We chose the dark side - Carnival VS Disney

[Mickeyhugger]

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

Our first Carnival cruise was on the Glory (over 10 years ago,) and we LOVED it. I'm certain it's probably been through a few dry-since then, but we've since sailed on the sister ships (Liberty and Freedom.) It's our favorite class of Carnival's fleet (Conquest-class.) We favor the layout (Promenade is great.)

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

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!

I haven't sailed Carnival yet but from what I've been able to figure out:

1) They have fish extenders just like DCL so they will put your excursion info on that the day before.

2) I don't believe there is anything they send you, I know you'll have to print your own luggage tags and everything else is online.

3) There is a time you have to leave but from what I've read is later than DCL, I've read as late as 10:30 on some cruises.

 

[darnheather]

Here is my primary problem. Without putting in a placeholder I have not found a way to calculate the total cost of the cruise. I find Carnival and several of the others a bit sneaky in their lack of information on things like drink packages, which restaurants cost extra, etc.

For those of you that have booked how much money did you have to place before you got to the point of adding these in to truly account for the full price to compare to DCL?

 

[darnheather]

Sorry to post twice in a row but I finally found where I read about Carnival and 2 person max per room. It's on the GTY through Expedia and the like. "A maximum of two passengers can be accommodated in a guaranteed cabin." That scared me off thinking they had a lot of rooms that were only for 2.

ETA: Here is the layout photo for Cat 4a on Carnival Sunshine from Expedia. How are more than 2 people even supposed to sleep in there?

[/IMG]

ETA: Ok did some googling and apparently there is a bunk bed that fold out from the wall opposite the bed. One must use the bed to get into the bunk bed if it is configured as shown. There may also be a trundle bed that pulls out from under the bed and lays in the small space between the bed and the bathroom or in the hallway itself. There is no place to stow luggage. Honestly, it seems ok for college students or young singles to pack into a cabin.

 

[mevelandry]

Here is my primary problem. Without putting in a placeholder I have not found a way to calculate the total cost of the cruise. I find Carnival and several of the others a bit sneaky in their lack of information on things like drink packages, which restaurants cost extra, etc.

For those of you that have booked how much money did you have to place before you got to the point of adding these in to truly account for the full price to compare to DCL?

I have found all the info on the restaurants on the Carnival Website. Here is an example (as you can see, on the right side, it says that there is an extra cost of 5$ for this one:

http://www.carnival.com/fun-activities/green-eggs-and-ham-breakfast

When the restaurant is included in the price of the cruise, there is a green check mark and it says included:

http://www.carnival.com/cruise-food/guys-burger-joint



As for the packages, all the infos you need are stated here, in the Manage section, under In-Room Gifts & Shopping, if you take a look at the menu on the left, you'll see "Beverage Packages":

http://www.carnival.com/Funshops/?ebk=4E7A597A6B5A61366B3439556A5231324C42592B75773D3D

http://www.carnival.com/FunShops/beverage-packages



I have been able to buy beverages for the room (In-Room Gifts & Shopping) and book my excursion as soon as I booked with a deposit only, 173 days before the cruise.

You can also send an e-mail to book specialty dining (those with extra-costs with the exception of the Green Eggs & Ham with is an "event" that you have to book when you get on board, but you can book The Chef's Table here: eventplanning@carnival.com) like Cucina del Capitano and the Steakhouse. The e-mail adresses are at the bottom of the page for each specialty restaurant, here is an example:

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1084/kw/Cucina del Capitano

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1102/kw/ji ji asian kitchen


With DCL, you have to wait 110 days/90 days/75 days (check-in date) before the cruise to be able to book dining and excursions.

 

[mevelandry]

Sorry to post twice in a row but I finally found where I read about Carnival and 2 person max per room. It's on the GTY through Expedia and the like. "A maximum of two passengers can be accommodated in a guaranteed cabin." That scared me off thinking they had a lot of rooms that were only for 2.

ETA: Here is the layout photo for Cat 4a on Carnival Sunshine from Expedia. How are more than 2 people even supposed to sleep in there?

[/IMG]

ETA: Ok did some googling and apparently there is a bunk bed that fold out from the wall opposite the bed. One must use the bed to get into the bunk bed if it is configured as shown. There may also be a trundle bed that pulls out from under the bed and lays in the small space between the bed and the bathroom or in the hallway itself. There is no place to stow luggage. Honestly, it seems ok for college students or young singles to pack into a cabin.

There are bunk beds folding out.

Also, the luggage can be stowed in the brown section at the right side of your plan, right in front of the bathroom. You can actually see it here in this video.

 

[scgustafson]

There are bunk beds folding out.

Also, the luggage can be stowed in the brown section at the right side of your plan, right in front of the bathroom. You can actually see it here in this video.

Seems super tight (not in the good way), especially the bathroom.

 

[FLpixie]

Someone mentioned Chef's Table. We did that on one of our Carnival cruises and it was AMAZING! We kept saying to each other that something like that would sell like hotcakes on DCL (and easily sell out) long before sailing date. (We were able to add it the second night of our cruise).

http://www.carnival.com/cruise-food/chefs-table

The ONLY downside to the Chef's Table is it is the same on every ship - for years now it seems. We would do it every time if there was some sort of rotating menu. It was an amazing experience!

If this were done on DCL, I guarantee the price would be MUCH higher.

Another thing I love about the Carnival cruises was High Tea on sea days. It was delicious and such a delightful treat. I really wish DCL would do something similar (yes, I know they do the extra charge on for children but I mean a no-extra-charge one just as part of the sailing for adults).

Looking back over all of my comments, I seem to definitely have a preference for Carnival in many areas. DCL's rooms and service are tough to beat though. (We don't do any of the character interactions on DCL because we live right by WDW and go regularly. No need to do it on the ship when we can do it at home.)

Just some extra things to think about.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

To each his own...I have friends who love Carnival and it is very cheap. I'm trying Royal Caribbean. They have a lot of add-ons. Going to wait to book specialty restaurants until onboard in order to pay with onboard credit...if you book them ahead you have to pay at booking.

I'll do lots of specialty restaurants. The entertainment looks more cheesy though.

 

[jahber]

Sorry to post twice in a row but I finally found where I read about Carnival and 2 person max per room. It's on the GTY through Expedia and the like. "A maximum of two passengers can be accommodated in a guaranteed cabin." That scared me off thinking they had a lot of rooms that were only for 2.

ETA: Here is the layout photo for Cat 4a on Carnival Sunshine from Expedia. How are more than 2 people even supposed to sleep in there?

[/IMG]

ETA: Ok did some googling and apparently there is a bunk bed that fold out from the wall opposite the bed. One must use the bed to get into the bunk bed if it is configured as shown. There may also be a trundle bed that pulls out from under the bed and lays in the small space between the bed and the bathroom or in the hallway itself. There is no place to stow luggage. Honestly, it seems ok for college students or young singles to pack into a cabin.

So, all cruise line web sites are a disaster, I think we can all acknowledge that. I just discovered this first hand booking my first Royal Caribbean cruise. I booked a GTY inside and the description said a max of 2 people in the room. But I was booking 3 in one and 4 in the other. Soooooo, yeah. Don't bother with the descriptions. Google it. But if they let you book more than 2 in the room, then it will definitely have more than 2 sleeping spaces. And the room you pictured is kind of designed for 3 who aren't necessarily a family (as you mentioned) because using the bunk means splitting the bed so the ladder can go in between. I'm not a fan of twin beds, so I wouldn't choose that option. I'd go up a category. They have rooms just like DCLs, with the couch bed and Pullman bunk. We stayed in one on the Breeze. And the bonus was they let us book it with 5 people because we had a baby in a crib (now THAT was crowded, but worth not having to get two rooms).

ETa: the room we had also had a split bath with a bathtub in one and a toilet AND shower in the other. That was great because we stored the stroller in the shower

 

[daisyx3]

Well this is a silly little question, but where does iced tea fall in the drink packages? It is not listed with the soda package. I probably had 6 drinks in 4 days on the Dream, so the other drink package is too much for me.

 

[jahber]

Well this is a silly little question, but where does iced tea fall in the drink packages? It is not listed with the soda package. I probably had 6 drinks in 4 days on the Dream, so the other drink package is too much for me.

Hot and iced tea are free on carnival.
Actually:

1. 
   All complimentary on Carnival cruises: Room Service beverages: Juices: Orange, tomato, apple, grapefruit. Regular and decaf coffee, hot tea, iced tea, hot chocolate, milk, skim milk, chocolate milk, water.

You can get tea in the lido marketplace (buffet) all day.

 

[cruisehopeful]

This thread has me more interested in trying Carnival now. I read some trip reports yesterday and one actually said the ship smelled like marijuana the entire time, but I didn't see that in other reports. So, hopefully, it's not the norm.

 

[FLpixie]

This thread has me more interested in trying Carnival now. I read some trip reports yesterday and one actually said the ship smelled like marijuana the entire time, but I didn't see that in other reports. So, hopefully, it's not the norm.

I've never smelled pot on the ships. I have smelled cigarette smoke in the hallways of near some of the cabins though - which is a big no, no. No smoking in the cabins or on the cabin's balcony. There is only smoking allowed in certain areas.

I think - in general - if you do short 3-day cruises that happen over weekends, you will end up with more of a "party crowd" on Carnival. Longer cruises that happen which run through the work week are (again, generally) fine. We have never had an issue with drunk, disorderly conduct on our Carnival cruises. I'm sure it happens - but we stay away from the cruises where it seems more likely.

 

[jahber]

This thread has me more interested in trying Carnival now. I read some trip reports yesterday and one actually said the ship smelled like marijuana the entire time, but I didn't see that in other reports. So, hopefully, it's not the norm.

I'm not gonna lie, Carnival is different. We were on an 8-night on the Breeze (which was their newest ship at the time) and it was still a party atmosphere. They played Turn Down for What at the sail away party, for example--you wouldn't catch Mickey dead singing that. In public, at least And other hip hop and rap songs along with songs like Party in the USA. Kind of something for everyone.

And yes, they have belly flop and hairy chest contests and blue comedians. We are pretty conservative people, entertainment-wise. My kids don't even listen to the radio or watch tv that isn't on Netflix--but that's mostly their choice because you can't fast forward through commercials. And we homeschool, so there's not much influence there in terms of pop culture. But we don't mind having a different kind of fun on Carnival. And it's really easy to avoid the stuff that isn't your cup of tea. We don't glare judgingly at people who have fun doing things we don't necessarily do, as much as people on this board sometimes sound like they do. A casino? The horror! Drunk people everywhere! Gasp. (But there weren't, for the record). Comedians who say *curse words*! We just don't do those things (except my husband, who loves meeting people at the casino and the comedy clubs. And he hangs in the smoking areas with his cool new friends who just happen to smoke). My kids did the ropes course during the sail away and we walked on past the hairy chest contest. I can't possibly drink enough to enjoy that . But I did HEAR the sail away party and I had Montel Jordan's "This is How We Do It" stuck in my head for months. No lie. I'm still traumatized. But the price difference will pay for the therapy.

 

[gotomu212]

Sorry to post twice in a row but I finally found where I read about Carnival and 2 person max per room. It's on the GTY through Expedia and the like. "A maximum of two passengers can be accommodated in a guaranteed cabin." That scared me off thinking they had a lot of rooms that were only for 2.

ETA: Here is the layout photo for Cat 4a on Carnival Sunshine from Expedia. How are more than 2 people even supposed to sleep in there?

[/IMG]

ETA: Ok did some googling and apparently there is a bunk bed that fold out from the wall opposite the bed. One must use the bed to get into the bunk bed if it is configured as shown. There may also be a trundle bed that pulls out from under the bed and lays in the small space between the bed and the bathroom or in the hallway itself. There is no place to stow luggage. Honestly, it seems ok for college students or young singles to pack into a cabin.

Just to clarify for those not use to DCL. The use of a fold out bunk is used there on Disney too. The couch is turned into one bed (but note it isn't folded out -the cushions come off and there's bedding on it, but it's still the length and width of the couch- that was a surprise our first cruise) and the 4th "bed" is a pullout from the ceiling with a little ladder in front or side that abuts the couch bed. If you have a family room with a 5th bed that's a Murphy that pulls out of the wall in front of the veranda.

With the exception of multi-bedroom suites cruise staterooms will only have traditional beds for 2 people.

 

[mevelandry]

Seems super tight (not in the good way), especially the bathroom.

The bathroom doesn't look tighter than the one the inside stateroom we booked in the Disney Wonder.

The rest of the room does look a bit tighter than inside room from DCL... but they are also 50% less expensive!

 

[mevelandry]

Another thing I love about the Carnival cruises was High Tea on sea days. It was delicious and such a delightful treat. I really wish DCL would do something similar (yes, I know they do the extra charge on for children but I mean a no-extra-charge one just as part of the sailing for adults).

Do you think they still do it? Because I am OBSESSED with afternoon teas.

 

[mevelandry]

This thread has me more interested in trying Carnival now. I read some trip reports yesterday and one actually said the ship smelled like marijuana the entire time, but I didn't see that in other reports. So, hopefully, it's not the norm.

I've been reading reviews and watching videos for hours since we decided to book four days ago (I had a day off, that helps LOL)... I don't think it's the norm. Bad passengers can happen anywhere.

 

[FLpixie]

Do you think they still do it? Because I am OBSESSED with afternoon teas.

Yes, High Tea on sea days is the norm on Carnival. You'll have to look for it in the newsletter to know when it happens but it is such a delight.