CARNIVAL VS DCL: The discussion and comparison thread!

[John VN]

I’ve lived in the Arizona desert for 48 of the 52 years I’ve been on this planet and absolutely despise cold weather, literally makes me miserable. We did Alaska the first week of June in 2017 and I was surprised how mild it was. It was definitely cool but not nearly as cold as I expected. Granted, I didn’t spend any time on deck at night and only was able to lay out one afternoon, but on excursions we were fine. Just wore pants and long sleeve shirts and were good to go. I still prefer Caribbean cruises but am so happy we did Alaska once, was a great cruise and I would do it again in the future.

We moved to FL in 7/26/86 from NJ. I HATED warm weather and 90F+ greeted us. House thermostat is set for 84F daytime with outside going into 90's and high humidity today, none of that DRY HEAT here. Our Alaska cruise was end of May/2019 and the weather was VERY NICE. ONE & DONE so not again.

 

[hdrolfe]

I’m a bit worried. From what I understand, for the first months of sailing, every stop in Grand Turk is currently replaced with Nassau. It hasn’t affected our January itinerary yet and I hope it doesn’t.

Nassau excursions have really gone up (some over 50$ more than they used to be) and Atlantis is still not back on the list of excursions available.

Interesting. We have GT on our December Mardi Gras cruise. I think I would just stay on the ship to be honest. But we are on Harmony right after Mardi Gras and it already stops in Nassua, twice in a row I wouldn't want to do much there. I could see enjoying the ship though. I guess we'll see.

 

[brewcrew]

Sounds like Canada. LOL

Do you know if certains months tend to be less rainy?

I have read May is the driest. That being said our trip to Alaska was wet but we carried on just fine. We chose to cruise the last week of May/first week of June as soon as our children were on summer break here in Florida. We found The fare to be less expensive and many other families are still in school (so less busy).

Don't know where in Canada you are but our family absolutely LOVED Vancouver. It is just a beautiful city! Would love to visit Montreal and Quebec one day!

 

[mevelandry]

Interesting. We have GT on our December Mardi Gras cruise. I think I would just stay on the ship to be honest. But we are on Harmony right after Mardi Gras and it already stops in Nassua, twice in a row I wouldn't want to do much there. I could see enjoying the ship though. I guess we'll see.

The thing is with our itinerary, we already have 3 sea days (the first two on our way to our first stop)... That’s a lot of time to explore the ship. Port days are my favorite.

That being said, I see that some cruise (Horizon) have Bimini (I was surprised) as a port of call. This is one port I’d like to try.

 

[mevelandry]

I have read May is the driest. That being said our trip to Alaska was wet but we carried on just fine. We chose to cruise the last week of May/first week of June as soon as our children were on summer break here in Florida. We found The fare to be less expensive and many other families are still in school (so less busy).

Don't know where in Canada you are but our family absolutely LOVED Vancouver. It is just a beautiful city! Would love to visit Montreal and Quebec one day!

I’m in Montreal. Montreal is nice and we have fun things to do but Quebec City is just breathtaking, IMO.

If any of you ever go to Quebec or Montreal, let me know. I can offer some advices on excursions/attractions.

 

[Lilsia]

The thing is with our itinerary, we already have 3 sea days (the first two on our way to our first stop)... That’s a lot of time to explore the ship. Port days are my favorite.

That being said, I see that some cruise (Horizon) have Bimini (I was surprised) as a port of call. This is one port I’d like to try.

I like port days because so many get off of the ship and I have no issues getting chairs in the adult area. Plus the spa services are cheaper on port days.

 

[hdrolfe]

The thing is with our itinerary, we already have 3 sea days (the first two on our way to our first stop)... That’s a lot of time to explore the ship. Port days are my favorite.

That being said, I see that some cruise (Horizon) have Bimini (I was surprised) as a port of call. This is one port I’d like to try.

I think it's the same itinerary we have, San Juan, GT & Amber Cove. I have never heard of Bimini so that sounds interesting. I normally prefer port days by far, but I'll just be happy to be on a ship and have someone else cook for me! I also think Mardi Gras will have a lot of fun things to do, with the roller coaster, water slides, ropes course. Those things might be less popular on a port day.

 

[auntlynne]

As a DCL cruiser, the possibility of somewhere other than Nassau as a Bahamas stop sounds intriguing. I love the water in the Bahamas - so much of it’s being shallow keeping it warm and making it blue. I just don’t hear the names Bimini, Freeport, or Grand Turk discussed. Is Grand Turk in Turks & Caicos? There’s a whole world of places I’m missing by sticking with DCL.

 

[auntlynne]

Four cruises to AK - four different weather experiences. Memorial Day week - definitely needed coats and lots of warm clothes.

We sailed through Tracy Arm and needed covers while lounging on Deck 4 of the Wonder. The day before, I was in the heated pool as we sailed the Inner Passage.


Later that day, exiting Tracy Arm, it must have warmed up:


And on a float plane trip out of Ketchikan, flying inland over the Tongass Forest, pretty decent temps.

 

[auntlynne]

The following year, 2012 - the week ending on July 4th:

Boarding Island Princess in Whittier - closest port to Anchorage. This sets the tone for the weather. We had a sunset the last night of the cruise.



viewing Hubbard Glacier.


Our friends were bundled:


Excursion to Haines, up the Lynn Canal from Skagway.

 

[auntlynne]

2013, Northbound from Vancouver:

In Glacier Bay, the crowd in light jackets:



Arriving Juneau



at Mendenhall Glacier that same day, a few miles inland:

 

[auntlynne]

2015, mid-May.

Glacier Bay, on our covered balcony


She’s warm natured. Later that day, I found her in a crow’s nest, knitting, no coat needed.

 

[auntlynne]

These photos are not my “sell Alaska cruising“ photos, I notice. Not a lot of pretty scenery. I was trying to see what weather I captured over the years.

Lots of overcast, drizzly days. In the coastal cities. As I think of Vancouver and Seattle.

Raincoats are a must for AK cruising. On our first cruise, I had us take two boarding photos (just based on the days before in Vancouver); didn’t realize it was predictive.




Definitely cooler weather than the 90 degrees we’ve got down here this mid June day in North Alabama. I’m thinking that August in AK will be a nice relief after 3 months of progressively hotter summer (it won’t end until October).

 

[auntlynne]

On many lists, Ketchikan is listed as the rainiest / wettest city in the US.

 

[auntlynne]

Guys, I’m so envious of all of you cruising to Alaska. I have been trying to convince my husband for years… He doesn’t like the cold much so he’s very hesitant.

I am not a fan of the cold, either. I have to bundle up in the house when the air conditioner is running.

But I don’t like hot, either.

My sister says I have a 3-5 degree C temperature range in which I am comfortable! Two years living in Phoenix didn’t help - I was more tolerant before that.

Love Hawaii temps - and December in USVI.

 

[brewcrew]

I am not a fan of the cold, either. I have to bundle up in the house when the air conditioner is running.

But I don’t like hot, either.

My sister says I have a 3-5 degree C temperature range in which I am comfortable! Two years living in Phoenix didn’t help - I was more tolerant before that.

Love Hawaii temps - and December in USVI.

Looks like you had a great time no matter the weather!

 

[mevelandry]

As a DCL cruiser, the possibility of somewhere other than Nassau as a Bahamas stop sounds intriguing. I love the water in the Bahamas - so much of it’s being shallow keeping it warm and making it blue. I just don’t hear the names Bimini, Freeport, or Grand Turk discussed. Is Grand Turk in Turks & Caicos? There’s a whole world of places I’m missing by sticking with DCL.

Yes, Grand Turk is in Turks and Caicos.

Bimini is an island in the Bahamas. I believe Virgin Cruises has created a nice new beach club over there.

Freeport is on Grand Bahama. It is know to be a very bad port with nothing to do other than getting drunk at Senor Frogs (most Carnival cruise directors and staff members joke about it). You have to have an excursion there. However, Royal Caribbean has bought the Grand Lucayan Resort which is only steps away from the terminal is currently building a harbour and a great cruise terminal which, in my opinion, is going to be a game changer for Freeport. Being a huge fan of CocoCay, I can’t wait to see what they’ll do with it.

Other than that, two absolutely nice private island you probably don’t hear much about are Half Moon Cay and Princess Cays. They are both absolutely lovely.

 

[mevelandry]

I am not a fan of the cold, either. I have to bundle up in the house when the air conditioner is running.

But I don’t like hot, either.

My sister says I have a 3-5 degree C temperature range in which I am comfortable! Two years living in Phoenix didn’t help - I was more tolerant before that.

Love Hawaii temps - and December in USVI.

3-5 degrees range. Sounds like me.

 

[belle032]

I don't know if anyone needs to hear this, but Southwest is having a 50% off sale! Book 6/15-6/17 for flights 9/15-11/3. Use promo code SAVE50 if you want to book with points. Our departure date is 2 days too early for the sale, but I just booked our return flight from Seattle for this cruise and saved a bunch of points!

Worth checking out if you have any flights planned

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

I don't know if anyone needs to hear this, but Southwest is having a 50% off sale! Book 6/15-6/17 for flights 9/15-11/3. Use promo code SAVE50 if you want to book with points. Our departure date is 2 days too early for the sale, but I just booked our return flight from Seattle for this cruise and saved a bunch of points!

Worth checking out if you have any flights planned

Thank you so much for posting this, I and several other friends and family members now have flights to Michigan booked in September, $300 round trip from Phoenix to Grand Rapids is dirt cheap! Thanks again