If you couldnt afford a disney cruise , what would be your second choice cruise line

[tinkandonaldfans]

We are flag flyers for Disney but for some of our family can't afford it, so which cruise line do you think has similar standards?

 

[tripster222]

We love Royal Caribbean!!!!

 

[lady9]

Another vote for Royal Caribbean!

 

[sayhello]

Depends on what you're looking for, but I've really enjoyed both Royal Caribbean and Princess.

Sayhello

 

[kcashner]

It depends on your family. We just got off a Celebrity cruise--the upscale "cousin" of RCI. The food was much better than on DCL. There is a kid program; while we didn't personally use it, I spoke with 2 mothers who had only positive things to say. The crowd was older. Ship appearance was not as good, nor was maintenance. Guest Services was better. The adult activities i the evenings were lacking, but the various musical groups during the day were better than most we've seen on DCL. This was an Alaska cruise and they had a GREAT naturalist lecturing about 6 times during the 7 days. There was an indoor pool and hot tub. Spa and photos were the same companies as DCL and very similar. No characters, no movies. Total cost was just a hair above 1/2 of what the same cruise would have cost on DCL.

No climbing walls or ice rinks on this ship.

 

[cctimmom]

Royal Caribbean

 

[Bonniec]

Everytime I price out Royal Carribean, it ends up costing more than Disney once I factor in all the costs like tax, fees, beverage packages, etc. Then again, I have only looked at Oasis and Allure.

 

[MoxieandPixie]

RCCL - almost booked Allure of the Seas but will wait another year or two until my kids are older.

 

[jahber]

Everytime I price out Royal Carribean, it ends up costing more than Disney once I factor in all the costs like tax, fees, beverage packages, etc. Then again, I have only looked at Oasis and Allure.

Funny-the same thing happens to me! Especially since Disney shows you the real total (with taxes) when it shows the price on the screen where you select a cruise, whereas RCI shows only the room price. No matter how many times I've done it, I'm always shocked when I get to the final reservation screen and the price has gone up by $1000 (as it did when I priced a trip for 4 recently) with one click.
I'm looking at Oasis or Allure, of course, as they are the comparable ships to the Dream and Fantasy, from what I've seen.

 

[shoes99]

We travel without children and we like Princess if the price is right, but we prefer Disney.

 

[cctimmom]

I've never had that problem... when I go in and try to book a dummy reservation on RCCL to get a price, if you click on Summary of Charge I get an image that shows the break out by guest for the cruise fare on one line, and then the taxes/fees per guest on the second line, with the total per person and the grand total.

I would post the image, but it's not letting me...

 

[jahber]

I've never had that problem... when I go in and try to book a dummy reservation on RCCL to get a price, if you click on Summary of Charge I get an image that shows the break out by guest for the cruise fare on one line, and then the taxes/fees per guest on the second line, with the total per person and the grand total.

I would post the image, but it's not letting me...

Sorry if I wasn't clear. The prices they show for the room categories (without taxes) are all you see until you select one. And if you don't happen to know that the summary is there OR notice that the price in the right is different than the price on the left side of the screen, the total can be a little shocking. At least for me.
I like that Disney only ever shows one price. It makes pricing at a glance easier. Again, at least for me

 

[mompaq]

We travel without children and we like Princess if the price is right, but we prefer Disney.

For me it is Disney or nothing. If I want to cruise, i will wait until I can get a good deal with DCL. The family atmosphere and experience is worth it!

 

[MPS516]

For me it is Disney or nothing. If I want to cruise, i will wait until I can get a good deal with DCL. The family atmosphere and experience is worth it!

Pretty much the same for us. We have done RC, NCL, Carnival, Lois and Princess, always make Disney our first choice. The room size and set up makes it easier to travel with more than 2 in a cabin so we can get fewer cabins. Service and ship upkeep there is just no comparison. I also agree that by the time I look at all the other costs I incur DCL is not that much more at least within the rather pay a little more to get the experience I want range.

 

[Macmaro]

For me it is Disney or nothing. If I want to cruise, i will wait until I can get a good deal with DCL. The family atmosphere and experience is worth it!

I have only done one cruise other than DCL and it was nearly 20 years ago. I am too afraid to try any other line at this point. I know...shame on me. I just know what I like. At this point, for my family, we will forgo a cruise as opposed to trying another line.

I have been to quite a few theme/amusement parks since I first visited a Disney park almost 40 years ago. I spend most of my time at the other parks wishing I was at Disney because I haven't found one yet that does it better. Maybe I incorrectly have the same belief about the cruise line but it is what it is.

 

[fredgirls]

Funny-the same thing happens to me! Especially since Disney shows you the real total (with taxes) when it shows the price on the screen where you select a cruise, whereas RCI shows only the room price. No matter how many times I've done it, I'm always shocked when I get to the final reservation screen and the price has gone up by $1000 (as it did when I priced a trip for 4 recently) with one click.
I'm looking at Oasis or Allure, of course, as they are the comparable ships to the Dream and Fantasy, from what I've seen.

Glad i'm not the only one!
I have tried many times to look at other lines and disney always comes out cheaper, at the times I want to go. I have to admit the other lines often have better itinerary but they have also been $1000 more
I'm not complaining though

 

[sayhello]

Everytime I price out Royal Carribean, it ends up costing more than Disney once I factor in all the costs like tax, fees, beverage packages, etc. Then again, I have only looked at Oasis and Allure.

Well, if you pick RCCL's newest and most expensive ships, that's going to happen some times. But RCCL has 20 other ships, and those are much more reasonably priced. The Voyager class ships are gorgeous, and you can find some extremely reasonable cruises on those ships.

Sayhello

 

[woody73]

. . . which cruise line do you think has similar standards?

Royal Caribbean.

Woody

 

[Scoobypop]

Glad i'm not the only one!
I have tried many times to look at other lines and disney always comes out cheaper, at the times I want to go. I have to admit the other lines often have better itinerary but they have also been $1000 more
I'm not complaining though

I also thought I was the only one. I have seen countless posts over the years about how sailing on RCI was half the price of Disney. And yes, I did see the post above about the older ships. But for the past few months, I have also been pricing RCI Oasis and Allure, even way out into 2014 and don't see any less expensive rates for the categories I am looking at. I also see the size of the staterooms compared to Disney and don't feel that Disney is a bad value at all now that I've priced for myself. I will still try one of those ships in 2014, but still have 3 Disney cruises before then to look forward to!

 

[stmize]

I tried another cruise line and hated it. Nothing but dcl for me