CARNIVAL VS DCL: The discussion and comparison thread!

[mevelandry]

Legit question: do stray dogs swim in the Margaritaville pool all the time or it was just a coincidence?

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

Legit question: do stray dogs swim in the Margaritaville pool all the time or it was just a coincidence?

Yuck. We've actually never been to that Margaritaville. I am a bit squeamish of pools if I am not sure they are clean. One of my sons caught a staff infection one summer and when the dermatologist told us what it was (it was very, very scary looking), he asked if my son had been swimming in public pools. Well, yes, YMCA swim lessons all summer. The dermatologist said that was definitely where he caught it and that he personally would never swim in a public pool. He said you have no idea how disgusting they are. So, I am not a dermatologist, lol, and I still do public pools, but I am very picky since that experience. It takes away a lot of joy being so worried about that stuff. I wish I was just blissfully ignorant about it.

 

[belle032]

Legit question: do stray dogs swim in the Margaritaville pool all the time or it was just a coincidence?

We didn’t see any in the pool but there were a lot of them on the beach. I could be wrong but I think it was another effect of the hurricane. I felt bad for them, but I’m a total dog mom so that’s just me. The only dog I remember seeing last year was the one at Jacks Shack.

 

[hdrolfe]

We haven't been to GT since 2015 so it's been awhile. I found Margaritaville loud and overwhelming, we didn't hang out there. We were the second ship to come into port so the place was crowded. We went to the right when you face the beaches, instead of left like most others. We didn't have a chair but found a place to put our towels while we swam. The water was fine but rocky. I think we only spend a few hours off the ship in that port. It was our last one, we were a bit tired by that point. Didn't see any dogs then. I have heard it's gotten worse with vendors taking over the beach. It was a cheap day though! Free beach... I do prefer Mahogany Bay though. That place was lovely, even if it was also crowded.

Looking forward to your review though @mevelandry Sensation was a ship we wanted to try, even though it is smaller. It has a nice looking water park area for kiddo.

 

[Monykalyn]

Anxious to hear @mevelandry impression of Sensation-have booked it for CUBA next June. Yep-addicted.

First cruise so nothing to compare it to. DH is making noise about also wanting to try a Disney cruise, but ugh-cost. IF we did one it would be a 3 or 4 day only.
Spent the night before in Galveston at Harbor House . Charming hotel, close to port (we walked over the next am), big room. However hot water was out ALL morning of departure-finally had to do a quick rinse and stuck head under to wash hair!
*Had FTTF-probably not really necessary but made for quick embarkation. DH gets a wee bit cranky with crowds/lines so I bought this as a splurge. In our case we did like it-especially as we visited GS on our 3rd day to apply gift cards to account-much much shorter line! However we didn't have a tendered port, and I can see where that would make a big difference. Not sure I'd do this again.
*Room ready as soon as we got on board around 12ish. Balcony room, aft, deck 7, rm 7410-near elevators and stairs-2 quick flights up to lido, or 2 down to promenade deck. Quiet. Room steward Augn was awesome. Friends were right next door so we had Augn open the balcony divider for a large deck-SO nice!
*Sail away party was crazy but fun.
*Cheers package-out of galveston doesn't start til 2nd day. Well worth it as bar bill first day showed us that! Especially liked the coffee bar in am-we were there for a regional meeting and meetings in morning so the coffee was awesome-especially as by the break we all had the spiked coffee LOL! Actually pretty easy to hit the $52 break even each day. Would absolutely do this again.
*Did bring a bottle of wine on board-nice for sipping on balcony while getting ready for dinner
*Bars were fun-think we tried them all at least once. Alchemy is cool and the strongest drinks by far! The tip to bring some $1 bills for tips was great-tipped our reg bartender at Redfrog pub and the bar on lido and paid off with awesome service. Piano bar one night was alot of fun-saw quite a few entertainers there at various times, as well as crew/officers there that night. No big theater show as was port day.
*shows-Saw both theater shows, and comedy club adult show 3 nights - all different shows.
*Ship layout-very easy to walk around and get from one end to other.
* dining room-mostly ate here-seaday brunch terrific! Dinner every night here too.
* lido buffett-couple breakfasts, some snacks, but no lunch or dinners here-after seaday brunch wasn't hungry til almost dinner time! Did get Guys burgers and the tacos from from BlueIguana, plus late night pizza. So. Much. Food. Everywhere.
*pools-busy, busy, busy-spent more time on Serenity deck-bar without lines, comfy deck chairs, ocean breeze...
*one port-Cozumel-rented moped scooters and rode all around island, found a beach side shack for lunch-guy who owned it had just caught a crab-fried it up and gave it to us for apps - no charge. Why does beer taste better on a beach? Friend with us had been to Cozumel many times so she played tour guide. So much fun and would do it again for sure. Exhilarating riding through town! We Loved it!
*Ship definitely showing signs of age-rust spots here and there, some worn spots carpet, decks etc. Nothing bad and certainly didn't take away from the fun. Watched a new piece of glass being installed on bridge from the ship camera on the TV -well we saw the sides of the workers after they passed the sheet of glass across from where camera was lol.
*Debarkation-smooth and easy, let them take the bag off, had very low number (#2) so we got off right away, experienced friend grabbed a porter and we zipped through customs.
I have pics, although I am sure most of you this is nothing new!

 

[PrincessTrisha]

Legit question: do stray dogs swim in the Margaritaville pool all the time or it was just a coincidence?

Grand Turk didn't used to be like that. The beach was clean, all of the chairs free, the Margaritaville pool was awesome (and no stray dogs). After the hurricane's last year, Carnival rushed to get the GT cruise area back up and running; what didn't recover were the people - and that shows in the new quality of the port stop.

The first time I stopped in GT was in 2011 and it was quite literally the perfect day; my god-daughter and I got two loungers by the pool and spent time in the clean, clear waters of the pool, she did the flow-rider, and then spent time at the beach with her friends. Food and drink was a bit pricey but not expensive enough to warrant going back to the ship. It was one of the few port stops that we stayed from start to finish.

We were last there in January 2018 and it was a very different place. It didn't feel as clean, or as safe as it did in the past (and we've visited probably 4-5 times). I hope that they do eventually fully recover and it's back to the island paradise it once was.

 

[PrincessTrisha]

First cruise so nothing to compare it to. DH is making noise about also wanting to try a Disney cruise, but ugh-cost. IF we did one it would be a 3 or 4 day only.
Spent the night before in Galveston at Harbor House . Charming hotel, close to port (we walked over the next am), big room. However hot water was out ALL morning of departure-finally had to do a quick rinse and stuck head under to wash hair!
*Had FTTF-probably not really necessary but made for quick embarkation. DH gets a wee bit cranky with crowds/lines so I bought this as a splurge. In our case we did like it-especially as we visited GS on our 3rd day to apply gift cards to account-much much shorter line! However we didn't have a tendered port, and I can see where that would make a big difference. Not sure I'd do this again.
*Room ready as soon as we got on board around 12ish. Balcony room, aft, deck 7, rm 7410-near elevators and stairs-2 quick flights up to lido, or 2 down to promenade deck. Quiet. Room steward Augn was awesome. Friends were right next door so we had Augn open the balcony divider for a large deck-SO nice!
*Sail away party was crazy but fun.
*Cheers package-out of galveston doesn't start til 2nd day. Well worth it as bar bill first day showed us that! Especially liked the coffee bar in am-we were there for a regional meeting and meetings in morning so the coffee was awesome-especially as by the break we all had the spiked coffee LOL! Actually pretty easy to hit the $52 break even each day. Would absolutely do this again.
*Did bring a bottle of wine on board-nice for sipping on balcony while getting ready for dinner
*Bars were fun-think we tried them all at least once. Alchemy is cool and the strongest drinks by far! The tip to bring some $1 bills for tips was great-tipped our reg bartender at Redfrog pub and the bar on lido and paid off with awesome service. Piano bar one night was alot of fun-saw quite a few entertainers there at various times, as well as crew/officers there that night. No big theater show as was port day.
*shows-Saw both theater shows, and comedy club adult show 3 nights - all different shows.
*Ship layout-very easy to walk around and get from one end to other.
* dining room-mostly ate here-seaday brunch terrific! Dinner every night here too.
* lido buffett-couple breakfasts, some snacks, but no lunch or dinners here-after seaday brunch wasn't hungry til almost dinner time! Did get Guys burgers and the tacos from from BlueIguana, plus late night pizza. So. Much. Food. Everywhere.
*pools-busy, busy, busy-spent more time on Serenity deck-bar without lines, comfy deck chairs, ocean breeze...
*one port-Cozumel-rented moped scooters and rode all around island, found a beach side shack for lunch-guy who owned it had just caught a crab-fried it up and gave it to us for apps - no charge. Why does beer taste better on a beach? Friend with us had been to Cozumel many times so she played tour guide. So much fun and would do it again for sure. Exhilarating riding through town! We Loved it!
*Ship definitely showing signs of age-rust spots here and there, some worn spots carpet, decks etc. Nothing bad and certainly didn't take away from the fun. Watched a new piece of glass being installed on bridge from the ship camera on the TV -well we saw the sides of the workers after they passed the sheet of glass across from where camera was lol.
*Debarkation-smooth and easy, let them take the bag off, had very low number (#2) so we got off right away, experienced friend grabbed a porter and we zipped through customs.
I have pics, although I am sure most of you this is nothing new!

Sounds like you guys had an awesome time!

Let your hubby know that there's no drink package on DCL - it's strictly pay as you go. For those who like to imbibe on vacation, that can be a consideration.

 

[mevelandry]

Carnival Sensation vs DCL comparison

The ship:

The ship was the smallest we have ever tried. While it was smaller than the Disney Wonder, I felt the layout was so well done than unlike the DCL Wonder, it did not feel cramped. The elevators were very large.

The look however... the Sensation is... Purple. Very purple! Purple everywhere! The look definitely brings you back to the 70-80's. I knew there were old wooden floor everywhere but somehow, they aged better than other older ships so it just gave a vintage look to the place. Some spaces still look good (certain "salons" on the promenade come to mind) and furniture was in good shape but some spaces need to be refurbished... The elevators are antiquities and so shaky that you always wonder if you are going to make it to the next level. LOL

While the Sensation deserves a good score for the effort in maintaining the place cute & clean, DCL definitely win for the overall appearance of the ship, while the Sensation wins for comfort.

The entertainment/sports & spa

The one and only pool was a "human soup" like the family pools on DCL with at least 15 to 40 people in the pool. We have been able to use it only twice around 10 PM on elegant night and the last day.

There was no "thermal suite" and the gym was good but normal.

There was no afternoon tea on the last day.

We napped a lot.

We did trivia almost every day. It really did bring us joy.

The comedy shows were very late (sometimes too late for us) and there were not that many. I'll talk about one of the comedians later that made me furious. Lowell Sanders was great though.

88 keys & The Studio VIP show was great (this one reminded me of Vroom on the Victory, which I loved). With the exception of one performer who was not a super strong performer, the others were awesome.

The love and Marriage show was a hit and Hasbro the Game Show was so much fun.

DCL wins for the pool & spa but entertainment, althought different, is a tie...

The cabin: Old look but very well maintained and very clean. While DCL still wins for the look, but we cannot complain because our Sensation cabin was very comfortable & so quiet... We slept and napped like babies!!

Staff: Probably one of the best staff we've ever had. Everybody was saying hi, and served us with a smile, except for that one bartender in Alchemy Bar.

Our cabin host was great. Not super chatty but did a great job.

One morning, in the dining room, I was looking for a certain kind of tea that they did not have in the kitchen... and they sent someone to grab a box from the coffee shop and brought all the variety available on the ship so I could pick something else I liked.


Food and drinks:

Guy's Burgers, Blue Iguana, Pizza, Lido & Dining room (and a small sushi booth that I did not try) That's it. Lack of food choices reminded me of a DCL ship.

I have never tried room service on DCL but room service on the Sensation was bad and took forever.

2 out of 3 ice cream machines were down for the whole lenght of the trip, meaning the only working machine was very often unavailable because the ice cream liquid was still freezing. I believe they removed the strawberry ice cream from their offering --which is a shame because it's my favorite-- because it was always and only vanilla and chocolate. However... The ice cream was OUTSTANDING. I've never ate so much ice cream before.

There was no Steakhouse on the ship so on our anniversary, we treated ourselves with the 20$ filet mignon in the dining room. We were expecting something along the filet mignon (steak and eggs) from the Sea Day Brunch. We were wrong: It was gigantic and on par with filet mignon's I've had in great steakhouses here in Montreal. Served with some veggies and a great wine reduction sauce. I am now obsessed. We liked it so much that we ordered the same thing for dinner the next night! It was SOOOO worth the 20$.

Even though there were much less choice of food on the Sensation than on other Carnival ships, the Sensation still wins.


Ports:

We had to tender to Half Moon Cay and getting off and on the has been a breeze every time.

I love love love Half Moon Cay!!!! While there was some things Disney did better on Castaway Cay, there are other things Carnival did better on Half Moon Cay.

This part deserves a whole Castaway Cay vs Half Moon Cay so I'll come back later with that.

Grand Turk: The ship litterally parks on the beach. The two closest meters of beach from the sea and the ocean itself are breathtaking.

However, it seems that with the exception of the Cruise Center & Margaritaville, most buildings along the beach got hit by a hurricane, were abandonned and then it went downhill. There are vendors everywhere, and the beach was cramped with too many chairs, and the sand filthy, with glass debris, cigarette tops and empty bottles of beer. There are graffitis everywhere including on umbrellas and chairs.

We went to Jack's Shack and it was better.

Now, I have to talk about something that has nothing to do with Carnival per say...

I cannot stress this enough: entertainment in Margaritaville is NOT family friendly. There was a lot of twerking contests & "Magic Mike" performances (in bathing suits, thank God!) ... And a lot of suggestive dances. I won't go further in the description but it made me feel very uncomfortable...

Which bring me to the passengers:

I'm afraid we finally (after three very family friendly cruises) got hit with a case of the "party boat".

On the first evening, a group of "barely 21 yo" were throwing empty bottles of beer on the mini-golf green.

A group of 50-60 yo men almost got into a fight over a game of cards. They were yelling at each other.

A lady who could not handle her alcohol intake on Half Moon Cay "projectile vomit" three times in the water shuttle on our way back to the ship. I mean she was so passed out that she did not even try to vomit outside of the ship (or avoid vomiting on people in front of her).

There was a booze party in the pool and hot tubs all day long.

People imposing their own rap music to others was a thing on this cruise, apparently.

The fact that the ship was small made avoiding disruptive people more difficult.

I really, really missed the DCL crowd on this cruise.

The comedy show: one of the comedians, on a 18+ show spotted a woman in the crowd, made her come on stage and "turn around" like a piece of meat and then said "I would not invite you to dinner though, because your butt is too small". And then started making jokes about how ladies on the ship are fat and got gigantic asses.

I mean... Seriously? I'm not easily offended by jokes but this was just offensive. I'm thinking of complaining against this comedian.

Our cruise director was amazing. My favorite so far. His name is Kevin. He was so nice to the kids and FUNNY. Every event he hosted was a hit.

I've had a great time but some things stood out during that cruise:

-I'm square & I don't like "springbreaker behavior". 3/4 Carnival cruises I have had, I did not encounter that kind of behavior. I hope the next one will be better. I'm hopeful because the three first ones were perfect.

-I definitely like big ships more than small ships. There are more things to do.

-I like visiting ports. We got off the ship in Nassau to walk in town and did not encounter weird people, vendors or drug vendors which was nice. People in the shops were actually smiling and nice to us. (Complete opposite of our two last visits).

-I forgot my cell phone on the counter at the Margaritaville shop in Grand Turk and realized it only 15 minutes later. We went back to the shop and it was still there. :O

-Had this Carnival cruise been my first one, I probably would not be that much in a hurry to go back to Carnival. We had a good time but we've had better cruises.

- The Mariner of the Seas was next to us in Nassau and it looks AMAZING. I can't wait to try it/RCCL!

- Half Moon Cay, Half Moon Cay, Half Moon Cay.

 

[mevelandry]

Here are a few pictures from the Carnival Sensation:

Lobby - Stairs (70's look)- Promenade - Lido (that reminds me of a 50's diner)

 

[mevelandry]

Main (and only) pool - Serenity Section (21+) - Pool at night - waterworks for kids

 

[mevelandry]

Blue Iguana - Guy's Burgers - Cherry on Top (Candy Shop) - 20$ filet mignon from the dining room - Happy Anniversary chocolate mousse cake

 

[mevelandry]

Our Ocean View Cabin... The decor is nothing special but we had enough space and it was very comfortable. Super quiet at night (which is why I love aft cabins) so we slept like babies.

 

[mevelandry]

Food, drinks and activities...

 

[mevelandry]

Half Moon Cay vs Castaway Cay

Half Moon Cay nails it...

-If you enjoy tendering (we do!) and like having the impression to go to a deserted island...

-If you like a more adult ambiance...

-If you enjoy sharing huge beach with everyone else...

-If you enjoy two stories cabanas...

-If you don't mind renting umbrellas... (Otherwise, you can easily find some shade...)

- If you don't mind having a limited menu...

-If you enjoy eating in small stations (I think they have 12 separate sections with 7-8 tables in each)...

-If you like having chicken, baby chicks and roosters around...

-If you like white sand so soft that it feels like you are walking in powdered sugar...

-If you like swimming in open water...







Castaway Cay nails it...

-If you enjoy a more "organized" beach where you don't need tendering...

-If you enjoy characters and a colorful setting...

-If you enjoy "secludes" (family-teen-adult only) sections...

-If you enjoy having your own space around the cabanas...

-If you want free umbrellas...

-If you enjoy a more varied menu and an adult only BBQ...

-If you enjoy eating with everyone else under a huge roof...

-If you enjoy self-serve ice cream on the beach...

-If you don't mind sand a little bit more "rocky"...

-If you like having a netted family beach...



Here are a few pictures of HALF MOON CAY...

 

[mevelandry]

Here is the setting for food on Half Moon Cay... There are 6 stations you can get your food from. So there is no wait... I also posted a picture of one of the 12 "stations" with tables where you can sit down to eat.

 

[mevelandry]

Here's the pirate ship bar... Then, two of the playgrounds for children (there are also basketball courts and volleyball and many other things that I did not take pictures from), chickens and roosters and tender boats.

 

[mevelandry]

GRAND TURK AND MARGARITAVILLE

Here are some of my best pictures from Grand Turk, Jack's Shack and Margaritaville (because there was some good among the bad)...

 

[mcd2745]

So...Grand Turk. We're going there next year for the first time (on Horizon). I've got plenty of research to do, but my initial thoughts from what I've seen so far and what I'm gathering here is that it's not exactly a typical port and most people hang around the area where you dock. for example, I noticed for their excursions, they offer a poolside Cabanas at the "Grand Turk Cruise Center". Is it the same as the Margaritaville pool? I wonder if this is like NCL's Harvest Caye in Belize.

 

[trvlgirlmq]

So...Grand Turk. We're going there next year for the first time (on Horizon). I've got plenty of research to do, but my initial thoughts from what I've seen so far and what I'm gathering here is that it's not exactly a typical port and most people hang around the area where you dock. for example, I noticed for their excursions, they offer a poolside Cabanas at the "Grand Turk Cruise Center". Is it the same as the Margaritaville pool? I wonder if this is like NCL's Harvest Caye in Belize.

Yes, the cabanas offered by Carnival are located at the Margaritaville pool.

The big issue is that in the past the beach was run by Carnival as a free spot (free chairs, etc.). The locals didn't like this and now they run the beach and offer chairs/umbrellas for rent. They are not the nicest and there are so many that it is very crowded. It went from being practically a private island to any other overrun beach. We didn't even know where the "free" chairs were on our last visit and had to pay.

If you can disregard that the water is great. Clear and you can see lots of fish.

 

[seanfaulk]

I have done many Carnival Cruises and despite unpopular opinion from people. I’ve never had anything but great experiences.

Disney is a wonderful cruise line that is perfect for people who want more quiet and relaxation in my opinion. Carnival is more ‘fun’ for me. On Disney I often find myself indoors or just kind of ‘wandering’ because I don’t know what there is to do for someone my age but with Carnival I am constantly on the go (usually drinking) so I love that about it. The price is right for me as well.

The paid dining on Carnival is as good as Palo in my opinion (Remy is a different story) but I do feel the paid restaurants on Carnival offer more variety than Disney’s paid restaurant/s.

Overall both are great to me but it’s just based around what you want out of a cruise.....I will also say that people’s behavior on Disney Cruise line has been better from my experience.

My own actual critique of Disney is they are too rigid on their event times. They might have karaoke (as an example) for a 30 minute window. This is about 5 people singing and then the place closes and just sits empty for hours until the next event, but there could be a lot of people having fun and Disney will just stop the event. Whereas Carnival is a bit more fluid.