CARNIVAL VS DCL: The discussion and comparison thread!

[belle032]

Those are really beautiful rooms. We got boring family Harbor inside rooms. We'll maybe next time. I'm already paying 6,000 for two room, plus excursions, hotels, and airfare. I really don't see how people do DCL in Europe. We both have decent jobs and we couldn't do it at today's prices. We did DCL in Europe 5 years ago, but boy have prices gone up.

We are doing DCL for the British Isles this year in an ocean view. If this was not a bucket list vacation with the dates/length of trip/ports that worked perfectly for us, I couldn’t justify it.

I cannot in good conscience justify DCL for a normal Caribbean cruise just in terms of pricing (although after I sail DCL for the 1st time next month, maybe that opinion will change!) There are just SO many other affordable great options.

 

[smmco]

We are doing DCL for the British Isles this year in an ocean view. If this was not a bucket list vacation with the dates/length of trip/ports that worked perfectly for us, I couldn’t justify it.

I cannot in good conscience justify DCL for a normal Caribbean cruise just in terms of pricing (although after I sail DCL for the 1st time next month, maybe that opinion will change!) There are just SO many other affordable great options.

We will be getting on the ship after you for the transatlantic. Our transatlantic is about the same price as our port intensive Carnival Baltic cruise next year. A TA should be less, but you know it’s Disney.

 

[mevelandry]

And she's baaaaack!

I'll be back this week-end with my review of DCL vs Carnival Liberty... And Princess Cays and the review of our cabana at Princess Cays vs the one we had at Castaway Cay.

But overall, very few let down and an excellent experience with Carnival. We'll be branching out for a year or two but we are "temporarily leaving" Carnival on a high note.

 

[trvlgirlmq]

And she's baaaaack!

I'll be back this week-end with my review of DCL vs Carnival Liberty... And Princess Cays and the review of our cabana at Princess Cays vs the one we had at Castaway Cay.

But overall, very few let down and an excellent experience with Carnival. We'll be branching out for a year or two but we are "temporarily leaving" Carnival on a high note.

Welcome back! Can't wait to read your review.

 

[mevelandry]

Welcome back! Can't wait to read your review.

Thank you!!

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

And she's baaaaack!

I'll be back this week-end with my review of DCL vs Carnival Liberty... And Princess Cays and the review of our cabana at Princess Cays vs the one we had at Castaway Cay.

But overall, very few let down and an excellent experience with Carnival. We'll be branching out for a year or two but we are "temporarily leaving" Carnival on a high note.

I’m excited to hear about Princess Cays.

 

[mevelandry]

I’m excited to hear about Princess Cays.

PC was different but very nice. I'll have more time to explain more in details but I can say one thing: while some people prefer less rocky beach, we loved it. More rocks = more fish. We have had our best "beach snorkeling" experience.

At this point, I can't pick between Castaway Cay, Half Moon Cay and Princess Cays. I love all of them.

 

[mevelandry]

CARNIVAL LIBERTY VS DCL REVIEW (AND TRIP REPORT)

Part I - Pre-cruise stay

We have started the day with a late night (8:00 PM) flight from Montreal to Orlando at the request of my FIL, which turned out to be a terrible idea because not only did the plane was delayed for an hour but we also waited a whole hour to receive our luggage... And of course we were dropped last by the Magical Express! We ended up going to bed around 2:30 AM. (Thankfully we had only booked the Beach Club Club Level room for the 2nd night).

Which brings me to our second bad idea: since we were travelling with seniors and they were turned off by the fact that our rooms were not on the same level the last time we stayed at a WDW, we figured sharing a room with them for just two nights wouldn't be that bad... Bad mistake: my FIL and MIL both snore like sledgehammers and no earplugs or white noise app could block the sound efficiently enough for my DH and I to get enough sleep on those two nights.

But... Moving on!

We spent the first night and early morning at All-Star Movies. It was only our second time in a WDW value hotel (we usually stick to moderate and deluxe) and I was shocked by how much I liked the resort.

We stayed in a recently refurbished room. They are extremely comfortable and soooo cute!



The giant statues of characters were great.



We did not try the pool but it looked nice enough. The only thing I liked less was that the food court was extremely crowded even though it wasn't that late in the morning.

But overall, yes, I would stay in a WDW value hotel again. I'm supposed to go back to AOA with my friends (girl trip). We are supposed to book a Little Mermaid room and I honestly can't wait.

...

And then, we moved to the Disney's Beach Club in a Club Level room where we were welcomed with mimosas and a nice breakfast service in the lounge. The food
in the lounge was good.

I love the ocean and the beach so I'm in love with the theme of the resort and the room was gorgeous.

The staff of the Club Level was also extremely nice.




I won't give too much details because technically this isn't a hotel review but now I don't know which hotel I prefer between GF, Poly & Beach Club anymore. They are all so special and amazing.

Outside of the Club Level room, also in the "Here's what I could book because I saved money by not sailing DCL" category:

We rented a cabana at Stormalong Bay (Y&BC pool) for half a day. It was huge and sooo comfortable (with soft drinks, water, a bowl of fresh fruits, a fan, a safe and a tv... And a dedicated waiter!)



We went to Epcot that night. It was nice but soooo crowded. Yuck.

The morning of the cruise, we've had breakfast with the characters at Cape May Cafe. By the way, this place is underrated. It was great and we've had an amazing experience there. I highly recommend it.

 

[mevelandry]

Part II - Embarkation Day

I told my family that I rented a private car for our trip from Beach Club to Port Canaveral. However, for more or less 50$ more than a mini-van I could get a Lincoln Stretch limousine. So... Of course I went for the limo! So you can add that one to the "Here's what I could book because I saved money by not booking with DCL" pile:



(Here's the driver putting my pleasantly-shocked-family's luggage in the limo while I am LMAO behind the camera, taking pictures of the limo.)

They have simplified the check-in at the port. We boarded around 1:00 PM and within 10 minutes we were on the ship.

Crowd: The most quiet cruise we've ever been on. No partying (at least not before midnight). No people of Wal Mart. Many families. Mostly well behaved kids. Many seniors. Most of the guests were very well dressed especially on Elegant Night --women wearing gowns and men dress shirts and ties-- I have not witnessed a single person being tipsy or drunk. So... Goodbye old cliché. Not happening on this cruise.

Cabin: We were very impressed with the cabin. While DCL definitely wins for the decor, we were pleasantly surprised with by the good shape of the cabin. The beds were so comfortable. It was like sleeping on a cloud and on the first night, we even skipped all night entertainment and went to bed at 8:30 PM.

The bathroom felt brand new with lots of shelves. The shower was nice, we could pick between 3 "water jets". I brought my own shampoo because my hair are snotty.


Unfortunately, they could not join our two balconies (more on that later) but both were so large that we could easily fit 4 adults on it and still have room to breathe.



Lobby : I would call this ship "toned down Farcus" and I really liked the look of the lobby. However, I still like the look of the Disney Wonder better.


Buffet: The choice of food and quality od food was okay. There was so many other choices (Mongolian Wok, Guy's Burgers, Blue Iguana, Old Fashioned BBQ --same thing as Pig & Anchor-- and Deli that I did not feel drawn to each there most of the time.

(Pictures to come)

So... Cabanas wins for the buffet but Carnival wins for the other choices of food.

Pool: I'm gonna give it to Disney right away. Unlike most pools I've had on Carnival, the Liberty pools were EXTREMELY COLD, rusty and in need of TLC. It was the end of spring break but they were very crowded so we only went to swim once. There was spot of rust on the lounge chairs and some of them were dirty... Please, Carnival... I know you can do better.



That being said, the tables and chairs in the back (aft) were spotless and in great shape.



Casino: The ventilation was good as even when the casino was full, the air was reasonably breathable.

The promenade was nice. Unfortunately we did not spend much time there.


While we had no time to visit the Library, it was nice. There was a good choice of book but the choice of board games has been better on other ships.

I did not feel like drinking outside of dinner during that cruise. So I passed on Alchemy Bar but it looked nice.



We've had dinner in the Steakhouse and it was fantastic. Excellent quality. Loved it.

 

[mevelandry]

Part III - Entertainment

The two shows we've seen ("Flick" and "America Rocks") were excellent -- I looooved Flick, it was impressive! It's my new favorite musical revue -- and on the 8 cruises I have done (on DCL and Carnival), this cast was hands down the best cast of performer I have ever seen/heard on a cruise.

They blew my mind.

The Love & Marriage show was fun, as usual.

My only deception was: Trivia. There was only one game of Trivia per day, it was around 5:30 PM every day and about sports. That's it. *Booooohhhhh!!!*

The comedy shows were good. We've had Chris Wiles and Russ Nagel. Both were funny but Russ Nagel was definitely much more my cup of tea even though his jokes were influenced by a much more different culture (think bikers, 2nd amendment, etc.) than our culture (french canadians), it was hilarious and we had fun.

Cookie was our cruise director. He was funny.

 

[mevelandry]

Part IV - Nassau Day

It was our 6th time in Nassau (some times we stayed on the ship, sometimes we got off to buy rum cakes and walk around and once we have done Blue Lagoon Beach Day), this time we decided to do the Discover Atlantis Tour and walk in the Marina Village. I was told that it wasn't that awesome so my expectations were low... But we loved it. It was very pretty and fun and while we felt that the "underwater" aquarium was better in Toronto (and I'm not a fan of aquarium and zoos because I prefer to see animals in nature), we have had a great tour.

Atlantis is a gorgeous hotel. I understand why people would want to stay there. It was even better than I imagined.

The Marina Village was super cute and I was hoping to stay there and grab a bite and drink at a restaurant-bar but my family was not hungry and wanted to go back on the ship (they were tired)...

But overall, I'm glad we visited Atlantis.

 

[mevelandry]

Part V - Princess Cays & Cabana on the Beach

Princess Cays and Castaway Cay are differently organized so it's hard to really compare them. The adult only beach on Princess Cays is actually a secluded cabana section for adults only. I have not visited it but I could tell the beach over there was very rocky.

So if you plan on booking a cabana on Princess Cays, I recommend you stick to the normal non-adult only cabana. They are situated near a small quiet beach that is half-sand, half rocky.

While there were cabanas there, you don't need one to relax in the area: there are chairs for everyone on the beach in front of the cabanas.

(I believe there are 3 or 4 beaches on the island so you can pick the most quiet ones on each side or the more crowded one near the BBQ). I would recommend the quiet beaches. It felt like being in paradise.

So I'll start with the beaches and finish with the cabana.

Some people hate tendering, I love it. It feels like going on an excursion (small boat ride) and the view of the ship in the background is amazing.

The sand on the beach reminded me of the sand Castaway Cay. However, I would recommend to bring water shoes if you plan to swim because the beach is more rocky. The water is very clear. The "centered beach" looks more crowded than it really was. Half of the chairs that were put on the beach were actually available.




However, rocky beach = amazing beach snorkeling. You did not need to go far in order to see tons of fish and have access to "Finding Nemo" type of underwater background. Unfortunately, the plastic pocket I bought for my cellphone did a crappy job and most of my pictures did not work and the 2 or 3 pictures that actually worked do not represent our amazing experience.

The BBQ was good enough. None of the BBQ I've experienced so far compare to the Serenity BBQ on Castaway Cay. But they had lots of little "gazebos" where people could eat.




Overall, Princess Cays is a great private island and deciding which one out of Castway Cay and Princess Cays is better really depends on what you are looking for. We are fans of snorkeling and un-crowded beaches so for us, relaxing near the quiet beach at Princess Cays was more our type our experience.

Now, the cabana...

Having a cabana gave us priority boarding of the water shuttle. Once on land, the place where we needed to wait for our ride to get to the cabana was a bit confusing and not very cute (it was a path behind the shops, between the shops and a lagoon).

The cabana was situated on one of the quiet beaches (2 min walk from the BBQ section). The beach was super cute and private and looked amazing with all the palm trees.


(Those were the chairs that were available for everyone.)

Our cabana was situated right behind those chairs. At our right was a cabana and the restrooms and right at the left of the previous picture was a small bar with little to no wait.


(This was our "spot") 4 lounging chairs.

Inside the cabana was a table and chairs. Those were not as comfortable as the furniture in a Castway Cay Cabana but good enough.

What DCL (Price: 399$ for the day) did best:

-The CC cabanas look better (and for what it's worth, the cabanas at Half Moon Cay looked better as well, especially the 2-story cabanas).

-Evian water bottles.

-We had a safe.

-We had a drape so we could change privately.

-Screen over the balcony.

-Press the button to call your waiter.

-There was a hammock.

-Free 1 hour bike rental.

-Free sunscreen.

What Carnival (Price: 199$ for the day) did best:

-The cabana looked like the paint was done very recently, they looked almost brand new.

-There was A/C in the cabana.

-We had free snorkeling equipment (there was none at our Serenity Bay Cabana).

- Better view of the beach.

-Super easy access to the bar, the BBQ and the restrooms.

-Better lunch inside the cabana including a fruit plate, veggies & dip, tortillas with fresh salsa, sour cream and guacamole, plus a cooler filled with soft drinks --we had to chose the kinds we wanted the day before-- and two 2 lt of water that we put in the fridge.

-You could close the doors if you had to leave.

-There was plugs so we could recharge our phones.

-There was 4 loungers so we could all lie down outside of the cabana.




So... They both had pros and cons. For us it's a tie.

But since the cabanas on PC were half the price of those on CC, we feel that the Princess Cays cabanas are a better value.

 

[mevelandry]

Part VI - Sea Day and conclusion

During our sea day, we sent more time relaxing on our balcony than the usual. On DCL, I've had extra large balconies but they were always made out of "white wall" so it was nice, for once, to have a clean transparent window instead. I sat and almost slept on my balcony for a whole hour.

In the afternoon, my MIL and I went to High Tea. It was not the best Afternoon Tea I've ever had because I frequent tea rooms on a regular basis in Montreal and it made me quite picky... But it was free and good enough. We had a good time.

I forgot to mention that I have tried Elegant Night for the first time during this cruise. It was a complete catastrophy: even with all the precautions I took during travel, my gown had so many wrinkles that I had to go to the laundry room to iron it in crash course and my wonderful starfish necklace (the star of my outfit) broke in two pieces as I was going to put it around my neck and I had nothing to repair it.

We have paid 60$ extra each to check luggage just to bring our Elegant Night clothes (we usually travel with carry ons only)... My hair frizzed that day and my outfit totally bombed... So, I was not a happy camper. LOL I felt so stressed out that I honestly don't want to do Elegant Night on a cruise ever again.

Overall, we came to those conclusions during our cruise:

- Just like we did with DCL after 3 cruises, we are starting to feel a little bit of a repetition on Carnival cruises so we are ready to try something new.

- I can't stand Farcus designs anymore. I prefer the newer ships and their "less busy" decor.

- I like big boats and I cannot lie...

- 2 nights will be way too short. And other than our upcoming Land & Sea (Universal & CocoCay), as long as we'll be able to afford it, we don't want to do anything shorter than 5 nights from now on.

So... We cancelled our 2 nights Celebrity cruise and our Pelican Grand stay to replace our January 2020 Land & Sea with a 6 nights Western Caribbean cruise on the Adventure of the Seas (Grand Cayman, Cozumel & Costa Maya).

Anybody went to Costa Maya before?

 

[hdrolfe]

Thanks for your review. I am glad you enjoyed it, and know you need longer cruises lol. I have been to Costa Maya twice. First time was on RCL Freedom, the same itinerary you are doing on Adventure. We took the shuttle to the beach and went to Blue Cay. I think it has changed a bit since then but the beach was lovely, the water was very shallow. Kiddo saw lots of little fish in the grassier areas. Blue Cay is at the start of the Malecon and tends to have less sea grass on the beach. The guac was amazing.

Second time I got off and did some shopping but kiddo was tired so we didn't get to the beach. There was a Starbucks in the port area. You can also see the bird aviary and the place where you can swim with dolphins.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

Part III - Entertainement

The two shows we've seen ("Flick" and "America Rocks") were excellent -- I looooved Flick, it was impressive! It's my new favorite musical revue -- and on the 8 cruises I have done (on DCL and Carnival), this cast was hands down the best cast of performer I have ever seen/heard on a cruise.

They blew my mind.

The Love & Marriage show was fun, as usual.

My only deception was: Trivia. There was only one game of Trivia per day, it was around 5:30 PM every day and about sports. That's it. *Booooohhhhh!!!*

The comedy shows were good. We've had Chris Wiles and Russ Nagel. Both were funny but Russ Nagel was definitely much more my cup of tea even though his jokes were influenced by a much more different culture (think bikers, 2nd amendment, etc.) than our culture (french canadians), it was hilarious and we had fun.

Cookie was our cruise director. He was funny.

Thanks for the review. I don’t think we’ll ever do any of the older and smaller Carnival ships. Flick is our favorite show we’ve ever seen too! The inaugural crew on Vista was amazing, especially Brett who played Flick, simply amazing. I’m so excited he’s back on Vista again and we’ll be able to see him again in June.

Cookie was part of the Fun Squad in 2017 when we were on Vista, he’s fricking hilarious. I’m so happy he’s a CD now, very well deserved.

 

[hdrolfe]

Oh yeah, Cookie was the CD on my Magic cruise last year April, he was really good, lots of fun. I don't honestly notice that often. The only other one I've ever really noticed is when I had Marc Walker on a RCL cruise. He was great as well.

I have a soft spot for Liberty, it was my first cruise ship (as an adult) and got me hooked.

 

[belle032]

@mevelandry Thank you for the detailed review!

DH & I both agree that we would not do anything less than 6 nights for a cruise only vacation. Maybe 5 if the opportunity/price/dates/ports were right or if we combined it with something else. We really enjoyed our 8 night. It was a great mix of port days/days at sea. If we were able to get the time off, I'd love to do a longer trip!

DH has no desire to try RCL, he's only been on Carnival and loves it, but I'm hoping to convince him in the future. We're both hesitant on the mega ships though. We actually have friends boarding the Harmony today for their first family vacation so I can't wait to see what they think. Their 1st cruise was on the Carnival Magic for our wedding so I'm eager to see their comparison!

 

[mevelandry]

Thanks for your review. I am glad you enjoyed it, and know you need longer cruises lol. I have been to Costa Maya twice. First time was on RCL Freedom, the same itinerary you are doing on Adventure. We took the shuttle to the beach and went to Blue Cay. I think it has changed a bit since then but the beach was lovely, the water was very shallow. Kiddo saw lots of little fish in the grassier areas. Blue Cay is at the start of the Malecon and tends to have less sea grass on the beach. The guac was amazing.

Second time I got off and did some shopping but kiddo was tired so we didn't get to the beach. There was a Starbucks in the port area. You can also see the bird aviary and the place where you can swim with dolphins.

What was the cost for Blue Cay and how long was the water shuttle ride? (Currently checking all my options).

 

[mevelandry]

Thanks for the review. I don’t think we’ll ever do any of the older and smaller Carnival ships. Flick is our favorite show we’ve ever seen too! The inaugural crew on Vista was amazing, especially Brett who played Flick, simply amazing. I’m so excited he’s back on Vista again and we’ll be able to see him again in June.

Cookie was part of the Fun Squad in 2017 when we were on Vista, he’s fricking hilarious. I’m so happy he’s a CD now, very well deserved.

I'm with you on the small and old ships. Liberty was okay but no ship beats the Vista for me on Carnival. I would try the Horizon/Panorama/Mardi Gras, though.

I'm terrible with names so I'm not sure who played who on the Liberty but the show was amazing.

Cookie is indeed at the right place right now. Who's your CD in June?

 

[mevelandry]

@mevelandry Thank you for the detailed review!

DH & I both agree that we would not do anything less than 6 nights for a cruise only vacation. Maybe 5 if the opportunity/price/dates/ports were right or if we combined it with something else. We really enjoyed our 8 night. It was a great mix of port days/days at sea. If we were able to get the time off, I'd love to do a longer trip!

DH has no desire to try RCL, he's only been on Carnival and loves it, but I'm hoping to convince him in the future. We're both hesitant on the mega ships though. We actually have friends boarding the Harmony today for their first family vacation so I can't wait to see what they think. Their 1st cruise was on the Carnival Magic for our wedding so I'm eager to see their comparison!

We have done 3-4-5 and 6 nights so far. We thought that 5 nights was perfect but 6 nights even better (also, I feel less guilty about napping in the afternoon). LOL

I'm happy to try RCCL and very open minded about it. Trying Carnival after DCL has really made me less anxious about trying new things in the future.

Our October cruise will be short again (3 nights) because we wanted to spend some time in Universal Orlando --last time was in 2014 and we really miss it-- but I booked The Key so hopefully, it's going to make our short time there more worth it. The Mariner of the Seas looks so much fun.

And the Adventure of the Seas (January 2020) still has a bit of the classic look. Love it.