CARNIVAL VS DCL: The discussion and comparison thread!

[mevelandry]

Those pictures are all in/around Mahogany Bay, Honduras.

Thank you.

 

[belle032]

I have to say that seeing all these threads pop up about the complete lack of communication from DCL has made me appreciate sailing CCL next. I appreciate all communication, even knowing it could change. I can't imagine being weeks out from a cruise not even knowing if you need a vaccine or a mask. I hope everyone sailing gets answers soon!

 

[belle032]

If you follow John Heald on FB, he just posted a video showing the very first guests walking into the atrium on the Carnival Breeze! It made me so happy to watch!

 

[mevelandry]

If you follow John Heald on FB, he just posted a video showing the very first guests walking into the atrium on the Carnival Breeze! It made me so happy to watch!

These videos make me tear up. I’m dying to be back on a ship.

 

[mevelandry]

Interesting info regarding some Carnival Ships (from John Heald's Facebook Page)

Hello everyone, Jacinta here.

John asked me to post a recap of the casino information he was talking about in the video today.

The conference rooms on deck 4 of the Carnival Dream, Carnival Magic and Carnival Breeze have been converted into totally NON SMOKING Casinos.

Here a few points for you:
The second casino is called the Double Down casino
It has both slots and tables, all your favorite slot and table games
It is non-smoking only

The main casino has both smoking and non-smoking sections

John will be telling you more about Mardi Gras and her casino when he is on board.

 

[Lilsia]

The main casino has both smoking and non-smoking sections

This is the reason why I can't go on many ships. Indoor smoking areas. We all know that the smoke does not stay in it's section and you can usually smell it in a very large area indoors. I am allergic to it so it is impossible for me to go on so many ships. Disney does a great job of having the smoking section, up and away from things that it is easily avoidable.

 

[mevelandry]

This is the reason why I can't go on many ships. Indoor smoking areas. We all know that the smoke does not stay in it's section and you can usually smell it in a very large area indoors. I am allergic to it so it is impossible for me to go on so many ships. Disney does a great job of having the smoking section, up and away from things that it is easily avoidable.

I don't know how they plan to do it. I know they "upgraded" ventilation (new standards because of COVID)... I wonder if they will physically separate the two sections --hoping they would-- but the fact that they created a second casino (100% non smoking) on another deck makes me think that they did not.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

I don't know how they plan to do it. I know they "upgraded" ventilation (new standards because of COVID)... I wonder if they will physically separate the two sections --hoping they would-- but the fact that they created a second casino (100% non smoking) on another deck makes me think that they did not.

They upgraded the ventilation system on Vista and the casino wasn’t nearly as bad as it used to be, I was surprised. As a former smoker, I now can’t stand the smell of it and I really had to get pretty close to the casino to smell. Also, they removed the bar in the center of the casino so there were no people going in there just so they could smoke inside, I think that helped a lot. They were enforcing playing the machines if you were sitting in front of one, they did not allow people to just sit down and have a smoke!

 

[mevelandry]

Fun change for people having Bottomless bubbles (soda package)… Mardi Gras has self-serve machines!

Update: it looks like they are also like PYOB booth. You fill up your glass and you are charged according to the quantity you poured. I love that concept.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

Fun change for people having Bottomless bubbles (soda package)… Mardi Gras has self-serve machines!

Interesting, that could be a game changer for me.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

I should not be allowed on a computer after returning from a cruise. Just booked Carnival Celebration for June 2023, 8 night Southern Caribbean from Miami. It’s an ABC cruise, Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao, doesn’t leave Aruba and Bonaire until 10:00 PM so will be able to see the ports at night. I discovered that ship has Ocean Suites that connect with regular balcony cabins so we did that, wife and I in suite, kids in balcony. It’s about half the price of the two inside cabins we had booked for the 9 night southern Caribbean on Disney Fantasy last year.

And on a further development, we decided to cancel our Disney Wish cruise for next summer. We were going to do a week on Mardi Gras, then spend a couple nights in Port Canaveral, then get on Wish for 4 nights. After you thinking about it more, we decided the really only difference on Wish is new restaurants, so we’re doing a B2B on Mardi Gras instead.

 

[belle032]

Just got a "sailing protocols" email for our September cruise. Looks like Carnival is officially sailing under the 95% vaccination rate for all cruises until at least October, including Alaska. New (to me) protocols include required proof of travel insurance for Florida/Texas sailings, unvaccinated guests responsible for required COVID test expenses, no independent tours or sightseeing (must stay onboard unless on a bubble tour), if you test positive before embarkation-all quarantine and medical expenses are on you, no unvaccinated youth/teens in kids clubs, etc.

Looks like they're leaning a bit towards RCCL protocols, but no mention of wristbands or anything that states you are obviously unvaccinated.

 

[belle032]

I should not be allowed on a computer after returning from a cruise. Just booked Carnival Celebration for June 2023, 8 night Southern Caribbean from Miami. It’s an ABC cruise, Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao, doesn’t leave Aruba and Bonaire until 10:00 PM so will be able to see the ports at night. I discovered that ship has Ocean Suites that connect with regular balcony cabins so we did that, wife and I in suite, kids in balcony. It’s about half the price of the two inside cabins we had booked for the 9 night southern Caribbean on Disney Fantasy last year.

And on a further development, we decided to cancel our Disney Wish cruise for next summer. We were going to do a week on Mardi Gras, then spend a couple nights in Port Canaveral, then get on Wish for 4 nights. After you thinking about it more, we decided the really only difference on Wish is new restaurants, so we’re doing a B2B on Mardi Gras instead.

That sounds amazing! We still haven't done the ABC's and are dying to. What a cool thing about the suites and balcony combo! Is the Mardi Gras the first to do that?

I was browsing a bit to see if any Carnival Journey cruises were popping up. Last year we had our eye on an Iceland/Northern Europe sailing that looked awesome. But then again, we're definitely going to need some Caribbean time, so I'm not sure which way we'll end up going!

 

[mevelandry]

Update: it looks like self-serve soda machines are like PYPB machines. You scan your card and you pay by the oz.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

That sounds amazing! We still haven't done the ABC's and are dying to. What a cool thing about the suites and balcony combo! Is the Mardi Gras the first to do that?

I was browsing a bit to see if any Carnival Journey cruises were popping up. Last year we had our eye on an Iceland/Northern Europe sailing that looked awesome. But then again, we're definitely going to need some Caribbean time, so I'm not sure which way we'll end up going!

I believe so, although I think the Spirit Class ships have a few balconies that connect to window and maybe even inside cabins.

 

[belle032]

@Club Disney Chandler Can I ask what your embarkation process was like? I assume you had to wear masks and show proof of vax, but was anything else notable or different?

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

@Club Disney Chandler Can I ask what your embarkation process was like? I assume you had to wear masks and show proof of vax, but was anything else notable or different?

Other than wearing a mask in port and showing back card, there really was nothing different. The cruise kind of felt like covid never existed, just a bunch of people laughing and having fun again. They had a ton of hand sanitizer stands all over the ship, and everything was still self serve. If you wanted a paper fun times, you had to get it at guest services, but everything was available on the app, which worked really well. Cozumel enforced masks hard, Roatan didn’t care at all about them and I didn’t debark in Belize to know about it there. However, masks were required on the tender in Belize. Outdoor Carnival crew members were allowed to go mask less if they wanted to, some did and others didn’t. Overall, the crew was fantastic, the majority got back in the ship because it was they only chance for them to get a vaccine and many’s families were not working at all because of lockdown, so this was the only way to make money. We really tipped generously for our dining room team and room steward. Room steward, Gunter, cried when I gave him the money. I wanted to hug the guy but they weren’t allowed to do any hugging. Overall, it was a fantastic experience.

I know I didn’t do a real review of the cruise because it honestly just felt like any other cruise, so if anyone has a question let me know, I’d be more than happy to answer anything.

 

[belle032]

Other than wearing a mask in port and showing back card, there really was nothing different. The cruise kind of felt like covid never existed, just a bunch of people laughing and having fun again. They had a ton of hand sanitizer stands all over the ship, and everything was still self serve. If you wanted a paper fun times, you had to get it at guest services, but everything was available on the app, which worked really well. Cozumel enforced masks hard, Roatan didn’t care at all about them and I didn’t debark in Belize to know about it there. However, masks were required on the tender in Belize. Outdoor Carnival crew members were allowed to go mask less if they wanted to, some did and others didn’t. Overall, the crew was fantastic, the majority got back in the ship because it was they only chance for them to get a vaccine and many’s families were not working at all because of lockdown, so this was the only way to make money. We really tipped generously for our dining room team and room steward. Room steward, Gunter, cried when I gave him the money. I wanted to hug the guy but they weren’t allowed to do any hugging. Overall, it was a fantastic experience.

I know I didn’t do a real review of the cruise because it honestly just felt like any other cruise, so if anyone has a question let me know, I’d be more than happy to answer anything.

This is great info, thank you! Did you do the new "e-muster" drill? How did you like it?

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

This is great info, thank you! Did you do the new "e-muster" drill? How did you like it?

Funny you should ask . It actually was great, we reported to Limelight Lounge and waited a couple minutes to see if anyone else would be joining us. They try to do it to a group of at least 10 people if possible. They scanned our cards and we sat down. They went through the proper way to put on the life vest and it’s features, talked about what to do if we had to evacuate the ship and sent us on our merry way. Easy, peasy, lemon squeezy! Of course, before we set sail they were trying to get the people, who couldn’t take 5 minutes out of their busy life, to go to guest services to get it taken care of. Eventually, we did set sail and life was good. I found out later they put a block on the people’s Sail and Sign cards who didn’t do muster, that way it could get done. How did I find out you ask????? We went to the opening show after dinner and I ordered a Cranberry Juice and Tonic, the server came back to me and said he wasn’t able to get my order and that I needed to go to guest services. They told me my wife and I were 2 of the people that didn’t do muster! I assured them we had because we were with our kids and they did it, which they were checked off as doing it, just not us. When they told me that we hadn’t, I remembered the lady checking us in was having problems with her computer and the way my wife was holding her card. She finally got my wife’s card to scan and it showed her picture on the screen with a green square around it, she looked at me and said you’re John?, I showed my card and she clicked on the picture. I think she was supposed to click on my pic so it would get the green square as being checked in, but she clicked Brenda’s picture again and removed the square. It really wasn’t a big deal, but I felt pretty stupid even though it wasn’t my fault

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

As I wrote the previous post it, it reminded me about debarkation morning. Cruising with a passport has gotten way easier, at least on Carnival and at the Galveston port. Carnival is now using facial recognition software and so is customs. After we picked up our luggage and went to leave the terminal, they separated us into two lines, those with passports and those without. The passport line was moving super fast despite there being more people. When we got to the front they had about 10 iPads set up on stands and an agent directing us to them one at a time. We stepped up, it scanned our face making sure it matched to our passports, gave us a green light and we were on our way. It was awesome! No more waiting at the booth for them to look at everything and ask us questions. It seriously was less than 10 seconds to do, I loved it!!!