Okay- once again- Carnival vs. Disney

[shefor24]

Boy I hate to post another one of "those" posts, but I really need to know what to do here.... we are looking to book a 4 to 5 night cruise and by the way- we've only cruised once ever, and that was on the Wonder and LOVED IT!! We have me, DH, and twin DD's who will be 12 years old.

Pro's and Cons:
Carnival:
5 night- goes to Jamaica and Grand Cayman which would be wonderful!!
A couple days at sea-- could be fun!

Disney
Terrific treatment--always.
Good food IMHO, though many say better on other CL's,
That special awesome Disney magic you get
Good shows,
kid- friendly
Boring ol' Nassau
Beautiful Castaway Cay- I love that place.


Now for the biggie- Carnival 5 night total $1545
Disney 4 night total $1972

Ahhh, decisions decisions.... My question is-who HAS cruised both lines and help me deside which to do. And has ANYONE cruised both lines with kids around that age and how was that?? I hope I get some help here. THANKS.

 

[tecdavidt]

We have cruised both lines. We did take our children once on Carnival but that was after they had experienced DCL. Our children hated Carnival, ages then were two 16 year old sons and one 7yr. daughter. They were bored. We were on the Imagination 4 day cruise we went to Key West, Cozumel and a day at sea. Their other cruise prior was a 4 day Magic.

Now my husband and I have cruised Carnival and Celebrity without the children. With Carnival you do get a lot of bang for your buck. I always thought the food was better on Carnival but I prefer Disney's shows. Our children were vocal about not cruising any line but Disney after that cruise. Now our boys are soon to be 23, 20 & 20 and I think it would be safe to say that they would prefer Carnival for their future cruises, on their dollar.

Now the one Carnival cruise we did take the children on they ended up spending a lot of time with us compared to what they did when we cruised with Disney. It was OK for us but in their eyes they were bored. Our daughter hated the children's program because it was so restricted in hours of operation and after 10:00 pm it was $10 per hour.

Hope this helped, Kathy

 

[AnnMorin]

Carnival once and Disney three with number four comming up. In my opinion there is no comparison. It is like would you prefer a hamburg at McDonalds or filet mignon and lobster at Tavern on the Green. Both will feed you but one will also be an "experience".

I found Carnival to be tacky, loud and a very "party" atmosphere.
I find Disney to be classy, relaxing and a true "escape" from the real world.

 

[carallard]

We have done both also, as well as RC. My dd was 6 on disney and we are going again in 10 days and she will be 8. She loved both for different reasons. She was in the younger club on Disney and had a ball, but enjoyed being with "older" kids on Carnival. I agree the food is better on Carnival and for short cruises the stops are much better (Cozumel, Ocho Rios).

There is no comparison b/w ships. Carnival is (to put it nicely) glitzy, whereas Disney is classy. Stateroom sizes are comparable. I may be the only one, but I cruise more for destination because I know we can have fun on any ship! If the iteneraries were the same for a Carnival and RC, I would choose RC, just my two cents.

 

[Bacrd]

Just MHO..but if you're going to take children...DO DCL!! Have been on Carnival and NCL with groups of adults...and both times...it was very uncomfortable having children in the adult areas (there is no separate areas). There just is no comparison where kids (or kids at heart) are concerned.