DCL or Carnival

[justmestace]

We really like both lines. But this is for the kids. So we will let them decide. They looked at both and said each was "awesome". but they said they are not sure yet. They are going to talk with their cousins who will go with us. We told them either one will be fine with us. Its up to them. They have worked hard at school. They deserve something like this. And mom and dad work hard too so we also need it.

We gave my 18 yr old son a choice between the Disney Fantasy this summer, or a different cruise line. His first choice was actually the Oasis, but I really don't want to go on a ship that big, and to get the kind of room I want, they were too expensive, so he chose our Carnival Magic cruise....and he's been cruising Disney since he was 8 years old.

 

[jrm11697]

We gave my 18 yr old son a choice between the Disney Fantasy this summer, or a different cruise line. His first choice was actually the Oasis, but I really don't want to go on a ship that big, and to get the kind of room I want, they were too expensive, so he chose our Carnival Magic cruise....and he's been cruising Disney since he was 8 years old.[/QUOTE/]

AS OF 11 PM:
They looked at Oasis but said its too big and looks like not much room b/c of size. I don't like it anyway so it worked out. lol!

Now they would rather go to EC than WC on Carnival. Still not sure about Disney.

So now its Disney Wonder vs Disney Fantasy. Carnival Dream vs Carnival Glory.

What i would love is if Disney and Carnival merged the 4 ships above? An Aquaduck on Carnival. So put all the features of the 4 on 1. AND go to East and West Caribbean in one cruise. That would be awesome and life would be easier. No hard decisions Disival Cruise Lines. Disival Wonlortam. . OK makes no since but its supposed to be the names merged (Disney + Carnival= Disival. Wonder+Fantasy+ Dream+Glory= Wonlortam (approximately)). Hey, its 2 45 am and i cant sleep, what else can you do?

.Anyway.. we are still waiting Both look like fun, so hard to decide what i like better. but its up to them. thats part of the treat, its their choice!

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

As stace said...food and menus are subjective!.......Our tastes, well........we found carinval to be more the hot dogs and hamberger type, where as DCL was just plainly better!

Our real issue with Carnival is the drunks......we did 2 cruises and both times, almost every night at 0300 the drunks from the clubs came down the passagway talking....sometimes yelling........one guy fell againist our door, then banged on it .........sorry......we will never do carnival again!

AKK

 

[MomsOf2boys]

I wouldn't have an unbiased opinion.

I am a Disney girl so the itenerary isn't even very important to me. Will I ever try another cruise line? Sure, probably, maybe. Open at least. Not sure it would be Carnival but I haven't really checked them out. I prefer concierge and am used to a larger room and that matters to me. Have looked at other cruiselines, then booked Disney.

 

[PrincessTrisha]

AS OF 11 PM:
They looked at Oasis but said its too big and looks like not much room b/c of size. I don't like it anyway so it worked out. lol!

Now they would rather go to EC than WC on Carnival. Still not sure about Disney.

So now its Disney Wonder vs Disney Fantasy. Carnival Dream vs Carnival Glory.

What i would love is if Disney and Carnival merged the 4 ships above? An Aquaduck on Carnival. So put all the features of the 4 on 1. AND go to East and West Caribbean in one cruise. That would be awesome and life would be easier. No hard decisions Disival Cruise Lines. Disival Wonlortam. . OK makes no since but its supposed to be the names merged (Disney + Carnival= Disival. Wonder+Fantasy+ Dream+Glory= Wonlortam (approximately)). Hey, its 2 45 am and i cant sleep, what else can you do?

.Anyway.. we are still waiting Both look like fun, so hard to decide what i like better. but its up to them. thats part of the treat, its their choice!

Don't know when you're going but the Carnival Dream is getting some of the Funship 2.0 upgrades in September and the Carnival Glory is getting pretty much all of the Funship 2.0 upgrades in November 2012 - including Hasbro, the Game Show & the EA Sports Bar & Guys Burger Joint & the Blue Iguana Cantina.

 

[mickey2000]

As stace said...food and menus are subjective!.......Our tastes, well........we found carinval to be more the hot dogs and hamberger type, where as DCL was just plainly better!

Our real issue with Carnival is the drunks......we did 2 cruises and both times, almost every night at 0300 the drunks from the clubs came down the passagway talking....sometimes yelling........one guy fell againist our door, then banged on it .........sorry......we will never do carnival again!

AKK

You would like one step up ! Princess or Celebrity. Price would also be good!
I'm sailing on the NEW ship below (balcony 12 nights) for under $3000 all fees and insurance.

LOOK HERE you might be surprised !
http://beyondships.com/Celebrity-Silhouette-Tour-1.html

 

[cyclenut]

There isn't a good way to answer this question without knowing more about you or your travel party.

What do you expect out of your cruise experience? Is it about the ports, the ship or the service? Do you expect a luxury experience or a casual experience? Do you enjoy fine dining or is the paper-napkin experience fine enough for you? All of those things matter. Cruise lines cater to different tastes, which is why you get such a variety of opinions on how good the cruise was, from passengers aboard the same ship at the same time.

If you are more interested in the destination than the ship and you are happier with a casual atmosphere, then a Carnival cruise would suit you just fine. If your expectations are to blend elegance with casual and you are looking forward to an amazing shipboard experience, you might be happier with DCL.

If your travel party includes a bunch of kids then DCL is going to have an edge over Carnival. If you are going to worry aobut your budget the whole trip, then you will probably enjoy Carnival better.

I've been on one DCL cruise and it was great, but it fell short of expectations. We are huge DLR fans and found the Disney experience on board the Wonder to Alaska to be less than we expected. We are still going on DCL again, but we moved one of our cruises from the Fantasy to the RCL Freedom as a result.

You are going to find a range of opinions here and if you visit the CruiseCritic boards you will find people on the Carnival pages saying they would never sail DCL again, just like you find DCL people here saying they would never sail Carnival again. It is all about your personal perference and knowing what makes you and your travel party happiest.

 

[Florida Dreamin']

If money wasn't a problem I would be sailing Disney.

 

[CruznLexi]

Any time you can spend with family on any line is a good thing. We were on the Liberty righty after dry dock and will never do that again. We have cruised our last Carnival cruise! It was a disaster from the moment we got to Miami until we got to back. I called SW and was able to get on the 1030am flight it was so bad! Never again!

 

[woody73]

When my kids were younger, DCL was a good choice, and also cheaper then than it is now....but we all got tired of going to the same places over and over again. It's nice that they're finally doing something different, but they pretty much lost me when their prices went through the roof.

This was our experience as well (except the part about kids!).

Woody

 

[justmestace]

Our real issue with Carnival is the drunks......we did 2 cruises and both times, almost every night at 0300 the drunks from the clubs came down the passagway talking....sometimes yelling........one guy fell againist our door, then banged on it .........sorry......we will never do carnival again!

AKK

But we've had this happen on Disney cruises, too.....and the kids running up and down the hallways at night, also. Have had concierge on DCL where we'd get the doorbell ringers and runners.
One time, two families had booked rooms near us. They moved the four adults into one room, and put 5 or 6 kids in the other....which happened to be right next door to us. The head of our bed was against the same wall as the kids' room's sofa. I swear, they must have been laying upside down on the sofa, with their feet on the wall, kicking, for an hour one night.

When you put that many people all in one place, you're bound to have some of those things happen.

 

[sorul82?]

Funny - two posters said the food on Carnival was unedible or barely edible, whereas others (elsewhere) have said it was better than DCL's! Unless just about everyone says the food on XYZ ship is awful - I don't give much weight to the food reviews.

I thought the food on Carnival was better than DCL. We were on the Inspiration 10/4/2010 and Dream 4/10/2011. DCL wasn't better than CCL, it was just different. We enjoyed both vacations!!

 

[TDC Nala]

I've seen a few reviews that said the food on the Disney ships was inedible. I'm thinking inedible is in the eye of the beholder most of the time.

 

[JCWolf]

Can anyone compare the kids activities and clubs?

 

[jrm11697]

You also have to remember that that will be on every cruise line.

The main ? for me is that will my teens enjoy it? They love Disney World and Disney stuff. But will the think the cruise is too "kiddish?"

Both lines look fine to me. Like I said, i have heard so many great things about both. They look more similar than different.