I sailed on a 4nt Carnival Ecstasy cruise over Easter weekend out of Port Canaveral. I know everyone seems to like comparisons with other lines, so I thought I'd let you know my thoughts.
I'm not sure how many ships were in port on embarkation day, but it was a lot, the Disney Dream included. We were returning a Budget car, and the wait for the shuttle was unmanageable. We waited an hour for the first shuttle to come, with the second coming in right behind. The line was so long, we didn't get on either. We opted to split a taxi with another party costing us $15. I would not rent with Budget again without checking to see how many ships were going to be in port. We had the same issue last year when we sailed the Dream. They cannot manage the passenger counts when multiple ships are in port.
The Carnival Ecstasy terminal is small and not as well developed as Disney's, but we didn't have much of a wait and pretty much walked right on the ship, so not much of an issue there. The atrium was not as grand as Disney's, and of course no family announcements, but we were directed up to the buffet for lunch. No sail-away party, so nothing special about leaving port. Overall, the ship was clean, but certainly not decorated with the same understated elegance of the Disney ships.
On this particular sailing, it was mostly families. Seemed very similar to Disney in that regard.
I have to say the buffet was probably the worst I have ever experienced on a cruise ship. We did not eat there for lunch again. We did try it for breakfast the next morning, and it was just as bad as lunch, except for the waffles, which had a bit of vanilla flavor to them and were quite good. From there on out, we went to the dining room for breakfast, which was better.
Our stateroom was fine. Not as well decorated as Disney's, but functional and clean. Our cabin steward did a good job. We received some unusual towel creations; a flower, a bunny rabbit on Easter.
The main dining room was pretty good for dinner. I would say it was similar to what I have experienced on Disney. Our servers did a good job.
We went to a couple shows. They were okay, but not up to the level of what Disney presents in both talent, costumes and set. I don't think Disney can be matched in that department.
Probably the biggest disappointment was the kids program. I can only speak to what they call Circle C, which is I believe 12 - 14. It was very lacking, in my opinion. My son has always loved the clubs on Disney, but only went to Circle C about 1 hour out of the whole cruise. It had very limited hours, and it was usually some activity held outside of the club area. For example, a dance in one of the discos, an ice cream party on the pool deck or pizza party at the buffet. Not much in the way of organized activities. If you don't have a real social kid, it's not very good. I had hoped to have some relaxation time kid-free, but it didn't happen on this cruise.
They had the pool area and waterslides, and my son did go on the waterslides a few times, but the water was so cold that it wasn't the funnest time. I would have tried it myself, but the water was too cold for me.
Probably one of the biggest annoyances was the sign in and out for towels. They had one girl on the pool deck in charge of this, and the line could get up to 20 people deep at times. She was trying to write down people's info on her clipboard, and it just seemed ridiculous. I hope Disney never goes to this system.
They did have a nice putt-putt golf and walking track up on the top deck, but another annoyance was having to go from the top forward deck down two decks and to mid ship to stand in line for the towel girl to get clubs and balls to play golf or ping pong.
My major reason for wanting to go on this cruise was to visit their private island, Half Moon Cay. I had never seen it offered on a 4nt cruise before, so I was anxious to be able to take a shorter cruise to see what it was like. I had read that many say it's nicer than Castaway Cay, so I had to see for myself.
This is a tender port, but the tender drops you off very close to the beach, so I didn't think it took any more time to get to the beach than it would have when docked at CC given that you have a ways to go on the tram or walking to get to the beach area.
All in all, I have to say that I prefer CC. The only thing I can say is better at HMC is starting from the water line out. There are no rocks, and the water seems to only be about waist to chest high all the way out to the ropes, which is maybe 50 yards out. Beautiful white sand all the way out to the ropes. But, the beach itself is more narrow than CC, so that's why I say it's better from the water line out. There are no umbrellas, and there are no chairs, only loungers, and limited shade. I like to be able to take a chair and sit by the water. The buffet lunch was not very good, but we had an enjoyable day.
On Nassau day, we took the jitney to the Sheraton and bought a day pass. The whole jitney thing I found a little unsettling, but we made it back safely. The Sheraton was crowded because it was Easter weekend, but it was nice.
We chose self-debarkation, as we normally do with Disney. No real problems here, except we were a bit surprised when we got outside the terminal. They directed us to what seemed like an open parking lot where different car rental, hotel and airport shuttles would pull in. No place to form proper lines, and it just seemed like an every-man-for-himself type situation as far as trying to get on a shuttle.
Overall, it was a nice cruise. The price was obviously less than what I would have paid for Disney, but there's a reason the price is less. It's just not the same experience. And I guess the extra money you pay for Disney is for that extra experience. It's not really an apples to apples comparison between the two.
So that's my comparison in a nutshell. Hope it helps somebody, and I'd be happy to answer any questions.
I'm not sure how many ships were in port on embarkation day, but it was a lot, the Disney Dream included. We were returning a Budget car, and the wait for the shuttle was unmanageable. We waited an hour for the first shuttle to come, with the second coming in right behind. The line was so long, we didn't get on either. We opted to split a taxi with another party costing us $15. I would not rent with Budget again without checking to see how many ships were going to be in port. We had the same issue last year when we sailed the Dream. They cannot manage the passenger counts when multiple ships are in port.
The Carnival Ecstasy terminal is small and not as well developed as Disney's, but we didn't have much of a wait and pretty much walked right on the ship, so not much of an issue there. The atrium was not as grand as Disney's, and of course no family announcements, but we were directed up to the buffet for lunch. No sail-away party, so nothing special about leaving port. Overall, the ship was clean, but certainly not decorated with the same understated elegance of the Disney ships.
On this particular sailing, it was mostly families. Seemed very similar to Disney in that regard.
I have to say the buffet was probably the worst I have ever experienced on a cruise ship. We did not eat there for lunch again. We did try it for breakfast the next morning, and it was just as bad as lunch, except for the waffles, which had a bit of vanilla flavor to them and were quite good. From there on out, we went to the dining room for breakfast, which was better.
Our stateroom was fine. Not as well decorated as Disney's, but functional and clean. Our cabin steward did a good job. We received some unusual towel creations; a flower, a bunny rabbit on Easter.
The main dining room was pretty good for dinner. I would say it was similar to what I have experienced on Disney. Our servers did a good job.
We went to a couple shows. They were okay, but not up to the level of what Disney presents in both talent, costumes and set. I don't think Disney can be matched in that department.
Probably the biggest disappointment was the kids program. I can only speak to what they call Circle C, which is I believe 12 - 14. It was very lacking, in my opinion. My son has always loved the clubs on Disney, but only went to Circle C about 1 hour out of the whole cruise. It had very limited hours, and it was usually some activity held outside of the club area. For example, a dance in one of the discos, an ice cream party on the pool deck or pizza party at the buffet. Not much in the way of organized activities. If you don't have a real social kid, it's not very good. I had hoped to have some relaxation time kid-free, but it didn't happen on this cruise.
They had the pool area and waterslides, and my son did go on the waterslides a few times, but the water was so cold that it wasn't the funnest time. I would have tried it myself, but the water was too cold for me.
Probably one of the biggest annoyances was the sign in and out for towels. They had one girl on the pool deck in charge of this, and the line could get up to 20 people deep at times. She was trying to write down people's info on her clipboard, and it just seemed ridiculous. I hope Disney never goes to this system.
They did have a nice putt-putt golf and walking track up on the top deck, but another annoyance was having to go from the top forward deck down two decks and to mid ship to stand in line for the towel girl to get clubs and balls to play golf or ping pong.
My major reason for wanting to go on this cruise was to visit their private island, Half Moon Cay. I had never seen it offered on a 4nt cruise before, so I was anxious to be able to take a shorter cruise to see what it was like. I had read that many say it's nicer than Castaway Cay, so I had to see for myself.
This is a tender port, but the tender drops you off very close to the beach, so I didn't think it took any more time to get to the beach than it would have when docked at CC given that you have a ways to go on the tram or walking to get to the beach area.
All in all, I have to say that I prefer CC. The only thing I can say is better at HMC is starting from the water line out. There are no rocks, and the water seems to only be about waist to chest high all the way out to the ropes, which is maybe 50 yards out. Beautiful white sand all the way out to the ropes. But, the beach itself is more narrow than CC, so that's why I say it's better from the water line out. There are no umbrellas, and there are no chairs, only loungers, and limited shade. I like to be able to take a chair and sit by the water. The buffet lunch was not very good, but we had an enjoyable day.
On Nassau day, we took the jitney to the Sheraton and bought a day pass. The whole jitney thing I found a little unsettling, but we made it back safely. The Sheraton was crowded because it was Easter weekend, but it was nice.
We chose self-debarkation, as we normally do with Disney. No real problems here, except we were a bit surprised when we got outside the terminal. They directed us to what seemed like an open parking lot where different car rental, hotel and airport shuttles would pull in. No place to form proper lines, and it just seemed like an every-man-for-himself type situation as far as trying to get on a shuttle.
Overall, it was a nice cruise. The price was obviously less than what I would have paid for Disney, but there's a reason the price is less. It's just not the same experience. And I guess the extra money you pay for Disney is for that extra experience. It's not really an apples to apples comparison between the two.
So that's my comparison in a nutshell. Hope it helps somebody, and I'd be happy to answer any questions.
It's a miracle we didn't owe at the end of the crusie.
I don't know why people would steal them. 
