Is Disney worth $1600 extra versus Carnival

[KY Transplant]

It's worth every penny.

 

Castaway Cay leaves every other private island behind in the dust. Also no drunks to encounter and no inappropriate show content. Very family oriented but fun for adults as well. Also the only cruise line authorized to have a fireworks spectacular at sea.

 

You can not go wrong with Disney.

[pe4all]

Your kids are at great Disney cruise ages. If you can swing Disney, go for it. Everyone should experience a Disney cruise once in their lives. That being said, we "outgrew" Disney, and Disney cruises outgrew us with their prices. My kids started cruising (Disney) at ages 4/7. At ages 19/22 they only want Carnival. At this point in time, I would save the $1600 and go for CCL. But if you can "spare" the $1600, go for Disney!

[lillian marie]

I'd say no, no and no again. Use the money you'd save for a trip to Disney World.

[TheTravelista]

$1,600+ is a lot more to be paying for the 'disney difference';), especially when not visiting CC.

 

this promotion (KFMR) is available to general public & many TAs would jump to give u OBC of $100 - $200, i'd shop it around before booking with anyone.

 

believe this would be on the Wonder & you have 5 in your family?

 

we enjoy DCL but i just cannot justify the expense of a balcony (unless we'd only be happy w/one DCL cruise a year:eek:). we've done OV & inside & thought them swell. Interestingly, on the new ship Dream, the inside cabins r selling out 1st due to the animated porthole feature lol.

 

have you explored booking 2 connecting inside cabins...there's so much going on you'll rarely be in your cabin to enjoy that balcony & 2 cabins would give you so much space & 2 bathrooms:D.

 

the DP would be larger & im not sure if DCL would allow each cabin to have an adult+1 or 2 children 'free'...why not call DCL direct & ask?

 

When I first heard about the animated porthole feature I thought it was so cool...I love little innovative stuff like that. I'm looking into a cruise on the Disney Dream in the future

 

Anyway, I think if the $1600 won't hurt your pockets too much, go for it. I personally believe in trying everything at least once. I've never sailed on Disney but I've heard its an amazing experience. You'll never know if its worth it to you or not if you don't go :)

[renza]

Never Never would I sail Disney even if it were the same price as carnival. Sure my kids had a great time on Disney, as for my husaband and I What a joke. No casino, no adult entertainment, everything closes by 9 p.m. The biggest waste of money we ever spent. The food was not even great. Like I said my kids loved it, but a vacation is for me too. I live 2 hours from Disney, so no big deal. On the cruise we waited in longer lines to get pictures of the characters and kids then at Disney world. Just like how Disny world is not worth over $70 a day, over $350 a day for a family of 4 with parking, the cruise is totally overpriced just like everything else Disney. Go to Disney world, and hop over to another ship. Think about it, you can go on a cruise and Disney world for the same price as just the disney cruise. Camp Carnival is even better then Disney camp, need I go on. I cant stress enough what a waste of money it is.

[laumicmah]

Never Never would I sail Disney even if it were the same price as carnival. Sure my kids had a great time on Disney, as for my husaband and I What a joke. No casino, no adult entertainment, everything closes by 9 p.m. The biggest waste of money we ever spent. The food was not even great. Like I said my kids loved it, but a vacation is for me too. I live 2 hours from Disney, so no big deal. On the cruise we waited in longer lines to get pictures of the characters and kids then at Disney world. Just like how Disny world is not worth over $70 a day, over $350 a day for a family of 4 with parking, the cruise is totally overpriced just like everything else Disney. Go to Disney world, and hop over to another ship. Think about it, you can go on a cruise and Disney world for the same price as just the disney cruise. Camp Carnival is even better then Disney camp, need I go on. I cant stress enough what a waste of money it is.

I disagree. The food was way better than CCL. They have a big screen on the Lido deck (some CCL do, but not all). They have a movie theater. They have the fancy place for adults only to eat (some CCL have, but not all). They have clubs and bars and shows (that go way past 9:00). The kid camps are way more impressive and kids can stay there longer at no additional charge and they come away with a t-shirt and hat and other things. When I went they had the captains ball and gave out free drinks (not sure if they still do, but I know CCL does not). There staff were more pleasant and helpful. They do firworks from the ship at a really neat pirates deck party before the midnight buffet. The ONLY thing they don't have is the casino.

[Mjasp]

Never Never would I sail Disney even if it were the same price as carnival. Sure my kids had a great time on Disney, as for my husaband and I What a joke. No casino, no adult entertainment, everything closes by 9 p.m. The biggest waste of money we ever spent. The food was not even great. Like I said my kids loved it, but a vacation is for me too. I live 2 hours from Disney, so no big deal. On the cruise we waited in longer lines to get pictures of the characters and kids then at Disney world. Just like how Disny world is not worth over $70 a day, over $350 a day for a family of 4 with parking, the cruise is totally overpriced just like everything else Disney. Go to Disney world, and hop over to another ship. Think about it, you can go on a cruise and Disney world for the same price as just the disney cruise. Camp Carnival is even better then Disney camp, need I go on. I cant stress enough what a waste of money it is.

 

WOW We were on a Disney cruise and were in the bars until at least 2 am every night.

I do like a casino also, and that is why you pay more on Disney also, because they don't have any revenue from a casino.

[im4clowns]

I went on the magic in february and I am not sure it would be worth the extra money. for us, since my dh works at disney, the price couldn't be beat but....I didn't like that there is no buffet option for dinner....where the buffet is during the day they have sit down service at night...I missed being able to eat the buffet when our shore excursions ran over...

 

I to felt like after 9pm, it seemed like there wasn't alot of activities going on. and honestly, I wasn't overly impressed with the dining room food.

 

will we do another, you bet, cause it is hard to pass up the employee discount.

[renza]

Sorry for upsetting all you Disney lovers. The only shows that went on were shows for families. Sure they had a restraunt for adults as does the carnival ships I have been on. The camp was open the same hours as carnival, and for double the price of carnival I better get a tee shirt for the kids. I am not even a gambler but when you cant get any entertainment for adults it would at least give adults something to do. There is good and bad about all ships, but out of Carnival, RC, and Princess, Disney was our worst and most expensive trip.

[donaldsc]

IMHO, it would be worth $1600 NOT to have to cruise with a Disney cruise or with anything connected to Disney.

 

DON

[Charleyann]

We have done Disney and carnival with kids and both adults and the children prefer Carnival. We all loved the food much better and the beds were much more comfortable on Carnival. We missed the robes and the big Carnival towels which are not offered on Disney.

 

WE also missed the towel animals. Never got those on Disney. My son found crew members on Disney not as nice as Carnival.....

 

There were also no slides on Disney. Although the new one has one...

 

I say it is not worth the estra money. Purchase another cruise with that !!!

 

Charleyann

[buddylover]

Not worth it to me. Double the space on Carnival for less $? The decision is a no-brainer. I think I have the only child who hated the disney cruise (at 4 years old) and absolutely LOVES Carnival!

 

Same for our family....the characters actually frightened my kids and yes, they were everywhere so there was no escaping them....but they have loved every Carnival cruise....so our vote....save money and go Carnival.

[tigercat]

I am probably the lone wolf here but I would save the money and go on Carnival. I have sailed on RCCL, Carnival, Princess and Disney. I love Disney and go to Disneyworld as often as I can so it isn't that I don't like Disney. I love going to Disney as an adult, I don't need any kids. However, the cruise ship wasn't worth the money for us. The worse cruise I have had was the Disney cruise. The room was okay but the food wasn't the greatest. Actually the main dining rooms food was not the best. I actually was hungry during that cruise. And the characters always had a long line up unless you came across one as they came out by accident. I had really looked forward to that cruise even though it cost a lot more and was really disappointed with it. The service in the main dining room was horrible and our cabin steward didn't seem to care at all about cleaning up. Our room never really got cleaned. This was our 2nd cruise so was unsure if all cruises were like this..Nope just this one.

tigercat

[Eeyoregon]

Is Disney worth the extra $1600, we go to Disneyland all the time since its a 6 hour drive away, but is the Disney Cruise THAT much better? My gut says no, what say you......

 

IMHO: Absolutely!!! But, it's a personal preference thing. My sons were 10 and 13 when we sailed Disney. They are now 14 and 17 and still talk about the experience. BUT we are also big Disney fans and visit Disney World once a year. I just booked the Mexican Riviera on DCL for March and it was acutally $60 cheaper than Carnival for the same dates/similar category of stateroom.

 

Here are some things that made Disney stand above and beyond the rest for our family:

 

Double bathroom in the cabin.

Super large picture window "port hole" in our cabin.

Free/unlimited soda.

3 different dining room rotation experiences.

The unparalleled customer service.

Extreme elegance and cleanliness of the ship.

And I truly appreciated the adult only area being 100% enforced 24/7.

Dinner at Palo.

Pirate party and fireworks.

 

Good luck in making your decision. OH, and the characters are not "everywhere"...they appear at designated times in designated locations. You truly have to seek them out unless you go to one of the deck or pirate parties.

 

Gina

[Eeyoregon]

I'm a 45yr old male, one daughter (12yr). We've cruised Disney 3 times and have booked the Dream for April 2011.

 

I absolutely love Disney and when my daughter outgrows it, I will gladly go on a Disney cruise myself.

 

I agree. I am a single mom (39) and my boys will be 15 and 18 when we take our 2nd Disney cruise in March and I'm already planning a "me" cruise without them, LOL! I just love the adult area both on the ship and on Castaway Cay. Looking forward to the day that I can sail the Disney Dream.

 

Gina

[pe4all]

Here are some things that made Disney stand above and beyond the rest for our family:

 

Double bathroom in the cabin.

Super large picture window "port hole" in our cabin.

Free/unlimited soda.

3 different dining room rotation experiences.

The unparalleled customer service.

Extreme elegance and cleanliness of the ship.

And I truly appreciated the adult only area being 100% enforced 24/7.

Dinner at Palo.

Pirate party and fireworks.

 

 

Gina

Just to add to this list: we loved the fact there was a "privacy curtain" between our bed and the kid's upper/lower. Seems like a simple thing CCL can do, and hasn't done. Also, loved the dueling piano bars on DCL. Also liked the first run movies in the movie theatre. They didn't have a pirate party when we sailed - but I am sure they go all out, as Disney always does! For an extra $1600 I would go Carnival - but as I said earlier - if you can swing it, try Disney!

[kparc]

Yes! Everything DISNEY does is FIRST CLASS. Six Flags - Hershey Park - Kings Dominion - Williamsburg - are all a poor man's Disney. If you can afford it - Go Disney - like another poster said - look at the Disney Unofficial Web sites (just google UNOFFICIAL DISNEY)- they say and tell it all.

 

We couldn't afford the Disney Cruise - so it's Carnival for us - but we are stopping at Disney World for a short stay before heading home.

[Theresa522]

I love to to gamble while on a cruise. For this reason alone I would NOT do Disney. I cannot imagine no casino while on a 7 day cruise :eek:

[azpilot]

IMO $1600 today is huge money to be either saving or spending. I personally would take the CCL cruise for less, take some of the extra saved money and take the kids to Disneyland before and then head to the cruise ship.

 

Enjoy the cruise, either one you decide on.

[marty30907]

$1600! That is cost of a second cruise with Carnival. I would say that is a NO BRAINER!:D

[sunline2000]

Go for it we did in o4.Great time for us .That was my 1st cruies have since done Princess(did not care for their employees and fact there was no age stop after 9pm in the lounges and bars,) Carnival oh yes am a retuning cruiser there. Pide 11-21-10 .Have to love the Disney experience and by the may there are ADULT only areas and they are enforced as is the club area at nite after 9pm The clubs my guys enjoyed(they to would do Disney again and they are now 18 and 20:)

[Julienatul]

We just sailed the Wonder in May and honestly I would not do it again. I had been wanting to try Disney for a while. DD age 4 loves Carnival and loves Camp carnival. She is really into princesses now so we figured it would be the perfect cruise to try Disney. It was the worst cruise we have ever been on!! So many children, everywhere. There were over 800 kids on our sailing. I love kids and have 2 of my own but the screaming and running and banging on doors all day and night was just too much. It was like being at chuck e cheese for 4 straight days. The oceaneers club had literally 300 kids all running around doing about 4 different activities. It was chaos, in fact they put gps bracelets on the kids just to keep track of them. DD was too overwhelmed with so many kids there that she rarely wanted to go to the club and spent most of the cruise with us. It was standing room only in the pools, nowhere to sit at all on the decks because people would throw their stuff on a table and chairs and spend the day in the pools. The food was horrible. My tank of a one year old, who will eat anything wouldnt even eat, too salty. Everything tasted like it had a gallon of salt on it. My son would not nap and we all got woken up constantly by running, screaming kids banging doors at all hours of the night. We also ended up with food poisoning from the adult only restaurant (all of us adults had vomiting and diarrhea within 30 minutes of leaving). My one year-old got second degree burns on his feet from the baby splash area, apparently thr rubber matting gets so hot it burnt his feet to blisters. Who wears shoes in a water feature and no signs were posted indicating the area gets hot? The positives are, outstanding service, great cabin, nice to have the mini tub and fridge in every room and divider curtain, the shows were top notch best of any cruiseline I hear and the free soda is nice. All in all, it certainly was not worth the money and we will not do it again. We would much rather visit Disneyworld every year and cruise Carnival.

[jpg1747]

There's not a cruise, or cruiseline, in the world that I'd pay an additional $1600 for. For me it's about the destination(s). The line and ship are secondary.

[Jumbiecruiser]

Go for it. Remember, it's not always about quantity. Not everyone wants cheap. Quality comes into play here also. Go with Disney and enjoy. :)

[Marie51]

To me it is not worth it. I have been on Disney, Carnival and RC with grandchildren and they actually like Disney the least. Not worth it for the extra money. But if you are a Disney geek and don't mind being bombarded by the Disney characters at every turn, then Disney is for you. Carnival and RC have plenty to keep kids busy.