DCL vs Carnival

[MickeyCanada]

Anyone who has done both DCL and Carnival and stayed in an outside stateroom on both - Is there a big difference in the size of the stateroom and is there any privacy from the kids like on DCL?

 

[tzs]

My DH and I have done Carnival twice (no kids) and Disney once (with 2 kids).

The Disney rooms are much bigger and nicer than the Carnival Fascination rooms were. The "-ation" ships on Carnival are not their newest but we had window / port-hole only no Verandah. To get a verandah on these Carnival ships you had to get a suite.

With Disney you get the split bathroom and a real seating area with a couch. On Carnival we had only a desk / chair no real seating area. Really no comparison. Also the Fascination rooms were really done up really like a cheap Vegas hotel. TV was mounted up high in the corner and there was a light up drawing of a boat lower in the corner.

That being said I did enjoy Carnival and would do it again we went for 7 days and had only 1 day at Sea with lots of island stops. We were really only in the room to sleep . The room was small but worked.

Both times we went it was out of San Juan once in the fall and once in the summer. I do not think the ship had kids only areas but aside from a few times at the pool the kids were not a bother.

 

[lespaul55]

We have taken both Carnival and Disney cruises. While the older Carnival ships do have smaller cabins than Disney, their newer ships are comparable. We were on the Triumph with a veranda, this was a average cabin, not a suite and it was very close in size to the Disney verandah cabin. But no split bath!

As for separate areas for adults and kids, there were kids everywhere on the Triumph. However it was spring break. If you want to avoid kids, be very careful choosing your cruise dates. Go when kids are in school! At least that should cut down on the numbers.

Leslie

 

[iloverags2]

We've done both, and were on the Fantasy with Carnival (I know their newer ships are a bit nicer). The rooms on Disney are definitely larger, and decorated nicer. The split bathroom on Disney (category 10 and higher) is also a big difference (more bathroom space).

As for kids, we actually saw more kids on the Carnival cruise then on Disney. Disney was also much more quiet. Carnival was my husband's first experience with cruising, and he didn't ever want to cruise again after that. Talked him into a Disney cruise when his daughter was 13...now he loves it!

 

[jillnan]

My husband and I cruised on the Carnival Victory up to Nova Scotia spring 2001 -
The room had a verandah and was nice. Children were everywhere - even late at night at the disco - unsupervised. A few things I disliked about Carnival was the Casino - you had to walk through it to get from the front of the ship to the back - smoke everywhere.....Also leaving the ship (disembark) was horrible!!! We waited for what seems like an eternity pushed up against many people for an elevator and the stairwell was completely packed with people too. Seemed like a fire hazard to me.
Also, one night I walked into a glass door (wasn't even drinking!). A nice couple stopped me and asked me if I was ok. They searched for cruise personnel.....My forehead swelled up and a cruise rep said if I wanted to see a Dr. it would cost me extra since it was late at night. I asked for an ice pack and was told there were none. I went back to my cabin and 45 minutes later, someone showed up with a ziploc bag with ice. Needless to say, when I got home I had a black eye and swelling on my face.....My friends said, "nice cruise souvenier".
My husband, myself and the kids will be cruising Disney for the 1st time this fall and I'm looking forward to a much more pleasant experience.

 

[AnnMorin]

we have gone carnival once and disney twice, we will be doing disney a third time this December. I hated carnival, it was NOISY and tacky whereas Disney is classy and so spacious- the difference is night and day.We have a veranda on each trip and disney's is much much better!I would not cruise on any other line!

 

[mac_tlc]

We (DW,DS,DD) have cruised on carnival twice and Disney twice. The Carnival cruises were on the Imagination and the Elation. Disney was 7-day Magic. There are good points to both.
Our DS (7) enjoyed both kids programs all four times... The selection of food on Carnival was wider, Disney shows better, Carnival casual dining option more spacious and the 24-hr pizzereia comes in handy, Disney rooms bigger (cat 11,10,9,8) about 214 sq. ft, Carnival outside about 168 sq. ft. We actually like the bed configuration better on Carnival than Disney.

We are scheduled on the Magic on 11/30, but are considering a trip on the Paradise in August. The "smoke Free" environment sounds inviting.


mac_tlc

 

[MickeyCanada]

Thanks for all responses. In my original post I should specified if the room had a privacy curtain from the kids (not kids on the ship in general) or do the kids sleep above the parents.

I have booked us for early December on the Magic Western but am wondering if we should experience a different cruise line and at New Years???

 

[prymsu]

at least in the CAT 4 rooms, but i am not sure about all the other categories...

 

[lespaul55]

According to the deck plans in the Disney cruise book, all cabins have a privacy curtain. One thing to keep in mind, if you have older kids that can outlast you, they have to pass your bed to get to their beds. That's in the verandah cabins. The ocean view and interior rooms have the large bed in the rear of the room. My teens woke me every night, but then I knew they were back in the cabin!!!

Leslie

 

[Niagara2]

Hi Mickey - Just back from an Easter Fanasty cruise. First time on Carnival with kids after many as a couple and three Disney cruises. The cabinswre 185 sq ft and the bath was a bit bigger with alot more storage space in a medicine type cabinet but no split bath. Nice closet space with shelves floor to ceiling too. Safe is tiny. The rooms had no couch but two twin beds. No connecting caqbins either. My kids loved Camp Carnival and we hadto drag them out but they charge after 10 pm. They also close at various times. Thestaff was great too. The food was MUCH better than Disney. More variety, more design, more formal service. The 24 hour pizza and salad, and buffet options, and midnight meals were great. The entertainment was very adult oriented. All in all we had just as good of a time on Carnival as a family, just not Disney style but we had days at Boarwalk and OKW before and after so we got our Disney fix. The prices can be very good on Carnival compared to Disney, in fact was the reason we chose this cruise......only a third of the price at spring break for the cruise. Saved 1000's.....so I feel good about what we chose.

 

[albiats]

We have been on 4 DCL cruises and have been delighted with every one of them. We have two more cruises booked, one in 2002 and one in 2003. We have been on the Magic and also the Wonder.

We have been on 1 Carnival cruise and we were not so delighted. We have no future cruises planned or booked with them.

We were on the Carnival Ecstasy in February 2001 while it was still based in Miami. We had an outside cabin in category 6B with just two adults.

The cabin was very small and would only accomodate two people. It had twin beds in a fixed configuration at a 90 degree angle to each other. In order to see out of the window, you had to kneel across the bed situated under it, and the hard side railing of the bed made it tough to do that for long. There was a small desk with a mirror and sitting area, I think there were two chairs with minimal upholstery, I know it did not have a sofa. There was no privacy curtain.

It was difficult to maneuver around on the ship because of it's design. The elevators in the center section did not go to all of the floors. To get to our restaurant for dinner, we had to walk to the end of the corridor on our deck, and then go up in the aft elevators. To get to the top deck, you had to go to one of the elevators in the center of the ship.

The ship was refurbished in late 1998 but still looked dated. The casino was filled with cigarette smoke. If you went to the pool deck, it was impossible to escape the loud music. We saw two occasions where the security personnel had to escort a guest back to their room because they had been too enthusiastic with drinks from the bars.

Carnival's 'Funship' atmosphere is just not for us, so we'll avoid it in the future. We'd rather spend a little more on DCL and have a higher chance for a pleasant cruise.

 

[AgentMommy]

Niagara 2, which Carnival ship did you cruise on? We went on the Magic in August but are looking into the Carnival Pride for this August. My kids are 4 and 2 and my little DS is eligible for Camp Carnival. That is a big reason we are looking at Carnival. Disney will not take him into the kids club since he's not 3, even if he is toilet trained. My older DS did NOT like the Disney club at all last year. I think part of the reason is that he was by himself and did not know anyone. Other parents I met with kids the same age had a similar experience. I think if both my boys could go to the kids club together, they'd have a blast.

 

[Thumper1]

We went on the Carnival Elation in 2000. To add my two cents worth - we thought the Elation was quite tacky in comparison (the atmosphere, the entertainment (not for kids), etc.) Another downfall for Carnival was that the most interesting event on the ship at the days at sea (for a person who doesn't like to drink and lie in the sun) were the art auctions and watching "Titanic" with Spanish sub-titles. There weren't any of the too many wonderful experiences like on the Magic and Wonder. I live in Las Vegas, so having a casino with high minimums and even higher odds is not a selling point. Also it always seemed smoky in the clubs and the ship seemed to be built by someone on drugs (the kind that you don't get by prescription).

 

[Niagara2]

We were on the Fantasy. Now if we had to choose one over the other and price was the same we would choose Disney! At first I was alarmed that the cabin was too small, or not enough activities, but it was fine. Some of the decor is very tacky compared to the elegance of the Magic or Wonder but different strokes for different folks. The pool side entertainment was very good during day at sea. It was fun. The ship was older but very clean and the staff very good. We cruised Disney in January and also will go in fall on the $99 special and then this cruise was such was a bargain to book. I think Disney had opened a whole new market for Carnival as many families on our cruise have done Disney before. We were the one's starring at the Wonder in port! Many families new to cruising fell in love with it and now the Pride is an option too. We did Disney and a 5 day Carnival cruise, a good choice to get out of the very busy parks at Easter for us. Carnival was better in some catagories and Disney in others. The kids did prefer Disney too but it was close for them. We want to try a new Carnival ship in the spirit class as I think that will be a better comparison to Disney than the Fantasy class ships.

 

[ErinC]

I took my DH on a 2 day to nowhere Carnival Cruise. We were on the Holiday which is an older ship. My overall impression was that I would not do it again. The cabin size was fine for the two of us, but would have been cramped if we had taken the kids. The food was nothing to write home about, of course the fact that I'm not cooking it or cleaning it up helps! We had no ports of call as we just were anchored out in the Gulf of Mexico for a full day, so I don't have any experience with how Carnival handles themselves except what I heard from others in my area. (Carnival cruised temporarily out of Mobile, AL in March, so it has been a news topic recently) Friends of mine did the 7 day and their major complaint was the same as mine NO ORGANIZATION !!! We left late, the boat drill took 1 1/2 hours, the ice carving was late, the shows were not on time. Our friends said they waited for 3 hours to be tendered to port in Mexico. She said they had to get up during the middle of their first dinner in the dining room, to do the boat drill (they left 6 hours late). She said all their activities ran late also. On our cruise we had particularly cool temps outside(not carnivals fault of course) but the ship was freezing cold. I know that our room could not have been warmer than 60 degrees. There was no way to turn the air completely off. I could not sleep the last night because I was so cold. The pools never opened because it was so cold, and the Lido Deck that you cross to get to the buffet was frozen with ice on our last morning (I slipped and fell on it). Overall I thought the cleanliness of the ship left a lot to be desired, and it had just come from Maintenance, we were the first to be on it, so I felt there were no excuses. The spa floor was gross. Debarkation was a mess. We were late getting into port (why, I don't know since we hadn't gone anywhere ) we waited for 2 hours as they docked the ship. In 1/2 hour they had only called one deck of people to get off, I told my husband to follow me, I was getting off this ship right then whether or not they had called our deck. I couldn't wait to get into my vehicle and crank up the heat!! Carnival is definately a party ship, if you don't gamble, drink, or go to Las Vegas shows with women dancing in thongs, stay away. I am really hoping that our family Disney trip lives up to all our expectations. If not I will really be disappointed. I would cruise Carnival again, if there were several ports that interested me. But I'm not looking to be entertained be Carnival again! If you are looking for a family friendly trip , look elsewhere. Erin