Feel Stupid......

[mom2brooke76]

Have you ever tried RCCL and the brand new concept of CocoCay? If you do, you'll feel like a dumb dumb twice. We sure do. LOL

No yet, but we plan to!!

 

[mom2brooke76]

You have to try one of the new ships like Vista or more recent. You're going to L-O-V-E it.

I REALLY want to try the Panorama, but for now we’re doing the Paradise in March and then have the Norwegian Encore booked for next year. I’d really love to try MSC Miraveglia (sp?) since they honor whichever level you’re at on another cruise line AND have an extra cost Cirque show onboard, but my husband isn’t interested

 

[mevelandry]

No yet, but we plan to!!

IMO, CocoCay puts Castaway Cay to shame.

 

[mevelandry]

I REALLY want to try the Panorama, but for now we’re doing the Paradise in March and then have the Norwegian Encore booked for next year. I’d really love to try MSC Miraveglia (sp?) since they honor whichever level you’re at on another cruise line AND have an extra cost Cirque show onboard, but my husband isn’t interested

Be prepared. Paradise is much smaller. I, for myself, am not a huge fan of that class because they are very small, older and they don't have as much to do on it...

(On the bright side, the service is usually even better because they have less people to take care off.)

But maybe you will like it. Everybody is different.

 

[hdrolfe]

I REALLY want to try the Panorama, but for now we’re doing the Paradise in March and then have the Norwegian Encore booked for next year. I’d really love to try MSC Miraveglia (sp?) since they honor whichever level you’re at on another cruise line AND have an extra cost Cirque show onboard, but my husband isn’t interested

I have booked and cancelled a number of MSC cruises, they seem to have a different style to them than most of the mainstream American lines so I get spooked by bad reports. However Meraviglia and Seaside both look like amazing ships, and I hope to get on them one day! Their private island does look pretty nice as well, though still being worked on I believe. I've heard Seaside if you like to be outside and have those sea views, Meraviglia if you prefer the promenade type of ship which is a bit more inner facing. If I didn't have kiddo I would go on Divinia because of the itineraries (and price) but with no water slides or ropes courses he'd be "bored" and I'd spend the trip trying to entertain him.

Panorama looks great too, I have Horizon booked in December which I can't wait to try. And of course when Mardi Gras starts sailing I really want to try that one, plus it will be out of Canaveral so easy to add on a bit of Disney

My first ever cruise was 5 years ago, I was booked on Disney Magic but when the CAD dropped and some back pay was delayed I had to scale back my plans and ended up on Carnival Liberty (she was doing 7 nights then) and we were hooked. I am somewhat thankful we went on Carnival first because I probably wouldn't have been able to do so many cruises if I had done Disney first and only stuck with them. I hope to someday do a Disney cruise but I may just stick with other cruise lines and a few days at Disney instead.

 

[Lisa Skier]

That would be amazing if Clayton was the cruise director. Had so much fun with him a coupe of times. I am scheduled to go on April 1st...guess I will find out then as everything is still pretty vague.

 

[cgolf]

We have definitely branched out from DCL and been very happy with the results. Both RCCL and Celebrity have fit our needs (empty nesters at this point but daughter will cruise with us after college). We currently have 1 cruise booked on RCCL and 2 on Celebrity.

I will never say I feel dumb about our DCL cruises. We got good prices on all of them and every cruise we have ever been on has been enjoyable.

That said if I paid the current DCL prices I would likely be disappointed compared to what we paid and experienced previously, still would enjoy the trip though.

 

[mom2brooke76]

That would be amazing if Clayton was the cruise director. Had so much fun with him a coupe of times. I am scheduled to go on April 1st...guess I will find out then as everything is still pretty vague.

He definitely is! It’s on his Facebook page and I had officially found out from Tissa in DCL in November Make sure to take a pic with him!!

 

[freshmanjs]

nobody does kids like Disney, but nobody does adults like Carnival.

What a strange statement. There are many cruise lines that are far nicer and more service oriented than Carnival. Carnival is aimed at value and party segment. It's like saying no one does dining like Applebees...

 

[DisUniversal]

What a strange statement. There are many cruise lines that are far nicer and more service oriented than Carnival. Carnival is aimed at value and party segment. It's like saying no one does dining like Applebees...

If one can compare Carnival to Applebees, then DCL is like a Chuck-e-Cheese that charges Seasons 52 prices.

That said a more accurate statement would be "Nobody does FUN like Carnival".

 

[freshmanjs]

If one can compare Carnival to Applebees, then DCL is like a Chuck-e-Cheese that charges Seasons 52 prices.

That said a more accurate statement would be "Nobody does FUN like Carnival".

DCL is like a chuck-e-cheese sometimes...no argument. I wouldn't use Seasons 52 as an example of high end, though...that place is awful. I did enjoy Carnival when I was 20...

 

[DisneyDadBama]

To each his own... for my family, Disney is the hands down winner. We did 2 carnival but the food, service and entertainment was not up to Disney standards. Also the smoke smell was overwhelming in some areas. I feel stupid for wasting the money trying Carnival.

 

[DisUniversal]

To each his own... for my family, Disney is the hands down winner. We did 2 carnival but the food, service and entertainment was not up to Disney standards. Also the smoke smell was overwhelming in some areas. I feel stupid

The smoke smell near the casino was pretty bad. Was surprised they put the O2 club for teens right next store. Thought the food exceeded Disney standards, the service was up to Disney standards and the entertainment while different, was just as enjoyable.

 

[mevelandry]

What a strange statement. There are many cruise lines that are far nicer and more service oriented than Carnival. Carnival is aimed at value and party segment. It's like saying no one does dining like Applebees...

I think it was meant to be about entertainment. I've tried DCL, RCCL and Carnival. I would say that RCCL is a tiny bit more "family friendly" in their entertainment than Carnival.

 

[mevelandry]

@DisneyDadBama

If I may ask: What Carnival ship did you sail on and when? (Were they Funship 2.0?)

I'm saying this because Guys, Pig & Anchor, Blue Iguana, and Pizzeria Del Capitano, for us, definitely beat DCL's counters.

Jiji Asian Kitchen and the steakhouse were among the best we've had at sea. Up there with Palo and Remy but for a much better price.

And they are all part of the funship 2.0 refurbishments on Carnival Ships.

I have to say we have never been impressed with the food in the dining room on a Disney ship to begin with (which is why we stick to Remy and Palo) and never received service that was as outstanding as described on this board... with one exception in the dining room on the Wonder in 2017.

 

[Ben E N]

@DisneyDadBama

If I may ask: What Carnival ship did you sail on and when? (Were they Funship 2.0?)

I'm saying this because Guys, Pig & Anchor, Blue Iguana, and Pizzeria Del Capitano, for us, definitely beat DCL's counters.

Jiji Asian Kitchen and the steakhouse were among the best we've had at sea. Up there with Palo and Remy but for a much better price.

And they are all part of the funship 2.0 refurbishments on Carnival Ships.

I have to say we have never been impressed with the food in the dining room on a Disney ship to begin with (which is why we stick to Remy and Palo) and never received service that was as outstanding as described on this board... with one exception in the dining room on the Wonder in 2017.

I fully agree with this. Disney's food was very underwhelming to me. I had to search each meal for any one dish that would "wow" me. Carnival's main dining room had some very solid selections. Maybe not a 4 star restaurant, but lots of "good" options that left me full and impressed.
Blue Iguana's breakfast burritos were so good that I got one on my disembarkation day and put it in my pocket to enjoy later (it was still in it's wrapper).

 

[mom2brooke76]

I fully agree with this. Disney's food was very underwhelming to me. I had to search each meal for any one dish that would "wow" me. Carnival's main dining room had some very solid selections. Maybe not a 4 star restaurant, but lots of "good" options that left me full and impressed.
Blue Iguana's breakfast burritos were so good that I got one on my disembarkation day and put it in my pocket to enjoy later (it was still in it's wrapper).

Blue Iguana’s breakfast burritos are amazing!! I have to know though, did you make it through customs with that burrito?

 

[Ben E N]

Blue Iguana’s breakfast burritos are amazing!! I have to know though, did you make it through customs with that burrito?

It made it into my tummy while waiting in line.

 

[Lilsia]

To each his own... for my family, Disney is the hands down winner. We did 2 carnival but the food, service and entertainment was not up to Disney standards. Also the smoke smell was overwhelming in some areas. I feel stupid for wasting the money trying Carnival.

This is my issue with other cruise ships. I am allergic to cigarette smoke and hate that they allow smoking anywhere on the inside of the ship. People who are not sensitive to it don't realize that you can smell it from pretty far away. I went on a Celebrity cruise ship and the casino was close to the lobby area, which was multi tiered and you pretty much needed to walk past it to get around if you were not out on the top decks.The whole area smelled of cigarette smoke. Also, they allowed smoking at all outdoor bars. And on the ship that I was on, the bars are where you had to go and get drink, soda and bottled water included. I could not get away from it. And the food was nowhere near the quality of DCL food. We sat with others during dinners, and everyone was unhappy with their meal at one point during the stay.

 

[Dug720]

This is my issue with other cruise ships. I am allergic to cigarette smoke and hate that they allow smoking anywhere on the inside of the ship. People who are not sensitive to it don't realize that you can smell it from pretty far away. I went on a Celebrity cruise ship and the casino was close to the lobby area, which was multi tiered and you pretty much needed to walk past it to get around if you were not out on the top decks.The whole area smelled of cigarette smoke. Also, they allowed smoking at all outdoor bars. And on the ship that I was on, the bars are where you had to go and get drink, soda and bottled water included. I could not get away from it. And the food was nowhere near the quality of DCL food. We sat with others during dinners, and everyone was unhappy with their meal at one point during the stay.

Celebrity no longer allows smoking inside, so the casino stench is a moot point now.