After 5 DCLs we tried Carnival...

[JW9DVC]

Can you remind me which cruiseship you have sailed on and did not like? I forgot.

It could be a free Carnival cruise if someone paid for me to test the waters. Because apparently we shouldn't bash them on a DCL site that someone gave a comparison to. Idk

 

[RedSox68]

It could be a free Carnival cruise if someone paid for me to test the waters. Because apparently we shouldn't bash them on a DCL site that someone gave a comparison to. Idk

But how can you "bash" a cruise line you have never sailed on?

 

[cruiser21]

But how can you "bash" a cruise line you have never sailed on?

I think there's a lot of negative posters on here. I think it's just the way it is.

 

[Our 2 Princesses]

Our first 5 cruises were with DCL and we loved them - all 7 day to Caribbean. However the prices went so high and the itineraries hardly varied so we decided to try elsewhere - we like 4 ports, especially as CC is not a guaranteed stop!

The last 2 years we have cruised NCL Getaway and Carnival Magic.

NCL was great except for the MDR. Luckily we had free speciality dining as a booking perk so only ate in the MDR once.

The Carnival Magic was certainly very close to DCL for us - admittedly we had a suite compared to a balcony on DCL - and we were all set to rebook until we discovered that DS's school holiday is a week earlier next year and we don't fancy that itinerary. DS said it was his best cruise so far - he is 10.

We are therefore trying RCL Freedom of the Seas for an 8 night cruise.

The money we save on not booking a DCL cruise goes a long way towards paying for a week in WDW pre-cruise )

Glad to hear you liked the Magic so much. We are cruising on it this summer for our dd's graduation gift. You will love the Freedom. We took our oldest dd on that one for her graduation. We loved the 'mall' and coffee shop. Beautiful ship!

 

[RedSox68]

I think there's a lot of negative posters on here. I think it's just the way it is.

Sadly, yes. Thanks. If they're bashing because of word of mouth, that's no way to judge a cruise line. Heck, we had the cruise from hell on the NCL Pride of Aloha in 2008, but still gave NCL another try on the Breakaway and loved it

 

[tink1970]

Sadly, yes. Thanks. If they're bashing because of word of mouth, that's no way to judge a cruise line. Heck, we had the cruise from hell on the NCL Pride of Aloha in 2008, but still gave NCL another try on the Breakaway and loved it

I think there are people who "bash" and those who simply do not like the same things or look for the same things in a cruise. I have been on Carnival twice (giving it a second chance as it were). That said, there are many people who become very defensive if negative things are said about any of the cruise lines. I would get flamed if I wrote my opinions of CCL (and I know by whom) so I won't. It will not change the minds of those who adore it and it won't change the minds of people like me who do not (I will say I'm not going to give it a third chance. Life is too short to make the same mistakes repeatedly). However, I think we should respect everyone's (differing) opinions for what they are-opinions.

 

[RedSox68]

I think there are people who "bash" and those who simply do not like the same things or look for the same things in a cruise. I have been on Carnival twice (giving it a second chance as it were). That said, there are many people who become very defensive if negative things are said about any of the cruise lines. I would get flamed if I wrote my opinions of CCL (and I know by whom) so I won't. It will not change the minds of those who adore it and it won't change the minds of people like me who do not (I will say I'm not going to give it a third chance. Life is too short to make the same mistakes repeatedly). However, I think we should respect everyone's (differing) opinions for what they are-opinions.

I have never had a problem with negative reviews, whether it be Disney or any other line, as long as the person posting them has actually experienced the cruise itself and isn't just bashing it because of name or past reputation.

 

[Neptune's Fork]

I don't necessarily think Carnival was getting bashed, it was just a poster's experience they were relating. I've been on both Carnival and Disney and heard someone once describe it as Carnival would be like a state fair midway, whereas, DCL would be like Magic Kingdom. You can have fun at both but they are different experiences. It's not bashing, it's just different experiences. Not everyone can be the top dog.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

The OP was making a perfectly valid comparison. Carnival offers 3-day weekend cruises and so does DCL. The fact that the two lines' 3-day weekend cruises are of very different quality was the point of the post, and useful information to share.

Except those cruises price out at about $300/person double occupancy and the Carnival Fantasy Class ships are about 13,000 GT smaller.

 

[JW9DVC]

But how can you "bash" a cruise line you have never sailed on?

I have been on Carnival. Basically the only way I could give a positive is if someone gave me a free trip.

 

[JW9DVC]

I think there's a lot of negative posters on here. I think it's just the way it is.

No. Negative, not at all. Just factual? ++++ when sometimes the reality is -----

 

[quickcat]

Your post made me laugh! That was like us- When we got off the ruby princess and we were headed to the airport my husband said, "We really need to book a Disney cruise."

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I'm sure the people on this Wonder sailing don't feel as warmly about DCL: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/tourism/os-disney-wonder-sick-vomiting-20160502-story.html

 

[cruiser21]

No. Negative, not at all. Just factual? ++++ when sometimes the reality is -----

I was referring to several people not just you. Your reality is your own not necessarily everyone's.

 

[mevelandry]

But how can you "bash" a cruise line you have never sailed on?

Sounds pretty unfair to me.

By the way, still waiting to hear from the OP about the ship and what went wrong.

 

[mevelandry]

I have been on Carnival. Basically the only way I could give a positive is if someone gave me a free trip.

Which ship?

 

[kaysmommie]

I'm not surprised. We've been on 5 Disney cruises, 1 Royal Caribbean and 1 on the Carnival Breeze (newer ship/ 8 nights). Once was enough, I'd never go on Carnival again. I actually lost weight on that cruise! Bad food and service was just okay.,

 

[cruiser21]

Sounds pretty unfair to me.

By the way, still waiting to hear from the OP about the ship and what went wrong.

What's funny to me is the people that 'like' the posts that bash Carnival have never cruised on Carnival. I think it's just the culture we live in. Everyone preaches tolerance, but they only have tolerance for people that agree with them.

 

[mevelandry]

Carnival is changing, their are slowly stepping up their game. You can see it with the Vista and the Horizon. They added Havana (concierge) and Family Harbour. They started accepting children in former adult pools.

You can't judge a whole cruise line by one ship... In my opinion, there is a clash between the different ships. Just on paper, Paradise, Victory, Sunshine and Vista are so different from one another. Also, different ship means different staff. They have 24 ships (soon 25). Surely one can find a ship that they will appreciate.

Fun story: in Animator's Palate, I ate the exact same thing on different ships (pursettes with champagne sauce and terriyaki beef). I hated my food on the Disney Dream but I loved it on the Wonder (Yes, I ordered the same dishes even though I hated them the first time. I'm that open minded. Lol) different ship = different staff.

Kaysmommie did not have a good experience on the Breeze ... but I'm on a Carnival fanpages and many people love the Breeze and liked the food on the ship.

DH and I liked the food so much on the Victory that we did not feel the need to upgrade to any specialty restaurants experience... but we always do on DCL.

We find that the money we save by booking Carnival gives us options to upgrade here and there and adjust if we don't like something (although it wasn't necessary at all during our Victory cruise). Really, a cruise is what you make out of it.

 

[LSUfan4444]

When they say once you try DCL you'll never go back to anything else, they're telling the truth.

I'd certainly disagree with this but if you have found your home for all sailings, congrats. Vacationing without buyers remorse is a great feeling.