads more money in port fees and risk messing up its itinerary, just because you want to watch a rocket.

They aren’t lying. It’s not about rushing to open the casinos. They need to stick to their plan.

11. We’re not idiots – we demand harder puzzles

This one really made me laugh – I love it when people write such strongly-worded complaints over really insignificant parts of their cruise.

What do you think – should the puzzles and crosswords onboard a Carnival ship be more difficult? Or is this snooty person just thinking about themselves and not the wider range of guests onboard?

Also, you know they have an attitude when they address John as “Heald”.

12. You should pay for the bad weather

Guess what – the weather on a cruise holiday can’t be predicted. And so no, Carnival really won’t be paying out any kind of credit because the sun isn’t shining quite as much as you wanted it to.

Can you imagine asking this of any other type of holiday destination, like a hotel? You absolutely wouldn’t – so why should a cruise line be any different?

13. We demand respect – we pay their wages!

Another guest here that compares Carnival to other cruise lines, completely unaware that Carnival is not trying to be the same as every other cruise line!

Carnival definitely has more of a fun atmosphere, but that doesn’t mean the crew onboard are disrespectful. A lot of the positive comments talk about how friendly the crew are, how they will remember your name and always greet you with a smile.

Now, does it matter that it’s your first name? If it does, and you insist on being called “Mr X” or “Ms X” then perhaps Carnival’s just not the cruise line for you?

Plus, the whole line about paying the crews wages is, in itself, so tacky.

14. I’m entitled to better treatment than this

Guests who have reached a certain level of a cruise line’s loyalty program can sometimes act in a way that’s entitled. Not everyone, absolutely – but it’s definitely a recurring theme for some guests on social media.

This is just one example, where the guest expected special treatment above and beyond the standard perks they get for being Platinum, and they were annoyed that their boarding was not special because they were first on the ship.

Look, if you’re first on the ship, you’ve already got the best perk there is! And remember that loyalty programs are meant to add a little extra, not define your whole experience.

15. I’m also entitled to special treatment!

Here’s another guest who complained about their treatment as a new Diamond member, expecting even more perks on top of those they were supposed to receive.

“Those who made Carnival what it is today”? Loyal customers sometimes act like they’ve done the cruise line a favour by spending money on cruises, as if they didn’t get anything back in return!

Just say’n – your reward is all that amazing time you spent cruising!

16. It’s not fair that you have to set limits!

Of all the complaints on this list, this is one that I concede might be controversial.

The guest wrote to John to complain about the age limit on a more extreme snorkelling excursion, saying that they were too old for it at 66.

Carnival is a business and so it has to look out for the safety of its guests and, at the same time, make sure that any risks are carefully considered. So it’s understandable that it has to set an age limit for some excursions that could be dangerous for those who aren’t fit and healthy.

Absolutely, I can see that some guests who are over the 65-years age limit could be fit enough to tackle the excursion safely, but it’s not intended as an insult.

Particularly in countries like the US where litigation is common, the cruise line has to draw the line somewhere.

17. It’s your fault we spent so much money!

One of the biggest mistakes you can make when you cruise is not turning off your data, and letting your phone rack up significant charges.

This customer clearly thought that the cruise line should do a better job of telling guests this, but surely that’s as much your own responsibility too?

I’ve certainly never seen a cruise line try to be shady with this, and hide the fact that connecting to mobile data while at sea can cause you to incur hefty charges.

The cruise line should not compensate people for their own mistakes.

18. Bring back a class system onboard!

One of the topics that’s always guaranteed to be controversial on a cruise is formal dining night, and whether guests should adhere to a dress code or not.

There are plenty of people who like getting dressed up for fun, and those who prefer to keep it casual and dine elsewhere.

But then there’s always the crowd you don’t just want to put their formal clothes on, but also expect others to follow the same guidelines. Apparently, it can ruin their night if they see others wearing non-formal attire.

This guest had an extreme plan of essentially bringing back a class system like you had on the old ocean liners like the Titanic. I can’t see it taking off on any cruise line, but Carnival? No chance.

19. Don’t let the riff-raff mingle with us!

Another one where people expect there to be a certain level of VIP access to parts of the ship. This guest received an invitation to a Platinum party, with the option to bring a guest.

They believe that this is dumb, and that only Platinum or Diamond guests should be allowed to attend – to the extent that they refused to invite a family member and decided they would go alone instead.

Not everyone wants to go to a party on their own, so surely having a few guests isn’t going to ruin the atmosphere, is it?

20. You expect us to dine next to the crew?

Most of the time on a cruise ship, the crew will dine away from guests, in their own dining room on the lowest decks.

But sometimes some members of the crew will be able to dine in the public areas. Not always the formal sit-down restaurants, but absolutely in the Lido buffet.

For 99.9% of cruise guests that won’t be a problem, but John did have to address the few people who wrote in to complain about it. How dare they have to sit next to the ‘help’!

21. Asking us to pay for our dinner is a cash-grab!

This guest wanted to complain about being asked to pay for their steak meal upfront, even though they fully understood the reasons – sometimes, people will book this extremely popular venue and then no-show!

I don’t understand how you can clearly grasp the reasoning – which is very valid (Carnival would lose a lot of money with an empty table of 5) – but then be insulted by being asked to pay.

Almost as if they were considering cancelling at the last minute…

Their assertion that “Nobody is OK with this” is clearly a lie because most people do pay upfront for their speciality dining.

Also, guess what – you can get a refund if you do cancel with enough notice. So it’s hardly the end of the world.

22. You aren’t spoiling us with hot chocolate!

This is another message for John where it’s not so much the content of the request, but the way that it’s made.

It’s fine for guests to ask John about Carnival expanding their hot chocolate ranges to potentially include more premium options. And yes, Ghiradelli is awesome.

But “I am telling you that Carnival needs to get on this”, and “Do the research” are just rude ways of speaking. Ask politely instead of being so shouty. It’s not assertive, it’s just not cool.

23. Why not change the itinerary to chase the sun?

Another guest who assumes that their wishes are the same as everyone else onboard. Who cares that some people have pre-paid for excursions in port, let’s just ditch it and go sail into the warmer weather!

No – that’s not how it works, and you can’t just think that everyone feels the same as you. Cruise ships have to stick to that schedule and they aren’t going to go chasing the sun.

They’ll avoid dangerous storms, but a bit of rain? Just go grab a drink in an indoor bar. There are plenty.

24. You’re making me pack a pen?!

When was the last time you heard/saw someone say “What is this BS?????????” (nine question marks…) because they were given a pencil?

This is some serious anger over something so unimportant. It feels pointless. (Pardon the pun!)

25. I hope you have a serious illness!

I had to save this one til last. What an insane comment to make!

There’s been a lot of controversy over the use of mobility scooters. Primarily it comes down to the rules that scooters can’t be left in corridors outside cabins – they need to be small enough to go into the cabin to be stored there.

A lot of mobility scooter users aren’t happy with this, but to actively wish illness or injury on someone like this is horrific. Only one person in this conversation is a disgrace, and it’s not John.

Final word

John Heald does an excellent job of handling the difficult questions and rude comments that get sent his way, and he’s got a great sense of humour.

I know that he’s made some comments before where guests have crossed the line to talk about his family, and that’s horrendous.

But when it’s just being rude to John himself, he seems to manage OK with turning it around into a joke – even if he sometimes has to let his alter-ego ‘Bob’ answer in his place.

Thankfully most people that message John aren’t quite this rude or expectant, and you can see more for yourself by following his Facebook page.

Related posts

Jenni Fielding is the founder of Cruise Mummy. She has worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and has taken over 30 cruises. Now, she helps over 1 million people per month to plan their perfect cruise holidays.

Read more about me

Even loyal cruise fans know that not every sailing goes to plan.

In fact, the most loyal cruise guests have often cruises so many times with a cruise line that they’re bound to have had the occasional bad experience.

So it’s no surprise that a group of Carnival cruise fans who are members of the VIFP loyalty program have some crazy stories to tell about their worst cruises.

Remember though that these are the loyal Carnival fans – so the cruise line must be doing enough right that these stories don’t put them off!

1. Racism from other passengers

One passenger explained how they’d experienced racism on their Carnival cruise – and that’s no doubt one of the worst experiences anyone could have onboard.

They clarified that it was racism from other passengers that spoiled their cruise, not from the crew or anything like that – which is still bad enough. To have other cruise passengers mistreating you because of your race must be horrendous.

Just to make it even worse, the person who claimed to be a victim of racism then had to argue with someone on Facebook who claimed it wasn’t racism after all – and that claims of racism are thrown around too often!

Carnival is a diverse cruise line that welcomes passengers from a lot of backgrounds and I believe that most have a great time without being the victim of racism, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen for this passenger.

2. Being exposed by automatic toilet doors!

Something completely different now, and a recurring complaint related to the public bathrooms on the newest ships in the fleet (Mardi Gras, Carnival Celebration, Carnival Jubilee).

The problem with the public bathrooms on these ships is that the doors use automatic locks… and not everyone can figure out exactly how they work!

The result is a number of people who’ve ended up getting ‘exposed’ as someone else opens the door, leading to some embarrassing situations!

A lot of people who’ve been caught have now decided they’d rather trek all the way back to their cabin even when they’re enjoying the entertainment, just to avoid the risk of having the door open on them.

Surely bathroom doors shouldn’t be this complicated?

3. Injuries

Some of the worst stories are related to injuries suffered onboard.

There are lots of different stories that people have shared, including being injured by a waiter dropping a tray onto their hand, or falling down the stairs when wearing high heels (even when not drunk).

Accidents do happen on cruises, especially when you’re around a lot of guests who might be enjoying a drink or two. Make sure you’re careful, because the medical costs onboard can be quite high!

4. Hookups gone wrong!

A couple of passengers have talked about how their cruise took a wrong turn when ‘interacting’ with other guests.

This passenger spoke about how they thought they were having a successful cruise romance until they discovered that the guy was married and that they were not swingers – the wife was less than pleased to discover what had been going on!

Suggested read: The Secret Meaning Of An Upside Down Pineapple

Carnival is a great cruise line for singles who want to meet new people either for short-term fun or long-term romance, but try to make sure you’re flirting with someone who is definitely unattached!

5. Passenger complaints about a disabled child

Carnival has a great reputation for welcoming all guests and accommodating those who have particular needs or disabilities.

It’s a shame that not all Carnival guests are quite as welcoming…

Imagine feeling so offended by a child being overwhelmed that you moan to other passengers and try to say they shouldn’t be allowed onboard!

Are cruises only for those without disabilities now? An awful experience for this passenger and I’m glad they stood up to the person complaining.

6. Hitting the drink package limit too early

If you buy the drinks package on a Carnival cruise, you can enjoy as many drinks as you like without paying for them individually.

Well, maybe not as many as you like…

There’s a limit of 15 alcoholic drinks per day, which for most people is not going to cause them any problems. 15 is quite a lot! But this passenger claimed that it spoiled their cruise because they were getting cut off by 7 pm on every day of their cruise.

Maybe pace things a little more during the day?

Suggested read: 19 Carnival Drink Package Tips

7. The Triumph fire cruise

It’s over 10 years since the Carnival Triumph’s famed ‘Poop cruise‘ and yet it’s still one of the most talked about topics when someone asks about the worst cruise ever.

It’s understandable though – it was hardly a pleasant experience.

If you don’t know about the poop cruise, what happened was the Carnival Triumph suffered an engine room fire in 2013 which took out the power, including the air conditioning. It also affected the plumbing.

This meant that the ship was stranded without propulsion, and with no working toilet system. As you can imagine, the conditions soon became unsanitary for everyone onboard.

Carnival made good by refunding everyone, paying $500 in compensation as well as offering another free cruise, but those who were onboard describe it as hell. Still, many people knew it was a one-off and have since sailed with Carnival again!

8. Hurricanes and storms

Lots of people blame hurricanes and storms for their worse cruises.

It’s understandable – you can’t control the weather, but it can completely spoil all the plans you had for a nice relaxing sailing.

Even if you don’t get rough waters, it can mean that your itinerary is completely changed at the last minute, and you might not even get to visit any ports – it could be a cruise that just has to dodge storms at sea.

Many of the people who’ve complained about stormy cruises rant about losing money, so make sure you’ve got suitable cruise travel insurance with missed port cover, especially if you’re taking a Caribbean cruise during hurricane season.

Suggested read: Here’s What Happens If There’s A Hurricane On Your Cruise

9. Party neighbours

One of the best bits of advice I always give when choosing a cabin is to make sure you’ve got other cabins directly above and below you, and on either side.

That’s because normally that will mean less noise – but not always…

There are noisy parts of the ship such as crew work areas, the pool deck or the bars, and that sound can carry through the walls or floor. But you really shouldn’t be dealing with neighbouring passengers causing a disturbance too.

If you’re having to call security every night, then security aren’t doing their job properly. Thankfully these types of story are rare!

Suggested read: The 8 Most Infuriating Cruise Habits (According to Fellow Passengers)

10. Stabilizer failures

A few people have mentioned their worst cruise experiences being when ship stabilizers failed – and it’s happened more than once.

Notable incidents have occured on several ships including Carnival Sunshine and Carnival Liberty, with the video above apparently on Carnival Legend.

It can be scary – so I can totally understand why some people would rank this as their worst experience. But it’s not like a ship is suddenly going to tip over.

I do love that the people in the restaurant thought that moving from one side of the ship to the other would help. Trust me, the weight of the people onboard a cruise ship is pretty negligible compared to the weight of the ship itself!

11. Sickness!

There’s nothing worse than getting so excited for a cruise (or indeed any type of holiday) only to lose some of it to sickness.

Lots of people have blamed the issues in 2020 for their worst cruises, but there are plenty of people who get sick on cruises at regular times too.

It’s not helped by unhygienic passengers who can’t even be bothered to wash their hands properly, or sneeze into their elbow. Basic rules!

Again, you might be able to get some money back if you’re sick on a cruise and quarantined in your cabin. Hopefully, it never happens for you but there’s always the possibility.

Suggested read: Cruise Ship Norovirus Statistics & How To Avoid Sickness

12. Breakups at sea

A breakup on holiday is awful. But it’s even worse on a cruise because you’ve no way of easily escaping each other!

Cruise breakups can happen, and there were a few people in the Carnival group who told similar stories.

Whether that’s because arguments can become fueled by booze, or just the nature of being on a ship and feeling like you can’t escape each other. Or maybe someone had a wandering eye, seeing all the people by the pool…

If you’re lucky, you might be able to pay for an additional cabin if you’re already onboard and explain your situation, but many cruises will sail sold out so if you do break up, you might be stuck together. Try to stay on each other’s good side!

13. Random food sharer

Whether or not this is worthy of being the “worst cruise ever”, I don’t know. But it’s definitely weird and a bit gross.

Having random people steal food from your plate is NOT common on cruises, don’t worry!

It’s not clear whether it was a child stealing food, or a grown woman, but either way it’s something that you should nip in the bud. Tell them no, and then feel free to go grab a new plate.

Chalk it up to a weird random experience, and try not to let it spoil your mood!

14. Accidentally flashing the crew

Are you the kind of person who lets embarrassing moments live on long in your memory?

The fact that this cruise passenger still tells the story as their worst cruise experience ever shows that it’s stuck with them – and maybe it has stuck with the crew member too!

Embarrassing moments can happen anywhere but don’t worry – you won’t typically find the crew in your cabin doing cleaning so the chances of you experiencing something like this are slim to none.

15. When EVERYTHING goes wrong!

This poor passenger!

When something goes wrong on any type of holiday, it can then feel like everything is going wrong. But I think for this passenger it really was. This isn’t a negative attitude – that’s a seriously long list of unfortunate occurrences.

It seems like they still were able to enjoy their honeymoon cruise thanks to their friends, but trust me – most cruises aren’t the catalogue of horrors that this person experienced!

16. When the cruise ends

The most common comment on that Facebook group about the worst cruise experience was that the cruise ended – and I think that shows that even bad moments can’t put off loyal cruise fans.

Plenty of people joked about how they were forced to get off the ship at the end of their itinerary and how it was unfair that they were surprised by this ‘debarkation day’ that crew were talking about.

But the fact that so many people made similar comments show that people really do enjoy being loyal to Carnival because of the great times they have onboard.

Final word

Carnival is not a cruise line for everyone. It has a lively party atmosphere, it’s very bold and loud at times (especially during deck parties), and it’s very much aimed at the American market.

But if you’re the kind of person who would fit in on a Carnival ship, there’s a good chance you may want to stay loyal – even though it’s clear that bad things do sometimes happen.

That’s the same on any cruise line though. In fact, I know there are some cruise lines where bad experiences might be more common!

Just know that most people on a Carnival cruise – or any cruise – have an amazing time, and roll with the punches if something does go wrong. It shouldn’t spoil your cruise, and if it does, there’s always the next one!

Related posts

Jenni Fielding is the founder of Cruise Mummy. She has worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and has taken over 30 cruises. Now, she helps over 1 million people per month to plan their perfect cruise holidays.

Read more about me

When you take a Carnival cruise, you may find yourself with some onboard credit to spend. And you’ll want to know what you can spend this money on.

Onboard credit may seem like free money, and in a way it is, but it still makes sense to spend it wisely to get the most value from it.

In this guide, I’ll tell you everything you need to know about onboard credit (also known as OBC). I’ll then list all of the ways you can spend it on your Carnival cruise. I’m starting with the best-value options but we’ll discuss all of them, including the ways that you’ll want to avoid.

How to get Carnival Onboard Credit

• Booking deals – If you book your cruise during a promotional period, you can get between $25 and $1000 of OBC per stateroom
• Price drops – If the price of your cruise drops after booking, you may receive the difference in OBC
• Cancelled cruises – If your cruise is cancelled and you rebook for a later date, you may be given extra OBC on top of Future Cruise Credit (FCC)
• Compensation – If something goes wrong on your cruise, such as if the ship has a technical problem, you may be given OBC by way of an apology
• Shareholders – If you own at least 100 Carnival shares (AKA CCL stock), you will receive $50 OBC on cruises of 6 days or less, $100 on cruises of 7-13 days and $250 on longer cruises
• Carnival Mastercard – When you use a Carnival credit card you’ll get Fun Points that can be converted into Carnival on board credit.
• Military – Members of the US and Canadian armed forces may get $50 OBC per stateroom when booking certain cruises

The best ways to use Carnival Onboard Credit

When it comes to spending your onboard credit, some of the things that you can spend it on are better value than others. In fact, there are some things that will cost you more to purchase if you do so using onboard credit.

So, here’s a list of things you can spend your Carnival onboard credit on, from best to worst…

1. Gratuities

You can usually use your Carnival onboard credit to pay for gratuities (tips), so long as you haven’t prepaid them before you board the ship. However, onboard credit that comes from being a Carnival shareholder can’t be applied to gratuities.

Carnival cruise gratuities are $16 per person per day for those staying in staterooms and $18 per person per day for those staying in suites.

I believe that paying gratuities is the best use of your onboard credit, as these tips are something that we all should be paying, and you don’t get any benefit from pre-paying or using another payment method aside from onboard credit.

At the end of your cruise, if you have leftover onboard credit, it will automatically be offset against any gratuities that you owe.

Here’s how much Carnival gratuities cost, per day, for each passenger aged two and over:

Suggested read: Can You Opt Out of Gratuities On A Carnival Cruise?

2. Specialty dining

You can use your Carnival onboard credit to book dining in speciality restaurants, but only if you make the reservation once you’re on board the ship. If you book dining using onboard credit, there’s a chance that your chosen restaurant might be full, so it’s best to do it as soon as you board.

Specialty dining on Carnival cruise ships costs from $6 per person for the Dr. Seuss Green Eggs and Ham Breakfast, up to $150 per person for dinner at The Chef’s Table.

If you don’t normally go for speciality dining, then perhaps you should take advantage of your free onboard credit to treat yourself to a delicious meal.

Carnival cruise speciality dining costs:

Suggested read: Carnival Cruise Menus

3. Spa access and treatments

If you never usually go to the spa on a cruise, then this could be the ideal way to treat yourself by spending any onboard credit that you have.

On Carnival cruises, you can use your onboard credit to buy a day pass to the Cloud 9 Spa for just $22, giving you access to the relaxation room, thermal suite, hydrotherapy pool, hot tubs, experience showers, steam rooms, saunas and hammam.

The spa facilities will differ depending on the ship, but each Carnival ship has a range of spa facilities for you to enjoy. You cannot book a Cloud 9 Spa pass before your cruise, only on board the ship.

The more days you book spa passes for, the cheaper it will be per day:

You can also use your onboard credit to book spa treatments like massages, body scrubs, facials, acupuncture, botox, fillers, teeth whitening, hairdressing, waxing, manicures, pedicures and eyelash treatments.

On your daily planner, you’ll probably see special offers for discounted spa treatments at certain times. While cruise spa treatments can be expensive, if you book onboard at the right time, they can actually be very good value for money. Plus, Carnival’s spa treatments are cheaper than most other cruise lines.

4. Shore excursions

If you purchase Carnival shore excursions on board your cruise ship, you can use onboard credit to pay for them. However, you must arrange these at the shore excursions desk on the ship, not online before you board.

Carnival shore excursions range in price from $14.99 per adult for a trip to the Pirates Treasure & Shipwreck Museum in St. Thomas to $799.99 per adult for a helicopter tour in Iceland.

5. Photos

On Carnival cruises, there are photographers ready to take your photo throughout the cruise – when boarding, in the dining rooms and on the deck. There’s no obligation to purchase any photos, but if you wish to, you can use your onboard credit to buy photos.

Photos are pretty reasonably priced on Carnival cruises, with prices starting at $11.99 for a small print and up to $299.99 for a package that includes a bundle of prints, a large wall canvas, digital copies and a calendar.

So, if you want to capture the memories of your special cruise forever, perhaps using some of your onboard credit on photography services would be a smart move.

6. Gift cards

Some cruisers have reported that they have been able to buy Carnival gift cards at the Cherry On Top candy store onboard Carnival cruise ships using onboard credit. This can be a way to extend your onboard credit so that you can use it towards another cruise.

Each Carnival gift card can be loaded with between $100 and $1000 and you can buy five per transaction. They have no expiration date, so you could save them for as long as you like before using them to pay for your next cruise.

People who have asked Carnival to clarify whether this is okay or not appear to have been given mixed answers about whether this onboard credit hack works. Some people have been told that onboard credit that was earned from rebooking a cancelled cruise cannot be used to buy gift cards, but other types of onboard credit such as from a price reduction or shareholders credit can.

As far as I have seen, nobody has reported being turned away from the candy shop for attempting to buy gift cards with onboard credit. So, if you want to use your onboard credit towards your next cruise, it’s probably worth a try.

You can find more info about Carnival gift cards here.

I also have this post about discounted Carnival gift cards that you may find interesting.

7. Shopping

On each Carnival cruise ship, you’ll find several shops selling souvenirs, jewellery, watches, clothes, accessories and liquor. You can use your onboard credit in any of these shops.

Purchases made at sea are tax-free, but that’s not to say that onboard shopping is any cheaper than it is ashore. Many items may still cost more because you’re essentially a captive audience so the prices of some items are inflated.

However, if you want to buy Carnival cruise souvenirs like Carnival-branded beach towels, bathrobes, t-shirts and toys, then onboard your cruise ship is the best place to do it, particularly if you have some onboard credit to spend.

Some popular souvenirs that you may be interested in include a Carnival-themed Monopoly game at $49.95, a Carnival windbreaker jacket at $39.95 or a Carnival mug at $14.95.

8. Drinks

You can use your Carnival onboard credit to pay for a Cheers drinks package or to pay for individual drinks that you charge to your onboard account. To use onboard credit for a drink package, you must wait until you’re on the ship to buy the package – you can’t use onboard credit if you buy the package before your cruise.

The downside to this is that the Cheers package is cheaper if you buy it before you board the ship. So, if you pay for it with onboard credit, it will cost you more.

So, on a seven-day cruise for two people, you would pay around $84 more if you buy your drink package on the ship with onboard credit than if you bought it in advance.

For this reason, it’s not a good idea to use your onboard credit to buy a drink package. But, if you don’t plan on getting a package and want to just pay for the drinks you have, then using your onboard credit for these would make sense.

When you receive your bill at the end of the cruise, any onboard credit you have will be automatically be offset against your bar bill.

Suggested read: Carnival Drink Package Guide

9. WiFi

You can use onboard credit to buy WiFi on a Carnival cruise, but only if you wait until you board the ship to buy it. You will save 15% if you buy the WiFi package online before you cruise, so buying internet access isn’t the best use of your onboard credit.

On a seven-day cruise, if two people wish to purchase the Premium WiFi package, you can save $46.20 by purchasing the package online ahead of time rather than waiting until you board the ship.

If you want WiFi, you should buy it before your cruise, rather than with onboard credit for the best price. The exception to this is if you only want to use WiFi for a few days, rather than the whole cruise. This is because single-day plans are only available to purchase on the ship.

10. Casino

You can use your Carnival onboard credit in the casino. There is a 3% fee to withdraw your funds at a table game, but no fee to withdraw at the slot machines.

Some people wonder if they load $500 from their onboard credit into the casino, spin the slots a few times and then cash out, thereby converting their onboard credit into cash…

The official policy is that no, you can’t do this. Only the amount that you win can be cashed out, the rest would go back onto your account as onboard credit.

But in reality, it can be possible. Just play a few spins and ask to cash out and you likely won’t have any problems. Make sure you transfer it to the slot games, and not the table games, to avoid that 3% fee.

11. Bingo

Playing Bingo on a Carnival cruise can be fun, but cruise ship bingo is generally a bit of a rip-off and there are better ways to spend your onboard credit than by buying bingo tickets.

On Carnival cruises, Bingo cards start at $10 each, although most people actually spend more than this as they get multiple cards. While in theory, you could win up to $5,000, this is very unlikely as it requires not only winning, but winning within a specified number of balls being called. The odds of this happening are tiny.

Many of the prizes at Carnival bingo aren’t cash, they’re things from the onboard shops like jewellery, spa services, free bingo cards and more onboard credit.

So, if you love bingo, sure, you can use your Carnival onboard credit to play and you’ll probably have fun. But for most people, there are better ways to spend your money on the ship.

12. Art

Most people only visit the art auctions on cruise ships for a free glass of sparkling wine. And you can bet that serious art enthusiasts and art investors wouldn’t purchase the art on a cruise ship either.

So who does buy art at cruise ship art auctions? Usually, it’s people who have no idea what they’re doing, who get caught up in the excitement after a few too many glasses of free fizz!

You see, if you do your research, you may find that many of the pieces can be purchased for a fraction of the onboard price elsewhere. Also, you won’t actually take home the art you see on the ship – you’ll be shipped an identical copy from a warehouse on land.

So, if you want to spend your Carnival onboard credit in the art auction you can, but make sure you know what you’re letting yourself in for. The price of each piece can be anywhere from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars and it’s probably not a great investment.

Things to know about Carnival’s Onboard Credit

1. There are some limitations

Carnival onboard credit can be used to purchase almost anything onboard the ship. The only things that you can’t use it for are medical expenses, additions like taxes and port fees and anything that you purchase before you board the ship.

2. You can check your balance

To access information about your onboard credit, you can refer to Carnival’s online portal or mobile app. Log into your personal account and you’ll find a dedicated section where you can view details about your remaining credit.

You may also inquire about their onboard credit at the Guest Services desk on the ship. The friendly staff members are always ready to assist and provide any necessary information regarding onboard credit balances.

3. Don’t use it? You’ll lose it!

If you don’t use your onboard credit during your cruise you will lose it. So you must spend it all before the end of the last night of your cruise to avoid wasting it.

My recommendation

If you have onboard credit to spend on your Carnival cruise, then the wisest thing to do is first to put it towards gratuities, provided that you haven’t already pre-paid those. Work out how much you expect to pay in gratuities based on the number of guests in your room, your stateroom type and the duration of your cruise. Then subtract this amount from the amount of onboard credit you have.

This will leave you with an amount of onboard credit to spend on treating yourself. The best uses for any leftover onboard credit are speciality dining, access to the spa, shore excursions and photos.

You’ll also want to bring some cash as you’ll need this for things ashore. Take a look at my next guide to work out the best amount to bring: How Much Cash To Bring On A Carnival Cruise.

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Jenni Fielding is the founder of Cruise Mummy. She has worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and has taken over 30 cruises. Now, she helps over 1 million people per month to plan their perfect cruise holidays.

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