Huge DCL fan and cruiser just returning from first Carnival cruise

[NancyIL]

Have you been on the Carnival Fascination? It is an older and smaller ship, but was filled up by the company sponsoring the event, not Carnival.

I haven't cruised with Carnival, but I once booked a spring break cruise on Carnival Destiny out of San Juan. A month or so later, RCI's Adventure of the Seas out of San Juan for the same dates dropped in price, so I changed to that ship. I was already familiar with RCI and decided to go with a known quantity. It was a wonderful cruise, and we had the best dining room servers of any ship I've been on.

 

[Page4]

Disney is more expensive because it is Disney, and they have a huge demand with a small fleet and small ships. They do a good job in the parks and the ships, but personally I think the price of the Disney cruise is much more than they are worth. I can get some fair deals on the DCL because I am a Florida resident and can get aboard at the last minute.

I'm a FL res too. I got my cruise for over $3000 less than reg price.

 

[lovethedream]

You can like Disney all you want. I like Disney and DCL, too. However your opinions, more like statements than opinions, of the other cruise line were misleading. I think back to your statements about rusting, service of the waiters, Johnny Rockets, food to name a few. I hope we don't have to rehash this again and maybe we can be a little friendlier toward each other in the future.

So, when is your next DCL cruise?

Misleading? Really? What did I ever say that was misleading? It was my opinion of what I experienced and what I saw. (And at least I offered it after I sailed on the Freedom) Not like my posts about buying T-Shirts being called suspicious because there is no shop up there. If one had sailed before making that comment, they would have seen that the t-shirt sale is actually announced in the cruise compass! (on day 6 as a matter of fact, under the header "t-shirt blowout sale" "pool deck on Deck 11) I saw rust on the railings on the Freedom and there was a worker there scraping it off and repainting them. (if I remember correctly, this was only mentioned after the age of the DCL fleet was brought up!) It was where the rail met the deck. I thought I had better service on DCL, and I thought the food was better! I did enjoy eating at a different restaurant every night on DCL as each one had it's own unique atmosphere and experience. Where is that not an opinion? And I am really puzzled as to where the Johnny Rockets thing is going. So we decided not to eat every night in the same place at the main dining hall on the Freedom, I actually went out and enjoyed other parts of the ship! (I love sitting outside and looking out over the water and Johnny Rockets is probably one of the best (again, my opinion) places on the ship to do this!) And you get fed too! And there were never very many people up there! We also thought the pizza from the mall area was really good, probably some of the best pizza we have ever eaten. So I am a burger, fries and pizza guy!

 

[lovethedream]

I just did my first cruise last week (DCL). I'm hooked on cruising now. I used to be into the all-inclusive resort thing.
Well, I've been looking at cruise prices with all the lines. I had no idea DCL was so much more than the others. Can someone with experience please tell me why that is? I'm sure there are reasons, I just want to know.

DCL got me hooked too. I went from being a nervous wreck (Oh man, what if we don't like it! Now were stuck here for X days!) to loving cruising.

From what I understand, part of the reason for this is the lack of a casino on board. It is Disney, and I believe it is a better quality product. Not that the other lines are bad, there good to, I just think DCL is better!

 

[lovethedream]

Disney is more expensive because it is Disney, and they have a huge demand with a small fleet and small ships. They do a good job in the parks and the ships, but personally I think the price of the Disney cruise is much more than they are worth. I can get some fair deals on the DCL because I am a Florida resident and can get aboard at the last minute.

Huge Demand!?? At the prices they charge, and only small ships! Makes you wonder why there is a huge demand!!??

 

[lovethedream]

Honestly, my hubby and I laugh because for the first few years we were together we LOVED Carnival. It was affordable, enjoyable and took us to places we had never been. We then decided that RCCL was "our cruise line" graduating to their premier Diamond level with the number of cruises we took. We are now at the DCL point of our lives with kids - getting ready to take our 5th DCL cruise this October. As the kids go off to college in a few years we think we will head back to Carnival and wish we were young again! I think they all offer something different depending on where you are in life and that is the beauty of choice!

Well put.

 

[lovethedream]

My work doesn't allow me to get away from Florida long and so the Florida ports are convenient for me, and I flew so much when I was younger I am really tired of flying. I don't knock anyone that cruises. It just ticks me off when someone tries to put one over the other or knocks every other cruise line, especially when they have only cruised the one and/or maybe one other cruise line.

Have you been on the Carnival Fascination? It is an older and smaller ship, but was filled up by the company sponsoring the event, not Carnival.

Ya know, it just ticks me off when somebody calls a post suspicious when all they had to do was read the cruise compass and the information concerning my post was in there the whole time!

t-shirt blowout sale - We're overstock and having a 2 for $20 sale on t-shirts and up to 50% off select logo apparel. Pool deck on deck 11. Only while supplies last.

But I miss the fact that the cruise compass mentions the cover charge for Johnny Rockets and I never hear the end of it!

 

[lovethedream]

I'm a FL res too. I got my cruise for over $3000 less than reg price.

A dcl cruise? What time of year? Where did you go!

 

[lovethedream]

I haven't cruised with Carnival, but I once booked a spring break cruise on Carnival Destiny out of San Juan. A month or so later, RCI's Adventure of the Seas out of San Juan for the same dates dropped in price, so I changed to that ship. I was already familiar with RCI and decided to go with a known quantity. It was a wonderful cruise, and we had the best dining room servers of any ship I've been on.

Were going to try Carnival early next year. Can't wait to see what experience Carnival brings!

 

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A dcl cruise? What time of year? Where did you go!

It was just this Aug 3rd. It was a 5 day cruise, Key West, Nassau, and CC.

 

[Page4]

Were going to try Carnival early next year. Can't wait to see what experience Carnival brings!

Let us know.

 

[Mickeyhugger]

Were going to try Carnival early next year. Can't wait to see what experience Carnival brings!

We love DCL and have also done 5 Carnival cruises and had a great time sailing on their ships Just remember to try the chocolate melting cake at diner

Rob

 

[lovethedream]

We love DCL and have also done 5 Carnival cruises and had a great time sailing on their ships Just remember to try the chocolate melting cake at diner

Rob

I assume they have it on all their ships? And exactly what is a chocolate melting cake? It sounds delicious!

 

[lovethedream]

I haven't cruised with Carnival, but I once booked a spring break cruise on Carnival Destiny out of San Juan. A month or so later, RCI's Adventure of the Seas out of San Juan for the same dates dropped in price, so I changed to that ship. I was already familiar with RCI and decided to go with a known quantity. It was a wonderful cruise, and we had the best dining room servers of any ship I've been on.

I see cruises out of san jusn seem to have a lot more stops due to proximity to other islands. Was it better on a longer cruise to port every day or have a day or two at sea?

 

[NancyIL]

I see cruises out of san jusn seem to have a lot more stops due to proximity to other islands. Was it better on a longer cruise to port every day or have a day or two at sea?

I was on two 7-night cruises from San Juan, and both went to 4 ports with 2 sea days. I prefer port days to sea days, but I like a few sea days to recover from active port days! I'll be on a Transatlantic cruise in late November that ends with 6 sea days in a row. I hope I don't go stir crazy by the end!

I hope you and your wife will enjoy the Carnival cruise. Be sure to post a review when you return.

 

[Mickeyhugger]

I assume they have it on all their ships? And exactly what is a chocolate melting cake? It sounds delicious!

Yes they serve it on all their ships. I do not know what to compare it to..I am not a big sweets/desert eater but I order it at least 4 times on a 7 day cruise

Rob

 

[tgreenfield184]

Tell me what you thought of carnival cruise. We are thinking using it next year. What type of food is on deck. Does the kids club have computer lab for a 10 year old. And anything else here is my email address