Disney Cruise vs. Others?

[Tomatoface]

For all you veteran cruisers, has anyone gone on a cruise that they thought was better than cruising on Disney? We have young children (8 and 5) and are thinking about trying another cruise line but are hesitant because we love DCL so much. Any comments are greatly appreciated.

 

[jmpurdy]

We are cruise veterans with 15+ cruises on Carnival, Royal Caribbean and our first Disney cruise this past year. Hands down the service on Disney was exemplary, but not in the way you would think. We never felt weird when one of our grandsons was having an off-moment. The restaurant staff always made them feel welcome and important. The bartenders aren't yelling 'bar service' all the time. They are there if you need them with just a glance and wave of the hand. The cabins with split bath are amazing and while not a deal breaker, really help out with that xtra space. We just felt so relaxed and we couldn't find anything negative. The adult only areas are wonderful and we took advantage whenever the kids were napping. The adults took turns sitting with the kids in the cabin while they napped and read a book or watched TV. Shows are awesome, and they have a movie theater too. All we can say is that it just felt a notch above the others. Of course this is a subjective opinion and others may feel there is no difference at all and can't justify the price difference. Disney is more expensive. We knew this and wanted to see for ourselves if the price was worth it. Without a doubt it is. Castaway Cay is paradise for the kids. We loved it. So clean and the lunch is amazing. Beach was perfect for the little ones. And the snorkeling was surprisingly abundant with fish. Hope this helps. FYI, we did the 7 nighter and are booked on the Dream next year. Some cruisers like Freedom of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas for kids. Big ships though = alot of passengers.

 

[TinksDH]

This question comes up every so often, like every other day, and usually evolves into a flame war. Instead of re-hashing, try searching on "disney & rccl & carnival" and see what kinds of hits you get. Here are the first 5...

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2388947

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2388160

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2382994

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2380239

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.phpt=2373238

 

[NancyIL]

Uh oh - here we go again! There were several threads recently about DCL vs. others, so scan the past few pages of posts.

I have cruised with Holland America, Royal Caribbean, Princess, Disney, and Celebrity - in that order. I preferred the non-Disney cruises to my two on the Wonder - probably because 4-day cruises to the Bahamas aren't very exciting to me. I usually pick a cruise for the destination, whereas I cruised with DCL because it was Disney.

The Wonder is a beautiful ship, the cabins are very nice (although I don't care for the split baths), the production shows are very good, and it is very "Disney." I found the food and service to be comparable to other cruise lines, but I felt DCL lacked adult activities onboard while the ship was in port.

I am booked on the Dream in 2011, and I would book another Disney cruise IF the price and itinerary were really good. However, I won't pay out the wazoo when DCL charges premium prices - especially for special itineraries like Northern Europe and Alaska.

 

[bemery1963]

I recently sailed on the Magic. I would say that the service and experience was comparable to an RCCL cruise. Disney services for me did not live up to the premium price paid. However since your children are younger, I think the entertainment provided on DCL might be worth the premium price. My 12 year old daughter was not really entertained anymore than she would have been in the kids club on anyother ship.

Cast Away Cay was very nice. However I really enjoyed Labadee Haiti on the RCCL cruise and have not experienced any other private Islands.

 

[NancyIL]

We have young children (8 and 5) and are thinking about trying another cruise line but are hesitant because we love DCL so much. Any comments are greatly appreciated.

I posted above about my feelings about DCL vs. other cruise lines. But for someone with young children who "love DCL so much" - I would advise you to stick with DCL until your kids are older and/or DCL's prices become prohibitive. I would probably choose DCL if my kids were young, but mine are all young adults.

 

[TheWog]

Since you have already sailed DCL and been to CC you could certainly try another line. There are many out there. We are sailing on the Freedom next year and my son and those of the family we are sailing with are very excited. Both families have sailed DCL and will be looking forward to the new, much larger ship. Costs less for similar western itin, same week to sail RCL from the same port. Freedom class has a ton of amenities for the kids and adults alike. Should be a good time. www.cruisecritic.com can help you with specific information about other lines and even specific ships. NCL's new Epic looks pretty cool too. Good luck deciding.

 

[Edd]

Cruise Critic rates the Royal Caribbean Cruise lines #1 in Family and Kids cruising. Now I would say the young kids who still love the Disney caharacters are going to enjoy the DCL much more than others. Many of the kids approaching or going into teens find the Carnivals and RCCL with better kids clubs and much more to do aboard the ships.

My 11 year old grandson loved the DCL for about 3 cruises and than when we went on the Carnival and RCCL he didn[t care to go on the DCL as much. He still prefers the RCCL Freedom of the Seas because they have so much for kids to do.

The parades and parites along the Royal Promenade were awesome. Here is a link to some pictures taken while cruising the Freedom.

http://ekorgan2.com/freedom_of_the_seas.htm

 

[BABYJOSIE98]

While DCL is our favorite we do sail other lines because we like the 5 night cruises too different ports.
Just off Radiance of the seas in October and it was wonderful. DD loves the kids clubs on RCL. They have tournaments and win medals and make do things like make pillowcases..ect.....
She also loves the Rock climbing walls on Royal. She is 11 and just loves cruising...Disney or Royal Caribbean..>Does not matter too her.

We are booked on the Dream for next year and can not wait!!!!!!!!!!

RCL's Coco Cay private Island is also very nice! Had a ball there.

Good luck!

 

[tvguy]

HAL had slightly better food and service. Their kids clubs weren't nearly as good, but my kids never found anything they wanted to do in the clubs on either HAL or Disney, so that wasn't an issue for us.
NCL used to have better entertainment, but I'm talking back in the mid-80's when they used to have celebrity entertainers on board, but they don't do that. (okay, Mickey and the gang are celebrities, but not in the same way)

 

[lovethedream]

First, I will say that you will not know if you do or do not like something unless you try it for yourself so give it a try, the worst that happens is that you do not like it. The Disney ships will still be there when you get back. For us, we have been on 2 DCL cruises and 1 RCCL FOTS cruise. We sailed on the Freedom after our two DCL Wonder cruises. We prefered the DCL cruise (by a wide margin) over the RCCL FOTS cruise. Just to name a few reasons why we prefer DCL over RCCL, the deck parties, the fireworks, the food, and the staterooms.