CARNIVAL VS DCL: The discussion and comparison thread!

[belle032]

There is a huge sale for Carnival cruises happening in 2021… I don’t remember ever seeing such low prices on Carnival. If I didn’t already have 2 cruises and 1 land trip planned for this fall, I would absolutely go for it.

Ughhh now I just to have to check, right?!

 

[mevelandry]

Ughhh now I just to have to check, right?!

I think you do.

 

[mevelandry]

OMG. Have you heard about the new ChiBang! Restaurant on Mardi Gras?

Now I am desperate to book it but of course it is not available on the website yet.

 

[brewcrew]

OMG. Have you heard about the new ChiBang! Restaurant on Mardi Gras?

Now I am desperate to book it but of course it is not available on the website yet.View attachment 585525

That sounds amazing!!!!!

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

OMG. Have you heard about the new ChiBang! Restaurant on Mardi Gras?

Now I am desperate to book it but of course it is not available on the website yet.View attachment 585525

Heck yeah! Sign me up. Would it be inappropriate to order from both the Mexican and Chinese side? Asking for a friend

 

[mevelandry]

Heck yeah! Sign me up. Would it be inappropriate to order from both the Mexican and Chinese side? Asking for a friend

Whatever happens on Carnival stays on Carnival.

 

[mevelandry]

Oh well... The prices were too good and we pulled the trigger. January 2023, Western Caribbean on Horizon for 397$/pp.

We have booked an interior cabin, mostly because Horizon has plenty of outdoor spaces and we will do excursions at all of the ports... And most likely lots of specialty dining so we'll invest a lot in entertainment.

EDIT: I should have mentioned that it is a 6 nights cruise.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

Oh well... The prices were too good and we pulled the trigger. January 2023, Western Caribbean on Horizon for 397$/pp.

We have booked an interior cabin, mostly because Horizon has plenty of outdoor spaces and we will do excursions on all of them... And most likely lots of specialty dining so we'll invest a lot in entertainment.

Wow! You cannot beat that price, holy cow, that’s amazing! I heard on the news the other day cruises are booking like crazy right now, people just want to vacation again. I’m really angry at myself for not buying Carnival stock when it was way down last year

 

[belle032]

Oh well... The prices were too good and we pulled the trigger. January 2023, Western Caribbean on Horizon for 397$/pp.

We have booked an interior cabin, mostly because Horizon has plenty of outdoor spaces and we will do excursions on all of them... And most likely lots of specialty dining so we'll invest a lot in entertainment.

I wish we could book that far ahead! Good news is that we may be trying to plan a "part of our big family" reunion type cruise early next summer and I definitely volunteered to research options!

 

[mevelandry]

Wow! You cannot beat that price, holy cow, that’s amazing! I heard on the news the other day cruises are booking like crazy right now, people just want to vacation again. I’m really angry at myself for not buying Carnival stock when it was way down last year

Agreed. We did that same itinerary on the Vista for almost twice that price.

My husband also regrets not buying Carnival stocks.

 

[jujubiee4]

Agreed. We did that same itinerary on the Vista for almost twice that price.

My husband also regrets not buying Carnival stocks.

Have you been on the Verizon before? Looking at those prices we would save a whoooole lot of money
not going on DCL. All i ever hear about Carnival is party ships. Is there any ship more family oriented. Or is there a ship with a separate area like NCL haven? Sorry for the questions but I'm looking for plan B...im
looking at Royal Celebrity Ncl and i guess Carnival. Thanks!

 

[mevelandry]

Have you been on the Verizon before? Looking at those prices we would save a whoooole lot of money
not going on DCL. All i ever hear about Carnival is party ships. Is there any ship more family oriented. Or is there a ship with a separate area like NCL haven? Sorry for the questions but I'm looking for plan B...im
looking at Royal Celebrity Ncl and i guess Carnival. Thanks!

I haven't been on Horizon yet but I have been on Vista (and other Carnival ships) and to this day, it's been one of my favorite cruise ships. Horizon is very similar so I trust that we'll have a great experience.

Carnival has been slowly moving towards being more family friendly.

For someone who has sailed exclusively on DCL I would probably recommend the Vista Class.

Or... RCCL which, IMO, is a little bit between DCL and Carnival. Just a little bit less geared toward young kids, but lots of fun and much much cheaper than DCL!

 

[brewcrew]

Have you been on the Verizon before? Looking at those prices we would save a whoooole lot of money
not going on DCL. All i ever hear about Carnival is party ships. Is there any ship more family oriented. Or is there a ship with a separate area like NCL haven? Sorry for the questions but I'm looking for plan B...im
looking at Royal Celebrity Ncl and i guess Carnival. Thanks!

We have sailed mainly with Disney but also a couple of Royal Caribbean cruises. We are venturing out next summer on Princess to Alaska and spring 2023 on Carnival Panorama (Which is the newer Vista style of ship). We did book the Havana on Carnival which is a private area of staterooms with their own pool. That way we can stay away from the “party” cruisers if they are there, lol.

 

[mevelandry]

We have sailed mainly with Disney but also a couple of Royal Caribbean cruises. We are venturing out next summer on Princess to Alaska and spring 2023 on Carnival Panorama (Which is the newer Vista style of ship). We did book the Havana on Carnival which is a private area of staterooms with their own pool. That way we can stay away from the “party” cruisers if they are there, lol.

Unless it has changed, everyone (including non-Havana guests) can use the Havana Pool past 7:00 PM?

Update: It has been changed in November 2019. Havana guests now have exclusive access tothe Havana Pool Area.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

Have you been on the Verizon before? Looking at those prices we would save a whoooole lot of money
not going on DCL. All i ever hear about Carnival is party ships. Is there any ship more family oriented. Or is there a ship with a separate area like NCL haven? Sorry for the questions but I'm looking for plan B...im
looking at Royal Celebrity Ncl and i guess Carnival. Thanks!

We’re boarding the Carnival Vista for the 5th time Saturday and have never felt there was a party atmosphere. But we’ve only done 7 or 8 night cruises. I agree with @mevelandry, and would do a Vista class or the new Mardi Gras. They are charging the most for those class ships and they are generally 6-8 night sailings. The party ships are the smaller older ships doing the 3-4 night Bahamian cruises. Carnival cruisers definitely have fun but I don’t think it’s like a college fraternity party by any means.

 

[mevelandry]

Update regarding the new Asian/Mex restaurant. They added it to the list of restaurants available for no charge, however, when you try to process the reservation, it doesn’t work out.

And in other news: John Heald’s video he posted earlier today is simply heartbreaking. For those who missed it, they are blocking everyone from the UK from flying into the USA because of the Delta variant so he will not be able to make it to the cruise on Horizon this week-end.

While we are from Canada, I don’t know if we should still hope to return on a cruise ship later this year...

 

[belle032]

Have you been on the Verizon before? Looking at those prices we would save a whoooole lot of money
not going on DCL. All i ever hear about Carnival is party ships. Is there any ship more family oriented. Or is there a ship with a separate area like NCL haven? Sorry for the questions but I'm looking for plan B...im
looking at Royal Celebrity Ncl and i guess Carnival. Thanks!

I think it's great you're exploring your options and I agree with @mevelandry and @Club Disney Chandler in that if you're coming from DCL, I'd stick with Vista class ships or the new Mardi Gras/Celebration ships. I think those classes of ship have a private Havana type area! Carnival is really trying to steer away from the "college frat party" label and lean towards adults/couples and families, which I believe they're being successful with. The older and smaller ships sailing 3 & 4 night Bahamas itineraries will still have that vibe (and it seems like they're beginning to retire those ships), but longer sailings and newer ships really don't seem to. DH & I also don't sail anything less than 7 nights as it's not worth the travel for us, but I've never come across any awful or drunken behavior that would put us off the cruise line entirely.

Some differences you will probably notice coming from DCL to CCL/NCL/RCCL/etc is a casino onboard, maybe more adult entertainment options, and various beverage packages being offered. Not negative things, but differences. I do think a huge part of trying a new cruise line or ship is not to constantly compare it with what you're used to (which we're all guilty of!). Just consider it a new adventure and enjoy being back on a ship!

 

[mevelandry]

I just want to say that I have been on a few 4 nights on Carnival and did not feel the « party vibe » at all. Maybe I got lucky…

 

[mevelandry]

Oh, interesting news: I hear that on Vista and Horizon (and eventually Mardi Gras and Celebration?) they have removed the bar from the casino, and there is now a smoking and a non-smoking area at the casino. Smokers will not be allowed in the smoking section of the casino if they don’t play.

It’s a huge win for non-smokers.

 

[belle032]

Update regarding the new Asian/Mex restaurant. They added it to the list of restaurants available for no charge, however, when you try to process the reservation, it doesn’t work out.

And in other news: John Heald’s video he posted earlier today is simply heartbreaking. For those who missed it, they are blocking everyone from the UK from flying into the USA because of the Delta variant so he will not be able to make it to the cruise on Horizon this week-end.

While we are from Canada, I don’t know if we should still hope to return on a cruise ship later this year...

Wow, that's so sad! Was he supposed to travel over today? I can't believe they had no idea he wouldn't be able to enter the US, but I admit I haven't been keeping much on international traveling news.