CARNIVAL VS DCL: The discussion and comparison thread!

[mevelandry]

The morning we were leaving for the airport on one of our cruises, I picked up one of my wife’s medium sized suitcases and about pulled my arm out of my socket. I questioned her on what was in it, she looked at me like I was an idiot and replied, “my shoes and purses, were going for a week you know.” That was the last cruise that one whole suitcase was devoted to shoes and purses!!

She wouldn't like my lifestyle. I have 1 "everyday" purse and 1 "chic" purse. 1 pair of stilletos. 1 pair of ballerinas. 1 pair of covered shoes for work. 1 running shoes.

 

[lklgoodman]

My challenge with packing light is 1-toiletries: even with travel size, paring down etc I still have a lot. I spend too much money on cut and color for my hair to go cheapy on shampoo and styling products.
2-I could still get away with fairly light but when we travel with the kids it's near impossible.Even thought it's just the teens with us in June I paid for 3 checked bags on way down. coming home we get a free checked and carryon each so not worried about expanding then. Travel size won't cut it with 4 people-we each need a travel size lol!

Same for us. I also have to use special shampoo for my hair. I tried to use the Disney shampoo one time, yikes!! Just for my dd and myself, we use 2 large suite cases and 2 small carry on ones. I even use packing cubes. My problem is I pack too many extra clothes, just in case we need them for some reason. You know, like in case we get stranded at sea for an extra week,lol!! My dh just takes one suite case, I've been known to put overflow in his. We don't do FE exchanges or do costumes for the pirate night/SWDAS, if we did it would require even more luggage. We fly SW, so no bag fees, thankfully. I refuse to do laundry on vacation, if I did it, I could probably do away with one less bag, maybe, lol!

 

[pattyw]

My challenge with packing light is 1-toiletries: even with travel size, paring down etc I still have a lot. I spend too much money on cut and color for my hair to go cheapy on shampoo and styling products.
2-I could still get away with fairly light but when we travel with the kids it's near impossible.Even thought it's just the teens with us in June I paid for 3 checked bags on way down. coming home we get a free checked and carryon each so not worried about expanding then. Travel size won't cut it with 4 people-we each need a travel size lol!

Yep- same here! I have a lot of hair products! Traveling with a family it is hard to downsize! I was lucky to have DH and two boys! Men don't have to pack as much! I could pack my extra shoes and stuff in their luggage!

“my shoes and purses, were going for a week you know.

Yep- I tend to pack many pairs of shoes! What if a strap breaks on one or....?

She wouldn't like my lifestyle. I have 1 "everyday" purse and 1 "chic" purse. 1 pair of stilletos. 1 pair of ballerinas. 1 pair of covered shoes for work. 1 running shoes.

That's great! I need to learn to pack outfits that don't need different accessories!

. My problem is I pack too many extra clothes, just in case we need them for some reason.

Me too! I worried on our cruise about getting clothes dirty or stined and not having laundry facilities. I didn't want to pay big bucks for them to launder our clothes. So, I brought extra!

We fly SW, so no bag fees, thankfully

We always fly SW so we are spoiled by no bag fees! We do take advantage of the 2 carry on bags and 2 checked bags each!

 

[jujubiee4]

Great thread! I'm looking into the future 2020 or 2021. Does anyone know if you pay for a cruise Royal/NCL/Carnival/Princess
and the cruise price goes lower...do you get a credit or refund?

We have literally only sailed DCL and paid directly to them so I have no experience with other lines or using a TA. I was told to
look at CruiseCompete.

So any tips would be much appreciated! Thx

 

[mevelandry]

Great thread! I'm looking into the future 2020 or 2021. Does anyone know if you pay for a cruise Royal/NCL/Carnival/Princess
and the cruise price goes lower...do you get a credit or refund?

We have literally only sailed DCL and paid directly to them so I have no experience with other lines or using a TA. I was told to
look at CruiseCompete.

So any tips would be much appreciated! Thx

With Carnival: If you book refundable I think you can have them lower your rates until Paid In Full date.

If you book Early Saver, you'll get a lower rate. If it goes lower (same room category) you can get OBC or upgrade your cabin.

 

[hdrolfe]

Great thread! I'm looking into the future 2020 or 2021. Does anyone know if you pay for a cruise Royal/NCL/Carnival/Princess
and the cruise price goes lower...do you get a credit or refund?

We have literally only sailed DCL and paid directly to them so I have no experience with other lines or using a TA. I was told to
look at CruiseCompete.

So any tips would be much appreciated! Thx

Carnival has various rate types. The (usually) cheapest one is Early Saver. This fare has a non-refundable deposit, if you wish to change your cruise you will lose $50 per person and the rest can go towards a future cruise. The benefit is that if the rate drops, you can submit a claim and get the lower rate. Up until pay in full you just pay the lower rate, but even after you can submit a claim and you will get the difference in on board credit.

If you'd rather book with a refundable deposit you can of course do so, the rate is usually higher, but if the fare does go down, you can still choose to take the lower fare, up until PIF.

They also sometimes offer deals on the deposit, $50 per person or half price, usually linked to the early saver fares.

I just book through the cruise line itself but I use a website to compare prices across cruise lines to see which one fits my schedule and budget best.

 

[mevelandry]

Ha! Slice of life:

I had put some money on the side because the possibility of me and my friends booking a DCL short cruise (for a girls trip in December 2020) was on the table.

Unfortunately (but fortunately for her) one of my friends is looking to buy a house soon and is trying to save a little money so we went back to the original plan: sailing with RCCL.

Well, with the money I had put on the side for a DCL cruise, I have been able to kill two birds with one stone: not only did I pay in full my part for my cruise with the ladies but I also finished paying off my part for our next "family cruise" (for which I had already paid a deposit)... And I still have money left.

I can appreciate that.

 

[suedon70]

Ok this isn't a Carnival vs DCL comparison, but I just compared an NCL Escape 9-night Baltic cruise in June 2020 for three adults in a mini-suite w/verandah - 2 days in St Petersburg and 5 stops - $6,026

DCL 7-night Baltic in August 2020 with verandah - 1 day in St Petersburg and 4 stops - $9,564

Guess which cruise I chose to place a deposit on? Oh, and the deposit was only $150

Now I love DCL, but for a port-intensive itinerary the choice was clear to me. First time sailing Norwegian and I've read mixed reviews but I'm actually looking forward to expanding my cruising horizons!

 

[mevelandry]

Ok this isn't a Carnival vs DCL comparison, but I just compared an NCL Escape 9-night Baltic cruise in June 2020 for three adults in a mini-suite w/verandah - 2 days in St Petersburg and 5 stops - $6,026

DCL 7-night Baltic in August 2020 with verandah - 1 day in St Petersburg and 4 stops - $9,564

Guess which cruise I chose to place a deposit on? Oh, and the deposit was only $150

Now I love DCL, but for a port-intensive itinerary the choice was clear to me. First time sailing Norwegian and I've read mixed reviews but I'm actually looking forward to expanding my cruising horizons!

Smart choice. You get 2 more nights, 1 more port to check off your bucket list and a huge amount of money you can put on excursions.

You know... For every non-DCL cruise I have done, I have always read bad reviews before I embarked the ship. None of those ships was remotely as bad as the bad reviews I had read. Are they different from DCL? Sure. But that doesn't make them bad.

(And also, if you ask me, the Escape looks freaking awesome).

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

Ok this isn't a Carnival vs DCL comparison, but I just compared an NCL Escape 9-night Baltic cruise in June 2020 for three adults in a mini-suite w/verandah - 2 days in St Petersburg and 5 stops - $6,026

DCL 7-night Baltic in August 2020 with verandah - 1 day in St Petersburg and 4 stops - $9,564

Guess which cruise I chose to place a deposit on? Oh, and the deposit was only $150

Now I love DCL, but for a port-intensive itinerary the choice was clear to me. First time sailing Norwegian and I've read mixed reviews but I'm actually looking forward to expanding my cruising horizons!

That’s how we got started on Carnival, 8 night Mediterranean for 4 people in 2 cabins for $4000, can’t beat that. We just went into it knowing it wasn’t going to be a Disney Cruise and we were fine. Enjoy your cruise!! Please come back here and let us k ow how it went.

 

[suedon70]

Smart choice. You get 2 more nights, 1 more port to check off your bucket list and a huge amount of money you can put on excursions.

You know... For every non-DCL cruise I have done, I have always read bad reviews before I embarked the ship. None of those ships was remotely as bad as the bad reviews I had read. Are they different from DCL? Sure. But that doesn't make them bad.

(And also, if you ask me, the Escape looks freaking awesome).

Thanks! Yep I think it'll be worth it, plus 2 additional freebees: free wi-fi and a $50.00 excursion credit per port! I think the Escape looks pretty awesome too!

 

[suedon70]

That’s how we got started on Carnival, 8 night Mediterranean for 4 people in 2 cabins for $4000, can’t beat that. We just went into it knowing it wasn’t going to be a Disney Cruise and we were fine. Enjoy your cruise!! Please come back here and let us k ow how it went.

Thanks! You got a great deal on your Med cruise!
I'll definitely do a mini-TR when we get back

 

[Monykalyn]

Ok this isn't a Carnival vs DCL comparison, but I just compared an NCL Escape 9-night Baltic cruise in June 2020 for three adults in a mini-suite w/verandah - 2 days in St Petersburg and 5 stops - $6,026

Wow that is quite a difference. It is a bucket list cruise for me-would like to do it for our 30th anniversary (2023-between kids graduations too LOL)
It sounds amazing!

 

[suedon70]

Wow that is quite a difference. It is a bucket list cruise for me-would like to do it for our 30th anniversary (2023-between kids graduations too LOL)
It sounds amazing!

Yes! The cruise begins in Copenhagen which we visited back in 2016 on a Scandinavia cruise (Emerald Princess), but the five additional ports (Warnemunde (Berlin), Tallinn, St, Petersburg, Helsinki, and Stockholm) will be new for us! We'll be celebrating my 50th birthday a little late (my birthday is in Feb) but my DH is a CPA so we have to wait until after April to sail! lol

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

I think the main two reasons are:

1-Royal seems more of a physical entertainment cruiseline. She likes to do more trivia and passive entertainment things, she has no desire for zip lining, ice skating or anything like that.

2-It really bothers her that they have no self serve laundry rooms on board. I know, that’s kind of a weird one, but that’s how she rolls. She goes through a ton of clothes on a daily basis and needs to do laundry in order to only take only 1 giant suitcase on a week long cruise.

She’s not worried about price or service on Royal, actually she has a lot of respect for them as a cruiseline, it’s just not for her.

No self serve laundry on ncl either.

 

[mevelandry]

Thanks! Yep I think it'll be worth it, plus 2 additional freebees: free wi-fi and a $50.00 excursion credit per port! I think the Escape looks pretty awesome too!

Wow. That's a great offert!

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

Okay. Help us choose for a fall 2020 cruise. We have been going back and forth for about 6 months!

1. CCL radiance, 8 night from orlando. St. Martin, St. Kitts, Grand Turk, san Juan. One balcony, one interior. About $4700

2. Ncl escape, 7 night from orlando. St.Thomas, Tortola, Great Stirrup Cay, Puerto Plata. One balcony, one interior. About $5800

Here are the pros and cons.
Pros ccl:
1. St.Kitts is a new port for us
2. Radiance will be "new" ship
3. Balcony is extended (big for us because we use it).
4. New chicken restaurant. Lol.
5. $300 obc
6. Self service laundry. Lol
7. Kids love the kids club. Teen loves CCL ( his favorite line).
8. Less expensive cruise with an extra night. ($117/ person/ per night)

Pros ncl:
1. Tortola will be a new port for us.
2. Well... the Escape. Cool ship. Awesome ropes course and waterslides.
3. Comes with 3 night free dining package for 4 of us. Also comes with one other "free" perk but honestly there are not any available that we would use.
4. We have 2 cruisenext certificates to use with ncl. (Worth $500, paid $250, both expire shortly after this cruise, but I have seen that you can sell them on ebay and recoup some cost as they are transferable.)
5. Dh loves the ncl buffet


Cons ccl:
1. The only cons I can think of is that we sail ccl a lot and it might be nice to branch out. But we also love ccl and are very comfortable with them-- that is why we keep booking with them. So not sure it is a negative.

Cons ncl:
1. Kids do not like their kids club- at all.
2. One night less for more money ($165/person/night) ($151/person/night if considering cruisenext certificates)
3. Puerto Plata is a throwaway port for us because dh says he will not get off at DR or Belize again.

Sum. Both have one new port for us. (Something we try to do with each cruise). Both leave from the same port. I am not sure we would be looking at ncl at all for this trip except for the cruisenext certificates, but it doesn't seem like they make such a dent anyway. We are inclined to book ccl but wonder if we should branch out. So hard to decide!!

 

[hdrolfe]

I would do CCL. For the kids club and the extra night. And less expensive?

I have bookend and cancelled 3 NCL cruises, I always end up reading something about them being crowded or I get confused by the freestyle dining. I dont drink so that perk is lost on me. And when I compare cabin size Carnival usually has a bigger square footage. Plus I know my son likes the kids club on CCL and I am not sure about NCL.

 

[lklgoodman]

I haven't been on either CCL or NCL, but if I had to choose from those 2 trips I would choose CCL. Main reasons why are it's one more night and less money. Also I wouldn't want to go with NCL if I knew my dd wouldn't go to the kids club, sorry but I want/need some kid free time(I love my dd dearly, but I don't want to spend ALL my time with her). Plus she would whine and drive me crazy if she didn't like the club, but your kids may not do that, I just know mine would and it would make the whole cruise crappy. I've been to Tortola and while it was nice and I enjoyed our day at the beach, it isn't somewhere that I absolutely have to go to again, nothing super special about it. I haven't been to St. Kitts either, so that would be another pro for me to go with CCL.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

I second CCL, Radiance looks like it’s going to be a great ship and I’m now a huge fan of 8 night cruises, one extra night makes a huge difference somehow. I think the ports are better and if your kids don’t like the NCL clubs, that’s another huge reason to go CCL.

I don’t think the buffet on CCL is that great either, but there are so many other choices to eat on those ships that we hardly ever go up there. I think the chicken shaq looks like it’s going to be great.