Dream vs. Dream

[Rogillio]

There's nothing wrong with preferring DCL to other cruise lines. However, one doesn't need to trash another cruise line with a comment about "looking down on the Sensation... in more ways than one."

My experience is that DCL's service is NOT "inheritantly superior" to that of other cruise lines. Based on 2 of my 3 Disney cruises with mediocre dining room servers, I would say that I have had better service on RCI, HAL, Princess, and Celebrity than on DCL in the dining room.

What makes DCL inherently superior is the Disney atmosphere. No one can compete with that. It does not mean DCL has biggest lobsters on lobster night or makes the cutest towel figures or hire the best servers....but I think many of us tend to see DCL thru rose colored glasses becasue we have such great memories associated with Disney - be that WDW, DCL or simply Disney movies our kids grew up with such as Beauty and the Beast, Tarzan, etc.

If you want unbiased cruise info, this is prolly not the best place to find it.

 

[NancyIL]

Sadly, I had a similar experience on my latest Disney cruise (2010 WBTA). Service was mediocre, as there were lots of new hires and trainees. Management said DCL was gearing up for the launch of the Dream.

Woody

I wasn't surprised by the slow dining room service on the Dream in Feb. 2011, but I still scratch my head about our Dec. 2009 Wonder servers, as that was more than a year before the debut of the Dream. My next Disney cruise is in Dec. 2012 on the Fantasy. That will be a good 8 months after its debut, and hopefully all of the dining room servers will be up to speed.

 

[woody73]

We like cruising, and have a 3 night RCCL cruise in September, very basic, but I think that Coco Cay is as nice as Castaway Cay, it's just the 2 of us, we have anytime dining, and I can't wait.

We had My Time Dining on our last two RCCL cruises, and loved it. On port days, it was nice being able to return to the ship and have dinner whenever we wanted.

We have different expectations for each cruise we go on, and so far we're very happy with all of the lines!

Well said.

Woody

 

[FirstTimeDC]

No, no, no....I'm am definitely not expecting to be disappointed. I've never been on a cruise and been disappointed. I'm mostly curious as to what others have thought of Camp Carnival vs. Oceaneers Club...or family activities on Carnival vs. Disney. We like to do family games, etc.

The reason we chose Carnival over Disney (this particular time) was price. With several people going..it was simply more economical to choose Carnival.

 

[NancyIL]

What makes DCL inherently superior is the Disney atmosphere. No one can compete with that. It does not mean DCL has biggest lobsters on lobster night or makes the cutest towel figures or hire the best servers....but I think many of us tend to see DCL thru rose colored glasses becasue we have such great memories associated with Disney - be that WDW, DCL or simply Disney movies our kids grew up with such as Beauty and the Beast, Tarzan, etc.

If you want unbiased cruise info, this is prolly not the best place to find it.

I agree that only Disney can "do Disney." I have been a Disney television/film/theme park fan since I was very young, and I am older than you! I am especially fond of Disney theme parks, and by the end of 2011 I will have been to WDW 4 times and to Disneyland once (this year). I enjoy an occasional Disney cruise for the Disney-ness, but I don't feel any more compelled to cruise with DCL than I do to stay at a Disney-owned resort when I visit its theme parks.

 

[DVC California]

...I'm just concerned with how my little ones will be in "camp". If they were older they would understand it's going to be different, etc.

Just let them know that this cruise won't have any characters on board or a special place to make Flubber. But they will still have a lot of fun making new friends, having pizza parties, ice cream sundae parties, t-shirt making parties, special "reseved" seats for the night time shows (if they go with Camp Carnival), and if they are old enough, a "stay up all night" party.

My daughters were raised Disney but always had a great time on all the ships we sailed without disappointments.

HTH, Steve

 

[Rogillio]

I agree that only Disney can "do Disney." I have been a Disney television/film/theme park fan since I was very young, and I am older than you! I am especially fond of Disney theme parks, and by the end of 2011 I will have been to WDW 4 times and to Disneyland once (this year). I enjoy an occasional Disney cruise for the Disney-ness, but I don't feel any more compelled to cruise with DCL than I do to stay at a Disney-owned resort when I visit its theme parks.

Yeah, we've had this discussion before Nancy. I will never go to WDW and stay off site. Part of the WDW experience to me is riding the bus and/or monorail or boats to/from the parks. Also, we tend to fly there these days so don't want to have to get a rental car and pay for parking and ride the parking lot trams every day. Not to hijack the thread but I will say the WL is way over priced. The 'economy' hotels at Disney are the best bang for the buck IMO....unless you stay at one of the 3 monorail serviced hotels.

 

[mhsjax]

Ok. WE were at one time self proclaimed Disney nuts. Only WDW and DCL for us. We have cruised DCl 3 times, no that many compared to a lot of you. WE are not huge cruise fans but we do enjoy some aspects of it.

Now, DH decided over time, and after witnessing some things that Disney did business wise, that he really didn't care for them and in no way would DCL ever get any more of his money, especially when we got 2 cabins with balconies for 7 days, cheaper than 1 balcony cabin and one inside cabin for 4 days on DCL.

SO off we go on the Carnival Liberty. Just returned on Saturday. Now to answer about service: CCL service was fine, room steward was fantastic, the rest was good, but not DCL good. OUr cruise did include their private island, and except for the food, it was indeed prettier than Castaway Cay, oh yeah and also you do have to tender in, so that was not as nice.

Food, way better than DCL with the exception of Harry's. It was terrible and I wouldn't even begin to compare it to Palo. On DCL I also love the free soda and I do love the drinks being on deck by the pools and also not having to go inside to get food. I did and do love that anytime dining, we never had to wait, and I hate, with a passion, being seated with people I don't know. On carnival, was too much smoking, drinking and general nastiness. Don't get me wrong, I love a good drink, but this was all some people did. Just a totally different atmosphere.

My kids are DS14, DD12, and DS10. They never did like the clubs on DCL and didn't even try on CCL, this isn't their thing.

Here comes that part where I have to eat some crow. I said that people here were DCL snobs, and there was no way to justify paying that much more for a cruise and as I said earlier DH said basically when hell froze over he would be back on DCL, We ladies and gentlemen, hell has frozen and they are getting ice water. DH said that next cruise, if we ever do one, will be DCL. CCL, just didn't feel right to us and we really didn't like the atmosphere.

 

[mesaboy2]

There's a lot of that "snobbery" on the DIS, and it's not very attractive.

My comment was directed at the person I quoted.

There's nothing wrong with preferring DCL to other cruise lines. However, one doesn't need to trash another cruise line with a comment about "looking down on the Sensation... in more ways than one."

So sorry to have offended your strong cruise line sensibilities so much as to call me out on my post. Next time I'll be sure to use the so I can hit you over the head with my sarcasm in the postscript--metaphorically speaking, of course.

I spoke my honest opinion (that's okay with you, right?) on the Sensation and stand by it. I could not help but look down--literally--at her across the pier and see a couple dozen verandahs, a run-down-looking hull, and cheesy fake palm trees. I also imagined the people aboard her probably paid half or less for their cruise experience--that part I envied--but still found myself happy to be where I was.

It's getting to be you can't say anything anymore.

 

[NancyIL]

Yeah, we've had this discussion before Nancy. I will never go to WDW and stay off site. Part of the WDW experience to me is riding the bus and/or monorail or boats to/from the parks. Also, we tend to fly there these days so don't want to have to get a rental car and pay for parking and ride the parking lot trams every day. Not to hijack the thread but I will say the WL is way over priced. The 'economy' hotels at Disney are the best bang for the buck IMO....unless you stay at one of the 3 monorail serviced hotels.

I don't stay "off-site" either. I prefer to stay at the Swan, on Disney property, but not Disney owned.

 

[NancyIL]

So sorry to have offended your strong cruise line sensibilities so much as to call me out on my post. Next time I'll be sure to use the so I can hit you over the head with my sarcasm in the postscript--metaphorically speaking, of course.

I spoke my honest opinion (that's okay with you, right?) on the Sensation and stand by it. I could not help but look down--literally--at her across the pier and see a couple dozen verandahs, a run-down-looking hull, and cheesy fake palm trees. I also imagined the people aboard her probably paid half or less for their cruise experience--that part I envied--but still found myself happy to be where I was.

It's getting to be you can't say anything anymore.

I spoke my honest opinion about your comment, and I stand by it!

 

[waltdisney427]

We are doing Disney Dream this year and Carnival Dream this year! Can't wait to compare the two! I KNOW which one I will like better...still fun to compare.

Definitely the disney ship! right? lol

 

[templed]

We sailed Carnival Dream this past summer. It's a big ship.... nice amenities for the most part. The Buffet was a horror, the design was just plain stupid. The pasta bar was great... pasta made to order... how can you go wrong?

The problem with Carnival Dream is that it is Carnival's first forray into "big" ships... and it shows. It always felt crowded...

I'm looking forward to comparing Dream to Dream myself.

 

[DVC California]

If the Carnival Dream is anything like the Carnival Sensation, then it's no contest. I found myself looking down on the Sensation while in Nassau, and in more ways than one.

Either Dream would be "looking down" at a Fantasy class ship launched in 1993.

Carnival Sensation
Launched: 1993
Decks: 10
Tonnage: 70,367
Passengers: 2,052

Carnival Dream
Launched: 2009
Decks: 14
Tonnage: 128,251
Passengers: 3,646

Disney Dream
Launched: Spring 2010
Decks: 13
Tonnage: 128,000
Passengers: 2,500 (4000 max)

 

[DVC California]

The problem with Carnival Dream is that it is Carnival's first forray into "big" ships... and it shows. It always felt crowded...

Carnival has been operating five 110k tonnes and four 100k+ ships for the past 10 years with the new Dream only slight larger at 128k.

It is more accurate to say that this is Disney's first attempt at a big ship as the Magic/Wonder were only 83k tonnes.

Disney however, excels at crowd management and I believe they are limiting the the total capacity on the Dream as not to make it feel over crowded.

My two cents, Steve

 

[lovethedream]

I will only say that I am glad I never saw a DCL ship while on our RCCL Freedom cruise!

Because I would have probably swam over!

When we go to Disney World, we stay at the Fort Wilderness Cabins. We love it there. We tried the All Star resorts (movies) and really did not care for it.

Otherwise, I'm staying out of this one!

 

[Rogillio]

We've made port on the Magic at over 20 different ports of call and I have never seen anyone ever look at the Disney ship with anything but awe, wonder, inspiration and envy.

 

[NancyIL]

We've made port on the Magic at over 20 different ports of call and I have never seen anyone ever look at the Disney ship with anything but awe, wonder, inspiration and envy.

Disney builds beautiful ships, and I imagine most people who see one admire it for its good looks. However, I don't think as many people "envy" those who cruise on a Disney ship as Disney fans would like to think - just as plenty of people aren't interested in a vacation at a Disney theme park.

 

[Dallas_Lady]

Go to cruisecritic.com, you will get a more unbiased comparison there. Or at the least you can get the other side of the story and form an opinion for yourself.

 

[slk]

We were just on the Carnival Dream last month and I was very skeptical
as to what to expect since I had only been on DCL prior to that. Wow!
we (had 10 in our group) had such a great time!!!! Such a beautiful ship.
So much to do. Don't get me wrong, I loved our Disney cruise but cost
wise, this was so much more reasonable and the food and our servers
were great. One thing I will say for Carnival as far as embarking and disembarking - they have this down pat. We had no wait at all - even
with all the people on there. We loved this cruise so much we are going
to plan on going on the Breeze and do the Southern itinerary. Wouldn't
mind going on the Disney Dream but it's only doing 5 days and it's still
alot of money - maybe when the price comes down a bit. There was
something for everyone to do and all the kids in our group had a blast.
Shows were excellent also.