CARNIVAL VS DCL: The discussion and comparison thread!

[mevelandry]

According to John Heald, it sounds like the outcry regarding the end of free room service has been heard and Carnival is backpedaling ... They will be coming back with something else.

 

[trvlgirlmq]

According to John Heald, it sounds like the outcry regarding the end of free room service has been heard and Carnival is backpedaling ... They will be coming back with something else.

There is literally so much other free food that I don't understand the hullabaloo. They should go to a flat service charge per order to make it worth their while and maybe hinder some people who order and then just waste the food.

 

[mevelandry]

From what I understand, a lot of people have to stay in their rooms at times because of their kids... Therefore, room service very useful to them.

 

[hdrolfe]

I currently have NCL Breakaway (western) booked for next March. I think I really want to change to Carnival Magic 8 night to Half Moon, Grand Turk, Curacao & Aruba... it's cheaper, an extra night and we did enjoy the Magic last April. The NCL has more stuff included in the fare I booked ($100 OBC, $50 excursion credits and 250 min wifi) vs just $50 OBC with Carnival. As much as I want to try NCL I really think I want the extra night, and the Southern itinerary, and to be back on Magic. I just hate having to call and cancel the NCL cruise. I always feel bad.

I am also patiently waiting for them to release Mardi Gras dates/itineraries hoping for something good for March break 2021.

 

[mevelandry]

I currently have NCL Breakaway (western) booked for next March. I think I really want to change to Carnival Magic 8 night to Half Moon, Grand Turk, Curacao & Aruba... it's cheaper, an extra night and we did enjoy the Magic last April. The NCL has more stuff included in the fare I booked ($100 OBC, $50 excursion credits and 250 min wifi) vs just $50 OBC with Carnival. As much as I want to try NCL I really think I want the extra night, and the Southern itinerary, and to be back on Magic. I just hate having to call and cancel the NCL cruise. I always feel bad.

I am also patiently waiting for them to release Mardi Gras dates/itineraries hoping for something good for March break 2021.

Aren't you passed the PIF date? You can cancel and get a refund? (Or by next March you meant 2020?)

EDIT: Got my answer! (2020) Thanks!

 

[hdrolfe]

Aren't you passed the PIF date? You can cancel and get a refund? (Or by next March you meant 2020?)

I mean March 2020 sorry!

 

[mevelandry]

I mean March 2020 sorry!

What was NCL's itinerary?

Not a fan of Grand Turk but HMC is amazing and Aruba and Curaçao have always been on my list!

 

[hdrolfe]

What was NCL's itinerary?

Not a fan of Grand Turk but HMC is amazing and Aruba and Curaçao have always been on my list!

Great Stirrup Cay - Ocho Rios (I know people are not fond of it but I am determined to climb Dunn's as I missed the chance when I cruised with my parents as a teen, chickened out or was too cool or something) - Cozumel (been twice already) - Grand Cayman (been once)

We have been to Grand Turk once before, and it's not terrible for a free beach/pool day. HMC just looks so nice. Curacao has a crazy long port time, 9 am to 11 pm.

 

[mevelandry]

Great Stirrup Cay - Ocho Rios (I know people are not fond of it but I am determined to climb Dunn's as I missed the chance when I cruised with my parents as a teen, chickened out or was too cool or something) - Cozumel (been twice already) - Grand Cayman (been once)

We have been to Grand Turk once before, and it's not terrible for a free beach/pool day. HMC just looks so nice. Curacao has a crazy long port time, 9 am to 11 pm.

If the Carnival cruise is less expensive then it would be a great choice. Especially since you've done the NCL itinerary before.

 

[hdrolfe]

Well I cancelled the NCL and will book Carnival Magic once I get the refund back. Hopefully it will still be a good deal! Shouldn't change much. I think I'm going to book a cove balcony, we had one on Lido and it was super convenient but a little loud. I wonder if Cove will be nice, closer to the water and all that. We saw flying fish from our Lido balcony which was really cool, but they were itty bitty from up there, so down closer it might look even cooler? Any way! We'll see what's available next week I guess. I won't be able to change my mind on this though, I tend to book early saver so no refund on the deposit... am I ready to commit?

 

[AndreaDM]

I'm glad I found this post! Haven't cruised in 4 years, the last 2 were DCL and 2 CCL before that. I'm turning 50 in October and reallllllyyyy want to do a cruise to Cuba instead of a party so I think we're going to book on the Paradise. Smaller, older ship but really booking for the itinerary. So I'm open to any and all suggestions!

 

[mevelandry]

I'm glad I found this post! Haven't cruised in 4 years, the last 2 were DCL and 2 CCL before that. I'm turning 50 in October and reallllllyyyy want to do a cruise to Cuba instead of a party so I think we're going to book on the Paradise. Smaller, older ship but really booking for the itinerary. So I'm open to any and all suggestions!

I'm from Canada and people around me have been travelling to Cuba for decades. Their only complaint is the food which isn't always good but they all say it's very charming and locals are extremely friendly. I'm dying to see Havana.

I know the Paradise went under dry dock recently so it should be nice enough.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

Hi all, hope everyone had a wonderful holiday & new year!

We are officially into 2019, which means our 1st DCL in September! I started looking at flights into London today... they still seem so expensive! Forgot how much I dislike booking flights, between that and looking at hotels to stay in before we sail, my "uber-planner" gift/curse is kicking in for sure.

Something ridiculous I found out: so our closest airport is Rochester, NY. I wish we could fly out of JFK, but its over 5 hours away and the drive/time/parking/hassle vs. money savings doesn't really make sense. Every flight connects in JFK anyway.

So booking Rochester - London Heathrow: a little over $3000 for 2 people roundtrip (connects in JFK)
But booking Rochester - JFK and JFK - London Heathrow: $2300 for 2 people roundtrip

They are LITERALLY the same flights, just broken into 2 separate bookings. Just goes to show I have no idea how airlines work. All I know is this is definitely not our typical fly nonstop to Florida, hop on a ship, Caribbean cruise!

Have you looked at google flights? Also, I find when I look, sometimes it is cheaper to fly to Paris and take the train to London.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

I currently have NCL Breakaway (western) booked for next March. I think I really want to change to Carnival Magic 8 night to Half Moon, Grand Turk, Curacao & Aruba... it's cheaper, an extra night and we did enjoy the Magic last April. The NCL has more stuff included in the fare I booked ($100 OBC, $50 excursion credits and 250 min wifi) vs just $50 OBC with Carnival. As much as I want to try NCL I really think I want the extra night, and the Southern itinerary, and to be back on Magic. I just hate having to call and cancel the NCL cruise. I always feel bad.

I am also patiently waiting for them to release Mardi Gras dates/itineraries hoping for something good for March break 2021.

I would also go on the magic over ncl just for itinerary.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

According to John Heald, it sounds like the outcry regarding the end of free room service has been heard and Carnival is backpedaling ... They will be coming back with something else.

I wonder if people are over ordering or if they are just trying to cut costs. Maybe they could give an allotment per cruiser? That would probably be too complicated.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

So... What does 2019 look like for you?

DH and I are hoping that we both keep our jobs this year (uncertainty on both sides). Our two 2019 cruises are already both PIF, though. *Phew!* ...

The first one on Carnival, the second one on Royal Caribbean as a "Test Cruise".

As much as we like CCL, we are very excited to try RCCL. It's nice to try something new once in a while!

We are on Breeze in March. Wishing you luck on no job trouble.

 

[mevelandry]

We are on Breeze in March. Wishing you luck on no job trouble.

Thank you!

 

[hdrolfe]

I would also go on the magic over ncl just for itinerary.

Yeah I changed to Magic Booked a lido deck balcony (discussed that with kiddo first, he liked being so close to the food and water slides). I'm excited about the itinerary, and I was not as excited about trying NCL. Maybe someday! Carnival Magic March 14 - 22, 2020. Can't wait!!

 

[mevelandry]

Big changes in our Family Trip project for 2020!!

We wanted to do Aulani. Then we noticed that it was getting pricier so we thought we were going to do a "Land & Sea" (Aulani and a Pacific Coast cruise from California)... And then realized that the prices were completely nuts (around 800$ USD/night) ...

So... Aulani is OUT!

We had a family meeting and decided to scratch the Aulani project and go for something completely different: A Bermuda Cruise departing from NYC.

My FIL and MIL have never been to NYC. DH and I went tons of times (DH actually proposed to me in NYC!) so we know what they can do and cannot do and where we'd like to bring them.

I've looked at Carnival options and unfortunately they only announced 4 nights (meaning only one day in the Bermuda) so far ... (I'm bummed).

And since we want to visit a little bit more, the 5 nights with RCCL (overnight in Bermuda) will suit us more I think...

 

[hdrolfe]

Big changes in our Family Trip project for 2020!!

We wanted to do Aulani. Then we noticed that it was getting pricier so we thought we were going to do a "Land & Sea" (Aulani and a Pacific Coast cruise from California)... And then realized that the prices were completely nuts (around 800$ USD/night) ...

So... Aulani is OUT!

We had a family meeting and decided to scratch the Aulani project and go for something completely different: A Bermuda Cruise departing from NYC.

My FIL and MIL have never been to NYC. DH and I went tons of times (DH actually proposed to me in NYC!) so we know what they can do and cannot do and where we'd like to bring them.

I've looked at Carnival options and unfortunately they only announced 4 nights (meaning only one day in the Bermuda) so far ... (I'm bummed).

And since we want to visit a little bit more, the 5 nights with RCCL (overnight in Bermuda) will suit us more I think...

Bermuda does look pretty nice! Have a look at NCL as well. They have cruises from New York and also from Boston if that is of interest to you. It would be nice if Carnival did longer cruises to Bermuda but they don't seem to have many. NCL does them weekly all summer, from April I believe. Just a thought they also have some good deals sometimes, and charge in CAD so you don't have to worry about fluctuating exchange rates.