OPINIONS NEEDED: Carnival fans who have tried "upgraded" lines. . . what is the advantage and is it worth it?

[townsla]

We've enjoyed Royal, Carnival, NCL, and Princess. (Around 15 cruises, in our 40's)

 

Princess is great for Alaska but boring for the Caribbean.  My kids do not want to go on Princess again.  It was just my husband and me for Alaska, and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

We got a last minute Haven booking on NCL at a great price so I don't think I can make a fair comparison to Royal and Carnival, but Haven is an amazing "step up" if you can score a deal.  It was our first NCL, but we will be back if we can do Haven again.  The shows were better than Carnival, and we loved the ship within a ship.

 

For our 25th anniversary, my husband and I would like to take our first Mediterranean cruise.  What line would this group suggest?  We are ok with wearing country club casual for dinner and would like a bit of luxury, but we are not pretentious by any means.  We enjoy comedy shows the best on cruises, but enjoyed NCL's Broadway shows too.   

Edited July 15, 2022 by townsla

[CruizinSusan70]

6 hours ago, townsla said:

 

For our 25th anniversary, my husband and I would like to take our first Mediterranean cruise.  What line would this group suggest?  We are ok with wearing country club casual for dinner and would like a bit of luxury, but we are not pretentious by any means.  We enjoy comedy shows the best on cruises, but enjoyed NCL's Broadway shows too.   

Either the Edge Class on Celebrity, especially the new Beyond or upcoming Ascent, or pick one of the newer MSC ships and stay in the Yacht Club, which is very similar to the Haven, but at a better price point.  Their newest ship is the MSC World Europa which debuts in December and will be 205 K tons.

Edited July 15, 2022 by CruizinSusan70

[Velvetwater]

We are not Carnival's typical target market....In our 30s and British academics.

 

We started our cruise journey with Carnival and have always loved the value of Carnival. We have only done longer cruises with them. We like the party atmosphere, the good size rooms, the fact lots of things are thrown in without being VIP etc. We find some of the entertainment options like the hairy chest contest awful but you can ignore these. We also find CCL doesn't put a lot of their budget into productions.

 

We have cruised alternative lines and upgraded lines and even an Australian budget line that isn't Carnival if you look at my signature. To be honest, the differences are minimal enough for us to be none loyal to most cruise lines out there. The trick is to be open to new experiences and chose your cruise based on ports and price.

 

a few things:

- Princess and X have better food and a bigger food budget but not as many fast food spots as CCL

- Other cruisers are a little more discerning on other lines but still friendly

- Ncl and RC have smaller cabins

- Other lines have more package deals that can save money. This can work out cheaper

- Upgraded lines have little extras such as fizz on arrival and better appointed dining room set ups but nothing stands out to us as extra special

- Formal nights are better attended with dress but still casual is seen

- Theatre entertainment is often more spectacle like and higher budget on all other lines but we love the fact CCL has a comedy club

- CCL has more trivia on than other lines

-Other lines are a little quieter but parties etc are still well attended

 

 

Edited July 16, 2022 by Velvetwater

[brownc424]

On 7/13/2022 at 11:40 AM, UPNYGuy said:

 

not really. HAL is a mass market line, as are Celebrity and Princess. Oceania, Azamara, and Viking really are the premium tier, and the next step. 

Celebrity and Princess are both considered Premium, HAL is as well but it seems to be very hit or miss.  Generally, CCL/RCL/NCL are considered mass market or "contemporary" cruise lines. Celebrity, Princess, Disney and HAL are premium. Ultra-Premium includes Azamara, Viking, Oceania and Cunard. Ultra-Luxury would be Regent, Seabourn, SeaDream, etc.

[zentraveler]

42 minutes ago, brownc424 said:

Celebrity and Princess are both considered Premium, HAL is as well but it seems to be very hit or miss.  Generally, CCL/RCL/NCL are considered mass market or "contemporary" cruise lines. Celebrity, Princess, Disney and HAL are premium. Ultra-Premium includes Azamara, Viking, Oceania and Cunard. Ultra-Luxury would be Regent, Seabourn, SeaDream, etc.

Would also put Windstar in one of the two latter categories, probably Ultra-Luxury given size and service.

[PC 462]

On 7/3/2022 at 11:24 PM, KmomChicago said:

 

Back when I was very young I used to be interested in the Windjammer Barefoot Cruises, though my mom pooh poohed them as probably being a lot of seasickness, not all that safe, and not much comfort or luxury.  I never ended up trying them, because they were a little pricey and sailed from islands rather than the mainland. 

 

Your post brought back great memories. I took my wife and three children on a Windjammer Barefoot Cruise in 2006.  It was roundtrip from Miami and was a bargain. It was the best cruise I've ever been on!  It left at night because passengers could not get to the ship- there was a parade for the Miami Heat winning the NBA championship- so the ship just waited. 100 passengers, wonderful crew, good food, great fun, deserted islands.  When the Captain opened the pool, it meant a rope swing into the open ocean. We could sleep under the stars on the open deck, help raise the sails.

 

I'm sorry you never got the chance to go.  We only went on one.  By the time we could book another, they were going bankrupt.  But the memory of that adventure stays with me.

Edited July 16, 2022 by PC 462

[Tradestock]

17 minutes ago, PC 462 said:

...When the Captain opened the pool, it meant a rope swing into the open ocean...

That sounds fantastic and achievable for any cruise line to offer.

[KmomChicago]

2 hours ago, PC 462 said:

Your post brought back great memories. I took my wife and three children on a Windjammer Barefoot Cruise in 2006.  It was roundtrip from Miami and was a bargain. It was the best cruise I've ever been on!  It left at night because passengers could not get to the ship- there was a parade for the Miami Heat winning the NBA championship- so the ship just waited. 100 passengers, wonderful crew, good food, great fun, deserted islands.  When the Captain opened the pool, it meant a rope swing into the open ocean. We could sleep under the stars on the open deck, help raise the sails.

 

I'm sorry you never got the chance to go.  We only went on one.  By the time we could book another, they were going bankrupt.  But the memory of that adventure stays with me.

Yes, I guess I have a tiny bit of regret about it and probably I should have made it happen as it seemed a really special experience and it never occurred to me they’d suddenly cease operations forever. But once I could potentially afford it, I was not so interested and was doing other things higher on the bucket priority list. Still I’ve traveled so much and so well that I can’t lament too much. I’ve climbed around on the Great Wall and Machu Picchu and have seen Kerid Crater and Meteor Crater and many other wonderful places and things. 
 

There are several Maine Windjammers doing independent mini cruises which I considered for about a minute but I don’t think they meet my minimum comfort standards. Most of these have no private bathrooms, a teeny communal dining space/galley. And we’re right back to the hassle of getting to port in the first place. Another good lesson that if you want to do it, get it prioritized or miss out.

[BlerkOne]

2 hours ago, KmomChicago said:

Yes, I guess I have a tiny bit of regret about it and probably I should have made it happen as it seemed a really special experience and it never occurred to me they’d suddenly cease operations forever. But once I could potentially afford it, I was not so interested and was doing other things higher on the bucket priority list. Still I’ve traveled so much and so well that I can’t lament too much. I’ve climbed around on the Great Wall and Machu Picchu and have seen Kerid Crater and Meteor Crater and many other wonderful places and things. 
 

There are several Maine Windjammers doing independent mini cruises which I considered for about a minute but I don’t think they meet my minimum comfort standards. Most of these have no private bathrooms, a teeny communal dining space/galley. And we’re right back to the hassle of getting to port in the first place. Another good lesson that if you want to do it, get it prioritized or miss out.

There are a number of Windjammer ships. For example, https://www.islandwindjammers.com/

 

Started in 2009, Island Windjammers was founded by a group of former passengers of Windjammer Barefoot Cruises who were dedicated to bringing tall ship cruising back to the Caribbean.The line offers six night cruises aboard its two ships, the 12-passenger Diamant and the 26-passenger Vela.

[UPNYGuy]

On 7/16/2022 at 11:46 AM, brownc424 said:

Celebrity and Princess are both considered Premium, HAL is as well but it seems to be very hit or miss.  Generally, CCL/RCL/NCL are considered mass market or "contemporary" cruise lines. Celebrity, Princess, Disney and HAL are premium. Ultra-Premium includes Azamara, Viking, Oceania and Cunard. Ultra-Luxury would be Regent, Seabourn, SeaDream, etc.

 

considered premium and actually BEING premium are two different things. I wouldn't consider Azamara and Oceania near-luxury either (especially Oceania with the cramped bathrooms and small showers with curtains that stick to you like cling wrap in the the standard cabins).   I do like Oceania, but they are solidly premium. 

[cruisinqt]

I’m not ready for the luxury lines yet. Maybe one day when I’m older I’ll enjoy them. But right now they’re just too stuffy and boring for me. Everything shuts down by 10 pm and I mean everything. Even the club was empty at 10 pm. The entertainment was shuffle board, ballroom dancing, afternoon tea time, watching ice sculptures being made, etc. I couldn’t find anything to do that appealed to me. The main evening shows were excellent and the MDR was amazing. And some higher end lines even have personal butlers for certain cabins. But it just didn’t appeal to me. Give me my late night adult comedy, roller coasters, mini golf, hairy chest contests, etc. I know the luxury cruises have a lot to offer, but they are usually use smaller ships, have a much older crowd, and are very slow paced. And that’s not for me. 

[Velvetwater]

I love NCL, Royal and CCL about the same tbh.

 

have no loyalty to any line. I keep considering Cunard every so often as they have the last ocean liner.

[KmomChicago]

On 7/19/2022 at 10:51 PM, cruisinqt said:

I’m not ready for the luxury lines yet. Maybe one day when I’m older I’ll enjoy them. But right now they’re just too stuffy and boring for me. Everything shuts down by 10 pm and I mean everything. Even the club was empty at 10 pm. The entertainment was shuffle board, ballroom dancing, afternoon tea time, watching ice sculptures being made, etc. I couldn’t find anything to do that appealed to me. The main evening shows were excellent and the MDR was amazing. And some higher end lines even have personal butlers for certain cabins. But it just didn’t appeal to me. Give me my late night adult comedy, roller coasters, mini golf, hairy chest contests, etc. I know the luxury cruises have a lot to offer, but they are usually use smaller ships, have a much older crowd, and are very slow paced. And that’s not for me. 

Based on your signature are you referring to Princess as boring?

[KmomChicago]

On 7/20/2022 at 3:23 PM, Velvetwater said:

I love NCL, Royal and CCL about the same tbh.

 

have no loyalty to any line. I keep considering Cunard every so often as they have the last ocean liner.

I get that. Cunard has a long history and a certain panache just because it’s Cunard. And I suppose some part of me would love to give it a whirl for the bucket list but I don’t want to be disappointed and wondering why we paid maybe double - or more - for something we like the same - or less - than the big 3.

[KmomChicago]

On 7/19/2022 at 6:56 PM, UPNYGuy said:

 

considered premium and actually BEING premium are two different things. I wouldn't consider Azamara and Oceania near-luxury either (especially Oceania with the cramped bathrooms and small showers with curtains that stick to you like cling wrap in the the standard cabins).   I do like Oceania, but they are solidly premium. 

I have to admit I like the glass shower doors on Mardi Gras. We are getting to the point where new ships need to stop the curtain ickiness. Does anyone like them?

[Joebucks]

On 7/15/2022 at 11:29 AM, townsla said:

We've enjoyed Royal, Carnival, NCL, and Princess. (Around 15 cruises, in our 40's)

 

Princess is great for Alaska but boring for the Caribbean.  My kids do not want to go on Princess again.  It was just my husband and me for Alaska, and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

We got a last minute Haven booking on NCL at a great price so I don't think I can make a fair comparison to Royal and Carnival, but Haven is an amazing "step up" if you can score a deal.  It was our first NCL, but we will be back if we can do Haven again.  The shows were better than Carnival, and we loved the ship within a ship.

 

For our 25th anniversary, my husband and I would like to take our first Mediterranean cruise.  What line would this group suggest?  We are ok with wearing country club casual for dinner and would like a bit of luxury, but we are not pretentious by any means.  We enjoy comedy shows the best on cruises, but enjoyed NCL's Broadway shows too.   

 

While Haven isn't my cup of tea, it would probably be if I wanted something more "luxurious". I never understood the crowd that says if you're buying Haven, you should be on a more "premium line". I'd much rather have upgraded amenities and accommodations when I want them, with all the bells and whistles of a big ship.

[DrSea]

On 7/16/2022 at 5:21 AM, Velvetwater said:

We are not Carnival's typical target market....In our 30s and British academics.

 

We started our cruise journey with Carnival and have always loved the value of Carnival. We have only done longer cruises with them. We like the party atmosphere, the good size rooms, the fact lots of things are thrown in without being VIP etc. We find some of the entertainment options like the hairy chest contest awful but you can ignore these. We also find CCL doesn't put a lot of their budget into productions.

 

We have cruised alternative lines and upgraded lines and even an Australian budget line that isn't Carnival if you look at my signature. To be honest, the differences are minimal enough for us to be none loyal to most cruise lines out there. The trick is to be open to new experiences and chose your cruise based on ports and price.

 

a few things:

- Princess and X have better food and a bigger food budget but not as many fast food spots as CCL

- Other cruisers are a little more discerning on other lines but still friendly

- Ncl and RC have smaller cabins

- Other lines have more package deals that can save money. This can work out cheaper

- Upgraded lines have little extras such as fizz on arrival and better appointed dining room set ups but nothing stands out to us as extra special

- Formal nights are better attended with dress but still casual is seen

- Theatre entertainment is often more spectacle like and higher budget on all other lines but we love the fact CCL has a comedy club

- CCL has more trivia on than other lines

-Other lines are a little quieter but parties etc are still well attended

 

 

Who is the target market? I am an early 30ish American academic and am essentially your American counterpart.

 

- I find that some cruisers from other cruise lines to be a little more than "discerning".

- agreed with everything else you said, esp that other lines can be cheaper than CCL. And the differences are minimal when comparing most of these mainstream lines.

[ldubs]

On 7/16/2022 at 5:21 AM, Velvetwater said:

 

 

a few things:

- Princess and X have better food and a bigger food budget but not as many fast food spots as CCL

- Other cruisers are a little more discerning on other lines but still friendly

- Ncl and RC have smaller cabins

- Other lines have more package deals that can save money. This can work out cheaper

- Upgraded lines have little extras such as fizz on arrival and better appointed dining room set ups but nothing stands out to us as extra special

- Formal nights are better attended with dress but still casual is seen

- Theatre entertainment is often more spectacle like and higher budget on all other lines but we love the fact CCL has a comedy club

- CCL has more trivia on than other lines

-Other lines are a little quieter but parties etc are still well attended

 

 

I think this is a pretty good recap of the differences one might expect.  I would add that the lounge musicians are typically better and more numerous on RCI or Celebrity.   I would say that applies to Princess too, but it has been a long time since I've been on Princess, so am not sure.   I would also add, that I think this list would be fairly representative of our experience prior to the Covid freeze.   I'm not sure I would make any comparisons coming out of the shut down as everyone is still gearing up (it seems).   

 

 

[CruizinSusan70]

5 hours ago, Joebucks said:

 

While Haven isn't my cup of tea, it would probably be if I wanted something more "luxurious". I never understood the crowd that says if you're buying Haven, you should be on a more "premium line". I'd much rather have upgraded amenities and accommodations when I want them, with all the bells and whistles of a big ship.

MSC's Yacht Club.....cheaper than the Haven and they even have inside cabins.

[Velvetwater]

I read a few years back Carnival's typical cruiser was an American in their 50s with a certain political standpoint. I am certainly not that but even in the UK I am probably not most lines target market either. Who knows. We have just booked a shorter 7 day carnival cruise out of NOLA so it will be fun to see how different it is to our longer Carnival voyages.

 

Not added it to my signature yet but Princess are the only line we sailed post covid. We were quite impressed with them. I would just put them above Celebrity but would happily sail with both again.

 

The only mainstream line we have actively avoided is Holland America so far. I always imagine we are a little too young but I could be wrong.

 

Edited July 27, 2022 by Velvetwater

[CruizinSusan70]

48 minutes ago, Velvetwater said:

The only mainstream line we have actively avoided is Holland America so far. I always imagine we are a little too young but I could be wrong.

Don't see MSC in your signature.  They would be ranked fourth behind NCL.  They also have six ships in their pipeline, which would be the most of the top four and another six in their new Explora upscale line.

[Velvetwater]

6 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Don't see MSC in your signature.  They would be ranked fourth behind NCL.  They also have six ships in their pipeline, which would be the most of the top four and another six in their new Explora upscale line.

We haven't actively avoided MSC....just preferred other sailings on other lines as of this moment. We have found itineraries on Holland we liked but said no because it was HAL.

 

Not booking a line yet is very different to refusing/actively avoiding.

 

 

[pcrum]

@KmomChicago, I have enjoyed reading your trip reports, so wanted to chime in.

We are a couple who turn 60 (gasp!) this year.  We are platinum on Carnival, but reached a point where we were just bored with the same ole, same ole of Carnival.  We took a break from cruising for several years and then did a transatlantic cruise on NCL in 2019, with the drinks package included (NCL does make you pay gratuities on the drinks package).  Since then, when looking at cruises, I make a spreadsheet to factor in the drinks package, daily gratuities, any other up-front charges, such as gratuities charged on restaurant packages, and internet packages (often included on some lines) and compare the costs.  In our experience, lines with an included drinks package are better economically than booking Carnival and adding in a drinks package.  So, that was another motivator for us to change cruise lines. 

 

We love the Howl at the Moon piano bar on NCL and when choosing a NCL ship to sail on, that definitely plays a factor in our decision.  So much more fun and more audience interaction than the standard piano bar on Carnival.  I also prefer the buffets on NCL, now to be fair, I have not sailed Carnival since 2013, but from the trip reports I’ve read and photos/menus I’ve seen, I don’t see a whole lot that is appealing about Carnival’s food.  We also enjoy the 24-hour sit-down restaurant that is on NCL (either O’Sheehan’s or The Local, depending on the ship).  We also enjoy NCL’s specialty restaurants.  We did the steakhouse and Chef’s Table on Carnival many times, but again, were underwhelmed.

 

We are big theater fans, so the Broadway shows on NCL are also a big plus for us.  We saw Priscilla Queen of the Desert on our transatlantic cruise and loved it. 

 

NCL was our preferred cruise line (and we had other cruises booked on NCL until COVID cancelled them) until we tried MSC (Divina) this past September.  Again, we chose a rate with an included drinks package and internet and economically, it made more sense for us.  The crew on MSC was what really impressed us.  Everyone was so kind and went out of their way to be helpful.  We often felt that on Carnival, the crew was just going through the motions (calling you by name because they had been told to), and it felt really forced and empty.  We thought the food in the MDR was by far the best on MSC and the steakhouse dinner that we had was excellent.  The buffet on MSC was comparable to NCL in terms of selection and quality.  It’s an Italian line, so they really excel with pizza and pastries.  I tend to eat keto, so I appreciate a good cheese and meat selection and both NCL and MSC provide that.  We did miss the NCL Howl at the Moon piano bar on MSC, but there was plenty of live entertainment onboard to keep us busy.  We also missed the Broadway shows that NCL does, and the magician that was featured one night in the main show did not appeal to us in the least (we did not attend the show, because magic is not our thing, so cannot really comment), but we found plenty to keep us busy in the evenings on MSC.  One night they did a 70s/80s party with entertainers dressed as The Village People and there was plenty of live musical entertainment on board.  We loved the balcony cabin on MSC (just a regular Fantastica balcony) and although we missed having a coffee pot, as NCL provides in balcony cabins, we felt that MSC’s balcony was more spacious.  The shower has a feature where the glass/plastic surrounding the shower actually pops out when you are taking a shower, but folds in other times, to save space.  Ingenius!  The private island of MSC was also beautiful.  It’s not a water park type place, but has beautiful beaches and your drinks/internet package works on the island.  And, you do not tender to get to the island, you just step off the ship and you are there!

 

I enjoy some reviewers on the Carnival boards for the destination information (most notably @Saint Greg), so I do read Carnival reviews and the more I read, the more I am sure that Carnival is no longer for us.  We are not huge drinkers, but like to enjoy a drink on vacay without worrying about the cost.  The fact that Carnival feels the need to limit the number of drinks offered on their beverage package is a bit concerning, as if they feel the passengers cannot self-regulate.  Now when we sailed Carnival, we did not see any rowdy or out of control behavior amongst the passengers, but we were also likely to be in our cabins by midnight at the latest.

 

The fact that Carnival no longer services the room 2x a day and removed tablecloths from the MDR and other budget cuts (charging for peanut butter and jelly ordered from room service-my son loved those when he was a child!!) makes us unlikely to sail Carnival again.  And, the spreadsheet tells the story; when comparing costs with lines with an included drinks package, gratuity, etc., Carnival usually is more expensive for our dates.

 

We have an upcoming cruise booked on Celebrity (again, with an all included fare of premium drinks package, gratuities, and internet) to celebrate turning 60 this year.  We are traveling with my 90 year old mother and kids (twins aged 27) and Celebrity had the time frame and itinerary that worked for my young adult children.   I would have booked MSC or NCL in a minute, but my children can only take a certain amount of time off from work, so Celebrity had the shorter cruise that worked for our dates over the Christmas break (I work at a university).  This will be our first time on Celebrity.

 

We have also sailed Princess (which was a one and done for us), HAL (did twice, not for us, as nightlife is non-existent) and Disney (great when the kids were young), but for this stage in our life, MSC and NCL are our picks. Whichever cruise line you choose, enjoy.  That’s the entire point!!  Do what works for you!

 

Edited October 21, 2022 by pcrum
spelling

[JMKreno]

Just for context, we've almost exclusively sailed Carnival (see my signature). In the last 2 years we have branched out from Carnival as my kids get older (girls - 7 and 15 currently) and our family income grows we are opting to branch out more from Carnival. So much so that we just finished a Disney 7-day cruise which is the most expensive cruise we've ever taken, and almost 5x as much as our recent Carnival cruises we took because of screaming casino rates. 

 

We love Carnival, it's almost like "comfort food" for us. However, that being said, we enjoyed our Oasis of the Seas cruise last year (though it wasn't substantially better than Carnival), but we LOVED our Disney cruise and thought there was NO WAY it could be THAT much better than Carnival; in MOST areas it definitely was worth the upgrade. The biggest factors that we like about Carnival are bottom line price (We don't drink much so we never need added drink packages), the "fun" atmosphere, the "consistency" (though that is changing quickly), and honestly the CASUAL/QUICK GRAB food is much better than either Disney/Royal. 

 

We felt like the cast members on Disney genuinely were interested in us as guests, so much so that even the drink station attendant knew us all by name the 1st day and went out of his way to help us anytime we saw him. We had the best wait staff in all of our cruises (so much so that the assistant waitress actually bought a Tiana dress for our daughter - long story). Carnival and Royal are always friendly, but most often it feels forced. We never felt that on Disney. We normally don't care about service that much, but the difference between Carnival/Royal and Disney just blew us away. If we were lost or weren't sure of something, a cast member would somehow seem to know it an immediately ask what they could help us with. They always managed to either walk us where we needed to go, called someone and sent us to the correct place, or found someone who immediately could answer our question. Even simple things. On Carnival, we often got the "deer in headlight" reaction when asking a question. We had a question about our Casino account on our last cruise to the host IN THE CASINO who had no idea how to answer the question (it was a question they should know) and just told us it wasn't his role (?!?) and go to the cage, who then referred us back to the host. We had this happen with various things on Carnival. Another example we had on Disney was that when we were tendering to Cabo, I wanted to go grab some photos of the ship from the water later in the day. So I went down to the FWD gangway, they said that it would take a while to unload the existing passengers. They told me I could wait there or they said that there was a tender leaving shortly from the AFT gangway and they would happily have them wait for me. I said I could run down but said I was fine either way and happy to wait. But they insisted I go to the after tender so I went down to the AFT gangway where I was immediately escorted onto a completely empty tender who was then told to take me to shore and not wait for anyone else. I was completely blown away by this. Our last experience on Carnival we waited 20 minutes for a tender to completely load. I just never expected anything like that nor experienced anything like that. It was touches like this that has now made us want to explore more cruise lines. 

 

Now, that being said, the cost was much higher than Carnival (THOUGH, if I had priced out the Panorama, the same week, in a balcony it would only have been about 25% less - so not THAT much of a difference relatively speaking) so I expected some things to be better. Some things were a little better, some things worse, some things night and day better. 

 

The other touches Disney provided -  turn down 2x which I thought wasn't a big deal having gone to 1x a day on Carnival for a long time now, but I DO miss coming back to a clean room multiple times a day. It just FELT like a vacation more than Carnival. It felt like pampering. They left chocolates with the towel animals, just like Carnival used to do. Tablecloths in the dining room did make them feel more elegant and more "special". It felt like Carnival from 15 years ago honestly. 

 

If we could find a premium line that also catered to KIDS that WASN'T Disney, we would probably book that line in a heartbeat. I can't quite afford "The Haven" on NCL (and frankly that level of service might be too much for our family) but something with the level of service and entertainment quality of Disney, with the food options of Carnival, and the "kid friendly" mix of both (kid friendly shows, adult shows, slides, splash pads, burgers and fries) that would be our winner. Basically think Princess/Celebrity combined with Disney. 

Edited October 21, 2022 by JMKreno

[KmomChicago]

On 10/21/2022 at 12:09 PM, JMKreno said:

Just for context, we've almost exclusively sailed Carnival (see my signature). In the last 2 years we have branched out from Carnival as my kids get older (girls - 7 and 15 currently) and our family income grows we are opting to branch out more from Carnival. So much so that we just finished a Disney 7-day cruise which is the most expensive cruise we've ever taken, and almost 5x as much as our recent Carnival cruises we took because of screaming casino rates. 

 

We love Carnival, it's almost like "comfort food" for us. However, that being said, we enjoyed our Oasis of the Seas cruise last year (though it wasn't substantially better than Carnival), but we LOVED our Disney cruise and thought there was NO WAY it could be THAT much better than Carnival; in MOST areas it definitely was worth the upgrade. The biggest factors that we like about Carnival are bottom line price (We don't drink much so we never need added drink packages), the "fun" atmosphere, the "consistency" (though that is changing quickly), and honestly the CASUAL/QUICK GRAB food is much better than either Disney/Royal. 

 

We felt like the cast members on Disney genuinely were interested in us as guests, so much so that even the drink station attendant knew us all by name the 1st day and went out of his way to help us anytime we saw him. We had the best wait staff in all of our cruises (so much so that the assistant waitress actually bought a Tiana dress for our daughter - long story). Carnival and Royal are always friendly, but most often it feels forced. We never felt that on Disney. We normally don't care about service that much, but the difference between Carnival/Royal and Disney just blew us away. If we were lost or weren't sure of something, a cast member would somehow seem to know it an immediately ask what they could help us with. They always managed to either walk us where we needed to go, called someone and sent us to the correct place, or found someone who immediately could answer our question. Even simple things. On Carnival, we often got the "deer in headlight" reaction when asking a question. We had a question about our Casino account on our last cruise to the host IN THE CASINO who had no idea how to answer the question (it was a question they should know) and just told us it wasn't his role (?!?) and go to the cage, who then referred us back to the host. We had this happen with various things on Carnival. Another example we had on Disney was that when we were tendering to Cabo, I wanted to go grab some photos of the ship from the water later in the day. So I went down to the FWD gangway, they said that it would take a while to unload the existing passengers. They told me I could wait there or they said that there was a tender leaving shortly from the AFT gangway and they would happily have them wait for me. I said I could run down but said I was fine either way and happy to wait. But they insisted I go to the after tender so I went down to the AFT gangway where I was immediately escorted onto a completely empty tender who was then told to take me to shore and not wait for anyone else. I was completely blown away by this. Our last experience on Carnival we waited 20 minutes for a tender to completely load. I just never expected anything like that nor experienced anything like that. It was touches like this that has now made us want to explore more cruise lines. 

 

Now, that being said, the cost was much higher than Carnival (THOUGH, if I had priced out the Panorama, the same week, in a balcony it would only have been about 25% less - so not THAT much of a difference relatively speaking) so I expected some things to be better. Some things were a little better, some things worse, some things night and day better. 

 

The other touches Disney provided -  turn down 2x which I thought wasn't a big deal having gone to 1x a day on Carnival for a long time now, but I DO miss coming back to a clean room multiple times a day. It just FELT like a vacation more than Carnival. It felt like pampering. They left chocolates with the towel animals, just like Carnival used to do. Tablecloths in the dining room did make them feel more elegant and more "special". It felt like Carnival from 15 years ago honestly. 

 

If we could find a premium line that also catered to KIDS that WASN'T Disney, we would probably book that line in a heartbeat. I can't quite afford "The Haven" on NCL (and frankly that level of service might be too much for our family) but something with the level of service and entertainment quality of Disney, with the food options of Carnival, and the "kid friendly" mix of both (kid friendly shows, adult shows, slides, splash pads, burgers and fries) that would be our winner. Basically think Princess/Celebrity combined with Disney. 

 

I worked for Disney for 5 years and was able to take two short 3 night cruises on Carnival Magic for very low cost and I do agree it is very, very nice. I do still check it out from time to time but as you note the $$ has just not worked out for us.