Cruise once with Disney or three times with royal?

[pointybubble]

I've been on both the RCCL Freedom class and the DCL Magic, and I would say it depends on the ages of your kids and the priorities. When I went on the RCCL ship we had a 1.5 year old toddler with us, and it was the only time we've ever been disappointed in a cruise (and we have cruised a lot on multiple lines). It is just not a little kid friendly ship, we had issues with the childcare (they let him cry for hours and never once paged us...), the MDR was not kid friendly at all and there was nowhere for a child that young to play in the water- we actually brought a baby pool to inflate on our balcony. So it is my opinion, that for families with really little kids, the DCL is 1000% worth it. For families with older kids or teens, I think there is a lot more offerings to consider on the RCCL ships that balance out the choices a little bit better.

 

[ucf_knight]

I've been on both the RCCL Freedom class and the DCL Magic, and I would say it depends on the ages of your kids and the priorities. When I went on the RCCL ship we had a 1.5 year old toddler with us, and it was the only time we've ever been disappointed in a cruise (and we have cruised a lot on multiple lines). It is just not a little kid friendly ship, we had issues with the childcare (they let him cry for hours and never once paged us...), the MDR was not kid friendly at all and there was nowhere for a child that young to play in the water- we actually brought a baby pool to inflate on our balcony. So it is my opinion, that for families with really little kids, the DCL is 1000% worth it. For families with older kids or teens, I think there is a lot more offerings to consider on the RCCL ships that balance out the choices a little bit better.

We have had a couple of bad nights on rccl in the main dining room with our kids but overall mostly positive. I actually felt that the pool deck on dcl isn’t as good for kids as freedom with their splashaway bay and water slides. The dcl splash pads look greater for kids 2-3 years old but mine are 6 and 8. Freedom only recently got the splashaway bay upgrade though. After all the above talk though we are definitely going to give dcl a try. Just have to find the right time and price to do so.

 

[DCLMP]

Since the Wish started doing those sailings.

LOL. True, a Disney ship could go in circles and it would qualify as a uniquely expensive itinerary.

 

[Sykes]

LOL. True, a Disney ship could go in circles and it would qualify as a uniquely expensive itinerary.

Hah, that's basically what the UK Staycation sailings were.

 

[Anna131517]

Every itinerary and ship is different. Whether another cruise line really ends up being less expensive depends on more than the booking price. We like Disney but we also like Norwegian. For us, Disney means 5-person staterooms instead of a suite and not doing/paying for specialty dining, lots of spa treatments, or as many shore excursions because we enjoy the unique dining rooms and there’s so much to do on the ship. So Disney works well for us for Caribbean cruises. We choose Norwegian when the itinerary and shore excursions are the main draw (like Alaska, Hawaii, and the Mediterranean).

 

[Southern Pirate]

I will probably be banned for saying this but that is OK. I have sailed on a total of 3 Carnival cruises and was unimpressed. Sailed on 1 Holland America cruise and it was ok. We are sailing on the Disney Wish shortly, we are Platinum CC and always sail concierge, and this is going to be our last DCL cruise. I am not happy with Disney as a company, in my opinion and mine only, Disney needs to stay out of politics. I don't agree with their views anymore so I am taking my money else where. We are taking a NCL panama canal cruise and staying in the Haven. It cost the same for this cruise as it does for a 5 night DCL concierge cruise.

 

[Karin1984]

I will probably be banned for saying this but that is OK.

Plenty of people on these boards are nowadays upset with Disney as a company. Look at the threads about the Disney Wish, open any thread about Genie +, you do not get banned for that. You will be invited by a group of like minded people, who pull up a chair for you and offer you a drink.

Disney apologists have a harder time nowadays ;-)

 

[Karin1984]

Looking at the same dates, for the same number of nights with similar stops and similar sized ships. Could do the magic for around $3k buts it’s half the boat of freedom basically so that’s why I looked at the wish. I don’t mind spending the money but I’m trying to see if it’s worth it to cruise once or three times as we typically cruise 2-3 times a year with royal.

I was thinking about this comment some more.
Here there are plenty of people who prefer the Wonder or the Magic because they are smaller ships. Easier to navigate and all, for Castaway Cay the island doesn't feel as busy.

When we look at the activities available on the Dream/Fantasy vs. the Wonder/Magic, is there that much more to do? The bigger ships have the same offerings as the smaller ships. Movies, 3 Broadway Shows, trivia, characters, fireworks show, bingo, adult entertainment, musicians, it's all there on all ships.
I think the rainforest room is one of the biggest differences? The bigger ship have an additional specialty restaurant, but the OP doesn't care about this.

And when we look at the Wish. In activities, isn't it all the same? So for the OP, it shouldn't really matter in activities. Then it really comes down: Do you only want to do the Wish because it's new and looks fancy?
If not, if you just want to experience what it's like to sail with Disney, go for a cheaper cruise to get a taste.

I do not think that the Wish will get you a 3x better experience on RCCL or a 2x better experience on the Magic.

 

[babyruth]

I’d do a DCL cruise once on one of the other ships and then you’ll have your answer. You’ve never sailed DCL and the only one who can determine the value for YOU is you.

 

[sethschroeder]

I will probably be banned for saying this but that is OK. I have sailed on a total of 3 Carnival cruises and was unimpressed. Sailed on 1 Holland America cruise and it was ok. We are sailing on the Disney Wish shortly, we are Platinum CC and always sail concierge, and this is going to be our last DCL cruise. I am not happy with Disney as a company, in my opinion and mine only, Disney needs to stay out of politics. I don't agree with their views anymore so I am taking my money else where. We are taking a NCL panama canal cruise and staying in the Haven. It cost the same for this cruise as it does for a 5 night DCL concierge cruise.

The Haven is going to blow DCL out of the water.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

IMO rotational dining is the secret sauce of DCL more than those things.

Funny that you mention this. We tried RC after multiple Disney cruises for a friend's milestone birthday with multiple familes. My older son was 12 at the time and his exact words were, "Sigh. Is this all we do for dinner? Just come here every night?"

 

[DCLMP]

I will probably be banned for saying this but that is OK. I have sailed on a total of 3 Carnival cruises and was unimpressed. Sailed on 1 Holland America cruise and it was ok. We are sailing on the Disney Wish shortly, we are Platinum CC and always sail concierge, and this is going to be our last DCL cruise. I am not happy with Disney as a company, in my opinion and mine only, Disney needs to stay out of politics. I don't agree with their views anymore so I am taking my money else where. We are taking a NCL panama canal cruise and staying in the Haven. It cost the same for this cruise as it does for a 5 night DCL concierge cruise.

I totally agree with you, but the regular employees don’t represent the company views. The company I work for certainly doesn’t represent mine. I try to keep that in mind when I book a Disney Vacation. I still like Disney, but maybe I’ll change my mind after this cruise. The Haven looks wonderful enjoy that.

 

[Mango7100]

I will probably be banned for saying this but that is OK. I have sailed on a total of 3 Carnival cruises and was unimpressed. Sailed on 1 Holland America cruise and it was ok. We are sailing on the Disney Wish shortly, we are Platinum CC and always sail concierge, and this is going to be our last DCL cruise. I am not happy with Disney as a company, in my opinion and mine only, Disney needs to stay out of politics. I don't agree with their views anymore so I am taking my money else where. We are taking a NCL panama canal cruise and staying in the Haven. It cost the same for this cruise as it does for a 5 night DCL concierge cruise.

Unrelated to politics, I will say we just stayed in the Haven on NCL 2 weeks ago and it really does make Disney cruises look ridiculously overpriced. We sailed a 7 day Eastern Caribbean out of PC. Our suite was 450 sq feet not including the balcony, separate bedroom, separate living area, and bathroom with soaking tub, rain shower, and two sinks. We had butler service anytime—trays of snacks were in our room every afternoon. Delivered dessert from the restaurant at night to us. Private restaurant (lobster and filet every night if you want) and bar, private sun deck, private plunge pool for Haven guests (about 250 people). First to get on and off the ship at embarking and disembarking, cut to the front of the line for getting off at ports. All beverages included up to $15 per drink (so no wine bottles), WiFi included. And it was $2400 cheaper than the VGT rate for the Fantasy same week. Concierge on Disney would have been 3x the price of what we paid. I am converted!

 

[Mango7100]

The Haven is going to blow DCL out of the water.

It 100% did for us. Even for our 9 year old. We do like Castaway Cay better than Great Stirrup, and the kids club on NCL is pretty pathetic. But the Haven is another animal

 

[mousefan73]

Is your goal to simply sail to the bahamas and be on a boat or for itinerary ( or lack of as IMO WISH really only offers CC but Royal had their island too)..
For the 6000 Wish you could do a Royal sailing or two AND add a few days WDW for the Disney fix.

 

[ucf_knight]

Is your goal to simply sail to the bahamas and be on a boat or for itinerary ( or lack of as IMO WISH really only offers CC but Royal had their island too)..
For the 6000 Wish you could do a Royal sailing or two AND add a few days WDW for the Disney fix.

The boat and the private island are what we cruise the Caribbean for. Majority of the islands all feel pretty much the same to us at this point. We do have some that we like the but the boat is the destination for us so to speak. We get our Disney fix as we are AP’s and go to Disney often.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

It 100% did for us. Even for our 9 year old. We do like Castaway Cay better than Great Stirrup, and the kids club on NCL is pretty pathetic. But the Haven is another animal

So to me, this means that it’s simply a matter of what one values in a cruise experience.
It’s good to sample different lines. It helps each person define what he/she enjoys most about cruising which can also vary with destination and duration.

 

[randumb0]

Please don't spend $6300 for a 4 night interior. For that price you should be able to get a DCL 7 night one one of their other ships. If you have to travel during that time then d Royal. There are tons of things to do and your kids will have a blast.

 

[starvenger]

We’ve priced out a cruise on the Disney wish 4 night in august inside stateroom family of 4 and it’s roughly $6300 vs a cruise with royal for $1900 for the same number of nights on freedom (this $1900 figure is what we are doing this coming week with two connecting inside staterooms). The wish looks incredible but is disney cruise line worth spending less vacation time on the high seas when I could get two more cruises in with royal for less money? We don’t drink sodas and get 4 free alcoholic drinks per day with royal as diamond members. We also never do speciality dining on royal so essentially our cruise fare covers pretty much what we would do on the ship.

Wow, that's a big gap in price! We are die-hard Disney people more than die-hard cruisers, so we'd choose Disney or not cruise at all. But think of the trip you could do with $6300! Couldn't you do Hawaii or Europe for that?

Wish seems pretty nice. The size makes me think that there will be a lot more room to move around than there is on Fantasy or Dream - in fact, it's probably in line with how much room there is with Royal's Freedom class.

I wouldn't completely dismiss splurging, but that is a huge gap in price. With that money, you could board Freedom, put it all on red and get comped several more cruises. Or be more conventional and just take a couple more vacations.

 

[disny_luvr]

We have cruised Disney four times and absolutely loved our cruises, but prices are insane! We are looking at a RC cruise on either the Wonder or Harmony for next summer. Honestly, my boys are drooling over all there is to do on the RC ships. For price comparison, we can save about $3500 sailing RC, a little less if we decide on the Wonder, over what Disney is asking for the same, 7-night itinerary on the Fantasy. We love the Fantasy, and I’ve never sailed RC so maybe we’ll be disappointed, but for $3500, I think we’ll be just fine.