We chose the dark side - Carnival VS Disney

[Wes1stTrip2016]

Our first cruise was on the carnival triumph and loved it. Then we did the sensation and ugh not so good. We Disney probably exceeded carnival and rcl for that matter however our next cruise most likely will not be Disney. Although they're great we didn't feel like it was so much better that it justifies spending thousands more. Id rather do 2 cruises!

DH & I are going on our very first cruise June 6th on the Triumph out of NOLA!! Hoping to book DCL for Oct 17 when we return.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

You mean Carnival?

We booked an airport hotel... That will be the best option. Thanks!

Well it seemed like you were asking about the DCL shuttle. If you're asking about Carnival shuttles, I can't help.

 

[mevelandry]

Well it seemed like you were asking about the DCL shuttle. If you're asking about Carnival shuttles, I can't help.

I'm sorry. I meant that we've always used shuttles to get to PC in the past, while cruising with DCL.

I'm actually interested in the answer for DCL as wellfor future references. But I am currently asking for Carnival (our next cruise)

 

[My2litteprincesses]

A shorter Carnival trip MAY be doable, but we went on a 7-night a few years ago (with no kids in tow) and were ready to get off the ship by day 4. Food was really bland to us. Entertainment at the piano bar was good the 1st night, but it was the same show every.single.night afterwards & we were bored to tears.
Went on a 4 night DCL Dream cruise last May and absolutely LOVED it. Loved it so much that we booked this year's 7-night Fantasy trip.
The carnival ship we were on was one of their largest at the time & we felt crowded & herded from place to place. Just a blah vacation unfortunately. But.... As you said, any cruise is probably better than spending the week at work, so I'm sure you'll be able to relax & enjoy! (Just do NOT book a cabin underneath the pool or restaurant deck- chairs moving above at ALL hours of the night!)

 

[mevelandry]

A shorter Carnival trip MAY be doable, but we went on a 7-night a few years ago (with no kids in tow) and were ready to get off the ship by day 4. Food was really bland to us. Entertainment at the piano bar was good the 1st night, but it was the same show every.single.night afterwards & we were bored to tears.
Went on a 4 night DCL Dream cruise last May and absolutely LOVED it. Loved it so much that we booked this year's 7-night Fantasy trip.
The carnival ship we were on was one of their largest at the time & we felt crowded & herded from place to place. Just a blah vacation unfortunately. But.... As you said, any cruise is probably better than spending the week at work, so I'm sure you'll be able to relax & enjoy! (Just do NOT book a cabin underneath the pool or restaurant deck- chairs moving above at ALL hours of the night!)

Oh, good to know. I'll have to check out the decks. I am not sure where we are...

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

Oh, good to know. I'll have to check out the decks. I am not sure where we are...

That's sound advice for any ship with any line.

 

[angelinaxox]

I need to know where to get that Molten Chocolate Lava cake!!!!!

Although I have seen others give this dessert mixed reviews on the Carnival boards, it is one of my two favorite desserts of all the cruises I have done (my other favorite dessert is a Mickey ice cream bar). When I am on a Carnival cruise, I order it every night for dessert and never had one I didn't enjoy.

For the record, I have been on 26 cruises spread over the different cruise lines. Six of those have been completed with Carnival and five completed with Disney. My next cruise will be with Disney as I have cruised enough to know which line works best for me at this time (just my husband and me). Most of my non Disney cruises were prior to traveling on Disney and since trying Disney I am having a hard time going back, although it doesn't mean I won't. I believe you will have a great cruise because you are going in with a great attitude. I can honestly say my cruise experiences have overall been wonderful with a few "I hope that never happens again" experiences thrown in.

Enjoy your cruise and hope you like the molten chocolate lava cake!

 

[mevelandry]

Although I have seen others give this dessert mixed reviews on the Carnival boards, it is one of my two favorite desserts of all the cruises I have done (my other favorite dessert is a Mickey ice cream bar). When I am on a Carnival cruise, I order it every night for dessert and never had one I didn't enjoy.

For the record, I have been on 26 cruises spread over the different cruise lines. Six of those have been completed with Carnival and five completed with Disney. My next cruise will be with Disney as I have cruised enough to know which line works best for me at this time (just my husband and me). Most of my non Disney cruises were prior to traveling on Disney and since trying Disney I am having a hard time going back, although it doesn't mean I won't. I believe you will have a great cruise because you are going in with a great attitude. I can honestly say my cruise experiences have overall been wonderful with a few "I hope that never happens again" experiences thrown in.

Enjoy your cruise and hope you like the molten chocolate lava cake!

Not gonna lie to you, I am looking for a very different experience. We've had two cruises with DCL and I was a bit scared our 2017 cruise would end up being similar so we switched cruiseship for 2017 (we'll go from Dream to Wonder).

As for Carnival...

We were looking for a more affordable cruise and possibly more casual and more adult oriented cruise in order to get a bit of fresh air.

Then, we'll go back to something we love (DCL) knowing more about the different things we enjoy.

 

[Hundredacre]

We have never been on carnival (or any line except dcl), but we are about to try them all. Carnival has a great CEO right now-- I personally like him a lot better than Bob Iger (Although I like Karl Holz a lot), and it seems like carnival has gotten it's act together. We can't wait to check out the Breeze and Vista. My only regret is that Gaffigan won't be performing on our cruise!! Any cruise line who can get him is worth trying.

 

[mevelandry]

We have never been on carnival (or any line except dcl), but we are about to try them all. Carnival has a great CEO right now-- I personally like him a lot better than Bob Iger (Although I like Karl Holz a lot), and it seems like carnival has gotten it's act together. We can't wait to check out the Breeze and Vista. My only regret is that Gaffigan won't be performing on our cruise!! Any cruise line who can get him is worth trying.

I don't know Gaffigan but...

My husband would DIE if Chris Tucker was on our cruise. He likes him so much. (Unfortunately, he isn't.)

 

[daisyx3]

We have never been on carnival (or any line except dcl), but we are about to try them all. Carnival has a great CEO right now-- I personally like him a lot better than Bob Iger (Although I like Karl Holz a lot), and it seems like carnival has gotten it's act together. We can't wait to check out the Breeze and Vista. My only regret is that Gaffigan won't be performing on our cruise!! Any cruise line who can get him is worth trying.

I'm looking at a cruise on the Glory, anyone have any feedback on that one?

 

[mevelandry]

I'm reading about recent changes that were made and it does sound like Carnival have been stepping up their game lately.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I'll just throw in here that Carnival's beverage policy is more restrictive. Including the fact that, while you can bring juices/sodas onboard, they cannot be in bottles. Only canned or boxed beverages are allowed. With a maximum of 12 cans/boxes (12 oz) per person.

And only one bottle of wine (750 ml) or champagne. On embarkation day only.

From the Carnival website:

• All liquor, beer, other forms of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages outside of the exceptions referenced above are strictly prohibited in both carry-on and checked luggage and such items will be confiscated and discarded and no compensation will be provided.

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2633/kw/beverage/session/L3RpbWUvMTQ2MTE3MTM1My9zaWQvMklzRFJ2T20=

 

[FLpixie]

I've sailed Carnival a number of times. Took my 11 year old son with me on it last time and he had a BLAST!

I think the food is comparable if not better on Carnival (speaking of the buffets and dining rooms - Palo is altogether different).

I prefer the entertainment on Carnival. There's only so much Disney I can take for the Broadway style shows. I enjoy the comedians much more on Carnival - both the family friendly shows and the adult shows.

The level of service definitely goes to DCL. Carnival has always fixed any issue I brought up with them but on DCL I rarely ever have to mention anything because it is already handled.

As far as safety, someone mentioned earlier in the thread about so many Carnival issues. You hear more about them because they have the largest fleet. DCL has 4 ships. Carnival has 24. There will be more things to hear about with six times as many ships. I personally have never experienced a safety issue on my cruises with them.

Carnival is much less expensive than DCL. If money is an issue, you can definitely cruise for less.

All in all, both lines have pluses and minuses. I enjoy both and we cruise on whatever fits our budget and time constraints.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

I'll just throw in here that Carnival's beverage policy is more restrictive. Including the fact that, while you can bring juices/sodas onboard, they cannot be in bottles. Only canned or boxed beverages are allowed. With a maximum of 12 cans/boxes (12 oz) per person.

And only one bottle of wine (750 ml) or champagne. On embarkation day only.

From the Carnival website:

• All liquor, beer, other forms of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages outside of the exceptions referenced above are strictly prohibited in both carry-on and checked luggage and such items will be confiscated and discarded and no compensation will be provided.

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2633/kw/beverage/session/L3RpbWUvMTQ2MTE3MTM1My9zaWQvMklzRFJ2T20=

You also cannot bring on bottled water but..............................................Carnival only charges $3.99 or $4.99 for a case of 12 bottles instead of the $30+ DCL charges for a case of 24. Don't want to start the bottled water debate with anyone out there, we like it for excursions because I take 12 bottles every excursion for our family.

 

[FLpixie]

Oh - and the BIG one I forgot - casinos. I don't spend time in them. Carnival has them. Disney does not.

This means Disney doesn't smell like smoke. I hate walking by the casino and casino bar on Carnival ships because it just reeks of smoke.

And as Chandler mentioned above, Carnival's prices for water (both pre-order and ordering when onboard) are reasonable while DCL are crazy high. My family all carry refillable water bottles though and we like the filtered water on DCL so it's not an issue for us when sailing DCL.

 

[mevelandry]

I'll just throw in here that Carnival's beverage policy is more restrictive. Including the fact that, while you can bring juices/sodas onboard, they cannot be in bottles. Only canned or boxed beverages are allowed. With a maximum of 12 cans/boxes (12 oz) per person.

And only one bottle of wine (750 ml) or champagne. On embarkation day only.

From the Carnival website:

• All liquor, beer, other forms of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages outside of the exceptions referenced above are strictly prohibited in both carry-on and checked luggage and such items will be confiscated and discarded and no compensation will be provided.

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2633/kw/beverage/session/L3RpbWUvMTQ2MTE3MTM1My9zaWQvMklzRFJ2T20=

Yes, I noticed! I decided to order a few things in advance (sodas, beer, wine and water bottle) and I will buy OBC cruise cash (bar) in case we need anything else. No drink package. I can't imagine myself drinking more than 2 drinks/day!

 

[mevelandry]

I (still) have the following questions:

1) Once you booked excursions, how and when do you get to know the time you have to meet the groups?

2) Do you receive anything for the cruise? (Booklet? Luggage tags? Lanyards?) When do you receive it?

3) Is there a specific time where you have to leave the cruiseship on disembarkation day?

Thanks in advance!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I (still) have the following questions:

1) Once you booked excursions, how and when do you get to know the time you have to meet the groups?

2) Do you receive anything for the cruise? (Booklet? Luggage tags? Lanyards?) When do you receive it?

3) Is there a specific time where you have to leave the cruiseship on disembarkation day?

Thanks in advance!

Are you asking about DCL? Or Carnival?

 

[mevelandry]

Are you asking about DCL? Or Carnival?

Carnival...

I already know most of the answers for DCL.