Migrating from DCL to Carnival

[jimbo5544]

There was a time I would have just told you that a DCL cruise was just a CCL cruise with that Disney layer on top of everything, on a much nicer sleeker ship, with SUPERIOR service, and not so good food.

 

Now, even NCL has better than CCL ever since they slid down the generic pole.

 

And although we loved our DCL cruise enough to do it one more time, we found their formula was SO precise, we felt we repeated ourselves on that second one. But CCL doesn't have Castaway Cay.

 

And my opinion is, if I were going from what I was used to on DCL, and followed it up with what CCL currently offers, I would be truly disappointed.

 

 

Quite the comedian today

 

 

Sent from my iPhone

[richstowe]

We are seasoned Disney cruisers going on carnival magic Dec 3. I plan to report back! I just can't justify paying double to DCL right now. Yes' date=' thier entertainment in the evening is the best out there, but still can't justify it!

 

 

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This was our takeaway as well. We cruised virtually the same itinerary on the Carnival Dream and the Disney Fantasy, the second newest and newest ships in both fleets.

 

The Disney ship was beautiful. Service, the same. Food - Disney had a better room service menu and the food always looked beautiful, but I am not sure it tasted any better. Cleanliness - in 8 cruises i have gotten norovirus once. Disney Fantasy.

 

While the entertainment was fun for the kids we never felt like there was a lot of adult fun. We spend an hour in line for princesses while we would normally be relaxing by the pool while the kids swam and rode water slides.

 

Another thing that we have realized is that we really prefer being able to have dinner when we want, not assigned seating. I think Disney's dinning offerings are very innovative but a little behind the trends of other lines with open dining policies.

 

And honestly, we enjoy the casino a little. We aren't there much but we can drop the kids off at camp, play a few games or listen to the music.

 

The experience was just way too similar to justify more than double the cost.

I hope you enjoy your cruise. My kids still say their favorite cruise was the Carnival Dream.

I have now cruised on 6 of the 7 mainline American cruiselines in the last 6 years . The 7th is Disney . For the most part , I have heard good things about it , most surprisingly from adults without kids . Still I'm unlikely to ever cruise DCL when the price is normally twice that of the others . At that price I'd cruise one of the premium brands .

[BambiD]

I can't thank you all enough.... I so appreciate the feedback. After several cruises with DCL - we found that we prefer the smaller ships to the newer "grander" versions. I felt more like a number on the massive ships and felt the smaller ships were more personal.

 

I hear ya about comparing the Miracle to the grandeur of DCL liners but I am well aware that the Miracle is towards the lower end of the line and am ready.

 

I'm just trying to find a new "go to" cruise line that will allow to cruise more than once a year or every other year.

 

Thanks again and keep the comparisons coming :)

[louanne93]

I can't thank you all enough.... I so appreciate the feedback. After several cruises with DCL - we found that we prefer the smaller ships to the newer "grander" versions. I felt more like a number on the massive ships and felt the smaller ships were more personal.

 

I hear ya about comparing the Miracle to the grandeur of DCL liners but I am well aware that the Miracle is towards the lower end of the line and am ready.

 

I'm just trying to find a new "go to" cruise line that will allow to cruise more than once a year or every other year.

 

Thanks again and keep the comparisons coming :)

 

Then you will LOVE the Miracle! It takes a special person to love her. She is all about the service they give and the FUN they have. I have never been treated like family on a vacation!

[cjnix29]

We've done one Disney cruise and three carnival and have two more booked on Carnival. We are Disney people generally. My husband and I got married there, and we are drinkers of Mickey's kool aid. HOWEVER, we have actually enjoyed our Carnival cruises much better! My son was 10 on our Disney cruise, and he didn't like the kids club! He's over the characters, and the rest of it is nice, but certainly NOT enough to justify two to three times the cost. We actually found the food better on Carnival, and our servers on Disney (Fantasy), weren't all that great. We also weren't overly thrilled with the shows. not that we think those are much better on Carnival, we just didn't think they were as great as everyone makes them out to be. I think what we like about Carnival is that there is no pretension. They are who they are, laid back, just have fun. There's none of the "we are Disney, so we must be better" kind of attitude. It was relaxing! now, I will say, there is no comparing the ships. Disney ships themselves are beautiful, and the detail is great. But...once I see it, the rest doesn't matter. I thought the pools were entirely too small, and I would rather have a waterpark like on the Breeze than have an aquaduck. That's a one and done for me. I would rather go on three Carnival cruises for the cost of one Disney any day!! But...to each his own. Only you will know what you prefer! That's why there are so many ships....something for everyone!

[tetemcg]

We've done both and I look at it this way...I love shopping at Bloomingdales but I can be just as happy spending the day at Target. They are both shopping just different. The same applies for cruising. Go on your Carnival Cruise with an open mind, put it in perspective as far as dollar & value, and enjoy your cruising without kids. We are new part time empty nesters as well (sons are 19 & 20) and it's a lot to get use to...but we are enjoying the "struggle" :D

Edited October 14, 2016 by tetemcg
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