Magic vs Pride

[AgentMommy]

We are looking to book a cruise this August, me, DH, DS 41/2 and DS 2 1/2. We cruised the Magic last year and enjoyed it. Older DS did not like the club. I think part of the problem is that he did not know anyone there. This year we want to go on a cruise that allows 2 yo to participate in the childrens program. We are thinking of the Carnival Pride. Has anyone had experience with this ship? Any suggestions? While little DS will probably be toilet trained by August, he won't be 3. Flounders is really for infants so there would be nothing for him if we do Disney again. All comments/thoughts are appreciated!

 

[Miss Jasmine]

Hi! The Carnival Pride is a brand spanking new ship. Since it has just started sailing I have not really heard any reports yet. From the pictures it looks really, really nice. Have you checked out the Carnival website?

I am a loyal Disney cruiser and would not take any other line out of Port Canaveral, but that is me. You need to do what is right for your family. Since Carnival placed this ship here to compete with DCL, I would expect that it would a bit above some of the other Carnival cruises. Sorry that I could not be more help.

 

[Madeline]

You might want to go to the cruise message boards. There are two very good ones. www.mytravelco.com and
www.cruise-addicts.com. The carnival pride is getting rave reviews with their kids program, ship, food and price. I love the Disney cruise but, I also like good food and casinos and DCL is lacking both. Since the carnival pride has so many more balcony cabins than DCL, the price for those cabins are much less.

 

[Madeline]

Here is the virtual tour of the Pride.

http://www.mytravelco.com/cruises/cruiseship/360/cruiseships.asp?Media_Type=5&brand=&SN=817&SC=PR

 

[AgentMommy]

Madeline...THANK YOU!!!! I didn't know about either one of those web sites. Since we have only cruised Disney before, this is all I knew about. While we did enjoy Disney, I feel that there won't be anything for my little 2 1/2 yo to do if we were to do the Magic again. The Pride seems like a family friendly ship, it allows 2 yo in its childrens program and has a casino for the big people. We're leaning towards doing it.

 

[Diana and Toby]

I have not been on the Pride, but I have been on the sister ship the Spirit. The kids were in the older kids clubs and they were kept busy. Many people I have heard from say that Carnival kids clubs are great. My kids prefered Disney clubs to Carnival, but they are teens.

The Spirit is a beautiful ship and I am sure that the Pride is also. Keep in mind that the art work and decorations are not what my daughter called "family friendly". But some do call it art! The ship is easy to navigate and has a great slide and pool area. Since we were on the Spirit in Alaska, the slide was not open so I can not tell you what the age limits are on the slide.

Any question, let me know.

Diana

 

[Sheree]

we've been on spirit as well, and the magic! we're going on the pride in nov.

not only are they a lot less money, but they are very nice. the kid's programs are wonderful, cabins are nice (although no split bath!)

food selections are very good, their buffet area has different sections with loads of choices!

I wouldn't hesitate.

 

[mmouse37]

My parents just got off the Spirit this past Tuesday. They did the 8 day carribean itinerary. They absolutely loved the ship and the trip.

MJ

 

[pReTtYpRiNcEsS]

I wonder if its true that the Disney executives really do check up on these boards... hehe i was reading the posts on this thread, and i could just picture an executive twitching in his seat thinking of the up and coming competition... lol

 

[pal2pluto]

We fell in love with cruising on the Magic in January and are so looking forward to our Oct cruise using the $99 coupon. If we didn't have that, though, we would probably be checking into something like the Pride mainly due to cost. Next cruise, I'm not sure......looks like the Pride is worth investigating......although they certainly don't have the "magic" of characters for the little ones. HHHMmmmmmmm, decisions, decisions!

 

[prymsu]

I have been on six carnival cruises, and one disney cruise. i was lucky enough to go on disney this past january, so we got the return 99 cruise. Disney is nice, but for the dollar value, i believe Carnival is pretty hard to beat. For instance on the Fanstasy Class ships, the Cat 12 (which is the highest cat with private balcony) cost way less than a Cat 4 for Disney. Each line has it's pros and cons.

Carnival ships sell postage, and actually mail postcards from the purser's desk. I would have to agree that the food is better.

Shore excursions are about the same.

The one thing is the dinner entertainment by waiters and staff on Carnival hardly varies, so after a couple of times, the initial thrill is gone.

Disney disembarkation is a much smoother process than Carnival, with a lot less waiting and much easier to find your bag.

I mean, i could go on and on, but i think if you are looking for the best value, then by all means try carnival. Of course the characters wont be on hand, and there is no movie theater, but the kids programs are pretty good.

If you have any specific questions, please let me know and i will do my best to answer...

 

[pal2pluto]

prymsu....we're cruising at the same time in Oct! I just spent about 1/2 hour looking over the Pride...wow! Okay, so how about the size of those rooms....they look very nice. And so many have balconies....way more than disney. We were in an interior cat. 11 on disney....the smallest of all, and were happy. How big are those "cheap balconies" on the pride? Are they roomy?

 

[AgentMommy]

People say that Carnival is a better buy for the money but I priced both the Magic and the Pride for the week of 8/31 and the Magic is cheaper!!!! My kids will be 4 and 2 at that time yet Carnival is charging me a "regular" 3rd and 4th person fare. Do they have kid fares???? I will contact them and find out. I think it is ridiculous to pay adult fares for such small children who barely eat. I don't mind paying but I don't think its right to pay adult fares.

 

[Diana and Toby]

Rooms: The rooms are about the same. You don't have a split bath, but you do have a larger bathroom. Plenty of space to store things. Disney did not have as much planned storage. I think that the balconys are larger on Disney. We had a cat. 8b on the Spirit which over looked the lifeboats. Be careful not to book one of these rooms in the inset because of the view. Any of the other rooms will not have this problem.

Spirit has one dining room and Disney rotates between 3. Shows are better on Disney (for the kids), Spirit shows are more oriented for Adults.

Carnival does charge for 3rd and 4th person, as Disney has kid and teen rates.

There are good and bad either way. I felt like Disney did more little things to make our cruise more memorible. Is that worth the extra money? I think so once in a while at least.

Diana

 

[bcburgner]

I just can't seem to get these "cheaper" rates with RCCL or Carnival. I've tried many of the ships mentioned for each cruise line, but when trying to get an outside room with a balcony for 5 people, the DCL cat 4 room price just can't be beat. Perhaps when I am looking for an experience different than Disney, I will look into RCCL or Carnival, but to save money or pay about the same, I am better off on DCL

 

[prymsu]

A cat 12 on the fantasy class is all i have ever booked through Carnival. the balcony is definetly bigger.

I think if you go through a cruise travel agent you can get a better price than what is listed on the carnival web site.

I am in a cat 4 for my disney cruise in october.

There are kid rates available, and again, i think you will get a better price quote going through a cruise specialist.

There is definetly more space for storing suitcases, and other stuff on Carnival, depending on how much stuff you take.

Not all rooms on Carnival have a fridge though, and you can't purchase liquor at a port and take it directly to your room. they will store it until the last night of your cruise.

pal2pluto, hopefully we will run into each other on the 10/17 disney cruise. maybe we should start a thread about that sailing date...

I won't have been on the Pride until 1/03, but i will try to remember to take notes and post on this board if anyone would be interested...