We chose the dark side - Carnival VS Disney

[mevelandry]

Dreams Unlimited, which owns this board, sells RCCL so that is why they have an RCCL board. I wouldn't look forward to having a board dedicated to cruise lines they aren't affiliated with, as it would be against their business interests.

Yes, that's what we have been told.

 

[Ofinn]

I will let you know if there are any other bells and whistles after my Bermuda cruise on NCL in October. I wrote letters to two different departments about the water issue and other fees and the outrageous prices they are charging for cases of water onboard -- back in July -- and to date neither department has had the courtesy to respond. Not a great start for customer service

Did you get a free drink package? I thought it included bottled water. Dcl bottled water prices are outrageous, but they let you bring it on. Carnival charges 3.99 a 12 pack. My experience so far with Carnivals customer service has been very good.
I would love to go to Bermuda. I hope it all works out for you.

 

[Ofinn]

Just another thing to add about NCL they are having a 3rd and 4th passenger free sale. I priced out the Haven on the new Escape next Fall, and it came out to 6,400 for four. This includes gratuity, drinks, specialty restaurant's, free wifi, and of course a suite and concierge services. When I have priced out the Haven in the past it was closer to 10-11k. I think this is a pretty good deal. I dont think we'll do it, but I thought Id pass it on.

 

[jenf22]

Did you get a free drink package? I thought it included bottled water. Dcl bottled water prices are outrageous, but they let you bring it on. Carnival charges 3.99 a 12 pack. My experience so far with Carnivals customer service has been very good.
I would love to go to Bermuda. I hope it all works out for you.

We had the drink package last year in Europe and I don't think it included bottled water or specialty coffees. We were able to carry on in June when we were on the Getaway. It's a bummer they changed it. I know people are pretty upset over it, but honestly it was a pain trying to lug a case of water on the ship. I don't think I'll mind paying $50 (or whatever) to have it just show up in my room. With all we saved on the cruise, I can manage that expense!

 

[Ofinn]

We had the drink package last year in Europe and I don't think it included bottled water or specialty coffees. We were able to carry on in June when we were on the Getaway. It's a bummer they changed it. I know people are pretty upset over it, but honestly it was a pain trying to lug a case of water on the ship. I don't think I'll mind paying $50 (or whatever) to have it just show up in my room. With all we saved on the cruise, I can manage that expense!

DCL charges something like 30.00 for 6 pack or 12 pack...I cant remember exactly, but it's expensive. The Escape next Fall would cost about 3000 for a mini suite with drink packages. An extra 50.00 for water would not phase me. I was booked on the Getaway next Fall in Europe, but I canceled that. After two trips to Europe this year I think I want to take a couple of relaxing non-expensive cruises next year. I have a Southern Caribbean booked on the Vista next Spring. I haven't made any decisions for Fall...just checking out all my options. There's a great 9 night East Coast, Canada cruise on Anthem of the Seas out of New York Sept 28 that's very, very intriguing. Lot's of great options, and of course I never rule out DCL it just takes a big discount to get me to book a Disney cruise anymore.

 

[DisneyWillow1975]

We are loyal DCL cruisers (I am platinum) but we just cruised with NCL on the Getaway. We wanted to try something different, and the much lower fares and the drink package made it an easy choice. Unfortunately, we found that you get what you pay for, and were very disappointed with the Getaway overall- poor customer service all over the ship and really not a good fit for families with young children. Looks like we'll be saving up to go back to DCL, as I'm worried about trying yet another cruise line and being so disappointed again.

 

[mevelandry]

We are loyal DCL cruisers (I am platinum) but we just cruised with NCL on the Getaway. We wanted to try something different, and the much lower fares and the drink package made it an easy choice. Unfortunately, we found that you get what you pay for, and were very disappointed with the Getaway overall- poor customer service all over the ship and really not a good fit for families with young children. Looks like we'll be saving up to go back to DCL, as I'm worried about trying yet another cruise line and being so disappointed again.

Could you tell us what you did not enjoy about NCL?

Thanks in advance!

 

[jenf22]

We are loyal DCL cruisers (I am platinum) but we just cruised with NCL on the Getaway. We wanted to try something different, and the much lower fares and the drink package made it an easy choice. Unfortunately, we found that you get what you pay for, and were very disappointed with the Getaway overall- poor customer service all over the ship and really not a good fit for families with young children. Looks like we'll be saving up to go back to DCL, as I'm worried about trying yet another cruise line and being so disappointed again.

To each their own I guess. We cruised the Getaway with our 9 year old in June and he loved it. We thought the shows were awesome and he loved the water slides. He started taking piano lessons recently so he loved Dueling Pianos and The Million Dollar Quartet (the Jerry Lee Lewis guy was incredible). He never goes to the kids clubs, so maybe there is a difference there. We tend to not get too into the "customer service" that everyone raves (or complains) about. The crew we encountered was friendly, our room was always clean, we were never hungry, and our meals never took too long. We don't ask for much more. But we cruise for the ports and don't really care for "in your face" service. So for us, we'd rather do 2 cruises a year and get to spend 14 days as a family together than only spend 7 on a Disney ship. Again, to each their own.

 

[Ofinn]

We are loyal DCL cruisers (I am platinum) but we just cruised with NCL on the Getaway. We wanted to try something different, and the much lower fares and the drink package made it an easy choice. Unfortunately, we found that you get what you pay for, and were very disappointed with the Getaway overall- poor customer service all over the ship and really not a good fit for families with young children. Looks like we'll be saving up to go back to DCL, as I'm worried about trying yet another cruise line and being so disappointed again.

It would be nice if you can elaborate a little bit, and tell us exactly what you didn't like. As far as reviews go NCL is always kind of a mixed bag. There is a trip report on these boards written by a mom who just got off the Getaway with her family and they had a great time. I've also been following a trip report on here for Liberty of the Seas. I'm not going to consider NCL until my youngest turns 13 next Summer. I'm not crazy about the way they do their kids club, and they don't offer tween club like most cruise lines. The ships do look fun for teens. Maybe just not the best fit for really young children?

 

[jenf22]

Could you tell us what you did not enjoy about NCL?

Thanks in advance!

I'm assuming this is them:
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2401920

 

[DisneyWillow1975]

Sorry, just saw this. Yes, jenf22, that is me. I have friends who have sailed on the Getaway with older children and enjoyed it, so I think they just aren't always a good for for the young kids. Mine can't do any of the slides, so we were a bit more limited. My twins loved the kids rope course, enjoyed trying mini-golf, and the kids pool/splash area. But I was disappointed that some of the family programming I had read about (make your own pizza, crafts, dance parties, etc) were never scheduled. Dining and the kids club were our biggest frustrations- every single sit-down meal took 2 to 3 hours, and even with a plethora of things to distract the boys, that's still too long. The standard kids menus don't include any fruits or vegetables, and only 2 servers were willing to bring fruit or yogurt as sides. No one would bring vegetables all week. Servers also said there were no straws or plastic glasses, and kept filling the milk/water glasses (very heavy thick glasses for 4 YOs) to the top, so we had spills at many meals. If this wouldn't have frustrated the kids or the staff, I wouldn't have minded that as much. We also encountered visible eye rolls and sighs when we were greeted by our wait staff, as if they were disappointed at having to serve kids. At that point, the boys were very well behaved, so that definitely wasn't a behavior issue. We also had a big bag of coloring books, markers, sticker books, and other activities to distract them, but a 3 hour meal is a lot for a 4 YO (especially on the 2 days where we tried lunch and dinner at a sit-down restaurant- that was 6 hours of meal time). We ended up having to leave with the boys before desserts most of the time (if we could even get dessert ordered, several waiters wouldn't take the kids order and told us to wait until the adults were ready too), as they just couldn't sit still any longer and it wasn't fair to us or other diners. We solved this by eating most of our meals at the buffet, but it was a shame. We were used to the servers paying attention to kids on DCL with magic tricks, napkin tricks, jokes, and even just talking to them, but that didn't happen at all on the Getaway.

The kids club is a structured program, and they have documented steps about their discipline. Our issue was that the staff didn't communicate and didn't follow the documented steps- we were told on day 1 or 2 that they were concerned about our high energy boys and their physicality (they like to sit close and hold hands/hug much of the time in new environments). We asked if these questions were considered step 1 or 2, and we were assured they were not. One of our sons was bullied by another child for the t-shirt he was wearing, and our son did try to get staff to help him out. He was ignored, and when the other child continued to hang onto his shirt and make fun of him, he reacted by getting angry and pushing the other child away. Staff blamed our son for the whole thing, and didn't seem to care about the other child. We didn't appreciate this at all, but definitely did not let our children know- they know and understand that they never to hurt/be physical with any one else, no matter the circumstances. We handled discipline after we left the club that night and things seemed better after that, but the other child caused another issue the 2nd to last night. She wouldn't let go of my son, and he again pushed. We were called to pick up both boys after that and were told that they were not allowed into the kids club for 24 hours. Again, we disciplined our son for the pushing, but were very frustrated by the kids club since they had skipped steps in the process and hadn't communicated that we were already on steps. When my husband went back up to discuss (so that our kids didn't see this, we wanted them to take the pushing seriously and not think that we were OK with the behavior), the kids club staff couldn't explain why they skipped steps or didn't communicate.

It just felt like the entire situation set up young, high energy kids to fail- super long dinners, not being young child friendly with activities/food/glasses and then a very structured kids club with inconsistency and lack of communication. I am definitely not OK with my kids being physical towards other kids at all- this is not acceptable at home, preschool, swimming lessons, or dance and we don't have issues at any other places. They have cruised on DCL twice and had no issues in the kids club/nursery, so this was unexpected for us.

 

[Ofinn]

Sorry, just saw this. Yes, jenf22, that is me. I have friends who have sailed on the Getaway with older children and enjoyed it, so I think they just aren't always a good for for the young kids. Mine can't do any of the slides, so we were a bit more limited. My twins loved the kids rope course, enjoyed trying mini-golf, and the kids pool/splash area. But I was disappointed that some of the family programming I had read about (make your own pizza, crafts, dance parties, etc) were never scheduled. Dining and the kids club were our biggest frustrations- every single sit-down meal took 2 to 3 hours, and even with a plethora of things to distract the boys, that's still too long. The standard kids menus don't include any fruits or vegetables, and only 2 servers were willing to bring fruit or yogurt as sides. No one would bring vegetables all week. Servers also said there were no straws or plastic glasses, and kept filling the milk/water glasses (very heavy thick glasses for 4 YOs) to the top, so we had spills at many meals. If this wouldn't have frustrated the kids or the staff, I wouldn't have minded that as much. We also encountered visible eye rolls and sighs when we were greeted by our wait staff, as if they were disappointed at having to serve kids. At that point, the boys were very well behaved, so that definitely wasn't a behavior issue. We also had a big bag of coloring books, markers, sticker books, and other activities to distract them, but a 3 hour meal is a lot for a 4 YO (especially on the 2 days where we tried lunch and dinner at a sit-down restaurant- that was 6 hours of meal time). We ended up having to leave with the boys before desserts most of the time (if we could even get dessert ordered, several waiters wouldn't take the kids order and told us to wait until the adults were ready too), as they just couldn't sit still any longer and it wasn't fair to us or other diners. We solved this by eating most of our meals at the buffet, but it was a shame. We were used to the servers paying attention to kids on DCL with magic tricks, napkin tricks, jokes, and even just talking to them, but that didn't happen at all on the Getaway.

The kids club is a structured program, and they have documented steps about their discipline. Our issue was that the staff didn't communicate and didn't follow the documented steps- we were told on day 1 or 2 that they were concerned about our high energy boys and their physicality (they like to sit close and hold hands/hug much of the time in new environments). We asked if these questions were considered step 1 or 2, and we were assured they were not. One of our sons was bullied by another child for the t-shirt he was wearing, and our son did try to get staff to help him out. He was ignored, and when the other child continued to hang onto his shirt and make fun of him, he reacted by getting angry and pushing the other child away. Staff blamed our son for the whole thing, and didn't seem to care about the other child. We didn't appreciate this at all, but definitely did not let our children know- they know and understand that they never to hurt/be physical with any one else, no matter the circumstances. We handled discipline after we left the club that night and things seemed better after that, but the other child caused another issue the 2nd to last night. She wouldn't let go of my son, and he again pushed. We were called to pick up both boys after that and were told that they were not allowed into the kids club for 24 hours. Again, we disciplined our son for the pushing, but were very frustrated by the kids club since they had skipped steps in the process and hadn't communicated that we were already on steps. When my husband went back up to discuss (so that our kids didn't see this, we wanted them to take the pushing seriously and not think that we were OK with the behavior), the kids club staff couldn't explain why they skipped steps or didn't communicate.

It just felt like the entire situation set up young, high energy kids to fail- super long dinners, not being young child friendly with activities/food/glasses and then a very structured kids club with inconsistency and lack of communication. I am definitely not OK with my kids being physical towards other kids at all- this is not acceptable at home, preschool, swimming lessons, or dance and we don't have issues at any other places. They have cruised on DCL twice and had no issues in the kids club/nursery, so this was unexpected for us.

We loved DCL when our kids were little. The waiters pay so much attention to the kids with the magic tricks etc. Now that my kids are older they pretty much dine and dash. Sometimes the waiter seem a little put out that they don't stick around to see the shows or Mickey Mouse parade through the dining room. I'm not sure it's worth it anymore for us to pay the DCL premium since my kids have moved past that stage in life. If NCL isn't a good fit for you you might want to consider RCCL with the Dreamworks characters. I have read a lot of good things about their kids programming.

 

[RedSox68]

Did you get a free drink package? I thought it included bottled water. Dcl bottled water prices are outrageous, but they let you bring it on. Carnival charges 3.99 a 12 pack. My experience so far with Carnivals customer service has been very good.
I would love to go to Bermuda. I hope it all works out for you.

Yes, we got a drink package, but it does not include bottled water!

We had the drink package last year in Europe and I don't think it included bottled water or specialty coffees. We were able to carry on in June when we were on the Getaway. It's a bummer they changed it. I know people are pretty upset over it, but honestly it was a pain trying to lug a case of water on the ship. I don't think I'll mind paying $50 (or whatever) to have it just show up in my room. With all we saved on the cruise, I can manage that expense!

I wouldn't be so upset about not bringing bottled water onboard if their prices for the cases wasn't the highest in the industry! I can buy one-liter bottles of water at my grocery store for $1 each, and they are charging $58 for a 12 pack and something like $75 for a 24-pack. It's beyond ridiculous. At least Carnival is reasonable.

 

[tinkerone]

Taking this post out as I don't want to offend anyone.

 

[cmph]

They have cruised on DCL twice and had no issues in the kids club/nursery, so this was unexpected for us.

I think you should have added that part to the initial cruisecritic post!

I'm not going to try to interpret/misinterpret your report like everyone else there, but can I just say that I despise the suggestion that you were at fault for letting your son wear a Disney princess shirt? Seriously, he's FOUR. Please don't listen to that person and try to force your kiddos into any sort of mold. Ugh, does that person also have issues with short hair on girls? or that my 7yo son's favorite socks are hot pink? It's no wonder kids think it's ok to bully for reasons like a shirt. (Sorry, off-topic, but super bothered by that comment.)

 

[tinkerone]

I think you should have added that part to the initial cruisecritic post!

I'm not going to try to interpret/misinterpret your report like everyone else there, but can I just say that I despise the suggestion that you were at fault for letting your son wear a Disney princess shirt? Seriously, he's FOUR. Please don't listen to that person and try to force your kiddos into any sort of mold. Ugh, does that person also have issues with short hair on girls? or that my 7yo son's favorite socks are hot pink? It's no wonder kids think it's ok to bully for reasons like a shirt. (Sorry, off-topic, but super bothered by that comment.)

I'm not saying that I agree with the report, there is much of it I don't, however I could not agree with this/your statement more! I'm saddened that in this day and age anyone would suggest that a childs cloths should be a reason that bullying would be acceptable. Leave the child to his/her imagination and enjoyment.

 

[jenf22]

Sorry, just saw this. Yes, jenf22, that is me. I have friends who have sailed on the Getaway with older children and enjoyed it, so I think they just aren't always a good for for the young kids.

I wasn't meaning to call you out or anything. I just check this board and the NCL board every morning and noticed the post over there. I though people might want to read your review. I too would have been annoyed with dinner taking forever - we HATE that everywhere. And even at 9-years old, I still hate when they fill the kiddo's cup to the top. I do think it's a little unfair to say NCL isn't for families with young kids based on one experience. Sounds like you guys just had some really bad luck in the restaurants. I have no comment on the clubs. They should have handled the first bullying situation and it appears they didn't. Maybe give NCL another chance in the future when the kids are a little older... with maybe some different expectations.

 

[jenf22]

I wouldn't be so upset about not bringing bottled water onboard if their prices for the cases wasn't the highest in the industry! I can buy one-liter bottles of water at my grocery store for $1 each, and they are charging $58 for a 12 pack and something like $75 for a 24-pack. It's beyond ridiculous. At least Carnival is reasonable.

Oh I agree it's highway robbery. I imagine the prices will come down as people complain more and more about it. But it is what it is. As long as I keep comparing the cruise price to a comparable on DCL, I tend to not care as much as the NCL crowd does. There are a lot of overpriced things on vacation. The hotel we're going to in Hawaii in October charges $25 a day to self park the car. I'm sure there are hotels where parking is free. It just is what it is.

 

[Ofinn]

Oh I agree it's highway robbery. I imagine the prices will come down as people complain more and more about it. But it is what it is. As long as I keep comparing the cruise price to a comparable on DCL, I tend to not care as much as the NCL crowd does. There are a lot of overpriced things on vacation. The hotel we're going to in Hawaii in October charges $25 a day to self park the car. I'm sure there are hotels where parking is free. It just is what it is.

That's actually a good parking rate in Hawaii. I don't think you'll find a hotel in Hawaii that doesn't charge at least that for parking. When you're used to paying DCL prices the little extra charges people complain about on the other boards seem silly. It's the overall cost of the vacation that I worry about.

 

[Dug720]

I think you should have added that part to the initial cruisecritic post!

I'm not going to try to interpret/misinterpret your report like everyone else there, but can I just say that I despise the suggestion that you were at fault for letting your son wear a Disney princess shirt? Seriously, he's FOUR. Please don't listen to that person and try to force your kiddos into any sort of mold. Ugh, does that person also have issues with short hair on girls? or that my 7yo son's favorite socks are hot pink? It's no wonder kids think it's ok to bully for reasons like a shirt. (Sorry, off-topic, but super bothered by that comment.)

I'm not saying that I agree with the report, there is much of it I don't, however I could not agree with this/your statement more! I'm saddened that in this day and age anyone would suggest that a childs cloths should be a reason that bullying would be acceptable. Leave the child to his/her imagination and enjoyment.

Amen to both of you!!

I used to work at the Disney Store in Times Square, and it would always make me so sad to witness parents scolding their male child(ren) for being in the castle area and looking at Princess things but then say nothing or even encourage the sister(s) being in the Cars/Marvel area.

On the flip side, I did have the distinct pleasure of ringing up a mother who was buying the complete Princess Tiana costume set for her son - who was soooooo excited he didn't want to take it off for us to remove the security tag. (He finally did.) As someone who is gay and who has several trans friends, I rang her up with tears in my eyes and said "I want to hug you for supporting him like you are!!" And after they had left I had to excuse myself to go in the back and cry for a moment. I'm very lucky in that my family accepts me for who I am and has never had issues with me. Many of my friends aren't as lucky.

PLEASE NOTE: I am in no way, shape, or form saying that clothes "turn" someone anything or that just because a boy likes princess things he's gay. I'm just saying there IS a double standard when it comes to boys with "girl" things vs. girls with "boy" things. And applauding parents who let their kids be themselves!!