What is the best cruise line alternative to Disney?

[Neverland]

My family (DH & 2 teens) took a Disney cruise this past August and had an awesome, unforgettable time. We'd like to go again, but unfortunately it looks like we cannot get the itinerary we want for August 2007. For all you cruise gurus out there, what is the next best cruise line next to Disney? Thanks!

 

[Ontario Kim]

Our family started cruising with Disney five years ago. We have been on the Wonder (4 day) and both the Eastern and Western Magic. Our children are now 18,17 and 14. Two years ago we decided to try the Voyager Class ships on RCCL. We have been on the Adventure of the Seas doing the Southern Caribbean and we were on Voyager of the Seas in the Mediterranean this past summer. All of the children loved Disney but didn't need the characters any longer and the shows didn't change enough. We have since enjoyed RCCL and the money we save using RCCL allows us to have an outside JS and an inside cabin for the children. We loved Disney but it really hasn't changed. To date, our favorite cruise has definitely been the Mediterranean as all of the ports are so unique vs. carribean ports tend to all be very similar.

 

[tvguy]

I've cruised, in order, Paquet, NCL (x2), RCCL (x2), HAL and Disney. I found HAL the closest, but NCL and RCCL weren't far behind. I'd give HAL a look.

Paquet was a completely different story, granted this was in 1980, but it was like the exact opposite of Disney. They were a French Line, that is no longer in business. There were 2 children on board, ship carried 450 passengers. Only 25 of the passengers were Americans, the majority were French or French Canadian. The cruise director said the average age on board was 63. This was when the Love Boat was number 1 on TV, and repeat cruisers were unheard of, for almost everyone, this was the one trip of a lifetime.
Wine was included at no extra cost at both lunch and dinner, suits were required every night at dinner except on formal night when Tuxes were required. Food was truly gourmet. And best of all, it was free to me, I was assigned to videotape news stories on board. However, the fare for a tiny tiny cabin was $5000 per person for a 10 day cruise, double occupancy (in 1980 dollars). But, it got me addicted to cruising.

 

[tstan65]

I have been on 15 cruises. $ with Disney and others on RCCL, NCL, Commodore, Princess and Chandris. I will not cruise on anyone except Disney unless forced to. That being said I love Princess with RCCL being a close second.

I saw a post mentioning HAL. Nice line but be careful of the season and age of fellow cruisers.

 

[tvguy]

I have been on 15 cruises. $ with Disney and others on RCCL, NCL, Commodore, Princess and Chandris. I will not cruise on anyone except Disney unless forced to. That being said I love Princess with RCCL being a close second.

I saw a post mentioning HAL. Nice line but be careful of the season and age of fellow cruisers.

Our HAL cruise to Alaska was in June. There were 500 kids on the ship, our disney cruise has 800 kids. HAL also has kids clubs, but they move their activities throughout the day to various places on the ship, they don't have dedicated kids rooms.

 

[Mickey'sfriend]

My dh and I are RCCL fans. We have sailed with them 3 times (once in a hurricane) and had fabulous experiences each time. The cost is very reasonable for the quality and service. Food is yummy, ships are beautiful (especially the Voyager class, and now they have the Freedom!!). We highly recommend!

 

[M4travels]

Huge Princess fan here.... couldn't be because I used to work for them though, right??

Michael

 

[beachblanket]

Here are some of my opinions based on recent sailings on other lines:

Celebrity: children programs not as deep as DCL, but better service and MUCH better food than you'll ever see on any Disney vessel. Incredible art onboard!!

Carnival: 7+ day sailings on their newer ships definitely compete with DCL, in terms of cabins, food and quality of entertainment (high quality live music EVERYWERE) albeit environment aboard is wee bit less family friendly overall (staff in kids programs are every bit as good as those on DCL, but facilities aren't as large). Because of its size, Carnival can offer a huge range of itineraries.

HAL: others here have already told the story: children's programs are O.K.,: this lines' real strength is in its Alaskan itineraries and service quality.

NCL: the sleeper of the industry. Offers sailings from places like NYC and to Hawaii (options we're likely to never see from DCL in our lifetimes), the most flexible dining options at sea and great facilities for kids (particularly pools). Environment aboard is very casual but not downscale.

We've never done RCL - their agenda increasingly appears to be "floating theme park" ....which isn't our objective when it comes to cruising.

 

[logan1_2000]

To pick up on a previous comment, some of the RCCL voyager class and now the Freedom class do appear to justify a floating theme park comment. We have cruised on the Radiance class, which is a very elegant ship, lots of nice features, and on a ship to ship basis, a good comparison to the Disney ships.

Of course, I do snicker and find a touch of Irony that we are all devoted DISNEY cruisers here and yet we find a description of another line as a theme park at sea as something that is not preferred....since Disney thinks of the DCL ships as an extension of the WDW experience. Not a flame, just a touch of irony.

I do get the HAL comparison after being initially surprised. And that might be right--the DCL ships tend to go to bed relatively earlier than the RCI ships, and we are not late night drinkers or dancers and we dont climb the wall (at least not yet we havent climbed). I've joked w/ DW that we should switch to HAL since we do tend to appreciate what they have to offer, style-wise (but too few of the ships have basketball, which is an absolute MUST for DS, 10)

Final bit on RCI--I asked DS, now 10, which he prefers, Disney or RCI Radiance, and he said he enjoyed them both equally, and that was within 8 months that he cruised on both from 05-06.

 

[Madisonznana]

We have been on RCCL once and Princess twice. Not very experienced, but we did enjoy Princess the best.
We are totally psyched about out Disney cruise coming after reading Disboards!!

 

[BABYJOSIE98]

CAN'T ALWAYS AFFORD DCL PRICES...WE HAVE TAKEN TWO RCCL CRUISES AND HAD A GREAT TIME!!!

DD LOVED THE KIDS CLUBS ON RCCL...I COULD HARDLY EVER GET HER TOO LEAVE.

PLUS FOR SHORT CRUISES YOU HAVE MORE PORT OPTIONS. WE DID A 4 NIGHT OVER 4TH OF JULY ON RCCL THAT WENT TO KEY WEST. THAT WAS FUN AND MUCH LESS MONEY... COCO CAY IS A REALLY BEAUTIFUL ISLAND ALSO...TENDERING IS THE ONLY PAIN, BUT IT WAS NOT TOO AWFUL!

THE ONLY THING I DID NOT LIKE ABOUT RCCL WAS THE SALT WATER POOLS. OTHER THAN THAT SERVICE WAS THE BEST!!!

WE ARE BOOKING THE MAGIC AGAIN FOR 2008.

DD WANTS TO TRY CARNIVAL SINCE THEY HAVE THE WATER SLIDES AT THE POOLS...WE MAY TRY CARNIVAL IN 2007???

I WOULD JUST LOOK AT IT AS A WHOLE NEW EXPERIENCE...I COULD NEVER COMPARE RCCL TO DCL!! IT IS TOTALLY DIFFERENT!!!

 

[Neverland]

Just a note to say thanks to all posters for all your tips and valuable insight. We truly love Disney, I just wish the 2007 scheduling worked out better for us. In the meantime, I'll research my options per your suggestions for next year. And then, who knows, maybe back to DCL in 2008!

Thanks again!

 

[NancyIL]

I've cruised once with HAL and 3 times with RCI - and we'll give Princess a try next summer in Alaska. All 3 RCI cruises were great, and on three different classes of ship: Sovereign, Vision, and Radiance, with the Radiance class being the most beautiful. The Voyager class ships don't particularly interest me.

I have yet to cruise with Disney, but booked the 2007 MouseFest cruise - so hopefully I'll actually go through with it this time!