Disney Cruise vs. Carnival

[RedxPanda]

We live close to PC, and I have looked into a Carnival Dream cruise because I can spend less than an 11C on Fantasy, for a Spa level room! That's this and next years prices. Instead, we booked out of Miami. Both Miami and Galveston have reasonable prices. Have you looked at those? It's not the Dream/Fantasy, but it's still DCL.

I'm waiting for 2014 prices to come out and I plan on snagging opening prices for a 7 night on Fantasy, assuming I can get a price that is as reasonable as my upcoming cruise and first cruise earlier this year. Both our cruises were around $300 per night. no discounts, just regular fares.

Edit: I forgot to add that I sailed Carnival in 2006, and the ships are very Vegas Resort and Casino-esque. I like Vegas and if I want that, I'll go to Vegas. But, If the itinerary/port times are better on Carnival Dream vs Fantasy, I might have to think about it.

 

[MatthewsMommy]

I have cruised on Carnival, RCCL, NCL, Celebrity and Costa, and we are going on our first Disney cruise in Feb 2013. I booked early and feel I got a great price for President's Week! I've always wanted to try Disney! DH wanted to go on RCCL Allure or Oasis, but Disney was cheaper that week for a comparable cabin .

I agree with others who have said if you haven't cruised before, then Carnival should be fine. I recommend a newer ship for 7+ days as opposed to older ships with shorter itineraries. I have never experienced the party ship vibe that so many talk about on any cruise. We have gone with Carnival more often than other lines because of the value so we can cruise more often . Carnival ships are a bit Vegas in their design and shows, but we do enjoy the shows. We are not smokers and I cannot stand the smell, but have only found the casinos (on all other lines) to be smoky with NCL being the worst. It just depends on when you go and how many smokers are there. I'm not much of a gambler, but will be saving that $ since Disney doesn't have a casino. Also, if you have a Disney Visa, you can use your rewards towards the cost of the trip or towards your onboard account. I should have enough in rewards to use to pay off the onboard account by then! So all in all, our upcoming DCL cruise should cost less than other trips.

Also, Carnival's private island Half Moon Cay is absolutely beautiful!!

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

I have taken two Carnival cruises in just over the past year. The first was last Easter on the Dream with DH and our two DDs. We traveled with extended family and did the Western Caribbean. The ship was full of families (since it was Easter week), the food and service were very good, and the cabins were very nice. We were able to book two connecting balcony cabins for less than one balcony cabin on DCL. The kids loved the water slides and the warm chocolate melting cake every evening in the MDR. The lunch buffet had a pasta bar, a burrito station, sushi, and the usual buffet fare. Excursions were well-run for the most part. We all had a great time. There was smoking in the casino, but we could avoid going through there with the kids. It was not a drunken party boat.

What we didn't like - the shows were terrible, and even though Carnival said they were PG, they were not appropriate for our kids. Skimpy costumes and suggestive dancing, but also just BAD dancing. We didn't like the smoking on one side of the pool deck - we would be standing at one of the restaurants by the pool and people would be sitting at nearby tables smoking. We could go to the other side to eat, but we had to endure while we got our food.

I also took a 3 night cruise in March with some girlfriends. The ship was older and very purple with lots of neon. The food was not good at all (except the warm chocolate melting cake ), and the ship had fewer activities and restaurant choices compared to the newer ships. We hung out in the adult area and had fun, but I would never want to take my kids on that cruise. People were drunk early and often, and we heard lots of cussing and discussions that I wouldn't want my kids to overhear. We had drunk people outside our stateroom door every night. There were some families, but it was mainly a party cruise. Service was good, except the one very attentive waiter who kept hitting on my (married) friend!

If you book a 7 night cruise during a school holiday on a newer ship, you will probably have a great time. If you book a 3-night cruise pretty much anytime, but especially during Spring Break, you will probably find a party boat.

For us, Disney ships are classier, and the shows can be seen and enjoyed by the whole family. The service on the Carnival Dream was comparable to the Disney service - I have no complaints about either.

 

[CinderellaKayla]

reading all of this was great for me because i graduate college in december and i had been looking into cruises!

 

[declansdad]

Carnival ships are very different from DCL. cCarnival are basicly, grudy, las vegas type floating buses. DCL have a much more classic feel to them, like the liners from the 1st part of the 20th. century. The interiors are art deco and that other french type, the name of which just went out of my head.

The DCL cruises are very different from most other lines they do *the disney exprience* and only Disney can do that.

DCL does have discounts and especailly at the times of year when schools are in session are cheaper. However in the long run Carnival was will be cheaper and you get what you pay for.

As others have said.....Carnival does often have a big drinking crowd, if your into that.....great!.. We enjoy a drink or 2 or even 3...but not the drunken crowds we saw on 2 carnival cruises.

Carnival has a safety issue of the last few years.

As you can guess we love DCL, but enjoy other lines like RCCL. IMHO, I would not sail carnival,..ever!, but RCCL does have better prices then DCL and offer a good criuse!

Which ever you go on!.....enjoy the one you pick and wait until to try the others before you compare !


AKK

floating buses - your opinion, I don't agree. They are not built looking like the classic trans-atlantic ocean liners but they are far from busses.


As others have said.....Carnival does often have a big drinking crowd, if your into that.....great!.. We enjoy a drink or 2 or even 3...but not the drunken crowds we saw on 2 carnival cruises. And others have said this is not the case.

 

[loveysbydesign]

I have taken two Carnival cruises in just over the past year. The first was last Easter on the Dream with DH and our two DDs. We traveled with extended family and did the Western Caribbean. The ship was full of families (since it was Easter week), the food and service were very good, and the cabins were very nice. We were able to book two connecting balcony cabins for less than one balcony cabin on DCL. The kids loved the water slides and the warm chocolate melting cake every evening in the MDR. The lunch buffet had a pasta bar, a burrito station, sushi, and the usual buffet fare. Excursions were well-run for the most part. We all had a great time. There was smoking in the casino, but we could avoid going through there with the kids. It was not a drunken party boat.

What we didn't like - the shows were terrible, and even though Carnival said they were PG, they were not appropriate for our kids. Skimpy costumes and suggestive dancing, but also just BAD dancing. We didn't like the smoking on one side of the pool deck - we would be standing at one of the restaurants by the pool and people would be sitting at nearby tables smoking. We could go to the other side to eat, but we had to endure while we got our food.

I also took a 3 night cruise in March with some girlfriends. The ship was older and very purple with lots of neon. The food was not good at all (except the warm chocolate melting cake ), and the ship had fewer activities and restaurant choices compared to the newer ships. We hung out in the adult area and had fun, but I would never want to take my kids on that cruise. People were drunk early and often, and we heard lots of cussing and discussions that I wouldn't want my kids to overhear. We had drunk people outside our stateroom door every night. There were some families, but it was mainly a party cruise. Service was good, except the one very attentive waiter who kept hitting on my (married) friend!

If you book a 7 night cruise during a school holiday on a newer ship, you will probably have a great time. If you book a 3-night cruise pretty much anytime, but especially during Spring Break, you will probably find a party boat.

For us, Disney ships are classier, and the shows can be seen and enjoyed by the whole family. The service on the Carnival Dream was comparable to the Disney service - I have no complaints about either.

We are looking at booking the Carnival Dream as well, thanks for your minireview! I'm hoping if we do the Dream we will be more relaxed as on the Disney cruise we ran around trying to do as much as we could So if the shows stink we'll skip them and that's more relaxation time and less rushing!

 

[eggroll]

Well that seals it right there. I have a ZERO tolerance for being indoors (or outdoors, so verandahs are out too) with smoke. We wouldn't do the casino so I don't care about that. But if people are allowed to smoke in the cabins, that would be a NO GO for us.

Thank you for bringing that up because I think that would be a deal breaker on ANY cruise line!

I just got off the carnival magic. You can smoke in part of the casino and your veranda. You cannot smoke in your room. Also, the pool areas have certain spots you can.

 

[Bonniec]

Regarding price, I have compared a few cruise lines and yes Disney is more, but it's not a LOT more which is what it looks like at first glance. The Disney site shows you the taxes and gov't fees in the price, most of the others don't. Also, the others have a lot of hidden fees like having to add on soda packages and such. When I priced it out, Carnival was still cheaper but not by huge figures. Royal Carribean was pretty close, maybe slightly under.

Carnival I completely decided not to use, partly for the party reputation (though I've read it's not that bad), but also...they are bugging me to death! lol I filled out a form for more info and they have been ringing my house twice a day despite me telling them no.

Royal Carribean looks good to me, but I've only really looked hard at the two biggest ships (which were more than Disney) and they look like shopping malls to me. I dunno, it just didn't call to me.

I plan to sail Disney at least twice, once on a smaller ship and once on a bigger. Aftr that, I will likely try Royal Carribean or something else and head to Europe. Unless the 2014 itenerary looks really good. 14 day cruises are too long for me.

 

[eggroll]

Good point, I never thought about the drinking either. DH and I are craft beer drinkers and our kids go to breweries and stuff so that does bother me. If people are being responsible about it I don't mind our kids being around it. However...I hadn't thought about how other people traveling without kids might be getting their party on! (Which, of course, is their right to do...just something for us to consider.)

If you are beer drinker that carnival red frog pub was awesome.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

floating buses - your opinion, I don't agree. They are not built looking like the classic trans-atlantic ocean liners but they are far from busses.


As others have said.....Carnival does often have a big drinking crowd, if your into that.....great!.. We enjoy a drink or 2 or even 3...but not the drunken crowds we saw on 2 carnival cruises. And others have said this is not the case.

Everyone has there opinions on style and lines of a ship.. almost all carnival line vessels are boxy, square biult bus looking, las vegas chrome and glass as others here have stated, I disagree with you.

As to the drunks, others have agreed there are drunks and alot of parting ...........other have not. I never said every ship on every cruise is a drunk party.......but my 2 criusres of getting woke up every night will drunks bouncing off the bulkheads and U tubes videos will back my statements.

AKK

 

[CajunMomof3]

I am really looking forward to our DCL cruise as we are big Disney nuts but you have to keep in mind that you are on a Disney Discussion Board and you will not here many people tell you it isn't worth it. And there are some who will tell you that only the worst classes of people will cruise Carnival.

Good point- but I talk Disney to just about everyone, and the opinions I was referring to were from people I met out and about. I have talked to 4 parents at my kids' new school who swear by DCL. I am anxious to try it out for myself but have concerns about cruising with DS who has autism.

 

[Itinkso]

Good point- but I talk Disney to just about everyone, and the opinions I was referring to were from people I met out and about. I have talked to 4 parents at my kids' new school who swear by DCL. I am anxious to try it out for myself but have concerns about cruising with DS who has autism.

If your son and family are capable of having great experiences at WDW and Disneyland, then a DCL cruise would be similar. I have spent over thirty years working with students with autism as a speech therapist and would never discourage anyone from traveling with their child with autism. There are a lot of threads that address the food issues if that's one of your concerns. Many people bring pre-packaged foods onboard that are favored by their child. If you and your family love Disney and if the cruise fits in your budget, go for it!

 

[darwinsrule]

Good point, I never thought about the drinking either. DH and I are craft beer drinkers and our kids go to breweries and stuff so that does bother me. If people are being responsible about it I don't mind our kids being around it. However...I hadn't thought about how other people traveling without kids might be getting their party on! (Which, of course, is their right to do...just something for us to consider.)

We just got back from our first non-DCL cruise - 7 night NCL to Bermuda. Loved Bermuda. Happily go back in a second. Will try something else beyond NCL. Smoking on the top deck was problematic (DD 4 has had too many visits to the hospital with breathing issue). Like you I enjoy craft beer but drinking for drinking sake was a phase I grew out of after university. The kid's pool was full of parents sitting around with buckets, yes buckets, of beer (just doesn't seem appropriate in a kids area).

We went in not expecting DCL and our expectations were 'low' by our standards. Everything was okay, nothing (service, food, shows) wow'd us and left us wanting more. DCL? We have two cruises booked next year. What does that tell you? Would I do Carnival after trying NCL? No. Would I do NCL again? For the right itinerary and ship, maybe.

Now if Disney ever did Bermuda I don't care what premium they put on it, we will be there.

 

[CajunMomof3]

If your son and family are capable of having great experiences at WDW and Disneyland, then a DCL cruise would be similar. I have spent over thirty years working with students with autism as a speech therapist and would never discourage anyone from traveling with their child with autism. There are a lot of threads that address the food issues if that's one of your concerns. Many people bring pre-packaged foods onboard that are favored by their child. If you and your family love Disney and if the cruise fits in your budget, go for it!

We travel a lot and Disney has been wonderful for us as a family. But there is always the backup of going home if he is not coping. That is my concern with a cruise. No backup plan... But we have decided that a Disney cruise is probably our best bet for success.

And thanks for your efforts at helping kids communicate with the world around them!

 

[TXDCLfan]

Everyone has there opinions on style and lines of a ship.. almost all carnival line vessels are boxy, square biult bus looking, las vegas chrome and glass as others here have stated, I disagree with you.

As to the drunks, others have agreed there are drunks and alot of parting ...........other have not. I never said every ship on every cruise is a drunk party.......but my 2 criusres of getting woke up every night will drunks bouncing off the bulkheads and U tubes videos will back my statements.

AKK

I think you are confusing Carnival with the Royal Caribbean ships

 

[Itinkso]

We travel a lot and Disney has been wonderful for us as a family. But there is always the backup of going home if he is not coping. That is my concern with a cruise. No backup plan... But we have decided that a Disney cruise is probably our best bet for success.

And thanks for your efforts at helping kids communicate with the world around them!

You're welcome! I would suggest getting the DVD planning guide and watching the online videos http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/. There are also a lot of YouTube videos of cabins etc that your son can watch so that your stateroom and the ship will "look" familiar to him! Have a great time planning and cruising!

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

I think you are confusing Carnival with the Royal Caribbean ships

NO I am not, but your point is taken, many cruise ships today are biult boxy and bus like to reduce biulding costs and increase the cabin count, so in a way your right to include some RCCL vessels if you wish.

But I fail to see the laughing part??

AKK

 

[shoediva]

I have cruised on Carnival, RCCL, NCL, Celebrity and Costa, and we are going on our first Disney cruise in Feb 2013. I booked early and feel I got a great price for President's Week! I've always wanted to try Disney! DH wanted to go on RCCL Allure or Oasis, but Disney was cheaper that week for a comparable cabin .

I agree with others who have said if you haven't cruised before, then Carnival should be fine. I recommend a newer ship for 7+ days as opposed to older ships with shorter itineraries. I have never experienced the party ship vibe that so many talk about on any cruise. We have gone with Carnival more often than other lines because of the value so we can cruise more often . Carnival ships are a bit Vegas in their design and shows, but we do enjoy the shows. We are not smokers and I cannot stand the smell, but have only found the casinos (on all other lines) to be smoky with NCL being the worst. It just depends on when you go and how many smokers are there. I'm not much of a gambler, but will be saving that $ since Disney doesn't have a casino. Also, if you have a Disney Visa, you can use your rewards towards the cost of the trip or towards your onboard account. I should have enough in rewards to use to pay off the onboard account by then! So all in all, our upcoming DCL cruise should cost less than other trips.

Also, Carnival's private island Half Moon Cay is absolutely beautiful!!

I have also cruised RCL and CCL. We have a Disney cruise(4 day inside) booked for April 2013, and then another on CCL in Aug 2013 (8 day s. Carib -balcony), which is 300 more. So Disney is a bit more expensive, I don't agree that its a floating drunk tank. You have to decide and see for yourself if Disney is worth it to you, just like I will after my cruise in April.

Oh and Half Moon Cay is beautiful!!!!!!!!!!

 

[angelinaxox]

A great experience can be had on any cruise ship for any cruiseline. I have been on 6 Carnival, 5 RCCL with number 6 scheduled for next year, 4 Princess, 4 NCL, 2 Disney and one Celebrity. My cruises have ranged from a 3 night DCL cruise to several 14 night Princess cruises. My itineraries have included the Caribbean, Bahamas, Canada, Alaska, Hawaii, Mexican Riviera, the Mediterranean, the Baltic Sea, and British Isles.

At no time do I compare any of the other cruiselines to Disney as to me I do Disney in order to have a Disney experience and not really for the itinerary. I like all the cruiselines for different reasons and the truth is there are pluses and minuses with all of them including Disney. The food to me is pretty much about the same on all of them. I truly love a Disney experience, but I can go on a couple of Carnival cruises for the price of a Disney cruise and since I like to cruise a lot, I'm more likely to go for the cheaper cruise. I rarely drink on a cruise and I sail Carnival. I honestly don't see any more drinking on a Carnival ship as I do other cruiselines.

A cruise is what you make of it. No two ships and no two cruise experiences will ever be the same, even on the same ship (variety/number of cruise activities, cruise staff, food, etc. all change). You can't judge a whole cruiseline by one ship and by one cruise experience. For me when I am looking up a ship online, I look to see how well-maintained it is as I've been on a few that weren't maintained and didn't care for them; I have been on a ship both when it was new and when it was old and loved it much more when it was new. I really like how when I'm on a Princess ship they are always cleaning/polishing it up. I love the beautiful RCCL Jewel of the Seas which I went on in April and it kind of made the DCL Magic which I went on in August look old. Btw, one of my favorite ships is the Carnival Glory, it is not gaudy or Las Vegas looking at all, and it is well-maintained. I've been on that ship twice to Canada and would say both times there was a nice group of passengers.

I've been cruising since I was 14 and my first ship I would still consider one of my favorite cruises (and one of the best food experiences I've had on any cruise), the NCL Starward which was under 20,000 tons. Cruising has changed a lot since then, some changes I've liked for the better and others not so much. But I don't think you can beat a cruise and so I will continue to keep on cruising regardless of the cruiseline.

If having a Disney experience when you travel is a must, then save for the Disney cruise. If having just a good cruise experience is all you want, then it can be found on any ship with any cruiseline. Figure out what you are most interested in (such as length of cruise, itinerary, cost, size of ship, "freestyle" vs. set time dining, ship features such as a skating rink, room size, age of ship, etc.), and then pick a cruise that seems to fit what you are looking for.

Have fun no matter what you choose.

 

[CajunMomof3]

You're welcome! I would suggest getting the DVD planning guide and watching the online videos http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/. There are also a lot of YouTube videos of cabins etc that your son can watch so that your stateroom and the ship will "look" familiar to him! Have a great time planning and cruising!

Will do. Thanks!!