Disney Vs Carnival... we just got home

[Bethipooh4]

Well, we are back from a 3 night cruise on the Carnival Fantasy. It was myself DD (20) and a friend. The only thing I can think is you get what you pay for. If there is anyone considering Carnival for themselves and their younger children....personally I would NOT recommend it. Now don't get me wrong, we had a blast, but it is not a ship for children.

I went in with the attitude I will not compare it to Disney (we were on the Wonder in May), but I couldn't help myself. I know we were traveling on one of their oldest ships, but the difference between the two lines is huge. The rooms are half the size of Disney's. We were in cabin 2014 Cat 9 on the wonder, and on Carnival we had a gty cat 6 oceanview room, upgraded to a deluxe oceanview room. Our room on Carnival was half the size of a Cat 9. It was clean and it was a room, but that was it, no WOW factor.

I could sit here and go point by point the differences between the 2 lines, but my major reason for the post was to tell everyone considering Carnival(at least the Fantasy) I wouldn't recommend it with kids. I would go again on Carnival, but only with adults. The reason I went was to try and find a line cheaper and kid friendly to go on in between Disney cruises.

If anyone has any questions I would be more then happy to answer them. I will say though, I did enjoy the food on Carnival more then the food on the Wonder. And the food on the Wonder was GOOD, but Carnival beat them on the food.

It was very wierd not to see the Wonder in port while we were there, it looked so empty since it was in dry dock.

 

[MarcyIn Florida]

Thanks for this post -- we recently told people that we wouldn't go on a non-DCL boat until our kids were older, and they thought we were crazy. You'll be the "friend" I refer to in follow up discussions.

 

[markmyboy]

We traveled on the Carnival Pride almost 2 years ago now, when our kids were 4 years old and 8 months old. We found the Pride to be a very family friendly ship. We had also heard that the older ships and those that do the 3 & 4 night cruises are MUCH less suited to children. While Carnival did not have HUGE childrens facilities like DCL does, the club there was adequate for my 4 year old. He enjoyed being there for the activities, but not TOO interested in the "free play" time (which was his FAVORITE time on the Magic & Wonder).

We also like the food a little better on Carnival. The Pride actuallyhad a GREAT buffet. For breakfast & lunch, the food was actually good, not just ok, like the buffet is on so many cruises.

We were lucky enough to get the "suite". Having the 4 of us in the "suite" was actually cheaper than getting a balcony on DCL. It was a nicely appointed verandah room, just a little bigger than the DCL cat. 6. Though the bathroom was awesome with a whirlpool tub, etc, etc....

We did notice that the regular verandah rooms were a bit smaller than those on DCL.

Overall we really did enjoy Carnival & would just caution families to choose their ship wisely.

So far we have tried Carnival & Norwegian, but DCL is still our favorite. You cannot beat the atmosphere on the Magic or Wonder. We will be trying Royal Carribean in 10 days....can't wait!! After that, it is back to DCL for the Aug. 2005 repo cruise!!

 

[Luckymommyx2]

Thanks for sharing! My first cruise ever was on a Carnival ship and it was okay but it has not made me want to sail on the line again, especially now that I have kids.
We decided we needed a break from the DCL's prices so we're going to try RCI's Grandeur of the Seas next year. Nine nights and ten days in a suite sound wonderful right now!
We already have our next DCL scheduled for 2006 just to satisfy our withdrawls. It does seem to help!

 

[Bethipooh4]

We are also trying RCCL in Jan, just the DH and I for our anniversary. I plan on checking out the kids clubs there. We cruise again on Disney in June and can't hardly wait. We are also booked on a week long Magic "special cruise" with 2 stops in Castaway in 2006. There is nothing like Disney.

I did notice the Fantasy was very "rocky" the first night compared to Disney, and I have a huge bruise on my arm to show for it. On the way to dinner the ship was rocking so much I was knocked into a pillar on the way to dinner, and I hadn't even had a drink yet.... My DD was so seasick along with what seemed like half the ship. Without getting to graphic, the crew had a hard time keeping up with cleaning up the puddles of seasickness. Very gross coming out of dinner and walking around it. I never felt the Wonder sway that badly.

 

[greytlady]

We sailed the Carnival Fantasy Oct. 2003 as our first cruise. My Dad and his wife traveled with us. The Fantasy had just come out of dry dock and so I think the beds must have been new because they were more comfortable than the Disney beds we had this May. True the rooms are smaller but that didn't bother me. As a first cruise, I had nothing to compare it to and the kids did enjoy Camp Carnival. Especially the pajama party when they didn't have to be back in the room until very late. There weren't many kids on ship and so they got specialized treatment from the counselors. The disembarkment was terrible though on the Fantasy. The ladies restroom started flooding and no tp left and with that many people holding to be let off the ship was a grand disappointing end to my enjoyable cruise. Our area was the last to be let off the ship. Disney definintely has Carnival beat in that area. I would try another Carnival in the future but on another ship. However, it did start my love of cruising so I did have an enjoyable time onboard and have fond memories of my Carnival cruise.

We sailed the Wonder in May 2004. The kids loved the kid's programming and much preferred a fresh water pool over the salt water on the Carnival. If the choice was made purely on the type of water in the pools onboard, Disney would be the choice with each sailing.

I did think the food was better on the Carnival, but I much prefer being able to rotate through the different dining rooms. And the Disney Dining rooms are much nicer and brighter.

Needless to say, our next cruise is definitely Disney. After that, due to expenses and wanting to try different things, I'd like to give RCCL a chance. My kids would love to try the rock climbing and different things they offer - maybe 2006.

Another thing the Disney cruise has going for it - the DISboard. My Disney cruise was greatly enhanced by the people I met online first and then while on board. I believe any cruise is what we make of it - and for me, the people I meet add greatly to my experience.

Nena

 

[markmyboy]

OH yea, almost forgot about disembarking. Disney has first place in disembarking...hands down. I don't know what they do so much differently or how they do it, but it is ALWAYS a piece of cake. With Carnival it was pretty much a mad house. 3 bags, all tagged together ended up in three COMPLETELY different corners of their baggage pick-up!!??!! On Norwegian we had priority disembarkation because we were in the penthouse & STILL it was a nightmare ( I think that had more to do with the port in New York though!!).

As sad as it is to end ANY cruise, at least you do not end up totally frustrated as well after disembarking the Magic or Wonder!!

 

[tvguy]

I strongly disagree about Disney having the best disembarking.
Yes, they have the BEST system on the pier for baggage and such, they have the WORST system for physically getting off the ship.
On HAL we ate breakfast, and went to our assigned public room where coffee, orange juice and pasteries were waiting for us. We got off the ship based on what time our flights left. They called our group, we walked straight off the ship, got our bags, cleared immigration and walked on the bus.
On DCL we ate breakfast, stood in line for 45 minutes in a line that stretched from the Attrium into Parrot Cay, and circled around. Once we stepped off the ship, it was a breeze. DCL needs to do something to eliminate that line to get off the ship.

It also dawned on me while writing this that there was another big difference on embarcation and debarkation day on HAL and DCL that we did not run into on RCCL and NCL, which may be a factor in all this. Mind you, we cruised RCCL and NCL in the 1980's so this may have changed, but those lines at that time didn't let ANYONE on the ship before 3 pm. From what many folks have posted here, it is a rare day that passengers aren't allowed on by noon. So they have 3 less hours, almost half the time, to turn the ship around for new passengers.
And the HAL and DCL cruises were the first where lunch was served on embarcation day.

 

[clori]

I went on Carnival Imagination. At the time it was me 17 month old dd and a friend. Dd was too young for the kids programming but we did visit for family time and we were allowed to stay and participate in the halloween activities for kids. There were not many kids on board but this was 10/2001 so it didn't surprise me. I thought the kids programming seemed like typical arts/crafts type things that preschoolers would enjoy but wasn't sure about the older activities. Are room was small but fine for us. What I didn't like at all was the crib thing we got, I prefer disney's pack n play. I also didn't know that I needed to bring crib bedding/sheets of my own so dd ended up sleeping with me every night. My big complaint with Carnival is that the food was not designed for picky eaters like me. I could not get a plain chicken or anything basic. I liked carnival but agree I probably wouldn't do it again with kids. I know carnival is changing but my trip was a big party boat. I could have paid for babysitting but it didn't start until 10pm at night at the earliest so I just brought dd with me everywhere. When dh and I sailed dcl for our honeymoon we didn't pay much attention to kids activities but the food was much better for picky eaters. We sail in January with a 4 year old and 7 month old so we are doing dcl again!

 

[tracyl921]

Originally posted by tvguy
And the HAL and DCL cruises were the first where lunch was served on embarcation day.

We sailed on NCL in 1995 and 1998, we were served lunch both times. On the 1995 cruise we had breakfast, lunch and dinner at assigned seating. It's ashame they don't offer that anymore!

We sailed on our 1st Disney cruise 9/18, I absolutely agree about how easy it was to find our luggage after disembarking. I remember long lines to get off when we sailed NCL as well. I'm sure all thats changed now that they've implemented freestyle cruising.

 

[CPM]

Comparing an older Carnival ship to a Disney ship is like comparing apples nad oranges. The new ships are great! the rooms are the same size or larger the DCL's.
The food is better and there is more to do on Carnival's newer ships. Much more to chose from.
I have never had a problem with disembarkment on Carnival in Miami. I'm sure it may have to do with the port not the cruiseline if you have problems, I get off, get my luggage and go. Same as Disney.
The bedding on the newer Carnival ships are great! Big fluffy comforters like the ones on the heavenly beds at the Swan.
I also find that the food on DCl is good at best. CCL is good to better then good. Celebrity is the best for food. I didn't find the service outstanding on DCL as far as service by the pools, dining room and CC. Cabin stewards were great on DCL.
The DCL kids clubs are a bit better but, I just read my cruise folder for the Carnival Valor for July and they have added a few new programs that my son will love.
I'll be doing one last DCL cruise in January, just not worth the extra $$ IMO. Figure my son is getting older, he'll be 8 in Jan.
I have booked two balcony cabins on a brand new CCL ship for July for the same money on DCL would get me one cabin.

 

[dbond]

Our very first family cruise was on the Big Red Boat. We couldn't go anywhere but up after that, but with that cruise in mind, I know exactly what you're talking about. DCL is the most family friendly line in the water. Every little detail is considered regarding families with small children. Other lines think they have it covered, but they just don't understand families like Disney does.

 

[Chattyaholic]

DH and I took a 4-night Carnival Fantasy cruise just two days prior to our second Disney Magic cruise and we had a great experience. Yes, the ship is older and I had heard some horror stories about how dirty she was and in such poor condition. I looked for those signs and I truly did not find any. For $299 per person we thought it was a terrific deal. The entertainment was wonderful, we loved the excursions and the food was great (service could have been better but still wasn't bad). We wouldn't hesitate to take another cruise on the Fantasy.

 

[CPM]

Originally posted by dbond
Our very first family cruise was on the Big Red Boat. We couldn't go anywhere but up after that, but with that cruise in mind, I know exactly what you're talking about. DCL is the most family friendly line in the water. Every little detail is considered regarding families with small children. Other lines think they have it covered, but they just don't understand families like Disney does.

I don't even see how you can compare the BIG RED BOAT to any cruiseline! They aren't even in business any more. It was a very small, old ship with a few Looney Toon characters on it.
Remember, DCL has TWO ships in their fleet! They better keep all two of them spiffy. It's such a specialized cruiseline, they can keep their rates high because they cator to a certian group of people and only have to keep two ships full.
If they had a fleet like CCL, NCL, RCCI or HAL, they would have a very hard time keeping those ships full at those prices.