About to go on first non-disney cruise

[Lilleshammer]

I've only heard positive things about Disney cruise line and your pretty right on, you get what you pay for.

I think since the OP is a Disney cruiser and uis trying Carnival they should of picked a ship more kid friendly and Breeze was great for families as I imagine Carnival Dream would be also. Don't think I would expect kids to have as much fun on other Carnival ships or at least the other ones I've been on.

 

I don't believe those are options for Galveston in June. Our choices were carnival triumph or magic or RC navigator of the sea. We eliminated the others because they were only doing 7 night cruises which was more of a commitment than we were willing to make not knowing if we were going to like it or not.

 

I'm a little disappointed to hear so many people say that you get what you pay for on disney. I guess I was hoping that a lot of what we were paying for was the "disney experience" which we don't give two ***** about and the brand which we care about even less. I was hoping that the triumph would be a similar experience just without all the disney crap. The ships are about the same size, hold about the same number of passengers and crew, similar activities and amenities.

 

Is there anything that is better about the triumph or is this like comparing jc penny to nordstroms?

[Pattyjo9951]

You will get good service and good food for sure on your Carnival cruise. I have loved the camp carnival workers. They have always been great with my kids. They do a lot of activities with them. You will have a great time if you go in with an open mind. We love carnival!!

They have the ice cream machines! They have great desserts and I think some of the best cookies. Also the chocolate cake you can order from room service is amazing. The chocolate Cake in the dining room is my favorite. Carnival has many great things about them. Our waiters on Carnival have always done magic tricks and danced with my boys. They liked the waiters on Carnival just as good or better than Disney. We have always had great service with Carnival. Just relax and have fun. Ask questions and research your ports and just have fun!!

[RMcoolX]

Disney is better overall, but when it comes to bang-4-the-buck, cArnival wins hands down.

[mojomorris]

We did Carnival Triumph one cruise before "the cruise from H3LL".

That aside, our biggest gripe was the lack of a mini fridge in our balcony cabin. The cabin steward did bring ice every day but we'd rather keep multiple glasses of juice, bottles of wine and cans of beer cold in a fridge rather than overload a glass with ice whenever we wanted a "cold one". BUT we can't complain about the overall value!

[S.S.Oceanlover]

I have cruised NCL, RCCL, Carnival twice and did the Disney Fantasy this April. We were on the EXACT same itinerary as the Carnival Dream from 2013. If you asked my kids which they liked better, they would probably say Disney (I have a 4 yo daughter who thinks she is a princess so she was in heaven, and DS 8 loved the aquaduck). The kids club is definitely bigger and fancier but found my son playing video games most nights which is what he did on the Dream. I found my daughter just dressing up in princess dresses and watching Disney movies. They usually had an art project on Carnival. And there was a case of head lice in the kids club on Disney (not that I am judging but that is something that some folks would love to slam a lower price cruise line for.)

 

Cabin Steward FAR better on Carnival. Our best service all around for dining and state room was the Carnival Legend. RCCL had great dining room staff. Our Disney dining staff was adorable and friendly, but slow and inaccurate. I didn't care because I was on vacation but I did not see the price premium.

 

As I paid for both cruises so I was constantly running the cost/benefit analysis in my head (sorry I am an engineer). NEVER saw the 100% mark up value (and we were in a suite of CCL vs Balcony on Fantasy).

 

With the exception of the buffet food (which we avoid just because we like sit-down service), Carnival food is better. And I prefer an "anytime dining" option vs traditional seating.

 

And yes Camp Carnival has its own activity schedule.

 

I say any day cruising is better than a day at work. Enjoy the break with your family.

 

This saying makes me crazy lol. There was one cruise we were on where work would have definitely been a big step and I'm not crazy about work.:p

 

Bill

[Lerin]

You get what you pay for.

When you stay at a Hilton Garden Inn are you upset that it's not a Waldorf Astoria?

 

If you go in thinking you are getting a $4 grand cruise when you only paid $1 grand, then you will be disappointed. Remember what you paid, and you will be very, very happy. :)

 

Signed,

Someone who has sailed luxury lines as well as Carnival and likes them both almost equally, though my pocketbook prefers Carnival. :D

[Pine Bluff]

Thanks for all the comments. We will certainly go with an open mind but it will be impossible not to compare it to the only other cruise we've ever been on since, well, on paper they are very, very similar ships with identical itineraries. I get that disney has Mickey Mouse and princesses and carnival doesn't but that wasn't what we enjoyed. I guess it was just the quality of everything.

 

I will have to ask myself if being on on disney instead would be worth the extra $ plus flying to Florida first and I doubt it will. It's the fact that it sails from Galveston that makes it an easy vacation. I just wish disney would bring that damn boat back. Is there another line that departs from Galveston that we should have considered?

 

And one thing I'm still not clear on. Did the triumph get renovated? I could have sworn I saw a video showing off all of the awesome new fun 2.0 features. I was kind of expecting a newer ship than the disney magic which was showing its age last year (I think it was about to be renovated).

 

Edit: one other thing. How do the pools and the deck experience on the triumph compare to the disney magic? Triumph has water slides and disney doesn't! That and DIY ice cream cones are enough to get my son super excited.

 

Thanks again for the info. I'm sure we'll have a great time.

 

 

Your comment about similar ships caught my eye. By no means are they similar. The Disney ships are built like the classic liners. Just walking into the atrium, greeted by name to Mickey, of course, just told us we were in for a different treat. Once you do those ships, and even the Royal ships, Carnival just seems plastic. Knock on anything you pass and it's the quality of Christmas Tree Shop material. It's hard to compete on BRASS with neon lights.

 

And yet to some, this means nothing. They head right for a Guys burger and a Ballentine.

[shipty2]

I have sailed on both lines. The Carnival kids area is much smaller however many of the activities for kids do not take place there. For example the camp Carnival staff may take the kids to the lido restaurant where they make then eat their own pizzas. Or they may go to an age appropriate show together. My son's favorite activity when he was camp age was "swimming under the stars" where the staff take the kids to the pool which is at that time off limits to anyone not with the group.

 

Camp Carnival is an activity program not a daycare . They make it easy to see the list of activities so your son can attend what he wants. I encourage you to bring him to the first night where they meet each other , the orientation.

 

The food is comparable between the two lines and the menus on Carnival are not the same every night so in spite of dining in the same venue the food changes and the staff will be the same.

 

Some ships have a suess brunch if your child needs to see characters but I don't know about your ship.

 

Don't worry be happy. You will have fun.

[Luckycruising]

I've been on the Disney Magic after doing some Carnival and Royal Carribbean cruises. I will give you my and my daughter's point of view:

 

Buffet lunch: Disney all the way. Like someone mentioned King crab's legs and really all high quality food.

 

MDR: Food was ok on Disney, yes the changing restaurants are fun but prefer Carnival MDR food (i know, this is really subjective)

 

Room steward: The only bad room steward i ever had was on Disney. Keep in mind we are a really low maintenance family, we never make any requests to the room steward and i always keep my cabin tidy, so the room steward never have extra work to do for us. The steward on Disney never smiled much and really seemed to hate his job.

 

Kids club: My daughter doesn't go much to the kids clubs anyways on any line, but yes, the kids area on the Magic was beautiful.

 

Activities: Carnival all the way. I found myself bored on the Disney cruise. It seemed that from 5pm to 9-10pm, there were no activities what so ever for adults. The Karaoke and all that fun stuff would start later, when we were headed for our cabin (like mentioned above, we don't use kids clubs much, and even less babysitting services on a cruise at a time where my child needs to sleep).

 

Pools: Disney magic didn't have a waterslide or decent pools for adults either, i enjoy the ones at Carnival.

 

The most important part, my daughter's point of view (she's 8 now, she must have been 6 during the Disney Cruise). When we ask her what her favorite cruise was, her answer: Carnival Breeze!!

 

Seasickness: Maybe it was coincidental, but the only time we have ever been seasick was on the Disney Magic, all 3 of us got a bad case of seasickness one day, and it wasn't because the weather was that bad. I don't know if their stabilizer systems are different from Carnival, or like mentioned, it could have been coincidental.

 

Tv: My daughter really like 24/7 cartoons in the cabin stateroom tv on Disney.

[Warm Breezes]

Our first 2 cruises were Disney and then we discovered the value we could get from CCL. We have enjoyed our CCL cruises. They are not what we got from Disney, but we didn't expect that. We have sailed NCL and Princess to.....but overall CCL usually offers us the best value for our money if that is what we are wanting from our cruise. Usually when we sail other lines it is for something other than the value aspect of it.

 

First you need to adjust your expectations. Do not expect Disney quality from a CCL ship...you did not pay for that quality and you will be disappointed if you do. Second go with a positive attitude. Boarding a ship already anticipating not to like it is one sure way to be disappointed with it.

 

IMHO Disney had better food, rooms, entertainment and that awesome private island. You paid for that. CCL has good food, slightly smaller rooms (but bigger than NCL and Princess), and good, but not great entertainment. If you thought Disney entertainment was bad (FWIW I thought it was excellant) you will probably not like Carnivals at all....or maybe you will since it is more adult shows (not x-rated, but definately not Disney style). It all depends on what you like since it is subjective. IMHO service was relatively equal....both great.

 

As for the kids club I really can't help you much there. My kids didn't like doing the kids club on any line, even Disney, so while they tried them a handful of times out of their 10 cruises, they usually never went back after that first try.

 

Go with realistic expectations for what you paid for, keep an open mind, and most of all relax and have fun.

Edited June 6, 2014 by Warm Breezes

[jcearth]

OP, I think that you will be pleasantly surprised about the pools on the Triumph compared to Disney. One of the biggest issues we had on our Disney cruise was how packed and dangerous the pools can be - we inadvertently started a cannonball contest at the Donald family pool and my 7 year old ended up getting kicked in the head while he was underwater - had I not been right there, it could have been a huge problem (I believe that since then Disney has instituted lifeguards on their ships) -- way too may people in one space. The Triumph will have an area with a waterslide, pool, and hot tub that is great for kids (watch the depth of the pool though - may be a little deep for an almost 6 year old if he is not a strong swimmer) in additional to the main pool with the movie screen. Also, the soft serve ice cream in never-ending (they will have ice cream and frozen yogurt, and switch between chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry). Disney has the absolute best shows at sea, so avoid the main theater if you didn't like them. Caveat - Carnival's shows are more PG-13 Las Vegas style show, so if you want a more adult brand of show without a real storyline, then you might want to check it out. The kids club will not be as expansive as Disney, but will also not be as crazy either.

[ma_t_gus]

Disney is more catered to children. They have no casinos therefore the kids clubs take up the space. Gotta love their 3D movie theaters. I actually like the shows better than the other cruiselines. I think the rooms are bigger per catergory. I like Carnival because of the price and they have more ships to choose from. Good luck on your cruise and have fun. As always, any cruise is better than no cruise.

[serene56]

If looking for a glorified babysitter to keep the 5 year old busy I think you are going to be disappointed especially after a disney cruise

 

Camps are broken down into age groups. and a 5 year old will be in the same room as the 2 year olds. An older 5 year old will be bored with the program-especially if they are already in school.

 

Camps are not opened all day. they open on sea days at 10 and close at 12:45 open at 2 and close again at 5. Open again at 7 and is free until 10pm.

 

 

Disney is a different experience-- but you are paying many dollars more for that experience

[Denett2005]

I will chime in I have an eight year old and his first three cruises have been aboard the Disney Wonder,Disney Dream & Disney Fantasy we just got off the Carnival Breeze and all I can say is that we had a wonderful time! I picked the Carnival Breeze because I wanted my son to get on what I felt is Carnivals best ship.The whole entire time I was aboard the Breeze I could not believe we were getting all this vacation for such a reasonable price.We did a 7 day Western Caribbean Cruise with Disney last year I could have done 3 eight day Carnival Breeze cruises for the cost of one seven day Disney Cruise. I have a four day Disney Cruise booked in a couple of months and that's costing me more than the eight day Breeze. I will say that my son enjoyed the 4 D Thrill Theater, Waterworks, miniature golf, seaside movies we even watched Frozen one night, and the hasbro game show. My 8 yr old is a foodie and he loved Carnivals food. The variety was great! We where addresed by our names and the service was wonderful.I can say that Carnival drops the ball when it comes to their kids club you cant compare Disney's kid club with Carnival but my 8 yr old still enjoyed it. I know that Carnival is in the in process of revamping their kids club and it looks like it will be awesome! I can tell you this, next year I will do a b2b on the Breeze one 8 day the other will be a 6 day cruise cheaper than one 7 day Disney cruise. Carnival is not Disney and Disney is.not Carnival but both are great products.Carnival did have some cons if your a avid Disney Cruiser I would share if you like just inbox me. All in all my son and I had a fantastic time and would not hesitate to cruise on. Carnival's Breeze I am even looking forward to the New Vista

Edited June 8, 2014 by Denett2005

[Denett2005]

Should of picked Dream or Breeze

 

I have to agree when I decided to take my son from Disney Cruise line just to change some things up I picked the Breeze and was not disappointed! I don't think an older Carnival ship can fairly compete with a Disney ship..The OP sailed on one of Disney older ships and that ship just got revamped I don't think the Carnival ship the OP.choose is comparable! The Breeze would have been a better choice

[heatherbelle]

I have been on the Disney Magic and Carnival Sunshine. DCL was my first cruise line. I have to confess I was dreading trying Carnival, we did it purely from a cost point of view last year. MyDH said if you don't try it we don't know. We got a balcony cabin sailing for 11 nights as oppose to an inside for 7 nights and money left over. We all loved Carnival. I think the only thing I missed was the rotating dining, which is unique to Disney. I also missed those free cakes in cove cafe:D.

I found the entertainment was better for adults on an evening, more going on. My DS loved his club. When we got back, I actually cancelled my DCL Fantasy cruise and have booked us on the Breeze for this summer. I can't help with your choice of ship, but personally I like newer ships, hence my choice of the Breeze.

 

I would try it and see for the money you will save flying to Florida and the increased cost of the actual cruise. The DCL Fantasy was £2350 for the three of us in a 5E aft a similar balcony cabin after a price drop on Carnival was £1750 for three of us. That saving has been put towards a stay at Disney's Yacht Club.

Edited June 8, 2014 by heatherbelle

[moobear67]

IMO, service was fantastic on all of the cruises I have been on, but friendlier on our Carnival cruises. The food has been better on Carnival. Basically, Disney has some amazing food, but also some not so great food (and somewhat disappointing food) at times. The best food I had on Disney was at the specialty restaurant, and it was outstanding! Disney has better shows, hands down. The kids clubs are bigger on Disney, but my kids preferred the kids clubs on Carnival because they are more personal. (We found the kid's clubs on Disney to have staff that is less engaging with the kids, and more like babysitters). Belive it or not, Disney "pushed" the alcohol more than any Carnival cruise I have been on, but maybe that's because they don't have a casino to make extra money from passengers. Disney's private island (Castaway Cay) is amazing, better than Half Moon Cay (Holland America's private island that is used by Carnival...not sure if you are going there on your cruise, but just in case....although Half Moon Cay is still very nice). Just go in with an open mind, and just enjoy the fact that you are on a cruise, not matter what the cruise line! Have a great trip!