Just got Back from Carnival... Is Disney worth it?

[Ex techie]

Ummm....

 

The most what for the money? Certainly not the nicest suites, best adult only restaurants, or easiest disembarkation. Some cabins in Carnival don't even provide basic toiletries. Add in the nickel and diming (pay extra to board early, pay extra for soda or juice, etc.) as well as what I consider to be an undesirable demographic in manyCarnival cruises, no thanks.

 

Where has someone said they are the nicest suites?

They DO have some great Adult only restaurants and FFO's!

Where has anyone said they have the easiest disembarkation?

 

And I do not know if you right, but if some cabins on Carnival do not provide basic toiletries, I'm sure they do provide toilet paper and towels.

And they will be priced accordingly.

Not like the suites which I am sure do provide those and much more, equal to DCL.

Pay extra to board earlier is nickel and diming you?

Do DCL offer that unless you are Concierge?

 

The DCL inclusive soda and juice is a given considering the price difference between a standard inside "Stateroom" on Carnival and DCL.

 

If you chose to not cruise on Carnival because of the "demographic", that is entirely your choice and perception.

 

I respect Skippers decision based on the safety mistakes in the past, but as he said they are upgrading systems and I personally would give it a while for a period of non incident.

But DCL isn't without it's hiccups?

And they do have a tiny fleet in comparison.

 

ex techie

[ducklite]

Ummm....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Where has someone said they are the nicest suites?

 

They DO have some great Adult only restaurants and FFO's!

 

Where has anyone said they have the easiest disembarkation?

 

 

 

And I do not know if you right, but if some cabins on Carnival do not provide basic toiletries, I'm sure they do provide toilet paper and towels.

 

And they will be priced accordingly.

 

Not like the suites which I am sure do provide those and much more, equal to DCL.

 

Pay extra to board earlier is nickel and diming you?

 

Do DCL offer that unless you are Concierge?

 

 

 

The DCL inclusive soda and juice is a given considering the price difference between a standard inside "Stateroom" on Carnival and DCL.

 

 

 

If you chose to not cruise on Carnival because of the "demographic", that is entirely your choice and perception.

 

 

 

I respect Skippers decision based on the safety mistakes in the past, but as he said they are upgrading systems and I personally would give it a while for a period of non incident.

 

But DCL isn't without it's hiccups?

 

And they do have a tiny fleet in comparison.

 

 

 

ex techie

 

 

The photos I've seen of the cabins on CCL have shown them to be of garish or spartan decor. They do not even offer shampoo in some of their cabins, let alone anything of quality. DCL allows you to get a boarding time based in when you check in online, so no, you don't need to pay extra to get on fast, just get online and take care of business early. The people you will be on board with can make or break your cruise, and I am not at all interested in a party boat with the type of passenger that type of atmosphere attracts, which is what CCL even advertises they are. No thanks.

 

We won't even get into safety and handling of incidents, let alone the rising number if complaints about pretty much everything except prices. Some people will dodge traffic on an Interstate to catch a dollar bill. I'm not one of them.

 

Autocorrect responsible for most typos...

Edited December 23, 2013 by ducklite

[Tonka's Skipper]

Even when people who have cruised both tell you that each had their pluses and minuses you continue to spout the same old lines.

 

For the record, price is only part of the reason we have cruised with Carnival.

 

Yes some say that and others say they are very disappointed in Carnival........it fact more and more are saying they are disappointed in Carnival.

 

Others I have read on Carnival forums have admitted quite clearly they know they are getting a poor quality cruise, but want cheap price.

 

You can keep trying , but my facts listed above are just that........

 

1. Safety issues, fire etc. all fact.

 

2. The reduction of amentias on Carnival....fact....go read the Carnival forums

 

3. Carnival prices are at the bottom, giving away cruises trying, to get passengers back on the ships......FACT

 

Seems your still trying hard to defend/support Carnival.....when they are their own worse enemy.

 

 

AKK

[Gardeneroflove]

Just back from the Wonder. The only thing i missed was a robe. But dh thinks we had them last year and on the last night said I should have just asked for one.

 

I personally don't care about a ship providing shampoo, but I will say I do/did enjoy the h20 products.

 

Our stateroom host learned our names the first night (our room was moved, we were a surprise for him). I asked for a potty seat for dd, he said they were only for the clubs, but that night we had one waiting for us. He put princess sheets on dd's bed, and tucked in Erica or Minnie Mouse, making sure Erica (the doll) had her teddy bear if it was to be found.

 

Characters remembered us. The server and his assistance, not only cut dd's food, but cut Dh's food when dd was in his lap (more than once).

 

Our room was the PERFECT location and quiet. I'm not a fan of the food though, I did like Carnival's food better (it's been a few years).

 

The photographers let you use your own camera or the staff will use your camera. There's no pressure, at any point to buy buy buy.

 

I do KNOW we need a new cruise line/ship. Disney isn't in Gal after next week and no current plans to go to New Orleans. Dh would have booked for next year, for dd, if disney would be in Gal.

 

I have to agree, it's worth the extra money because of the magic and pixie dust.

[ms.gloria]

The photos I've seen of the cabins on CCL have shown them to be of garish or spartan decor. They do not even offer shampoo in some of their cabins, let alone anything of quality. DCL allows you to get a boarding time based in when you check in online, so no, you don't need to pay extra to get on fast, just get online and take care of business early. The people you will be on board with can make or break your cruise, and I am not at all interested in a party boat with the type of passenger that type of atmosphere attracts, which is what CCL even advertises they are. No thanks.

 

We won't even get into safety and handling of incidents, let alone the rising number if complaints about pretty much everything except prices. Some people will dodge traffic on an Interstate to catch a dollar bill. I'm not one of them.

 

Autocorrect responsible for most typos...

 

I would just like to clarify some carnival misconceptions...

1. Carnival has shampoo in every cabin

2. Carnival does not advertise to partyers. Have you checked out their website or ad campaign recently? They gear towards family.

3. Carnival is now the safest cruise line in the world.

 

Ps. I am not trying to defend carnival, but many of the things listed above leads me to believe that you have never been on a carnival cruise

[ducklite]

I would just like to clarify some carnival misconceptions...

1. Carnival has shampoo in every cabin

2. Carnival does not advertise to partyers. Have you checked out their website or ad campaign recently? They gear towards family.

3. Carnival is now the safest cruise line in the world.

 

Ps. I am not trying to defend carnival, but many of the things listed above leads me to believe that you have never been on a carnival cruise

 

 

Sorry, you are right, it's conditioner they don't supply. Also shampoo and body soap are in a dispenser like in a locker room. Weird and tacky.

 

The short cruises that go out of Florida are everything but family oriented.

 

Carnival has not proven itself to be the safest line in the world. Over the last year, CCL and the lines under the Carnival corporate umbrella have proven themselves to be deadly unsafe. If they can sail for the next few years without loss of life or serious injury or poop cruises or preventable fires or... The list goes on... The. They can call themselves safe. As far as I'm concerned, the only thing they are now in the safety and wellness category is on hiatus from disaster.

 

I haven't been in a Carnival cruise, nor could you pay me to sail on one. I tried mass market once. It sucked. I won't spend my time and money to give it another chance.

 

 

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[ms.gloria]

Sorry, you are right, it's conditioner they don't supply. Also shampoo and body soap are in a dispenser like in a locker room. Weird and tacky.

 

The short cruises that go out of Florida are everything but family oriented.

 

Carnival has not proven itself to be the safest line in the world. Over the last year, CCL and the lines under the Carnival corporate umbrella have proven themselves to be deadly unsafe. If they can sail for the next few years without loss of life or serious injury or poop cruises or preventable fires or... The list goes on... The. They can call themselves safe. As far as I'm concerned, the only thing they are now in the safety and wellness category is on hiatus from disaster.

 

I haven't been in a Carnival cruise, nor could you pay me to sail on one. I tried mass market once. It sucked. I won't spend my time and money to give it another chance.

 

 

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That's fine as everyone is entitled to their opinion but carnival is investing I think 700 million dollars for ship safety on every single ship. That sounds pretty safe to me...

[declansdad]

I just love how the people who seem to know the most about Carnival cruises are the people who don't cruise with them.

 

 

Tonka, I can respect your opinion about the safety record but others have issues as well and I would expect that they are all taking steps to deal with any issues they have.

[ms.gloria]

I just love how the people who seem to know the most about Carnival cruises are the people who don't cruise with them.

 

 

Tonka, I can respect your opinion about the safety record but others have issues as well and I would expect that they are all taking steps to deal with any issues they have.

 

You are exactly right.

[Tonka's Skipper]

I just love how the people who seem to know the most about Carnival cruises are the people who don't cruise with them.

 

 

Tonka, I can respect your opinion about the safety record but others have issues as well and I would expect that they are all taking steps to deal with any issues they have.

 

 

 

 

Just for the record. We have sailed 2 times on Carnival, a number of years ago. not impressed. I also was in attendance at the Estacy fire out of Miami years ago when the passengers were told of the fire by the TV stations that were showing video on the fire aft and the Capitan was telling the USCG all was fine on the vessel. So I do have first hand knowledge.

 

My other Facts are supported.

 

As to other lines, lets point out how well the RCCl ship fire was handled, how the vessel systems maintained electrical power , engine maneuverability etc.

 

Quite different from Carnival.

 

I will say this if I wanted to sail Carnival again I would let my family sail on the Splendor, Triumph and Sunshine as they have gone though the required improvements.

 

 

Declandad we are not going to agree on this so out of respect I am dropping this.

 

AKK

Edited December 23, 2013 by Tonka's Skipper

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

I would just like to clarify some carnival misconceptions...

1. Carnival has shampoo in every cabin

2. Carnival does not advertise to partyers. Have you checked out their website or ad campaign recently? They gear towards family.

3. Carnival is now the safest cruise line in the world.

 

Ps. I am not trying to defend carnival, but many of the things listed above leads me to believe that you have never been on a carnival cruise

 

I know they are marketing towards families (cuz they want everyone's money) but they really don't cater to families. Case in point are the vulgar sexy man or hairy chest contests on the main deck during the day, or the recent thread from one parent unhappy because CCL entertainment CMs told them there weren't enough kids on board to warrant playing a family friendly movie on the big screen to watch together and eat popcorn to.

 

Some of us have gold status and have sailed CCL enough to know that we are disappointed and bored...

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Forums mobile app

[ms.gloria]

I know they are marketing towards families (cuz they want everyone's money) but they really don't cater to families. Case in point are the vulgar sexy man or hairy chest contests on the main deck during the day, or the recent thread from one parent unhappy because CCL entertainment CMs told them there weren't enough kids on board to warrant playing a family friendly movie on the big screen to watch together and eat popcorn to.

 

Some of us have gold status and have sailed CCL enough to know that we are disappointed and bored...

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Forums mobile app

Ok. My family had the vacation of a lifetime

[e2011]

Absolutely false in my opinion. I cruise carnival not because they are cheap, but because they provide the most for the money. Big difference here. Also, carnival is not in financial trouble, just take a lion at their stock price last week.

 

Both dcl and ccl are nice, but I prefer ccl unless you have children under 7 or so

 

This is correct. Carnival had EBITDA of $2.98 billion and net income of $1.08 billion. Stock is near its 52 week high. Pays $1.00 per share dividend which at yesterdays close was a yield of 2.60%. Much better than you will get on your money market account….

[Tonka's Skipper]

Carnival Inc. is fine right for now.......Carnival line is in big trouble. They are giving away cruises and spending 300 mil + in the next few years to bring their vessels safety and operational standard up to par. They are able to get away with sub standard built vessels and operational standards because they had so many vessels in various lines. Now the maritime governing agencies have cracked down hard.

 

Things have improved in the whole fleet, but there is still a lot to do. If my family or friends were to sail carnival, and I don't care to, the only vessels I consider safe right now is the Splendor, Triumph and Sunshine.

 

AKK

[ducklite]

Carnival Inc. is fine right for now.......Carnival line is in big trouble. They are giving away cruises and spending 300 mil + in the next few years to bring their vessels safety and operational standard up to par. They are able to get away with sub standard built vessels and operational standards because they had so many vessels in various lines. Now the maritime governing agencies have cracked down hard.

 

 

 

Things have improved in the whole fleet' date=' but there is still a lot to do. If my family or friends were to sail carnival, and I don't care to, the only vessels I consider safe right now is the Splendor, Triumph and Sunshine.

 

 

 

AKK[/quote']

 

 

You can't convince me that if there was a major incident which required fast removal of all passengers that there wouldn't be many, many casualties on those huge ships. That goes for the two newer DCL vessels as well.

 

 

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[Ex techie]

You can't convince me that if there was a major incident which required fast removal of all passengers that there wouldn't be many, many casualties on those huge ships. That goes for the two newer DCL vessels as well.

 

 

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Ducklite,

I agree with you on this one. Deaths I would hope not, but injuries and quite a few severe ones certainly.

And as practicing and executing full evacuations from the ships in a lifeboat is deemed too risky, I can only hold my hand up and say the Concordia crew, not Bridge Officers, did an amazing job given the circumstances they were unnecessarily put in.

 

ex techie

[lukeduke07]

Sorry, you are right, it's conditioner they don't supply. Also shampoo and body soap are in a dispenser like in a locker room. Weird and tacky.

 

The short cruises that go out of Florida are everything but family oriented.

 

Carnival has not proven itself to be the safest line in the world. Over the last year, CCL and the lines under the Carnival corporate umbrella have proven themselves to be deadly unsafe. If they can sail for the next few years without loss of life or serious injury or poop cruises or preventable fires or... The list goes on... The. They can call themselves safe. As far as I'm concerned, the only thing they are now in the safety and wellness category is on hiatus from disaster.

 

I haven't been in a Carnival cruise, nor could you pay me to sail on one. I tried mass market once. It sucked. I won't spend my time and money to give it another chance.

 

 

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Sounds like since you've never been on a carnival cruise you are the go-to expert on carnival cruises.

[ducklite]

Sounds like since you've never been on a carnival cruise you are the go-to expert on carnival cruises.

 

 

Never said I was. What I can say is that I dislike mass market cruising, family style meals and banquet food, and expect much higher levels of amenities and available services than Carnival offers, therefore, no, I would not like Carnival.

 

 

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[Ex techie]

So did you decide that after your Dream cruise in 2011?

 

If so why are you on the Disney Cruise board? They are mass market, not as big as others but still a significant player in the family market?

 

ex techie

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ducklite]

So did you decide that after your Dream cruise in 2011?

 

If so why are you on the Disney Cruise board? They are mass market, not as big as others but still a significant player in the family market?

 

ex techie

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

The new DCL ships are way too big for my taste. We stayed in a concierge suite and ate our dinners in the adult restaurants. Room service for breakfast, lunch in one of the MDR's to stay away from the crowds. The rest of the time we spent in our balcony, in the spa, or on the private sun deck. In other words we avoided the mainstream part of DCL.

 

All that aside, I have repeatedly stated that DCL is the best line for people cruising with kids, and the only one I would cruise if I were taking kids with me. I think that it is the best mass market for families, and is really closer to a premium line in most aspects. For adults cruising without kids, I think there are better choices.

 

 

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[e2011]

I always find it a bit ridiculous when people who have never been on a particular ship or line start to pontificate about all the things wrong and horrible with that ship or cruise line. I would have more respect for them if they just said "Never been on that ship so I can't comment " because unless you have actually been a particular ship or cruise line, your comments have no value to others. If you are going to spew opinions based on here-say, innuendo and things you have read you may come across as ignorant and sadly uniformed to the average reader of these boards. From then on your future comments are dismissed as silly.

Edited December 27, 2013 by e2011

[ducklite]

I always find it a bit ridiculous when people who have never been on a particular ship or line start to pontificate about all the things wrong and horrible with that ship or cruise line. I would have more respect for them if they just said "Never been on that ship so I can't comment " because unless you have actually been a particular ship or cruise line, your comments have no value to others. If you are going to spew opinions based on here-say, innuendo and things you have read you may come across as ignorant and sadly uniformed to the average reader of these boards. From then on your future comments are dismissed as silly.

 

 

Like I said, there are things that Carnival doesn't offer that I want out of my cruise, therefore I would not sail them. It would be foolish to spend time and money in a vacation that you know you won't enjoy before you even book it. Carnival (and MSC, HAL,NCL, etc.) would be everything we hated about RCCL, so why bother?

 

 

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[declansdad]

I always find it a bit ridiculous when people who have never been on a particular ship or line start to pontificate about all the things wrong and horrible with that ship or cruise line. I would have more respect for them if they just said "Never been on that ship so I can't comment " because unless you have actually been a particular ship or cruise line, your comments have no value to others. If you are going to spew opinions based on here-say, innuendo and things you have read you may come across as ignorant and sadly uniformed to the average reader of these boards. From then on your future comments are dismissed as silly.

 

 

If that were to happen, some people would have a lot fewer posts. :D

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

Yeah, well those of is who have still get the same response. Basically it must be us, too negative and never happy with anything, can't trust a review as reliable. One thing I have noticed about CCL is the never ending excuse making on their behalf. "Any cruise is better than work or laundry," "a cruise is what you make it," "you have to go in with reasonable expectations." The first is a poor standard to hold a vacation to, the second blames you for not liking your trip, and the third already admits that they know going in to it to lower their expectations. I prefer to let a vacation company wow me and then if they let me down, I move on. I'm not taking the blame in this 'relationship'...

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Forums mobile app

[BullDawg91]

I'll just say it stresses me out to read boards about other lines where you have to pay extra for soda cards, extra for drink packages, extra for boarding early, how to sneak drinks onboard, this, that and the other.

 

With Disney, I don't have to worry about any of that!