Cruising With Carnival in Europe vs the USA – Here’s What Surprised Me

I’ve cruised with Carnival from both the US and Europe now, and to be honest, I wasn’t expecting the differences to be quite so big.

It’s still the same brand, the same ships, and the same slightly chaotic fun, but my European Carnival Cruise felt very different from my American one.

Here’s what I noticed:

1. Embarkation

When I embarked in the US, the embarkation was fun and it felt like the start of the cruise. It really made me excited to get onboard. It was a bit chaotic, but not in a bad way.

Do keep in mind I embarked my USA Carnival cruise in New York.

It was very different in Europe. I cruised from Lisbon, Portugal, and the embarkation took three hours!

It wasn’t chaotic like the US. It was just slow. The terminal wasn’t set up for big crowds, and things seemed to take forever.

Oddly enough, though, the passengers were mostly still American. Just with a slightly more “we’re tired from our flight” energy.

Unfortunately, some of the American passengers didn’t seem to have all their paperwork in order, and this led to delays.

The sun was shining, and it was a beautiful day. I just didn’t want to be stood out in the sun for hours, when the queue/line seemed to be hardly moving.

It really wasn’t the best start to the trip. I was tired and hungry when I eventually got onboard.

2. The Onboard Atmosphere

Carnival cruises in the US are loud.

There will be poolside contests, loud party music, and people walking around with giant cocktails at 10 a.m. It’s fun, but it’s quite full-on.

In Europe, it felt way more chilled. There was still entertainment and music, but it didn’t feel as “in-your-face”.

The evenings were quieter and I didn’t see a single conga line or belly flop!

3. Passenger Ages

Caribbean cruises with Carnival usually have loads of young people, couples, friend groups, families with kids etc.

The European cruise definitely had an older passenger demographic. The average age was probably 20 or so years older and I only saw a couple of kids.

4. Cruise Lengths

I think this plays a big part.

In the US, Carnival offers loads of short cruises – 3, 4, 5 nights to the Bahamas or Caribbean. They’re quick, cheap, and full of people squeezing in a mini holiday.

You don’t really get those in Europe. My seven-night cruise attracted a very different crowd. People were more focused on the ports, and it felt less like a floating party.

Many people I spoke to were taking back-to-back cruises. Some were going to be onboard for many weeks.

5. The Itineraries

This one’s a biggie. US cruises often go to beachy ports, think Cozumel, Nassau, Grand Turk.

European cruises are packed with history and proper sightseeing. We stopped at places where people were literally running off the ship to see as much of the port city as possible.

No one stayed onboard to get drunk by the pool. After 8 hours of walking and sightseeing, many people were too tired to party that hard in the evening!

I took a Carnival cruise from New York to Canada – it wasn’t one of the Carnival Caribbean party cruises you hear about.

Have a look at how I got on here:

Which Should You Choose?

I wouldn’t say one’s better than the other, it totally depends on what kind of cruise you want.

• If you’re up for a loud, fun, drinks-flowing, pool-party kind of trip? You should try a Carnival ship in the USA.
• Europe might be a better fit if you want interesting ports, a bit of culture, and a slightly calmer atmosphere.

Similar ships, same company, two completely different cruise experiences!

Before You Go

Have a look at everything I ate on my U.S. Carnival cruise here:

Carnival Cruise Review – (Food, Ship, Entertainment and More)

All Carnival ships have distinctive funnel wings. Find out why here:

Some Cruise Ship Funnels Have Wings, The Truth Behind Why