CARNIVAL VS DCL: The discussion and comparison thread!

[Davistigers]

WARNING I think we have "Cruise Fever" is there a cure?? After 5 wonderful DCL cruises, we tried a Carnival Mexican Rivera cruise in 2017, on one one of the old, huge rust spots on the cabin windows "70's Vegas styled" smaller ships they have doing that 3-4 day itinerary. We did not like it and let them know....crickets from Carnival of course. We are cruising on the Wonder to Mexico in April 2019 and looking for other ideas/itineraries/lower prices/new cruise experiences. We think we will try Princess, NCL,RCI again and others in the coming years. We are looking forward to the new Disney ships and itineraries, but they are years away right now, and the prices may be too high for us, got to wait and see.

After studying and doing more research trying to book anyone BUT Carnival, we booked the new gorgeous Carnival Panorama for our next 2 cruises, and are trying to book the Mardi Gras/Horizon, if we can find a time that works. Pictures and reviews of some of the quieter cabins in the Family Harbor area look interesting to us, check it out! We get 1.5 baths (2 showers, 2 sinks only one toilet) so we can all get ready quickly, and a Lounge when the cabin gets tight or if I want to watch something on TV, when Mom and kids want to watch something else. Love the espresso/ice machine idea and quick breakfast and snacks without having to go to the more crowded bigger buffet, especially on a port day. Its many thousands less than DCL, some comparison dates seem close to half of DCL. We will see what our teenager says about the CCL teen O2 club when we get back compared to VIBE.

We LOVE DCL, and have spent the last 13+ years telling family and friends what a great vacation it is for us, especially for those with young children and teens. I just had to early retire from 30 years behind the camera working in Hollywood, and must try and make our vacation dollars go as far as possible. We will post a review after our next Carnival cruise, and if its not as advertised, we will keep looking as we love cruising. Thanks for all your previous posts and encouragement to try something different.

After thinking about it, I think Disney, with so few ships, with 2 getting older everyday, making us wait longer than other cruise lines to announce sailing dates/prices is a mistake on their part, after all DCL trained many of us to book as soon a its announced, to get the price, room and ship we want. For those of us tired of waiting, some of us go ahead and book other cruises while we are waiting to insure we can cruise specific dates, as our kids are in HS and college. Then when we see the price difference, we have a choice.

In closing I hate that the Wonder took away the top public area of the Cove Cafe to use as a concierge lounge, that was one of my favorite spots on our DCL Alaska cruise, heck use a stateroom or other area, not something many of us loved. Disney please ADD things, don't take away things!

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

I was struck by flu... It's been the end of the world for the last 7 days. I'm barely coming back to the surface. Doc said the worst is behind me but I don't feel much of a difference here...

Ugh, glad to hear you are on the mend. The flu can be scary. At least you were not about to leave for a cruise.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

After 5 wonderful DCL cruises, we tried a Carnival Mexican Rivera cruise in 2017, on one one of the old, huge rust spots on the cabin windows "70's Vegas styled" smaller ships they have doing that 3-4 day itinerary. We did not like it and let them know....crickets from Carnival of course. We are cruising on the Wonder to Mexico in April 2019 and looking for other ideas/itineraries/lower prices/new cruise experiences. We think we will try Princess, RCI again and others in the coming years. We are looking forward to the new Disney ships and itineraries, but they are years away right now, and the prices may be too high for us, got to wait and see.

After studying and doing more research trying to book anyone BUT Carnival, we booked the new Carnival Panorama for our next 2 cruises, and are trying to book the Mardi Gras/Horizon, if we can find a time that works. Pictures and reviews of some of the quieter cabins in the Family Harbor area look interesting to us, check it out! We get 1.5 baths so we can all get ready quickly, and a Lounge when the cabin gets tight or I want to watch something at 4am. Love the espresso/ice machine idea and quick breakfast and snacks without having to go to the more crowded bigger buffet.

We LOVE DCL, and have spent the last 15 + years telling family and friends what a great vacation it is for us, especially for those with young children and teens. I just had to early retire from 30 years behind the camera working in Hollywood, and must try and make our vacation dollars go as far as possible. We will post a review after our next Carnival cruise, and if its not as advertised, we will keep looking as we love cruising. Thanks for all your previous posts and encouragement to try something different.

Funny that you were disappointed with Carnival but are back for more! I suspect you will love Panorama. Great that a new ship leaves from LA. Our last cruise on CCL dream was a bit disappointing but we still had a good time. When we were on it, dh said a couple of times let's try other lines. Actually he said, "I think I'm ready to be nickel and dimed." Lol. But he is now very excited to be going on the CCL Breeze in a couple of weeks. Our other 2 Carnival cruises have been great. We have booked Panorama too and are looking forward to it. We will try other lines in the future too. Carnival is definitely not perfect but overall we are happy with them. Great value.

 

[trvlgirlmq]

I was struck by flu... It's been the end of the world for the last 7 days. I'm barely coming back to the surface. Doc said the worst is behind me but I don't feel much of a difference here...

Oh, no! Glad you are on the mend.

 

[mevelandry]

Ugh, glad to hear you are on the mend. The flu can be scary. At least you were not about to leave for a cruise.

OMG, that would have been awful... (Thankfully, I still have 45 days to get better). And from now on, I am never gonna skip on the vaccine ever again...

 

[mevelandry]

Oh, no! Glad you are on the mend.

Thank you. Can't say I'm feeling better yet but this was nice to hear.

 

[pspookyc]

..... our next cruise is on the Horizon - which we just happened to pull in nose-to-nose to upon our return to Port of Miami on Saturday morning - in August. So, I may start looking to pick some brains for Carnival info....

Ditto. Our first Carnival cruise will also be on Horizon, August 10th. After sailing NCL, RCL and DCL, we are looking forward to something new, and for us a new itinerary.

 

[mcd2745]

Ditto. Our first Carnival cruise will also be on Horizon, August 10th. After sailing NCL, RCL and DCL, we are looking forward to something new, and for us a new itinerary.

We're on the Aug 24th sailing. We'll also have done DCL (6x), RCCL (3x), & NCL (2x) when we do our first on Carnival. I really hope we enjoy it and it becomes a regular option. We're definitely not done with DCL. It's just the cost makes it prohibitive to sail DCL exclusively. Very possibly done with NCL, unless we go along with a large group like we did for the first one, but I doubt we do it on our own again like last week (I like the whole "Freestyle" vibe, but the service just is lacking too much - perhaps we are just DCL "snobs"). We may or may not be done with RCCL - depends if the kids let us do another one. Three RCCL cruises and each time one of us ended up in Medical. First one (Nickelodeon cruise on Freedom of the Seas), DD - 4yr old at the time - got finger caught in stateroom door and luckily only lost her fingernail. Next on Oasis of the Seas (actually DIS Cruise 1.0), I came down with flu. Third one (Freedom again), DS sliced his finger open on some overhead lighting while dancing in the teen club and needed stitches. So, the kids have been afraid to go on RCCL, saying it will be their mom's turn next to end up in Medical if we go on RCCL again.

 

[Monykalyn]

I was struck by flu... It's been the end of the world for the last 7 days. I'm barely coming back to the surface. Doc said the worst is behind me but I don't feel much of a difference here...

Oh glad to hear you are on the mend! Middle kid got felled by the flu a couple weeks ago-out for 6 1/2 days but with a snow day and and 3 day weekend she didn't have to miss too many school days.

Impatiently waiting for Allstate rewards to restock their Carnival gift cards so I can finish paying off our cruise...and have to get the kids passports in March.

 

[mevelandry]

Oh glad to hear you are on the mend! Middle kid got felled by the flu a couple weeks ago-out for 6 1/2 days but with a snow day and and 3 day weekend she didn't have to miss too many school days.

Impatiently waiting for Allstate rewards to restock their Carnival gift cards so I can finish paying off our cruise...and have to get the kids passports in March.

Thank you! After 9 days, I finally feel like I'm starting to beat the virus...! My boss forbid me to get back to work until monday, so I've been off since I left mid-afternoon last wednesday (Thankfully, I still get paid). I can't wait to go back to "regular life".

I don't have much to do outside of watching tv. I have just added a tv channel 100% about travelling and they have a show about cruises (they tell you everything about the ships, the ports they are visiting and the excursions they are doing)... Not gonna lie, MSC sounds pretty nice.

I wish we had access to cruise lines credit cards here in Canada... I have one that gives me points for air plane tickets but... Meh.

 

[pspookyc]

We're on the Aug 24th sailing. We'll also have done DCL (6x), RCCL (3x), & NCL (2x) when we do our first on Carnival. I really hope we enjoy it and it becomes a regular option. We're definitely not done with DCL. It's just the cost makes it prohibitive to sail DCL exclusively. Very possibly done with NCL, unless we go along with a large group like we did for the first one, but I doubt we do it on our own again like last week (I like the whole "Freestyle" vibe, but the service just is lacking too much - perhaps we are just DCL "snobs"). We may or may not be done with RCCL - depends if the kids let us do another one. Three RCCL cruises and each time one of us ended up in Medical. First one (Nickelodeon cruise on Freedom of the Seas), DD - 4yr old at the time - got finger caught in stateroom door and luckily only lost her fingernail. Next on Oasis of the Seas (actually DIS Cruise 1.0), I came down with flu. Third one (Freedom again), DS sliced his finger open on some overhead lighting while dancing in the teen club and needed stitches. So, the kids have been afraid to go on RCCL, saying it will be their mom's turn next to end up in Medical if we go on RCCL again.

We've been shopping for newer ships and newer destinations, which attracted us to the Horizon and the Southern Caribbean. We really enjoyed the Allure of the Seas and the Anthem of the Seas when they were newly deployed, and we did Breakaway when it was only a few months in service. Next we are on the NCL Encore out of NYC in 2020. We hope that once DCL has new ships on line they will have itineraries that we are interested in, but for now ...... In 2021 we will likely go to Alaska, and right now it looks like Princess provides the things we are looking for. Happy sailing. BTW, we already booked dining and excursions on Horizon; if you are planning on dining at the steakhouse, I understand it books out early.

 

[Monykalyn]

Not gonna lie, MSC sounds pretty nice.

Yeah I’ve been reading up on them too! and a travel agent told me Princess might be a good fit for us. Hmmmm.
DH now wants to go with friends on their RCCL Cuba cruise in October after prices have gone up of course, and he won’t make a commitment this early either! He just doesn’t get that booking last minute is not usually a good thing! Guess we can wait now and see if there’s a deal, otherwise -as much as I’d love to go- I’m gonna have to say no. Plus not sure I could rearrange my schedule so much after adding a day to my HHN trip in September, have to work sometime!

 

[belle032]

Exciting news! So my mom called me up and told me she was planning a trip to Florida. Originally, she wanted to just do WDW, but since they have been recently, she said they wanted to try Universal and asked if I wanted to come down. Then she goes on to say, well since we're already down there, what do you think about adding 3 night DCL out of Port Canaveral? Ummm did you even have to ask?! So long story short, my mom, younger brother, and I will be sailing on the Dream out of Port Canaveral on May 17! None of us have ever sailed DCL, and with DH & I doing the British Isles in September, this gives me a chance to kind of check everything out. So super excited! This is a definitely a special occasion, as my younger brother has Down Syndrome and this trip is to celebrate his college graduation! And I think I'm going to sign up for our FE as a surprise to him as well. He'll love getting "surprises!"

We've been shopping for newer ships and newer destinations, which attracted us to the Horizon and the Southern Caribbean. We really enjoyed the Allure of the Seas and the Anthem of the Seas when they were newly deployed, and we did Breakaway when it was only a few months in service. Next we are on the NCL Encore out of NYC in 2020. We hope that once DCL has new ships on line they will have itineraries that we are interested in, but for now ...... In 2021 we will likely go to Alaska, and right now it looks like Princess provides the things we are looking for. Happy sailing. BTW, we already booked dining and excursions on Horizon; if you are planning on dining at the steakhouse, I understand it books out early.

DH & I are also really interested in the Horizon's Southern Caribbean itinerary! I believe the Magic is sailing that route (or something similar) as well. We are looking for January-February 2020 as we realized this year we REALLY need to get out of here during the winter. I'm more tempted by the Horizon as we've already been on the Magic, and we haven't gotten to try a "new" Carnival ship yet!

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

Exciting news! So my mom called me up and told me she was planning a trip to Florida. Originally, she wanted to just do WDW, but since they have been recently, she said they wanted to try Universal and asked if I wanted to come down. Then she goes on to say, well since we're already down there, what do you think about adding 3 night DCL out of Port Canaveral? Ummm did you even have to ask?! So long story short, my mom, younger brother, and I will be sailing on the Dream out of Port Canaveral on May 17! None of us have ever sailed DCL, and with DH & I doing the British Isles in September, this gives me a chance to kind of check everything out. So super excited! This is a definitely a special occasion, as my younger brother has Down Syndrome and this trip is to celebrate his college graduation! And I think I'm going to sign up for our FE as a surprise to him as well. He'll love getting "surprises!"



DH & I are also really interested in the Horizon's Southern Caribbean itinerary! I believe the Magic is sailing that route (or something similar) as well. We are looking for January-February 2020 as we realized this year we REALLY need to get out of here during the winter. I'm more tempted by the Horizon as we've already been on the Magic, and we haven't gotten to try a "new" Carnival ship yet!

Sounds awesome, your brother will love the dcl cruise! Fe sounds like a great idea.

 

[hdrolfe]

I'm going on a Southern on Magic in March 2020, Aruba, Curacao, Half Moon and Grand Turk. I looked at Horizon as well but the port times on the Magic cruise were better, and HMC! Looks so nice.

 

[mevelandry]

Exciting news! So my mom called me up and told me she was planning a trip to Florida. Originally, she wanted to just do WDW, but since they have been recently, she said they wanted to try Universal and asked if I wanted to come down. Then she goes on to say, well since we're already down there, what do you think about adding 3 night DCL out of Port Canaveral? Ummm did you even have to ask?! So long story short, my mom, younger brother, and I will be sailing on the Dream out of Port Canaveral on May 17! None of us have ever sailed DCL, and with DH & I doing the British Isles in September, this gives me a chance to kind of check everything out. So super excited! This is a definitely a special occasion, as my younger brother has Down Syndrome and this trip is to celebrate his college graduation! And I think I'm going to sign up for our FE as a surprise to him as well. He'll love getting "surprises!"



DH & I are also really interested in the Horizon's Southern Caribbean itinerary! I believe the Magic is sailing that route (or something similar) as well. We are looking for January-February 2020 as we realized this year we REALLY need to get out of here during the winter. I'm more tempted by the Horizon as we've already been on the Magic, and we haven't gotten to try a "new" Carnival ship yet!

The Disney Dream is awesome (definitely one of my favorite ships, sailed on it twice!). The first DCL cruises are always magical and very special. You're going to have a GREAT time!

 

[WDW&DCLADDICT]

Funny that you were disappointed with Carnival but are back for more! I suspect you will love Panorama. Great that a new ship leaves from LA. Our last cruise on CCL dream was a bit disappointing but we still had a good time. When we were on it, dh said a couple of times let's try other lines. Actually he said, "I think I'm ready to be nickel and dimed." Lol. But he is now very excited to be going on the CCL Breeze in a couple of weeks. Our other 2 Carnival cruises have been great. We have booked Panorama too and are looking forward to it. We will try other lines in the future too. Carnival is definitely not perfect but overall we are happy with them. Great value.

you will love the Breeze been on it twice, it will not disappoint. will be on the Horizon this summer

 

[cyclenut]

This very long thread already has many pricing comparisons, but I thought I would share another one since I'm shopping and have the pricing.

I priced out an Eastern Caribbean leaving in late August from Port Canaveral for three lines. Carnival Breeze, Royal Caribbean Harmony of the Seas and Disney Fantasy. They all go to slightly different ports and have vastly different pricing. We've been on the Breeze and Fantasy before so know what to expect. We've sailed on Royal, but not Oasis class. But we feel we have a pretty decent idea having been on the Freedom.

Carnival Breeze:
August 24 7 day Eastern Caribbean
Grand Turk, San Juan, St. Thomas, Amber Cove, day at sea
Deck 7 Aft Balcony is $2,169.94 (incl taxes and port fees)

Harmony of the Seas:
August 25 7 day Eastern Caribbean
Perfect Day at Coco Cay, St. Thomas, St. Marten, 2 days at sea
Deck 9 Aft Balcony is $2,442.66 (incl taxes and port fees)

Disney Fantasy:
August 24 7 day Eastern Caribbean
Tortola, St. Thomas, Castaway Cay, 2 days at sea
Deck 9 Aft Balcony is $4,607.04 (incl taxes and port fees)

The pricing is about as comparable as you can get between lines, although we all know that on the Fantasy you get a larger stateroom with a split bath and the other "Disney" difference. Does that justify double the price? Not in my mind. Not even close. I'm willing to pay a premium for Disney, but not that kind of premium.

Frankly the Royal Caribbean option looks to be the best value to me. Only slightly more than the Breeze and we get to experience the new private island renovations and we love the extra sea day. We haven't tried an Oasis class ship, so this would be a new experience whereas both the Breeze and the Fantasy are familiar. However, we really enjoyed our cruise on the Breeze so it also very appealing.

 

[WDW&DCLADDICT]

This very long thread already has many pricing comparisons, but I thought I would share another one since I'm shopping and have the pricing.

I priced out an Eastern Caribbean leaving in late August from Port Canaveral for three lines. Carnival Breeze, Royal Caribbean Harmony of the Seas and Disney Fantasy. They all go to slightly different ports and have vastly different pricing. We've been on the Breeze and Fantasy before so know what to expect. We've sailed on Royal, but not Oasis class. But we feel we have a pretty decent idea having been on the Freedom.

Carnival Breeze:
August 24 7 day Eastern Caribbean
Grand Turk, San Juan, St. Thomas, Amber Cove, day at sea
Deck 7 Aft Balcony is $2,169.94 (incl taxes and port fees)

Harmony of the Seas:
August 25 7 day Eastern Caribbean
Perfect Day at Coco Cay, St. Thomas, St. Marten, 2 days at sea
Deck 9 Aft Balcony is $2,442.66 (incl taxes and port fees)

Disney Fantasy:
August 24 7 day Eastern Caribbean
Tortola, St. Thomas, Castaway Cay, 2 days at sea
Deck 9 Aft Balcony is $4,607.04 (incl taxes and port fees)

The pricing is about as comparable as you can get between lines, although we all know that on the Fantasy you get a larger stateroom with a split bath and the other "Disney" difference. Does that justify double the price? Not in my mind. Not even close. I'm willing to pay a premium for Disney, but not that kind of premium.

Frankly the Royal Caribbean option looks to be the best value to me. Only slightly more than the Breeze and we get to experience the new private island renovations and we love the extra sea day. We haven't tried an Oasis class ship, so this would be a new experience whereas both the Breeze and the Fantasy are familiar. However, we really enjoyed our cruise on the Breeze so it also very appealing.

For the Harmony of the Seas i am getting a way different price, same with Disney

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

This very long thread already has many pricing comparisons, but I thought I would share another one since I'm shopping and have the pricing.

I priced out an Eastern Caribbean leaving in late August from Port Canaveral for three lines. Carnival Breeze, Royal Caribbean Harmony of the Seas and Disney Fantasy. They all go to slightly different ports and have vastly different pricing. We've been on the Breeze and Fantasy before so know what to expect. We've sailed on Royal, but not Oasis class. But we feel we have a pretty decent idea having been on the Freedom.

Carnival Breeze:
August 24 7 day Eastern Caribbean
Grand Turk, San Juan, St. Thomas, Amber Cove, day at sea
Deck 7 Aft Balcony is $2,169.94 (incl taxes and port fees)

Harmony of the Seas:
August 25 7 day Eastern Caribbean
Perfect Day at Coco Cay, St. Thomas, St. Marten, 2 days at sea
Deck 9 Aft Balcony is $2,442.66 (incl taxes and port fees)

Disney Fantasy:
August 24 7 day Eastern Caribbean
Tortola, St. Thomas, Castaway Cay, 2 days at sea
Deck 9 Aft Balcony is $4,607.04 (incl taxes and port fees)

The pricing is about as comparable as you can get between lines, although we all know that on the Fantasy you get a larger stateroom with a split bath and the other "Disney" difference. Does that justify double the price? Not in my mind. Not even close. I'm willing to pay a premium for Disney, but not that kind of premium.

Frankly the Royal Caribbean option looks to be the best value to me. Only slightly more than the Breeze and we get to experience the new private island renovations and we love the extra sea day. We haven't tried an Oasis class ship, so this would be a new experience whereas both the Breeze and the Fantasy are familiar. However, we really enjoyed our cruise on the Breeze so it also very appealing.

I’d definitely give Oasis a try.