CARNIVAL VS DCL: The discussion and comparison thread!

[we"reofftoneverland]

I hate to say it but we were not impressed with the cakes. I had read they were like the ones you get from the coffee place. I have had a couple and they are amazing. Sadly, every cake we tried was dry and tasteless. They all looked pretty though!

Sorry to hear it! I wonder if they have changed them- probably. We love going to the buffet for “free” cake in the afternoon.

 

[Mika02]

I hate to say it but we were not impressed with the cakes. I had read they were like the ones you get from the coffee place. I have had a couple and they are amazing. Sadly, every cake we tried was dry and tasteless. They all looked pretty though!

This makes me sad I've always had great cakes and desserts on carnival cruises (sometimes 2 at a time lol)

 

[tidefan]

Hi!

I'm with your neighbors.

We will most likely never sail with DCL again.

Everything that Carnival did not have and that I missed from DCL, Royal Caribbean has it (for 1/2 of the price).

So, for us, it will only be new ships from Carnival + RCCL ships from now on.

You should also try Princess, Celebrity, and NCL!

 

[tidefan]

Hi!

I'm with your neighbors.

We will most likely never sail with DCL again.

Everything that Carnival did not have and that I missed from DCL, Royal Caribbean has it (for 1/2 of the price).

So, for us, it will only be new ships from Carnival + RCCL ships from now on.

Interested to see your review. One of my (many) complaints about RCCL on the Serenade was that they only had 1 "included" food outlet during the day other than the Windjammer (which was closed from 2pm-5pm) called the Park Cafe that (1) had an extremely limited menu, and (2) was in the adult section, so we were always unsure if our DD could go in there to get something. On that ship, Pizza, Burgers, and the Ice Cream machines are in the Windjammer, so you couldn't get them all day. Also, it was tough to find something when you'd get back on the ship early as it didn't open back up until 5pm...

Now, that could have been a symptom of our cruise (which, had about 1/3 of the crew walk off in a contract dispute prior to our sailing), but I really hated the limited selection of food during the day...

 

[trvlgirlmq]

This makes me sad I've always had great cakes and desserts on carnival cruises (sometimes 2 at a time lol)

The MDR desserts were all good. I think they have the best sugar free desserts. Those cakes were actually tasty. Go figure.

 

[bcwife76]

If you do, please let me know what you think!

Which date are you looking at doing it, I think your link went to June 2020 dates? We are looking at the July 22-31 2020 cruise. Still $50 deposits and until tomorrow night you can also get free open bar, free wifi, $100 towards each excursion and free specialty dining. For the four of us it would be a total of $8600 CDN for a balcony room for the 9 night which is nearly $1K LESS (once you do the conversion) for our Disney Magic cruise (deck 2, deluxe inside room) .......

 

[Mika02]

The MDR desserts were all good. I think they have the best sugar free desserts. Those cakes were actually tasty. Go figure.

On my Magic Ship tour I got a no sugar added dessert (I just had weight loss surgery) it was so good

 

[smmco]

Our cruise on the Mardi gras in August is completely sold out. I guess I don't have to worry about the price dropping.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

Our cruise on the Mardi gras in August is completely sold out. I guess I don't have to worry about the price dropping.

Wow. That’s exciting.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

Which date are you looking at doing it, I think your link went to June 2020 dates? We are looking at the July 22-31 2020 cruise. Still $50 deposits and until tomorrow night you can also get free open bar, free wifi, $100 towards each excursion and free specialty dining. For the four of us it would be a total of $8600 CDN for a balcony room for the 9 night which is nearly $1K LESS (once you do the conversion) for our Disney Magic cruise (deck 2, deluxe inside room) .......

We’re booked for the June 6th cruise. Arizona is year round schooling so Brenda is done teaching in May and goes back to work mid July.

 

[smmco]

Wow. That’s exciting.

Yes, it is. I've never been on a maiden voyage. I'm hoping for a Wish maiden voyage, but I have a feeling the price may be prohibitive. The only negative is the flying and jet lag. In case anyone's wondering you need a prescription to buy melatonin in London. I found that out last month. This and the Ginger pills were the only things I forgot to pack for our transatlantic. I'm not a pill taker, but I've found melatonin really helps me sleep 8-9 hours without waking up at 2 am. I could have really used those Ginger pills for Hurricane Humberto.

 

[mevelandry]

Sounds like a great time. We've only sailed Disney, so I'm used to how their MDRs work. On Carnival, can you just wait until dinner time and show up at whatever restaurant you'd like to eat at or do you have to make reservations beforehand. I'm assuming for the really fancy ones you need ressies, but how about the ones that are equivalent to the MDRs on Disney. I've booked a Jan 2021 cruise on Disney. I'm thinking once her Spring break finally gets announced I'll cancel it and book something either on Carnival or RCCL. Luckily I'll have a long time for research since her school system takes FOREVER to announce the calendars.

There's usually only one dining room (included), other than that you have the buffet and two or three food counters... The Specialty Dining Restaurants ($) have to be booked in advance.

If you pick "Your Time Dining", all you have to do is show up when you are hungry.

 

[mevelandry]

You should also try Princess, Celebrity, and NCL!

It's part of the plan. We were originally supposed to sail on Celebrity in January 2020 until we changed our plans for RCCL... We booked cruises with NCL twice but cancelled because we changed plans. Princess is on my list as well. I keep checking their cruises too.

 

[mevelandry]

Here's my review of the Mariner in a Triple Threat Match... Let me know if you have questions:

https://www.disboards.com/threads/m...reat-match-rccl-vs-dcl-vs-ccl-review.3749558/

 

[bcwife76]

We’re booked for the June 6th cruise. Arizona is year round schooling so Brenda is done teaching in May and goes back to work mid July.

Gotcha, that makes sense! We booked the July 22nd cruise last night. However, we have not cancelled Disney yet.....we booked because for $50 pp (refundable) it seemed like a no brainer to secure all the freebies they were also offering and still have a good choices of rooms left. Gives us some breathing room to decide which one we want to ultimately keep.....

 

[mevelandry]

Interested to see your review. One of my (many) complaints about RCCL on the Serenade was that they only had 1 "included" food outlet during the day other than the Windjammer (which was closed from 2pm-5pm) called the Park Cafe that (1) had an extremely limited menu, and (2) was in the adult section, so we were always unsure if our DD could go in there to get something. On that ship, Pizza, Burgers, and the Ice Cream machines are in the Windjammer, so you couldn't get them all day. Also, it was tough to find something when you'd get back on the ship early as it didn't open back up until 5pm...

Now, that could have been a symptom of our cruise (which, had about 1/3 of the crew walk off in a contract dispute prior to our sailing), but I really hated the limited selection of food during the day...

It is true that there aren't that many options outside of the "buffet hours"... We had the Café (with Pizza) and the Hot Dog stand. That being said, we always found something we liked, at any hours, as long as we were willing to walk a little bit.

Carnival definitely wins for the food counters. More options, more availabilities.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

Gotcha, that makes sense! We booked the July 22nd cruise last night. However, we have not cancelled Disney yet.....we booked because for $50 pp (refundable) it seemed like a no brainer to secure all the freebies they were also offering and still have a good choices of rooms left. Gives us some breathing room to decide which one we want to ultimately keep.....

That’s why we booked as well, we’re probably going to keep, the kids are super excited about Russia.

 

[mevelandry]

That’s why we booked as well, we’re probably going to keep, the kids are super excited about Russia.

Russia sounds beautiful.

 

[h3kta]

Mevelandry, do you cruise with kids by any chance? If not, do you think your opinions will be different if you had kids?
I am also considering branching out and checking other cruise lines. Disney is getting far too expensive and their itineraries are a little stale and pretty boring. But I have only done disney cruises and concerned about leaving my (now) comfort zone...

 

[tinkerone]

Mevelandry, do you cruise with kids by any chance? If not, do you think your opinions will be different if you had kids?
I am also considering branching out and checking other cruise lines. Disney is getting far too expensive and their itineraries are a little stale and pretty boring. But I have only done disney cruises and concerned about leaving my (now) comfort zone...

I had that same concern, mainly because others kept telling me I would be sorry. I'm here to tell you I wasn't.

We don't have small children but I can tell you that I have spoken with loads of families who do and have sailed other lines and I have never met one in person who said it was a mistake, that their children weren't happy. Now, I read on this board a lot that people have had issues but I take that with a grain of salt. After all, this is a DCL cruise board and some don't want to ever admit defeat.
I personally am glad I got the nerve to try another line. I'd still be shaking my head at people who left DCL had I not gone ahead and tried it myself. Go ahead, give it a go. I doubt you or your children will be sorry.