If you’re looking at booking a Carnival Cruises sailing in Australia, you might be wondering whether booking a Byron Beach Club mini suite or a regular Byron Beach Club room is worth the cost. The Byron Beach Club (or Byron Bay Beach Club as some people mistakenly call it) is only on two Carnival ships – Carnival Encounter and Carnival Adventure – so it’s not something you can access overseas.

There are some differences between the Byron Beach Club experience on both these ships which we will go into below. There are loads of good reasons to book the Byron Beach Club on Carnival Encounter and the Byron Beach Club on Carnival Adventure, depending on which ship you’re sailing on. There is also one big reason you shouldn’t book a Byron Beach Club suite!

Here’s all you need to know to work out whether booking the Byron Beach Club is worth it for your next cruise on Carnival Adventure or Carnival Encounter when you’re sailing with Carnival Cruise Line Australia.

Byron Beach Club rooms at a glance

What you get when you book at Byron Beach Club room on Carnival Cruises depends on what type of room you choose. For example, if you book a five berth family suite (only on Carnival Encounter) or an eight berth family suite (on both ships), you’ll get access to the Byron Beach Club even though it is not an ‘official’ Byron Beach Club room. While there are some Byron Beach Club mini-suites, not all mini-suites have access to the Byron Beach Club. You’ll need to book the correct category of mini suite to get access so check that you’ve chosen the right mini-suite if you want to use the Byron Beach Club.

Byron Beach Club priority boarding

Byron Beach Club guests and suite guests can board the ship as soon as boarding commences. This means you can get onboard early and start your holiday before everyone else, plus you can have lunch at The Pantry or have free pizza at Trattoria before it gets too busy. We were onboard just after 11am and really enjoyed this inclusion. It is one of the best things about saying in a Byron Beach Club room.

Byron Beach Club access tips

We had a Byron Beach Club keycard that we used to get into the gated Byron Beach Club. You’ll need to scan your room key card or this access card at the gate to the Byron Beach Club to access the club’s pool deck, bars etc. An important thing to note is you have to return our Byron Beach Club keycard to guest services before you are allowed to disembark the ship. Make sure you return your passes the night before to avoid waiting in a queue to hand back your card on disembarkation day.

Byron Beach Club inclusions and more

Byron Beach Club inclusions encompass two large complimentary bottles of water, a welcome note from the hotel director, and a bottomless fruit basket. You also get two Byron Beach Club robes to use onboard but you can’t take these home. However, the best inclusion is the breakfast with extras in Angelo’s!

Byron Beach Club breakfast in Angelo’s

Byron Beach Club guests can eat breakfast in a special section of Angelo’s on deck six from 7.30am to 9.30am (7am to 9am on disembarkation day) every day. This restaurant has upmarket décor and Byron Beach Club guests can order breakfast dishes like eggs Benedict at no extra cost. I loved the avocado toast with poached eggs that was included for Byron Beach Club guests. If you want espresso style coffee, you can buy one at the Avalon Café and bring it to the restaurant with you.

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Byron Beach Club priority tender tickets

Carnival Encounter Byron Beach Club rooms and Carnival Adventure Byron Beach Club rooms get priority disembarkation and priority tender tickets when the ship arrives in port. For itineraries like Papua New Guinea which include a lot of tender ports like Alotau, Kiriwina, Kitava and the Conflict Islands, this is a huge bonus. We were on a three-night ‘cruise to nowhere’ so we didn’t need the tender tickets but this is a great perk if there are tender ports.

Byron Beach Club pool and sunloungers

The Byron Beach Club pool deck has a small pool and plenty of padded sunloungers plus several cabanas (for a fee) for families or groups of friends who want to sit together. Some loungers face towards the pool and some face the ocean. The latter offer stunning sea views and have glass panels to cut out (most of) the wind.

Two staircases lead down to the (unheated) pool and another smaller sun deck. There is a water station with a choice of chilled fruit-infused waters, but you must pay for other alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks unless you buy a drinks package. You can also order food (for a fee) from the pool deck Pizzeria or Luke’s Burger Bar via the waitstaff at the Byron Beach Club. They will collect it and bring it to your deckchair when it is ready. Nice!

We have sailed in a Byron Beach Club room on Carnival Encounter and Carnival Adventure. One important thing to know is the Byron Beach Club is better on Carnival Adventure, with an expanded private sun deck with loads of lounges and two-person cabana chairs which were free to use. We thought the staff at the Byron Beach Club on Carnival Adventure were more proactive too.

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One reason NOT to book Byron Beach Club

Here’s one reason some people may NOT want to book the Byron Beach Club. Guests of all ages booked in a Byron Beach Club cabin can access the facilities, including children of all ages. This is great if you are a parent after a good value holiday but not so great if you are a romantic couple sailing during school holidays.

If you are sailing during the school holidays, the Byron Beach Club pool deck and swimming pool will almost certainly be packed with kids. The Byron Beach Club is best avoided during busy school holiday sailings if you’re after a romantic break.

There are no Byron Beach Club amenities especially for children, but a larger Byron Beach Club room offers good value for families, particularly those who book one of the family suites, which include benefits such as complimentary laundry and an invite to a ‘Meet the Officers’ cocktail party on longer sailings.

Is the Byron Beach Club worth it? 

A Byron Beach Club room has some great benefits that are well worth the money, provided the weather is warm. If you’re sailing in the middle of winter or on an itinerary that visits chillier destinations like Hobart, you may not get as much value out of the pool deck area. That said, it’s still well worth booking the Byron Beach Club on Carnival Encounter or the Byron Beach Club on Carnival Adventure for the early embarkation and other extra perks. The only downside (for people who aren’t travelling with kids) is the Byron Beach Club isn’t adults only.

Disclosure: The writers cruised in a room with access to the Byron Beach Club on Carnival Encounter and Carnival Adventure with assistance from Carnival Cruise Lines.

Want more great cruise advice? Check out our tips for choosing the perfect cruise, cruising with grandchildren, cruising with tweens and cruising with kids of all ages, solo cruising, the best activities on Ovation of the Seas, doing a Transatlantic cruise with kids, cruising in Australia or Papua New Guinea, Iceland cruise tips, cruising on a megaship, scoring a bargain cruise fare, cruising the Mediterranean, making the most of a cruise ship kids club, luxury cruising with kids, and the Byron Beach Club on Carnival Cruises. We have also reviewed Disney Wonder, Viking Vesta, Douglas Mawson, Carnival Encounter, Celebrity Edge, Carnival Adventure, Quantum of the Seas and Ovation of the Seas, Carnival Splendor, Voyager of the Seas, Nieuw Statendam, Viking Helgrim, Pride of America, Coral Expeditions in Tasmania and the Great Barrier Reef, Celebrity Solstice, and Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth.