CARNIVAL VS DCL: The discussion and comparison thread!

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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!
Hopefully if they have to skip a port they'll skip Halifax. I've never been there, but it's a common port I'm sure I'll get there eventually.
 
Hopefully if they have to skip a port they'll skip Halifax. I've never been there, but it's a common port I'm sure I'll get there eventually.

Halifax is wonderful, but you're right. Most cruises to that area go there, so there will be lots of opportunity to visit on another cruise. Hopefully your Disney cruise won't have to change. Our original NCL cruise was sailing from PEI to Quebec City and then back to Halifax (with a sea day on either side of Quebec City). That's a pretty long haul each way, even with the sea day.
 
Important news regarding Room Service on Carnival cruise ships:

From John Heald on Facebook:

From 10pm to 6am we will no longer offer complimentary room service. An expanded offering of fee-based food items will be available ranging from salads and sandwiches to specialty items and include new options such as Greek Salad; Chicken Caesar Salad; Portabella & Veggie Bun; Grilled Cheese, Bacon and Tomato Sandwich; and Roast Turkey Wrap; as well as a selection of new desserts including Dark Chocolate Walnut Brownies; Doughnut Sandwich; and Banana Split. Prices for menu items will range from $2 to $6.

Also, on debarkation morning, we will no longer offer room service. You will continue to have the option of enjoying breakfast at the Lido deck restaurant, at Ocean Plaza (on those ships that have one) and in the dining room.


********************************************************************

I don't think we'll be affected by this since we never order room service. But I think some people won't agree with this.
 
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I do like to order room service, usually when we get back from an excursion. RCL started charging for theirs before our last cruise so we didn't order it at all except some coffee in the morning (continental breakfast is still free). I will miss being able to order on the last morning, it was nice to not have to fight the buffet or get to the dining room in time. I don't think Carnival's charges will impact me though.
 


We have extended our Vista cruise vacation with 6 nts/5 days at WDW! My mom made the decision and I am glad she did. We have had a rough few months emotionally and she is in need of some relaxation, laughter and fun. I only hate that we have to wait so long for her to get away for a bit. My niece is very excited to be returning to Pop Century too.
 


We have extended our Vista cruise vacation with 6 nts/5 days at WDW! My mom made the decision and I am glad she did. We have had a rough few months emotionally and she is in need of some relaxation, laughter and fun. I only hate that we have to wait so long for her to get away for a bit. My niece is very excited to be returning to Pop Century too.

Great news! Will you do Disney before or after the cruise?
 
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.

NCL did this to us for our Cuba cruise -- downsized the itinerary so that we would only get one day in Cuba instead of two. We cancelled and went with RCCL who is doing the two full days.

I will say that we did the one-way HAL cruise from Quebec to NYC and it was fabulous. What we did was rent a one-way rental from Hertz and dropped it off in Montreal and stayed for three nights, then did another one-way rental from Montreal to Quebec day of cruise. The one-way rentals were all reserved well in advance and we had no problems at all.
 
NCL did this to us for our Cuba cruise -- downsized the itinerary so that we would only get one day in Cuba instead of two. We cancelled and went with RCCL who is doing the two full days.

I will say that we did the one-way HAL cruise from Quebec to NYC and it was fabulous. What we did was rent a one-way rental from Hertz and dropped it off in Montreal and stayed for three nights, then did another one-way rental from Montreal to Quebec day of cruise. The one-way rentals were all reserved well in advance and we had no problems at all.

Thanks! Surprisingly, I'm finding some really inexpensive flights from Pittsburgh to Quebec City. In some cases, it is actually cheaper than flights to Montreal which makes no sense, but I'm not complaining! We are going to fly up to Quebec City on a Saturday and hang out there until we board the ship on Monday. The ship doesn't actually sail until Tuesday, so we will have lots of time to explore. We may rent a car and drive home from NYC, though. We haven't decided on that yet, though I'm leaning towards flying that direction as well.

I wasn't too happy at first due to the added travel, but it actually has worked out really well. NCL offered price protection if we switched to one of the new Gem cruises, so we switched to a 12 day but kept the price of the 10 day. The port fees went up, but that was because they added 5 ports which I'm pretty happy about. I'm especially glad we are now going to Saguenay and they've added two stops in Maine. We've been to Maine before, but it was 20 years ago so I'm looking forward to returning. It's a beautiful state.
 
Pictures of the Carnival Victory who is fresh out of dry dock and pictures have started to emerge. It looks great, looks like the old wooden floor around the main pool (that made the exterior of the ship look old) has been replaced and they added the two Blue Iguanas', Red Frog and Guy's Burger in the four corners of that pool.

The pictures I have seen so far were taken at night but it looks amazing.

I honestly can't wait to go back and sail on the Victory. This is so exciting! :)
 
Pictures of the Carnival Victory who is fresh out of dry dock and pictures have started to emerge. It looks great, looks like the old wooden floor around the main pool (that made the exterior of the ship look old) has been replaced and they added the two Blue Iguanas', Red Frog and Guy's Burger in the four corners of that pool.

The pictures I have seen so far were taken at night but it looks amazing.

I honestly can't wait to go back and sail on the Victory. This is so exciting! :)
Where can I find those photos? I would love to see them. Are they somewhere on Carnival's site?
 
I searched this thread and didn't see anything on it. Has anyone cruised Carnival with food restrictions? I was less than impressed with DCL on this regard on our first cruise with them (though I now know that I have to advocate and ask specifically for what we want).
 
I searched this thread and didn't see anything on it. Has anyone cruised Carnival with food restrictions? I was less than impressed with DCL on this regard on our first cruise with them (though I now know that I have to advocate and ask specifically for what we want).

I don't know if this counts as food restriction but my husband is allergic to coconut and Carnival teams in the dining room have been very helpful with his allergy (telling him what he should order and should not order). I would of course recommend that you stick to early or late dining in order to make sure to get the same team every time. However, DH and I have chosen Your Time Dining and it seems like the information was known by most servers we've met.

This is what Carnival says regarding food restrictions and allergies:

Food Allergies:

We ask that you please inform our dining team of any food allergies and special preparation you may require to accommodate your allergy. Please discuss this the first evening of your cruise. Although there are a number of options at our various restaurants, special dietary and food requests can be accommodated in our main dining rooms only.


Other Dietary Needs:

Although we do not have dietitians on board, we can offer assistance with simple requests such as the method of preparation of menu items. Diet requirements need to be arranged with the head waiter on the first night of the cruise. If dining in the Lido Restaurant, the guest should discuss requirements with senior dining staff.

(Source: Carnival.com)
 
As we are getting closer to our April cruise, all the plans are pretty much set in stone so I started looking for our Anthem of the Seas cruise. Yesterday, I have been able to book our specialty dining so I chose Jamie Oliver's restaurant for our anniversary, Chop's Grille lunch because the menu was appealing to us and it was much more affordable than dinner... And the Solarium Bistro, because I think I read nice reviews about it and I have a strong feeling that we are going to love that solarium!

There were deals for specialty dining but booking everything separately was cheaper for us so this is what I have done. Since we got OBC with booking, it covered 50% of the amount needed for the specialty dining I booked. Can't complain. I have to say that it was just as affordable as Carnival. So excited to try them!

For now, there are not many activities or entertainment we can book but I am sure the options are going to be available within the next months.

Now all I have to do it book our My Time Dining for the days we don't have specialty dining.

I like how different all those cruise lines are from each other. It's fun to get to know them!
 
2018 is here!!!!

Do you have a cruise (or cruises) happening in 2018?

For us:

April 2018) A Key West & Cozumel Family cruise (DH and I with my FIL and MIL!) on the Carnival Victory --almost fresh out of dry dock!-- departing from Miami. It's going to be our 3rd Carnival cruise but the 1st Carnival cruise for my FIL & MIL. First time in Key West for all of us and first time in Cozumel for my FIL and MIL. We want to spend a little time in Fort Lauderdale before the cruise and plan to do an excursion in the Everglades before going back home. Our plane arrived late during our last trip so we had to cancel all plans in Fort Lauderdale... We are excited to have a second chance in visiting the town.

October 2018) A Bermuda cruise (just DH and I) to celebrate our 7th anniversary. It's going to be our first Royal Caribbean Cruise on the Anthem of the Seas, and first time departing from NYC (Bayonne). Being a huge fan of New York, I'm very excited with the idea of a pre-cruise stay in Manhattan.


You?
Hi- I've been following your thread since you started this lol! Been trying to get in a cruise for years-just has never worked out was actually looking for next year as we are taking break from Disney (last semester my oldest did the Disney College Program and we spent lots of time there). However- the opportunity for a cruise has come up for October - 4 day on carnival Valor out of Galveston in October! Will just be me and DH- it's actually for a regional meeting for the volunteer organization we are with (Sertoma).
So first cruise ever for me and 2nd one for DH (although his last cruise was way back in the 80's for senior trip).
We still have our Disney trip in June but I'm way more excited about the cruise lol!
I've also discovered ways to get discounted carnival gift cards -hoping to have enough by October to maybe have enough for deposit for next cruise hehe...

I very much enjoyed your comparisons and reviews!
 
Important news regarding Room Service on Carnival cruise ships:

From John Heald on Facebook:

From 10pm to 6am we will no longer offer complimentary room service. An expanded offering of fee-based food items will be available ranging from salads and sandwiches to specialty items and include new options such as Greek Salad; Chicken Caesar Salad; Portabella & Veggie Bun; Grilled Cheese, Bacon and Tomato Sandwich; and Roast Turkey Wrap; as well as a selection of new desserts including Dark Chocolate Walnut Brownies; Doughnut Sandwich; and Banana Split. Prices for menu items will range from $2 to $6.

Also, on debarkation morning, we will no longer offer room service. You will continue to have the option of enjoying breakfast at the Lido deck restaurant, at Ocean Plaza (on those ships that have one) and in the dining room.


********************************************************************

I don't think we'll be affected by this since we never order room service. But I think some people won't agree with this.

Also there are several cruise lines now that charge a $7.95 fee for room service all day. The only free room service is continental breakfast. I was really surprised when I learned that!
 
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