One Disney or two Carnivals?

As you know cruising is a very communal type vacation. So the overall feel of the ship and the crowd really contributes or detracts from the experience. On a DCL cruise we feel euphoric nearly the whole time. On the RCCL cruise we were on a boat with a bunch of people. It was fun to people watch but it just didn't feel as cozy or friendly as a DCL - for us. Also I confess that the persistant and lingering smell of smoke REALLY bothered me more than I thought it would.. It just contributed something icky to the overall feel of the cruise. The ship didn't smell good to us in general and smell is an important and influential sense.

Anyway, I think for us the lack of Disney was a dealbreaker. The crew were lovely. The food was not so great and the ship wasn't *quite* as clean as we were used to but it was fine.

I think you will be totally fine on DCL unless you miss the casino. You might also be bummed with how much you paid! If I were you I'd go only if I really really wanted the Disney factor!
Also, as far as fit - we cruise to kick back, be lazy, stare at the ocean and let our worries sail away. So for us - one of the biggest perks of Royal - all the activities - didn't really benefit our family personally.
 
DCL for us. Any cruise line that allows any smoking inside even if it's confined to the casino or a smoking room is a non-starter for me. That limits my options considerably and Carnival isn't in the running. While we've not cruised other than DCL, I've looked into a number of other lines and there are very few that may meet with our criteria and they'd have to have a good itinerary that I can't get on DCL to make me jump over. My time is as valuable, if not more, than money to me so I'm not prepared to risk it on something unless I'm pretty sure it's going to meet my needs. Everyone to their own taste, however.
 


2 weeks is a long time to experiment with a cruise line that, based on all the feedback I've seen, is very much "love it or hate it." If you try it and love it, you'll have a great time, but if you hate it, you'll have to repeat everything you didn't like.

Why not one week on carnival and something else added on, like a 3-day DCL cruise or a trip to some of the Orlando parks.

This...

Or 1 Carnival and 1 RCCL. :)
 
Alright: roast, roast, roast. How dare you decide for yourself what you can afford and what you personally want? :rolleyes2

I've actually read these boards a long time, and have never seen anyone roast a fellow poster for saying something isn't right or worth it for them because of the cost.

What I have seen is some people criticizing DCL, and others defending DCL, which is just to be expected on a DCL forum. I've also seen some harsh & sometimes nasty criticism of people who choose to only sail DCL despite the price increases.

So no one is immune from criticism here. But no need to start it up by calling people who happen to prefer DCL "purists", and assuming that they would criticize you for choosing your own vacations.

I have to admit that the last months have been much better but there was a time, mostly between 2016 and 2018, where anyone willing to try Carnival or actually enjoying sailing with Carnival and/or not willing to pay DCL prices and chosing them instead were the object of snark on a regular basis.

It got better recently because CCL is getting more family friendly and more DISers have experienced CCL since and enjoy both cruise lines... But there was a time where people were not as cool about it and tried to have threads talking about other cruise lines closed.
 


Also, as far as fit - we cruise to kick back, be lazy, stare at the ocean and let our worries sail away. So for us - one of the biggest perks of Royal - all the activities - didn't really benefit our family personally.
Just off a Royal ship last week. We found all the activities to be interesting, but nothing that we felt we had to do. Even while all that is going on, our veranda was still a nice place to sit and watch the ocean go by. We never felt we had to join the crowd.
Any cruise line that allows any smoking inside even if it's confined to the casino or a smoking room is a non-starter for me.
Please explain why? I understand a lot of people choose not to smoke, I'm one of them. But why would a room of smokers somewhere on a huge ship, easily avoidable, be a non-starter?
 
I'm with the poster who can't justify the cost of DCL. I love Carnival and would choose 2 7 day cruises for sure. I prefer to get more bang for my hard-earned buck.
 
Please explain why? I understand a lot of people choose not to smoke, I'm one of them. But why would a room of smokers somewhere on a huge ship, easily avoidable, be a non-starter?

I agree. While I'm all for non-smoking ships, on our last RCCL ship, there was a smokers section on one side of the main pool. We just passed by the other side instead, or held our breath for the 10 seconds it took to pass by.

We could also easily avoid the casino.
 
That would be one 6 day Disney or 2 7 day Carnivals. Which would you do?
It really does depend on the itinerary and the ships. I think that if you're used to DCL (or Viking I suppose), it's harder to reconcile the fact that there are 20-plus ships to pick from, and that there is a very apparent contrast between those ships.

Only you can answer that question. I firmly believe that every cruise line has a target audience, based on activities, amenities, usual crowd composition, price and destinations.

Someone in another thread just posted they regretted spending so much money on 13 DCL cruises after having just returned from their first Carnival cruise. We did a NCL cruise in Haven and will not go back, preferring to sail in a normal DCL stateroom for the same price. One of our friends will only sail NCL after trying cruise lines we enjoy, notably Celebrity.
Agree with this. But for those that have only sailed one cruise line, it's hard to break away (I don't mean the NCL ship) and try something new. Fear of the unknown, and understandable given the prices we pay for cruises.

2 weeks is a long time to experiment with a cruise line that, based on all the feedback I've seen, is very much "love it or hate it." If you try it and love it, you'll have a great time, but if you hate it, you'll have to repeat everything you didn't like.

Why not one week on carnival and something else added on, like a 3-day DCL cruise or a trip to some of the Orlando parks.
It is a long time. And it's kind of funny that OP gave us a black and white, either/or question, and of course we all go shades of grey.

DCL for us. Any cruise line that allows any smoking inside even if it's confined to the casino or a smoking room is a non-starter for me. That limits my options considerably and Carnival isn't in the running.
Given the context, it's understandable and I'm glad that you noted that you are aware that it limits your options.

I understand a lot of people choose not to smoke, I'm one of them. But why would a room of smokers somewhere on a huge ship, easily avoidable, be a non-starter?
I can see the reasoning behind it if you're super sensitive to cigarette smoke or a recovering nicotine addict afraid of a relapse.
 
Please explain why? I understand a lot of people choose not to smoke, I'm one of them. But why would a room of smokers somewhere on a huge ship, easily avoidable, be a non-starter?

I'm allergic and no matter how good the filtration system is in a closed area, it does spread. If you've ever stayed in a hotel where there are smoking and non-smoking rooms, it really doesn't matter if you're in a non-smoking room - you are still moderately exposed to it no matter how hard they try to filter it out. And on some cruise ships, the casino - where most cruise lines allow smoking - is practically unavoidable. Outdoor smoking will dissipate and if I avoid those areas, it's OK.
 
I agree. While I'm all for non-smoking ships, on our last RCCL ship, there was a smokers section on one side of the main pool. We just passed by the other side instead, or held our breath for the 10 seconds it took to pass by.

We could also easily avoid the casino.
It truly depends on the configuration of the ship and the capacity of the ventilation. On NCL Bliss, the smoking room in the casino was seeping smoke in the main hallway and the entire area, which is unavoidable if crossing the ship on deck 7. Being quite sensible to smoke, we had to completely avoid deck 7 midship. They also have a cigar room that also ended up smoking up that section of the ship on deck 8, another unavoidable place.. We’ve had the same problem on Celebrity ships before they declared all their casinos smoke-free zones.
 
It truly depends on the configuration of the ship and the capacity of the ventilation. On NCL Bliss, the smoking room in the casino was seeping smoke in the main hallway and the entire area, which is unavoidable if crossing the ship on deck 7. Being quite sensible to smoke, we had to completely avoid deck 7 midship. They also have a cigar room that also ended up smoking up that section of the ship on deck 8, another unavoidable place.. We’ve had the same problem on Celebrity ships before they declared all their casinos smoke-free zones.

Yuck.

IMO, all smoking sections should be outside... Unfortunately, I don't make the rules.
 
DCL for us. Any cruise line that allows any smoking inside even if it's confined to the casino or a smoking room is a non-starter for me.

This would also be a dealbreaker for us.

Can't believe there are cruise line companies still allowing smoking inside in 2020.
 
This would also be a dealbreaker for us.

Can't believe there are cruise line companies still allowing smoking inside in 2020.
It seems many believe it is essential for the casinos to make a profit. Celebrity has moved away from the concept but others have not.
 
It seems many believe it is essential for the casinos to make a profit. Celebrity has moved away from the concept but others have not.

Eek this is so disgusting… with so many guests smelling cigarettes while on their way out of the casino I definitely see how DCL is going to make a profit as far as we've concerned!
 
It seems many believe it is essential for the casinos to make a profit. Celebrity has moved away from the concept but others have not.
It's an interesting thought, but casinos are non-smoking in Ontario and judging by the patronage at night I have to believe that they're making a profit. And I believe the World Series of Poker is a non-smoking event, and they probably do ok. So I'm not saying that those people are wrong, but I have seen what appears to be evidence to the contrary.

Truthfully, I think the ships allow smoking in the casinos because there's more people on board that avoid both vices than there are those who engage in one, the other or both. So put both in the same spot and everyone else can avoid it.

Me, since I do like to play blackjack, I can live with the smoke, but I was pleased with the reduction in cigarette smell on Harmony and Independence. The smell is still there and you won't completely avoid it, of course, but you won't leave the casino wearing a pack on your clothing.
 
Agree with this. But for those that have only sailed one cruise line, it's hard to break away (I don't mean the NCL ship) and try something new. Fear of the unknown, and understandable given the prices we pay for cruises.

This was it for us. We initially did 12 sailings on DCL, and when the prices jumped in 2016 to 2017, 2016 4 and 5 night back to back on the magic was cheaper than a 3 and 3 night back to back on the magic in 2017 (same time frame and ports minus 1 because of shorter time sailing), we had a hard time convincing ourselves our RCCL trip would be ok. It turned out to be the best decision we have made for our cruising needs.

I watch the boards still and occasionally post, because we haven't ruled DCL out forever. I will say though seeing the price still rise faster than the industry and DCL cutting back on things, I know we would be disappointed at the value we received now vs then. DCL would have to either lower prices at this point or really up their offering to get us back. We aren't a Disney crazy family so the characters, star wars, etc doesn't add value for us.
 

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