CARNIVAL VS DCL: The discussion and comparison thread!

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They have the 3rd, and last, Vista Class due March 2019. I am super crossing fingers they stay in Europe for the summer. Otherwise, we will be looking at another line because we are celebrating big birthdays and not putting it off!
I want a Baltic cruise or British Isles cruise or Spain. IVe been to Italy Greek Isles, England , Norway, Scotland, Denmark and Iceland. Ive never been to Spain, Ireland or any of the Baltic countries. I may do the British Isles cruise on Disney next year if price remains the same and I can book onboard, but the Baltic cruise on Disney is way to high for me.
 
They have the 3rd, and last, Vista Class due March 2019. I am super crossing fingers they stay in Europe for the summer. Otherwise, we will be looking at another line because we are celebrating big birthdays and not putting it off!

My bad I Googled and the article that came up said late 2019. Boo. That means no Europe.
 
My bad I Googled and the article that came up said late 2019. Boo. That means no Europe.
Bummer. I keep looking at NCL Baltic next June. The first time we sailed NCL it wasn't a good fit for my kids, but it might be good now. I just want to get out of Phoenix in June. It's been over 115 every day for the last week. Last June we went to London. It rained almost everyday. People were apologizing for the weather. We loved it. We usually get out of here at least once every Summer, but I kind of screwed up my vacations this year. I should have gone to Alaska in June and WDW in Sept. We were in WDW in May and it was an uncharacteristic 100 degrees and dry. I'm kind of over the hot weather. I may have to take a road trip to San Diego to get a break.
 
Earlier this month, my sister and I went on a 7 day western Caribbean cruise onboard the Carnival Breeze. The only other cruise we've taking up till then was a 4 day Bahamian cruise on Disney's Dream. We absolutely loved our Disney cruise and have another one booked next year.

We ended up going with Carnival due to the ports (Belize and Roaton + Cozumel), the date and departure port, recommendations from friends, and the price. Despite my friends' recommendations and the posts in this thread, we were worried that we were too spoiled by Disney to enjoy Carnival.

However, we very much enjoyed our cruise. Yes, we missed the Disney magic... the details in the décor, fancy and interactive dinners, characters, amazing service, and wonderful entertainment. BUT, we found nothing wrong with Carnival: food was good, room was fine and clean, public areas were clean, staff was kind, and entertainment was very different but entertaining most of the time.

We had a wonderful vacation and are interested is going with Carnival again in the future to cruise to ports Disney doesn't travel to. Disney is definitely still our first choice cruise line though, and we're very much looking forward to next year's Disney cruise.
 


Bummer. I keep looking at NCL Baltic next June. The first time we sailed NCL it wasn't a good fit for my kids, but it might be good now. I just want to get out of Phoenix in June. It's been over 115 every day for the last week. Last June we went to London. It rained almost everyday. People were apologizing for the weather. We loved it. We usually get out of here at least once every Summer, but I kind of screwed up my vacations this year. I should have gone to Alaska in June and WDW in Sept. We were in WDW in May and it was an uncharacteristic 100 degrees and dry. I'm kind of over the hot weather. I may have to take a road trip to San Diego to get a break.

I hear you. I lived in Las Vegas for 8 years. We really loved the couple of Greece stops we had last year so might look more towards another Med/Greek Isles cruise in 2019. We'll just have to wait and see what the different lines offer.
 
I am so glad I found this post! We got off our first Disney cruise (on the Dream) earlier this month, and just booked a Carnival cruise for next Spring Break. My husband and I cruised a few times before we had kids and really enjoyed it, and we were really hoping our kids would be good cruisers so we could get back to one of our favorite ways to vacation (other than Disney, of course!).

We had a really nice time on the Dream, we found the ship to be lovely and the service to be outstanding, but the price tag was really hard to swallow. I'm glad we did it, and had the experience, but I think it might be a one and done for us. We had no complaints at all about the Disney Cruise, but I'm still not sure it is worth the premium. I went on really expecting to be wowed, and to get that magical Disney feeling, but with the exception of our dinner at Animators Palate, I really didn't get the Disney vibes. To give you an example, we bought into DVC because the premium of DVC was worth the satisfaction that we got out of our vacations. Our vacations were so much better, in an intangible Disney Magic way, that it was worth it to spend the money for DVC over renting rooms at Bonnet Creek. Both are nice and equivalent products (Bonnet Creek rooms might even be a little nicer), but our vacation satisfaction is so much higher at the Beach Club or at Bay Lake, in a way that is purely emotional and not really quantifiable. That emotional pull is what I was expecting from a Disney cruise, and what would make the extra money worth it, in my eyes. I really didn't experience that emotional pull, which was a little disappointing, but at the same time completely freeing because I can book cruises with an eye to price without that nagging "maybe we should have gone on a Disney cruise" feeling.

I found an amazing Deal on the Carnival Liberty for my kids Spring Break. Its a 4 day cruise, in a porthole room for $1624, the Disney Dream, for the same dates, a porthole room and basically same itinerary (Nassau and Castaway vs. Princess Cay) was $5,439. I can take almost 3.5 Carnival Cruises for the price of one Disney cruise. How many sodas would I have to drink to make up the difference? I know that there will be differences, but with that price differential, I'll be willing to put up with an awful lot and still have an amazing cruise. We cruised Carnival before, and had a great time. Its been 10 years, but I didn't have any problems with the service, and I'm not the sort of person who needs to build a rapport with the staff in order to have a good time. I'm really looking forward to this cruise and I'll be happy to come back and post a report when we get back (278 more days, but who is counting!).
 
I am so glad I found this post! We got off our first Disney cruise (on the Dream) earlier this month, and just booked a Carnival cruise for next Spring Break. My husband and I cruised a few times before we had kids and really enjoyed it, and we were really hoping our kids would be good cruisers so we could get back to one of our favorite ways to vacation (other than Disney, of course!).

We had a really nice time on the Dream, we found the ship to be lovely and the service to be outstanding, but the price tag was really hard to swallow. I'm glad we did it, and had the experience, but I think it might be a one and done for us. We had no complaints at all about the Disney Cruise, but I'm still not sure it is worth the premium. I went on really expecting to be wowed, and to get that magical Disney feeling, but with the exception of our dinner at Animators Palate, I really didn't get the Disney vibes. To give you an example, we bought into DVC because the premium of DVC was worth the satisfaction that we got out of our vacations. Our vacations were so much better, in an intangible Disney Magic way, that it was worth it to spend the money for DVC over renting rooms at Bonnet Creek. Both are nice and equivalent products (Bonnet Creek rooms might even be a little nicer), but our vacation satisfaction is so much higher at the Beach Club or at Bay Lake, in a way that is purely emotional and not really quantifiable. That emotional pull is what I was expecting from a Disney cruise, and what would make the extra money worth it, in my eyes. I really didn't experience that emotional pull, which was a little disappointing, but at the same time completely freeing because I can book cruises with an eye to price without that nagging "maybe we should have gone on a Disney cruise" feeling.

I found an amazing Deal on the Carnival Liberty for my kids Spring Break. Its a 4 day cruise, in a porthole room for $1624, the Disney Dream, for the same dates, a porthole room and basically same itinerary (Nassau and Castaway vs. Princess Cay) was $5,439. I can take almost 3.5 Carnival Cruises for the price of one Disney cruise. How many sodas would I have to drink to make up the difference? I know that there will be differences, but with that price differential, I'll be willing to put up with an awful lot and still have an amazing cruise. We cruised Carnival before, and had a great time. Its been 10 years, but I didn't have any problems with the service, and I'm not the sort of person who needs to build a rapport with the staff in order to have a good time. I'm really looking forward to this cruise and I'll be happy to come back and post a report when we get back (278 more days, but who is counting!).

I think I can relate a little bit to your experience. We actually had our first cruises with DCL... Then, we fell in love with the Carnival Victory even though it wasn't looking brand new. Like you we do not need to be buddies with our servers, but honestly found the service to be just as good on the Victory than the Dream... I thought when I got back to DCL after that that there was a chance that I get hooked on DCL again but the opposite happened. We actually ended up missing a lot of stuff from Carnival (the music, the comedy shows, the good food). Don't get me wrong, I love DCL and will always love it but Carnival made us so happy and was such a good value for us that we can't justify spending 3x the price of a Carnival cruise to sail with DCL.

Please do come back and post a report (with pictures if you can)... I'll be more than happy to put a link on the first post of this thread. :)
 
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On another thread, somebody mentioned the scores for DCL (4 times 100% congrats!) for vessel sanitation.

I decided to check the scores for Carnival. 4 ships scored 100% (Breeze, Elation, Fantasy & my beloved Victory). The others are going from 83 to 99%. The worst note was for the Legend (does it only sail in Alaska?) at 83%.

I'm very interested in reading the reports and corrective reports.

EDIT: Wow, they are very serious about it. It goes further than I imagined. I would most likely score 5% in my own house. LOL

Screenshot_2017-06-28-18-08-40-1.png
 
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I'm still plan on cruising on the Vista. I'm looking at this Winter or early Spring. I cancelled my Fall cruise on the Vista in favor of Alaska. I needed a break from the Caribbean. I also think I caught a break on DCL in Alaska. The cruise hasn't gone up since opening day. I think I got a good price by DCL standards. It was only a couple hundred more then the NCl Bliss next year for comparable rooms. I'm booked on the WBTA next year out of London. It stops in Portland(Stonehenge) I wasn't that interested in seeing Stonehenge, but after watching Transformers...I've got to do it. How can you not? I promise you I will sail on the Vista in 2018. I'm kind of spontaneous person, and the nice thing about Carnival you don't have to book early. The price stays pretty reasonable.
 
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I'm still plan on cruising on the Vista. I'm looking at this Winter or early Spring. I cancelled my Fall cruise on the Vista in favor of Alaska. I needed a break from the Caribbean. I also think I caught a break on DCL in Alaska. The cruise hasn't gone up since opening day. I think I got a good price by DCL standards. It was only a couple hundred more then the NCl Bliss next year for comparable rooms. I'm booked on the WBTA next year out of London. It stops in Portland(Stonehenge) I wasn't that interested in seeing Stonehenge, but after watching Transformers...I've got to do it. How can you not? I promise you I will sail on the Vista in 2018. I'm kind of spontaneous person, and the nice thing about Carnival you don't have to book early. The price stays pretty reasonable.

I always heard that the itinerary of DCL for Alaska wasn't the best because it doesn't go to Glacier Bay?
 
I always heard that the itinerary of DCL for Alaska wasn't the best because it doesn't go to Glacier Bay?

Honestly having been there, I didn't get the draw of Glacier Bay. I mean, it was pretty, but so was all the rest of Alaska. I haven't been to Tracy Arm, but from pictures I've seen, there isn't that much difference. To me, it seems people just think GB is OMG IT!!!!! because it's restricted as to numbers that can go there.

But I realize I'm in the minority there.
 
On another thread, somebody mentioned the scores for DCL (4 times 100% congrats!) for vessel sanitation.

I decided to check the scores for Carnival. 4 ships scored 100% (Breeze, Elation, Fantasy & my beloved Victory). The others are going from 83 to 99%. The worst note was for the Legend (does it only sail in Alaska?) at 83%.

I'm very interested in reading the reports and corrective reports.

EDIT: Wow, they are very serious about it. It goes further than I imagined. I would most likely score 5% in my own house. LOL

View attachment 247567

I'm curious -- can you post the link for that site? Thanks.
 
Honestly having been there, I didn't get the draw of Glacier Bay. I mean, it was pretty, but so was all the rest of Alaska. I haven't been to Tracy Arm, but from pictures I've seen, there isn't that much difference. To me, it seems people just think GB is OMG IT!!!!! because it's restricted as to numbers that can go there.

But I realize I'm in the minority there.

For us, it was all about the history -- the glaciers there are some of the oldest and are dying. There was one the park ranger was pointing out that had started to die and recede and you could actually see the deterioration. We also really enjoyed the fact that the National Park came onboard to narrate, answer questions and even set up a table to stamp NP passport books and give out brochures. The next one I want to do includes Tracy Arm (and also Sitka, Kodiak, Homer and Victoria), so we'll be able to compare. I think the majority think of Glacier Bay being a part of their Alaska experience -- others just want to be in Alaska ;)
 
I always heard that the itinerary of DCL for Alaska wasn't the best because it doesn't go to Glacier Bay?
I've heard that also, but this isn't a once in a lifetime trip to Alaska for us. It's a relatively close flight with no time changes. Why I've put it off so long is a question mark. The next time I'll go to Glacier Bay. I'd also like to do a one-way cruise and spend some time in Anchorage. Our WBTA will hit three ports in Eastern Canada, but Disney has peaked my interest in Quebec. I'm going to start looking at cruises that visit there.

You asked about the Legend. I think it goes to Australia in the Winter.
 
I've heard that also, but this isn't a once in a lifetime trip to Alaska for us. It's a relatively close flight with no time changes. Why I've put it off so long is a question mark. The next time I'll go to Glacier Bay. I'd also like to do a one-way cruise and spend some time in Anchorage. Our WBTA will hit three ports in Eastern Canada, but Disney has peaked my interest in Quebec. I'm going to start looking at cruises that visit there.

We got to spend two days in Anchorage as part of the land portion of our tour and we really liked it and thought it was a lovely city.
 
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I've heard that also, but this isn't a once in a lifetime trip to Alaska for us. It's a relatively close flight with no time changes. Why I've put it off so long is a question mark. The next time I'll go to Glacier Bay. I'd also like to do a one-way cruise and spend some time in Anchorage. Our WBTA will hit three ports in Eastern Canada, but Disney has peaked my interest in Quebec. I'm going to start looking at cruises that visit there.

You asked about the Legend. I think it goes to Australia in the Winter.

You know what? I just googled and I think Tracy's Arm (if I am not mistaken it's on DCL's itinerary) looks pretty good too. Don't know if it's part of your itinerary but base on pictures I've seen, I think I could be very satisfied with TA instead of GB!
 
So DH and I decided to go crazy and book another Carnival cruise for this Oct! He has been working so hard and has been so stressed out lately I thought it would be nice to get away for a long weekend and it didn't take much to convince him ;) We're going on the Carnival Ecstasy out of Charleston for a short 4 day Bahamas cruise. I know that the Ecstasy is an older ship, but it came out of dry dock in January and has a lot of the 2.0 bells and whistles. We're just looking to get away, spend some kid-free time, and relax, so I don't need the latest and greatest. I'll be sure to come back and post a review when we get back!
 
So DH and I decided to go crazy and book another Carnival cruise for this Oct! He has been working so hard and has been so stressed out lately I thought it would be nice to get away for a long weekend and it didn't take much to convince him ;) We're going on the Carnival Ecstasy out of Charleston for a short 4 day Bahamas cruise. I know that the Ecstasy is an older ship, but it came out of dry dock in January and has a lot of the 2.0 bells and whistles. We're just looking to get away, spend some kid-free time, and relax, so I don't need the latest and greatest. I'll be sure to come back and post a review when we get back!

What is the itinerary? Freeport and Nassau?

I notice that the Ecstasy is Fun 2.0? I can't wait to try an "upgraded" ship!
 
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What is the itinerary? Freeport and Nassau?

I notice that the Ecstasy is Fun 2.0? I can't wait to try an "upgraded" ship!

The itinerary is Nassau with two sea days. I think we are going to try getting a day pass at Breezes on our Nassau day. Originally we weren't going to get off the ship, but I don't want to go all the way to the Bahamas without going to the beach! I really wish this cruise had a Princess Cays or Half Moon Cay stop, but beggars can't be choosers!
 
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