Cheaper or less expensive......there is a HUGE difference!!!!!!

[LAMPSKIES]

My neighbor just returned from a 5 night Carnival cruise with his wife and daughter 21 and future son-in-law. He asked me about DCL and really wanted to go but it was more expensive (also 2 more nights). He had a horrible trip. They were given a dramamine patch the first night and had vision side effects. The first island stop they were told the "shops" were closed due to "The Queens" birthday. So they got a cab to take them to a "private beach". It was so private there was nobody there. No people, no drinks no nothing. They had to walk 2 miles to get to a cab for a return ride to the ship. When they got back the shops were open. They went on a catamaran to a sand bar to snorkle with the stingrays. Yep, no stingrays. Every excursion was a disaster the rest of the week. I told him that DCL gave a list of their excursions and guarenteed stores before you left the ship and it was always perfect on our last 2 cruises. Also no private island??? I've only cruised DCL, and I had thoughts of trying another line (serious thoughts after we were cancelled Nov. 2002) but these horror stories back my thoughts that..... cheaper isn't always less expensive. I'll pay a little more to not have a horrible precious few days with my family in todays society........Just my thoughts

 

[BethC1952]

My boss had a similar experience, also on Carnival, and he and his wife swore they'd never cruise again.

Last week, his wife called me and asked about details of a Disney Cruise, since she knows how much I've enjoyed my two, and would it be worth the added cost. Of course, I told her that it would be worth every penny they pay, and probably more!

It looks like maybe he's going to try cruising at least one more time!

Beth

 

[Luckymommyx2]

The first cruise I ever went on was Carnival. At the time I didn't have anything to compare it to so I wasn't terribly disappointed but now I can say that I have no desire to cruise with them again. Later I went on RCCL and loved it in comparison. I will no doubt cruise RCCL again but in the meantime I cannot wait for our Disney cruise!!

 

[hydster]

We've cruised on Carnival 8 times(4 times WITH kids and 4 times WITHOUT kids), along with RCCL (2 times), Norwegian (once), Princess(once to Alaska), and now Disney(once with another one planned). All cruises are different and they ALL have their good and bad points. In MY opinion they should have done some homework on the different options out there for sea sickness and come prepared with bonine, dramamine, the patch, ginger, the bands or whatever. There are side effects from EVERY drug to avoid sea sickness. Why did they find a cab driver on their own? Did they want to save some money and do their own thing? If they wanted to do their own thing then obviously, they didnt do enough research which isnt really Carnival's fault. It seems wise to always have knowledge of the island you are visiting for just in case scenarios. The excursion to the stingrays isnt really Carnival's fault either, since they dont control if the people see the rays or not. We have gone to Grand Cayman to the sandbar with the Rays several times (different cruise lines each time) and some times they are there,and sometimes they arent but we dont hold the cruise line responsible for it...sometimes it it just dumb luck. Carnival gives out their excursions too in your room (or you can look at them on their website as well) when you first embark. There has always been a shore tour area on every ship we have been on (on any line), where you can sign up and ask questions about it. Carnival also does shore talks where they tell you the stores that are open and the stores they guarantee, and they give you a list of them at that time. The problem is people (me included) dont really like to go, but they do give them for a reason. Sometimes there is NOTHING they can do about a country having a holiday....that's just the way it goes! It sounds to me like they went unprepared! We've had good experiences and bad experiences on ALL cruises we have been on and yes, even on Disney, but no vacation is perfect and not everything is fool proof! We have done cruises where we have done our own thing, and also had excursions by the cruise line but in each case, we did our homework for months before we left. I guess my point is that ALL cruises have bad points about them (even Disney) and sometimes you just have to roll with it and sometimes you have to take some responsibility for it as well. We have had comparable experiences both on Disney as well as on the other linesl (for usually a much lower price) but have loved every cruise no matter what the cost.
It is unfortunate for them but it doesnt sound to me like Carnival deserves ALL of the blame.

Just my opinion
Heidi

 

[bigsky]

Ditto that hydster.

We've been on Carnival three times. Each one we've enjoyed. In fact we may cruise with them next yr.
Not every cruise will be perfect, Disney included.

Just make the best of every situation. Life is too short.

 

[LAMPSKIES]

My reason for the post wasn't meant to slam the Cruiseline but rather an experience. I have seen so many posts with people complaining about the price of DCL. That is exactly what happened to my neighbor. He thought he was going to save a couple bucks and ended up having a miserable 6 days. Ya, all those cruise companies bend over backwards to make you happy and this was their first cruise. That is why my post started with trying to say there is a difference between cheaper and less expensive.

 

[hydster]

I realize that the post wasnt meant to "slam" a cruiseline by itself but my post was written to say that no matter what the cost of the cruise there are some times when it will be good and some times when it will be bad whether you spend $400 per person of $4000.00. My point was that there are things that are beyond the control of ANY cruise line (such as the stingray excursion) and it wouldnt matter what line you were with it could and probably will happen eventually to someone on any particular cruise. While Disney is a great line I dont know that I would classify my time with them "wonderful" while we were on their ships while someone else may classify their experience as the ONLY experience they ever have liked. People's expectations of a vacation are highly subjective just like restaurant reviews or anything else where someone has an experience. I just wanted to point out that bad things happen on any vacation or on any cruiseline and just because I spent much more on my Disney vacation it didnt mean it was any more worthy of a glowing report any more than spending much less on another cruiseline made it any more deserving of a poor report. A vacation, no matter what you do, how much you spend, or where you go is more about the mindset you go with than what happens when you get there. True there are exceptions to that rule that can ruin anything but for the most part attitude makes a big difference. I dont think we got much more for the extra money it cost us to go on the Disney cruise than what we got for the cost of any of our other cruises...it's just we decided to pay for the Disney experience. My point only was that sometimes a cruise is what you make it regardless of who it is with or what it cost and that every person's experience on a ship will vary. The Disney Cruise is great but our experience on it was kind of like the experience your neighbor had with Carnival but we have decided to try one more on the 7 day to see if we like it any better. There are things that Disney did well but there are things that they didnt do as well as other lines. That doesnt make them better or worse it just makes them different. I hope that makes sense.

Heidi

 

[idontknow]

I see your points, but what I think what others are saying is that it would have been similar experiences whatever cruiseline they chose. (unless the destinations were different and then the comparison is completely out of the window) I'm with hydster............it sounds like your friends didn't do enough research on their destinations.

Maybe you should give them this site's addy so they can do more research before they cruise again.