Good to know! Thank you!
CARNIVAL VS DCL: The discussion and comparison thread!
- Thread starter mevelandry
- Start date
- Status
Good to know! Thank you!
Monykalyn
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 11, 2014
- Messages
- 4,971
Thanks I am sure we will love it too. And frankly-the kids are sold on the ports and 24 hour pizza and soft serve LOL! And your review was actually pretty positive anyway. I do understand you have way way more cruises under your belt so ranking is going to be way way different than mine
DH and I go to Vegas every couple years so I guess I don't notice this stuff anymore
. Frankly a Carnival ship is toned down from Las Vegas stuff! And I have fun with it-got 2 different wine glasses from the Flamingo last trip in January just cause so tacky I had to have them.
mevelandry
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2013
- Messages
- 9,663
Thanks I am sure we will love it too. And frankly-the kids are sold on the ports and 24 hour pizza and soft serve LOL! And your review was actually pretty positive anyway. I do understand you have way way more cruises under your belt so ranking is going to be way way different than mine
DH and I go to Vegas every couple years so I guess I don't notice this stuff anymore
Do I? I've only been on 7 cruises so far...
The pizza was definitely great. Also, I don't know if you like meat and if splurging on a 20$ steak is something you'd do but DH and I tried the 20$ upgrade from the Steakhouse in the MDR and we liked it so much we've had it twice nights in a row.
And, the staff on the Sensation was most likely the best staff we've ever had.
Who will be your cruise director?
starvenger
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 8, 2015
- Messages
- 5,388
I'm at 7 as well. It *is* quite a bit, despite the single digit number. Not as much as some but I think it's enough to give us "veteran cruiser" status.
mevelandry
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2013
- Messages
- 9,663
mevelandry
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2013
- Messages
- 9,663
It sounds like Carnival has a new "boarding zone" concept? (I have never seen this before...) We are assigned a boarding zone on the boarding pass.
We have been assigned C1.
From what I understand, A1 is the first group to board the ship.
Is there a table of some sort explaining when we'll be allowed to board? I'm lost. LOL
p.s.: We are embarking at Port Canaveral.
We have been assigned C1.
From what I understand, A1 is the first group to board the ship.
Is there a table of some sort explaining when we'll be allowed to board? I'm lost. LOL
p.s.: We are embarking at Port Canaveral.
hdrolfe
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2014
- Messages
- 4,803
I think it's still pretty new, not sure anyone has actually seen the impact yet. Did you have to choose a check in time? I wouldn't worry about it too much. When I boarded in Port Canaveral everything moved really fast and we just went straight through and onto the ship. We had a time 11:30 to noon I think? And we arrived around 11, but the "early or late" line was faster than the on time line.
I am now 365 days to my next cruise
Which will be cruise 6. Oh, and I wanted to comment on the Sensation - when we went on our first cruise we were in a shuttle with a family going on it, and my kiddo saw it when we were in port and wanted to go on it. He loved the look of the slides/water park area at the back. We were on Liberty which did not have as much "fun stuff". So for kids, I think they would have a lot of fun.
mevelandry
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2013
- Messages
- 9,663
I think it's still pretty new, not sure anyone has actually seen the impact yet. Did you have to choose a check in time? I wouldn't worry about it too much. When I boarded in Port Canaveral everything moved really fast and we just went straight through and onto the ship. We had a time 11:30 to noon I think? And we arrived around 11, but the "early or late" line was faster than the on time line.
I am now 365 days to my next cruise
Oh, and I wanted to comment on the Sensation - when we went on our first cruise we were in a shuttle with a family going on it, and my kiddo saw it when we were in port and wanted to go on it. He loved the look of the slides/water park area at the back. We were on Liberty which did not have as much "fun stuff". So for kids, I think they would have a lot of fun.
Yes, we chose a late check-in time because we're going to spend the whole morning in our WDW hotel area.
I agree that the new water slides area they added on the Sensation is quite nice for such a small ship.
we"reofftoneverland
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2015
- Messages
- 3,463
We are slowly docking at Canaveral right now. And I have so figured out how to upload photos. If I screen shot them they are smaller!
Inside of refrigerator...
Some kids club crafts. I remembered to bring tape to hang stuff up.
More cabin photos
We had a second cabin but our amazing steward set us up for 4 because the younger kids would go back and forth.
Inside of refrigerator...
Some kids club crafts. I remembered to bring tape to hang stuff up.
More cabin photos
We had a second cabin but our amazing steward set us up for 4 because the younger kids would go back and forth.
we"reofftoneverland
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2015
- Messages
- 3,463
Day 4: Magen's Bay day continued...
I forgot to mention our Camp Ocean nut did not get off the ship at St. Thomas. I tried to persuade him but he wasn't having any of my "top ten beach in the world" argument. I wanted to force him but I also didn't want to deal, so we gave in and left him at Camp Ocean. That was one reason we only stayed at the beach at Magen's Bay for a couple of hours.
We had some other folks in our taxi back from Magen's who asked to be dropped "downtown" instead of the port. The taxi driver told them that there was nothing good downtown and the shopping at the port was the same. I have no idea, but the downtown area did not look like a downtown, just a typical bunch of port vendors and I commented to dh after they got off that I wondered what they were looking for there. Dh said probably Adventure because they are Norwegians and one guy was wearing a "Norwegians like adventure" baseball cap. At first I didn't get it and was like I don't think they were from Norway. Dh just looked at me but it had already registered.
When we got back on the ship it was empty. So relaxing. We tried to pick up our remaining child from Camp Ocean but it was like he was in a cult and wouldn't leave. Apparently he had received some best behaved camper award and felt pretty important. The camp usually closed at 4 (opens again at 6) but was open all day today because it was a port day. We still said he would have to leave at 4, because, well, just because, right? We also were going to the steakhouse at 6:30 so he would have to go back. So it was around 2:30ish and we grabbed a bite to eat and sat on our balcony for an hour or so before going back to CO to get him. Our balcony was facing this view
and it was awesome. Dh did some work, while I read a book I'd picked up at the Breeze library. That's one thing missing on dcl ships, libraries. We love the ship libraries with their random assortment of books and games-- and so do our kids. They ask to go there.
The Steakhouse (Fahrenheit 555)
We have been to CCL's steakhouse once before on the Conquest and it was great. This was a different experience. It was a completely different restaurant. First, the Steakhouse on the Conquest was on one of the top decks and felt a lot like Palo with great windows and views. The Steakhouse on the Breeze was on deck 5 with less spectacular views, only one side of the restaurant had windows and they were covered in floor to ceiling drab semi sheer curtains blocking the view! We were leaving St. Thomas soon after we sat down, and the sun had set. You could see lights from the city twinkling through the curtains but no view. I asked one of our servers if it would be possible to open the curtains and she said curtly, "No, not possible. They are attached." I was kind of taken aback but okay. We were not right next to any of the windows, but five minutes later I noticed a couple who were seated next to one of the windows opened the curtains themselves. Lol. So much for attached. It was a crime to have those windows closed. That view of St. Thomas at night was really spectacular. We were surprised when our ship left first. We were in a row, parallel parked at the dock in between the NCL Bliss and Caribbean Princess. So our ship edged out and backed away and spun around- it was a cool sail away. At one point we had a great view (thanks to the cruisers by the window) of the NCL Bliss with its multicolored flashing lights on the top decks and dh commented that even their lights looked cool. The lights on the Princess ship were a normal muted white, still beautiful but not as hip.
The Breeze Steakhouse was also much smaller than the one on the Conquest. I would estimate 1/4 of the size and felt jammed into its space. The ambiance was not so much relaxing as it was squashed. The wait staff was uninspired and detached, and they had a weird system where everyone in the room was waiting on you. On the Conquest, we had a team of 2 people serving us, more traditional and focused, excellent service. When we made the reservation on the Breeze, they told us that the only time available was 6:30 pm, but the room was never more than 1/3 full the entire time we were there, empty for such a small steakhouse. The food also fell flat. Good, but not better than the main dining room which we also find quite good. On the Conquest, the steakhouse food really blew us away, very much in the tradition of an old fashioned Steakhouse. On the Breeze, we did not eat more than a taste of our appetizers or salads, just the full steaks, which were great, and we only had one bite of our desserts as they did not compare at all to the dessert spread they now serve in the lido marketplace in the afternoons. Do not miss these afternoon desserts in the buffet. It closes at 3:30 and is easy to miss! The lunchtime lido desserts are beautiful and we find them superior to the desserts in the main dining room and the desserts they serve in the buffet at dinner. One more thing about the Steakhouse. When they served our main course, they put plates down in front of us that looked like small less deep versions of plates for peeling crab or crawfish. Just a plain white plate with upturned sides. Then they transferred the steak and a grilled tomato and a piece of parsley to the white plate. They gave us a couple of sides in other bowls. Very small portions of the sides, bowls about 3 inches in diameter. Also gave us one small ramiken (like 1 inch diameter) of a wine sauce-- I guess to share? I wish I had taken a photo of this. It was the strangest presentation I have ever seen in any restaurant. It looked so rough draft and unappealing that I did not know what to think. I looked at DH and he was like, "I think we can probably skip the Steakhouse from here on out." All I can think was maybe they were going for postmodern and that this was "Steakhouse Deconstructed." Lol. I cannot imagine this Steakhouse appeals at all to your average Carnival cruiser. And how wild that the Steakhouses can be so different from ship to ship.
So we then went and pulled the 2 littles out of Camp Ocean, one not thrilled to leave. When dh was checking them out, he saw a counselor standing on a stool hanging up some decorations. He said that she finished and stepped down and said in a British accent, very satisfied, "With these decorations, Disney has nothing on us." We had a laugh about that. Disney seems to hang over every one, even the employees of other lines, as some kind of gold standard. To an extent it is illusion, to an extent reality, but Mickey is so good at marketing that I think illusion and reality become one.
One thing I love above all with cruising is I sleep really, really deeply on ships. I think that's why our last cruise was a bit of a bummer for me because we were under the galley and I never got an amazing sleep. Avoid cabins under the galley on CCL at all costs!! I have vivid dreams on ships also that I never have on land. Here's a funny one I had that night. I had just boarded a Disney ship, but it looked different than other Disney ships, like the images of the new CCL Mardi Gras but in dcl colors and accents. So I had just boarded and was alone and was trying to find my cabin on this new ship. And that was the entire dream. It was forever and I just kept looking and looking and I kept getting interrupted and distracted by activities and cast members and never found my cabin. When I told dh about it, he laughed at me and asked if Captain Mickey was in the distance just out of reach holding a sign saying, "your cabin this way... just $10,000 more?" Very funny, I said. Dh doesn't get the dcl appeal, so he makes fun of my dcl fascination. He says the food is bleh and is tired of the shows. He loves disney, especially Walt Disney, and the parks though. Big relief on that front.
I forgot to mention our Camp Ocean nut did not get off the ship at St. Thomas. I tried to persuade him but he wasn't having any of my "top ten beach in the world" argument. I wanted to force him but I also didn't want to deal, so we gave in and left him at Camp Ocean. That was one reason we only stayed at the beach at Magen's Bay for a couple of hours.
We had some other folks in our taxi back from Magen's who asked to be dropped "downtown" instead of the port. The taxi driver told them that there was nothing good downtown and the shopping at the port was the same. I have no idea, but the downtown area did not look like a downtown, just a typical bunch of port vendors and I commented to dh after they got off that I wondered what they were looking for there. Dh said probably Adventure because they are Norwegians and one guy was wearing a "Norwegians like adventure" baseball cap. At first I didn't get it and was like I don't think they were from Norway. Dh just looked at me but it had already registered.
When we got back on the ship it was empty. So relaxing. We tried to pick up our remaining child from Camp Ocean but it was like he was in a cult and wouldn't leave. Apparently he had received some best behaved camper award and felt pretty important. The camp usually closed at 4 (opens again at 6) but was open all day today because it was a port day. We still said he would have to leave at 4, because, well, just because, right? We also were going to the steakhouse at 6:30 so he would have to go back. So it was around 2:30ish and we grabbed a bite to eat and sat on our balcony for an hour or so before going back to CO to get him. Our balcony was facing this view
and it was awesome. Dh did some work, while I read a book I'd picked up at the Breeze library. That's one thing missing on dcl ships, libraries. We love the ship libraries with their random assortment of books and games-- and so do our kids. They ask to go there.The Steakhouse (Fahrenheit 555)
We have been to CCL's steakhouse once before on the Conquest and it was great. This was a different experience. It was a completely different restaurant. First, the Steakhouse on the Conquest was on one of the top decks and felt a lot like Palo with great windows and views. The Steakhouse on the Breeze was on deck 5 with less spectacular views, only one side of the restaurant had windows and they were covered in floor to ceiling drab semi sheer curtains blocking the view! We were leaving St. Thomas soon after we sat down, and the sun had set. You could see lights from the city twinkling through the curtains but no view. I asked one of our servers if it would be possible to open the curtains and she said curtly, "No, not possible. They are attached." I was kind of taken aback but okay. We were not right next to any of the windows, but five minutes later I noticed a couple who were seated next to one of the windows opened the curtains themselves. Lol. So much for attached. It was a crime to have those windows closed. That view of St. Thomas at night was really spectacular. We were surprised when our ship left first. We were in a row, parallel parked at the dock in between the NCL Bliss and Caribbean Princess. So our ship edged out and backed away and spun around- it was a cool sail away. At one point we had a great view (thanks to the cruisers by the window) of the NCL Bliss with its multicolored flashing lights on the top decks and dh commented that even their lights looked cool. The lights on the Princess ship were a normal muted white, still beautiful but not as hip.
The Breeze Steakhouse was also much smaller than the one on the Conquest. I would estimate 1/4 of the size and felt jammed into its space. The ambiance was not so much relaxing as it was squashed. The wait staff was uninspired and detached, and they had a weird system where everyone in the room was waiting on you. On the Conquest, we had a team of 2 people serving us, more traditional and focused, excellent service. When we made the reservation on the Breeze, they told us that the only time available was 6:30 pm, but the room was never more than 1/3 full the entire time we were there, empty for such a small steakhouse. The food also fell flat. Good, but not better than the main dining room which we also find quite good. On the Conquest, the steakhouse food really blew us away, very much in the tradition of an old fashioned Steakhouse. On the Breeze, we did not eat more than a taste of our appetizers or salads, just the full steaks, which were great, and we only had one bite of our desserts as they did not compare at all to the dessert spread they now serve in the lido marketplace in the afternoons. Do not miss these afternoon desserts in the buffet. It closes at 3:30 and is easy to miss! The lunchtime lido desserts are beautiful and we find them superior to the desserts in the main dining room and the desserts they serve in the buffet at dinner. One more thing about the Steakhouse. When they served our main course, they put plates down in front of us that looked like small less deep versions of plates for peeling crab or crawfish. Just a plain white plate with upturned sides. Then they transferred the steak and a grilled tomato and a piece of parsley to the white plate. They gave us a couple of sides in other bowls. Very small portions of the sides, bowls about 3 inches in diameter. Also gave us one small ramiken (like 1 inch diameter) of a wine sauce-- I guess to share? I wish I had taken a photo of this. It was the strangest presentation I have ever seen in any restaurant. It looked so rough draft and unappealing that I did not know what to think. I looked at DH and he was like, "I think we can probably skip the Steakhouse from here on out." All I can think was maybe they were going for postmodern and that this was "Steakhouse Deconstructed." Lol. I cannot imagine this Steakhouse appeals at all to your average Carnival cruiser. And how wild that the Steakhouses can be so different from ship to ship.
So we then went and pulled the 2 littles out of Camp Ocean, one not thrilled to leave. When dh was checking them out, he saw a counselor standing on a stool hanging up some decorations. He said that she finished and stepped down and said in a British accent, very satisfied, "With these decorations, Disney has nothing on us." We had a laugh about that. Disney seems to hang over every one, even the employees of other lines, as some kind of gold standard. To an extent it is illusion, to an extent reality, but Mickey is so good at marketing that I think illusion and reality become one.
One thing I love above all with cruising is I sleep really, really deeply on ships. I think that's why our last cruise was a bit of a bummer for me because we were under the galley and I never got an amazing sleep. Avoid cabins under the galley on CCL at all costs!! I have vivid dreams on ships also that I never have on land. Here's a funny one I had that night. I had just boarded a Disney ship, but it looked different than other Disney ships, like the images of the new CCL Mardi Gras but in dcl colors and accents. So I had just boarded and was alone and was trying to find my cabin on this new ship. And that was the entire dream. It was forever and I just kept looking and looking and I kept getting interrupted and distracted by activities and cast members and never found my cabin. When I told dh about it, he laughed at me and asked if Captain Mickey was in the distance just out of reach holding a sign saying, "your cabin this way... just $10,000 more?" Very funny, I said. Dh doesn't get the dcl appeal, so he makes fun of my dcl fascination. He says the food is bleh and is tired of the shows. He loves disney, especially Walt Disney, and the parks though. Big relief on that front.
Last edited:
we"reofftoneverland
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2015
- Messages
- 3,463
Photo of the breeze behind the Bliss
Photos of the ships in St. Thomas from the taxi.
Magen's Bay
Steakhouse desserts cheesecake and "chocolate sphere"
we"reofftoneverland
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2015
- Messages
- 3,463
Gorgeous! Looks very Polynesian Resort!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!!
View attachment 386986 View attachment 386989
36 days to go!
we"reofftoneverland
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2015
- Messages
- 3,463
Wonder out of Galveston. Only port is Cozumel. I know, it is a decent price for dcl... we are leaning towards cancelling but we will see
we"reofftoneverland
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2015
- Messages
- 3,463
We found 3 on this cruise-- one in our mailbox. First time seeing this.I just added a thing or two in the infos in the first post:
Apparently, the hiding of rubber duckies is really becoming a thing on the Carnival ships.
Some of them are either decorated or very original.
I have not found one yet but I think it's fun!
Monykalyn
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 11, 2014
- Messages
- 4,971
We love steak so we will see if we want to do that upgrade.
Have no idea who CD is LOL!
I got kids registered for Kids clubs but still waiting on getting their passports to finish checking in. I got FTTF when I booked the cruise so not worried.
I think my local library has time slots for the weekend to get passport paperwork done, so I really need to get them in! '
The duck thing is funny! My DH is in fundraising and used to use those as prizes for turn in days, the kids would collect all the styles. we used to have hundreds of them-wonder if we have any left...
mevelandry
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2013
- Messages
- 9,663
I'm not sure but I think "Deon" will be your Cruise Director.
lucyddr
Working Mom of twins!
- Joined
- Jan 3, 2007
- Messages
- 577
You'll have an amazing cruise on the Fantasy. It's going to be very special (IMO the first time on a DCL is always magical).
We’ve been on a Disney Cruise twice before we had kids, so it isn’t our “first.” Our first was great, even “magical.” Our second was not and caused us to leave Disney....would have been a permanent decision if we had never had our twins.
We love WDW, but this cruise is unlikely to live up to its price for us. I’m trying to have an open mind!
mevelandry
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2013
- Messages
- 9,663
I'm sorry you had a bad second cruise... I hope you had better cruising experiences since then.
Will it be your first DCL cruise with the kids?
daisyx3
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2009
- Messages
- 1,881
Here is a Carnival question...which ships have adult-only pools? I know some have an adult relaxation area without a pool, and I know Vista class ships (like Horizon) have Havana rooms with a pool that is exclusive to that area (no under 12) until 7PM. Or what other lines have adult areas with pools? Not Haven, can't afford that. But pricy or not, we spent a lot of time in the DCL adult pool last summer and DH really enjoys his pool time--we raised our kids and like to stay away from "kid soup" pools.
mevelandry
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2013
- Messages
- 9,663
On Carnival, anything bigger than Fantasy class has an Aft pool that is generally adults only (there are some exceptions I heard, during spring break)... And the serenity area (21+) always has two big jacuzzis.
I believe that on RCCL the "solarium pools" are 18+ ?
- Status
-
Are Disney Fans Getting Tired of Hearing About Epic Universe?
-
LEGO Star Wars Day & New Jango Fett's Firespray Set
-
Adventures by Disney Announces NEW European Itineraries for 2026
-
New 'May the Force Be with You' Spirit Jersey
-
Mead Hall in How to Train Your Dragon - Isle of Berk at Epic Universe
-
New Harry Potter Accessories for Your Next Universal Trip!
-
Fun Facts About Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World
- Walt Disney World News
- Walt Disney World Articles
- Disney Cruise Line News
- Disneyland News
- General Disney News
- Universal Orlando News
GET UP TO A $1000 SHIPBOARD CREDIT AND AN EXCLUSIVE GIFT!
If you make your Disney Cruise Line reservation with Dreams Unlimited Travel you’ll receive these incredible shipboard credits to spend on your cruise!
Save Up to 30% on Rooms at Walt Disney World!
Save up to 30% on rooms at select Disney Resorts Collection hotels when you stay 5 consecutive nights or longer in late summer and early fall. Plus, enjoy other savings for shorter stays.This offer is valid for stays most nights from August 1 to October 11, 2025.
CLICK HERE
