CARNIVAL VS DCL: The discussion and comparison thread!

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Your link is not opening for me for some reason. :headache:

You are right. For some reason it doesn't seem to work at all. :confused:

Anyways... It looks fantastic! Now, while I hope I will be able to afford other itineraries than the Bahamas in the future, I have an incentive to book the Bahamas with NCL if I can't afford anything else.*


*I'm saying that because you should never take your job/your revenue for granted.
 
Anyone else having problems connecting to the Carnival website?

My FIL and I tried to connect last night in order to pick Your Time Dining and make their beds a queen but we got that little towel dog with a construction hat...
 


I know she's relocating to Galveston at some point and will be replaced by the Horizon in Miami (which will be similar + Dr. Seuss waterworks. Saw the plans. Looks awesome.)

Yes, when I called about next year's itinerary not including anything to NE/Canada, he said it was because they were coming out with the Horizon and that would replace the Vista in Miami. When I asked what that had to do with neither the Glory nor the Sunshine going back to NE/Canada, he had not answer. Guess they are being pushed to talk about the Horizon -- whether it has anything to do with your question or not LOL.

I was really bummed they aren't doing that itinerary next year -- we've enjoyed both our cruises on Carnival to those ports. We ended booking RCCL instead.
 


It is. DH and I can't imagine booking a 7 nights on a Disney Ship... We would have to be ready to sail only once a year, which we are not: we want to travel 2 to 4 times a year.

I have three cruises booked next year -- two in a verandah (RCCL and NCL) and one in an oceanview (RCCL) -- and the total of all three cruises is less than one 7-night Disney Cruise on average (some itineraries are cheaper than others -- but those are usually the ones I don't want LOL). Yes, we like to take at least three one-week vacations a year as I have 25 vacation days and my husband is retired, but we don't want to have to take out a loan to afford them!
 
I know some people enjoy DCL without kids. I can't see myself on a Disney ship once my kids are grown. There just wouldn't be a point for me to spend that amount of money.

I agree about the money -- and am just itching to use our platinum benefits. Hoping maybe on one of the new ships -- and then that would probably be it for us for Disney. We've done all four ships, but don't see us ever being able to afford to do the next three! We, too, have discovered better pricing and better food in the world beyond Disney cruising ;)
 
Carnival earned the bad reputation a few years ago and that reputation continues if you book one of their 3 or 4 day cruises from a number of different ports. We used to live in SoCal and sailed a couple of times on those short cruises. The bartenders were very aggressive at pushing heavy drinking. I witnessed several people who were heavily drunk really push the envelop of public humiliation. I even found a joint in a drawer in my stateroom.

I didn't see the same on the Breeze. Much more similar to the Disney experience, although Carnival was still really pushing the booze more than is typical for a Disney cruise. Wife and I ordered a drink. We were half way done and we were asked if we wanted another. We said no. They walked away. We were nearly done and they just sat the two drinks down on the table. We said no thank you and they tried to talk us into it. All in fun I suppose, but it bordered on rude.

One last thing. The Carnival alcohol package encourages heavy consumption.

Sorry, but I do not agree with this generalization of Carnival.

We have sailed on two Carnival cruises so far -- our first one was the 4-night on Carnival Glory from NYC over Labor Day weekend to NE/Canada. The ship was sold out and we saw lots of families and young people -- and we had the drink package. We never felt pressured to drink -- we just walked up to the bar and got what we wanted -- once a day -- and that was it. We never once on that whole cruise saw anyone falling down drunk. However, more than once on a Disney cruise we have witnessed embarrassingly drunk parents and one even thrown out of kaoroke for being beligerent and told they could never return to that bar for the rest of the cruise. On two Carnival cruises, we have never witnessed that anywhere.
 
I agree about the money -- and am just itching to use our platinum benefits. Hoping maybe on one of the new ships -- and then that would probably be it for us for Disney. We've done all four ships, but don't see us ever being able to afford to do the next three! We, too, have discovered better pricing and better food in the world beyond Disney cruising ;)
It's really just Palo. You may save a few minutes in line on embarkation, but that's about it. Many cruises we don't even go to Palo. We still have to leave a tip. I usually leave around 40 dollars so not exactly free. I thought it was really good the first few times, but then I got kind of tired of it. They fruit basket..meh. There's plenty of fruit onboard. DCL is pretty stingy when it comes to platinum benefits.
 
It's really just Palo. You may save a few minutes in line on embarkation, but that's about it. Many cruises we don't even go to Palo. We still have to leave a tip. I usually leave around 40 dollars so not exactly free. I thought it was really good the first few times, but then I got kind of tired of it. They fruit basket..meh. There's plenty of fruit onboard. DCL is pretty stingy when it comes to platinum benefits.

Too true :rotfl:
 
Everything we've tried from the coffee shop has been great - the carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, the chocolate cake with fudge frosting, and I think there was one other - maybe some kind of apple tart/pie thing? They are about $2.50 and big enough to share (the 3 of us share 1 piece and even then it's "who is going to finish this?" because they are so good and super rich). Next up will be the cheesecake from the coffee shop in January on a day where my dad and my godson are off doing something fun - only my mom and I enjoy cheesecake so we'll get a couple of lattes and a piece and it will be our own version of an excursion.pooh:
 
Curious, what was the flavor of this cake? It really is pretty!
Same thing as a red velvet cake (half vanilla-half chocolate, with cream cheese frosting) except they dye it blue instead of red. :)

There is something compelling about that blue velvet cake because we tried it too and out of all the other delicious looking things in the case, our kids picked that one as well! It was awesome. Another time DH also tried the black forest cake but I think it was white forest cake and in a circular container. I just remember seeing the white chocolate flakes on top. He loved that too. :cake:
 
There is something compelling about that blue velvet cake because we tried it too and out of all the other delicious looking things in the case, our kids picked that one as well! It was awesome. Another time DH also tried the black forest cake but I think it was white forest cake and in a circular container. I just remember seeing the white chocolate flakes on top. He loved that too. :cake:

Yes, the White Forest Cake looked so awesome... Which I had enough appetite to try it!
 
I love carrot cake and really want to try it but then I always balk because there is so much included food and I hate spending extra money!
 
I love carrot cake and really want to try it but then I always balk because there is so much included food and I hate spending extra money!

Yeah, too much delicious food included. I noticed that I eat too much on my Carnival cruises. Everything is so good!!!
 
Sorry, but I do not agree with this generalization of Carnival.

We have sailed on two Carnival cruises so far -- our first one was the 4-night on Carnival Glory from NYC over Labor Day weekend to NE/Canada. The ship was sold out and we saw lots of families and young people -- and we had the drink package. We never felt pressured to drink -- we just walked up to the bar and got what we wanted -- once a day -- and that was it. We never once on that whole cruise saw anyone falling down drunk. However, more than once on a Disney cruise we have witnessed embarrassingly drunk parents and one even thrown out of kaoroke for being beligerent and told they could never return to that bar for the rest of the cruise. On two Carnival cruises, we have never witnessed that anywhere.

I'm glad your experience has been different. Carnival is working to improve their reputation, but I can assure you that the shorter 3-4 day cruises are known by the locals as a "booze cruise". I've sailed on two of those and while the ship was filled with families, honeymooners and couples looking for an escape (us), alcohol was an ever present lubricant contributing to the party atmosphere. I'm speaking from personal experience here and I've found as I've shared my story with others who have sailed those cruises, I am not alone. Heck, I met some people in the hot tub that turned out to be good friends of my cousin. They sail the 3 day Carnival out of Long Beach at least once a year with a large group for the sole purpose of drinking heavily and hanging out. IF they leave the ship in Ensenada, it is to go to a local tourist bar for shots. These cruises are cheap and convenient. Perfect weekend getaway.
 
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