What’s Included vs What Costs Extra on a Carnival Cruise
The biggest budgeting mistake on a Carnival cruise is not knowing what’s free until it’s too late to use it.
First-timers pay for things that were free, miss things they already paid for, and hit their final bill with genuine surprise. None of that has to happen if you know the breakdown going in.
✅ INCLUDED IN YOUR FARE
🛏️ Accommodation
- Stateroom for the full duration of your sailing
- Daily housekeeping service (twice daily on most sailings)
- Carnival Home bedding collection
- Flat-screen TV, in-room safe
- Under-bed storage for luggage
🍽️ Dining — Included
Main Dining Room (MDR)
- Breakfast, lunch, and dinner — full multi-course service, included every day
- Sea Day Brunch on sea days — one of the best included meals on the ship
- Elegant Evening lobster tail — included in your fare, no extra charge
Lido Deck Buffet
- Open most of the day for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and late night
- Widest variety on the ship, with multiple stations running simultaneously
Free Casual Venues (ship-specific — confirm on the HUB app for your sailing)
- Guy’s Burger Joint — free all day (available on most ships)
- BlueIguana Cantina — free Mexican food, breakfast burritos and tacos
- Pizza Pirate / Pizzeria del Capitano — 24-hour pizza, free
- Soft-serve ice cream on deck — free all day (see Secret Tip #10)
- Deli — sandwiches and casual items, free (most ships)
- Guy’s Pig & Anchor Smokehouse — free at lunch on ships that carry it
- Room service continental breakfast — free (coffee, pastries, fruit, juice)
Jubilee-specific free venues:
- ChiBang! — free all sailings
- Cucina del Capitano — first visit free on the Jubilee (additional visits $8/person)
- Emeril’s Bistro 717 — à la carte pricing, some items free
- Beach Buns deli — free
- Coastal Slice pizza — free
- Street Eats (Mad Sizzle, Steam Dream, Time Fries) — free
🎭 Entertainment — Included
- Main stage production shows nightly
- Punchliner Comedy Club (early shows — late shows may require tickets on select sailings)
- Live music throughout the ship
- Dive-In Movies on deck
- Trivia, game shows, and deck parties
- Piano bar and karaoke
- Hasbro The Game Show (select ships)
🏊 Activities and Facilities — Included
- Main pools and hot tubs
- WaterWorks waterslides and splash zone
- Sports court, mini golf, ping pong
- Fitness center and gym
- Running/walking track
- Youth programs — Camp Ocean, Circle C, Club O2
- Serenity adults-only deck
- Library and card room
🥤 Beverages — Free
- Iced tea, lemonade, and filtered water at every meal and bar
- Drip coffee and hot tea in the main dining room
- Hot chocolate, select juices, and milk with meals
- Tap water at any bar always free
💰 WHAT COSTS EXTRA
🍹 Beverages
- All alcoholic drinks — cocktails approximately $12.50-$14.50 + 20% service charge
- Beer approximately $8.25-$10.25 + 20% service charge
- Wine by the glass approximately $10.75-$23.25
- Soda (individual) approximately $3.50 each
- Bottled water, energy drinks, mocktails — all extra
- Specialty coffees and espresso drinks (Starbucks, JavaBlue Cafe)
- CHEERS! Drink package: ~$83.94/day pre-purchase (20% service charge already included)
- Bottomless Bubbles soda package: ~$14.39/day for adults, ~$8.34/day for children (20% included)
🍴 Specialty Dining — Extra Charge
⚠️ Ship-specific note: Specialty restaurant availability and pricing varies by ship. Always verify on the Carnival HUB app for your specific sailing. Key differences between the Breeze and Jubilee are noted below.
Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse — $52/person base ($62.40 all-in with 20% gratuity). Available on both the Breeze (Deck 5) and the Jubilee (Deck 7). Always worth it. Book before you board. Night 1 bonus: Book for the first night of your sailing and receive one complimentary bottle of house wine per two guests, or 50% off other wines.
Cucina del Capitano:
- Carnival Jubilee: First visit free. Additional visits $8/person.
- Carnival Breeze: Approximately $18-$24/person for dinner. Not free.
JiJi Asian Kitchen — approximately $18-$24/person for dinner Available on Carnival Horizon, Panorama, Sunshine, and Vista. NOT available on the Carnival Breeze or Carnival Jubilee. Free Mongolian Wok lunch is available at JiJi on ships that carry it, but this does not apply to Galveston’s primary ships.
Bonsai Sushi — à la carte pricing (select ships) Seafood Shack — à la carte pricing (available on the Breeze and Jubilee) Chef’s Table — $124/person base ($148.80 all-in) — very limited capacity, book immediately after reservations open
💻 Technology
- Wi-Fi — Social, Value, and Premium tiers, prices vary by ship and sailing length (pre-purchase saves approximately 15%)
- Carnival HUB app messaging between passengers — approximately $5/person for the full sailing
- Phone calls via ship satellite — expensive, avoid
💆 Spa and Wellness
- Cloud 9 Spa treatments — massages, facials, hair, nail services
- Thermal suite day pass (included free if you booked a Cloud 9 Spa stateroom)
- Teeth whitening and medi-spa services
🧾 Other Charges to Know
- Daily gratuities: $17/person/day standard cabins, $19/day suites (as of April 2, 2026)
- Shore excursions — prices vary by port and type
- Casino — slots, table games, bingo
- Photographs by ship photographers
- Arcade games
- Retail shops onboard
- Laundry service (self-service laundry free on some ships — check HUB app)
- Room service items beyond continental breakfast — approximately $4-$8/item + 20% gratuity
- Medical center visits — can be very expensive; pack your own basic medications
CURRENT 2026 FEES TO BUDGET FOR
Daily Gratuities — $17/$19 Per Person Per Day
Standard cabins: $17/person/day. Suites: $19/person/day. Effective April 2, 2026.
A 7-night sailing for two adults in a standard cabin adds $238 in gratuities to your total bill. Prepay before sailing to lock in the current rate — if rates increase before your sailing, prepayment protects you.
20% Service Charge — On Every Drink, Package, and Spa Treatment
Every drink order, drink package, specialty dining charge, and spa treatment has a 20% service charge added automatically. This is not optional and not a separate tip — it’s built into every transaction.
A $12.50 cocktail actually costs $15.00. A round of four cocktails doesn’t cost $50, it costs $60. Know this before you order, and it won’t surprise you.
Wi-Fi Packages
Prices vary by ship and sailing length. Book before you sail. Onboard Wi-Fi prices are always higher than pre-purchase rates. Check Carnival.com’s Cruise Manager for your specific sailing’s current pricing.
CHEERS! Package Math
~$83.94/day pre-purchase (20% service charge already included in that price). Breaks even at roughly 5-6 paid beverages per day, depending on what you drink. If you drink fewer than that consistently, ordering individually is cheaper. See the full [CHEERS! Guide for the complete breakdown.
⭐ 12 SECRET TIPS MOST CRUISERS NEVER FIND OUT
These are the things regular cruisers know, and first-timers wish someone had told them before they boarded.
🆓 Tip 1: Specialty Restaurants Are Free at Lunch — On Ships That Have Them
On ships with JiJi Asian Kitchen (Horizon, Panorama, Sunshine, Vista), lunch service at JiJi is complimentary it operates as the Mongolian Wok with a simplified free menu.
On the Carnival Jubilee, Cucina del Capitano is free for your first visit. Additional visits are $8/person.
Important for Galveston cruisers: JiJi is NOT on the Carnival Breeze or the Carnival Jubilee. If you’re sailing the Breeze, Cucina dinner is a paid specialty restaurant. If you’re sailing the Jubilee, your first Cucina visit is free. Use it.
💰 Tip 2: Bring a Bottle of Wine Onboard
Carnival allows one 750ml bottle of wine or sparkling wine per adult over 21, in carry-on only on embarkation day. Drink it in your cabin for free. A $15 corkage fee applies if you want to bring it to a bar or restaurant. This is one of the best money-saving moves on any Carnival sailing.
💰 Tip 3: Bring Canned Sodas and Non-Alcoholic Drinks From Home
Carnival allows each guest to bring up to 12 cans or cartons (12 oz) of non-alcoholic beverages in their carry-on on embarkation day. Sodas, sparkling water, energy drinks, juice boxes, anything non-alcoholic. This can eliminate the need for Bottomless Bubbles on shorter sailings and save real money over the course of the trip.
🧭 Tip 4: The Fish on the Carpet Points Forward
Lost in a long hallway of identical cabin doors? The fish pattern in the carpet always swims toward the front of the ship. Carnival built this navigation trick into the design. Once you know it, you’ll never wander the wrong direction on a sea-day morning again.
🆓 Tip 5: Guy’s Burger and Blue Iguana Are Open Well Into the Afternoon
Guy’s Burger Joint and BlueIguana Cantina are both free and stay open long after the traditional lunch rush. Skip the buffet crowd entirely on sea day afternoons by heading to one of these instead: shorter lines, better food, no crowd.
🆓 Tip 6: Free Pastries at the Atrium Café
On many Carnival ships, the café in the atrium serves free pastries and light snacks throughout the day. It’s easy to walk past without noticing it. Find it on Day 1 it becomes your morning ritual for the rest of the sailing.
💰 Tip 7: Prepay Gratuities to Lock In the Current Rate
If Carnival raises gratuity rates between now and your sailing (they’ve increased twice in recent years), prepaying locks in whatever rate was current when you paid. Rates increased on April 2, 2026. Anyone who prepaid before that date kept the old $16/$18 rate, regardless of when they sailed. Prepay as soon as your cruise is confirmed.
🎰 Tip 8: The Casino Offers Free Play and Drink Deals
The casino often runs free play promotions and offers discounted or complimentary drinks to active players. If you enjoy the casino, ask the casino host about player perks — they don’t advertise them prominently. This is one of those things that regulars know, and first-timers miss entirely.
💰 Tip 9: Book Wi-Fi and Excursions Before You Board
Wi-Fi packages and shore excursions booked through Carnival.com before sailing are always cheaper than buying them onboard. Prices go up the moment you step on the ship. Book early and save real money especially on Wi-Fi, where the pre-purchase discount is approximately 15%.
🆓 Tip 10: Free Soft-Serve Ice Cream All Day
The soft-serve ice cream machines near the pool are free and available all day. It’s one of those quiet joys that surprisingly many people cruise for years without discovering. Find the machine on Day 1.
🏊 Tip 11: Get in the Pool on Embarkation Day
The pools, hot tubs, and waterslides are open as soon as you board on embarkation day. Wear your swimsuit on the way to the ship. While everyone else fights the buffet, you’ll already be in the water; the pool is at its least crowded of the entire sailing during embarkation afternoon.
🍽️ Tip 12: The MDR Will Accommodate Almost Any Request
The main dining room kitchen will make almost anything off-menu if you ask your waiter the night before. Dietary needs, simple substitutions, off-menu desserts, special preparations building a relationship with your waiter pays off every night of the sailing. Ask on Night 1, not Night 6.
FROM THE GALVESTON CRUISE GUY
The biggest budgeting mistake on a Carnival cruise is not knowing what’s free until it’s too late to use it. Specialty restaurants free at lunch on the right ships, canned drinks from home, bring your wine, soft-serve all day, pool open on embarkation day — none of this is advertised loudly.
The 20% service charge on every drink is the other thing that catches people off guard. A round of four cocktails doesn’t cost $50, it costs $60. Know that going in.
Prepay your gratuities, pre-book Wi-Fi and excursions, and spend the savings on things that actually create memories.
Questions about budgeting for your Galveston sailing? That’s exactly what I’m here for.
READY TO BOOK?
I’m Jerry Robertson — Galveston Cruise Guy and Certified Diamond Carnival travel agent. I help clients understand exactly what they’re getting before they board.
📞 210-460-3344