Hi all.
Dcl convert here as well. Have cruised RC (once in 1996), DCl (2013 and 2014) on the Dream and Fantasy and then switched over to Carnival and never looked back. Disney got us to try cruising as a family. My husband was super hesitant to cruise but by the second day on the Dream he said he would not do a cruise that short again (lol…didn’t want to say l told you so, but l did!)
After our second cruise on the Fantasy in 2014 we decided to just look at other cruise lines. Our boys loved cruising but the prices on Disney were so high and l figured, after a few years, the characters wouldn’t be as important.
we booked a last minute 8 night on the carnival sunshine in 2016. Though we had a not so great room location beneath a loud club, we absolutely loved the ship and my boys enjoyed the activities and amenities on board even more than Disney cruises! My husband enjoyed the casino and l enjoyed the more adult entertainment as well while the boys enjoyed the kids clubs. My middle ds, who is not super social and didn’t really enjoy the Disney clubs had to be pried out of the carnival activities to do things as a family. We were sold! Our service was just as good or better than on the Disney ships as well.
since our first cruise we’ve done a 6 day on the magic in2017, a 7 day on the magic in 2018, a couples only 3 day on the liberty in 2019. We also had a cancelled cruise in 2020. We cancelled the 2020 cruise (were supposed to sail in February and we cancelled due to my sons wrestling schedule, not Covid) and I’ve been itching to cruise ever since!
we currently have an October 2021( couples only) cruise on the elation as well as a family spring break cruise on the Mardi Gras.
im so happy that dcl got us into cruising (especially my dh) but we will never go back to Disney. The price tag (though we can afford it) is just no longer palatable. Given the fact that my kids love carnival, even if it was pricier, we’d likely stick with them. They are so excited to try the roller coaster they can hardly stand it!
happy cruising to all!!!