Dream vs. Dream

[Rogillio]

I have pulled out of Port Canaveral, Nassau and some of the Mexican ports on the DCL several times and watched with awe the other ships pulling out or in. More modern in design. All cruise ships are beautiful to me. If anything the DCL reminds me of the older ships or maybe the passenger liners of the early 1900's. I am not in love with smoke stacks. I am not a traditional type person. I don't think it is the cruise ship that people in awe with, but the Disney name. If the DCL brand was on any other creuise ship many would look at for the same reasons they look at the DCL ships.

So to me looks is not the reason I cruise. What is inside the cruise ship means more to me because it is my home for 3 - 7 days.

My point is that the Disney retro design and colors are unique. And that, in and of itself, turns heads. I’ve seen it with my own eyes in over 20 different international ports.

 

[lovethedream]

I have sailed on the Glory, Sensation 3 times and the Fantasy of Carnival lines. The food on all three of the ships is much better than what the DCL restaurants put out. I can't compare Remy or Palo since I don't pay for food twice on any ship. If you haven't cruised anything but DCL than you have no reason to scorn any other cruise lines. I have sailed primarily RCL, Carnival and DCL (3 times) and cannot seem to rate DCL above the other two although it is a nice cruise aboard beautiful ships, but just lacking in a whole lot of things to do while cruising. The DCL cruise is a little boring unless you just want to lay around.

I have seen the DCL in harbor many times and never have looked at it with great awe. It is just another cruise ship with cool lines. Of course I can say the same for most cruise ships.

I have pulled out of Port Canaveral, Nassau and some of the Mexican ports on the DCL several times and watched with awe the other ships pulling out or in. More modern in design. All cruise ships are beautiful to me. If anything the DCL reminds me of the older ships or maybe the passenger liners of the early 1900's. I am not in love with smoke stacks. I am not a traditional type person. I don't think it is the cruise ship that people in awe with, but the Disney name. If the DCL brand was on any other creuise ship many would look at for the same reasons they look at the DCL ships.

So to me looks is not the reason I cruise. What is inside the cruise ship means more to me because it is my home for 3 - 7 days.

 

[Edd]

You are right. The colors and the design turns heads because it is different, but I certainly don't cruise on the ship because of its color and design. I don't think many other people do either.

 

[Tower]

Carnival tells you up front that they do not allow you to bring alcohol on board their ships if your booze was confiscated that isyour fault. Also I have found Carnivals alcohol prices to be inline with Disney s and RCCLs

While it is true that Carnival tells you up front, we had cruised twice before with Carnival and they never searched our luggage! I expected the same when we did the Dream. I also found the service, not necessarily the food, but the SERVICE to be lacking. The Disney experience has Cast Members always on the lookout to make the cruise a great experience. We don't gamble, and I drinks a bit, and the Disney experience far outweighs Carnival.

 

[Wadekind]

Thanks for keeping it real Edd

 

[deide71]

It is really just too sad that anytime another cruise line is mentioned it turns into the same people bickering back and forth. It gets a little old.

Back to the original topic...We are sailing the Carnival Dream this October. But we didn't stray from DCL because to the price, more because of the itinerary. Carnival is going to Belize and Roatan along with Cozumel and Costa Maya (yawn) so we decided to change ships and cruise lines. Next year we have a DCL Fantasy cruise booked but I a seriously considering canceling it and booking a 8 day southern caribbean cruise on Carinval that stops in Turks and Caicos, Dominican Republic, Aruba and Curacao.

Interestingly I very rarely see much consideration for itinerary on the DCL board though many of you have sailed DCL in the Caribbean multiple times. As the kids get older and could care less about character meets where the ship is going is more and more important to us. But that is just one families opinion and I certianly respect those that feel differently. To each his own.

 

[lovethedream]

You are right. The colors and the design turns heads because it is different, but I certainly don't cruise on the ship because of its color and design. I don't think many other people do either.

I have not heard anybody here state that they cruise on DCL simply because of what or how the ship looks like. I have only seen comments comparing the look of one ship to the next. Some are in awe of DCL, some are in awe of the others. But I can say that when we were looking at our first cruise, I was attracted to to the ship, in part, because of what it looked like on the outside. I thought it looked kinda neat while the other ships looked like huge floating hotels. It was just one more minor thing on the list of minor things that I find attracts me to DCL over the other cruise lines.

 

[Rogillio]

You are right. The colors and the design turns heads because it is different, but I certainly don't cruise on the ship because of its color and design. I don't think many other people do either.

I never said they did....nor did anyone else. You threw that out there to counter my point that the Disney ships turn heads.

I cruise on Disney because after 30 years of trusting Disney with our family vacation experiences, we trust them. Not to say that other cruise lines can’t meet or exceed expectations but life is short and my money and vacation time is limited and I don’t have time to gamble with an unknown.

Maybe when I retire and have time to kill then I can experiment with other cruise lines….but for now, I’ll stick with what I know works for my family.

 

[lovethedream]

It is really just too sad that anytime another cruise line is mentioned it turns into the same people bickering back and forth. It gets a little old.

Back to the original topic...We are sailing the Carnival Dream this October. But we didn't stray from DCL because to the price, more because of the itenerary. Carnival is going to Belize and Roatan along with Cozumel and Costa Maya (yawn) so we decided to change ships and cruise lines. Next year we have a DCL Fantasy cruise booked but I a seriously considering canceling it and booking a 8 day southern caribbean cruise on Carinval that stops in Turks and Caicos, Dominican Republic, Aruba and Curacao.

Interestingly I very rarely see much consideration for itenerary on the DCL board though many of you have sailed DCL in the Caribbean multiple times. As the kids get older and could care less about character meets where the ship is going is more and more important to us. But that is just one families opinion and I certianly respect those that feel differently. To each his own.

Agree 1000%. Sail on the line that you think best fits your family!

 

[NancyIL]

Because of the retro design with the stacks and black hull, it is NOT ‘just another cruise ship’. It is fundamentally different than almost every cruise ship currently sailing. And it turns heads. Again, I’ve been pulled into and out of about 20 different ports on Disney and I stand out on the verandah and listen and watch people looking at the Disney ship. Now part of that is because I sailed on the maiden Med cruise and the maiden Baltic cruise and so it was a novelty for the locals to see such a unique cruise ship and one associated with Disney. People came out to catch of glimpse of Mickey standing on the deck waving to all the people who came out to see the Disney ship.

The Magic and the Wonder are especially lovely. Although the Dream has the same color scheme, its much larger size makes it look similar to RCI's Voyager and Freedom-class ships. All ships lose some of their attractiveness when they become megaliners.

 

[mhsjax]

We actually liked our CCL Ecstasy cruise over our RCCL Freedom cruise. Have you sailed RCCL? If so, any thoughts between those two.

No, we haven't tried any other cruise line. My kids kind of want to try the Oasis, but we are unsure because we just aren't that big on cruising. Also kids did the flow rider in Margaritaville and they are over that one, had enough bumps and bruises, although they did admit it was fun at the time.

I actually did enjoy some of the adult entertainment on CCL. I wish there was a way to merge DCL and CCL together and get the best of both. lol

I think another reason that we may go with DCL in the future, is they have the 2 stop at Castaway Cay. We have discovered that although the islands are beautiful, once away from the beaches, they are pretty much poverty stricken and we just don't enjoy the atmosphere and having to deal with getting to and from excursions. We prefer the private Island and sea days. But as I said earlier, CCL's private island, Half Moon Cay, is very close to Castaway Cay in distance and therefor is equally beautiful, and actually I thought the water was even prettier in color and clarity. Wow, I am sitting here talking myself into another cruise, didn't think that would happen. lol

At one time we were looking at the Freedom, how did you compare it to CCL? Just incase we decide to give it a try, would love some first hand info.

 

[unionville]

We just returned from a 7-night Western Caribbean cruise on the Carnival Dream. We are a family of 3 (11 year old son). We had an amazing week - we have cruised on several different lines including Disney and they all offer a different experience (and it has never been bad for us). Why did we choose the Carnival Dream instead of the Disney Dream:

1) our 11 year old son loves the water works slides - drainpipe, racing slides, and the huge tunnel slide (fun for adults too)

2) our son loves Camp Carnival (yes as much as Disney kids club)

3) the 7-day itinerary to ports we have not visited before (Belize, Roatan, Cozumel, Costa Maya)

4) the cost - our family of 3 had a Spa Balcony Cabin for the week at a cost of $3300. our cabin included free access to the spa rooms (heated loungers, saunas, and an awesome whirlpool jacuzzi tub). No way we could have worked that deal on Disney,

5) casino - yes, my husband and I loved playing the penny slots in the evenings

6) comedy club - we don't really do the cruise shows, but we love that Carnival brings on different comedians during the week (family and adult shows)

I love everything Disney, but in order to travel more often we have to explore other options too. We had a great week on Carnival Dream and will look forward to sailing on one of the new Disney ships in the future.

 

[slk]

Back to the original topic...We are sailing the Carnival Dream this October. But we didn't stray from DCL because to the price, more because of the itinerary. Carnival is going to Belize and Roatan along with Cozumel and Costa Maya (yawn) so we decided to change ships and cruise lines. Next year we have a DCL Fantasy cruise booked but I a seriously considering canceling it and booking a 8 day southern caribbean cruise on Carinval that stops in Turks and Caicos, Dominican Republic, Aruba and Curacao.

Interestingly I very rarely see much consideration for itinerary on the DCL board though many of you have sailed DCL in the Caribbean multiple times. As the kids get older and could care less about character meets where the ship is going is more and more important to us. But that is just one families opinion and I certianly respect those that feel differently. To each his own.

I couldn't have said it better myself. The Southern you are speaking of
is the one we are looking at booking. Also, you will have a great time
on the Carnival Dream!

 

[unionville]

At one time we were looking at the Freedom, how did you compare it to CCL? Just incase we decide to give it a try, would love some first hand info.

We have friends that sailed Carnival Dream last summer and just returned from the Freedom of the Seas last week. They have never cruised Disney. They LOVED the Freedom and would choose it over Carnival. They have college age children that enjoyed the other activities. My son would miss the slides.

 

[unionville]

I couldn't have said it better myself. The Southern you are speaking of
is the one we are looking at booking. Also, you will have a great time
on the Carnival Dream!

Check out the Carnival Breeze itineraries out of Miami beginning in 2012. We are very interested in those.

 

[NancyIL]

Check out the Carnival Breeze itineraries our of Miami beginning in 2012. We are very interested in those.

Carnival Breeze also has some very nice 12-night Mediterranean itineraries next year. http://www.carnival.com/bookingengine/sailingsearch/search2?shipCode=BR

 

[woody73]

My point is that the Disney retro design and colors are unique.

Woody

 

[NancyIL]

Woody - I get a blank page!

 

[TXDCLfan]

Don't mind it a bit if you disagree with me on the drink prices. A lot depends on what your drink. I don't usually check the prices out close because I usually use the OBC to pay for the drinks. However I could be a drunk if I used the difference in the cruise prices between a DCL cruise and any other cruise. I just cannot justify the difference, in price, with the activities and entertainment aboard a DCL compared to what the other cruise lines offer.

No, the RCCL hamberger is not horrible. It is the same as the DCL hamburger, but the JR burger compared with the onion rings, french fries and milkshake is the best you can get on any cruise, by far. It is a great lunch after spending the morning playing basketball, volleyball, surfing (flow-rider), climbing the big rock wall, swimming in the pools, enjoying the whirlpool or just laying out. You don't have to change to go into the dining rooms.

Than this statement contradicts what you stated in your post # 46 in other words you make up stuff just to bash DCL???

 

[woody73]

Woody - I get a blank page!

DIS censors/filters have deleted the image I posted. Let's see if I can post a link instead.

Woody