How does DCL compare to Royal and Carnival? Same or better?

[Maleficent Dragon]

Edit to make more sense. I am sorry for the way my responses came through and for my question not making sense. I will certainly be more careful when responding from my phone and being sleepy. I didn't mean to come across unappreciative or rudely to anybody. That is so not me. So, I have revised the below to hopefully make more sense.

I need some help from recent DCL passengers to make some comparisons and a decision. Here are the cruises I have taken....

DCL - 2002 Wonder
CCL - 2009 Conquest
RCL - 2014 Serenade
CCL - 2015 Freedom

This is what we like when we cruise:

• Good food; quality, taste & options
• Adult only option (like Remy & Palo)
• Nighttime show after dinner each evening
• Movie theater with movies often
• Things to do during the day while at sea

I am specifically looking to plan a DISNEY CRUISE. The reason for detailing below about my previous cruises is so that you can tell me how DISNEY compares to the others. I am not interested in a cruise on Royal or Carnival.

It has been 13 years since our Disney cruise. My husband is not a fan of Disney parks, but he loves cruising. We are thinking about another one for 2016. We are considering DCL. I am going to detail below what we didnt like about CCL and RCL. Can you please let me know if we should expect the same from DCL and this is a standard in the industry or if Disney offers more?


Carnival Cruiseline

Didn't Like

• Evening Buffet food is not very good; buffet desserts all gelatin base
  
• Service in dining room was just okay; very slow (2.5 hours for 3-course dinner)
  
• Bathrooms smelled horribly of urine
  
• ENTIRE SHIP smells like cigarette smoke
  
• Short stay times at port
• No indoor movie theater
• Outdoor (pool) movies were scheduled during dining time & other very late
  
• A lot of up and down stairs (like a maze) to get to dining rooms
• No evening performances after dinner.
  
• The only late performances were "adult" and that is not for us.
• The few performances after dinner were performed over and over; shows not unique each night (2 different shows the entire cruise)
  
• Nothing for teens to do other than go to the pool

Royal Caribbean Cruiseline

Didn't Like

• Food was medicore in dining rooms & buffet
• Pizza available only a few hours a day
• Room service available for continental breakfast only
  
• Not much to do on the ship during the day
• Movies shown were older; 2 - 7 years old
• Nothing for teens to do other than go to the pool

 

[MelSpees]

Well, our cruise was 1.5 years ago, going again in Sept.
We liked the food a lot
Adult options--Palo (and Remy on newer ships). Also, adult pool and cove etc.
Different show after, or before, dinner each night
Lots of movies-- in theater, poolside and in rooms-- newest Disney movies as well as classics
Lots to do--trivia and other games. Also, depending on the cruise fun educational talks.
Teen club, kids' clubs and more
Very clean, never smelled a bad odor
24 hour room service available

I'm sure others can add to my list. We love DCL. The entire atmosphere is to our liking, very friendly and accomodating.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

RCCL

Better

• Complaints taken seriously and officers available to sort it out promptly.

Good

• The ships layout.
• The pools.
• Ice rink.
• Ice shows.
• Shopping mall.
• More shops, bakery, etc.
• Concierge services extended.-Reserved seating in shows. Concierge lounge, 24/7.
• Adult entertainment outside of shows.
• TV Channel.
• Bridge tours.
• Pre booking and optional pre paying of shore trips from about six months out.
• Better website.
• Teens can join adults on adult dinning 5.30pm to 7.30pm.

Level.

• Premium dinning.
• Buffett, Windjammer/ Cabanas.

Bad

• MDR food. Poor very hit or miss, may get one good item.
• Desserts they cant do them ( bar in the shops).
• Nickel and dimed, upgraded steak, orange juice coffee, soda package, forced to pay more.
• Soda package even if there are are people in your family each with soda package, you cant present four of their containers, each person must be there.
• In room movies charge.
• Cruise director, something from the 70's ( thinks he is John Travolta)
• Entertainment, own production shows poor.
• TV channel poorly used, ie in jokes between the CD and activities manager not about the ship services.
• Feels like a 70s holiday camp, activities such as ' fat man jumping into pools who can create biggest wake'?

Terrible

• The coffee, cheapest going.

 

[jdb in AZ]

To help with your decision, where do you want to cruise, and why limit yourself to the three cruise lines? Celebrity and Princess are also great cruise lines.

In choosing a ship, our first priority is choosing an itinerary.

 

[Maleficent Dragon]

To help with your decision, where do you want to cruise, and why limit yourself to the three cruise lines? Celebrity and Princess are also great cruise lines.

In choosing a ship, our first priority is choosing an itinerary.

Not sure where you got that I am limiting myself to 3 cruiselines. ???? Did you actually read my post? I am specifically asking about DISNEY Cruiseline and how it compares to the two other lines I have sailed.

 

[Maleficent Dragon]

Well, our cruise was 1.5 years ago, going again in Sept.
We liked the food a lot
Adult options--Palo (and Remy on newer ships). Also, adult pool and cove etc.
Different show after, or before, dinner each night
Lots of movies-- in theater, poolside and in rooms-- newest Disney movies as well as classics
Lots to do--trivia and other games. Also, depending on the cruise fun educational talks.
Teen club, kids' clubs and more
Very clean, never smelled a bad odor
24 hour room service available

I'm sure others can add to my list. We love DCL. The entire atmosphere is to our liking, very friendly and accomodating.

Thank you! That is the kind of information I am looking for.

 

[bumbershoot]

Soda package even if there are are people in your family each with soda package, you cant present four of their containers, each person must be there.

Where were you presenting the containers? You mean the freestyle cups? At least since very late 2013 the cups are at unmonitored Freestyle locations, so if you didn't have a huge line behind you it wouldn't be a problem to fill all 4. If you're talking about at a bar, just show each of the seapasses and ask for a soda for each. I don't think the bartenders will ever fill the Freestyle cups, so maybe that was the issue?

We don't drink soda but we've used Replenish, and after a day on the ship and the baristas etc seeing us together, all we've had to do is take both seapasses and one adult can get two drinks. But you do have to have the card for that.


OP, there is ONE dish at the MDRs on DCL that I like. There are more dishes on Royal that I like. I haven't been on Carnival. Desserts on DCL are hideous (though the chocolate souffle at Palo was OK and I used to like the souffle at Royal Palace but now all I taste is SWEET) to my palate, and Royal at least has Ben&Jerry's ice cream to buy. Sure, it's extra, but it was *good* and Disney doesn't have anything like it. We are vegetarian and have extra ingredient issues, so our food stuff is different than an issue-free omnivore, but those are our feelings.

We had tons to do on Freedom and lots to do on Vision as well. I find movies on a cruiseship to be a waste of time so I don't pay attention to them. DH and DS disagree with me, but they never found time to carve out for a movie on Royal. On Disney, I have memories of just sort of...wandering... We don't see the characters, I don't go to movies, and for some reason I've never been able to find a free seat on deck to soak in some vitamin D, so I have no idea what I've done onboard other than kid-related things. It might be because we've done a 3-night and 3 4-nights on disney, but 5 and 7 nights on Royal, so I can't settle into a day on Disney.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Where were you presenting the containers? You mean the freestyle cups? At least since very late 2013 the cups are at unmonitored Freestyle locations, so if you didn't have a huge line behind you it wouldn't be a problem to fill all 4. If you're talking about at a bar, just show each of the seapasses and ask for a soda for each. I don't think the bartenders will ever fill the Freestyle cups, so maybe that was the issue?

We don't drink soda but we've used Replenish, and after a day on the ship and the baristas etc seeing us together, all we've had to do is take both seapasses and one adult can get two drinks. But you do have to have the card for that.


OP, there is ONE dish at the MDRs on DCL that I like. There are more dishes on Royal that I like. I haven't been on Carnival. Desserts on DCL are hideous (though the chocolate souffle at Palo was OK and I used to like the souffle at Royal Palace but now all I taste is SWEET) to my palate, and Royal at least has Ben&Jerry's ice cream to buy. Sure, it's extra, but it was *good* and Disney doesn't have anything like it. We are vegetarian and have extra ingredient issues, so our food stuff is different than an issue-free omnivore, but those are our feelings.

We had tons to do on Freedom and lots to do on Vision as well. I find movies on a cruiseship to be a waste of time so I don't pay attention to them. DH and DS disagree with me, but they never found time to carve out for a movie on Royal. On Disney, I have memories of just sort of...wandering... We don't see the characters, I don't go to movies, and for some reason I've never been able to find a free seat on deck to soak in some vitamin D, so I have no idea what I've done onboard other than kid-related things. It might be because we've done a 3-night and 3 4-nights on disney, but 5 and 7 nights on Royal, so I can't settle into a day on Disney.

I pre ordered the soda package for all of the family,there was a marker on our cruise card we had the package, and we had four containers in our stateroom on embarkation.

The rules were inconsistent, we went to a pool bar, well one or two of us and filled up all four ok, we went to the shopping mall and the shop there, I think the bakery, said all four people had to be there. It didn't matter if we had four cards and four containers they would only serve us if each person was there. I said my son is watching an in room movie, no, no way, we could have picked it up off a sunbed with someone elses card, ie was accused of stealing it.

I went to guest services as the service was inconsistent, they said the bakery was correct, they were very sorry I had been nearly accused of stealing them but Rules are Rules and all four needed to be there. We then went to a bar in the shopping mall and with one person the barman filled up all four.

I thought, why am I not on a DCL cruise! Accused of stealing and inconsistent service.

 

[KashasMom]

Not sure where you got that I am limiting myself to 3 cruiselines. ???? Did you actually read my post? I am specifically asking about DISNEY Cruiseline and how it compares to the two other lines I have sailed.

Wellllll.....the title/heading of your post IS....Comparison Questions - DCL/RCL/CCL. Then you went on to say..."If those of you who have either sailed DCL in the past year or sailed 2 or all 3 within the last 3 or 4 years can give some feedback I would be most grateful!!" I took it the same way as jdb - that you were looking for comparisons between the 3.

To answer your question....

Food is subjective; I've had better on other cruise lines. (Really miss a buffet option for dinner - and miss fresh hot food made to order stations at the buffet.) Food on the pool deck was awful.
Show after dinner - all with characters....all PG quality and mostly so-so. Would much rather the types of show (ice skating/aqua on RCL or Cirque/muscials on NCL or more comedians/magicians, etc.).
Lots of movies including new Disney releases. I think all the movies shown are only Disney (we only saw Disney so maybe someone else can verify).
Not sure what you want to do during the day but there's Bingo, Mixology classes, etc. - pretty much the same as other cruise lines. I didn't think there was a lot to do. Check some of the current Navigators to see if you're interested in doing what they offer.
Believe Remy & Palo are 18+....so guess they qualify as adults.
Outdoor movies by the pool all day and into the night.
Some short stay times at port (depends on itinerary).

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

Not sure where you got that I am limiting myself to 3 cruiselines. ???? Did you actually read my post? I am specifically asking about DISNEY Cruiseline and how it compares to the two other lines I have sailed.

With that kind of attitude you're probably not going to get a lot of help. That was pretty harsh. I too read it as just comparing the 3.

 

[PrincessTrisha]

I sailed all 3 lines (plus Celebrity).

Carnival has the most consistently good food in the MDR;
Any Carnival ship that has the 2.0 upgrades has the best casual food eateries;
Carnival has the best casino (and yes, I do like the slots).
Loved the Dive In Movies - decently current movies and free popcorn plus blankets for chilly nights.

Royal has the best adult pool area for me (because the pool has stairs, and the area has padded loungers, no kids passing through, big hot tubs, large towels and a good mix of sun and shade).
Royal has the best selection of non-alcoholic beverages and the only line we don't bring on additional beverages for my mom (she needs sugar free and it can't use caramel colour so colas and some pre-mixed iced teas are out).

Disney has the best indoor movie theatre with a mix of newish and new movies (though I find they do keep around some movies well past their time - Both The Muppets and Cars 2 played in the Movie theatre well past their prime and I don't understand why they didn't replace them with other movies);
Disney has the most "family" activities - not just adult or kid activities but stuff that everyone can do together;
Disney offers crafts everyday (which gives us something to do since there is no casino )


Some things you didn't like about other cruiselines that you may not enjoy on Disney:

If you have late dining, the show is before dinner;
Most of the desserts are gelatin based;
Room service breakfast is continental only;
Port times in the Caribbean aren't much different than other lines, kind of short and they sail the same extremely common ports (which also means that there tends to be multiple ships in port - with the exception of Castaway Cay of course).

 

[Maleficent Dragon]

Wellllll.....the title/heading of your post IS....Comparison Questions - DCL/RCL/CCL. Then you went on to say..."If those of you who have either sailed DCL in the past year or sailed 2 or all 3 within the last 3 or 4 years can give some feedback I would be most grateful!!" I took it the same way as jdb - that you were looking for comparisons between the 3.

You have to read beyond the title. lol

Yes, I did say what you quoted, but I also (thought I) explained myself by saying why I was detailing what we liked and what we didnt.

Edit: Truly, the mistake is mine for not being more basic in explaining what I was asking. Less is more in this case.

 

[MelSpees]

Thank you! That is the kind of information I am looking for.

You're welcome!

 

[Happy100]

We love disney. There is a lot to do which I am sure you will get a lot a responses on.

I will only point out a few. My feedback is based off the Fantasy which we have sailed 3 years in a row, most recently this past January.

The bathrooms are immaculate and beautifully themed.
The entertainment is top notch but it is disney after all a they are an entertainment company.
Photo ops are everywhere, the photographs will even use your camera to take a pic if you ask.
Service is great. Never any issues.
MDRS are not to be missed.

 

[KashasMom]

You have to read beyond the title. lol

Yes, I did say what you quoted, but I also explained myself by saying why I was detailing what we liked and what we didnt. Obviously reading comprehension from person to person is not the same. My mistake for not spelling it out on the most basic level.

Wow, how rude and condescending you are. Considering there were at least 3 of us who weren't clear about your question, maybe you should have presented your likes/dislikes differently.

 

[NoodlesMom]

RCCL

• Cruise director, something from the 70's ( thinks he is John Travolta)
• Feels like a 70s holiday camp, activities such as ' fat man jumping into pools who can create biggest wake'?

This is so funny. I thought I was the only one that doesn't like that on RCL. There's only so much YMCA I can take on a cruise.

 

[bode1025]

You have to read beyond the title. lol

Yes, I did say what you quoted, but I also explained myself by saying why I was detailing what we liked and what we didnt. Obviously reading comprehension from person to person is not the same. My mistake for not spelling it out on the most basic level.

Are you serious with this response? You are asking for advice but have no problem being rude to people that are trying to help you. Unbelievable.

 

[tweis]

You have to read beyond the title. lol

Yes, I did say what you quoted, but I also explained myself by saying why I was detailing what we liked and what we didnt. Obviously reading comprehension from person to person is not the same. My mistake for not spelling it out on the most basic level.

I thought about responding since I do understand what you are asking but this comment was beyond rude. You came here asking for help and this is the response you give to people trying to answer your questions appropriately? Seriously?! When multiple posters do not understand what you are asking, maybe just maybe, it has more to do with how you worded the question and has nothing to do with their reading comprehension.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

This is so funny. I thought I was the only one that doesn't like that on RCL. There's only so much YMCA I can take on a cruise.

A lot think it.

 

[basketlacey]

Here are some of my thoughts to address your CCL and RCL cons from your recent trips. We were on DCL two weeks ago. I have also sailed both CCL and RCL but it's been years so I can't compare my experiences.

DCL:
MDR dinners - we enjoyed the atmosphere, company and service every night. I would say 5 out of 7 dinners were good to great. Two were just alright. I always felt like I had plenty of food though.
Adult dining - Palo brunch was amazing. Probably in my top 5 meals of all time
Room service - was available all day except the last night. I don't know what the breakfast options are but we ordered some pre-dinner appetizers and were very pleased
Buffet - So I don't ever think that buffets are stellar. But the breakfast was good to very good. Lunch was ok to good. They do not have a dinner buffet but we didn't need it as we ate in MDR every night
Movies - Disney movies play by the pool several times a day. These range from classics to more recent films but not movies that are currently showing at the theaters or recently released to DVD. Even as an adult, I loved this. In the very nice theater, you can see recent releases. I had a hard time fitting these into my schedule but there were several showings each day.
Activities - there is always something going on. Plenty of options to choose from all day and evening. The evening shows were fantastic and different every night. We loved the adult entertainment each night too.
Teen activities - the teens have their own area of the ship. They have activities planned all day and you can choose what to participate in. My teens mostly hung out on the teen only sundeck/pool (this is Fantasy and Dream ship only I think) during the day and participated in the activities in the evenings.
Port times - Roughly 8-4:30 in port
Restrooms - immaculate and gorgeous and each one themed differently
Cabin size - I think the cabins are huge but we get the ones that sleep 5 so YMMV