4 day Disney or 7 day Carnival?

[Vibrantvirgo81]

I'm debating between a 4 day Disney cruise or a 7 day Carnival cruise. We (my 14 yr old son and I) are going on our first cruise in about a month and I'm anticipating we will love it. Our upcoming cruise is from Long Beach to Catalina Island to Ensenada and back. The Disney cruise is to Cabo (Baja California) and the Carnival is to Cabo (2 days) and Puerto Vallarta (Mexican Riviera). They are both about the same price (100-150 more for Disney). Is Disney really worth the extra cost? Why or why not? Which place is better to go to? :confused:

[SadieN]

The 7day cruise on the Miracle will have a completely different vibe than your Inspiration (or Imagination) cruise.

Sailed the Miracle three times last year and have two more planned.

 

Look on the Carnival and Disney boards for more info.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[Pyrate13]

Disclaimer: My opinion and mine alone.

 

We've been on 4 Disney cruises and going on our ninth Carnival. I do not feel Disney is worth the extra cost. I don't care for the dining rotation thing nor do I feel the food is any better. Décor is nice on the Disney ships but I don't sail just for décor. The ports are the ports and for us don't factor into the choice of line to get there. So, a 7 day over a 4 day, Carnival will win that one every time for us.

 

Repeat, My opinion and mine alone.

[spookwife]

two entirely different lines in terms of on board ambience and activities. if you intend to disconnect and only see your kid for meals, then Disney works. they do an EXCELLENT job keeping the rug rats occupied and at the same time keeping the AO areas AO.

 

Carnival is more about doing stuff together.

 

MNSHO only: I hated the food on Disney except for the cold soups in the MDR and Palo. I also thought my MDR wait staff was more than little snobby and definitely did NOT take my concerns about shellfish allergies serious when it can time to determine whether a certain soup was actually crab or that fake crab meat stuff. never even met or saw my stateroom attendant but there were ALWAYS people polishing the brass in the public spaces. for the price, I felt as if i had spent too much money for the idea of Disney and the experience itself left me underwhelmed in many respects. loved our cabin though( Navigator Balcony). the shows were beyond fantastic. I LOATHED the dining rotation thingy. every night I walked away hungry because what was on the menu did not appeal to me at all and desert overall just plain sucked. and I got attitude when I kept declining it(forget him listening when I said I only intend to order 3 courses, not all 6 he still brought out food that sat there and got wasted)

 

That being said, we also were not impressed by Carnival either. BUT.. over all food was better and more varied, the crew seemed less prissy and more..well.. genuinely eager to please. our issues were more about the look and feel of the ship and the activities offered( belly flop contests, hairy chest contests, etc.. just not our thing) the decor we felt was tacky and garish and the shows outright sucked( we walked out after 5 minutes on the first one and never went back and heard from plenty of others we were not missing anything)

 

but if it were limited to JUST those 2 options, I would hands down take the longer cruise for less money.

[sparks1093]

For us a 7 day would trump a 4 day almost every single time. We might one day do a Disney cruise when the grandkids can go with us, but in reality I'd be just as likely to do a land vacation to the park instead.

[MCC retired]

4 days is too short when you have the option of a 7 nighter for close to the same cost . DCL is unique but for only 4 night s , $$$ .

[Nic6318]

Hi there

 

Four days is quite short for a cruise, or for a vacation in my opinion. More like a quick "getaway", for when you can't go on a vacation.

 

The bottom line is that you won't see Mickey and his friends on any cruise line other than Disney. If that is important, then you don't have a choice.

 

For cruise lines like Carnival, venues like their casino will generate a lot of revenue, that allows them to keep prices lower. If you don't gamble or drink much you can thank those that do. Disney doesn't have casinos.

 

Don't know if this helps any. For cruises, most of the time, for the same costs, longer is better.

 

have a great cruise

[CapeCodCruiser]

7 over 4 every time! Its a no brainer.

 

While Mickey is timeless and ageless he does not hold the wonder in most 14 yr olds as he does a 6 yr old.

[lilchief27]

Here's my opinion with a little backstory ----

We have been a Disney family - my kids have been to the parks 5x & I have been 10x, stayed on-site, stayed off-site, done the Halloween party, so we have loved all things about a Disney vacation.

 

BUT NOW we are a cruising family......

 

Our 1st cruise was a 7-day on Carnival Legend - 4 ports. My kids were 13 & 10. They were totally wowed by the kids clubs, the ship and the freedom a cruise gives to pre-teens & teens. We also made some fabulous memories together at our ports. We all were bit by the cruising bug.

 

Our 2nd cruise was Disney Wonder - 2 ports: 2 stops @ Castaway Cay & 1 Nassau. My kids were 15 & 12 on the Disney cruise.

 

For atmosphere, attention to Disney detail, character interaction you cannot beat a Disney cruise. We had to make our kids leave the clubs to come back to the cabin to sleep at night. They met some really neat staff & other teens they actually keep up with from time to time.

 

Sadly, my hubby & I felt the entertainment beyond the Disney shows was lacking. We had late seating so after dinner, we would just wander around the ship, relaxing here & there but missed the comedy club or music in the other lounges we had enjoyed on Carnival.

 

Disney - food was no better than Carnival. It was actually not as adventurous as Carnival - no frog legs, alligator, etc. Dinning room service was good in both. On Disney we felt like we got to know our servers a little better than our 1st cruise.

 

When we talked to our kids about Disney vs Carnival - they said they would much rather be on a longer cruise. The Carnival kids clubs were fun - different fun than Disney but enough fun they wanted Sea Days to hang out endlessly with their new friends in them. Food & ship décor made no difference to them. And my kids actually liked the dress-up nights on Carnival because it was a fancy and unlike anything they do at home.

 

Hubby & I prefer Carnival because of the grown-up fun late into the night (BTW, we aren't gamblers or drinkers), the less expensive price but more days, lots of different options to for food, the dress-up nights, the photo opportunities.

 

AND as SpookWife said, "Carnival is more about doing stuff together".

We appreciated the balance of family time & kid/ parents only time.

I do wish Carnival had the split bathroom option because it was absolutely fabulous for a family of 4.

 

If your son was about 3-5 years younger I'd say try Disney but for his age I'd recommend Carnival & a longer cruise.

 

Cruising Disney style was fun but it was not above & beyond to pay the same amount for a shorter cruise.

 

Just my 2 cents (okay more like $2) ;)

[mjkacmom]

two entirely different lines in terms of on board ambience and activities. if you intend to disconnect and only see your kid for meals, then Disney works. they do an EXCELLENT job keeping the rug rats occupied and at the same time keeping the AO areas AO.

 

Carnival is more about doing stuff together.

 

MNSHO only: I hated the food on Disney except for the cold soups in the MDR and Palo. I also thought my MDR wait staff was more than little snobby and definitely did NOT take my concerns about shellfish allergies serious when it can time to determine whether a certain soup was actually crab or that fake crab meat stuff. never even met or saw my stateroom attendant but there were ALWAYS people polishing the brass in the public spaces. for the price, I felt as if i had spent too much money for the idea of Disney and the experience itself left me underwhelmed in many respects. loved our cabin though( Navigator Balcony). the shows were beyond fantastic. I LOATHED the dining rotation thingy. every night I walked away hungry because what was on the menu did not appeal to me at all and desert overall just plain sucked. and I got attitude when I kept declining it(forget him listening when I said I only intend to order 3 courses, not all 6 he still brought out food that sat there and got wasted)

 

That being said, we also were not impressed by Carnival either. BUT.. over all food was better and more varied, the crew seemed less prissy and more..well.. genuinely eager to please. our issues were more about the look and feel of the ship and the activities offered( belly flop contests, hairy chest contests, etc.. just not our thing) the decor we felt was tacky and garish and the shows outright sucked( we walked out after 5 minutes on the first one and never went back and heard from plenty of others we were not missing anything)

 

but if it were limited to JUST those 2 options, I would hands down take the longer cruise for less money.

I've found that teens are more into the clubs as a meet up, I don't consider a 14 year old a rug rat in need of being babysat and entertained.

 

I'd do the 7 day.

[navybankerteacher]

Most 14 year olds have outgrown Disney - and won't feel strongly about it again until their own children (or grandchildren) hit the right age: perhaps 3 to 10. What a 14 year old can do pretty well is count - surely enough to realize that 7 is a bigger thing than 4.

[NanciRDH]

I'll also say that as a Disney loving and cruising family we wouldn't choose a short Disney cruise over a longer one from another line. DH loves to eat on a cruise, and he was so unimpressed he actually lost weight on our 5 night DCL. He about choked when I told him what we had paid (I book all our vacations, and he just asks when we're going, it's a great arrangement. :D) My kids were not impressed with the teen program, which surprised me, especially my then 15yo, she's grown up cruising, and getting her away from the kids/teen programs was usually a challenge, but not on DCL. The major change with the alcohol policy and lack of casino made the line a dealbreaker for DH.

[Vibrantvirgo81]

Wow, I'm surprised. I was expecting everyone to say Disney. I loved the idea of a 7 day cruise but was afraid we were missing out somehow by not choosing Disney. Thank you all for your advice!

[CELTICGIRLCRUISER]

DCL for me every time given those 2 choices.

[CELTICGIRLCRUISER]

DCL for me every time given those 2 choices.

 

I do understand the comments about your teen though and CC might be the best fit.