I'd say that if you've never eaten in the castle, it's a must do. Having breakfast (or lunch!) then walking out into Fantasyland is priceless. The stained glass windows are gorgeous and the entire atmosphere is very castle-like. Parts of Akershus feel castle like, others do not.
You can have great or rushed character interactions at any character meal on any given day, so there's really no way to tell how yours will be in advance. If you want good character interaction, have your little one come in costume and prepared to ask some questions. If you engage them, they will engage back. Ask Snow White if she finally gave up eating apples. Ask Cinderella if she's finally done cleaning floors. You get the idea....
You get the same number of princesses at either meal. CRT always has Cindy in the lobby then 4 others upstairs. We always see Belle (in blue), Aurora, Snow White and Jasmine, but I understand this does change sometimes.
At Akershus, you USUALLY get Belle in her yellow. But this is NOT a guarantee. You then get 4 others inside, but this tends to change a lot more here. At lunch in December we saw Cinderella, Alice, Jasmine and Ariel (in her green gown).
The photo package is included in BOTH.
I LOVE both. You can't go wrong with either. But the castle has to be done at least once!