1/6/07 Eastern-Live DCL/Carnival Comparison Report

[HollyTyler]

Entrance to the casino:

 

[HollyTyler]

Hall outside of casino. The 3 black chairs are massage chairs. You can sort of see the lights in the chandeliers changing colors. The color change works its way around like a wave. Almost like watching a light show.

 

[HollyTyler]

Oriental buffet:

 

[HollyTyler]

Another cool little bar:

 

[HollyTyler]

Victorian Lounge:

 

[HollyTyler]

This woman was dancing in the street in Antigua with a pineapple on her head!

 

[HollyTyler]

These guys were great to listen to!

 

[suzannef]

Holly sorry if I missed this in a previous post but about how many people are on board? Does it seem bigger or smaller than Disney and did it feel more or less crowded?
tia
Suzanne

 

[TSBRN]

Thanks for taking the time to do this nice comparison. All the pictures are really nice....the ship looks pretty neat on the inside. Hope you have a great cruise!

 

[HollyTyler]

Holly sorry if I missed this in a previous post but about how many people are on board? Does it seem bigger or smaller than Disney and did it feel more or less crowded?
tia
Suzanne

Suzanne: I've heard the ship was almost sold out and it holds 2,900 passengers, so it must have close to that onboard. The ship is bigger than Disney, but it doesn't seem any taller or wider. It's definitely a LOT longer though, so that's probably the size difference. But it doesn't seem crowded to me at all. I haven't had any trouble getting a chair by the pools and haven't had to wait in line for anything (besides waiting to check in). I eat at the buffet every day and have never had trouble finding an empty table by the window, but on Disney I quite often had trouble finding a table during busy times.

 

[HollyTyler]

Thanks for taking the time to do this nice comparison. All the pictures are really nice....the ship looks pretty neat on the inside. Hope you have a great cruise!

It really is nice inside. I'm still a DCL fanatic and can't wait until I'm back on the Magic in November, but I'd definitely cruise on this ship again (but definitely would not take my son).

 

[HollyTyler]

Arrived in Tortola this morning around 7. Didn't take any pictures. Green mountains just like St. Thomas. Didn't take a tour, just wanted to shop a bit near the dock. Not many buildings really close, just a ton of merchants set up under canopies. Lots of art and handmade stuff for sale. They didn't pressure us like the merchants in Antigua did.

Not much else to say today. Hung out in pool again, did the slide a bunch, not much else to do onboard.

Bingo tonight is called "Deal or No Deal" and is supposed to be like the TV game show somehow. Can't wait! Another comedian is the show tonight and I'm definitely going to dinner tonight because Alaskan crab legs are on the menu.

Forgot to mention another difference between Carnival and Disney. The TV in the room has an interactive menu where you can read about all the excursions for each port, check out what's on the menu for dinner, check your balance on your shipboard account and other good info. It's actually quite handy.

The dinner club onboard, similar to Palo on Disney is called Harry's and costs $30 instead of the $20 to dine at Palo. The decor is supposed to be like a jewelry store. It has cases with reproductions of expensive jewelry inside. Kind of different.

 

[HollyTyler]

I learned something really cool tonight! Well, first of all, we're going through a major storm. It's so bad that I can hear the wind through the window in our room and the water splashing up, and I've never felt a ship rock like it is now. That part's not good. But I went to the show tonight, which was a hilarious comedian and right after that the crew did the same skit the do on Disney on Pub Night - the one with "If I were not upon the sea, ...". Too funny! Then Cindy and I were at Hot & Cold (the adult disco) until it closed. Tonight was 70s & 80s music. We met some new friends, and after 3am it ended up being just me with about 4 of the people we met. Well, after watching the water actually slosh out of the pool and run across deck towards us, we finally noticed rain on the glass roof over the pool where no roof had been before!!!!!!!! We all stood underneath it trying to figure out what the deal was. It must be some sort of retractable roof. I'm not sure how it works, but that's so freaking cool! At this point it was 5:30am and I was in no condition to try to figure it out, but will try to ask about it after getting some sleep.

 

[christinou]

Thank you for the review, the ship does seem beautiful, you really are doing a great job with comparing the 2 ships.

 

[A Sunny Day]

Thank you so much for your detailed report. I am loving the pictures too. That one of San Juan looks absolutely perfect. I have a few questions if you don't mind answering.

I know that they have a soda package that you have to purchase on board instead of the free drink station that DCL has, do you know the cost of that and do they give you a card or mug or what?

Also how much does the internet cost in comparison to DCL?

The pizza and burger place by the pools you mentioned is that free or just the dining rooms?

And my last question is how do you book excursions, can you do it online before leaving and/or is there a desk like at DCL? I went on a Carnival cruise before the internet age and we booked excursions on board and the line was over an hour wait and they kept filling up certain times and such before we got our turn.

Your trip sounds so relaxing just like you wanted it, thanks again for the report.

 

[mruhaak]

RCCL has retractable roofs like that over their adult "Solarium" pools.

 

[HollyTyler]

Thank you so much for your detailed report. I am loving the pictures too. That one of San Juan looks absolutely perfect. I have a few questions if you don't mind answering.

I know that they have a soda package that you have to purchase on board instead of the free drink station that DCL has, do you know the cost of that and do they give you a card or mug or what?

Also how much does the internet cost in comparison to DCL?

The pizza and burger place by the pools you mentioned is that free or just the dining rooms?

And my last question is how do you book excursions, can you do it online before leaving and/or is there a desk like at DCL? I went on a Carnival cruise before the internet age and we booked excursions on board and the line was over an hour wait and they kept filling up certain times and such before we got our turn.

Your trip sounds so relaxing just like you wanted it, thanks again for the report.

Hi! I'll ask about the price of the soda package later this morning after I sleep a bit. I think it's around $45 for unlimited cans of coke products, and I think you just show your room card, but I'll find out the answer for you soon.

The internet cost on this ship is 250 minutes for $100, 100 minutes for $55 or you can pay as you go at $.75/minute and there is a one time activation fee of $3.95 on your first login only. The minutes you buy can be used on your laptop or on the computers in the internet cafe. You can rent a laptop for $20/day and a wireless card for $10/day. The ship has complete wireless access all over the whole ship, unlike Disney where you can only access the wireless internet in certain locations. The internet minutes you purchase can be shared with other guests.

The pizza and burger place by the pool are included, as are the self-serve ice cream and frozen yogurt stations, and also room service (except drinks), just like Disney.

Regarding excursions, you can book them online ahead of time, just like Disney, but unlike Disney, you have to pay for excursions when you book them. There is an excursion desk just like on Disney too, and the longest line I've seen there is maybe 4 people.

I hope that answers all your questions, except for the pop card. I'll find out that answer soon. I didn't bother with it and just bought a 2 liter of pop in San Juan and brought it onboard. They let you bring on a small amount of pop. However, that ran out a couple days ago and I had to break down and buy a can of coke today to feed my caffeine craving and it was $2 for a can! Crazy!

 

[HollyTyler]

RCCL has retractable roofs like that over their adult "Solarium" pools.

Oh cool! I just think it's such a neat feature!

 

[HollyTyler]

Another day at sea today. I slept most of the day after getting to my room at 6am because of staying at the club (called Hot & Cool) until they closed at 3 and then hanging out with a group. Slight shipboard romance going on. Spent lots of time hanging out with him today and tonight, and he invited me to join him and his sister and dad in Nassau tomorrow. This is why I haven't posted any new pictures or reports and probably won't until I get home Sunday night (with the exception of answering the question about the pop purchase plan).

The comedian tonight was great, and there was also another show I didn't see, but the guy I've been hanging out with told me it was a tribute to Broadway and was a really great show. One of my roommates told me they did the scene from The Full Monty where they have male strippers do a dance to the song "You Can Leave Your Hat On". WOOHOO! Too bad I missed that! I was busy in the casino turning $10 into $100!

I have some great pictures to post when I get home Sunday if anybody's still interested. My main focus is on spending as much time as possible with my new "friend" before we have to part Sunday morning.

 

[JanDave]

Holly:

Can wait to hear about your new friend!!! You haven't mentioned Cindy in a few days. Is she still on the ship???!!!

See you Monday.

Jan