CARNIVAL VS DCL: The discussion and comparison thread!

[mevelandry]

I have not cruised on Disney so perhaps not a true comparison, however I have cruised on Carnival and their kids program is great. It starts at age 2 (I don't think most start until 3?). The program is quite well structured, they have the kids broken into age groups and the do activities at a certain time. My son loved it because he likes to know what exactly he'll be doing. They have a parade and story time which was a lot of fun, and also of course the Green Eggs and Ham breakfast ($5 per person). They also usually have a Build a Bear activity (for a fee) at least once. Not sure I've helped My son does not like the RCL camps because they do this list of many activities in a 2 to 3 hour block, but he doesn't know which will be when. He doesn't want to do them all, just the ones he likes. With Carnival he can do that and know what is happening when.

Thanks! I used most of your quote (and tagged you on it).

I will add more quotes as soon as I get other reviews.

 

[trvlgirlmq]

I also can't provide a comparison because we have only cruised Carnival. My kids went on their first cruise at ages 14, 8 and 7. We primarily have cruised the Dream and Vista class. They love all of the outside activities like the Ropes course, mini golf and now the SkyRide. They participated in the clubs only on our first cruise. They are not interested in meeting new friends although they do talk to other kids at the pools, etc. They prefer to be active and out in the sunshine instead of indoors with movies and games. The larger Carnival ships are perfect if you like to be really active. The crew is always amazing with kids and we have had nothing but good experiences.

 

[SWRdtWD]

Unrelated but somewhat relevant...

Recently went on an oasis class ship with RCL...and my kids liked it so much better than the Disney dream that there is realistically no way I could convince them to go back on DCL.

Which is good considering how bad the price/value comparison is...

Quantum class on deck. I still can get them to begrudgingly go to wdw - for now...

 

[mevelandry]

I also can't provide a comparison because we have only cruised Carnival. My kids went on their first cruise at ages 14, 8 and 7. We primarily have cruised the Dream and Vista class. They love all of the outside activities like the Ropes course, mini golf and now the SkyRide. They participated in the clubs only on our first cruise. They are not interested in meeting new friends although they do talk to other kids at the pools, etc. They prefer to be active and out in the sunshine instead of indoors with movies and games. The larger Carnival ships are perfect if you like to be really active. The crew is always amazing with kids and we have had nothing but good experiences.

Thank you! I added it!

 

[mevelandry]

Unrelated but somewhat relevant...

Recently went on an oasis class ship with RCL...and my kids liked it so much better than the Disney dream that there is realistically no way I could convince them to go back on DCL.

Which is good considering how bad the price/value comparison is...

Quantum class on deck. I still can get them to begrudgingly go to wdw - for now...

I can't add your review to the Carnival kids activities reviews (for obvious reasons)... but I find this quite encouraging for parents who have been priced out by DCL to know that for a lot of kids, there is life after DCL!

 

[SWRdtWD]

I can't add your review to the Carnival kids activities reviews (for obvious reasons)... but I find this quite encouraging for parents who have been priced out by DCL to know that for a lot of kids, there is life after DCL!

Disney is underwhelming as a cruise line...not to tangent too much.

From an experience to value standpoint...DCL ranks 4 outta 5 of cruiselines ive been on.

I always feel that those that preach "DCL IS THE BEST!!!!" are obsessed with the "d" and don't seem too experienced with the "cl"s

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

Dear experienced cruisers,

I recently added a section on the first post where I am answering questions that I have seen many times here and there regarding Carnival and I am also addressing some rumors and false beliefs...

BUT... I would like to add an answer to a certain question because I've seen it a lot:

IS CARNIVAL AS KID FRIENDLY AS DCL AND WHAT WOULD BE THE MAIN DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO CRUISE LINES REGARDING ENTERTAINMENT DESTINED TO CHILDREN?


In that category I will need the help of Moms and Dads who experienced both cruise lines and can answer that question in details. (I will quote you).

Also, if you think of a question/answer that I did not think of and could add, please let me know.

Yes! I definitely say Carnival is an excellent cruise line for kids. The entire vibe is fun and kid friendly. There are activities going on everywhere that kids enjoy. The food is kid friendly and delicious. One of our kids ate at Guy's burgers every day. Lol. Fresh pizza open all night. Family friendly movies at night on deck with free popcorn and lots of seating. The decor is bright and cheery, the kids club is the best we have experienced at sea. Yes, DCL's kids clubs have more bells and whistles, but our kids preferred CCL's. We liked Carnival, but we are interested in trying all lines--- not the kids. They are sold.

The kids club on Carnival is structured but flexible. We find DCL's clubs generally unstructured. Our kids liked DCL clubs but sometimes got bored. Other kids in general were different on CCL than on DCL, more down to earth, less (hate to make this generalization, but) spoiled. Our kids fit in better and made more friends at the Carnival kids club than on any of our Disney cruises. The counselors on Carnival are much more attentive and caring. The DCL counselors are more remote. On a couple of DCL cruises, we have seen a couple of male counslers who were very engaged in the clubs, usually leading more physical activities, but in general we find DCL counselors a bit more jaded, very nice, but not really into it. This is our experience only and may be different for others.

Obviously, CCL is superior for value. Just no contest. The food puts DCL to shame. The decor isn't as "cute" as Disney's but the kids don't seem to notice at all. Lol. The water park and pools are less crowded. The staff is on a par with DCL's. It is hard for us to consider DCL again. Over the next 2 years we have CCL, NCL, and RCL scheduled. We do WDW every year too, so we are huge Disney fans, but their cruise line needs to learn some from its competitors.

 

[nutshell]

Isn’t Carnival the cruiseline that recently failed a CDC inspection?

 

[mevelandry]

Disney is underwhelming as a cruise line...not to tangent too much.

From an experience to value standpoint...DCL ranks 4 outta 5 of cruiselines ive been on.

I always feel that those that preach "DCL IS THE BEST!!!!" are obsessed with the "d" and don't seem to experienced with the "cl"s

I agree 100% hence why I always ask "what are you looking for? Disney or cruising?" other cruise lines can't give you Disney but other cruise lines nail the cruising part.

 

[RedSox68]

Guys, let's not fight...

A lot of people are resistant to try a vacation when they tried it once and did not enjoy it... The same way we can remember some places to be better than they really were (like the town I grew up in which I used to remember as charming and then seen it again years later and realized it was uglyAF lol).

EDIT: Bad experiences can happen everywhere including in Disney/on DCL... I've had catastrophic experiences at Disney's Animal Kingdom (dirty room, horrible savannah view --half the view was on a industrial building, with forklifts, ventilator unit, forklifts and ventilator noises! Far from the immersive experience we were expecting! --) to the point that we asked to be downgraded to a standard view... But our previous experience at AKL was stellar!

To that statement I have the perfect example -- we sailed on the NCL Pride of America in 2008 in Hawaii. It was such an awful experience that we swore off NCL forever -- never to return, never to give them another dime. Then we took a swing at it in 2016 and sailed to Bermuda from NYC on the Breakaway and we were hooked. A 100% turnaround experience and I wouldn't hesitate to book them again for another itinerary (except we still would not try POA again).

We have done two Carnival cruises and absolutely loved them -- thought they had better food than Disney on both ships, and liked the itineraries and the staff was great. Of course, it goes without saying that their prices are far more reasonable and we could do three of their cruises for the price of one Disney -- so it's a win win.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

Isn’t Carnival the cruiseline that recently failed a CDC inspection?

Yes, although it was on one of its oldest ships and Carnival immediately fixed all issues and passed. That being said, there are a couple of older ships owned by Carnival that I would probably not go on, because of age and blah itineraries. Any time Carnival has had issues it has been with it's oldest ships. But Carnival is a huge line with a variety of experiences. They go to many places DCL does not. We were put off of Carnival for years because of bad press in the media, but now that we have tried Carnival ourselves, we can say that press is very much fake news.

 

[mevelandry]

Isn’t Carnival the cruiseline that recently failed a CDC inspection?

Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I will try to get the reports.

In the past Carnival ship had high scores in CDC inspections (I remember the Victory scoring 100) but yes, as I see, two of their ships, the Legend and Triumph, failed the exam by 1 and 8 points this year. The Legend has made corrections and had a great score after that. The corrective report of the Triumph is not available yet. However, while 78 is not satisfactory, it is not critical either.

Carnival released a statement saying that they took immediate actions regarding this. There will be a follow-up made by the CDC, I presume. Those informations are public so we could also follow-up on this.

The CDC criterias are severe (and they should be). I have worked in kitchens when I was younger and even I was surprised by how severe they are when I read reports from the CDC. Quite reassuring.

I can't imagine how low my home kitchen would score. LOL

**Take note that this message will be edited as soon as I can get the info regarding the follow-ups**

EDIT:

You can find the scores, reports and corrective reports for all Carnival Ships in 2017.

https://wwwn.cdc.gov/InspectionQueryTool/InspectionSearch.aspx

 

[mevelandry]

Yes, although it was on one of its oldest ships and Carnival immediately fixed all issues and passed. That being said, there are a couple of older ships owned by Carnival that I would probably not go on, because of age and blah itineraries. Any time Carnival has had issues it has been with it's oldest ships.(...)

I would also add that because one restaurant gets a bad sanitary note does not mean you should avoid the whole neighbourhood.

 

[mevelandry]

Yes! I definitely say Carnival is an excellent cruise line for kids. The entire vibe is fun and kid friendly. There are activities going on everywhere that kids enjoy. The food is kid friendly and delicious. One of our kids ate at Guy's burgers every day. Lol. Fresh pizza open all night. Family friendly movies at night on deck with free popcorn and lots of seating. The decor is bright and cheery, the kids club is the best we have experienced at sea. Yes, DCL's kids clubs have more bells and whistles, but our kids preferred CCL's. We liked Carnival, but we are interested in trying all lines--- not the kids. They are sold.

The kids club on Carnival is structured but flexible. We find DCL's clubs generally unstructured. Our kids liked DCL clubs but sometimes got bored. Other kids in general were different on CCL than on DCL, more down to earth, less (hate to make this generalization, but) spoiled. Our kids fit in better and made more friends at the Carnival kids club than on any of our Disney cruises. The counselors on Carnival are much more attentive and caring. The DCL counselors are more remote. On a couple of DCL cruises, we have seen a couple of male counslers who were very engaged in the clubs, usually leading more physical activities, but in general we find DCL counselors a bit more jaded, very nice, but not really into it. This is our experience only and may be different for others.

Obviously, CCL is superior for value. Just no contest. The food puts DCL to shame. The decor isn't as "cute" as Disney's but the kids don't seem to notice at all. Lol. The water park and pools are less crowded. The staff is on a par with DCL's. It is hard for us to consider DCL again. Over the next 2 years we have CCL, NCL, and RCL scheduled. We do WDW every year too, so we are huge Disney fans, but their cruise line needs to learn some from its competitors.

Thank you I just added your review.

 

[Pens Fan]

It seems like bonus checks get taxed about 40%, but hey every little bit helps.

I wish our Quebec cruise was round trip. Greece is wonderful you should enjoy that.

Well, I wish our Quebec cruise was round trip as well! We were just notified that NCL has changed all of the 10 day round trip cruises this Fall to one way cruises of varying length. We are reviewing our options to see what we want to do. I'm bummed about the extra travel involved but they have added a bunch of ports, so I'm looking at the bright side. Besides, we will be on a cruise! That's never a bad thing.

 

[cruiser21]

Well, I wish our Quebec cruise was round trip as well! We were just notified that NCL has changed all of the 10 day round trip cruises this Fall to one way cruises of varying length. We are reviewing our options to see what we want to do. I'm bummed about the extra travel involved but they have added a bunch of ports, so I'm looking at the bright side. Besides, we will be on a cruise! That's never a bad thing.

Did they give you reason?

 

[Pens Fan]

No @cruiser21 , they just noted a schedule change. All of these cruises in Sept and Oct dropped off the website about a week ago, so we knew something was up. There's been a lot of speculation on Cruise Critic and someone found this:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/cruise-ship-industry-quebec-speed-limit-1.4273807

I don't know if that had anything to do with it or not, but it seems other cruises in that area have been modified as well. While the extra cost and hassle of flying is unfortunate, I'm pretty excited about the new itineraries. I'm not sure which one we will be able to get. I'm waiting on my TA to get back to me now, but there is a possibility we can get on a 12 night cruise (we paid for a 10 night). NCL says they are offering price protection as long as we book one of the new Gem cruises. Fingers crossed. Even if the category we want is sold out for the 12 nighter, I'm very happy with the replacement for the one we originally booked. It's still a 10 nighter, but offers a lot more ports including Saguenay, Quebec and some U.S. New England ports.

 

[mevelandry]

It sucks for Saguenay and Gaspé. They are wonderful ports.

 

[cruiser21]

It sucks for Saguenay and Gaspé. They are wonderful ports.

DCL is stopping at one of those ports supposedly. If there are changes I hope dcl lets us know before PIF date. Dcl is slow in this area. They also can't seem to sell their cruises out of NYC which is another reason they may not inform us.

 

[Pens Fan]

It sucks for Saguenay and Gaspé. They are wonderful ports.

The ironic thing is that prior to this change our NCL cruise didn't go to Saguenay. It was one of the reasons I considered switching to Disney, but ultimately decided to stay with NCL. Now, both of the revised itineraries we are considering have added it. Best of both worlds for us!

Hopefully Disney's won't require a change. I guess it just depends on whether or not they can make the scheduled ports with the new speed restrictions. I'd go with "no news is good news" for now!