Carnival Cruise lines

[declansdad]

I am just repeating what I was told by both the cruise line and others that have been. And with Disney, you don't pay for sodas. We also don't like having casinos on the ship, so Disney is a good choice for us.

As for prices, there are many, many ways to lower the prices. Disney quite often offers various discounts.

You shouldn't repeat everything you have been told without finding out if it is actually true.

 

[happygirl]

I have another question. How early do we need to get there to check in.

 

[princesspumpkin]

I have another question. How early do we need to get there to check in.

My last cruise said that boarding started around noon. We got there around 10:30, to beat the crowd, and walked right on. That won't always happen (one time the previous cruise hadn't even finished disembarking all of their passengers until close to 10).

 

[scdak]

The bad about Carnival and really most cruise lines, except Disney is that they nickel and fine you.

Carnival is apparently one of the worry offenders. They apparently charge for ice cream, sodas (even with dinner), even room service.

They aren't the worst though, I just read about one line (I forget which) that everything, except your room is extra (including food).

No charge for ice cream and frozen yogurt, no charge for food from room service either. I have gone on many of my cruises and never spent a penny once I got on board except my tips at the end of the cruise, I just know that I won't drink soda while on board and I don't have to go to the casino, play Bingo, buy pictures, shop in the stores on board etc. Those cruises were in my early cruising life, now I dont bat an eye when I get my Sail and Sign bill since I will remember what a great time I had Within 24 hours of arrival home I will have already scoped out cruise plans for my annual February cruise for the next year! 15 days and counting until #23 with Carnival, sailing out of Nawlin's and can't wait to start booking #24!

 

[IheartMickey]

And if you don't want to pay for soda most cruise lines will let you bring cases onboard.

 

[Ephany]

Thank you everyone We just booked our first cruise out of Jacksonville. We are so excited!!

We've done two DCL cruises and loved them, but DH and I are seriously considering Carnival out of Jax next fall. It's a short drive and our friends had a great time when they took a cruise in December. Their children loved, loved, loved the kids club. They generally do not like to be away from Mom and Dad at all, but this time, they couldn't wait to leave the grown-ups behind.

 

[happygirl]

We've done two DCL cruises and loved them, but DH and I are seriously considering Carnival out of Jax next fall. It's a short drive and our friends had a great time when they took a cruise in December. Their children loved, loved, loved the kids club. They generally do not like to be away from Mom and Dad at all, but this time, they couldn't wait to leave the grown-ups behind.

Thanks, I h ope my kids like the kids club

 

[luv4u859]

Please tell me the good and bad about them

took my first cruise on carnival's imagination last year in november and had the best time ever, the shows, the parties on the lido deck, the food, even the freaking beds were comfy.

only 2 things that did not go great during the cruise, our excursion in nassau was cancelled, but it wasn't carnivals fault, it was really windy that day and the waves were strong and it was a snorkeling excursion and at dinner the waiter we had was really slow and seemed to not have much of a personality, other than that i had an amazing time. We have another cruise booked for july on carnival.

 

[happygirl]

took my first cruise on carnival's imagination last year in november and had the best time ever, the shows, the parties on the lido deck, the food, even the freaking beds were comfy.

only 2 things that did not go great during the cruise, our excursion in nassau was cancelled, but it wasn't carnivals fault, it was really windy that day and the waves were strong and it was a snorkeling excursion and at dinner the waiter we had was really slow and seemed to not have much of a personality, other than that i had an amazing time. We have another cruise booked for july on carnival.

Did you get your money back if the excursion are cancelled?

 

[tigercat]

I have sailed on RCCL, Disney, Princess and Carnival. We keep going back to Carnival. We usually sail in the off months and for at least 7 nights so we don't get or have any real problems. The food on Carnival and Princess are pretty well the same except Carnival goes out of their way more for me than Princess. I can't have wheat so both cruise lines try their best but Carnival will let me do the Chef's Table whereas Princess won't. I understand and I don't hold it against them it is just that Carnival is easier on me. Also, Carnival has pizzas all the time available to me but Princess I had to order it 24 hrs. in advance.
Disney was the worst of all the cruise lines I have been on so far.
tigercat

 

[scdak]

Did you get your money back if the excursion are cancelled?

Yes, although its only happened to me a couple of times, depends on when you cruise since some months are worse than others weather wise. Not only can they cancel excursions, they can cancel a port stop depending on the weather, I have missed Grand Cayman Island and Key West before, and you get a refund of the port taxes that you paid for your cruise for whatever port you have to miss. One time I missed Key West due to a pending hurricane, we were informed of this when we boarded and they sailed out of the hurricane's path, seems like we had a few extra hours in Cozumel on that trip. One trip I missed Grand Cayman Island due to rough seas, that is a tender port and we could not drop anchor due to the seas (I believe it had something to do with the reefs?) so we could not tender in, by 7am I was up, dressed, had had breakfast and sitting in the lounge to meet for our early tender for an excursion and could not figure out why we were sailing BY the island without stopping but they soon came to tell us that we couldn't not stop, needless to say I went back to bed

 

[MIGrandma]

We just got off the Carnival Conquest on Super Bowl Sunday, it was a 7-night cruise to Roatan, Cozumel and Belize with 3 sea days. We had an aft balcony (our first one) and LOVED that. We had always had side balconies before. We have cruised with Disney, Royal Caribbean and Carnival and have enjoyed all of them.

But. We did notice some cut backs on this cruise. I think most of the mainstream cruise lines are making cuts. The shows this time were not as good. Only 8 singers/dancers (4 male/4 female) and the "sets" were video backdrops instead of real sets on the stage, and no more orchestra either.

The musical entertainment was poor, we felt. We usually spend some time in the bars in the evening, having a drink or two, and listening to a singer or band. Not this time.

We did enjoy the Punchliner's Comedy Club a lot and went to several shows there.

Excursions are nice, but we have gotten away from doing the ship sponsored ones and do private ones instead. We had a private tour of Roatan and really enjoyed that.

We're going to "take a break" from cruising and try a different type of vacation next time. I'm sure we'll cruise again, especially when we go to Alaska and Hawaii, but it may not be with Carnival for awhile.

We've heard many times with Carnival that "you get what you pay for" and we now feel that way too. The cruise was fun, don't get me wrong, but just some of the things weren't quite up to the standards they used to be.

 

[deedeetoo]

Their owner is the owner of The Miami Heat-ala LeBron. He also owns Costa now.

This is incorrect. Carnival Cruise Lines is owned by Carnival Corporation which is a publically traded company with a NYSE symbol of CCL. Carnival Corp also owns Costa, Cunard, Princess, Holland America and Seabourn. Probably not relevant for the OP, but I wonder where some people get their information.

 

[luv4u859]

Did you get your money back if the excursion are cancelled?

Yes we received our money back on our on board credit account, which was good for me because I spent a lot of money on the ship buying stuff. After the on board credit I didn't have much that actually came out of my account

 

[luvavacation]

Happygirl, over Thanksgiving, my family sailed the Carnival Fascination from Jacksonville, and I wrote a little bit about it on the DIS DCL board. If you don't mind the review of a "Disney" family, I have copied and pasted here.

Regarding boarding, our ship was late due to fog, and we were told a time of 2:00 pm for boarding. My family arrived around 12:30 and, perhaps because we were in the suites, were allowed to board right away. Rooms weren't ready, and the food was still being set up in the buffet, but we were on!

I know some people say that Carnival is a great family line, but for my family, it is not, and I do mention that in my review. After 5 Carnival cruises, I still say it is not a great line for my family, in regards to being "family friendly", at least not what we consider "family friendly". I much prefer how DCL separates the adult entertainment from the family entertainment, and while DH and I do enjoy some risque fun in the evenings away from the kids, DH does not like gyrating men dancing away in front of his daughters at the family pool. Time and a place for everything, and Carnival does not seem to know this, at least in our experience.

However, we love to be together as a family, and while DCL is our plan ahead and book early and anticipate vacation, Carnival has its place as the "mom needs to go see tropical islands soon and not cook!" vacation. And as I mention in my review, the Carnival Fascination had the friendliest crew I have ever met on any of my previous Carnival cruises! I am sure you will have fun, after all, it is a vacation!





A Carnival cruise taken by a DCL loving family.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DH, me, DD - 22 and DD- 17 just returned from a Thanksgiving cruise on the Carnival Fascination from Jacksonville, FL port. We have sailed on Disney 8 times, and this was our 5th Carnival cruise. First Carnival cruise was in 1993, we hated it, DH vowed never to cruise again, but then caved when eldest was turning 11 and begged her daddy for a Disney cruise. We have been fans of DCL ever since that cruise, but have sailed Carnival Southbound from Whittier Alaska, and DDs and I have sailed Carnival when I needed a quick, sudden break from life and housework. For my family, Carnival is the quick break cruise, planned only two or three months out, while DCL is our plan-from-opening-day-cruise.

In August, after another bout of drama queen brother and his antics (he lives in another state, but he flies in once a month because he thinks we like him - and my mom has Alzheimer's and lives with me, so he figures he is "helping" by staying in my home, eating my food, watching my TV, making a mess. I don't much like him, but whatever, can't choose family!), I decided that I was growing resentful of doing all the shopping, baking, cleaning, cooking, and clean-up for holiday meals. Stupid brother never helped, he just ate our food and complained about life, with the occasional angry outburst thrown in. I wanted a break.

Lo and behold, Carnival had a ship in Jacksonville with room on it. Closer than Port Canaveral from Northern IL, the days worked around school schedules, so I booked my family and my mom (because I can't leave her behind, she has Alzheimer's). Brother joined us. He roomed with mom.

I booked the Grand Suite on Carnival, which was less than 1/2 the price of the DCL porthole room over Thanksgiving. This is the biggest room they have to book, and my girls, upon arriving, said they liked this room better than the DCL rooms. I reminded them we stay in verandah rooms on DCL, not suites! For the price, it was great.

Carnival does not give any real perks for suite booking, other than what they call VIP (or VIPF? I forget). You get priority line for the terminal and debarkation. That's about it, but the price was still unbeatable for my desires!

One of our big complaints with Carnival is that the service and crew are nothing like what we have experienced on DCL. After this cruise, I take that back. The crew on this ship was very friendly, always smiling, asking how your day was, and we often saw crew members cleaning the ship. This is very different from our previous Carnival cruises, where we would even joke that no one will look you in the eye in case you might ask them a question! Great crew experience on this ship.

Shoreside pre-cruise, however, terrible. I had some concerns regarding my mom, and shoreside help was rude and unhelpful. Once at the terminal, however, they were fantastic! My mom was having trouble walking, and all I did was ask if there was a closer entrance for my mom to take, and they said there were wheelchairs available, and took my mom from the entrance, through the terminal, to check-in, and all the way up to the room upon boarding. It was great! Same when we left - a crewmember took her in a wheelchair from the waiting area on the ship all the way through customs and to our car. I am so very pleased with the service we received.

While the service was great, Carnival does seem to have a very large majority of Indonesian/Asian/Pacific country crewmembers. It is still very, very hard to understand the waiters and many of the drink servers. I know DCL has a varied crew too, but Carnival does seem to have more from the Pacific/Asian region, and they do not have the English skills that the ones we met on DCL did. English is not my native language either, so I know it isn't easy to learn, but we have noticed that perhaps Carnival does not have the same standards that DCL does for at least the restaurant staff. But they were smiling and worked hard, and this is the first time I felt a desire to tip over the recommended amount for my waitstaff and room steward on Carnival.

Other nice things -

The slides - if only it had been warm enough to use them! But they looked great!

My shipboard account bill was tiny! Ok, there isn't much in the gift shop I even want, as opposed to when I am in the DCL gift shop, so I just don't buy anything but a few Mudslides and BBC's. Nice for the wallet.

Free drinks to order at the past guest party - order what you want, it is free!

Live band at the shows. I really like that.

The Sushi bar! From 5 to 8 every night, sushi!

Chocolate Melting Cake at every dinner. It isn't too sweet and sugary, and it was very good. I do still prefer Mickey Bars, though.

The Family Comedy Show was very funny and very family friendly. DH did not feel awkward with any of the jokes in the presence of his girls.

The 80's show had lots of great music. My mom can't follow story lines anymore, so she really liked the shows she saw on the cruise, as they are all Vegas-style, not Broadway style on DCL.

Extended balcony in the Grand Suite - so very nice, had two recliners and two chairs. Perfect for my family.

Little tray with samples in the bathroom - nice touch. We had two little toothpaste samples, a Dove deodorant, shampoo samples, and soap. Left the soap, used the rest.

The library - great place to check out books and games.


Things we didn't like -

Thongs and suggestive dancing at the family show is not my cup of tea.

Encouraging the contestants in the Hairy Chest Contest to "get down and dirty", at the family pool, in front of the crowd of kids. Did the kids really need to see the men dance with the shower pole, and humping and grinding the deck like there was a partner under them? I will say, I did not see all of the contest, but it was replayed all through the ship on their monitors, so if you missed it, there was hairy man in all his hairiness rubbing his parts on the shower! Definitely not what should be at the family pool, in front of the kids. I would have felt more comfortable with pool antics like this at the adult pool. But, this is Carnival, different things are acceptable.

DDs missed being called "Princess". That's just a Disney thing we really like and miss elsewhere.

No push for hand sanitization. Many hand sanitizers did not work, and they were few and far between. No one handing out wipes. Everyone's hands touching everything, from the buffet tongs to the drink buttons. I know they didn't all use the sanitizer! I fear getting ill on a cruise, haven't been yet, so I just started bringing my stash of Wet Wipes (yes, I am an overpacker, but I do have anything you might ever need in my suitcase!) all over, and made my family use them.

No hand sanitizers when boarding ship in ports. I almost ran over to the Disney Dream (we were docked next to her in Nassau) just to use the hand sanitizers that were set up at the gangways! It was funny to hear the occasional Carnival vacationer remark over how nice the Dream's area was set up for the guests that were boarding. I swelled with pride, knowing that was "my" cruiseline they were praising.

The smoke. People were smoking right in front of the signs that stated an area was non-smoking. There was no enforcement. Lots of smoke.

Start times are only a suggestion. Nothing starts right when it is supposed to.

Unorganized, in so many ways, even though this ship runs this route numerous times a month. And I really, really intensely dislike the way Carnival handles debarkation. Not smooth, and yes, disorganized. Has been on every Carnival cruise.

The casino atmosphere. DH and I don't gamble. We like our money too much to throw it away on a chance (rather throw it away on a vacation, and have pictures to show for it! ). Some like the gambling, like my mom and brother. To each his own, just not my thing. That said, it wasn't the casino itself that bothered me, but the huge amount of smoke emanating from it, and it is right in the middle of the main deck used to go from point A to B, so you can not avoid the smoke. Eldest DD has a smoke allergy, and the smoke would waft down and up the open atrium (since we don't smoke, we are more aware of the smoke I suppose), and she would have trouble getting a good breath of air. She started to just walk in the stateroom hallways to go from one side of the ship to the other.

The food, in a word, eh. I know people complain of DCL food, but I like it. Yes, it is bland, but I travel with my own bottle of Chipotle Tabasco and spice up the food. I always find many options on the Disney menu. On Carnival, not so much. This was not the case on previous Carnival cruises, but it appears some cost cutting is taking place. For example, I like fish, do not care for red meat or pork. One night, shrimp was the seafood choice. I am allergic to shrimp and lobster. Everything else was a meat, and it did not appeal. The meat cuts were not very good (according to the meat lovers), but the carnivores in the family managed to leave every meal full and happy. I lost 4.5 pounds. Not much to eat that I liked, and I was doing all the running around! I need to vacation more!

The bath products - definitely not good. Dispensers in the suites, too, for shampoo and gel. They were filled with some bad stuff. The soap was not good. It was just all not good. Definitely not the H2O DCL products! Good thing we brought ours from our last Disney cruise!

Bad response to an injury. I was injured leaving the ship in Nassau. No one from Carnival was around to offer assistance. I once saw a lady fall leaving a Disney ship, and out of nowhere came people with clipboards to take down her info and help her out. Kind of figured the same was going to happen when I was injured, but no. Perhaps DCL fears the lawsuit, but Carnival doesn't care? The photographer, however, that was two steps forward from me, upon my standing up again, asked if I wanted to have my family's picture taken with ship. I was irritated, and told him not with blood running down my leg! I know it wasn't his fault, but I had just been hurt, and I was in pain, so not very pleasant.

Misspelled words in the public notices and Funtimes (Carnival's version of the daily goings on). It just bothers me to see "official" papers with misspellings. I should offer up my services as a proofreader (as poor as they may be). That's it, I have found my job on a cruise ship! Finally!

Lack of family activities. There are adult activities, the kids club for kids, but really not much to do together. We vacation because we like connecting with our children away from the stresses of home and work and school. We enjoy the Mickey vegetable races, the frog races, the towel folding and drawing classes. Our days on DCL can be filled with activities as a family from waking to sleep. Not so on Carnival.

Room service food was prompt, but the food was not good. The BLT, what my DH orders on every cruise, had 3 pieces of bacon, lots of lettuce, and two unripe tomatos. Very disappointed, as previously the Carnival BLT would be piled high with the B, and only a little of the L and T!


And that's about it. For a cruise planned over just a couple of months, it was fine. Yes, it was bit hard to see the Dream from the Fascination while in Nassau, and say what you will, but the people on the Disney ship are of a different variety than the people on Carnival. Many, many families on DCL, many more singles and couples with different desires on a Carnival ship. Carnival certainly can be a "Fun Ship", if the entertainment is to your liking. We are just quieter people, I suppose, so it isn't our preferred cruise line. I still will sail it, because it gets me away.

Disney will always be my family's preferred cruise, for it is the Disney bubble that we like to be in. We like it so much, that we would be happy to just stay on the ship for a few days, no care for ports (ok, Castaway Cay would be a must, but otherwise, the ship is our destination!). With Carnival, the ship is not the destination, but rather the mode of travel. Sometimes, that is exactly what I am looking for. And it is nice to know that on Carnival, I was greeted with smile!

 

[happygirl]

Happygirl, over Thanksgiving, my family sailed the Carnival Fascination from Jacksonville, and I wrote a little bit about it on the DIS DCL board. If you don't mind the review of a "Disney" family, I have copied and pasted here.

Regarding boarding, our ship was late due to fog, and we were told a time of 2:00 pm for boarding. My family arrived around 12:30 and, perhaps because we were in the suites, were allowed to board right away. Rooms weren't ready, and the food was still being set up in the buffet, but we were on!

I know some people say that Carnival is a great family line, but for my family, it is not, and I do mention that in my review. After 5 Carnival cruises, I still say it is not a great line for my family, in regards to being "family friendly", at least not what we consider "family friendly". I much prefer how DCL separates the adult entertainment from the family entertainment, and while DH and I do enjoy some risque fun in the evenings away from the kids, DH does not like gyrating men dancing away in front of his daughters at the family pool. Time and a place for everything, and Carnival does not seem to know this, at least in our experience.

However, we love to be together as a family, and while DCL is our plan ahead and book early and anticipate vacation, Carnival has its place as the "mom needs to go see tropical islands soon and not cook!" vacation. And as I mention in my review, the Carnival Fascination had the friendliest crew I have ever met on any of my previous Carnival cruises! I am sure you will have fun, after all, it is a vacation!





A Carnival cruise taken by a DCL loving family.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DH, me, DD - 22 and DD- 17 just returned from a Thanksgiving cruise on the Carnival Fascination from Jacksonville, FL port. We have sailed on Disney 8 times, and this was our 5th Carnival cruise. First Carnival cruise was in 1993, we hated it, DH vowed never to cruise again, but then caved when eldest was turning 11 and begged her daddy for a Disney cruise. We have been fans of DCL ever since that cruise, but have sailed Carnival Southbound from Whittier Alaska, and DDs and I have sailed Carnival when I needed a quick, sudden break from life and housework. For my family, Carnival is the quick break cruise, planned only two or three months out, while DCL is our plan-from-opening-day-cruise.

In August, after another bout of drama queen brother and his antics (he lives in another state, but he flies in once a month because he thinks we like him - and my mom has Alzheimer's and lives with me, so he figures he is "helping" by staying in my home, eating my food, watching my TV, making a mess. I don't much like him, but whatever, can't choose family!), I decided that I was growing resentful of doing all the shopping, baking, cleaning, cooking, and clean-up for holiday meals. Stupid brother never helped, he just ate our food and complained about life, with the occasional angry outburst thrown in. I wanted a break.

Lo and behold, Carnival had a ship in Jacksonville with room on it. Closer than Port Canaveral from Northern IL, the days worked around school schedules, so I booked my family and my mom (because I can't leave her behind, she has Alzheimer's). Brother joined us. He roomed with mom.

I booked the Grand Suite on Carnival, which was less than 1/2 the price of the DCL porthole room over Thanksgiving. This is the biggest room they have to book, and my girls, upon arriving, said they liked this room better than the DCL rooms. I reminded them we stay in verandah rooms on DCL, not suites! For the price, it was great.

Carnival does not give any real perks for suite booking, other than what they call VIP (or VIPF? I forget). You get priority line for the terminal and debarkation. That's about it, but the price was still unbeatable for my desires!

One of our big complaints with Carnival is that the service and crew are nothing like what we have experienced on DCL. After this cruise, I take that back. The crew on this ship was very friendly, always smiling, asking how your day was, and we often saw crew members cleaning the ship. This is very different from our previous Carnival cruises, where we would even joke that no one will look you in the eye in case you might ask them a question! Great crew experience on this ship.

Shoreside pre-cruise, however, terrible. I had some concerns regarding my mom, and shoreside help was rude and unhelpful. Once at the terminal, however, they were fantastic! My mom was having trouble walking, and all I did was ask if there was a closer entrance for my mom to take, and they said there were wheelchairs available, and took my mom from the entrance, through the terminal, to check-in, and all the way up to the room upon boarding. It was great! Same when we left - a crewmember took her in a wheelchair from the waiting area on the ship all the way through customs and to our car. I am so very pleased with the service we received.

While the service was great, Carnival does seem to have a very large majority of Indonesian/Asian/Pacific country crewmembers. It is still very, very hard to understand the waiters and many of the drink servers. I know DCL has a varied crew too, but Carnival does seem to have more from the Pacific/Asian region, and they do not have the English skills that the ones we met on DCL did. English is not my native language either, so I know it isn't easy to learn, but we have noticed that perhaps Carnival does not have the same standards that DCL does for at least the restaurant staff. But they were smiling and worked hard, and this is the first time I felt a desire to tip over the recommended amount for my waitstaff and room steward on Carnival.

Other nice things -

The slides - if only it had been warm enough to use them! But they looked great!

My shipboard account bill was tiny! Ok, there isn't much in the gift shop I even want, as opposed to when I am in the DCL gift shop, so I just don't buy anything but a few Mudslides and BBC's. Nice for the wallet.

Free drinks to order at the past guest party - order what you want, it is free!

Live band at the shows. I really like that.

The Sushi bar! From 5 to 8 every night, sushi!

Chocolate Melting Cake at every dinner. It isn't too sweet and sugary, and it was very good. I do still prefer Mickey Bars, though.

The Family Comedy Show was very funny and very family friendly. DH did not feel awkward with any of the jokes in the presence of his girls.

The 80's show had lots of great music. My mom can't follow story lines anymore, so she really liked the shows she saw on the cruise, as they are all Vegas-style, not Broadway style on DCL.

Extended balcony in the Grand Suite - so very nice, had two recliners and two chairs. Perfect for my family.

Little tray with samples in the bathroom - nice touch. We had two little toothpaste samples, a Dove deodorant, shampoo samples, and soap. Left the soap, used the rest.

The library - great place to check out books and games.


Things we didn't like -

Thongs and suggestive dancing at the family show is not my cup of tea.

Encouraging the contestants in the Hairy Chest Contest to "get down and dirty", at the family pool, in front of the crowd of kids. Did the kids really need to see the men dance with the shower pole, and humping and grinding the deck like there was a partner under them? I will say, I did not see all of the contest, but it was replayed all through the ship on their monitors, so if you missed it, there was hairy man in all his hairiness rubbing his parts on the shower! Definitely not what should be at the family pool, in front of the kids. I would have felt more comfortable with pool antics like this at the adult pool. But, this is Carnival, different things are acceptable.

DDs missed being called "Princess". That's just a Disney thing we really like and miss elsewhere.

No push for hand sanitization. Many hand sanitizers did not work, and they were few and far between. No one handing out wipes. Everyone's hands touching everything, from the buffet tongs to the drink buttons. I know they didn't all use the sanitizer! I fear getting ill on a cruise, haven't been yet, so I just started bringing my stash of Wet Wipes (yes, I am an overpacker, but I do have anything you might ever need in my suitcase!) all over, and made my family use them.

No hand sanitizers when boarding ship in ports. I almost ran over to the Disney Dream (we were docked next to her in Nassau) just to use the hand sanitizers that were set up at the gangways! It was funny to hear the occasional Carnival vacationer remark over how nice the Dream's area was set up for the guests that were boarding. I swelled with pride, knowing that was "my" cruiseline they were praising.

The smoke. People were smoking right in front of the signs that stated an area was non-smoking. There was no enforcement. Lots of smoke.

Start times are only a suggestion. Nothing starts right when it is supposed to.

Unorganized, in so many ways, even though this ship runs this route numerous times a month. And I really, really intensely dislike the way Carnival handles debarkation. Not smooth, and yes, disorganized. Has been on every Carnival cruise.

The casino atmosphere. DH and I don't gamble. We like our money too much to throw it away on a chance (rather throw it away on a vacation, and have pictures to show for it! ). Some like the gambling, like my mom and brother. To each his own, just not my thing. That said, it wasn't the casino itself that bothered me, but the huge amount of smoke emanating from it, and it is right in the middle of the main deck used to go from point A to B, so you can not avoid the smoke. Eldest DD has a smoke allergy, and the smoke would waft down and up the open atrium (since we don't smoke, we are more aware of the smoke I suppose), and she would have trouble getting a good breath of air. She started to just walk in the stateroom hallways to go from one side of the ship to the other.

The food, in a word, eh. I know people complain of DCL food, but I like it. Yes, it is bland, but I travel with my own bottle of Chipotle Tabasco and spice up the food. I always find many options on the Disney menu. On Carnival, not so much. This was not the case on previous Carnival cruises, but it appears some cost cutting is taking place. For example, I like fish, do not care for red meat or pork. One night, shrimp was the seafood choice. I am allergic to shrimp and lobster. Everything else was a meat, and it did not appeal. The meat cuts were not very good (according to the meat lovers), but the carnivores in the family managed to leave every meal full and happy. I lost 4.5 pounds. Not much to eat that I liked, and I was doing all the running around! I need to vacation more!

The bath products - definitely not good. Dispensers in the suites, too, for shampoo and gel. They were filled with some bad stuff. The soap was not good. It was just all not good. Definitely not the H2O DCL products! Good thing we brought ours from our last Disney cruise!

Bad response to an injury. I was injured leaving the ship in Nassau. No one from Carnival was around to offer assistance. I once saw a lady fall leaving a Disney ship, and out of nowhere came people with clipboards to take down her info and help her out. Kind of figured the same was going to happen when I was injured, but no. Perhaps DCL fears the lawsuit, but Carnival doesn't care? The photographer, however, that was two steps forward from me, upon my standing up again, asked if I wanted to have my family's picture taken with ship. I was irritated, and told him not with blood running down my leg! I know it wasn't his fault, but I had just been hurt, and I was in pain, so not very pleasant.

Misspelled words in the public notices and Funtimes (Carnival's version of the daily goings on). It just bothers me to see "official" papers with misspellings. I should offer up my services as a proofreader (as poor as they may be). That's it, I have found my job on a cruise ship! Finally!

Lack of family activities. There are adult activities, the kids club for kids, but really not much to do together. We vacation because we like connecting with our children away from the stresses of home and work and school. We enjoy the Mickey vegetable races, the frog races, the towel folding and drawing classes. Our days on DCL can be filled with activities as a family from waking to sleep. Not so on Carnival.

Room service food was prompt, but the food was not good. The BLT, what my DH orders on every cruise, had 3 pieces of bacon, lots of lettuce, and two unripe tomatos. Very disappointed, as previously the Carnival BLT would be piled high with the B, and only a little of the L and T!


And that's about it. For a cruise planned over just a couple of months, it was fine. Yes, it was bit hard to see the Dream from the Fascination while in Nassau, and say what you will, but the people on the Disney ship are of a different variety than the people on Carnival. Many, many families on DCL, many more singles and couples with different desires on a Carnival ship. Carnival certainly can be a "Fun Ship", if the entertainment is to your liking. We are just quieter people, I suppose, so it isn't our preferred cruise line. I still will sail it, because it gets me away.

Disney will always be my family's preferred cruise, for it is the Disney bubble that we like to be in. We like it so much, that we would be happy to just stay on the ship for a few days, no care for ports (ok, Castaway Cay would be a must, but otherwise, the ship is our destination!). With Carnival, the ship is not the destination, but rather the mode of travel. Sometimes, that is exactly what I am looking for. And it is nice to know that on Carnival, I was greeted with smile!

Thank you

 

[AndreaDM]

DH and I are in our 50's. We have cruised on Disney once and Carnival twice. I would sail Carnival again in a heartbeat. All cruises were 7 days. Definitely pros and cons to each line.

We never found Carnival to be a "frat party." On our cruise out of Tampa on the Carnival Legend, we were among the younger couples.

We enjoyed the food on Carnival more than our Disney cruise but enjoyed the restaurant atmosphere on Disney Magic. Out of the three cruises, our best room attendant was on one of the Carnival cruises. The shows on the Disney cruise were definitely better than Carnival. Carnival has the casino, but Disney has the movie theater. So lots of pros and cons to both.

Our budget doesn't allow us to cruise Disney all the time. We're cruising on the Fantasy in August but that's an extended family get-together (we're all Disney crazy). We can cruise twice on Carnival for the same price as one Disney cruise. So if that makes me "Walmart people" so be it. Now, if in future I can take advantage of a last-minute Disney sale, I'll be all over it.

I think that any vacation as a family can be a good vacation.

We were just on the Legend too and joked there must have been an AARP convention on board!

 

[inlalaland]

Yes it is reasonably priced so families can afford it as well.

As to all the complaints posted here, we haven't experienced them on our two cruises with Carnival.

Agreed. Have also sailed Carnival twice, and have never seen any "frat parties". If it makes a difference, one was a short one (3 nights) and one was longer (a week). If anything it's a bunch of families and kids of all ages.

I love Carnival! Had a blast both times! Have fun OP.

 

[happygirl]

Agreed. Have also sailed Carnival twice, and have never seen any "frat parties". If it makes a difference, one was a short one (3 nights) and one was longer (a week). If anything it's a bunch of families and kids of all ages.

I love Carnival! Had a blast both times! Have fun OP.

Thank you

 

[BlovesC]

I've never been on Carnival but this is how my SIL describes it -- or more specifically, frat house crossed with PeopleofWalmart.com. It's definitely for younger people.

This is the PERFECT description. Our first and last cruise was on Carnival, and while the ship, room, and food were just fine, the way the other passengers treated both the ship AND the staff (who were excellent) was just downright disgusting to me. I felt like every other passenger on the boat walked on with the attitude that the ship was their trash can and the staff were their personal slaves.

Shortly after that experience, we were given tickets to a free 5-day Carnival cruise from the company who built our house, and we never even bothered to use it because our experience was that bad.