DCL or RCCL for 1st timer

[magicalcouple]

I posted this also in the RCCL forum- so forgive me if anyone reads it twice??

Greetings! I have never cruised before but it's always been something I've wanted to do and I'm ready to force my family to do it for 2021. Group at travel time will be Me, Hubs, High Function ASD son 11, DS 4. I have 9,000,000 questions on either line but I'll keep this short for this post.

May of 2021 I've narrowed down to:
4 Day Verandah on DCL Fantasy
or
7 Day Ocean View on RCCL Allure of the Seas
Both end up being the same $ within dollars.

Since we've never cruised, what would be the better beginner? The little one- will he appreciate DCL more? My ASD son struggles with peer groups and won't interact well in playgroup settings in a club where there is a lot of children running wild. He's better individual or one on one, if this gives any help in guiding me.

Fantasy is the one I WANT to choose but my brain is saying "but you get more days and places to see" on the Allure.
Please help!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

If he's not good with broad age ranges and unstructured activities, he will not do well in DCL's youth club. I think if you book DCL you need to know he won't be spending much time there. He's on the older side of the range, but the kid's club core range is 3-12, which as you know is huge. And it is very unstructured. They don't really slice up into narrower age ranges.

RCCL clubs are open less time, but divide the kids up by narrower age ranges.

 

[DisMommyTX]

One important difference is that the kids clubs for both your kids (and all in between) are combined on DCL. My son sounds a lot like yours and the kids areas on Disney are more sensory disruptive for my him than RCCL. Way too many kids of all ages running around constantly screaming. He rarely joins in the organized kids activities but likes to go there and color, watch movies, get away from parents a bit. The open hours at DCL allowed us to go in and do stuff with him, but the other adults in the room made his anxiety skyrocket. RCCL games were lots of running and screaming, but the counselors seemed fine letting him do his own thing (such as drawing at a table nearby) while still providing enough supervision. Our DS 11 is old enough to go to Edge next week, but I am worried about him being bullied, along with the reduced supervision.

Honestly, I don't think you should plan for your kid to spend much time in the clubs on either ship. If you get some adult time alone, consider it a bonus. Allure has much more for the family to do together than DCL. Lots of areas on the Fantasy are off-limits to kids entirely whereas RCCL allows you to enjoy almost all venues and events around the ship together with your kids, whereas Disney tends to provide more events in adult-only areas. They both have lots of great stuff to keep you entertained around the ship, but only Disney has characters. Allure has activities like the ice rink and rock wall which are great for families to do together, and the pools and hot tubs are much less crowded. We love Disney and are actually sailing on the Fantasy next week , but I really recommend the Allure for first-time cruisers, especially if your kids may not be using the clubs.

One of the biggest differences for us is actually the food as RCCL has far more options available for kids and adults, from evening buffets to kid-friendly specialty restaurants. Does your family do well with 2 hour sit-down dinners every night? DCL considers dinner an event and options are extremely limited if you don't want to spend 90-120+ minutes eating every evening. Most cruise lines have a decent buffet to feed the kids quickly, then drop them at the clubs so adults can enjoy a specialty restaurant. On DCL, even Cabanas becomes a 90 min plated dinner, so burgers by the pool or room service are your only options for evening meals outside the main dining rooms.

Lots of pros and cons on each. Getting 4 day DCL for the same cost as 7 day RCCL is a pretty good deal, unless you are just finding a bad rate on RCCL, but I still recommend Allure for this one. After 25+ cruises, our kids favorite is still the Oasis of the Seas!

 

[magicalcouple]

This is a lot of great info. Thank you! And yes, I expect the older son to be less enthused about the clubs and that is A-OK. The little one is wild and social.

Can I another question? Oh wait- I'm asking anyway... My ASD son is concerned about major rocking of the boat and his sensory issues. When booking, where on the ship would he feel less of the rocking and might not be loud enough for him to hear motors turning?

 

[towels]

If there is a concern about sensory or motion sickness, I'd say that's a good indicator that a shorter cruise is a better starter.

 

[Rob1872]

My ASD son is concerned about major rocking of the boat and his sensory issues. When booking, where on the ship would he feel less of the rocking and might not be loud enough for him to hear motors turning?

You aren't going to have an issue with engine noise anywhere in the staterooms.
General rule of thumb: The lower the deck, the less rolling motion. The closer to the middle, the less pitch motion.
Fantasy has a known issue where you get engine vibration in some of the aft cabins, so stay clear of the stern end.

 

[DisMommyTX]

Lower deck, mid ship is best. DS gets terribly carsick but has never gotten sick on a cruise. He wears Sea-bands and we supplement with half a tablet of Bonine if he starts complaining about heat/headache (his usual motion sickness cues).

 

[SnappySerape]

DisMom has got it right! I'll give you my personal experience on the Fantasy. At the aft of the ship, I could feel some vibration but it wasn't enough to be a problem on my particular trip. Towards the front of the ship, I really had the up and down sensation where you can feel the ship rise and fall as you lay in bed. Deck 10 was great except I heard quite a bit of chair scraping and stomping from deck 11 during the day. I heard quite a bit less during the night but it definitely still happened here and there.

There's a chance on either ship that you could feel side to side movement as you walk through the ship or sit at dinner. I don't have experience on RCCL yet so I can't comment on that. On my last 7 night WC, the first three nights felt fairly strong in motion. Many kids and adults complained about feeling sea sick or left the shows and dinner early but my mom and I did not feel sick from it. The last half of the trip was very smooth and could hardly notice any movement. The seas can be unpredictable.

 

[Jack_Sparrow_NJ]

Fantasy is the one I WANT to choose but my brain is saying "but you get more days and places to see" on the Allure.

I am having the same internal struggle planning a summer 2021 cruise