Carnival CL vs. Disney CL

[JusBeachn]

Can someone explain to me how someone would pay $1500 pp for a cruise that cost $300 pp. Wow. I love Disney as much as the next guy, but when your prices sky rocket like that.....It's just about the name anymore.

We have always taken Carnival and have loved it.

Am I wrong or is it more about the children's experience on their lines.

[mishka422]

Well, let's compare in another way. Why would you pay $130 per day to go to one Disney World park when you could pay $45 to go to Six Flags? It's all about the experience. People will pay more than double for the Disney treatment. I'm not saying they are 'better' than Carnival, I'm saying the experience is totally different. Disney knows how to create 'magic' and you can't beat the look on your kids faces when they see the types of entertainment Disney offers.

Personally, I would never pay that for my family but I also don't have small children.

 

Sent from my SM-G925V using Forums mobile app

[gfsmith]

If you have children it is well worth it in my opinion. The children program is comparable to none. Its been many years since i have been on Disney but i will also say that the dining experience was also beyond comparison to. They had 3 dining rooms and you and your wait staff rotated between the 3 rooms it was a different experience in each one.

 

What i didnt like about Disney is the adult participation was definetly lacking in events (*trivia, gender game, stuff like that) It is very family orientated. Also there is no casino.

[angelsfort]

I love Disney CL but being a single mother on a tight budget - it's never going to be within my reach. Before my husband passed, he worked at Disney and we'd get cast member discounts for cruises and we took a couple... they were amazing! Our honeymoon was on the Disney Magic - September 7th, 2001 - we were on that ship on September 11th!!! And I gotta say, I am so very impressed with how DCL handled everything. Flights were cancelled and a good portion of their passengers were stranded... Disney opened up their hotels and let people stay for free while they arranged transportation to get home. They also assisted as much as they could with getting people home. They did a GREAT JOB making a difficult day/situation less stressful for their patrons!

 

I'd love to be able to take my daughter on a Disney ship but as I said, definitely way out of my budget. She was just a year old when we lost her daddy - she doesn't remember him at all... and even though we live within an hour from the Disney parks we can't go because, again, it's also out of my budget. Her daddy loved everything Disney, he was a long time cast member (worked there for 14 years before he passed and was less than a year from reaching his 15 year anniversary... if he had made it, I would have received a lifetime cast member pass to the parks :-( and our daughter would have been able to experience the Disney her daddy loved so much!!)

 

We sail Carnival as often as we can, I save money all year so that we can take our "mother/daughter" cruise vacation - and we always have a blast!! She's an amazing kid and deserves to have amazing vacations... Carnival does not disappoint! This past year we took a 5 day (our first 5 day!!) and she spent almost every night in the Karaoke lounges LOL singing her heart out!

[Thrilled2012]

You may want to check out this thread. It does not directly answer your question but if you replace "Carnival" from your question and replace it with "Norwegian" then you can get some more insight as to why people choose (or do not choose) to pay more for Disney. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2461197&highlight=disney

[mmtska]

DCL was my first cruise (and I know it's my first post-lurking is a great pastime to learn!) and it was amazing. I have friends who get the last minute FL resident rates and consistently sail with them because of the service they get. The service is absolutely amazing-like someone else said, the wait staff travels with you from dining room to dining room, and each night is a different experience. From the time you step into the terminal, there are characters, they announce you when you enter the ship and it's just amazing.

 

If I could take off of work like my friends do, I'd be on those cruises just as often haha. Since I don't have that option, it's just too much money, but it would be worth it if I had it.

 

I'm looking forward to my first Carnival cruise so I can check out a different line-they were better for me time wise and price wise, so we shall see!

[Sitzmark]

Can someone explain to me how someone would pay $1500 pp for a cruise that cost $300 pp. Wow. I love Disney as much as the next guy, but when your prices sky rocket like that.....It's just about the name anymore.

We have always taken Carnival and have loved it.

Am I wrong or is it more about the children's experience on their lines.

 

I can tell you that the included kids clubs are much better than the offerings on RCL, no idea about Carnival though. I don't like the rotational dining or set time dining but others love it. I can say that the room we had on the Disney Fantasy was huge compared to our room on the Oasis. There was very little smoking and no casino also, both of which were a plus to us.

[bwellen]

You can get deals on Disney also if you book early. We booked our January 2016 Disney cruise the first morning they opened for booking. We paid $2400 for four people in an outside cabin on an Eastern Caribbean sailing out of San Juan which had 5 ports (only 1 sea day). In comparison our recently completed cruise on the Breeze was $2200 in an outside for only 3 ports.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[amyh13]

I was completely unimpressed by DCL. The Fantasy was a cool ship, nice cabin and the kids clubs were nice. Otherwise, the experience was virtually the same (service, food, etc) at twice the price. At that time you could bring on as much alcohol as you wanted and I still didn't see the value. We were traveling with huge Disney fans and RCCL cruisers and they were unimpressed as well.

 

I hear a lot of moaning about Carnival. These are things that are on all cruise lines. Out of 8 cruises, I got norovirus on Disney. There was a case of head lice in the kids club. Our cabin steward was completely flat and never once called us by name (and this means nothing to me, I just hear others talk like that is something that doesn't happen anywhere but Carnival, not true). They do not offer an anytime dining option. And no casino.

 

My kids still say the Carnival Dream was their favorite cruise. We leave on the Vista in 23 days so that is likely to change!

 

I always look into pricing, itinerary on all lines. But we will never consider DCL again. And not because the cruise was bad, it just wasn't worth the extra money.

[tallnthensome]

I guarantee my two young daughters have and will have an equally good time on any ship that is not Disney and not spending double. I can take longer cruises with two cruise pre nights at a resort for what I'd pay on Disney. Just like Disneyland I'd never waste my money.

[Sitzmark]

I guarantee my two young daughters have and will have an equally good time on any ship that is not Disney and not spending double. I can take longer cruises with two cruise pre nights at a resort for what I'd pay on Disney. Just like Disneyland I'd never waste my money.

 

I haven't been to Disneyland, but I love Disney World. I can say without reservation that a Disney Cruise is nothing at all like a trip to Disney.

[JinxyB]

I did a B2B on the Disney Dream over my son's 5th Bday. We spent a few days at Magic Kingdom and then did the cruises. We went in low season, so the cost was not as astronomical as it could be! While the ship was gorgeous and the staff and dining were great, I personally will not sail with Disney again unless I get an amazing deal (unlikely since I am not a Florida resident). We are frequent cruisers and my son loves spending time in the kid's club on Carnival, NCL, and Royal...he absolutely hated the kid's club on Disney and I was shocked! After talking to him I realized they group all the kids age 3-12 together in the same space and my son was overwhelmed with the bigger kids pushing him out of the way, etc. I asked the counselors why they grouped the ages this way and they said they had too many complaints of siblings and family groups not being allowed in the same group. I find this unacceptable-there is a HUGE difference between a 3 and even a 6 year old! This was a deal breaker for us. I convinced him to go back a few times and he hated it each time and was even crying, which is so not like my son.

 

I also don't like how Disney does not give military veterans any kind of discount (you have to be fully retired). I will stick to Carnival where I always get a military discount! Royal rarely gives military discounts on the cruises I am interested in, but at least they do exist.

 

Like I said, the kid's club is a deal breaker for us but I would potentially try them again when my son is much older and if somehow I got a good deal. Castaway Cay is amazing and the Aqua Duck waterslide is fun, but not 2-3x worth the cost of a Carnival cruise!

[Nic6318]

Can someone explain to me how someone would pay $1500 pp for a cruise that cost $300 pp. Wow. I love Disney as much as the next guy, but when your prices sky rocket like that.....It's just about the name anymore.

We have always taken Carnival and have loved it.

Am I wrong or is it more about the children's experience on their lines.

 

 

Hi JusB,

 

Welcome to cruise critic.

 

Just so you are aware, each thread has a search function. If you use it you can easily find often asked topics.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2434625&highlight=carnival+vs.+disney

 

This thread, less than a week old asks the same question. 7 pages 125 posts. You should be able to find all the opinions you might need.

 

hope this helps

have a great cruise

[Yvonne]

Our very first cruise was on the Disney Magic, to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. We did a second cruise on the same ship, and one on the Disney Wonder too. I have priced Disney many other times, but refuse to pay the price they're charging. Disney cruises are very nice, and we enjoyed them a lot, but just can't justify the cost anymore. We loved the split bathroom, pop/soda dispensers that were included in the price, their private island Castaway Cay, the shows, the themed restaurants and rotation of them, and the fact that Disney does a wonderful job at separating kids from adults with several adults only areas, and it was nice not having a smoky casino on the ship too. We have enjoyed our Carnival cruises, and Royal Caribbean ones too, for a lot less $$$. But, we do want to try other lines like Princess, Celebrity, Holland America, etc. too.

[thephantomsgirl]

It's tough. I've been on 11 cruises. 9 DCL, and 2 Carnival. I'm an adult and have never cruised with kids. I still love DCL, but they've priced me out. Heck, I just booked an AFT Wrap cabin, solo on the Liberty for about the same I just paid to sail on an inside sharing with a friend.

 

Disney is a great line, but the prices have increased substantially. I'd sail with them again in a heartbeat, if I could afford it. I like my verandas and for that, Carnival is the way to go price-wise for me.

[Rudyard]

I still love DCL, but they've priced me out.

 

I personally know a couple of people who feel the same way. One still cruises DCL but is close to switching to a new line due to the cost. I wish I had taken a Disney cruise a few years ago when their prices were higher than other lines, but still reasonable. With the right planning I could still afford it, but couldn't justify the cost. I'd rather spend the money on a couple of great excursions.

[bnorris10]

So my first week long cruise was on Disney Fantasy - We had just the year before gone on our first cruise ship ever and loved it so decided to book a week long for Christmas in 2014 - We chose Disney because well I guess just because it was Disney - We love Disney and everything about it so of course we would want to go on a Disney cruise - If you ever watch a video ad for Disney cruise you see princesses walking down the stairs holding a little girls hand etc and I can honestly tell you this really does happen - I don't know how many times I just randomly walked into a princess or other beloved character and granted they may have been on their way to a meet and greet, a show or on the way back to the dressing room from something they always stopped and spent time with everyone who said hi --- The funniest thing I remember was me being on one of the floors looking down at something they were doing in the atrium and 2 cruise ship workers were standing next to me leaning over the rail as well to watch after a few minutes in the corner of my eye I saw the two workers move and so I turned my head to see where they were going and there I was face to face with captain hook - he scared the crap out of me it was so funny though that he decided to sneak up on me LOL

 

As other's mentioned the dining experience is amazing and I like that the staff moves with you - as the staff knew exactly what I wanted and every night after the first night when I showed up he had a glass of milk, a glass of lemonade with grenadine and tons of cherries and chicken fingers LOL I just liked their chicken fingers as appetizer

 

children's program was AMAZING!! I love they have the bands and know where the child is at all times

 

I love joining the fish gift exchange I think this was the coolest thing I ever did and wish other boats did this it was nice to come back to your room and find gifts in your "stocking" - we had ours custom made and well it was just cool

 

Now being that it was our first week long trip and we were very new to cruising we of course wanted to do and see everything so we did a lot of exploring which made the week trip go by quickly we also had 4 ports so it kept us busy

 

For us in this particular trip it was totally worth every penny we booked early and were able to get a balcony for 7300 (remember this is christmas time) --- PS... If your going to go on a disney cruise go to target and buy disney gift cards with your target red card as you save 5% instantly so we did that for the entire cost so that we would save money

 

Since this cruise we have gone on 7 other cruises and have 3 more planned for this year so we experienced and enjoy different things now - Been on a few different ships now but we find carnival kids program works best for our kids -- We love the red frog bars so that is a must have on our ships -- we love the piano bar atmosphere we have been on other ship brands and well the piano bar experience just wasn't the same IF they even had one at all - If the ship has a CLOUD 9 SPA then that is a bonus but will not necessarily keep us off a ship as we frequently take 3 day cruises and cloud 9 spa is not necessary for that - and the clincher is the casino ... I don't gamble a ton but I do like roulette and well now that I am accustomed to cruising and what I like I think I would find a ship without a casino boring

[JillK]

I agree that it really is about the experience. That's the only difference between any of the cruise lines. I have sailed on many different lines and each has things I liked and didn't like.

 

I was impressed with many things when we did our first DCL cruise in 2009- it was a short three nighter that we used to break up a land vacation. Hubby and I had already gotten the cruise bug and we wanted to see if our daughters would like it as well. We had originally booked a four night Carnival cruise but Carnival cancelled it when shifting their itineraries. We only booked DCL because we got a kids sail free promo. Even with the two kids being free, DCL's three night was more expensive than the four night Carnival.

 

We enjoyed the experience - particularly as we viewed it thorough the kids eyes - so much that we booked another DCL cruise. We did not enjoy the second one nearly as much as the first and to be quite frank, it is the one vacation that I regret, wishing I could have the money back. We felt it wasn't worth the premium and we have chosen to cruise with other lines since then. The fact that we now have two more kids and need two cabins really makes DCL out of our reach financially anyhow.

 

We recently booked Vista for next year to cruise with our sons and my hubby asked me to price the Star Wars DCL cruise since him and my youngest son are Star Wars maniacs. I had to pick his jaw up off the floor when I told him the price. We can have several vacations for the amount of money they want for that one, so that's what we choose to do.

 

If someone loves Disney and feels the price proposition is acceptable and can afford it, then they will be happy with the experience. For our family, as neat as DCL is for the little ones, I would rather get two or three vacations for the same price as DCL.

[Cafedumonde]

Just to give an alternative experience, we have passed characters in the hall many times and even though we always have our camera with us and say hi, they never stop and take a photo or anything but just walk on by with their handler/s just like at the parks. We have also never seen princesses walking around with little girls or captain Mickey walking around the ship or on deck like in the marketing materials. But we have seen long lines winding around the atrium to see characters. My husband and I always comment to each other that we are surprised they do not have characters just walking around. As I wrote in the ncl thread the only reason we even go back to dcl is because our two younger kids like the kids club. So unlike most people who say if you have young children you have to do it once, I say if you have young children, DON'T DO IT. Your kids will be perfectly happy at ncl kids club or ccl kids club if they don't have that dcl comparison. Maybe they won't like the dcl clubs, but it isn't worth the risk. There is nothing better about dcl except castaway cay. The entire rotational dining with the same servers tends to be awful. The waiters are overbearing and try to befriend you because they want an excellent rating on their comment card. We have skipped dinners to avoid our waiters. And then if you skip the mdr, not a lot of options. The food and entertainment are average, similar or worse than other lines. We are disney nuts and have never been blown away by the entertainment. We have one kid that loves the golden mickey. Our teen prefers other lines and has since he was about 11. Unless your teen falls in love with one of the teen clubs, there isn't much there for teens. No ropes course, no big slides, no "cool" vibe. Honestly we consider dcl highway robbery. A lot of people rave about dcl service, but the service we experienced on ncl was the same if not better. We had one room steward on dcl that was amazing but the rest have not been. We have even experienced two different room stewards on dcl who had big chips on their shoulders. Put the extra money in a college fund for your kid/s. They will thank you later. We are trying ccl this summer and can't wait.

Edited March 11, 2017 by Cafedumonde

[Je Souhaite]

I always tell any cruise lover they must try a Disney cruise at least once. Save up for it, sail at non peak times, ANYTHING to try one of these memorable experiences. It's well worth the money.

 

And I like the comparison upthread. When you go to a Disney Theme Park do you really compare it to your local amusement venue? Or even try to?

[Cafedumonde]

I always tell any cruise lover they must try a Disney cruise at least once. Save up for it, sail at non peak times, ANYTHING to try one of these memorable experiences. It's well worth the money.

 

And I like the comparison upthread. When you go to a Disney Theme Park do you really compare it to your local amusement venue? Or even try to?

 

We do, but we have found that nobody does theme parks like disney. Plus, there are ways to do their theme parks on the cheap, relatively speaking. We thought there was no one who could do cruising like dcl. Then we tried ncl-- at our teen's prodding, and we were blown away, couldn't believe the food was better, had the best room steward ever, vibe was fun, people working there seemed happier, our room was cleaner, and yes we loved the "gaudy" water slide and ship. We also loved the lack of pretense. I do think there is an extent to which dcl cruisers feel more superior to cruisers on other lines, I know we felt that way, because we were uninformed and bought the marketing. But, this is just our perspective, and I am not saying we do not enjoy dcl. We do, but the competition is just as good imho and blows dcl out of the water with price factored in. And if you allow disney to get a hold of your kids and market directly to them, you may be setting yourself up for more than just that one "dream" cruise. I am kicking myself for not trying other lines before disney. But that's just my personal experience. :D