How does Carnival compare to Disney?

[tink24]

My most recent cruise was on the Disney Magic this December. I have sailed Carnival 3 times before, but not in the last 6 years so my memory is a little fuzzy. Will my 3 year old be happy in Camp Carnival? Are the oceanview cabins comfortable for a family of 3? How do you think Carnival compares to DCL? Just curious.:)

 

Oh yeah, we are sailing on the Splendor in November. Can't wait!

[G'ma]

My most recent cruise was on the Disney Magic this December. I have sailed Carnival 3 times before, but not in the last 6 years so my memory is a little fuzzy. Will my 3 year old be happy in Camp Carnival? Are the oceanview cabins comfortable for a family of 3? How do you think Carnival compares to DCL? Just curious.:)

 

Oh yeah, we are sailing on the Splendor in November. Can't wait!

 

Totally different atmosphere. Disney is for children. Carnival is for adults with a great Camp Carnival program for the kids. Yes, your child will love Camp Carnival....most do. The cabin should be fine. Almost all cabins on Carnival are the same size and are the largest at sea.

 

You can't compare the two lines easily. Again, Disney is a whole different animal being totally geared to children...Carnival is not..

 

Carnival is more economical.

[dan40]

Carnival's casinos are way, way nicer than Disney's.:D

 

Dan

[tink24]

Carnival's casinos are way, way nicer than Disney's.:D

 

Dan

Very funny!!!!;)

[pjinaz]

Hi: I have sailed both lines plus a few others. One of my daughters preferred Camp Carnival and one preferred the Disney kids club. Camp Carnival is smaller with, normally more interaction between counselors and kids. Disney's camps are beautiful, with amazing stuff to do, but there are a lot more children to take care of and it didn't seem to me on our sailing that the counselors interacted as much with the children.

 

My kids loved the free soda, characters, and the shows on Disney. They liked the pizza station and ice cream on Carnival, plus loved the build a bear. I thought the rooms on Disney are set up a lot better for a family, but the rooms on carnival are totally fine, depending on the ship. We usually have a balcony statemeroom, so I don't know if the interiors on Carnival are very good. On Disney we did an inside room and it was great.

 

I would do either line in a minute. You just know that on Carnival you aren't going to get the same level of quality in certain things that you get on Disney. I did feel that the dining room food was very comparable on both lines.

 

Have a great time and if you have any more questions, I will try to answer.

[tef43]

Carnival's casinos are way, way nicer than Disney's.:D

 

Dan

So are the bars, oh, and the midnight comedians.

[UtahCruisers]

We have sailed on both Carnival and Disney with our kids ages 8 and 10. Both were great but for the price I would say Carnival. My kids loved Camp Carnival and both ships had plenty of stuff to do. If it were me and I wanted to do Disney I would go to Disney World and cruise on Carnival.

[Cruzman]

On Carnival, you don't have Mickey, Pluto, etc., and you cruise for half the price, or less. You do however, get a casino with Carnival and Funship Freddie, lol.

[tink24]

So are the bars, oh, and the midnight comedians.

What is it with you smart a$$e$ today!:D

[Kristi Williamson]

What is it with you smart a$$e$ today!:D

 

Too many bars and casinos!?! :D;)

[tink24]

I like posting on the Carnival board. People are funny here!

[Crusin6]

I like posting on the Carnival board. People are funny here!

and kind too...all the time:D

[dbogusch]

and kind too...all the time:D

 

Thanks! Now I have to clean my keyboard because I spit my drink out on it. lol

[GottaLuvCruising]

We've sailed Carnival 12 times and Disney three times. We've enjoyed all of the cruises very much. Most of the time, it's just me and my husband, but three times we've been joined by family or friends with children. Children's programming was very well received on both lines.

 

Disney offers the very best stateroom configuration, excellent service and wonderful entertainment. Staterooms on Disney are smoke-free, but they are not on Carnival (except Spa rooms on Spendor). Disney's atmosphere is a little more "wholesome" (as one might expect) and perhaps not quite as relaxed as Carnival. We do not miss a casino on Disney as we rarely visit one because of the smoke.

 

Carnival is very fun & upbeat. Your OV stateroom will be perfectly comfortable for three, but without the split bath (or tub). The window will be a little smaller and there will be no sofa next to it. You won't rotate through dining rooms and your dinner "entertainment" will be a little hokey. There will be more nightlife on Carnival, but if you're in the stateroom with the little one, you won't even be aware of it. And you can forget about "quiet cove" (adult pool) and Disney's amazing private island. Carnival will offer only two big production shows over a seven night cruise.

 

They are two very different experiences, but each is a terrific vacation. I hope you enjoy yours!

[DGP1111]

You can't compare the two lines easily. Again' date=' Disney is a whole different animal being totally geared to children...Carnival is not..

Perhaps it might be better to day DCL is totally geared to families.

 

Carnival is more economical.

Absolutely correct

 

The food on CCL is consistently better (actually much better) than than on DCL.

 

DCL is consistently better (actually much better) with guest service on both the phones and onboard than CCL.

 

Casino situation, as earlier mentioned. And I enjoy the last-night comedy on CCL much better.

 

On DCL, the adults-only areas are actually monitored to remain adults-only. (As well as at Castaway Cay) What a concept.

[MDC]

Agreed! Disney is a very children centric oriented cruise line. If your looking for that type of atmosphere they are wonderful. My kids enjoyed it at a younger age, but now they would opt for Carnival as they are older.

 

From an adult perspective, Disney just doesn't have the type of activities or programs geared towards the older crowd. IMHO.

[MrPete]

My most recent cruise was on the Disney Magic this December. I have sailed Carnival 3 times before, but not in the last 6 years so my memory is a little fuzzy. Will my 3 year old be happy in Camp Carnival? Are the oceanview cabins comfortable for a family of 3? How do you think Carnival compares to DCL? Just curious.:)

 

Oh yeah, we are sailing on the Splendor in November. Can't wait!

 

My then 4 year olds first two cruises were on the Wonder and the Pride.

 

When it was time to book her third cruise, I asked her which one she enjoyed most.

 

She answered "BOTH!"

 

I did like the split bathrooms and bigger staterooms on Disney. However, the food sucked.

[KMagz]

My most recent cruise was on the Disney Magic this December. I have sailed Carnival 3 times before, but not in the last 6 years so my memory is a little fuzzy. Will my 3 year old be happy in Camp Carnival? Are the oceanview cabins comfortable for a family of 3? How do you think Carnival compares to DCL? Just curious.:)

 

Oh yeah, we are sailing on the Splendor in November. Can't wait!

 

There are fewer mice on Carnival ships. :D

[tink24]

There are fewer mice on Carnival ships. :D

Yeah! More funny Carnival people. I LOVE it:D

 

I do agree that the food on DCL was disappointing. It was edible, but nothing to write home about. Palo, however, was outstanding!

[adee74]

Great thread. I'm also considering a Disney cruise just to get a higher level of service. I know Disney is well-known to catering to their customers and I've had a few sticky customer service issues with Carnival in the past. I wouldn't mind cruising with Disney, however, I worry about how my 16 yr. old son would enjoy it. I've read that Disney does have a teen program, but do they really help the teens from being bored? I'm not much of a party/gambling type person but I would hate to book a cruise where my son is bored to tears. We are currently booked on the Carnival Freedom this fall.

[islandjunkies]

This is a great thread! We are getting ready to book our first Carnival cruise (Victory - 11/8-15) having only sailed on DCL previously!

 

Adee74 - we did the 7-day Eastern on the Magic last September with two teenage boys (14 and 18) and I had the same concerns...My boys loved it! They made awesome friends and hung out at "The Stack" most of the time. We only saw them at dinner!! They are constantly pestering me to take them again!!:rolleyes:

 

We adults also had an awesome time on both DCL cruises (my first Disney cruise was just me and my mom the year before - she loved it so much she got a job with DCL when we got back) and we found plenty of adult friendly activities and areas around the ship! Disney does a great job keeping kids, families and adults happy!

 

That said, I was really nervous about booking our next cruise with anyone other than DCL, but my DH and I are going with a group of adult friends, and I lost my mom very unexpectedly last February (thereby also losing my ability to cruise at a very super-discounted rate), and Carnival had the itinerary we wanted! These boards have been awesome in convincing me that I won't be disappointed with our choice!!

 

Of course, DH and I are pretty laid-back people and firm believers in "your experience is what you make of it", so we are really looking forward to this new adventure!!:D

 

Thanks again for a great thread - and a great community!!

[cruise_control]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the itineraries. We've never sailed Disney, but have always felt they were very limited in their itineraries. With Carnival, you have many choices and get a great value no matter which one you choose.

 

Of course, our kids are older and don't care about all the animals running about on Disney. ;)