CARNIVAL VS DCL: The discussion and comparison thread!

[we"reofftoneverland]

Half Moon Cay
huge, plenty of more remote places to spend the day. Lots of areas along the beach with natural shade from trees. Lots of loungers stacked to take to more remote areas. Third and last photos are approaching Half Moon Cay. 4th photo is just a view of the sea from our cabin.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

Half Moon Cay, so not crowded! DS in his RonJon Grand Turk clearance rack shirt (bottom photo). We only do clearance rack which is why we pretty much never bought anything on dcl. lol.

 

[trvlgirlmq]

Crazy to read what y'all have been talking about on this thread-- We too have booked Panorama!

What is your date? I read on CC that someone had booked October 2020! I though 26 months was a long wait but man that is closer to 3 years!

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

We are the last date available in June (I think it is June 27). We usually book earlier in June or late August but our school district and a neighboring district (that our district likes to copy) have been playing around with school dates kind of dramatically the last couple of years, so annoying, and we just do not know what they will do with the calendar so we tried to pick right in the center of summer to be safe so far out. I hate doing that because it is a bit more expensive but the rates are so good, we went for it. We also got the rebooking offer, not a big deal but something. The rate was actually cheaper per night than we got for the same rooms on the Vista in August 2017. lol. CCL is definitely not DCL. Thank goodness.

 

[mevelandry]

Crazy to read what y'all have been talking about on this thread-- We too have booked Panorama!

Apparently I'm the only one who has not booked the Panorama.

 

[trvlgirlmq]

Apparently I'm the only one who has not booked the Panorama.

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Well, come on join the party. We would all love to meet our fearless leader so pick a sailing!

 

[robinb]

Apparently I'm the only one who has not booked the Panorama.

I have not booked either .

 

[mevelandry]

View attachment 310644 View attachment 310644 Half Moon Cay, so not crowded! DS in his RonJon Grand Turk clearance rack shirt (bottom photo). We only do clearance rack which is why we pretty much never bought anything on dcl. lol.View attachment 310641 View attachment 310641 View attachment 310642 View attachment 310640

WOW. Half Moon Cay looks like a mash up between Castaway Cay & Grand Cayman!

 

[mevelandry]

\

Well, come on join the party. We would all love to meet our fearless leader so pick a sailing!

You'll have to convince my husband first. He's already dizzy because of my 4th booking.

 

[mevelandry]

Ok, maybe after our April cruise, when they have a 49$/pp or 99$/pp promo? LOL


Now, I've been looking the "Amazing prices" thread and all cruises seem to be at least 500 to 1000$ more (for inside cabin) than Carnival. They could easily get Havana cabins for the prices they pay on DCL.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

Ok, maybe after our April cruise, when they have a 49$/pp or 99$/pp promo? LOL


Now, I've been looking the "Amazing prices" thread and all cruises seem to be at least 500 to 1000$ more (for inside cabin) than Carnival. They could easily get Havana cabins for the prices they pay on DCL.

I’ve got to say, I’m a little scared that after we experience Havana next year that I’m not going to want to go back to anything else. The Cloud 9 Spa rooms do look pretty nice though, just seems like such a wonderful way to relax on a cruise. I really love the decor of them. I’m anxious to here what you think of them.

 

[hdrolfe]

Ok, maybe after our April cruise, when they have a 49$/pp or 99$/pp promo? LOL


Now, I've been looking the "Amazing prices" thread and all cruises seem to be at least 500 to 1000$ more (for inside cabin) than Carnival. They could easily get Havana cabins for the prices they pay on DCL.

I think there is a deal on now for Panorama - lower deposits, get OBC, for past guests only. You might want to check it out Not to enable you or anything...

 

[mevelandry]

I’ve got to say, I’m a little scared that after we experience Havana next year that I’m not going to want to go back to anything else. The Cloud 9 Spa rooms do look pretty nice though, just seems like such a wonderful way to relax on a cruise. I really love the decor of them. I’m anxious to here what you think of them.

Oh but we had a Cloud 9 Spa cabin on the Vista. I LOVED it! They were decorated a bit differently but they replaced the products with the Elemis products (which I happen to love), we had robes and slipers in the room. It gives you acces to one or two free classes of yoga or pilates (unfortunately, we did not have the chance to attend them) + a % off treatments on port days (the more you buy, the bigger % off).

I have experimented a "15 seconds sample" of hot stone massage. If I had not already splurged on a Royal Palm Cabana in Grand Cayman, I would have booked it. OMG it was amazing. I recommend it.

The thermal suite is nice. There was a thalasso pool (unfortunately not all ships have them), perfumed showers (big fan), saunas & different rooms, heated chairs & a beautiful lounge with the best ocean view, teas and fruits infused water. I heard you also receive a free package of scrub but I totally forgot to ask. You can access the suite from 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM.

The cabins are situated on a small deck. The hallways are very quiet.

The only downside of the Cloud 9 Spa is, when you check-in on the first day, they give you a little tour, which mean you'll have to visit every room and learn about all the products and treatment they are selling. It last 30 minutes which feels like forever BUT once you're off the hook, you can relax for the rest of the week.

 

[goofygal531]

Any recommendation for who to book with? Our DCL ones have been with Costco. Is that still the best bet? The Panorama sailings aren't loaded yet. Not sure if they'll have the refundable rates.

The Havana Cabanas look great! Too bad my kids are under 12. Thinking about the Family Harbor, but worried about the noise issues reported with some of those cabins. Guess I'd have to look at Vista reviews and hope the cabin numbers are exactly the same.

Loved Family Harbor on the Vista. However, the room location was awful! We were in cabin 2429. Every night from 1am to 5am we heard pots and pans dropping on the floor above our bed. It was a nightmare! We complained along with other cabins around us and Carnival compensated us. Lesson learned! DO NOT SLEEP UNDER THE GALLEY!

We're sailing the Horizon next year and really thought about our room location! As much as we enjoyed the convenience of the Family Harbor breakfast buffet, we are far away from it on the Horizon!

 

[mevelandry]

I can't remember if I shared them but here's a few pictures of our Cloud 9 Spa inside cabin on the Carnival Vista... And the thermal suite!

The Spa Lounge where you can get fruit infused water & tea.


Thalasso pool and heated chairs.


One of the three or four saunas/infra heat/other rooms.

*I don't have pictures of the perfumed showers*

 

[wanderlust7]

Loved Family Harbor on the Vista. However, the room location was awful! We were in cabin 2429. Every night from 1am to 5am we heard pots and pans dropping on the floor above our bed. It was a nightmare! We complained along with other cabins around us and Carnival compensated us. Lesson learned! DO NOT SLEEP UNDER THE GALLEY!

Thank you! I've been scouring CC reviews, threads, YouTube videos, etc and came to the same conclusion. The layout looks so great though with the separate area for kids and split bath (looks even better than DCL since shower on one side, bathtub on the other). Oh well...think we'll just book a regular balcony.

 

[mevelandry]

You may have noticed that the head of the beds are at the wrong place. Typically, this room is supposed to be twin beds non-convertible. But since it was our anniversary, our steward put them together anyway. We lost a big of space in front of the closet and the use of one of the the lamps but that's it. I should have taken a picture of the other side of the room, we had plenty of space to get around. At the right of the closet was a cute little desk with a mirror.

The room is usually not that dark, we had not open the lights. XD

 

[mevelandry]

I think there is a deal on now for Panorama - lower deposits, get OBC, for past guests only. You might want to check it out Not to enable you or anything...

You are right. That's a good deal.

But last night I promised my husband I wouldn't book anything else for now.

Hopefully, by October 2019, the ship will still have cabins available.

 

[goofygal531]

Thank you! I've been scouring CC reviews, threads, YouTube videos, etc and came to the same conclusion. The layout looks so great though with the separate area for kids and split bath (looks even better than DCL since shower on one side, bathtub on the other). Oh well...think we'll just book a regular balcony.

I didn’t have a family suite with the split baths, we had one of four family cove balcony rooms.

We love the cove staterooms. We enjoying being close to the water line. Plus we like the close proximity to the MDR for breakfast. It’s also handy being on deck 2 returning from excursions.

 

[mevelandry]

Hi guys,

For many reasons, we have decided to change our Isla Pasion excursion in Cozumel for a beach day in Chankanaab. We wanted something closer to the port and seats closer to the ocean (it's a mobility issue).

Anybody tried it? (I really trust your judgment) Any tips or recommendations?