CARNIVAL VS DCL: The discussion and comparison thread!

[mevelandry]

Until other countries ease restriction there will be testing. Covid is now with us forever so I don't think the testing will end any time soon.

Makes sense.

 

[mevelandry]

Sitting at the airport waiting on our 2 hour delayed departure. Our connection is delayed already also. It’s going to be a long night. Can’t wait to get back on a ship on Saturday though!

Hope it will go by fast! Good luck!

 

[trvlgirlmq]

Still waiting! Not making any connection but going to ride it out to get to Texas tonight. Did digital check in at the hotel and the kids will Uber since their flight is on time.

 

[mevelandry]

Still waiting! Not making any connection but going to ride it out to get to Texas tonight. Did digital check in at the hotel and the kids will Uber since their flight is on time.

I hope everything went well after that.

 

[trvlgirlmq]

I hope everything went well after that.

I wish! Oh boy, it was not fun getting there. Or home. The airlines are a mess. The cruise was pretty good. You can see the cutbacks in staffing. I feel so bad for how hard everyone is working with little help. Vista is still having propulsion issues and it cut our port times. We also got caught in some last minute road work that caused the ship to not leave until 8 pm due to so many people missing.

I spent time with my family, got some sun and had a few drinks so it wasn’t all bad. My mom and I are booked on. 5 night to the Bahamas in September. Hope the jellyfish stay away this time.

 

[orangecuse]

Hello!

Has anyone booked a Carnival Journeys cruise and can you share your experience? We just booked the Greenland cruise for next year and are so excited! We are experienced cruisers (have one for October in fact) but we have not done anything from the Journeys series

 

[mevelandry]

I wish! Oh boy, it was not fun getting there. Or home. The airlines are a mess. The cruise was pretty good. You can see the cutbacks in staffing. I feel so bad for how hard everyone is working with little help. Vista is still having propulsion issues and it cut our port times. We also got caught in some last minute road work that caused the ship to not leave until 8 pm due to so many people missing.

I spent time with my family, got some sun and had a few drinks so it wasn’t all bad. My mom and I are booked on. 5 night to the Bahamas in September. Hope the jellyfish stay away this time.

Ah. Jellyfish. They are the reason I now swim completely covered up. Lol

 

[mevelandry]

So… Does anyone have plans this summer?

We do but on Royal (going to Bermuda, first time sailing from NYC). MSC Seashore this fall and Carnival Horizon early winter. Should be fun.

 

[John VN]

So… Does anyone have plans this summer?

We do but on Royal (going to Bermuda, first time sailing from NYC). MSC Seashore this fall and Carnival Horizon early winter. Should be fun.

ON MSC DIVINA right now at OCEAN CAY!!! Just walked 2.02 miles on deck and in hallways and going to AUREA SPA for an hour of exercise bike riding then breakfast at private YC Le Muse Restaurant.

YOU SHOULD ENJOY SEASHORE I've spoken to some passengers and they said it was great and similar to Seaside. We now sail out of PC not Miami so no Seashore for us but have been on Seaside and very happy. ABSOLUTELY LOVE YACHT CLUB and it is stratosphere level compared to DCL Concierge. Back sailing Meraviglia in November and next April and should be booking a couple more this cruise.

Have our 49th Anniversary Thursday and will do Butcher's Cut since Diamond is FREE otherwise we just dine YC's own private restaurant. The YC LOUNGE is also stratosphere compared to others.

ENJOY!!!!

 

[lklgoodman]

I wish we were going on a cruise. Instead we're going to Nebraska to see family.

 

[belle032]

So… Does anyone have plans this summer?

We do but on Royal (going to Bermuda, first time sailing from NYC). MSC Seashore this fall and Carnival Horizon early winter. Should be fun.

No cruises booked for this year as of right now! Still very much planning for Iceland in August 2023. Still very much leaning towards the NCL Prima. I wish I could see flight pricing out that far, because if it's anything like what I'm seeing for this August/September.....ugh!

We have a wedding to go to in June, but other than that we don't plan for many vacations in the summer. Mainly because our weather is actually wonderful and we're content being home! Winter is another story. January/February are prime cruising time for us.

Our September is pretty much booked though between weddings, family reunion, husband taking a fishing trip with his dad and brother, husband going on a hunting trip, etc. I wanted to try to sneak in a short WDW trip for MNSSHP (probably solo), but I don't know if I can realistically get it to work.

There is a slight chance I could end up booking a cruise with my mom over Thanksgiving - we scored such a great deal last year during that week. But, I'm pretty convinced those amazing "Covid deals" are over as people cruise again.

 

[mevelandry]

ON MSC DIVINA right now at OCEAN CAY!!! Just walked 2.02 miles on deck and in hallways and going to AUREA SPA for an hour of exercise bike riding then breakfast at private YC Le Muse Restaurant.

YOU SHOULD ENJOY SEASHORE I've spoken to some passengers and they said it was great and similar to Seaside. We now sail out of PC not Miami so no Seashore for us but have been on Seaside and very happy. ABSOLUTELY LOVE YACHT CLUB and it is stratosphere level compared to DCL Concierge. Back sailing Meraviglia in November and next April and should be booking a couple more this cruise.

Have our 49th Anniversary Thursday and will do Butcher's Cut since Diamond is FREE otherwise we just dine YC's own private restaurant. The YC LOUNGE is also stratosphere compared to others.

ENJOY!!!!

Ouhhhhhh sounds amazing. How do you like Ocean Cay?

 

[John VN]

Ouhhhhhh sounds amazing. How do you like Ocean Cay?

Ocean Cay is a laid back experience not for those seeking action. If you want to CHILL = wonderful, if you want ACTION = elsewhere. I walked most of the road work and some beach and got in 3.72 additional miles.

 

[mevelandry]

Ocean Cay is a laid back experience not for those seeking action. If you want to CHILL = wonderful, if you want ACTION = elsewhere. I walked most of the road work and some beach and got in 3.72 additional miles.

My ideal day on the beach is walking on the beach, go swimming/snorkeling and have a cocktail. Sounds like a perfect match!

 

[John VN]

My ideal day on the beach is walking on the beach, go swimming/snorkeling and have a cocktail. Sounds like a perfect match!

cocktail x 2 = more better-ahhhh

 

[mevelandry]

Another family cruise booked ! This time for February 2024. 4 nights cruise to Grand Turk on Carnival Sunrise. (Add a pre-cruise stay in FLL for a 5 nights trip).

My FIL and MIL are not getting any younger (and they are not in super great shape either) so we decided that starting in 2024 we will go for shorter and « easier« itineraries when we travel with them. They have never seen Grand Turk and everything my DH and I like (Margaritaville Pool and Jack’s Shack) is super close to the port.

We got 2 L-Shaped cabins for a good price and everyone is thrilled with the extended balconies.

 

[belle032]

First world problem decisions!

We either wanted to do a WDW trip, a cruise or a combination of the 2 in February. January/February are miserable here in the winter, so we always try to plan a trip for then. After some research today, I figure we can realistically only do one or the other due to using the majority of our vacation time for Iceland next Fall. I could maybe make something work if we went over President's Day weekend (we have that Monday off), but flights and prices are ridiculous. Plus we would have to sail out of Pt. Canaveral if we did both and I'm not super thrilled with any of the choices.

WDW released their 2023 package pricing and it's not terrible for early February (we stay Value). We'd probably stay 5-6 nights or so. But I'm super disappointed that the dining plan doesn't seem to be returning. Not a deal breaker, but a bummer. But it would be our first trip back since everything went back to "normal." And Guardians looks amazing!

Or we do an 8 day Southern Caribbean sailing on the Horizon, which we've been wanting to try to compare to the Mardi Gras. Unfortunately, not seeing Curacao as a port on any sailing, but it does go to Aruba & Bonaire. Pretty sure it would be cheaper overall, even with the beverage package.

I guess there's no real point to this post DH is pretty useless when it comes to planning, so just talking things out in my head!

 

[tidefan]

First world problem decisions!

We either wanted to do a WDW trip, a cruise or a combination of the 2 in February. January/February are miserable here in the winter, so we always try to plan a trip for then. After some research today, I figure we can realistically only do one or the other due to using the majority of our vacation time for Iceland next Fall. I could maybe make something work if we went over President's Day weekend (we have that Monday off), but flights and prices are ridiculous. Plus we would have to sail out of Pt. Canaveral if we did both and I'm not super thrilled with any of the choices.

WDW released their 2023 package pricing and it's not terrible for early February (we stay Value). We'd probably stay 5-6 nights or so. But I'm super disappointed that the dining plan doesn't seem to be returning. Not a deal breaker, but a bummer. But it would be our first trip back since everything went back to "normal." And Guardians looks amazing!

Or we do an 8 day Southern Caribbean sailing on the Horizon, which we've been wanting to try to compare to the Mardi Gras. Unfortunately, not seeing Curacao as a port on any sailing, but it does go to Aruba & Bonaire. Pretty sure it would be cheaper overall, even with the beverage package.

I guess there's no real point to this post DH is pretty useless when it comes to planning, so just talking things out in my head!

I believe Sky Princess does a Curacao itinerary. Not CCL, but at least in the same corporate family (and Princess is great!)...

 

[hdrolfe]

First world problem decisions!

We either wanted to do a WDW trip, a cruise or a combination of the 2 in February. January/February are miserable here in the winter, so we always try to plan a trip for then. After some research today, I figure we can realistically only do one or the other due to using the majority of our vacation time for Iceland next Fall. I could maybe make something work if we went over President's Day weekend (we have that Monday off), but flights and prices are ridiculous. Plus we would have to sail out of Pt. Canaveral if we did both and I'm not super thrilled with any of the choices.

WDW released their 2023 package pricing and it's not terrible for early February (we stay Value). We'd probably stay 5-6 nights or so. But I'm super disappointed that the dining plan doesn't seem to be returning. Not a deal breaker, but a bummer. But it would be our first trip back since everything went back to "normal." And Guardians looks amazing!

Or we do an 8 day Southern Caribbean sailing on the Horizon, which we've been wanting to try to compare to the Mardi Gras. Unfortunately, not seeing Curacao as a port on any sailing, but it does go to Aruba & Bonaire. Pretty sure it would be cheaper overall, even with the beverage package.

I guess there's no real point to this post DH is pretty useless when it comes to planning, so just talking things out in my head!

we are going on Horizon in April 2023 to ABC (all three ports) so they do go to Curacao sometimes, perhaps just not when you are looking at? March 4th & 18th are an 8-night which does go to Curacao as well. Carnival Magic has some nice-ish itineraries out of Port Canaveral in Jan/Feb next year, but no Curacao. They have an Eastern or Southern 8-night, and likely cheaper than Horizon. We enjoyed the ship (and the bonus of it being out of PC so it's easy to add on Disney). Mardi Gras does look like an awesome ship but it's itineraries aren't the best really. Though I'm still booked on it for a B2B

 

[belle032]

we are going on Horizon in April 2023 to ABC (all three ports) so they do go to Curacao sometimes, perhaps just not when you are looking at? March 4th & 18th are an 8-night which does go to Curacao as well. Carnival Magic has some nice-ish itineraries out of Port Canaveral in Jan/Feb next year, but no Curacao. They have an Eastern or Southern 8-night, and likely cheaper than Horizon. We enjoyed the ship (and the bonus of it being out of PC so it's easy to add on Disney). Mardi Gras does look like an awesome ship but it's itineraries aren't the best really. Though I'm still booked on it for a B2B

Darn, maybe it's just not an option for February! I looked at the Magic sailings too out of PC, but we actually got married on that ship and wanted to try Horizon! I wish it went out of PC instead of Miami, but oh well.

I've already sailed on the MG twice, so we were looking for something different. The Celebration looks similar - the itineraries aren't the best. You'll have a fabulous time on the MG! She's gorgeous!