CARNIVAL VS DCL: The discussion and comparison thread!

[lilsonicfan]

I was considering the 9 night Greek Isles on the Magic. Would be over $12,000 for 2 insides. The basically the same cruise on Adventure of the Seas is less than $6000, I could do 2 balconies for $10,000.

I said this elsewhere but I booked an 11 night Greek Isles cruise on NCL for $6,600 for 5 of us in a family oceanview. The 9 night DCL cruise was $23,000 this morning for 5 in a verandah, or I could get 2 standard inside rooms for $15,000. I guess I'd have an extra bathroom on DCL at least. Ha.

 

[WDW&DCLADDICT]

Are you sure you are pricing for two adults? Maybe it's the date? I know the late August dates are cheaper and that's what I booked. Below is a screen shot of my booking price.

View attachment 386726

Deck 9, category 8D, Ocean View Balcony.

Not sure how you are seeing double that price. I'm also noting the Disney Fantasy pricing is quite a bit higher than what I was seeing, so something is not the same. Maybe I just got a smokin deal on the Harmony, but I'm locked in now and ready to roll!

i was pricing a family of 4 adults
here is with just 2 adults
Disney:$4,523.05
Royal: $2,442.62
Carnival: $2,049.94

 

[WDW&DCLADDICT]

For a Family of 4 in December, all are some kind of similar balconies all +/ 1 deck from deck 9
Disney $7,425.32
Royal $4,416.88
Carnival $3,039.88
Ncl: $4,250.60

 

[mevelandry]

It is weird because I really love Disney in general, but these last about 3 years I have been getting a weird vibe from dcl. They turn me off too. I'm not entirely sure why. Part of it is price of course, but there is more. We have a 4 night scheduled in December. We booked it a couple of years ago because it was literally the least expensive cruise dcl had on their site. Lol. It is still expensive, works out to 187 /person/night (where we are paying 107/person/night on our next ccl cruise that goes to far superior ports on a much newer ship), but in dcl's alternative reality 187 is pretty good. And yet, I am just not super excited about it. I have this feeling we will cancel in the end even though it is a great deal. It still feels like a rip off I guess. I hate that feeling.

It's not a bad price for DCL. I believe this is similar or slightly lower than the price we paid in 2015.

Is it on the Dream?

Don't cancel. I'm sure you're going to have a great time.

 

[mevelandry]

Are we up to date on the roll call? Does anybody else want me to add their vacation in it?

 

[trvlgirlmq]

Are we up to date on the roll call? Does anybody else want me to add their vacation in it?

Remove May 30 2020 Panorama
Add October 7 2019 Valor and July 7 2020 Legend

 

[mcd2745]

Are we up to date on the roll call? Does anybody else want me to add their vacation in it?

Aug 24, 2019 8-night Southern Caribbean on the Horizon

 

[belle032]

Can I just say thank god for y'all on this thread! I'm with ya'll on the outrageous prices of the new DCL itineraries. And people are booking them like crazy! I mean I LOVE DISNEY. Like I really do, but there is no way to justify those prices to me. And it kills me when people say "well if you add up all the extra things that other cruise lines charge, it really evens out.." I'm sorry am I missing something? What extras are you counting here? A soda package and some specialty dining? That really makes up for the thousands of dollars in price? And if I hear "you couldn't pay me to cruise Carnival again" one more time...It's unfortunate that people need to say that kind of thing in the first place, but those are probably the people I don't want to cruise with anyway.

I know everyone vacations differently, but our British Isles cruise will probably be our 1st and last DCL. No way in heck could I pay those prices just to cruise the Caribbean. We'll save our money for WDW to get our Disney fix. We are VERY happy cruising Carnival. Especially with some new European itineraries and some amazing new ships!

 

[hdrolfe]

My first cruise 4 years ago was supposed to be on Disney, but with the CAD dropping it became too expensive. Since I had flights booked I needed something to fit in, and it was between RCL or Carnival. I chose Carnival for the ports, and am so glad I did! I think if it hadn't been my first cruise I might never have tried Carnival. And the funny part is it was the Liberty, which does not have the fancy slides and ropes courses or anything. But kiddo, who was 5, and I had a great time and we both agree, having tried RCL now 3 times as well, that we like Carnival best! For us He still dreams that we will do a Disney Star Wars cruise, but I dream of winning the lottery, so I guess we both have dreams that will never happen?

 

[cyclenut]

Can I just say thank god for y'all on this thread! I'm with ya'll on the outrageous prices of the new DCL itineraries. And people are booking them like crazy! I mean I LOVE DISNEY. Like I really do, but there is no way to justify those prices to me. And it kills me when people say "well if you add up all the extra things that other cruise lines charge, it really evens out.." I'm sorry am I missing something? What extras are you counting here? A soda package and some specialty dining? That really makes up for the thousands of dollars in price? And if I hear "you couldn't pay me to cruise Carnival again" one more time...It's unfortunate that people need to say that kind of thing in the first place, but those are probably the people I don't want to cruise with anyway.

I know everyone vacations differently, but our British Isles cruise will probably be our 1st and last DCL. No way in heck could I pay those prices just to cruise the Caribbean. We'll save our money for WDW to get our Disney fix. We are VERY happy cruising Carnival. Especially with some new European itineraries and some amazing new ships!

I used to be in the "you couldn't pay me to cruise Carnival again" camp. I finally got over it and have not regretted it. Carnival has worked hard to improve their product without substantially increasing their price. They have found a way to appeal to a broad audience of vacationers and are doing well. I've written here before that our next Carnival cruise will be aboard the Vista and my wife was actually thinking we should have chosen the Vista out of Galveston instead of the Harmony out of Orlando we ended up choosing. I could afford to pay Disney prices, but I just don't know why I'd want to right now. There isn't enough of a compelling reason to pay that much more.

 

[trvlgirlmq]

Just for giggles I went to check open day pricing for a first time cruiser to compare:

Current booking Carnival Legend 12 day Med July 2020: 2A Deck 5 Aft Balcony $4402 incl tax, port fees
Disney 12 day Med July 2020: 2A Deck 5 Aft balcony $14,0710.46 incl tax, port fees

Yeah, they are out of their minds.

 

[mevelandry]

Can I just say thank god for y'all on this thread! I'm with ya'll on the outrageous prices of the new DCL itineraries. And people are booking them like crazy! I mean I LOVE DISNEY. Like I really do, but there is no way to justify those prices to me. And it kills me when people say "well if you add up all the extra things that other cruise lines charge, it really evens out.." I'm sorry am I missing something? What extras are you counting here? A soda package and some specialty dining? That really makes up for the thousands of dollars in price? And if I hear "you couldn't pay me to cruise Carnival again" one more time...It's unfortunate that people need to say that kind of thing in the first place, but those are probably the people I don't want to cruise with anyway.

I know everyone vacations differently, but our British Isles cruise will probably be our 1st and last DCL. No way in heck could I pay those prices just to cruise the Caribbean. We'll save our money for WDW to get our Disney fix. We are VERY happy cruising Carnival. Especially with some new European itineraries and some amazing new ships!

Ahhh those cruise snobs!

I have a hard times with people who feel like they are too good to stay somewhere or sail on certain cruise lines.

When people say: "I would never sail with Carnival", I always ask why. I noticed that for those have experienced it (most of the time, it's not the case... *criquets*), 99% of the time, I thought that they overreacted over small issues...

Or worst: they are intolerant of the demographic (which makes me not want to sail with them at all).

If I had based my whole opinion of DCL by the first night of our first cruise, I would never have sailed with DCL again (we met an obnoxious/entitled drunk + we got sea sick + our first dinner at Animator's Palate was absolutely terrible with a rude overworked server.)

DH and I recently came to the conclusion that the Carnival Vista was our "favorite" cruise and the Sensation was our "least favorite". But... While we had more "cons" in our list for this cruise than we had during other cruises, it doesn't mean that it was a "bad cruise".

We simply took aside what we did not like and tried to figure out how we could avoid those issues in the future (ex: We realized that we were no fans of smaller ships and that we like when the ships are a little bit more recent. It doesn't make or break our cruise, it's just a personal preference.)

 

[mevelandry]

Just for giggles I went to check open day pricing for a first time cruiser to compare:

Current booking Carnival Legend 12 day Med July 2020: 2A Deck 5 Aft Balcony $4402 incl tax, port fees
Disney 12 day Med July 2020: 2A Deck 5 Aft balcony $14,0710.46 incl tax, port fees

Yeah, they are out of their minds.

10 000$ more. That's 3 to 5 carribean cruises for DH and I.

And that was opening day pricing so it's probably more expensive now!

 

[TJA]

Just for giggles I went to check open day pricing for a first time cruiser to compare:

Current booking Carnival Legend 12 day Med July 2020: 2A Deck 5 Aft Balcony $4402 incl tax, port fees
Disney 12 day Med July 2020: 2A Deck 5 Aft balcony $14,0710.46 incl tax, port fees

Yeah, they are out of their minds.

Such a price difference!! I just branched out, not to Carnival but to Royal, but also a $10,000 difference in cost for same cruise and same type of room (minus one bathroom). Anxiously praying we love it as much as the Disney cruise!

 

[mcd2745]

Can I just say thank god for y'all on this thread! I'm with ya'll on the outrageous prices of the new DCL itineraries. And people are booking them like crazy!

I don't know if they are booking them like crazy. Just because they are getting quotes doesn't mean they are booking. I'm sure a decent amount are. What you see a lot with the opening day quotes threads is that many of the die-hard, platinum Castaway Club members getting those quotes are just 2 adults (no kids). Likely empty-nesters with a little more disposable cash, and not having to foot the bill for a full family, I guess.

I mean I LOVE DISNEY. Like I really do, but there is no way to justify those prices to me. And it kills me when people say "well if you add up all the extra things that other cruise lines charge, it really evens out.." I'm sorry am I missing something? What extras are you counting here? A soda package and some specialty dining? That really makes up for the thousands of dollars in price?

Drives me nuts too when all the Disney apologists on these boards - and there are plenty of them - suggest that when all is said and done that there is very little difference in price between DCL and the other lines. I think they're just trying convince themselves. We love Disney. To me, it is still the best of the cruise lines I have been on so far (DCL, RCCL, NCL). Not necessarily double-the-price (or more) better, however. We do have one more DCL cruise booked for next February. We promised our son (turning 18 next April) that we would do one more DCL cruise before he turned 18 since he enjoys the Vibe club so much - and never enjoyed Oceaneer's all that much when he was younger (our DD has been the complete opposite). So after that one next year...who knows? That may be our last DCL, at least for a while. What i wonder is...maybe they can fill just four ships at these price points, but will they be able fill seven?

And if I hear "you couldn't pay me to cruise Carnival again" one more time...It's unfortunate that people need to say that kind of thing in the first place, but those are probably the people I don't want to cruise with anyway.

Thing is, almost all the people saying "you couldn't pay me to sail on Carnival" never actually have ever been on Carnival. If they have, and didn't like it, that's fine. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Who knows, maybe we'll be saying that (although I certainly hope not) after our Horizon cruise? But at least we're giving it a chance. Unfortunately, perception is reality, and Carnival has an an uphill battle trying to change what the perception of them has historically been.

 

[mevelandry]

Thing is, almost all the people saying "you couldn't pay me to sail on Carnival" never actually have ever been on Carnival. If they have, and didn't like it, that's fine. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Who knows, maybe we'll be saying that (although I certainly hope not) after our Horizon cruise? But at least we're giving it a chance. Unfortunately, perception is reality, and Carnival has an an uphill battle trying to change what the perception of them has historically been.

Truth.

 

[mevelandry]

I'm so excited...

I have a dear friend who is nice enough to make "logos" for me every time I go on vacation with my family. (Even though she's super busy) I usually get t-shirts and/or hats and/or tote bags for us to wear on vacation.

This year I had t-shirts, tote bags and backpacks done and I have just received it this morning!

I LOVE THEM!!



36 days to go!

 

[smmco]

I booked the maiden voyage out of Copenhagen on the Mardi Gras. I booked the early saver rate. I know the deposit is non refundable, but I needed the reduced deposit. I have two upcoming DCL cruises this year one is paid for and one needs to be paid off by May. How do price drops work and how to get them if they occur? I'm not expecting a price drop. I'm more then happy with the price compared to DCL European cruises, but I do want to take advantage of one if it occurs.

 

[trvlgirlmq]

I booked the maiden voyage out of Copenhagen on the Mardi Gras. I booked the early saver rate. I know the deposit is non refundable, but I needed the reduced deposit. I have two upcoming DCL cruises this year one is paid for and one needs to be paid off by May. How do price drops work and how to get them if they occur? I'm not expecting a price drop. I'm more then happy with the price compared to DCL European cruises, but I do want to take advantage of one if it occurs.

You need to make mock bookings on the website matching your room category. If the total rate plus taxes is less than what you currently have then call Carnival and they will reduce the final payment. If you are booked with a reduced deposit you can only get price drops with another reduced deposit or you have to pay the difference up to the full deposit.

 

[Need a vacation NOW]

Hi all. I have enjoyed reading disboards for years, but had to sign up specifically for this thread Please forgive me if this has been discussed, but admittedly I skipped bunches of pages.
We just booked Alaska on DCL for 2020. I had to choose deck 2 because it was just too much for a higher deck ocean view. Hubby is not happy. We visited Alaska many years ago--before kids--on Princess. We were so BORED! Alaska was beautiful, but Princess was just not for us. Has anyone visited Alaska on CCL or another line and would be willing to share their experience?