Carnival Legend (Alaska, August 2017) vs. Disney Fantasy (Western Caribbean, October 2017)
In 2017, I had the opportunity to go on two cruises within two month’s time. My family- my husband, two teen boys and I took a Carnival cruise on the Legend to Alaska in August. In early October, I traveled with a dear friend Teena, my first time on a
Disney cruise. This was a Western Caribbean itinerary on the Fantasy.
Everyone who hears about these two trips has been curious about how the two cruises compare, so I will do my best to point out the pros and cons of both experiences. To some extent, the analysis will be difficult because the destinations and traveling parties were so different.
I also need to add that although both of these trips were spectacular, cruising is not my favorite form of vacation. I prefer a land-based trip, where I am able to walk on the beach when the mood hits me and where I don’t have the pressure of a deadline for returning to a ship that will sail away without me if I miss it.
Price:
For this piece, I will compare the Carnival/Disney Alaska itineraries so that we have an apples to apples comparison. Which is more like a Kia to Rolls Royce analysis. My husband researched and booked the Alaska cruise for our family. The cost for the Carnival cruise (not including airfare or tips/other expenses) one week, one cabin, 4 adults, extended balcony room was $4,500. I believe he ever-so-briefly checked what a similar Disney cruise would cost and it was at least double that.
Since the highlight of a trip to Alaska is the destination, and the bells and whistles offered by Disney were not important to us, Carnival is the clear winner here. No regrets about booking with “The Fun Ship” for our family’s trip to Alaska.
Except for a couple of other features, Disney takes the win in every other category.
Ship:
Carnival Legend
First Sailed in August 2002
963 feet long, 12 decks
2,124 passengers/930 crew members
Ship's Godmother: Dame Judi Dench
Disney Fantasy
First Sailed in March 2012
1,115 feet, 16 decks
4,000 passengers/1,458 cast members
Ship's Godmother: Mariah Carey
(Neil Patrick Harris hosted the Christening ceremony and Jerry Seinfeld performed)
The Carnival Legend is an older ship, and in fact will be going into dry-dock soon for a refurbishment. It is a (relatively) small ship, compared to the Disney Fantasy, but I still found it difficult to navigate.
I am directionally challenged, so I had trouble finding my cabin on both ships when I was alone, but it was ESPECIALLY bad on the Legend. I got lost for several minutes more than once. It was so bad that at one point my family forbade me from wandering alone (AWWW! They DO care!)
The directional signs on the Fantasy were clearer and easier to understand. I did still have trouble getting from the theatre area back to my cabin on the Fantasy when I was alone- not all of the elevators went to the floor I needed, and I really had to study the maps to find my way around. Is the adult Serenity area at the front or back of the ship? I don’t know, but I could eventually find it given enough time.
The Disney Fantasy is newer, brighter and the Disney touches are fantastic. Disney does details! Both ships were kept clean, but the crew on the Fantasy makes sure it is immaculate! A few days before we boarded the Fantasy, the ship had hit a dock, but I’m pretty sure the scratch was repaired before they even left that port.
The theming for the Legend is Greek/Roman mythology, which is cool and all, but DISNEY!!! From the Minnie statue in the lobby to the movie artwork on the stairways and throughout the ship and the added bonus of the Halloween touches, the décor of the Fantasy wins ears-down!
Lobbies:
Fantasy Lobby, Halloween on the High Seas décor
ETA:
A few people have mentioned in replies that they prefer the look of the Legend lobby, with a good point being the use of the space. I did spend more time in the Fantasy lobby- I went to a pin trading event and I happened upon a character dance party one afternoon at sea. There is a popular bar in the Legend lobby, but we don't really spend any time at bars, especially when traveling with the boys. The entertainment in the lobby was literally the same duo of singers every time we walked through. Hardest working couple on the seas!
Cabin:
I am not sure if the cabins on the Legend and the Fantasy were the same category of room. Both of the cabins I stayed in had balconies. The Disney cabin was larger, or at least seemed to be. The bedding we had on the Fantasy was a large bed and a sleeper couch, with a curtain that divided the spaces. On the Legend, we had a cabin with a large bed and bunk beds for the boys.
The Fantasy had two bathrooms, one with a shower but on the Legend the four of us had to share a single bathroom. The second bathroom was a huge advantage because someone could be showering while someone else was brushing teeth or whatever.
The storage seemed pretty comparable in the two cabins. But there was one feature I really loved in the Fantasy. Next to my sleeper couch was a large storage chest where I put all my beach gear and snorkel stuff.
Carnival Legend Cabin 7178
Disney Fantasy Cabin 8678
Battle of the Towel Elephants:
Dumbo:
Entertainment:
This one is a slam dunk!
Disclaimer- on previous cruises, and on the Legend Alaska cruise, we have not attended shows. Well, one afternoon ice skating show on a
Royal Caribbean ship, but I think that’s it. We are just not that into it, and we are also early-to-bed, early-to-rise, so the entertainment is usually too late for us.
On the Fantasy, I did not miss any of the nightly shows. The performers in all of the shows were super talented.
Aladdin was incredible! Costumes and staging were awesome, Genie was hilarious.
The other custom shows- The Welcome Fantasy Show, Wishes, Believe and An Unforgettable Journey were all excellent, with original stories interspersed with Broadway-style vignettes from popular Disney movies.
But what impressed me most of all were the live performers on the show. The hypnotist Ricky Kalmon blew my mind (although he failed to control it). I liked his performance so much that I went to see his adult-themed show another night at a lounge. Again, I did not get hypnotized, but the guy sitting next to me did and it was unbelievable.
Another night, juggler Max Winfrey entertained and amazed me. 4 tennis racket. Kitchen sink. Hilarious audience participation. What else is there to say?
Oh, and the Pirate Party followed by fireworks at sea? BOOM!
In contrast, our only experience with the entertainment on the Legend was during our dinner one night. A guy wearing a tuxedo came over to our table and asked “Do you recognize me? I’m on tv!” Then he proceeded to do some card tricks at our table. He then invited us to his magic show the next day. This was SO CRINGY and awkward! The next night he was working more tables at dinner but fortunately, he didn’t make it back to ours.
On Board Activities:
On the Legend, in Alaska, the focus was really on excursions in port, and observing the scenery while we were at sea. We played trivia a couple of times. One was general trivia, the other was Harry Potter-themed. Both sessions had challenging questions and cramped conditions. The lounge where we played was much too small for everyone who was playing. They would have been better off doing it in the theatre.
We also went to a sushi making demo on the Legend- There were only two rows of seats for about 20 people, so we watched from spot overlooking the lobby.
On the Fantasy, there were always interesting things to do during any downtime:
Ship tour, animation class, characters to meet, movies at poolside and in the theatre*, an interactive detective game. Trivia was held in a large lounge and there was plenty of room to be comfortable.
ETA:
* There were 3 movies shown during the Legend cruise. On our Skagway (Friday) day, Boss Baby in the afternoon and Rogue One at 10:30. On our final day, Beauty & the Beast was shown. On the Fantasy, Disney movies were playing non-stop when the pool was open and other first-run movies were being shown a couple of times a day in one of the theatres.
Food:
On the Legend, we chose the YTD: Your Time Dining- where we could arrive for dinner at a time that was convenient for us. This was great, especially with the port itineraries that had us on crazy time schedules. The only times we experienced a wait to be seated was on the first sea day/formal night and on the night we were docking in Victoria since anyone who wanted to get off the ship at 7:30 needed to dine early.
We also liked that we could choose to dine with our family only, instead of being at a table with others we didn’t know.
One of the downsides of this style of dining is that we didn’t have the same waitstaff from night to night. Service varied from professional and excellent (once), to adequate, to poor.
The food was mostly decent. We are not picky eaters, so we were always able to find something we wanted to eat. On the menu, they call the appetizers “Entrees” and the dinners “Mains” which screwed us up for a couple of nights.
Carnival offers an “if you dare” appetizer each night- things like frogs legs, beef tongue, rabbit. We would often get this appetizer, or another “for the table” to share in addition to each ordering our own.
Standouts we had during the week were an Indian vegetarian dinner that Mark got and a fantastic chocolate cake. The dining low point was during the lunch where we were served inedible sushi and a pepper pot soup that had no flavor.
Note: Traditional cruise dining, at set times, was also available in the lower dining room for anyone who wanted to do that.
The food on the Fantasy was incredible, service was impeccable, the dining room theming was really cool! More about all that when I am writing my report, but I do want to comment on the exceptional job our waitstaff did in dealing with the extreme dietary restrictions of one of our friends who dined with us. The assistant waitress reviewed the menu for the following night with M to ensure her meal would be prepared as she needed it. Every night she was able to enjoy a custom-made dessert that was safe for her. KUDOS!
Buffets:
We didn’t eat at the buffets much at either ship.
Disney had much better offerings and selections- shrimp and crab claws at the lunch buffet!
I didn’t like the set-up on the Legend. There were too many stations, and they were spread out on deck, in more than one room. Made it difficult if you wanted to sample a lot of different things. I did enjoy the Chopstick buffet station that offered delicious Asian food.
One morning on the Fantasy I ordered an omelet. They gave me a number and asked where I was seated so they could deliver it to me when it was ready! That rocked!!!
Specialty Dining
We dined at the Nouveau Steakhouse on the Legend on our arrival night. At $35 per person, plus tip, I found this to be a pricey meal. There was plenty of food, though. The appetizers and salads were all excellent. Nate got a huge steak. We were served Caribbean lobster even though the menu promised Maine lobster. The desserts were good, although we were already full by the time they were served.
Palo on the Fantasy was unbelievable! Here you order mini main courses (as many as you want) and there is also a serve-yourself buffet with serveral stations. The seafood selections- OMG! I could have just been happy with just that. There were many tempting desserts, too.
Nouveau Steak House:
Palo:
Pools:
Because we were in Alaska, we didn’t try out the pools on the Legend. They were surprisingly crowded with families, though.
The Fantasy pools were always crowded as well, both the family pool and the adult pool. I took a couple of dips in the adult pool to cool off, but there was no place for me to “swim”
I never tried the slide on the Legend, but I did have a few rides on the Fantasy’s Aquaduck. So fun! My wait times ranged from about 10 -30 minutes. I regret that I never got the chance to ride at night.
Fantasy:
Excursions- it is not really fair to compare excursions between these two cruises since the destinations were so different, but I will make two comments:
At Carnival, you book and pay in advance. With Disney, you reserve your spot and then you are charged when you are onboard. This is very convenient and allows for last minute changes if you want to do something else (within a certain timeframe)
Also, I would be remiss not to mention that
Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island stop, is paradise!
Photos:
This one is a mixed bag.
The photographers on the Legend were voracious! They were pushy about trying to take our pictures frequently. Every port had costumed characters or mascots as we were leaving the ship. The photographers also roamed the dining rooms. We eventually figured out we just needed to say “No, thanks”, but on the Disney ship, there was absolutely no pressure by the photographers because plenty of families had purchased photo packages and wanted keepsake pictures.
The environmentalist in me hates that all photos are printed out for display and then are destroyed if not purchased. I like the procedure at Disney, where you can look at the screens, edit and choose the pictures you want.
HOWEVER, the one time I wanted to purchase a picture on the Fantasy (a picture of me in front of the Fantasy on Castaway Cay), it was difficult to find a working monitor due to the crowds. A Cast Member needed to help me figure out what to do, but he was stretched thin and couldn’t stay with me. When I saw the price for the single picture I wanted-$20 or $24 for a 5x7” or something like that- I balked. I would have preferred a 4x6” or a digital download but I don’t think that was an option and I couldn’t find anyone to help me. I didn’t end up purchasing the picture.
On the Legend, I purchased a package of 4 photos- our boarding shot, the boys’ pictures with the “Alaskan Blind Bear” and a picture of me that Mark liked from our first day. When I was deciding about the pictures, the person at the counter was very helpful and offered to put aside the pictures I was considering, which is not the usual procedure. I think it was around $40 for 4 photos, a MUCH better deal than the Disney cruise photo prices.
We never checked to see if there is an unlimited photo package through Carnival, because getting my family to pose for pictures is like pulling teeth. I know Disney has a package, but it is uber-expensive.
Muster:
As experienced cruisers know, Coast Guard regulations require that all passengers gather at a muster station to familiarize themselves with emergency and safety procedures before the cruise ship can set sail.
The muster drill on the Legend sucked! We got to our station, which was on one of the decks by the lifeboats, when called. We lined up and then had to stay on deck for about 45 minutes, in the heat, crowded against a wall, prohibited from using any electronic devices, while we waited for everyone to check-in. It seemed like people in the know realized that others would be late, so to avoid having to wait around, many people did not show up until the last minute.
The muster on the Fantasy was so much better. Our assigned station was in the Tube nightclub- INSIDE! AIR-CONDITIONED- WITH SEATS!
Wifi:
For me, Carnival actually wins on this one. With Carnival, you can get an unlimited package for around $70/week. Only 1 person in the cabin can be online at a time (unless you make one of the devices a hotspot). You could purchase in advance before the cruise for a discount, which we did. Instructions for logging on were in the cabin when we arrived. The advantage to this plan is you didn’t have to remember to logout or be concerned about what was running and consuming data. You could be connected as long you wanted or until someone else in the cabin wanted to use the ‘net.
The Connect@Sea package with Disney is more confusing. You purchase a certain amount of data. The more data you pay for, the cheaper it is per unit, BUT you won’t get a refund for any unused data. It can be tough to know how much data you will need. If you run out of the data and need to purchase more, you don’t get the advantage of the bulk pricing. You also needed to be careful about automatic update to apps on your device, or uploading/downloading apps like One Drive or DropBox that could use your data in the background without you knowing it. Do not forget to logout when you are not using your device. I tried for the past 15 minutes or so to find the prices so I could post here, but I couldn’t find them on the Disney Cruise site or doing a simple search. I checked my receipt and I paid $39.00, I think for 300 MB of data. I think that was the least expensive plan. Note- I also received 50 MB of free data for signing on the first day. I think every cabin can get this, whether or not you sign up for a plan. The data I purchased ended up being sufficient for me. I was able to keep in touch with my family and friends back home through WhatsApp and Facebook while I was away for a week.
Overall Atmosphere/Would I book with Carnival or Disney again?
That's a good question. My answer is yes, depending on the opportunity. For me, cruising is about experiencing a variety of amazing ports.
Carnival has the reputation of being "The Fun Ship" To me, this means a younger, partying crowd. This is not our vibe, and fortunately, we didn't experience this on our Alaska cruise. The guests consisted of multi-generational families, couples, friends. I don't know if the atmosphere is different on sailings to other itineraries, but that would be a consideration for me to book with Carnival again. For the price, depending on where the cruise was sailing, I would consider Carnival.
The passengers on the Fantasy, not-surprisingly, were made up of a lot of multi-generational families. Because we were sailing during the school year, the kids on the cruise were skewed to preschool ages. I saw a lot of poorly-supervised kids- I suspected an attitude of "we paid a lot of for this vacation, so my kids (or grandkids) can do whatever they want." The characters and all of the Disney fun was awesome, but for my family with two teen boys, these Disney extras are not important features. In later years, if we are blessed with grandchildren, a Disney cruise may be on the horizon. I would love to share the experience with Mark, but as a couple, this is not the vacation we would choose together without other factors- the opportunity to sail with friends, at a decent price.
As I am writing the report about my Fantasy trip, if I think of anything to add, I’ll update this post.
aboard!
