CARNIVAL VS DCL: The discussion and comparison thread!

[sdjen]

I was able to get one when I was offered an upgrade, I had to pay a bit more but was able to book a room that holds 4 people, for just my son and I. I am hoping he'll like sleeping in the bunk so I can have the big bed I do wish they would let you book the bigger cabins for just two as well, but I suspect it is because most do not sleep more than 2 (unlike Disney, from what I can tell almost all their cabins sleep at least 3 people). At least on Carnival the beds do separate. I don't know about you but my son is miserable to share a bed with! So while I do have to sleep in a twin, at least I don't have him kicking me or pushing me out of the bed. Of course it's small enough I feel like I'm going to roll out any way.

I offered to move to a higher category room but they still wouldn’t give me a room with what I want. I’m like you with my kid. I’d rather suffer in a twin than fight for bed space

 

[hdrolfe]

I offered to move to a higher category room but they still wouldn’t give me a room with what I want. I’m like you with my kid. I’d rather suffer in a twin than fight for bed space

Are you still far out from the cruise? You may get an upgrade offer later, I actually got two but it was only a month or two before the cruise (going April 14!!! cannot wait). So you may still get an offer.

 

[mevelandry]

I currently have a room with a twin and a sofa bed. I haven’t slept on a twin for awhile so I would like to find a room with a full size bed for me and a couch or bunk for my kid. They wouldn’t let me move to a room like that because it holds 3 people. Kind of silly!

I agree.

Maybe if you call them back, you might end up with someone reasonable who will get you the type of room you want? Or maybe ask John Heald for advice on FB? Who knows!

 

[mevelandry]

Are you still far out from the cruise? You may get an upgrade offer later, I actually got two but it was only a month or two before the cruise (going April 14!!! cannot wait). So you may still get an offer.

Remind me on which ship you are sailing?

I'm sailing on April 16th so we won't be on the same ship but I'm still curious.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

My impression is that CCL does not let people stay in rooms allotted for more people. We had four in a cove balcony, now we have three. They made us switch to another cove balcony that could only accommodate 3. Since all the 3 person rooms now available in the category are aft, they moved us from forward to aft. This made it so that we were now across the ship from the other room we had booked. At our request, they rebooked the other room aft too. Luckily that room was not "supersaver" fare (the cove balcony was ) or we would have been charged to do this because even though the room was still an interior room, it was listed as a different room category. We were lucky that it "worked out," but I am a bit annoyed because the cabins we are in now are under the galley and I have read that these rooms are noisy. We will bring ear plugs and hopefully they will be enough, but annoying non the less. Also, when we first started booking with DCL, if we booked 2 rooms, we always tried to get 2 bunks, even though we did not have four in the rooms because 2 of our kids would fight over the bunks. It was a big issue for a couple of years, and DCL always accommodated us with this. So yes, this is definitely an issue where DCL gets the points and CCL gets thumbs down.
Just one more point, I do understand why Carnival does this, so I am not "angry" about it, just annoyed (fine distinction I know. lol). But it does seem to be enforced quite rigidly, so I do prefer DCL'S policy on it.

 

[hdrolfe]

Remind me on which ship you are sailing?

I'm sailing on April 16th so we won't be on the same ship but I'm still curious.

Carnival Magic. We are really excited about it (and all the food, and water slides, and ports, and all of it!) Plus we're going to POP for two nights at the end

 

[mevelandry]

Carnival Magic. We are really excited about it (and all the food, and water slides, and ports, and all of it!) Plus we're going to POP for two nights at the end

The Magic looks amazing.

Also, I haven't stayed at Pop but I visited while I stayed at Art of Animation and loved it.

 

[sdjen]

Are you still far out from the cruise? You may get an upgrade offer later, I actually got two but it was only a month or two before the cruise (going April 14!!! cannot wait). So you may still get an offer.

Cruise isn't until April next year. So I am hoping to get an upgrade offer to a better room. If not, I will be okay with what we have but it is still annoying. Not going to ruin the trip but is something that shouldn't even be an issue if they were more flexible.

 

[hdrolfe]

The Magic looks amazing.

Also, I haven't stayed at Pop but I visited while I stayed at Art of Animation and loved it.

We've stayed at AoA and POP for a couple nights and enjoyed them both, and Yacht Club this past summer. I look forward to getting back to POP though. A friend and her family planned their vacation at the same time (also staying at POP!) so we'll overlap. Hopefully we will see them! And then the kids can play together in the pool while I can sit and relax

We went on Carnival Liberty our first cruise and it was nice but lacked the water slides/splash park area. I didn't know any better then, now I look for more of that stuff on the ships, and where we will stop. Grand Turk was awesome and I want to go back, Half Moon Cay is on my list of must go places. We are doing so much this coming trip I can't wait, swimming with dolphins, cave tubing, holding sloths/monkeys and just general beach time. I'm glad there are two sea days to enjoy all the ship has to offer as well. I've agreed to try the ropes course once, though I am terrified of heights so we'll see if I freeze up before I get up there. And each water slide once. I'll happily wait at the bottom while kiddo does those over and over again We plan on getting the BBQ as soon as we get on since I know it gets busy on the sea days. And looking forward to Guys and Blue Iguana, kiddo discovered tacos on a cruise and now loves them. He also wants to try lobster this time, hey if he doesn't like it I will I love that he will try new things on the ship. He had calamari on the last one and is looking forward to getting it again.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

My impression is that CCL does not let people stay in rooms allotted for more people. We had four in a cove balcony, now we have three. They made us switch to another cove balcony that could only accommodate 3. Since all the 3 person rooms now available in the category are aft, they moved us from forward to aft. This made it so that we were now across the ship from the other room we had booked. At our request, they rebooked the other room aft too. Luckily that room was not "supersaver" fare (the cove balcony was ) or we would have been charged to do this because even though the room was still an interior room, it was listed as a different room category. We were lucky that it "worked out," but I am a bit annoyed because the cabins we are in now are under the galley and I have read that these rooms are noisy. We will bring ear plugs and hopefully they will be enough, but annoying non the less. Also, when we first started booking with DCL, if we booked 2 rooms, we always tried to get 2 bunks, even though we did not have four in the rooms because 2 of our kids would fight over the bunks. It was a big issue for a couple of years, and DCL always accommodated us with this. So yes, this is definitely an issue where DCL gets the points and CCL gets thumbs down.
Just one more point, I do understand why Carnival does this, so I am not "angry" about it, just annoyed (fine distinction I know. lol). But it does seem to be enforced quite rigidly, so I do prefer DCL'S policy on it.

I totally agree with you on this. It is one of the things that annoys me about Carnival. I also hate the fact that if you want to change rooms after you’ve booked, you have to cancel the first and book the second in 2 separate transactions. I like how on Disney, you just go online, change rooms and pay a little more.

Oh well, could be worse, at least I still get to spend time on the open seas with my family.

 

[mevelandry]

We've stayed at AoA and POP for a couple nights and enjoyed them both, and Yacht Club this past summer. I look forward to getting back to POP though. A friend and her family planned their vacation at the same time (also staying at POP!) so we'll overlap. Hopefully we will see them! And then the kids can play together in the pool while I can sit and relax

We went on Carnival Liberty our first cruise and it was nice but lacked the water slides/splash park area. I didn't know any better then, now I look for more of that stuff on the ships, and where we will stop. Grand Turk was awesome and I want to go back, Half Moon Cay is on my list of must go places. We are doing so much this coming trip I can't wait, swimming with dolphins, cave tubing, holding sloths/monkeys and just general beach time. I'm glad there are two sea days to enjoy all the ship has to offer as well. I've agreed to try the ropes course once, though I am terrified of heights so we'll see if I freeze up before I get up there. And each water slide once. I'll happily wait at the bottom while kiddo does those over and over again We plan on getting the BBQ as soon as we get on since I know it gets busy on the sea days. And looking forward to Guys and Blue Iguana, kiddo discovered tacos on a cruise and now loves them. He also wants to try lobster this time, hey if he doesn't like it I will I love that he will try new things on the ship. He had calamari on the last one and is looking forward to getting it again.

Ahhhh The Yacht Club is one of my favorites... because of the pool. But let's be honest, I've stayed at AOA, Caribbean Beach, Coronado Springs, Port Orleans Riverside, Port Orleans French Quarter, Animal Kingdom Lodge, Polynesian Resort and Grand Floridian and I loved all of them for different reasons.

I'm supposed to visit Half Moon Cay & Grand Turk in October and I can't wait!

Tried the Rope Course on the Carnival Vista. I took the easy route and I was TERRIFIED.

I'm jealous of you having the BBQ. I ate there three times on my last cruise, I was obsessed with it.

 

[mevelandry]

I totally agree with you on this. It is one of the things that annoys me about Carnival. I also hate the fact that if you want to change rooms after you’ve booked, you have to cancel the first and book the second in 2 separate transactions. I like how on Disney, you just go online, change rooms and pay a little more.

Oh well, could be worse, at least I still get to spend time on the open seas with my family.

I wish Carnival gave us the option to change rooms online!

I wish Disney Cruise Line had the possibility to separate beds into two twins. If I ever go on a "ladies" trip, I would prefer not having to share a queen bed with one of them. LOL

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

Just found out that on the Horizon they are making fresh cotton candy on board and serving it at the dessert area of the Lido Buffet.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

I wish Carnival gave us the option to change rooms online!

I wish Disney Cruise Line had the possibility to separate beds into two twins. If I ever go on a "ladies" trip, I would prefer not having to share a queen bed with one of them. LOL

I hate this too! CCL gets points for twin beds!

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

Just found out that on the Horizon they are making fresh cotton candy on board and serving it at the dessert area of the Lido Buffet.

I also saw a video of the Lido Buffet on Horizon where there appears to be 2 sets of doors at the entrance to keep the air conditioning inside! Like DCL has on deck 4.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

lido on Horizon

 

[cruiser21]

I totally agree with you on this. It is one of the things that annoys me about Carnival. I also hate the fact that if you want to change rooms after you’ve booked, you have to cancel the first and book the second in 2 separate transactions. I like how on Disney, you just go online, change rooms and pay a little more.

Oh well, could be worse, at least I still get to spend time on the open seas with my family.

I think you can change rooms if your booking with the same promotion. Of course Carnival changes promotions so often that's almost impossible. You can transfer the funds from one reservation to another. I've done that on Carnival it just takes a supervisor....same as with DCL. You still have to cancel and rebook, but you don't have to repay and wait for a refund.

I like the fact that you cancel online on Carnival and just rebook. It's possible to just bypass calling at all... you can't do that on DCL. As long as you don't book with an non-refundable deposit you're OK. I learned my lesson on that one.

Carnival is also much faster at refunding money than DCL is. I always had the money back in 48 hours with Carnival. DCl always takes 5-7 days.

 

[cruiser21]

My impression is that CCL does not let people stay in rooms allotted for more people. We had four in a cove balcony, now we have three. They made us switch to another cove balcony that could only accommodate 3. Since all the 3 person rooms now available in the category are aft, they moved us from forward to aft. This made it so that we were now across the ship from the other room we had booked. At our request, they rebooked the other room aft too. Luckily that room was not "supersaver" fare (the cove balcony was ) or we would have been charged to do this because even though the room was still an interior room, it was listed as a different room category. We were lucky that it "worked out," but I am a bit annoyed because the cabins we are in now are under the galley and I have read that these rooms are noisy. We will bring ear plugs and hopefully they will be enough, but annoying non the less. Also, when we first started booking with DCL, if we booked 2 rooms, we always tried to get 2 bunks, even though we did not have four in the rooms because 2 of our kids would fight over the bunks. It was a big issue for a couple of years, and DCL always accommodated us with this. So yes, this is definitely an issue where DCL gets the points and CCL gets thumbs down.
Just one more point, I do understand why Carnival does this, so I am not "angry" about it, just annoyed (fine distinction I know. lol). But it does seem to be enforced quite rigidly, so I do prefer DCL'S policy on it.

If you really wanted that room you could just leave it at 4 since it's probably only a couple hundred dollars. I get what you're saying though, but considering the price difference between DCL and Carnival I get it. I'm sure this is why DCL leaves so many rooms as GTY status now. They can assign rooms based on number of people in the cabin. If you book opening day with DCL they will accommodate you on whatever you want.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

Thanks @we”reofftoneverland for the video, I like the new layout of Lido

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

Thanks @we”reofftoneverland for the video, I like the new layout of Lido

You probably already saw but there are a bunch of videos on utube by that same person-- seems like a CCL employee- showing a lot of the ship. Very cool.
Beth