Doing carnival after only DCL

[tinkerjo]

Ok, this is very sad, but we are thinking of taking a carnival cruise. DCL has just priced us out but it is the only cruises we have ever taken. ( 3night wonder, 5 night dream and 7 night fantasy) we are considering a 5 night on the carnival fantasy out of Mobile. While I know it won’t be as nice or magical, what have others experienced (good and bad) doing a different cruise. We are not gamblers nor do we enjoy going to clubs. It would be me, DS11(will not do kids clubs regardless) possibly DD25, and parents (71). Any advice is appreciated

 

[GoofyLovingFamily]

I tried Carnival after Disney. It was a bad experience for us. We will not go on Carnival again. The main dining room was so poor that we ate pool deck food most of the time. We also had trouble with drunk and rowdy people. We were uncomfortable. It was a 6 night on Breeze in 2016. Others have better experiences.

 

[Dug720]

I don’t think they go out of Mobile, but have you considered Royal Caribbean? It tends to be more similar. There is a casino, but in my experience is less “party oriented” than other lines market themselves.

 

[dcassetta]

You might find this thread helpful - https://www.disboards.com/threads/carnival-vs-dcl-the-comparison-thread.3540991/

 

[Minniemouse07]

I have been on Celebrity, Carnival, DCL, and Royal Caribbean and I too would recommend Royal Caribbean over Carnival. I agree that RC has less of a partying atmosphere.

 

[trvlgirlmq]

The Fantasy does sail from Mobile on 5 night Mexico itineraries. I have sailed 2 Fantasy Class ships and they weren't my favorite. Mostly because I was bored! There is not as much to do or as many activities and the cruisers tend to be older on these ships.

We love the Dream and Vista class ships and have cruise #7 coming up in 58 days (but whose counting). The WaterWorks, ropes course and SkyRide (Vista Class only) were great fun for my kids and me. I don't drink, gamble, party or anything and I have never had a bad Carnival experience. We hang at the pools, do trivia, watch movies under the stars, go to the family comedy, hang out on our balcony and watch the ocean go by and just spend time together as a family. We do not spend time at the main Lido pool between lunch and dinner as that is when it is very crowded and gets more rowdy. There is the aft pool or lots of other places to hang that are more quiet and subdued.

Don't listen to the naysayers here. They are blinded by cult Mickey. Carnival is a great value and fun for everyone in the family. You can't beat a Guy's Burger either!

 

[PrincessTrisha]

If your son isn't going to do the kids clubs, I would recommend looking for a ship that has more alternate activities - have you thought of sailing out of New Orleans? They have some bigger ships with more "stuff" on them.

 

[lindsay0526]

If you are going from DCL to another cruise line, I would look at RC before Carnival. But you have to keep in mind the major differences between DCL and the other cruise ships. There are going to be more adults, more drinking, gambling and just a more "adult" atmosphere on the ship. That's not to say that there aren't kid things to do, but when I cruised Carnival with my parents, there were kid things (we didn't do the clubs), but they had a regular show after dinner and they they had a late night "adult" show. I'm sure it was more risqué with more adult humor. Anyways, the focus is 100% different on a Disney ship- it's 100% family friendly fun and the focus is on the kids so the parents can relax too. JMHO

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

Ok, this is very sad, but we are thinking of taking a carnival cruise. DCL has just priced us out but it is the only cruises we have ever taken. ( 3night wonder, 5 night dream and 7 night fantasy) we are considering a 5 night on the carnival fantasy out of Mobile. While I know it won’t be as nice or magical, what have others experienced (good and bad) doing a different cruise. We are not gamblers nor do we enjoy going to clubs. It would be me, DS11(will not do kids clubs regardless) possibly DD25, and parents (71). Any advice is appreciated

I think you are halfway to victory already. You know it will be different and you aren't expecting the moon. But I do think you might be pleasantly surprised. I thought Carnival's food was on the same tier as DCL, and the staff was helpful and friendly (if a bit more stretched).

I think it mostly comes down to what is your favorite parts about cruising. If you tell me your favorite parts are Disney Characters, Disney shows and on-board entertainment and such, then you might be disappointed on Carnival. But if you tell me that your favorite parts of a cruise are relaxing in the sun, seeing different ports of call, enjoying the food choices and having a relaxing time with your family, then I think you will be quite pleased.

As for the older/smaller ships versus the larger newer ships, you probably know what your family prefers. Did you have a strong preference between the Dream/Fantasy and the Wonder? That probably tells you if you prefer bigger or smaller ships.

Here's another thing. I know you are considering Carnival to save money, and that is great, but if you and afford to take 20-50% of the savings of Carnival over DCL and put it back into activities (Spa, excursions, up-charge restaurants, etc.) you may find that you have just as much fun because you aren't tapped out by the cruise fare and can afford to splurge on some of the extras that maybe you had to skip on DCL. Just factor it in to the cost ahead of time so you don't feel guilty about spending the money. For example, (made up numbers) if a DCL trip cruise fare was 10K and the Carnival one was 5K, tell yourself the Carnival one costs 7K and use the extra 2K on activities that you could not have done because of DCL's upfront costs. You still save a lot of money, but you feel better about treating yourself to things as well.

 

[Shanti]

Don't listen to the naysayers here. They are blinded by cult Mickey.

Or, they have decided based on their own travel experience, that Disney is a better fit for them.

No need to get nasty.

 

[Chuck S]

I'm sure Disney cruises are wonderful experiences, but I just haven't been able to justify the price point when compared to Carnival out of Galveston. The Carnival cruises I've been on were great, although I will admit onboard activities and shows were lacking. The food was always good, and the service from employees, from the dining staff to the cabin stewards, has always been great. I am the kind of person that can enjoy a tropical beverage sitting on a deck chair watching the world go by when I cruise. I generally cruise with friends, and their kids have always love the Carnival kids' clubs. Throw in an interesting shore excursion and I'm happy.

Quite the opposite when I'm on my Disney pilgrimage. I get the Fireworks dessert party, the ROL dining pkg, I enjoy signature dining and love the parks, though I do still occasionally sit and people watch.

 

[Dug720]

Or, they have decided based on their own travel experience, that Disney is a better fit for them.

No need to get nasty.

And at least a few of us in “cult Mickey” (not sure why that person is even on here other than to troll if they hate the Mouse, but that is another topic) have said that RCCL is worth looking into.

There thankfully are lines in between Disney and Carnival on the cruiseline spectrum.

 

[mousefan73]

Ok, this is very sad, but we are thinking of taking a carnival cruise. DCL has just priced us out but it is the only cruises we have ever taken. ( 3night wonder, 5 night dream and 7 night fantasy) we are considering a 5 night on the carnival fantasy out of Mobile. While I know it won’t be as nice or magical, what have others experienced (good and bad) doing a different cruise. We are not gamblers nor do we enjoy going to clubs. It would be me, DS11(will not do kids clubs regardless) possibly DD25, and parents (71). Any advice is appreciated

Why is this sad? You have vacation time and are going on a cruise?

 

[trvlgirlmq]

And at least a few of us in “cult Mickey” (not sure why that person is even on here other than to troll if they hate the Mouse, but that is another topic) have said that RCCL is worth looking into.

There thankfully are lines in between Disney and Carnival on the cruiseline spectrum.

I'm not sure why you feel justified on every thread that asks about other cruise lines to disparage the people who choose to cruise Carnival as low-life, drunken, gambling, welfare recipients. Because that is how you and others come off. Just my humble opinion.

Newsflash, I can afford a Disney cruise I just don't feel it is justified to spend $8000 on an inside cabin when I can get a balcony for half the cost and go to the exact same islands. I guess you could say I am more fiscally responsible than a Disney cruiser.

 

[Dug720]

I'm not sure why you feel justified on every thread that asks about other cruise lines to disparage the people who choose to cruise Carnival as low-life, drunken, gambling, welfare recipients. Because that is how you and others come off. Just my humble opinion.

Newsflash, I can afford a Disney cruise I just don't feel it is justified to spend $8000 on an inside cabin when I can get a balcony for half the cost and go to the exact same islands. I guess you could say I am more fiscally responsible than a Disney cruiser.

Never said that. The spectrum was strictly based on rates for cruises. And Carnival IS the least expensive.

And IF you paid attention, you would clearly see that I HAVE gone on RCCL and AM going on RCCL and likely WILL CONTINUE to go on RCCL's smaller ships.

Carnival has no appeal to me - and they can blame themselves for their earlier "Fun Ships" marketing campaign that DID paint them as party ships. Some of us have long memories and I've not seen any advertising they do compelling enough to take that first impression away.

 

[starvenger]

If you're looking at Carnival, and your younger one isn't doing kids clubs, you should look at Princess as well. There's still a kids club (I believe branded with Discovery Channel) and such but it's a little less... party focused versus some of the Carnival ships. I think prices are about what you see on Royal so it's not as cheap as Carnival, but closer to the DCL experience you're looking for.

As much as I am a fan of Royal I was looking forward to going on Princess until we had to pivot (back to Royal). But that's probably a story for another day.

 

[Minniemouse07]

I'm not sure why you feel justified on every thread that asks about other cruise lines to disparage the people who choose to cruise Carnival as low-life, drunken, gambling, welfare recipients. Because that is how you and others come off. Just my humble opinion.

Newsflash, I can afford a Disney cruise I just don't feel it is justified to spend $8000 on an inside cabin when I can get a balcony for half the cost and go to the exact same islands. I guess you could say I am more fiscally responsible than a Disney cruiser.

As someone that has cruised DCL, RCCL, & Carnival ...as well as Celebrity (all but Celebrity with at least one kid), I would rank them as follows:

DCL
Celebrity
RCCL
Carnival

I will add that I have actually cruised Carnival multiple times, from two different ports, because we had a family member that worked for them...and while any cruise is better than staying home, if I'm a regular paying customer (our Carnival cruises were heavily discounted), I'm not choosingCarnival.

While we enjoyed some of the shows on Carnival and their children's program seemed very good, I didn't enjoy the pool areas (including the games and "entertainment") and a good portion of the remaining activities weren't as family oriented as I would have liked. It was also the noisiest/loudest of all the cruise lines.

Carnival wasn't horrible and we had a good time on all of our cruises w/ them, but to be honest... DCL and RCCL were a lot better and comparatively RCCL is around the same price point so I would always opt for an RCCL cruise and Carnival would definitely be a last resort.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

I have found the biggest difference between Carnival and DCL is Mickey Mouse-- and price. Otherwise, they really are very similar in more ways than they are different. We love Carnival. We miss sailing with our friend Mickey, but we see him at the parks. lol. And we have money left over.

 

[mevelandry]

Don't be sad and come on our Carnival thread...

https://www.disboards.com/threads/c...mparison-thread.3540991/page-88#post-59031970

We will explain to you the main differences, you'll know a bit more about what to expect and you might even enjoy it just as much as DCL, even though your experience will be different.

The new Carnival ships (Vista & Horizon) are great and have a lot to offer to families and children!

P.s.: I have also done 3 DCL cruises and I honestly like DCL and Carnival equally. They all have their pros and cons.

 

[trvlgirlmq]

Never said that. The spectrum was strictly based on rates for cruises. And Carnival IS the least expensive.

And IF you paid attention, you would clearly see that I HAVE gone on RCCL and AM going on RCCL and likely WILL CONTINUE to go on RCCL's smaller ships.

Carnival has no appeal to me - and they can blame themselves for their earlier "Fun Ships" marketing campaign that DID paint them as party ships. Some of us have long memories and I've not seen any advertising they do compelling enough to take that first impression away.

Maybe you should stop coming to threads about Carnival and bashing a product you have never, and apparently will never, try based on 30 year old advertising. Very juvenile.

Who is the nasty one?