Carnival vs Disney

[Computer Nerd]

So how can you state this if you've never cruised Disney?

 

 

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Very easy. The OP asked for my opinion and to me, I find very little additional value for the money being spent. The OP may value the things that Disney offers differently and so the value to them may be different. But since my opinion (as well as everyone else's opinion) was asked, I made the statement based on what I value, not what you or someone else values.

[Computer Nerd]

Because it is fine for him to tell people they can't have an opinion if they have never sailed or experienced a particular ship or line, but when the shoe is in the other foot, it doesn't apply to him.

 

 

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No, you're just not comprehending my statements very well.

 

Not to mention, there is a huge difference between giving an opinion and attempting to state fact. "CC is the best private island" or "Disney has these things that no other cruise line has" are attempts to try and state what is one's opinion as if it were fact. It's not. I make very clear what is factual information versus what is an opinion in my posts.

[Computer Nerd]

Your loss. Get out and see the world, you might find it's actually a lot more fun than the same boring ports over and over.

 

 

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I have visited 40 countries in my life......so far. Please learn a little something about the person you are trying to be condescending to before spitting out little antidotes like the one I quoted. :p

[SCAnthony]

Didn't mean to start any arguments, enjoying all the responses though. [emoji3]

 

 

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[LMaxwell]

Everyone take a breath. I don't think too many are choosing Disney or Carnival to "see the world". They are family oriented get away from reality type of vacations. One just happens to cost 3X to 5X more on average than the other, so people are discussing if the overall value is worth the additional expense.

 

Calm down.

[deborahjo]

Loved sailing Disney with my teen age sons. But today there is no way in the world I would ever pay Disney prices. I could take 2 to 3 Carnival cruises for the price of one cruise on Disney.

 

 

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[crzndeb]

How many nights long was this cruise?

 

It was a 7 night....prices shot up after they announced Star Wars at Sea, so we were lucky to get one of the few 8A cabins. I had cabin 5022 and other daughter had 5522. I believe there are videos on YouTube if you want to see them. I definitely researched and booked a year in advance.

[Love2Cruz2015]

Those rooms are huge! I like their 5e rooms corner aft.

 

 

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[Computer Nerd]

Didn't mean to start any arguments, enjoying all the responses though. [emoji3]

 

 

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No worries. I would suggest reading the Disney website and see what they offer for the price. If what they offer has value to you and you can afford a Disney cruise, then go for it and see if it lives up to expectations. If what you read doesn't hold value to you, then don't worry about spending the extra money. It's all up to you. :)

[Computer Nerd]

It was a 7 night....prices shot up after they announced Star Wars at Sea, so we were lucky to get one of the few 8A cabins. I had cabin 5022 and other daughter had 5522. I believe there are videos on YouTube if you want to see them. I definitely researched and booked a year in advance.

 

Glad you had a great cruise! :)

[ginnstars]

I was on the Disney Fantasy last Jan. for the first Star Wars at Sea. It was myself, 2 daughters and 2 grandkids. We had 2 of the Family Oceanview cabins with the 2 floor to ceiling portholes. The sitting area and the bed is separated by a half wall with TV's on both sides. This cabin was huge and really felt like a suite. We booked before SWAS was announced, so I thought we got a deal for 3 of us in that cabin for $3400.

 

I thought Disney did a lot of things really well with little things added into the price. They used to Allow you to bring your own alcohol on board, but that changed to 2 bottles of wine or a 6 pack of beer on, and it can be replenished in ports.

 

Unfortunately, we missed Castaway Cay due to weather, so can't give my 2 cents on that.

 

I thought the MDR food was comparable and I liked the rotational dining. I think Disneys breakfast and lunch buffet outshines any other cruise line I've been on.

 

They have a real movie theater and showed all the Star Wars movies throughout the cruise and all the Disney movie played on the TV's inside the cabin, along with other adult featured movies at no extra charge.

 

I normally travel solo, and wouldn't cruise Disney on my own, but seeing the joy and amazement in my grandchildrens eyes made it all worth while.

 

It really was a great product, if that's what you like. if not, there are lots of options out there.

 

WE DID THE SAME CRUISE!!!! :D

 

Agreed. The MDR food was so so. I like Carnival's better, but the "experience" of it all was so worth it in my mind as well. My son had so much fun in the kid's club that I rarely saw him and was typically on my own (which I ended up just chilling in the spa)

 

Did you know Neil Patrick Harris and his family were on our cruise?

[Badfinger]

I'm sure there are a bunch of topics on this but can someone give me one good reason to pay 3-4x the money to cruise on Disney over Carnival(or any other line). We went on the Dream last year and are going on the Magic in March. Had a great time on the Carnival Dream (good food, entertainment, great service, nice room)and are looking forward to the Magic. Priced a similar cruise with Disney before booking our March cruise on Magic. It was literally 3x times the cost for same room type(mid ship balcony). Just can't see how it would be worth it to pay $5-6 thousand more to see some college kid in a Mickey Mouse costume.

 

 

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For the same reason some pay $100k for a Range Rover and others opt to buy a used Ford Focus for $5k. Both get you from point A to point B.

[crzndeb]

WE DID THE SAME CRUISE!!!! :D

 

Agreed. The MDR food was so so. I like Carnival's better, but the "experience" of it all was so worth it in my mind as well. My son had so much fun in the kid's club that I rarely saw him and was typically on my own (which I ended up just chilling in the spa)

 

Did you know Neil Patrick Harris and his family were on our cruise?

 

Small world..my oldest daughter talked a bit to his husband, David, and I said a few words to NPH about his kids having a good time. My granddaughter was almost 4 and grandson almost 3, so they only went to the club with all of us (since he wasn't old enough). She just wanted to go down water slide, over and over and over.

 

My daughter and granddaughter just returned from the Wonder and had a ball, and she spent a lot more time in the kids club this time. They live in San Diego and LOVE everything Disney.

[Love2Cruz2015]

Shhh, we gotta keep that one a secret so others don't find out how great it is. :cool:

 

 

 

Yeah good point. I think people don't believe me anyway lol

 

 

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[karajeboo]

Having sailed 3 DCL, 2 RCI and heading into my 2nd Carnival in April, I can honestly say you won't miss a thing if you don't ever do Disney. Don't get me wrong, we LOVED DCL - twice on the Magic and once on the Dream, but there is nothing in the price that is justifiable for the difference. Is the intimacy of the characters everywhere nice? Sure is! Are the fireworks at sea incredible? You bet! Pirate Party? Out of this world! Themed dining? Wow! But the cleanliness of every ship I've sailed has been comparable, the service the same (maybe even better on RCI than on Disney), however I do give Disney the upper hand on food. Double the cost for an inside cabin on Disney versus a balcony on Carnival? No thanks! I'll take two Carnival cruises for the price of one Disney.

 

Do I regret spending the money on our 3 Disney cruises? Not at all. But they were our first cruises and we had to decide, do we love Disney Cruises or do we just love cruising? We decided it was the latter and can now afford to sail a bit more frequently because we realized there really is life after Disney.

 

Oh and one more thing. The pools on the newer Disney ships (Dream and Fantasy) are way more crowded and poorly planned than any of the other ships I've sailed. If that matters to you, look at RCI Freedom of the Seas or Carnival Valor. Only other ships I've sailed but both rock in the pool category.

[meatloafsfan]

Is DCL worth 3x a Carnival cruise? Not in my opinion. I'll say the premium is somewhere in the 20% more range for us. But that's partly because DCL gives us a different kind of vacation (no casino) than a regular cruise.

 

Things DCL has that may offer more value to the average cruiser than other lines:

 

Rotational Dining (this is where you get to eat in all 3 of the highly themed DCL dining rooms on a rotational basis so 1 night you're in animator's palate which is themed to Mickey Mouse with Disney art on the walls and Crush visits and interacts with many of the tables via television screen, and night 2, it's the enchanted garden where it turns from day to night while you're dining, and night 3 is the Royal Palace which is princess themed, or whatever order you get assigned - and your wait staff move with you).

 

No Fee, On Board Movie Theatre - it shows first run movies (often still in the theatre) and anything Disney owns gets premiered and shown on the ship like Marvel movies, Disney, Pixar, etc.

 

On the 2 newer ships - No Fee on demand movies and tv. Their regular TV channels aren't good but on the 2 newer ships, they have almost all of the Disney cartoon and live action movies on demand, plus some newer movies (the same kind that Carnival shows as Dive In movies).

 

Non-split Queen sized beds - yes, DCL seems to be the only ones who no longer have the 2 beds pushed together - it's one solid wood framed bed.

 

Cabins that are designed to comfortably hold 5 people - no trundle beds but 5 actual beds for people

 

Split baths in most cabins (excluding accessible cabins and the lowest category inside cabins on their 2 older ships).

 

Excellent breakfast and lunch buffets with a large number of unusual buffet choices.

 

Disney themed shows (though I don't think they are "Broadway" caliber, they are well done).

 

Extended kids club hours with no fees - you can basically drop your kid off at 9am and not pick them up again until midnight. The club/lab doesn't ever completely shut down and there's no fees for late hours - they even offer the kids lunch and dinner.

 

 

 

All that being said, Carnival is my preferred cruise line, I only toss in Disney, Celebrity and Royal for a bit of variety. Most of what I've listed above isn't a selling point for us (or in cases like the split beds, a negative) but YMMV.

 

Though for those of you looking at cost, I do urge you to look at total cost.

 

Next November we're doing the Disney Fantasy and the Carnival Magic B2B (or Side to Side)

 

Cost:

 

Disney Fantasy

Cabin Cost: $4765 (accessible balcony cabin where we will have 3 individual beds)

Casino Cost: $0

Soda/Water: $9 (case of 6 bottles for the cabin)

Gratuities: $0 (covered by OBC given my travel agent)

 

Total Cost: $4775

 

Carnival Magic

Cabin Cost: $2216 (2 lido deck interior cabins - 1 accessible 1 non)

Casino Cost: $1400 ($100 a day for 7 days for 2 people - my dad doesn't gamble but both my mom and I do)

Gratuities: $200 (OBC will cover the rest)

Soda/Water: $100 (pre-ordered water and soda from fun shops)

 

Total Cost: $3916

 

Difference of $859 for the week.

 

Of course, we're gamblers. If there's not a difference in your onboard spending between the 2 lines, you can see that the difference would be quite a lot:

 

Disney Fantasy: $4775

Carnival Magic (no gambling): $2516

[manmachine]

Short answer? Disney is a lot more expensive because they have to make up the shortfall because of no casino.

 

 

I have cruised A LOT

[richstowe]

Short answer? Disney is a lot more expensive because they have to make up the shortfall because of no casino.

 

 

I have cruised A LOT

Disney is a lot more expensive because they can !

[Midwestgal]

:eek:

Edited December 29, 2016 by Midwestgal

[FLSteve11]

Disney is a lot more expensive because they can !

 

That's the real answer. If Carnival could charge the same prices as Disney and fill their boat, you can bet they would!

[poobears]

I've considered Disney since I no longer use the casino on Carnival, too smoky for me now. But my kids that are left at home are older teens and I doubt they'd get enough from the experience to make it worth the cost. If they were still young I would consider it. I think for small kids the whole experience can be worth the cost, at least once. Just like going to WDW.

 

I'd like to go to their private island but love Carnivals private island so don't feel like I'm missing much there.

 

One thing I read recently about Disney cruising irritated me though and it's silly but I read they charge you for the popcorn they serve at the deck movies. Is that true? I mean popcorn costs them pennies to make, literally, surely they aren't charging kids for something as simple as movie popcorn after families pay thousands to take a cruise.

[JinxyB]

They did charge for popcorn at the main movie theater on the Disney Dream. I found this incredibly tacky. I don't know if they had popcorn at the pool deck or not.

[john91498]

OP, you should post the same thread in the Disney forum. I'm pretty sure you'll get completely different answers. Remember that you posted this in the Carnival forum where most of the people are cheap. Er, I mean people who look for value...

[richstowe]

OP, you should post the same thread in the Disney forum. I'm pretty sure you'll get completely different answers. Remember that you posted this in the Carnival forum where most of the people are cheap. Er, I mean people who look for value...

Ha Ha Ha .

You might indeed get different answers posting on CC's Disney page but like you and many here I've cruised on most of the major cruise lines . Therefore the people aren't necessarily cheap although they may be looking for value with Carnival .

[ducklite]

Ha Ha Ha .

You might indeed get different answers posting on CC's Disney page but like you and many here I've cruised on most of the major cruise lines . Therefore the people aren't necessarily cheap although they may be looking for value with Carnival .

 

Value and cheap are not synonymous. Most government bidding now is "Best Value" which doesn't necessarily mean cheapest. It means where will they get the best value for the dollar when they look at the big picture rather than the bottom line.

 

For someone who thinks getting away to the Motel 6 for the weekend is a great vacation because they have a pool and someone else makes the bed, they will probably think they've died and gone to heaven on pretty much any mass market ship.

 

People who make into the six or even seven figures and have the means to spend $40,000 on a vacation without having to think about it are probably used to a different type of travel, and would not be at all happy on any mass market line--maybe DCL in a suite with all the perks that comes with that if they have children. (It is not at all uncommon to see and actor or musician and their family on a Disney ship)