How does Carnival compare to DCL?

[BigDisneyOE]

I have the possibility to come back to the States in 2013 for Easter at do a Mexican cruise out of LA. It's with Carnival though. I picked Disney because we loved everything we read about them for us as a family and that's what we wanted to have as a cruise experience.

Is Carnival any good for kids (ours will be five and have just done their first term at Big School) or simply a let down compared to Disney?

I'm tossing up taking the family or just breaking free and having my first break in five or so without the kids and taking my Mum. Mum would be over the moon to go with me and she's very adaptable, abet eccentric English. The kids would be able to do a 'boy holiday' with their Dad.

I don't know what to do and would love to hear if anyone else has cruised with Carnival and could compare to DCL.

Thanks for your time.

 

[kcashner]

Before I saw your location, I was going to respond by asking "How does Wal-mart compare with Lord and Taylor?" but I don't know what stores to substitute in NZ.

Carnival is a low end cruise line which is trying very hard to gain a reputation as a family line. Their current reputation is that this is the line for drunken 20 somethings escaping from college or first jobs...and that is still very true on their shorter cruises. The longer the cruise, the less of a party ship it is.

The food is decent. The kid programming--well, you can't beat Disney. The entertainment doesn't begin to compare. It is much more Las Vegas style.

My now 20 year old was asked if she wanted a cruise on another line while in high school or if she would only cruise DCL. Her response was that if it started with "C," they should just keep their money in their pockets.

 

[Kaleigh]

I have cruised both and have full reviews on my site (in my signature), but here is the short version of what I think:

For the money, I would choose Carnival the majority of the time simply because I love to travel, and prefer to take as many as possible. I found service very similar between the 2 lines, food better on Carnival, entertainment better on Disney, cabins very similar, activities around the ship better on Carnival (got a little tired of only Disney trivia), and general ship amenities a toss up. (Disney has the movie theatre, Carnival has better waterslides, both have many bars, Carnival has a casino and library)
As for the kids programs, I did not personally use them, but I have spoken to people who did, and although Carnival doesn't have the amount and quality of structured activity, they do have an active kids program that keeps kids busy all day. They even take them to lunch and all eat in one section of the buffet together etc.
If this was the only cruise my daughter would ever go on, I would choose Disney, (and hope to do a special Disney cruise with her one day), but if I plan on cruising again or often, I save my bucks and go with a very good product in Carnival.

 

[aan1701]

I have cruised both and have full reviews on my site (in my signature), but here is the short version of what I think:

For the money, I would choose Carnival the majority of the time simply because I love to travel, and prefer to take as many as possible. I found service very similar between the 2 lines, food better on Carnival, entertainment better on Disney, cabins very similar, activities around the ship better on Carnival (got a little tired of only Disney trivia), and general ship amenities a toss up. (Disney has the movie theatre, Carnival has better waterslides, both have many bars, Carnival has a casino and library)
As for the kids programs, I did not personally use them, but I have spoken to people who did, and although Carnival doesn't have the amount and quality of structured activity, they do have an active kids program that keeps kids busy all day. They even take them to lunch and all eat in one section of the buffet together etc.
If this was the only cruise my daughter would ever go on, I would choose Disney, (and hope to do a special Disney cruise with her one day), but if I plan on cruising again or often, I save my bucks and go with a very good product in Carnival.

I am going to offer a completly different opinion than above. I personaly will never under any cicumstances take a Carnival cruise again. I took one and hated it, I thought maybe it was a fluke, so I took a second one, it was worse than the first. The food was barely eatable, the service i felt like I was intruding on them, officer yelling, yes, yelling at guests to move out of the way. The list goes on. I will put it like this, I don't care if the cruise on Carnival was free, I will not go.

 

[underthesea2010]

If you're bringing the kids, go with DCL. If you want casino and alcohol, go with Carnival.

 

[justmestace]

If you're bringing the kids, go with DCL. If you want casino and alcohol, go with Carnival.

Disney Cruise Line doesn't have alcohol??

 

[justmestace]

I've gone on 10 Disney cruises, number eleven is coming up next month.

I used to say that Carnival would have to pay ME to cruise with them...but then a friend talked me into going on Carnival with her to the Mexican Riviera. We've done it three times now.

Their kids' club looks like a lot of fun.
I thought the food was MUCH better than Disney...but that's really a personal preference thing. Disney's meals can be kind of "fancy" with lots of sauces, etc, and I found the choices on Carnival much more to my liking, and they had more to choose from.

If you don't like the idea of a casino onboard, don't go in it. Simple as that.

I honestly did not see any of the drunken craziness that people associate with Carnival, but I tend to believe that happens more on their shorter cruises, and then during Spring Break.

The entertainment is good....it isn't all "Disney" but it's still good.

The Disney characters aren't there....but as an adult, I didn't miss them, and with kids....well, sometimes they just have to learn to get used to something different. When mine were growing up, we couldn't always afford to go to Disneyland....they just had to accept a different type of vacation.

Especially with the Mexican Riviera, I would NOT pay more to go on DCL. I went the first two years that they tested it out (with DCL) and again while heading for the Panama Canal. There's really no difference in experience, and to save money is a good thing.

 

[NoodlesMom]

Hands down, DCL over Carnival any day. Like one of the previous posters, I've cruised Carnival twice and have no plans on ever doing it again. When it comes to cruising, I would prefer quality over quantity. We cannot take DCL cruises every year but I would rather wait until we can than to go on another Carnival Cruise. Its definitely cheaper and for a first time cruise, it's a way to get your feet wet but after cruising Royal Carribean and DCL, I would rather stick to those.

 

[kcashner]

Some other thoughts...some things that are included on DCL can cost extra on other lines including Carnival. If these are things you use and buy, you can add a significant amount to your base cruise fare. It still isnt DCL cost, but it's getting closer.

I'd rather have an inside cabin on DCL than a balcony on Carnival!

 

[slk]

We just went on a Carnival cruise this past June and had a wonderful time
on it. I went into it thinking that there was no way it could be better than
our Disney cruise (simply because of things I heard/read) and just hoped to have fun. but I was wrong.
There were things I loved about Disney and it was a great cruise.
But that said, we had such a good time on Carnival we
are going on another one. There was none of the drunkeness that you
hear about, the food was very good, the shows were awesome (better
than Disney I felt) The casino is there if you are into that, There weren't
any characters but honestly it didn't matter to us. There were many
families on the cruise since it was in the summer and the kids clubs
were very busy and my neice that is 8 was with us and had great fun
in the kids area. The waterworks area was something my kids really
liked too. For the money and wanting to go during the summer months
the price was what we where looking at (we had a group of ten) and
would definately recommend Carnival. The itinerary was also another
important consideration for us. Disney is very limited in that area.
No matter what you decide I'm sure you'll have a great time.

 

[justmestace]

I have the possibility to come back to the States in 2013 for Easter at do a Mexican cruise out of LA. It's with Carnival though. I picked Disney because we loved everything we read about them for us as a family and that's what we wanted to have as a cruise experience.

Is Carnival any good for kids (ours will be five and have just done their first term at Big School) or simply a let down compared to Disney?

I'm tossing up taking the family or just breaking free and having my first break in five or so without the kids and taking my Mum. Mum would be over the moon to go with me and she's very adaptable, abet eccentric English. The kids would be able to do a 'boy holiday' with their Dad.

I don't know what to do and would love to hear if anyone else has cruised with Carnival and could compare to DCL.

Thanks for your time.

Just so you know....this topic has been talked about and talked about on here....and you won't find very many Disney people who would recommend ANY cruise line over Disney.
You might want to look at reports on another site like Cruise Critic.

 

[disneydreamer82]

I have the possibility to come back to the States in 2013 for Easter at do a Mexican cruise out of LA. It's with Carnival though. I picked Disney because we loved everything we read about them for us as a family and that's what we wanted to have as a cruise experience.

Is Carnival any good for kids (ours will be five and have just done their first term at Big School) or simply a let down compared to Disney?

I'm tossing up taking the family or just breaking free and having my first break in five or so without the kids and taking my Mum. Mum would be over the moon to go with me and she's very adaptable, abet eccentric English. The kids would be able to do a 'boy holiday' with their Dad.

I don't know what to do and would love to hear if anyone else has cruised with Carnival and could compare to DCL.

Thanks for your time.

We have cruised on DCL twice and CCL once, and currently have cruises booked with both cruise lines. We had a really really good time on both line, just in different ways.

Disney is .....well Disney!

But I have to say we actually had a terrific time on CCL. We went on the Liberty and the ship was beautiful and we thought the food was better than DCL(IMO and we all know how subjective food is ). And the best thing is that on CCL we can afford a balcony cabin or even a suite in some cases, which is sooooooo awesome!!! We are sailing CCL again in January 2012 and then again in October 2012. And I cannot wait, there are alot of things I am looking forward to on CCL that DCL doesn't have, nothing that is a deal breaker, just a nice change.

I say go for it! Make your own opinion of the cruise line. I plan to try every cruise line and make up my mind for myself. Everything really isn't for everybody but just because one person doesn't like it, does not mean I won't like it either. And heck if I don't like it, well then on to the next! I think you would have a great time cruising a new line, it can be very exciting!!

 

[narsibvl]

I have the possibility to come back to the States in 2013 for Easter at do a Mexican cruise out of LA. It's with Carnival though. I picked Disney because we loved everything we read about them for us as a family and that's what we wanted to have as a cruise experience.

Is Carnival any good for kids (ours will be five and have just done their first term at Big School) or simply a let down compared to Disney?

I'm tossing up taking the family or just breaking free and having my first break in five or so without the kids and taking my Mum. Mum would be over the moon to go with me and she's very adaptable, abet eccentric English. The kids would be able to do a 'boy holiday' with their Dad.

I don't know what to do and would love to hear if anyone else has cruised with Carnival and could compare to DCL.

Thanks for your time.

To each his own buddy...you are going to get all sorts of advice that is going to leave you exactly where you are right now. Think of it this way, DCL is a niche market, while carnival caters to the mass. If you enjoy cruising, you would enjoy it in both cases.

 

[woody73]

. . . Think of it this way, DCL is a niche market, while carnival caters to the mass. If you enjoy cruising, you would enjoy it in both cases.

Good point.

Woody

 

[jofo]

I personaly will never under any cicumstances take a Carnival cruise again. I took one and hated it, I thought maybe it was a fluke, so I took a second one, it was worse than the first. The food was barely eatable, the service i felt like I was intruding on them, officer yelling, yes, yelling at guests to move out of the way. The list goes on. I will put it like this, I don't care if the cruise on Carnival was free, I will not go.

This. I hated our Carnival cruise so much I swore I would never cruise EVER again. Now that I have a baby, I'm considering trying DCL in a few years. But, man, that Carnival cruise was HORRIBLE. Bad food, bad cabin service (good dining servers, though), awful entertainment, very dated decor -- and all our ports were canceled due to a hurricane but they did not find other ports like the other cruise ships did -- they just kept us on the boat the whole time. The hurricane was out of their control, obviously, but the way they handled the situation was just awful (not just about not finding new ports -- also the way they dispensed information, and the way they were treating passengers was not cool).

 

[MonorailPilotMulan]

This is coming from the perspective of a 20-year old in college who also happens to work for Disney and consequently does not make a lot of money and eats Chef Boyardee and Ramen Noodles for dinner a few nights a week. So in terms of the food, I will tell you that I am happy to eat almost anything that isn't canned but my biggest pet peeve with food is when I go on vacation and have food that looks like its dressed to the nines but that tastes like nothing. I also happen to LOVE Disney characters and Broadway style shows and highly despise the tacky cheap Vegas wannabe magicians I have witnessed on non-Disney cruises.

That being said, I have been on three cruises in my life: a four night with Carnival and a four night with Disney.

Here is my Carnival cruise in a nutshell: Booze and drunken kids my age running around. Tacky and cheesy stage "shows" featuring Freddy the Fun Ship Funnel, which in my opinion is creepier than any Disney villain I have ever encountered...seriously. An AMAZING chocolate lava cake I had for desert at dinner every night. Unfortunately this was mostly the case because they didn't have any other deserts that I would ever consider eating, even for free. Obviously, I'm under drinking age and despise the taste of alcohol so when it came to entertaining myself while at sea, I found myself attending all the trivia games hosted by Entertainment with my fiancee and his mother throughout the cruise. So when we had enough of playing trivia, going to the crowded pool of drunken college kids and watching drinking games we decided to check out the library and check out a game because I was literally bored out of my mind. Well, the library was only open three hrs out of the day and never had anyone to let us check out games from. So I went to Guest Services to get a game. We grabbed Scattergories and played for 4 hrs straight in the stateroom and had so much of a better time than I did doing anything planned. I know a lot of people like doing nothing for hours at a time while on vacation, but I can only sunbathe so much before I need to get up and do something. Oh yeah and the terribly run down mini-golf course that I wanted to quit by the 4th hole (out of 8). Yeah, I didn't enjoy it at all. Like my fiancee said, you'd have to pay our way and then tip us to go on another one of their cruises. Mind you the ship we went on (I think I suppressed the name in my consciousness) was about as old as the Magic, but looked like it came straight out of a mid-90s music video. It made me realize how classic and beautifully designed the Disney ships are. Oh and don't even get me started on the two hr escapade that was the spa, lets just say Carnival got a heated letter from my future mother in law. By the third night, I started to notice why I felt so short-tempered...the crew members looked so miserable all the time. I don't expect anyone to smile every second of every day. But I know the standards that they hold us to at Disney and I felt that the crew members on Carnival where literally depressed. So I started going around playfully asking people to smile for me. Some went along with the game. Others gave me a scowl instead.

Now, a summary of my four night Disney Wonder cruise: Awesome! Just AWESOME! We are booked for the Dream for September and again in May for our wedding on Castaway Cay. They honestly don't compare. In my opinion, it's Disney all the way! If I had to say everything I feel about DCL, I'd be typing much more than I did about Carnival lol

Sorry for the rant, but you get the idea And yes, I went on the Carnival cruise the year after the Disney one. It's probably why I hated Carnival so much.

 

[BigDisneyOE]

Thanks for all the reviews guys. I know I like the Disboard people and they were a big part of deciding to book our DCL cruise for next year. I've heard negative things about Carnival in terms of boozy behaviour etc. I'm a non-drinker but it doesn't worry me if people want a drink, it does hack me off when my sleep is distrupted by drunks tho' (as it does anyone). Casinos aren't my deal but as a poster said - you don't have to go there. it's if the kids have a good time and are well supervised and stimulated that worries me. It's hard to know what to do - maybe Mum would get more out of it all and she's easy to please.

Carnival are opening up their market down here in AUS/NZ. There is one trip I'm considering that's around Tasmania, AUS (with Mum). Now there's no way that would be a party hard all night ship as they mean age for that cruise would probably be well above 55!

I certainly don't want to travel during Spring Break. I've seen footage on our news casts. We don't really have anything like that here. I don't think end of April is Spring Break but every university seems to have slightly different timetables by the looks (here we have less than 10 unis in the whole country and less than 20 polytechnics - so it's all pretty much the same).

 

[momtoejanda]

we took our kids (3,3 and 6 at the time) on a carnival cruise and had a wonderful time. The kids loved Fun Ship Freddy, they loved the pool, they enjoyed the kids club activities, they loved the ice sculpture carving.

Now, they have been on Disney and think it is 1000 times better, I agree with this too.

I dont think there is anything wrong with Carnival, it is what it is. You cant expect it to be anything else. We didnt like the shows so we didnt go, and we didnt go in the casino.

I would definitely go back on Carnival and have looked into it but we really prefer Disney and are booked on 4 more DCL cruises

 

[missmulan]

lol, i love reading this thread.

i'm active in another forum and there's a user who always argue with me that carnival is better than disney (yet he has never gone on a disney cruise before).

sure, better in price but i tell him, you get what you paid for.

i wish he reads this thread. everything i've told him is said by someone else too! haha

 

[Seraphine]

We haven't been on our Disney cruise yet, but based on what I read here I've got very high expectations.

We've been on 4 Carnival cruises before, and absolutely loved them. Good food, excellent service, and my kids enjoyed their child program. We don't have another cruise booked at this point but we are definately planning on sailing with them again.

I think a there can be a lot of difference between the short sailings and the 7+ day sailings... I really think the short sailings attract the hard-drinking, party crowd, and we would try to avoid these. The sailings we've been on have been mostly families like us, and I never noticed excessive overcrowding or public drunkenness. I have no hesitation in recommending Carnival.

I'm a realist - we can't afford Disney all the time. Disney is well... DISNEY. It's going to be special, and you pay for the privilige. But we've had a fantastic time on Carnival and know we aren't the only ones. I wouldn't count them out entirely, but it depends on the reasons you are sailing - some of their itineraries are a lot of fun, and not everyone is bothered about characters. We've seen some fantastic comedy shows, and have had some really great nights in the piano bars. When we got off the ships, we were satisfied we'd had a great holiday and that's the main thing.