CARNIVAL VS DCL: The discussion and comparison thread!

[lucyddr]

Which ship?

We've sailed the following Carnival ships: Glory (most recent and loved), Triumph (only negative Carnival experience-Spring break), Dream, Victory, Miracle, Destiny (now names something else). I'm pretty sure I'm missing one, but cannot recall for the moment!

 

[mevelandry]

We are just now planning for 2020--I am looking forward to reviews on other lines so we can make the best choice for our family. Thank you!

Welcome to the thread!

 

[mevelandry]

We've sailed the following Carnival ships: Glory (most recent and loved), Triumph (only negative Carnival experience-Spring break), Dream, Victory, Miracle, Destiny (now names something else). I'm pretty sure I'm missing one, but cannot recall for the moment!

Sorry about the Triumph one.

I kinda hate Spring Break to begin with... (too many people at the same time).

And I can imagine students have limited funds so they can more easily afford a Carnival cruise than a DCL cruise. :/

 

[mcd2745]

Carnival has a similar channel and I've seen big screens showing maps in public places... Near the Café, I think?

I had a picture of that on my phone but I think I deleted it last week. I'll check.

EDIT: Found it!

View attachment 389365

Nice. Very much like Disney's. Thanks.

I love this too!!! (And if I'm on a flight that has screens with maps with altitude, mileage, etc, I can spend almost the whole flight looking at it). I'm obsessed.

Yes! We usually fly SW, and they have this on their app. I constantly go back to it to check where we are, what altitude, to see if our estimated arrival time changes, etc throughout the flight.

 

[mevelandry]

Nice. Very much like Disney's. Thanks.





Yes! We usually fly SW, and they have this on their app. I constantly go back to it to check where we are, what altitude, to see if our estimated arrival time changes, etc throughout the flight.

Cool! I wish AC would add this to its App! I fly with Air Canada most of the time... Depending on the plane we get (the bigger tend to have screens) we sometimes have the map and infos... When they don't only get their (bad) app with a limited choice of movies and music.

 

[mcd2745]

(How did I miss your post?)

To me the only ship that came close to DCL when it comes to decor was the Vista... BUT, like I said, I will still prefer the classic look of DCL.

You are right. DCL does luggage tags too. That's another thing I prefer on DCL.

Is Half Moon Cay on your itinerary? If it is... Let me know what you tought about it when you come back. They are 50-50% in my heart. I can't chose between them. I want both. LOL

Palo is awesome. Have you tried Remy? Best meals of my life.

Not going to Half Moon Cay (it's 8-nt Southern on Horizon). I wish we were going to Amber Cove instead of La Romana as far as a DR port.

Haven't done Remy. It hasn't really appealed to us.

 

[mevelandry]

Not going to Half Moon Cay (it's 8-nt Southern on Horizon). I wish we were going to Amber Cove instead of La Romana as far as a DR port.

Haven't done Remy. It hasn't really appealed to us.

Which stops do you have on your cruise other than La Romana?

 

[mcd2745]

Which stops do you have on your cruise other than La Romana?

Grand Turk, Curacao, & Aruba.

 

[mevelandry]

Grand Turk, Curacao, & Aruba.

Out of curiosity... What are your plans for Grand Turk? (Have you been there before?)

 

[trvlgirlmq]

For La Romana I highly suggest the Carnival excursion to Isla Catalana. It was the most beautiful water and beach I have seen.

 

[mevelandry]

Conversation between DH and I last night:

Me: Babe, when the new DCL ships come out and...

DH: No.

Me: But I'd really like to try one of the new...

DH: No.

Me: What if I find a not so bad rate?

DH: Not interested. I don't want to sail on DCL ever again. Go with your friends.

Me: I tried to convince them but they chose RCCL!

DH: I'm not going with you. I was bored to death the last time.


... Sounds like I'll do a solo cruise within the next 4 years.

(Kidding.)

p.s.: I'm so posting this on a new thread.

 

[tidefan]

I will list things I think Carnival (and the other lines) do better than DCL.

1. Anytime Dining - the other lines all have the option to choose to have dinner in the MDR at your leisure, DCL is too regimented
2. Sitting alone in the MDR - See above, with anytime dining you will be seated as a family, you do not have to share a table and make small talk with people you may not like
3. Included food options - CCL has Blue Iguana, Guy's Burgers, Pig & Anchor, Cucina del Capitano, the other lines have things like O'Sheehans, Noodle Bar, etc, DCL only has the buffet and MDR for everyone (it looks like they have a small cafe for adults)
4. Split beds - All rooms have a bed that splits into twins so if you are 2 adults traveling together who are not married you can have your own sleeping place in a real bed (not a sofa)
5. Fun stuff - Waterworks, rope courses, Sky ride, roller coaster, climbing walls, ice skating, many things to do if you want an active vacation, DCL I believe has 1 slide on only 2 ships
6. PRICE - I can take 2 vacations a year for less than the cost of a 7 day cruise on DCL

Not to nitpick, but have you sailed DCL??? Some of this is just plain wrong.

Included food. DCL has poolside pizza and a grill in addition to the MDR and Cabanas. They also have a window for shawarma on the Magic and Wonder. On some trips (Alaska), they bring food service out on the open decks as you cruise Tracy Arm, etc... Room service is also included...

Where do you get that DCL has 1 slide on 2 ships? All 4 have a version of Twist-n-spout (Magic is best IMHO), Magic also has Aquadunk while Dream and Fantasy have the AquaDuck.

Look, I agree there are some great things on other lines that DCL doesn’t have (2 that come to mind are Rooes Courses like on CCL’s Sports Square or an awesome 24- hr dining place like International Cafe on Princess), but at least keep it truthful...

 

[mcd2745]

One thing I believe other lines do better than DCL is spread people out. Whether it is the design of their ships - particularly the public spaces - or the way they schedule things, or likely a combo of both, it seems like on DCL there are many instances where it seems like everyone is at the same place at the same time.

 

[trvlgirlmq]

Not to nitpick, but have you sailed DCL??? Some of this is just plain wrong.

Included food. DCL has poolside pizza and a grill in addition to the MDR and Cabanas. They also have a window for shawarma on the Magic and Wonder. On some trips (Alaska), they bring food service out on the open decks as you cruise Tracy Arm, etc... Room service is also included...

Where do you get that DCL has 1 slide on 2 ships? All 4 have a version of Twist-n-spout (Magic is best IMHO), Magic also has Aquadunk while Dream and Fantasy have the AquaDuck.

Look, I agree there are some great things on other lines that DCL doesn’t have (2 that come to mind are Rooes Courses like on CCL’s Sports Square or an awesome 24- hr dining place like International Cafe on Princess), but at least keep it truthful...

All of the lines have some version of pizza and grill. DCL does not have all the other included options. Do they have actual separate areas for Mexican, BBQ, Italian. Nope.

I did not know that all the ships had a slide. It is still far less fun stuff than the other lines provide.

And they still do not have all the other things I listed that every single other line offers.

 

[mcd2745]

Out of curiosity... What are your plans for Grand Turk? (Have you been there before?)

Haven't been there before. Not sure what we want to do yet - still in full research mode. Probably something involving snorkeling.

 

[mevelandry]

Not to nitpick, but have you sailed DCL??? Some of this is just plain wrong.

Included food. DCL has poolside pizza and a grill in addition to the MDR and Cabanas. They also have a window for shawarma on the Magic and Wonder. On some trips (Alaska), they bring food service out on the open decks as you cruise Tracy Arm, etc... Room service is also included...

Where do you get that DCL has 1 slide on 2 ships? All 4 have a version of Twist-n-spout (Magic is best IMHO), Magic also has Aquadunk while Dream and Fantasy have the AquaDuck.

Look, I agree there are some great things on other lines that DCL doesn’t have (2 that come to mind are Rooes Courses like on CCL’s Sports Square or an awesome 24- hr dining place like International Cafe on Princess), but at least keep it truthful...

I know everything is subjective when it comes to food I have to agree with @trvlgirlmq ... Carnival definitely has more included options (pizza place, asian (included at lunch), a deli, a burger place, a mexican food place and sometimes even a BBQ place and an Italian (included at lunch) and more specialty dining restaurants ($).

Regarding the waterslides (à la Aquaduck)... Many Carnival ships have Waterworks with two waterslides and more:

 

[mevelandry]

Haven't been there before. Not sure what we want to do yet - still in full research mode. Probably something involving snorkeling.

Ok, just a word of (unsollicited) advice, Grand Turk has not fully recovered from the last hurricane that has hit them so the beach right next to the port is not very pretty and umbrellas are in bad shape... I would not recommend it.

 

[tidefan]

I will list things I think Carnival (and the other lines) do better than DCL.

1. Anytime Dining - the other lines all have the option to choose to have dinner in the MDR at your leisure, DCL is too regimented
2. Sitting alone in the MDR - See above, with anytime dining you will be seated as a family, you do not have to share a table and make small talk with people you may not like
3. Included food options - CCL has Blue Iguana, Guy's Burgers, Pig & Anchor, Cucina del Capitano, the other lines have things like O'Sheehans, Noodle Bar, etc, DCL only has the buffet and MDR for everyone (it looks like they have a small cafe for adults)
4. Split beds - All rooms have a bed that splits into twins so if you are 2 adults traveling together who are not married you can have your own sleeping place in a real bed (not a sofa)
5. Fun stuff - Waterworks, rope courses, Sky ride, roller coaster, climbing walls, ice skating, many things to do if you want an active vacation, DCL I believe has 1 slide on only 2 ships
6. PRICE - I can take 2 vacations a year for less than the cost of a 7 day cruise on DCL

All of the lines have some version of pizza and grill. DCL does not have all the other included options. Do they have actual separate areas for Mexican, BBQ, Italian. Nope.

I did not know that all the ships had a slide. It is still far less fun stuff than the other lines provide.

And they still do not have all the other things I listed that every single other line offers.

But that's not what you said. You stated that, and I quote, "DCL only has the buffet and MDR for everyone (it looks like they have a small cafe for adults)". Why is it such an issue to point out that that is not correct?

Also, not all ships have a poolside pizza and grill. That was one of my biggest complaints about RCCL's Serenade of the Seas. The pizza/burgers (and soft serve) were located in the Windjammer buffet, not by the pool. And since RCCL closed it everyday from 2-5pm, it left a hole if you wanted to get something to eat.

BTW, I never said CCL didn't have great options. I love Guy's Burgers and the tacos at Blue Iguana (It does still puzzle me that Blue Iguana has that great salsa bar, but no chips). I think Carnival has the best "comfort food" at sea. Why am I not allowed to enjoy both CCL and DCL (and Princess)? I love me some shwarma on the Disney Magic too!

I know everything is subjective when it comes to food I have to agree with @trvlgirlmq ... Carnival definitely has more included options (pizza place, asian (included at lunch), a deli, a burger place, a mexican food place and sometimes even a BBQ place and an Italian (included at lunch) and more specialty dining restaurants ($).

Regarding the waterslides (à la Aquaduck)... Many Carnival ships have Waterworks with two waterslides and more:

Not sure your point here. I was referencing the fact that the poster said that DCL ships didn't have waterslides and that you could ONLY get food in the MDR and Buffet. I wasn't making any comparisons. Not sure why if I point out that DCL has something, that it is immediately followed by "Well, XYZ line does it better!". Look, I know Carnival Waterworks is great and a lot of fun, but that had absolutely nothing to do with my post. It's things like this that I think is what the poster on the other thread is talking about.

I have been on a whole lot of cruises on 4 different lines (DCL, Princess, CCL, and RCCL) and with the exception of 1 bad cruise, we have had nothing but great experiences. Each line tends to have things they do well and not so well. I just wish we could discuss this with civility.

 

[trvlgirlmq]

And I said that Carnival and other lines do all the things I listed better than DCL. Just because DCL has pizza at the pool doesn’t mean they do food better than the other lines. All the other lines have a lot more options overall that are included in the price. They also have a lot more activities included than DCL. I would think for the exhorbitant upcharge that DCL people would be seriously offended that there is really so little included in their fare. I certainly can’t drink $5,000.00 with of soda!

 

[mevelandry]

But that's not what you said. You stated that, and I quote, "DCL only has the buffet and MDR for everyone (it looks like they have a small cafe for adults)". Why is it such an issue to point out that that is not correct?

Also, not all ships have a poolside pizza and grill. That was one of my biggest complaints about RCCL's Serenade of the Seas. The pizza/burgers (and soft serve) were located in the Windjammer buffet, not by the pool. And since RCCL closed it everyday from 2-5pm, it left a hole if you wanted to get something to eat.

BTW, I never said CCL didn't have great options. I love Guy's Burgers and the tacos at Blue Iguana (It does still puzzle me that Blue Iguana has that great salsa bar, but no chips). I think Carnival has the best "comfort food" at sea. Why am I not allowed to enjoy both CCL and DCL (and Princess)? I love me some shwarma on the Disney Magic too!



Not sure your point here. I was referencing the fact that the poster said that DCL ships didn't have waterslides and that you could ONLY get food in the MDR and Buffet. I wasn't making any comparisons. Not sure why if I point out that DCL has something, that it is immediately followed by "Well, XYZ line does it better!". Look, I know Carnival Waterworks is great and a lot of fun, but that had absolutely nothing to do with my post. It's things like this that I think is what the poster on the other thread is talking about.

I have been on a whole lot of cruises on 4 different lines (DCL, Princess, CCL, and RCCL) and with the exception of 1 bad cruise, we have had nothing but great experiences. Each line tends to have things they do well and not so well. I just wish we could discuss this with civility.

Sorry, I just meant to precise what I thought @trvlgirlmq meant in certain points of her first comment.

EDIT: And I was wrong doing that.

I had not seen the DCL part of that comment regarding food because I would have made a correction too. (My ADHD is kicking hard and my reading skills are a little bit off today).

I'm 100% pro correct information as well.

p.s.: I strongly disagree with the OP of the other thread and that "argument" (for lack of a better word) goes back to 2016. It's not our first round. But I do my best to always exchange and not sound argumentative (the best I can, hoping all the nuances of english language won't get lost in my translation - aka I'm french).