Feel Stupid......

[Lilsia]

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

But Carnival still does. And they still allow smoking on all open decks by the bar, where people need to get their drinks. I was not happy with Celebrity cruise line. Not only was the food bad, the customer service was horrible. You could hear people talking about it around the ship. What is funny, I heard several times people saying how "you would never see this issue on a Disney Cruise". I have to agree them. Maybe we had a bad ship and crew, IDK. But it did not leave a good impression for that line.

 

[Dug720]

But Carnival still does. And they still allow smoking on all open decks by the bar, where people need to get their drinks. I was not happy with Celebrity cruise line. Not only was the food bad, the customer service was horrible. You could hear people talking about it around the ship. What is funny, I heard several times people saying how "you would never see this issue on a Disney Cruise". I have to agree them. Maybe we had a bad ship and crew, IDK. But it did not leave a good impression for that line.

I am aware of that.

And I was not disputing your experience. Simply pointing out that the indoor smoking is no longer an issue on there for anyone who might read the thread and think it is.

 

[revdon64]

Can't see any reason to feel stupid. We do what we do. I've cruised on DCL twice now, but my next cruise will be on Norwegian to Alaska. Maybe I'll go back to DCL after, and maybe not. Loyalty to one's self is more important than loyalty to a brand.

 

[SgtTibbs]

Carnival has always sounded like a nightmare for me, most of what I hear about them seems to focus around drunk passengers acting badly. Can I get some counter points to that? What did you like about them that Disney does not offer?

 

[DisneyDadBama]

To be fair we are DVC members and Disney Park fanatics....But We have been on the Carnival Fantasy and Valor I believe. I'm sure there are nice Carnival ships too, I was just stating my opinion of the 2 Canival ships we have been on. We have also cruised all 4 Disney ships and for us there was no comparison. The Carnival ships just felt older and dirtier and we would not take our kids on them. Once again, I'm sure there are better ones but those are the only ones that port near where we live.

 

[mom2brooke76]

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.

Yes, the cigarette smoke by the casinos is an issue on CCL, but they win hands down in the dining service and food department for me. Especially as of late on DCL, unless my favorite head server is there, the serving teams have been a joke. We did Your Time Dining on CCL and enjoyed our serving team so much the first night that I asked if I could request them, which you can and we did. We had a different server for the Green Eggs and Ham brand he was great too. I’m also super impressed that not only does the dining team work all over the ship and are on top of everything, but they also have to practice choreography for 10-15 minutes each night to learn dance moves for the dining room entertainment which was fantastic!

 

[mom2brooke76]

Carnival has always sounded like a nightmare for me, most of what I hear about them seems to focus around drunk passengers acting badly. Can I get some counter points to that? What did you like about them that Disney does not offer?

We personally never encountered anyone acting badly and were at the martini bar until closing time. The outside maintenance of the ship isn’t up to Disney’s standards, but I feel that inside it mostly was. The food blows Disney’s away IMO. The dining room servers were some of the best I’ve had and that includes all 13 Disney cruises. I would say in all those cruises we’ve had 2-3 servers that were that good. The cruise director is not like the Disney cruise directors LOL They’re all about making sure you’re having a good time while you’re onboard with their “fun squad”. It’s just a totally different experience, but I can say in 46 years of living I’ve never had so much overall fun on a cruise as an adult

 

[mom2brooke76]

Carnival has always sounded like a nightmare for me, most of what I hear about them seems to focus around drunk passengers acting badly. Can I get some counter points to that? What did you like about them that Disney does not offer?

Almost forgot that on top of being fantastic servers, they put on a dance show for you each night during dinner. I’d recommend searching the web for videos. Also, they have a military appreciation service that you can attend where those currently serving or veterans can be put in a drawing for a free cruise (one is given away each month). They also have Groove for St. Jude which is a deck dance party. Anyone can participate, but before it starts they give you the opportunity to buy a St. Jude T-shirt and rubber wrist band for $10 or a St. Jude Build -a- Bear for $25. I got both and ALL of the proceeds go to St. Jude which is awesome!! So while they’re not Disney (not pretend to be), I feel that I definitely got mor than my money’s worth for a 3 night cruise for $800 for three people

 

[Lisa Skier]

Everyone's experience is different. I have been on all the Disney ships and prefer the small ones. I have been on a number of Carnival's ships and prefer the small ones. We are taking the family on a cruise this summer (12 of us) and we will be on the Vista, out of Galveston, because it is much more affordable. Next cruise is on Virgin, should be fun to try something new and this fall back on Carnival for a girls trip (advantage to being able to drive down to Galveston). I do hate the smoke in the casinos and wish there was a better way but won't let it sway me. Have next seen rowdy drunks on Carnival but they may be there....I pretty much choose by what I want to do these days! Happy sailing to all and may you enjoy whichever line you choose (and I have been on most of them )

 

[mevelandry]

But Carnival still does. And they still allow smoking on all open decks by the bar, where people need to get their drinks. I was not happy with Celebrity cruise line. Not only was the food bad, the customer service was horrible. You could hear people talking about it around the ship. What is funny, I heard several times people saying how "you would never see this issue on a Disney Cruise". I have to agree them. Maybe we had a bad ship and crew, IDK. But it did not leave a good impression for that line.

On Carnival, people can only smoke in the casino and in certain specific spots outside.

 

[mevelandry]

Carnival has always sounded like a nightmare for me, most of what I hear about them seems to focus around drunk passengers acting badly. Can I get some counter points to that? What did you like about them that Disney does not offer?

Look up the Carnival vs DCL thread. You'll see plenty of balanced reviews.

 

[trvlgirlmq]

But Carnival still does. And they still allow smoking on all open decks by the bar, where people need to get their drinks. I was not happy with Celebrity cruise line. Not only was the food bad, the customer service was horrible. You could hear people talking about it around the ship. What is funny, I heard several times people saying how "you would never see this issue on a Disney Cruise". I have to agree them. Maybe we had a bad ship and crew, IDK. But it did not leave a good impression for that line.

Carnival DOES NOT allow smoking just anywhere and not at any of the bars except in the casino. There are a couple of outdoor locations designated for smoking only.

 

[Ryoukoe]

Can I ask how long your trip was? What made it so much fun? Do you feel it was the group of people you went with? The shore excursions (if you had any) that you went on? I went on a two night Carnival Cruise about three years ago and have to admit is was the most horrible experience in terms of travel I had ever had. When it came to getting off the ship at port all of the elevators were shut down and we were corralled like cattle through like seven levels of the ship to get to the bottom to leave, we missed the appointment for our shore excursion because it took over an hour to get off the boat. When it came to getting back on the ship we waited in line for over an hour and a half. Activities on the boat were expensive and boring...we did five games of bingo and that was like $45 per person. There was a casino and a poker tournament but to join was over $200 per person. We never ended up going to the evening dinners and spent most of our time eating at the buffet which was enjoyable. We were supposed to get free ice cream on the ship but due to the heat and the amount of people, the machine either couldn't keep the ice cream frozen or it was making more, it just never worked out. I know its a small thing, but I had paid extra to have carbonated beverages on the ship, but you had to go to the bar to get them and the lines were always packed due to everyone drinking that it was just never an option. I was hoping that a Disney cruise would be different, but maybe I should just have a different expectation for cruising in general?

 

[Ryoukoe]

Carnival has always sounded like a nightmare for me, most of what I hear about them seems to focus around drunk passengers acting badly. Can I get some counter points to that? What did you like about them that Disney does not offer?

This was my experience totally! Does it change when you have a longer trip scheduled?

 

[smmco]

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

I didn’t feel dumb. I felt dumb for being at Coco Cay when I wanted to be at Castaway. I did not like Royals private Island at all. Royal was a mixed bag for me. Would I sail them again? Probably, but it’s not a replacement for DCL.

 

[mevelandry]

I didn’t feel dumb. I felt dumb for being at Coco Cay when I wanted to be at Castaway. I did not like Royals private Island at all. Royal was a mixed bag for me. Would I sail them again? Probably, but it’s not a replacement for DCL.

When did you go? They are for sure very different (since RCCL introduced the Perfect Day concept).

P.s.: My comment was tongue in cheek...

Personally, after trying Half Moon Cay, Princess Cays and Coco Cay, I honestly don't find Castaway Cay special anymore.

I'm going back to Coco Cay later this year with Coco Beach Club passes and I'm very excited.

 

[smmco]

When did you go? They are for sure very different (since RCCL introduced the Perfect Day concept).

P.s.: My comment was tongue in cheek...

Personally, after trying Half Moon Cay, Princess Cays and Coco Cay, I honestly don't find Castaway Cay special anymore.

I'm going back to Coco Cay later this year with Coco Beach Club passes and I'm very excited.

I was there last week. I didn't care for it. The food wasn't very good. The water slide looked interesting, but for 80pp I'll take a pass.

 

[tinkerone]

When did you go? They are for sure very different (since RCCL introduced the Perfect Day concept).

P.s.: My comment was tongue in cheek...

Personally, after trying Half Moon Cay, Princess Cays and Coco Cay, I honestly don't find Castaway Cay special anymore.

I'm going back to Coco Cay later this year with Coco Beach Club passes and I'm very excited.

Me to! I have never been to Coco Cay however it looks amazing and we purchased the Beach Club passes for both of our B2B sailings on Symphony. We haven't found Castaway Cay of any interest in years. There's really not that much there to see or do, it's a lazy day or nothing. Also the food is mediocre at best, the food on Coco Cay looks so much more interesting. Can...not...wait!
We don't go till October, if you go before that report back. I need all the info I can get on the Beach Club.

 

[Dallas_Lady]

We're cruising on the Carnival Vista in 2 weeks. Our only other cruise was on the DIsney Dream and I keep worrying that it won't measure up. But, the price difference was impossible for us to overlook and my kids are much older now.

 

[starstruck93]

I'll tell you...... I priced out cruises year before last and just couldn't justify the price of DLC........I HAVE to have a balcony and we got 3 more days and a balcony with Carnival on the Magic for the cost of a 4 day cruise inside cabin on DCL. I had a friend basically "cruise shame" me for taking Carnival. We had THE best time. No regrets.