No 7 day Disney 2005?! please help

[ufmurphy]

We hoped to sail Disney 7 days this summer out of Florida. Sailed the Wonder once and loved it. Since we can't sail Disney this summer do any of you cruise veterans have an opinion on CC vs RCCL. We are looking at the Miracle, Victory or Explorer. Our children will be 8 and 10years old. We don't gamble. We were leaning toward RCCL but have read so many great reviews about CC. We plan on doing several excursions and will spend a lot of time together as a family. I am concerned that neither cruise will have much for the kids at night. I will be very thankful for any advice I can get.

 

[sanddune]

We went on the Carnival Glory and loved it! It's alot bigger than Disney. The kids club was just as nice. I liked the shows and night clubs stayed open longer.The Glory leaves from Port Canaveral. Hope this helps! I would try Carnival Miracle it's a newer ship. I'm sure the kids club would be like Glory's . ( sorry didn't read the post real close about what ships you were looking at. We sailed on the Carnival Victory last winter. I do not like the layout of that ship. If they have the same crew. It could be dirty.We had smashed food in the hallway from the first day to the last day of our cruise!We also saw alot of old dishes being left in the hallways on that ship.That is the only Carnival ship we have seen those kinds of problems.

 

[ufmurphy]

Thank you so much for the information. Are any of Carnivals night shows good for the kids? Did you feel like the ship has a party atmosphere? We keep hearing such good things about Carnival but can't get their old reputation out of our heads. Were their any shore excursions that you really liked? Thanks so much for all your help. Kerri

 

[Dreamer04]

How about the Wonder? If the 4 day is not enough, then go for back to back 4 and 3 day sailings.

 

[txtara]

We sailed CC Glory last March as a party of 11....I had my 3 dd's age 10, 5, and 1 at the time...The food was good....lots of options....service in the dining room was good although not as fun as DCL dining....ship was very clean....all in all good service...

Now the down side is the shows were horrible....no where near what Disney has to offer....and of course we were on it during spring break so there were tons of drunk college kids....they did not really bother me....they slept in every day so there was no issue....The kids clubs looked nice....my kids did not really participate because we were with family so they all stuck together...

I would not mind another Carnival cruise if they improved their entertainment. HTH

oh and my kids did not like the shows either...were not really aimed at kids...

 

[sanddune]

The shows your kids probably would not care for.The kids should go to the kids clubs and not the shows. It's not the (R) rated show! It's just not what kids like to watch. Our kids didn't have time for the shows anyway they were to busy! They liked the pools,movies, parties for the kids club,ect... Carnival is not a party ship all the time. If that's what you are scared of don't sail during college breaks.( FEb and March are the months to watch out for!) The answer to shore excursions depend on what cruise you are looking at. Do you want to go on a westeren or easteren cruise?

 

[Bethipooh4]

Also remember on Carnival the kids clubs charge you per hour after 10 pm. On our recent girls only CC there were alot of unsupervised kids running in the halls, and riding in the elevators after 10 PM. One poor brother and sister were just riding the elevator up and down to kill the boredom, they said their parents were in the casino. The little boy (around 6) was asleep in the elevator.

 

[ufmurphy]

Thanks to everyone for all your help. I think we have decided to book RCCL Explorer, western, for May. First I have to survive the Disney marathon in Jan. Thanks again!