CARNIVAL VS DCL: The discussion and comparison thread!

[mevelandry]

I've been reading through the threads on the Wish and am more and more solidified in my feelings that we won't be missing much by not booking that ship anytime soon ( or ever). And that we are absolutely not the target audience here. I feel that this ship is especially geared towards families with young children - and maybe just children in general.

Some of the lounges definitely look cool, no complaints with those. I would love to check out that Hyperspace Lounge! I'm still pretty "meh" on the atrium. There's just something that's not doing it for me. The other 4 ships are lovely, don't know what I'm missing with this one.

But huge deal breaker for us - take a look at the Quiet Cove on the Disney Wish and the Serenity Deck on the CCL Mardi Gras. Which one would you rather spend time on? I cannot believe they didn't allow for more space for adults to get away.

I finally saw some videos of the atrium and I thought it looked even worse than the pictures. It gives me this fake theme park vibe. The older ships were absolutely gorgeous, I don't know why they decided to take another direction. If I go back on a DCL ship, it will be on Dream or Fantasy.

 

[mevelandry]

I would never go on a Carnival cruise even if it was free. This behavior is not everywhere, Wailea had no such behavior.

Ok, thanks for your contribution.

 

[mevelandry]

What is up with the Carnival trashing lately? This thread is for people who WANT to try Carnival and those of us who ENJOY it to give pointers. You could never pay me enough to go on an overpriced Disney cruise with a bunch of snooty jerks.

I would compare that to what I experience by living in Montreal vs the rest of my family that lives in more rural areas. They think Montreal is a dangerous **** hole because they watch the news and hear about all sorts of crime.

Now about the people talking trash about Carnival...

They (want to) believe the bad reviews instead of the good reviews.

And I believe that ego might be involved too. They don't want to be seen as "classless/WalMart people" (that's how they like to describe people sailing on Carnival)... So they won't even try it because if they end up enjoying themselves, it will mean that they are "classless" too.

 

[brentm77]

What is up with the Carnival trashing lately? This thread is for people who WANT to try Carnival and those of us who ENJOY it to give pointers. You could never pay me enough to go on an overpriced Disney cruise with a bunch of snooty jerks.

I mean, the title says "comparison thread," not "Carnival support group." I personally want to hear all opinions.

While I don't have any issue with those defending Carnival, and not finding value in DCL, your calling DCL cruisers "snooty jerks," in a DCL board no less, doesn't exactly help the reputation of those sailing Carnival. If anything, my experience with DCL cruisers is that they are surprisingly down to earth, friendly, and caring people. Just look at the community here as one example, which is pretty unique.

 

[dwg]

I mean, the title says "comparison thread," not "Carnival support group." I personally want to hear all opinions.

While I don't have any issue with those defending Carnival, and not finding value in DCL, your calling DCL cruisers "snooty jerks," in a DCL board no less, doesn't exactly help the reputation of those sailing Carnival. In my experience, though there are always a few bad eggs, most of the people sailing DCL are actually very nice and very helpful. Just look at the community here as one example, which is pretty unique.

I agree. At 309 pages this thread has gotten out of hand as far as trying to read through the posts and is not always about comparing Carnival and DCL. That is why I would like to see a separate section of threads for Carnival just like Royal Caribbean where posts can be about Carnival comments, questions, etc. that have nothing to do with comparing to DCL.

 

[DCLMP]

I agree. At 309 pages this thread has gotten out of hand as far as trying to read through the posts and is not always about comparing Carnival and DCL. That is why I would like to see a separate section of threads for Carnival just like Royal Caribbean where posts can be about Carnival comments, questions, etc. that have nothing to do with comparing to DCL.

It has gotten a bit silly, hasn't it.

 

[IAMOZBY]

I would compare that to what I experience by living in Montreal vs the rest of family that lives in more rural areas. They think Montreal is a dangerous **** hole because they watch the news and hear about all sorts of crime.

Now about the people talking trash about Carnival...

They (want to) believe the bad reviews instead of the good reviews.

And I believe that ego might be involved too. They don't want to be seen as "classless/WalMart people" (that's how they like to describe people sailing on Carnival)... So they won't even try it because if they end up enjoying themselves, it will mean that they are "classless" too.

I mean the bad reviews speak for themselves. Carnival and Disney cater to two different groups of people. I’ve also never flown Spirit because of ‘bad reviews’. You don’t always have to try something to know it’s not for you.

 

[mevelandry]

I mean, the title says "comparison thread," not "Carnival support group." I personally want to hear all opinions.

While I don't have any issue with those defending Carnival, and not finding value in DCL, your calling DCL cruisers "snooty jerks," in a DCL board no less, doesn't exactly help the reputation of those sailing Carnival. If anything, my experience with DCL cruisers is that they are surprisingly down to earth, friendly, and caring people. Just look at the community here as one example, which is pretty unique.

Personnally, I’m all for comparisons. For what it’s worth, I’m fine with bad reviews as well… As long as they are first hand experience and not just « Carnival sucks, you’ll never see me on their ships. » …

I won’t put all DCL cruisers in the same boat as I have encountered a lot of good ones and some bad ones. I have also encountered one that I didn’t like on my last cruise on Mardi Gras.

 

[mevelandry]

I agree. At 309 pages this thread has gotten out of hand as far as trying to read through the posts and is not always about comparing Carnival and DCL. That is why I would like to see a separate section of threads for Carnival just like Royal Caribbean where posts can be about Carnival comments, questions, etc. that have nothing to do with comparing to DCL.

We have made requested about that at some point in the past but after discussions with the mods, they decided —and we have agreed— that this one would remain and that no separate section would be created. It was also decided that other cruise lines (like NCL, MSC or else) could be discussed here as well.

 

[mevelandry]

It has gotten a bit silly, hasn't it.

The good news is that nobody is forced to read/comment on that thread if they don’t enjoy it.

 

[DCLMP]

It’s interesting that someone who would never sail on DCL and sees Disney cruisers as entitled jerks would post on a Disney cruise line thread. There are carnival cruise boards…no?
This thread needs to get back on track.

 

[mevelandry]

I mean the bad reviews speak for themselves. Carnival and Disney cater to two different groups of people. I’ve also never flown Spirit because of ‘bad reviews’. You don’t always have to try something to know it’s not for you.

What about the great reviews?

There are a bunch of us here that sail on (and enjoy) all cruise lines. What « group » are we in?

 

[DCLMP]

The good news is that nobody is forced to read/comment on that thread if they don’t enjoy it.

It used to be enjoyable.

 

[mevelandry]

It used to be enjoyable.

Any suggestions?

I thought it was pretty fun and quiet recently with all the Mardi Gras/Celebration/Jubilee news.

It turned sour in the last hours.

 

[mevelandry]

I mean, the title says "comparison thread," not "Carnival support group." I personally want to hear all opinions.

While I don't have any issue with those defending Carnival, and not finding value in DCL, your calling DCL cruisers "snooty jerks," in a DCL board no less, doesn't exactly help the reputation of those sailing Carnival. If anything, my experience with DCL cruisers is that they are surprisingly down to earth, friendly, and caring people. Just look at the community here as one example, which is pretty unique.

Just wanted to add something: it may sound like I am repeating myself but … One person doesn’t make a whole group.

Also, there are snooty jerks among ALL groups and these people will act like it’s some sort of competition. I don’t get it and I find that annoying, to be honest. I don‘t know if it’s a social media thing but it seems to be present mostly online...

To be honest, I haven’t found yet the right way to react to that kind of « keyboard wars ».

 

[thor369]

Ok, so we have never done a cruise before and not sure if we will like it, but kids are young (5 and 7) and thinking of doing a cruise. I am not sure if this is the right thread, but is RC better than Carnival and is Disney better than RC?
We want a short 5 days I guess cruise and want lots of activities for the kids, which should we choose.

TIA

 

[mevelandry]

Ok, so we have never done a cruise before and not sure if we will like it, but kids are young (5 and 7) and thinking of doing a cruise. I am not sure if this is the right thread, but is RC better than Carnival and is Disney better than RC?
We want a short 5 days I guess cruise and want lots of activities for the kids, which should we choose.

TIA

Hi! I don’t necessarily believe in « better ». All cruise lines have similarities and differences (and price differences as DCL can sometimes charge 2-3 times the price of the other for a similar itinerary!)

I guess it depends on your budget and what your kids like (do they like characters or do they prefer activities?) Did you have an itinerary in mind? Where did you want to leave from?

(For a family, I would go towards RCCL or Disney … That being said, IMO, the brand new Carnival ships offer a much better experience for kids than they used to.)

 

[abdgeek]

Ok, so we have never done a cruise before and not sure if we will like it, but kids are young (5 and 7) and thinking of doing a cruise. I am not sure if this is the right thread, but is RC better than Carnival and is Disney better than RC?
We want a short 5 days I guess cruise and want lots of activities for the kids, which should we choose.

TIA

I agree with @mevelandry, which cruise line is better is very subjective. I’ve sailed all three and much prefer DCL, but they are costly. Most people will choose a cruise based on the cost and the itinerary. Since you have kids, you will definitely want to make sure there are kids activities for them and enough adult things for you to do. if you’re not sure you will enjoy cruising, you may not want to spend a lot on your first cruise.

I don’t have kids, but I have family that does. So far, they’ve cruised Carnival & RCCL with their kids (6 & 18). They plan to take a DCL cruise next. They said the youngest really enjoyed the kids club and spent most of his time there. If you plan on your kids staying with you during the entire cruise and not putting them in the kids club, it may not matter which cruise line you choose. You can play with them at the pool or up on the sports deck. Except for DCL, IMO, the newer ships have more to do( rock climbing, bumper cars, ice skating, etc). You just have to find the ship that has the itinerary and the activities you want. Good luck.

 

[DCLMP]

Ok, so we have never done a cruise before and not sure if we will like it, but kids are young (5 and 7) and thinking of doing a cruise. I am not sure if this is the right thread, but is RC better than Carnival and is Disney better than RC?
We want a short 5 days I guess cruise and want lots of activities for the kids, which should we choose.

TIA

I’ve cruised Disney, Royal and Carnival. Disney in opinion is by far the best when it comes to service. With kids your age Id go with DCL. They will not be disappointed.

 

[hdrolfe]

Ok, so we have never done a cruise before and not sure if we will like it, but kids are young (5 and 7) and thinking of doing a cruise. I am not sure if this is the right thread, but is RC better than Carnival and is Disney better than RC?
We want a short 5 days I guess cruise and want lots of activities for the kids, which should we choose.

TIA

We haven't cruised Disney but have cruised Carnival and RCL. My son, at 5, 6, 7, 8 & 12 (bit of a gap due to covid, we were supposed to go at 9 & 11) has preferred Carnival. He prefers their ships and kids club, and the 24 hour ice cream. Their kids club was prepandemic though, I am not sure if it still runs the same as it did. He also prefers their food. Though he did like some aspects of RCL on Oasis, including the El Loco Fresh place, and he loved going to the waterpark (it costs extra) at Coco Cay.

I'd suggest Carnival Mardi Gras, Horizon or Dream class or RCL Oasis or Freedom class (I believe Wonder and Independence sail from Port Canaveral if that's where you are looking to sail from). Oasis is BIG but has a lot for kids, we prefer the smaller sized ships. A 5-night cruise isn't super long, you are probably looking at limited options for ports. Coco Cay is amazing, the waterpark is super fun but there are also nice beach areas that don't cost extra.

There are a lot of ships in both lines, so you really want to narrow down where you want to sail from, how many days/nights and if you have any ports in mind that you'd like to check out. And at those ports, what type of activities do you want to do.