Key Aspects:
- A guest has complained that Carnival Cruise Line’s evening activities start too late and don’t permit a good night’s sleep at a decent bedtime.
- Brand ambassador John Heald offered a poll that shows great diversity for the bedtime question.
- Guests offered many explanations for different bedtime preferences and ways to customize one’s evening cruise schedule.
Carnival Cruise Line just can’t seem to strike that perfect balance of activities and entertainment to please everyone. Now, a cruiser is complaining that there is too much going on too late in the evening.
This follows just days after another guest reached out to Heald that there wasn’t enough to do while ships were in port.
This latest complaint alleges not that there isn’t enough to do, but that evening activities actually start too late.
“We are in our early 40s. Is Carnival aware that these days people of our age group think they’re going to bed at a reasonable hour and getting a good night? Sleep is one of life’s great pleasure[s]. At 10 p.m. bedtime is perfect,” the guest explained.
“This includes when we cruise. Everything, dinner, shows, and all the events need to start at least two or three hours earlier than they currently do.”
I’m not sure what the guests’ ages have to do with their preferred scheduling, but it is true that health-conscious individuals (of any age) are becoming more and more aware of the benefits of sufficient, restful sleep.
I happen to be in my late 40s, and I do find it very easy to get a good night’s sleep onboard a cruise ship, no matter what bedtime you prefer.
Whether the “perfect” bedtime is 10 p.m., 8 p.m., or 2 a.m. is irrelevant. Furthermore, everyone has different sleep needs and preferences, as well as different plans for the next morning that might impact when they choose to go to bed the night before.
The real difficulty is the guest’s suggestion that everything needs to “start at least two or three hours earlier” in the evening.
Consider the early dining time, which can be as early as 5 p.m. Does this mean some cruisers should be assigned to a dinner time of 3 p.m. or even 2 p.m.? I prefer early dining myself, but this would be far too extreme.
Furthermore, many signature evening events, such as production shows or comedy performances, do tend to have both an early and a late option. This lets guests customize their scheduling to suit whatever bedtime they may prefer.
Heald didn’t respond directly to the guest’s suggestion, but he did include their comment on his daily poll.
Roughly 2,150 other guests agreed that activities ought to start earlier in the evening. To be fair, I do occasionally miss out on later evening activities because I might be too tired to bother staying up. Maybe that’s the difference between early 40s and late 40s.
Read Also: How to Sleep Well During Your Cruise
There were, however, more than 9,200 guests who firmly voted for “I am not usually in bed on my cruise by 10 p.m.”
Clearly, this particular guest is not representing everyone’s bedtime or evening schedule preferences, though Heald did not delineate poll options by age group.
How Flexible Are Evening Activities on Carnival Ships?
While it’s true that there are more than a few late-night activities onboard, including comedy shows, deck parties, nightclub events, and Playlist Productions, Carnival already offers great scheduling flexibility.
Plus, many guests comment that they enjoy changing up their vacation schedule.
“If there’s something going on that I wanna do I’m up after 10, sometimes I’m exhausted and I’m in bed by 9,” one guest commented.
“Our day ends when it ends. Sometimes it’s 10 pm, sometimes it’s closer to 12. It’s a vacation, and we are go-with-the-flow people on cruises,” another explained.
Many other cruisers noted things like personal circadian rhythms, families with young children having earlier bedtimes, or second and third shift workers being used to later evenings, all influencing bedtime preferences.
And, frankly, there’s always time for a nap onboard if you need to catch up on your sleep!
