Carnival Glory or Disney Magic???

[YellowBird06]

Hello to everyone,

 

I'm a long time reader, first time poster and really need some of your feedback on my cruise predicament. I apologize in advance for the long post.

 

My DH, DD (7), my cousin, and I (all adults in our late 20's) are currently booked on the Glory in early October. We were booked for the same week on the Disney Magic, as we have cruised that ship before (11/2002) and loved it and its perfect for my daughter. We also originally booked Disney because of their nursery; we were going to bring my son along who would be 20 months at sailing. After booking Disney, we discussed it further and thought that it just wouldn't be worth going on the cruise if we had to chase after our son the whole time and we have another baby on the way, so we really need some down time and alone time (when we can sneak away)!!! ;)

 

So after deciding to leave our DS with grandma, we asked my cousin to come along (she's never been on a cruise) and Disney would have been to costly (even at their lowest catagory room), so we booked the Glory after much research on the boards and got a fantastic deal for a balcony room for $600 less than we would have paid on Disney for Cat. 12!

 

Here's my hesitance:

 

I've read all the Glory reviews and it seems like this ship is hit or miss! I've either read reviews were everything was excellant or very mediocre to horrible.

 

Glory PROS:

Camp Carnival

Cheaper than Disney

Balcony room

Bigger/newer ship

Comfy beds

 

Glory CONS:

 

Hit or Miss reviews on service and food

Charge extra for things like soda, extended childcare (no extra charge on Disney)

No Castaway Cay stop

 

Our only "CON" with Disney is the price, but if it's the better cruise experience, than I will gladly pay the difference. We don't get a chance to cruise often, so I want the better cruise. I know its kind of like comparing apples and oranges, but I was hoping for some input, especially from past Glory cruisers. Should I take a chance on the Glory?

[dairyou]

We have sailed with Disney quite a few times so I know where your hesitation is coming from. We haven't sailed with Carnival yet, but we have with Royal Caribbean. We had such a horrible time and their kids club was hit or miss. Sometimes they weren't there at scheduled times and they are closed during the afternoon.

 

We're trying Carnival for the first time in November. We're looking forward to it. The only advice I have for you is, if this is your only vacation for this year or a while, it's better to not go in my opinion. When we took the time and money to go on Royal Caribbean we felt is was a waste of money we could have put on the Disney Cruise.

 

Just my opinion. If you want to go after November 10th, I'll let you know how Carnival goes ;)

 

Good Luck,

Deb

[seguincruiser]

If you can afford the difference I would go with Disney for your peace of mind. I think Carnival is fine but if you don't get frequent vacations I would go with what I know. I would hate to recommend Carnival and you end up not liking it. On the other hand the extra money you save could be used for some fun outings at your ports. Goodluck and enjoy your cruise with whoever you go with.

[stlrboo]

Go with Disney, if $$$ isn't an issue..!! Carnival deals with everyone on board, while Disney caters to the kids.. (and gives the adults alternatives)..;) If I was familiar with Disney, and taking Carnival Glory (an older ship, so to say), stick with what you are comfortable with.. You get what you pay for..; Me, I LOVE Carnival, but I have no young children.. DS is 15 and enjoys Carnival, as do I..!! :D DW has picked Carnival over our recent cruise on RCI.. :)

[Karter]

I am a big supporter of Carnival being platinum and having cruised with them since the early days of the Carnivale and Mardi Gras. I have taken many new cruisers with us over the years and everyone we have taken has had a great time. However in your case I would recommend that you stay with Disney because more than likely you have established an expectation that Carnival probably will not live up to. It's like you are comparing apples to oranges in this case. Carnival is an extremely good value as long as you know what you are getting into. The old adage still applies here "You get what you pay for" (Disney is usually 1.5X to 2X the Carnival price). If you hadn’t already been on Disney I would have wholeheartedly recommended the Glory. It's a beautiful ship with a unique color theme that is evident throughout the ship. But I think you have probably been spoiled by the Disney experience and would perceive Carnival as a step down. If you do stay with the Glory go with an open mind and try to avoid making comparisons - it will only detract from your cruise experience and also set reasonable expectations.

 

Good Luck and have fun on whichever ship you choose.

[gfsmith]

Our first cruise was with Disney and although we had a wonderful time I don't feel it was worth the extra money.

 

If your worried about having care for your 7yo then i would go with Disney. Of course thier childrens program is second to none. Carnivals childrens program is closed for portions of the afternoon and evening, whereas Disneys is open as long as there are any other activities going on.

 

I can tell you that our son has had a wonderful time in both programs.

 

I don't know about the Glory so I can't comment on that.

 

Have a great time in whichever you choose.

 

Happy Cruising!

[inmyis]

We have done both the Glory and the Magic over the last few years. We just happen to be doing the Magic again in Oct and the Glory again in Feb.

My DW LOVED the Magic and we are doing it with no kids. We decided to do the Glory with our 4 kids (DS 18, DS 16, DS14, DD 14) and another family with teens. With the kids ages we thought this would be the best plus less $$ than Disney. You will have a great time on either ship but the service was better on the Magic. The adult type fun (shows, party, casino) is where Carnival shines.

Good Luck on your decision and either way have fun!!:) :D

[pppiglet]

Disney was our first cruise and Carnival Pride our 2nd. We don't have small kids, but we thought the Carnival cruise was just as good as the Disney cruise. We are booked again on the Magic for next May for our 25th anniv., but after that we will be doing Carnival or something else. Disney is just too much money!

[disneypinman]

We have always cruised with Disney...until now. We are taking our first Carnival cruise in just six weeks. We booked our Carnival cruise with low expectations vs. DCL as, in our minds, nothing but a Disney cruise can live up to a DISNEY CRUISE! If you booked the Carnival cruise with the expectation of have the exact same experience as you had with Disney then you are setting yourself up for a huge letdown. With that being said, we still plan on having a great vacation...just different. We are still visiting some wonderful places and have a week to enjoy a good cruise ship.

 

Just keep in mind that you will make the vacation. But, if money is no object and you love Disney (as we do) then go with DCL.

 

Either way have a great vacation!

[INCHARGE]

I think Disney cruises are so "Magical" for the children. :) Was DD in awe of all the magical things "as seen thru the eyes of a little girl?"

Since all of the adults are in their 20s, you may like the adult fun of the Glory. So I guess it is whoever will get the most out of the cruise. Have a wonderful time, whichever cruise you decide on. I don't think you can go wrong on either. :)

[luvdale]

I have cruised on the Carnival Glory and I was very disappointed. We had a good time, but if it had not been for the balcony, I don't know what we would of done. I have cruised on Disney and it was worth every penny. I loved everything about Disney and I DON"T HAVE KIDS AND I AM IN MY 50's.

They treated you so good. We just were disappointed with Carnival because of the loud drunks at night, especially on the balcony at 1:00, 3:00 in the morning, the drunks wandering up and down the hallways. We have cruised on NCL 4 times and we like the freestyle dining. We had the first seating in the dining room on Carnival---5 of us--they seated us with another couple that we did not even know. We had 4 of us on Disney--in the dining room we sat at a table by ourselves. It is very hard having a conversation with someone that is from the west coast and you are from the south. I would go Disney in a heartbeat---it is worth the cost--you pay for what you get. I really enjoyed Castaway Cay. It is a beautiful island and you are not crowded like you are on NCL's private island. They dock at their island--no tenders for Disney. It is worth every penny. I would not think twice about going on a Disney cruise and I don't have kids. I don't know if I would ever cruise again on the Glory. It is like you said it is either hit or miss and maybe our week was a miss. I read negative reviews about the NCL Norway-and I was really worried about my cruise, but it was a wonderful cruise. I think everyone has their right to express their own opinions on this board, you just have to go and see for yourself. Some people just have so much expectations and they are let down. I loved the Norway, it was cruising on an older ship before the mega ships. I really counted down the days till my cruise on the Glory, and I was expecting a wonderful cruise and it was, the seas were so calm, the weather was beautiful, but the drunks all hours of the night was kinda hard to handle. We were not used to that kind of behavior on a cruise. We did not have that problem on NCL. I don't know, like I said we can all express our opinions on this board, good and bad. I have read positive and negative reviews on all ships, it is just like a restaurant in your hometown, you can have bad food at them, but you just smile and go on.

[232271]

Previous poster talks about drunks in the hall, well we had a very obnoxious drunk man in the dining room each night on our Disney Cruise. The man came in drinking and kept going, even our servers commented on "cutting his drinks off". He was even with a large party with small kids. He was the "uncle" with no kids, however.

So, it is luck of the draw for that type of behavior.

Having said that, I too am nervous on my first non-disney cruise, but havent read too many bad things about Carnvial. I am sure we will miss the disney shows and we have no movie theater onboard. BUT a vacation can be what you make of it. Just go and expect to have great time, compare, then if it isnt just your cup of tea,

SAVE, SAVE, SAVE, and take a Disney cruise from now on.

(that is what keeps us from DCL, lots of cash and we have to fly there)

 

Good luck and let us know how it goes!:)

[sccruzzer]

We did Disney "Magic" almost 2 years ago, and too was reluctint (sp?) on going on a Carnival cruise. But My husband & I wanted to try Carnival out, so we went on Celebration in February, Just the 2 of us. (we have a 6 yo daughter) Anyway we loved it. Although there were "no characters" on the ship, we thought the food was great...We thought better than Disney. So we are going back in October with our daughter & In-laws on the "Glory" Can't wait. I have heard so many great reviews on the ship. I know we will have a great time...Oh yes, we are still going back on another Disney Cruise "Wonder" next Nov. 07 for my daughters 8th B'day. But overall....I think Carnival Cruises are Great!:)

[mollie jo]

I have done both, Disney with my children, and the Glory without them. But we are all booked on the Glory for spring break in March. My boys are 10 and 15, a bit older than your daughter. What I think we will miss about Disney is the sail-away parties, especially the one as you leave port. I don't know why more lines do not do this as it sets the tone for a great cruise experience. We love all the families dancing on deck everywhere. Disney gears everything towards families - shows, entertainment, meals, etc., and you gotta love Mickey and friends on board. We vacation as a family and my boys both tried the kids clubs (this was 3 years ago), but opted to stay with us, which suited me fine. Of course Castaway Cay is wonderful. While all that is good, I think we will enjoy the Glory just as much. It will be a different kind of cruise for sure, but a great one. The Glory is so huge and so beautiful. She has a wonderful water slide that we ALL can use. The food is just as good, but you won't be rotating dining rooms. We found the service to be just as good too. The Eastern ports are basically the same as Disney, minus Castaway Cay. And the cost is sooooo much cheaper. I couldn't justify the difference. We can get our Disney fix at the parks, which is expensive enough. I vote for the Glory. Note the differences between the two, don't be constantly comparing, and have a wonderful time. I think it is great that your cousin is getting to experence a cruise too! Let us know what you decide and what you think.

[YellowBird06]

I really appreciate every response I got to this post. :)

 

I think we might just stick to the Glory and we will try our hardest not to compare it to the "Magic" experience. I'm sure if we board without expecting too much, we will either be surprised by a great cruise or at the least not be disappointed with any sub-par service. Its still a cruise in paradise, so it can't be that bad! :D