Carnival, the Fun Ship family line, trials its first adults only cruise

• Carnival is going to run an adults-only cruise on Carnival Magic.
• This comes at a time when many cruisers have been calling for adults-only options as they grow tired of kids misbehaving on ships.
• Could this be Carnival piloting adults-only cruises for a large roll-out across the fleet? US commentators think so.

At a time when the discussion about poorly behaved children has become a hot topic across the cruise community, Carnival, the line which operates family “Fun Ships”, appears to be floating a possible solution: Don’t let them onboard. 

A cruise on Carnival Magic has been changed to an adults-only itinerary, a surprising move for a cruise line that bases itself around fun for the whole family. 

While this cruise, billed to sail in November, was designated as a special Casino Event cruise, it was sold as a family cruise, and many families had already booked.

Reservations with guests who are under 21 will be cancelled, refunded or given alternative options, an unprecedented move by Carnival. Now, everyone on board will need to be 21 or over.

While it’s not completely clear if this could be a one-off Casino promotion, Carnival hasn’t offered adults-only voyages like this in the past and some prominent industry sources are suggesting it could be a pilot for more adults-only cruises.

Cruise News Today says that they received a tip from a customer who was booked with their family on this particular cruise, that a Carnival vacation planner told them this cruise would be a “test” for Carnival. Could it be a trial run for adults-only cruises.

Many cruisers in the past who enjoy the big ship and activity-focused offerings of Royal Caribbean and Carnival, but not so much the sharing of their vacation with young children all over the ship, will now have their chance to experience a Carnival ship without children on board whatsoever. 

Aside from the confused families that already had children booked onto this cruise, it raises the larger question as to whether Carnival is piloting this as the start of more adults-only cruising, and whether this move has been made in response to the growing debate of what to do with misbehaving kids on cruise ships.

While it’s difficult to imagine a Carnival Cruise without kids onboard, this cruise will seemingly test what it might look like. Kids clubs won’t have a soul in sight, and bars and nightclubs, and of course the casino, will likely be more full. 

Is this a response to poor behaviour on ships?

Misbehaving kids on cruise ships has long been discussed and debated amongst cruisers, many feeling it affects their experience, and 70% of them blame it on bad parenting. 

The complaints have grown, with a Carnival Cruises passenger recently beaten unconscious after an unfavourable interaction with some younger passengers onboard. 

While kids running around and causing some degree of mischief is an accepted part of a cruise, many cruisers have called for either better controlling mechanisms from cruise lines, such as curfews and tracking devices, or alternative options for those who want to cruise without the madness. 

This latest move by Carnival could be signalling that their looking towards the latter, and could be looking to create an option for those who want to enjoy all the benefits and amenities of a Carnival ship, but don’t travel with young kids, or want to share the ship with families who have young kids. 

For example, many adults may enjoy the more party-centric experience of a Carnival ship, which isn’t quite replicated by less family-friendly cruise lines, but don’t want to have to share spaces such as pools, hot tubs and dining venues with young children.

Adults-only cruising would be a way for Carnival to keep unhappy passengers from jumping ship to other cruise lines such as Celebrity Cruises or Princess Cruises, which don’t have so many families onboard.

Carnival has appeared to be edging towards something like this in recent years, for example, they have been banning kids from hot tubs in some areas, building an adults-only private Bahamas destination and implementing a kids curfew of 1 am on ships. Adults-only cruising could be the next step forward. 

Competition for Virgin Voyages?

In the last few years, we’ve seen the foundation of Virgin Voyages, a project of Richard Branson. 

The key selling point for Virgin Voyages has been it’s adults-only, offering a big-ship cruising experience, but without any children onboard.

This also allows the line to have more risque or adult-focused entertainment, dedicate more space on board to offerings aimed at adults and create a more sophisticated, yet still exciting and action-packed experience. 

However, Virgin Voyages does come in a few pricing tiers higher than a Carnival cruise, meaning those on a lower budget aren’t able to have that adult only experience. 

If Carnival was to start offering cruises like this as well, at their usual prices, this would surely be a hugely popular offering, as it would put adults-only cruising in reach for many more cruisers.