Take The Family On A Carnival LIVE Cruise

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Take The Family On A Carnival LIVE Cruise

By Nancy Schretter

Does your family love music and cruising? Then make sure to take your family on a Carnival LIVE cruise. This exciting family vacation experience combines the best of both worlds.

Carnival LIVE cruises are a great way to enjoy live concerts by top music artists along with a great family-friendly cruise experience. On a Carnival LIVE Concert Series Cruise, guests sail out on a 3-7 night itinerary that includes popular ports of call like the Bahamas, Cozumel or Catalina Island, California. In addition to enjoying Carnival’s signature cruise experience, families also have the opportunity to enjoy a live concert with their favorite music artists in the ship’s theater.

Here are seven reasons to book a Carnival LIVE cruise for your next family vacation:

1. Exceptional Value. Carnival Cruise Lines has found a value-oriented way to combine live music concerts by top artists with an exciting cruise experience. Many other types of music cruises involve full ship charters, which can be quite expensive. Prices for those kinds of 4-night full ship charter music cruises, for example, can often start at $800 per person for an inside cabin to about $1600 per person for a balcony stateroom. Prices for a 4-night Carnival LIVE cruise, on the other hand, can start as low as about a third of that price. That’s a huge savings.

Carnival LIVE concert tickets must be added to the price of the cruise, but they’re still only $30 to $60 per person for general admission concert tickets. That’s an incredible deal, especially when compared to the price of tickets for a top artist’s concert in a regular stadium setting. Do the math: the Carnival LIVE value can’t be beat.

2. Intimate Up-Close Concert Experience. We’ve all been to concerts in huge stadiums. While the music is awesome and it’s fantastic to be there, it seems like the artists are miles away. In addition, ticket holders are also sharing their concert experience with 40,000 or more fans. The Carnival LIVE experience is completely different. The theater venue on the ship is much smaller, seating only about 900 to 1,300 people depending upon the ship. The more intimate venue also makes it much easier for performers to get out in the audience for interaction with their fans or even bring guests up on stage. The concert is held right on the ship, so there are no worries about where to go or how to get there.

Carnival LIVE concerts are 75 minutes in length and feature artists such as country music superstars Lady Antebellum, Rascal Flatts, Little Big Town, Trace Adkins, Martina McBride and more. Rock performers include Styx, Journey, Chicago and Foreigner. Solo artists are also popular, with performances by Jennifer Hudson, Olivia Newton John, Smokey Robinson and others. New artists are announced periodically as well.

3. The VIP Opportunity. Fans wanting the ultimate bucket list experience should book Carnival LIVE’s VIP package. This limited opportunity package offers fans the chance to get up close and personal with their favorite music artists. It includes a Meet and Greet session plus a photo opportunity with the band before the show; special VIP seating in the first few rows of the ship’s main show lounge; and a Carnival LIVE commemorative VIP pass. VIP packages are available for $125 to $250 per person, depending on the performers. The VIP seating alone is worth the cost. While everyone who has a ticket has a reserved seat, most people want to be close to the stage. The VIP package makes that possible with no waiting in line, plus guests have the opportunity to get that memorable once-in-a-lifetime “braggie” photo shot with their favorite artists.

4. Spending a Late Night in Port. One of the added benefits of a Carnival LIVE cruise is that the ship stays in port until 1 a.m. on the night of the concert. This is very unusual, and it allows guests to have dinner in town or head to a local bar after the show if they wish. It’s nice to sit out on the beach having drinks under swaying palm trees as the sun sets, or enjoying an authentic Mexican dinner at Pancho’s Backyard as we did in Cozumel during our Carnival LIVE sailing. These distinctive kinds of experiences make great vacation memories and add to the unique nature of the cruise.

5. Interacting With Other Fans. Carnival LIVE cruises have another major benefit: cruising and interacting with other fans. It’s fun to meet others who share the same interests. "There is an incredible energy on Carnival LIVE sailings as guests are looking forward to a terrific show with their favorite band at an incredible value," said Carnival Breeze Cruise Director Ralph Valente. "Fans tend to meet up and swap stories about their most memorable band performances."

6. It’s All So Easy. Going to a top artists’ music concert on a Carnival LIVE cruise is simple. There are no driving and parking hassles to worry about. There’s no waiting in line for tickets. Concert tickets are delivered directly to your stateroom – just like shore excursion tickets. It’s best to purchase your concert tickets as soon as you’ve booked your cruise. Popular artists can sell out quickly, one more reason to book your cruise well in advance. If concert tickets are still available at time of sailing, they can be purchased at the shore excursions desk.

7. Fun for the Whole Family. The concert experience is only a small part of a Carnival LIVE cruise vacation, though. There’s so much more to do, both onboard and off the ship. Carnival LIVE music cruises take place on ships packed with fun-filled entertainment. A Carnival LIVE cruise is great for kids. Carnival’s award-winning programs for children, tweens and teens will keep them happy from morning ‘till night. They’ll love the performances, too. While the concert is certainly the main event, there’s something for every age group on a Carnival Fun Ship.

If You Go:

For more information on the Carnival LIVE Concert Series and a complete list of the events, visit Carnival.com/CarnivalLive.
To get a better feel for the Carnival LIVE vacation experience, take a look at this Pinterest board.