CARNIVAL VS DCL: The discussion and comparison thread!

[smmco]

Ugh I'm sorry your cruise was cancelled, that sucks! And I was so looking forward to some reviews of the Mardi Gras! I hope you have a great time on DCL and are able to cruise Carnival soon!

I'm not that happy with Carnival at the moment. I got no notification of the cancellation. The only reason I found about it was from another poster on the dis boards. I wonder how many people still aren't aware. Not everyone hangs out on travel forums. I also had to call to get my money refunded. It's been 10 days and they hadn't processed refunds. They said they were giving people a chance to rebook. They obviously want people to rebook so they don't have to issue refunds.

I plan on rebooking the Mardi Gras. I just have no idea what dates. It's so far out to book such a benign cruise to the Caribbean. I only booked this cruise far in advance because it was such a great itinerary.

 

[smmco]

duplicate post

 

[smmco]

On a positive note, I was able to rebook on DCL and find AA saver business class seats. Of course, it's costing me more and I had to cancel a trip to WDW I had planned in May. I looked at NCL, but at this point, I just felt like booking something familiar. I'd like to cruise on the Mardi Gras in April or May 2021 and combine it with a week at WDW resort. It's hard to pick a week this far out because discounts at WDW are such a crapshoot. Some weeks you can get great availability and some weeks you can't. I'm hoping if I book with a refundable deposit I can change dates and keep my discounts and OBC.

On another topic I have a second-hand review my DH and oldest son sailed on the Norwegian Joy Dec 8. They go a last-minute deal. 500pp for a balcony out of LA. It's now my DH's favorite cruise line. He loved the entertainment on the ship. The go-carts and laser tag were also a hit. There were a lot of teens onboard. Kids skipping school isn't exclusive to DCL. The only negative was the balcony rooms were really tiny. If my Dh notices that then you know they are small. Maybe that's why the third and 4th passengers are usually free. I'd get two rooms if traveling with a family. The insides are 135 sq feet or smaller. I don't think I could do that. I feel like Carnival and DCl have families in mind when it comes to room size.

 

[mevelandry]

I'm not that happy with Carnival at the moment. I got no notification of the cancellation. The only reason I found about it was from another poster on the dis boards. I wonder how many people still aren't aware. Not everyone hangs out on travel forums. I also had to call to get my money refunded. It's been 10 days and they hadn't processed refunds. They said they were giving people a chance to rebook. They obviously want people to rebook so they don't have to issue refunds.

I plan on rebooking the Mardi Gras. I just have no idea what dates. It's so far out to book such a benign cruise to the Caribbean. I only booked this cruise far in advance because it was such a great itinerary.

I’m sorry. I found out because John Heald posted it on Facebook. I don’t know if you are on FB but he provides contant informations about the cruise line among other entertaining stuff.

Based on previous cancellations I have made for me and my family, I believe it shouldn’t take much longer. (Unfortunately, Holidays can make delays longer.)

 

[mevelandry]

On a positive note, I was able to rebook on DCL and find AA saver business class seats. Of course, it's costing me more and I had to cancel a trip to WDW I had planned in May. I looked at NCL, but at this point, I just felt like booking something familiar. I'd like to cruise on the Mardi Gras in April or May 2021 and combine it with a week at WDW resort. It's hard to pick a week this far out because discounts at WDW are such a crapshoot. Some weeks you can get great availability and some weeks you can't. I'm hoping if I book with a refundable deposit I can change dates and keep my discounts and OBC.

On another topic I have a second-hand review my DH and oldest son sailed on the Norwegian Joy Dec 8. They go a last-minute deal. 500pp for a balcony out of LA. It's now my DH's favorite cruise line. He loved the entertainment on the ship. The go-carts and laser tag were also a hit. There were a lot of teens onboard. Kids skipping school isn't exclusive to DCL. The only negative was the balcony rooms were really tiny. If my Dh notices that then you know they are small. Maybe that's why the third and 4th passengers are usually free. I'd get two rooms if traveling with a family. The insides are 135 sq feet or smaller. I don't think I could do that. I feel like Carnival and DCl have families in mind when it comes to room size.

Don’t forget that with WDW you can always book with a deposit, and have promos applied later when they come out.

I noticed that Norwegian had GREAT last minute deals.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

I found out about it on another thread on the disboards. I guess the emails from Carnival didn't go out to some people. My flights were booked on miles so I was able to rebook everything. It's just going to be me and my youngest son on DCL. The dates didn't work out for my DH or older son that's taking college classes this Summer. We'll take advantage of the discount and OBC and rebook on Carnival. I just haven't decided what yet. Most likely Panorama or Mardi Gras I have to Feb 18 to pick a new cruise.

Were you booked through a TA? We book through Costco, or actually always transfer to Costco, and the only thing I dislike about it is that we get no communication from cruise lines and Costco doesn’t seem to pass on any info either. So annoying. We had a cruise booked on NCL (also transferred to Costco) that was cancelled and we received no word at all from NCL. Even though Costco should have informed us, I did feel annoyed with NCL. NCL went ahead and automatically rebooked is on another very similar cruise leaving from the same port on a different ship— no cruise credit or discount at all. So that annoyed me too. We ended up cancelling for spite. Lol. Like Seinfeld.

We had another cruise booked on HAL once that we forgot to transfer to Costco. That cruise also got cancelled and HAL sent us multiple emails apologizing and offering future onboard credit and price matching for a similar cruise (no specific % off). We did not end up using their offer, but no hard feelings. It really does help getting those apologetic emails!

 

[belle032]

On a positive note, I was able to rebook on DCL and find AA saver business class seats. Of course, it's costing me more and I had to cancel a trip to WDW I had planned in May. I looked at NCL, but at this point, I just felt like booking something familiar. I'd like to cruise on the Mardi Gras in April or May 2021 and combine it with a week at WDW resort. It's hard to pick a week this far out because discounts at WDW are such a crapshoot. Some weeks you can get great availability and some weeks you can't. I'm hoping if I book with a refundable deposit I can change dates and keep my discounts and OBC.

On another topic I have a second-hand review my DH and oldest son sailed on the Norwegian Joy Dec 8. They go a last-minute deal. 500pp for a balcony out of LA. It's now my DH's favorite cruise line. He loved the entertainment on the ship. The go-carts and laser tag were also a hit. There were a lot of teens onboard. Kids skipping school isn't exclusive to DCL. The only negative was the balcony rooms were really tiny. If my Dh notices that then you know they are small. Maybe that's why the third and 4th passengers are usually free. I'd get two rooms if traveling with a family. The insides are 135 sq feet or smaller. I don't think I could do that. I feel like Carnival and DCl have families in mind when it comes to room size.

OMG I wouldn't be happy about the situation either. Like @mevelandry I heard on it FB from John Heald and I do recommend following him if you use that social media platform. However, you absolutely should have been notified by email ASAP and it sounds like the dropped the ball on that. Glad you were able to book DCL and I understand wanting to go somewhere familiar.

Also, very cool to hear such a positive experience on Norwegian. It's on my list for Alaska. DH is very reluctant to try anything other than CCL or DCL, but while I love both, I'm open to others. I wish we could swing a shorter sailing on RCCL/NCL and get a feel for them! And that's crazy about the rooms though. Might be fine for DH & I, but that would be really tight for more than 2 people.

Don’t forget that with WDW you can always book with a deposit, and have promos applied later when they come out.

I noticed that Norwegian had GREAT last minute deals.

I know, I keep getting emails from Norwegian about all these "end of year" deals! If we lived closer to a port, I'd definitely book a sailing to try them out! My co-worker and her husband only sail Norwegian and are whatever their highest level is. They are also foodies and seem to enjoy the finer things, so maybe NCL is doing something right. They are doing the Mediterranean in the spring so can't wait to hear how that is.

 

[mevelandry]

OMG I wouldn't be happy about the situation either. Like @mevelandry I heard on it FB from John Heald and I do recommend following him if you use that social media platform. However, you absolutely should have been notified by email ASAP and it sounds like the dropped the ball on that. Glad you were able to book DCL and I understand wanting to go somewhere familiar.

Also, very cool to hear such a positive experience on Norwegian. It's on my list for Alaska. DH is very reluctant to try anything other than CCL or DCL, but while I love both, I'm open to others. I wish we could swing a shorter sailing on RCCL/NCL and get a feel for them! And that's crazy about the rooms though. Might be fine for DH & I, but that would be really tight for more than 2 people.



I know, I keep getting emails from Norwegian about all these "end of year" deals! If we lived closer to a port, I'd definitely book a sailing to try them out! My co-worker and her husband only sail Norwegian and are whatever their highest level is. They are also foodies and seem to enjoy the finer things, so maybe NCL is doing something right. They are doing the Mediterranean in the spring so can't wait to hear how that is.

The best deals are usually 1-2 weeks before the cruise. The prices are ridiculously low. Of course you don't get to choose your cabin and have to be ready to plan in crash course but I hope I can score one of those deals someday.

(It would have to be departing from Quebec City or NYC because it's the only place we can get to by bus for a very low price).

 

[Mika02]

Were you booked through a TA? We book through Costco, or actually always transfer to Costco, and the only thing I dislike about it is that we get no communication from cruise lines and Costco doesn’t seem to pass on any info either. So annoying. We had a cruise booked on NCL (also transferred to Costco) that was cancelled and we received no word at all from NCL. Even though Costco should have informed us, I did feel annoyed with NCL. NCL went ahead and automatically rebooked is on another very similar cruise leaving from the same port on a different ship— no cruise credit or discount at all. So that annoyed me too. We ended up cancelling for spite. Lol. Like Seinfeld.

We had another cruise booked on HAL once that we forgot to transfer to Costco. That cruise also got cancelled and HAL sent us multiple emails apologizing and offering future onboard credit and price matching for a similar cruise (no specific % off). We did not end up using their offer, but no hard feelings. It really does help getting those apologetic emails!

To be fair to NCL Costco is a price club acting as an agent. Most cruise lines don't like to step on Agents toes so will leave it to the agent to inform the client. It really was Costco's job but that's not the service they provide so it's kind of the drawback to booking with them. It's like I read in another thread here that a someone booked a room with Priceline and when they got to the hotel the hotel gave the room to a rewards member before check in and the hotel was sold out and didn't inform the person so now they won't book with Priceline but really that was the hotel's fault for giving the room away not Priceline. She felt Priceline didn't protect her but I'm not sure if anyone could have protected her against a hotel doing something like that last minute.

 

[smmco]

Were you booked through a TA? We book through Costco, or actually always transfer to Costco, and the only thing I dislike about it is that we get no communication from cruise lines and Costco doesn’t seem to pass on any info either. So annoying. We had a cruise booked on NCL (also transferred to Costco) that was cancelled and we received no word at all from NCL. Even though Costco should have informed us, I did feel annoyed with NCL. NCL went ahead and automatically rebooked is on another very similar cruise leaving from the same port on a different ship— no cruise credit or discount at all. So that annoyed me too. We ended up cancelling for spite. Lol. Like Seinfeld.

We had another cruise booked on HAL once that we forgot to transfer to Costco. That cruise also got cancelled and HAL sent us multiple emails apologizing and offering future onboard credit and price matching for a similar cruise (no specific % off). We did not end up using their offer, but no hard feelings. It really does help getting those apologetic emails!

No we were booked directly through Carnival and several passengers didn’t get emails. According to my pvp he’s had his clients call to inquire about airfare and that’s how they found out. Imagine booking airfare after the cruise had been cancelled. If there was an error with the first round of emails. Why haven’t they sent them out again. It’s been 11 days. There’s nothing on the Carnival website about it either. I haven’t visited cruise critic in months, I rarely use face book, I haven’t logged into Carnival in months since payment wasn’t due to June. and the only way I found out was a poster that told me on the budget board when I posted my 2020 vacation plans. I have no doubt there are people still not aware especially it being a holiday week are people are busy with family.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

To be fair to NCL Costco is a price club acting as an agent. Most cruise lines don't like to step on Agents toes so will leave it to the agent to inform the client. It really was Costco's job but that's not the service they provide so it's kind of the drawback to booking with them. It's like I read in another thread here that a someone booked a room with Priceline and when they got to the hotel the hotel gave the room to a rewards member before check in and the hotel was sold out and didn't inform the person so now they won't book with Priceline but really that was the hotel's fault for giving the room away not Priceline. She felt Priceline didn't protect her but I'm not sure if anyone could have protected her against a hotel doing something like that last minute.

I agree. It was totally irrational to hold NCL responsible but I still did. Or rather I didn’t but still did, if that makes any sense. Costco is not good for service in my opinion. Great kickbacks, but no service. We still use them, but I don’t really enjoy using them.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

No we were booked directly through Carnival and several passengers didn’t get emails. According to my pvp he’s had his clients call to inquire about airfare and that’s how they found out. Imagine booking airfare after the cruise had been cancelled. If there was an error with the first round of emails. Why haven’t they sent them out again. It’s been 11 days. There’s nothing on the Carnival website about it either. I haven’t visited cruise critic in months, I rarely use face book, I haven’t logged into Carnival in months since payment wasn’t due to June. and the only way I found out was a poster that told me on the budget board when I posted my 2020 vacation plans. I have no doubt there are people still not aware especially it being a holiday week are people are busy with family.

That is incredibly disappointing then. It really confounds me when companies drop the ball on something so simple but so important like sending out an email. When HAL sent us emails, they sent multiple and they sent them from different sources, both the company and the pvp or whatever they call it, maybe cruise consultant? We had not used the pvp but she still sent emails explaining the situation and saying to call her to reschedule. I actually got one from her recently saying the deal had been extended and to call her. I hope you let carnival know how disappointed you are with the lack of communication. In my experience with Carnival their customer service has been quite good. I guess the one bright side is you are on dcl now!

 

[smmco]

That is incredibly disappointing then. It really confounds me when companies drop the ball on something so simple but so important like sending out an email. When HAL sent us emails, they sent multiple and they sent them from different sources, both the company and the pvp or whatever they call it, maybe cruise consultant? We had not used the pvp but she still sent emails explaining the situation and saying to call her to reschedule. I actually got one from her recently saying the deal had been extended and to call her. I hope you let carnival know how disappointed you are with the lack of communication. In my experience with Carnival their customer service has been quite good. I guess the one bright side is you are on dcl now!

I think I’m even more surprised theres not an alert on their webpage. They canceled 8 cruises that’s a lot and most of them were sold out or close too it. It was also disappointing refunds were not yet processed at 10 days after the fact. I had to call and request it. I probably will send them an email.

 

[mevelandry]

I think I’m even more surprised theres not an alert on their webpage. They canceled 8 cruises that’s a lot and most of them were sold out or close too it. It was also disappointing refunds were not yet processed at 10 days after the fact. I had to call and request it. I probably will send them an email.

You should!

 

[smmco]

Don’t forget that with WDW you can always book with a deposit, and have promos applied later when they come out.

I noticed that Norwegian had GREAT last minute deals.

I prefer to wait until discounts are released. It's no guarantee you are going to get a discount on the room you booked. Also booking at rack rate just reduces the number of rooms they discount.

 

[Lynne G]

That so stinks about the cancellations, and not being advised directly. I'd be ticked.

Well, hoping nothing goes wrong with our cruise leaving Sunday. When I come back, I can then say, hey, these are the thoughts of my DCL cruises versus our first Carnival one.

And yes, thanks to this thread, now joined Heald's Facebook group. He's funny, and answered my question quickly.

 

[bcwife76]

@smmco That's just ridiculous that you have not received any sort of communication from Carnival regarding the cancellation of your cruise!! I'm so sorry. I do hope that it's just because of the holidays that your refund is held up. I would give them another day or so and if nothing definitely call. Grrrr, that's super frustrating!!! So glad you were able to change your flights at least

We are booked on the Mardi Gras for March 2021 and thanks to this thread I'm now also following JH on Facebook.

 

[smmco]

@smmco That's just ridiculous that you have not received any sort of communication from Carnival regarding the cancellation of your cruise!! I'm so sorry. I do hope that it's just because of the holidays that your refund is held up. I would give them another day or so and if nothing definitely call. Grrrr, that's super frustrating!!! So glad you were able to change your flights at least

We are booked on the Mardi Gras for March 2021 and thanks to this thread I'm now also following JH on Facebook.

No they are holding the refunds so people can rebook and transfer the funds. At least they are hoping people rebook.Carnival doesn’t want to issue refund unless you ask for it which I finally did on Monday. hit my cc this morning. Of course they don’t tell you you have to call for a refund I found this out from a post on cruise critic. The lack of communication has been astounding.

I think for people booked on the Caribbean cruises it was no big deal. I figure they’re thrilled to get the discount on the same itinerary. On my cruise a different story. A lot of people found other cruise lines to sail on in Europe.

I would suggest anyone sailing on a new ship within the first couple of months of launching to book airfare through the cruise line. Especially if the launch is in Europe.

I may or may not rebook. I’m sailing on Allure in Feb and then DCL out of CPH in August. I’m itching to go back to WDW. WDW will most likely be the next vacation. I’m not sure when we’ll cruise again.

 

[trvlgirlmq]

Happy New Year fellow cruisers! I look forward to reading about all of the exciting travels everyone has planned. We have our family vacation to Oahu in June and my DS2 is really excited about it.

Now, I need all of the DCL experts to help me. My niece graduates HS in 2022 and has expressed several times in recent months that she really wants to go on a Disney cruise . After spending lots of time on this board I know that DCL just doesn't jive with the way we like to vacation.

Some of my concerns are:
1. Cost - duh it's really expensive. We can afford it but the thought about what else I could do with that much money hurts (2 weeks in Europe anyone)
2. All those small children!
3. Dinner with set times. I'm on vacation for goodness sake. The fact that there is no buffet or really other dinner choices is also a factor. There also don't seem to be as many choices as we are used to on Carnival for breakfast and lunch (only buffet for free??).
4. I don't really like people therefore I won't be happy to share a table with others.
5. All those small children!
6. My niece won't be 18 until mid-July so we won't be able to all hang out in the adult areas to get away from all those small children.
7. The sleeping arrangements. No split bed and we won't be able to afford 2 rooms. We are all used to sleeping alone and even a few nights sharing is not ideal to us.
8. More formal dress for dinner.

I'm really having a difficult time even fathoming why my mom wants to try to make it happen. We didn't let the other kids really pick their trips. Is there anything that will even remotely help me? I don't want to dread a vacation but having to pay probably 3 times as much for a cruise and then not having anything that is familiar is really weighing on me.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

Happy New Year fellow cruisers! I look forward to reading about all of the exciting travels everyone has planned. We have our family vacation to Oahu in June and my DS2 is really excited about it.

Now, I need all of the DCL experts to help me. My niece graduates HS in 2022 and has expressed several times in recent months that she really wants to go on a Disney cruise . After spending lots of time on this board I know that DCL just doesn't jive with the way we like to vacation.

Some of my concerns are:
1. Cost - duh it's really expensive. We can afford it but the thought about what else I could do with that much money hurts (2 weeks in Europe anyone)
2. All those small children!
3. Dinner with set times. I'm on vacation for goodness sake. The fact that there is no buffet or really other dinner choices is also a factor. There also don't seem to be as many choices as we are used to on Carnival for breakfast and lunch (only buffet for free??).
4. I don't really like people therefore I won't be happy to share a table with others.
5. All those small children!
6. My niece won't be 18 until mid-July so we won't be able to all hang out in the adult areas to get away from all those small children.
7. The sleeping arrangements. No split bed and we won't be able to afford 2 rooms. We are all used to sleeping alone and even a few nights sharing is not ideal to us.
8. More formal dress for dinner.

I'm really having a difficult time even fathoming why my mom wants to try to make it happen. We didn't let the other kids really pick their trips. Is there anything that will even remotely help me? I don't want to dread a vacation but having to pay probably 3 times as much for a cruise and then not having anything that is familiar is really weighing on me.

The bed not splitting is a big bummer for me on dcl. So I feel you there. Make sure you get a room with max number of beds possible. They will let you book 3 people in a room that accommodates 4 for example (unlike ccl where they fit you perfectly to capacity). Otherwise all I can say is off season, off season, off season. And make sure you book with a ta who will give you some onboard credit. The only way around set dining times and limited food options is room service which on dcl is free. If you request ahead of time not to be seated with others they will give you your own table. We have always done this over email on the dcl contact us and we have always received our own table. It isn’t like Disney world room requests where if you ask me they pay no attention to your request. . You will have a good time, don’t worry!