DCL vs NCL with kids - have you had any regrets? sailed Haven?

[lilsonicfan]

Hi all,

We are a family of 5 - and we are booked on EBTA with DCL next year when my kids will be 6, 7 and 10. This will be our second Disney cruise and first on the Magic. It's a big year for us so I was contemplating tacking on a 7 day Mediterranean to make our cruise a b2b. However, in looking at the pricing I started to feel a bit hesitant. Currently, we are booked in two oceanviews (9A, I think) for the EBTA. I compared two 7 night Med cruises out of Barcelona....found that:
- two 9A rooms on the Magic cost the same, or just a tiny bit less, than a 2 bedroom Haven villa on the Norwegian Epic.
- one family verandah costs $1,000 more than the 2 bdrm Haven villa
- one family concierge verandah costs $6,000 more.

It seems like the perks with Haven, coupled with the free stuff NCL gives you, might really outweigh the general perks of Disney... so, has anyone sailed NCL and really disliked it for any reason, or maybe thinks DCL is way more worth it even without the perks of Haven?

 

[Kate_45]

So you would go across on Disney and then explore the med in a nice big suite on NCL?

Sounds pretty perfect to me. And the right order. You have the sea days in the ship with the good shows and special character events and then in case there was a chance of cabin fever or repetitiveness you move to another ship with more room to spread out, some haven perks to make it feel special if you miss the magic and a whole new ship to explore. If the ports tire you out you won't need to worry about not getting your money's worth out of the entertainment and most importantly you'll be able to come in here and give a fantastic comparison afterwards!
Do it!

 

[kaseyC]

We did something similar in 2013. Our girls were 17, 12 and 10 at the time) We did a 14 night EBTA on the Disney Magic in a Cat. T Suite from Galveston to Barcelona. Flew from Barcelona to Copenhagen. Spent a few days in Copenhagen and then sailed a 9 night Baltic cruise on the NCL Star in a 2 bedroom suite. (the Star doesn't have a Haven but all other suite perks apply). It was perfect way to get the best of both worlds. The EBTA gave us the opportunity to really enjoy the ship and the savings in choosing to cruise the Star for the Baltic itinerary was used for some fabulous private tours and experiences as well as a week in Paris and a visit to Disneyland Paris after the Baltic cruise.

Meant to add that we have sailed 10 of our 11 NCL cruises in the Haven. We have always had great service but I also need to add that we are pretty laid back travelers. We love the 2 bedroom suites for our family of 5. Our most recent was spring break a couple of weeks ago on the Epic (for 3rd time). We also are booked for a Bermuda cruise out of NYC in July on the Escape. We have sailed Concierge on 9 of our 10 DCL cruise with number 11 booked for Spring break 2019 as well. As you can see we've been pretty happy with concierge level on both lines since we keep coming back.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

NCL is fine. We've sailed with them 3 times, each time in Haven. They just really can't beat DCL's service which I find to be stellar. There is a lot of upselling on NCL and it felt a little tacky to us. The entertainment is not as good either. It's cheaper, I'll give them that, but if given the choice, I would sail DCL.

 

[Sunshine2U]

Med cruises are port intensive. I would go with NCL since you won't be spending a lot of waking hours on the ship.

 

[Intr3pid]

Kudos for pulling kids out of school for three weeks! We were contemplating that transatlantic for next year, but one of ours is in high school - no joy. We are now doing DCL's 10-night Med and 7-day Baltic next year, so travelling on Magic wherever she is taking us.

You will still find plenty of Disney/family crowd on EBTA Magic, while NCL will likely sport solo Europeans / couples esp. in that month. To each their own.

 

[Pens Fan]

Our son was 19 when we sailed on NCL. I realize that's far older than your children, but we all loved it!!! Being able to sail in a suite with a separate bedroom and living room and the enormous balcony was such a treat - not to mention all of the free perks we got for booking a suite. We sailed in the summer and there were tons of kids on board. I can't speak first hand to kid's clubs and programming, but all the kids I saw seemed pretty darned happy. .

I agree with the previous poster that taking DCL for the TA is a good choice, but for the port intensive part pretty much any mainstream line will be fine. We loved NCL. The food is far, far better than Disney in our opinion (in both quality and variety of choices), and the service was comparable. The only real edge I'd give Disney is the family friendly entertainment (nightly shows, characters). But again, on a port intensive cruise with early wake up times is that really so important???????

We were DCL fans through and through. Then we tried NCL strictly because Disney didn't offer the itinerary we wanted in Alaska. After that experience we have 2 NCL cruises booked (26 nights total) and zero on DCL. Not saying we won't be back on DCL someday. I imagine we will. But our NCL cruise taught us a great lesson. Our family loves cruising. Period. No one cruise line will hold our loyalty in the future. It's all based on itinerary and pricing.

 

[lilsonicfan]

Thank you for the thoughtful replies.

Yes, three weeks out of school is a worry for me although they will be in kindergarten, grade 2 and grade 4 so I’m not too worried although I’m sure the teachers will frown a great deal. Sadly for work, spring and winter breaks are a challenge for me to take off and summer isn’t much better.

The port intensive part actually makes me feel like the Haven part is maybe overkill price wise, as it’s quite a bit cheaper to do two rooms.

I really appreciate the comments, gives me a lot to think about. I will say we have cruised other lines, even NCL once 7 years ago, and I’ve always loved cruising. I wouldn’t even say the service was so much better for me on DCL than on the other lines. And I was almost a bit surprised that the food on DCL wasn’t amazing, though it was fine. (Palo brunch being the exception, as it was excellent!)

 

[GatorMomInNC]

I have done to WBTA on DCL and they are my favorite. Last year I had the B2B 7 night med and WBTA booked on DCL, but due to work had to cancel the WBTA.

So then I switched to a 2 BR Haven suite on the Epic. It was really great. I love the big room, private restaurants and bar, and hot tubs. But of course, we only had one sea day and we did a lot of exhausting excursions, so we weren't doing too much in the form of entertainment. Overall I found the Epic overly crowded. I would not have enjoyed it if I wasn't in the Haven. The public areas are kind of a madhouse- especially the bars because everyone has the drink packages. I don't think we ate in a free restaurant -the one time we tried the wait was too long. We had a package with 3 free paying venues and those were very good, and we ate at the Haven restaurants or in our room all the other times. The Haven restaurant is very good, very small, but the menu doesn't change - which didn't bother me, but my husband was a little bored by it. Also, my sister came with us - she had booked an inside solo room, but we combined resources and shared the Haven and she felt pretty pampered I think!!

My sons were 10 and 13. My younger son hated the kids clubs on Norwegian, but loved the pools, slides, rock climbing, etc. My older son actually got into the teen club and loved the sports deck.

I would definitely do it if I were you, but just be warned that kids clubs on NCL are very different. My 10 year old couldn't self checkout, but no wave phones, so he had no way to tell us when he was ready to go - which was very soon after the one time he went, then he was stuck waiting for me to come get him, so he never went back. He was bored. Oh, and the trivia on NCL was criminally bad - very disappointing.

Also, if you are like me, I spent a LOT on excursions for the Med cruise so even though the Haven wasn't cheap, I felt it was a good deal compared to DCL and really, it was a great vacation. We saw so many interesting things and then having the suite and the extra service of the Haven was really nice.

 

[lizzyb]

I agree with the previous poster about the kids club. My kids hates it and never wanted to go. Activities weren't appealing and they had very odd hours.

 

[cadien]

Our first Disney cruise is in two weeks so I can't compare yet, but we've sailed in the Haven in NCL. Our son loved their kids club but he was 3. We did have the wave phones and they did call us whenever he wanted to leave. (Usually while we were eating!) The fact they close for a couple hours each for lunch and dinner can be a real pain to schedule around.

Service can be really inconsistent. Including in the Haven. Most butlers are fantastic but sometimes they're just not putting the effort in.

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

Yes, three weeks out of school is a worry for me although they will be in kindergarten, grade 2 and grade 4 so I’m not too worried although I’m sure the teachers will frown a great deal. Sadly for work, spring and winter breaks are a challenge for me to take off and summer isn’t much better.

IMO, you shouldn't worry too much about this. I assume your kids are doing fine in their elementary studies, or you wouldn't be considering it. The teachers may grouse, but they will also give you plenty of assignments to take with you. With the ages of your children, in a couple of years these sort of trips during school times will become much more difficult, and that won't change for like a decade or more until your last is out of school. And since you can't easily do Spring, Winter, Summer breaks, you need to do this while you can.

 

[LizGirl]

I recently sailed on Epic to the Bahamas and it was different than DCL but not bad. We had some good meals (Teppenyaki!) and too many cocktails! I did not have my kids with me so I can't comment about the clubs. My kids would have missed the on demand movies and funnel vision. I'm having trouble figuring out anything else! I think you'll like it fine. The thermal spa was really nice, FYI.

I don't know what state you are in but we get in serious hot water here in TX if the kids miss 10 days or more. School funding is tied to attendance so they have no mercy. I inexplicably received a warning letter last month because my daughter has missed 3 days this year. Just be careful that you know the rules and consequences before you book.

 

[lilsonicfan]

I apologize as I always have trouble with the quotes on the disboards, I feel like it's been a long time since I've used forums. Thank you Anchors Away - I could do without disapproving looks (we took kids out of school for 2.5 weeks in November 2017 for our first Disney cruise and WDW/Universal) but I realize it's their job to educate and so I don't blame them. But yes, I definitely don't want to miss the opportunity to do these long cruises.

Cadien, lizzyb, GatormominNC, thanks for that perspective. Before our Fantasy cruise we took a short Princess cruise and while the kids' clubs are definitely more structured, my boys still had a good time. They LOVED DCL but to be honest I am quite certain what they loved most was basically unlimited screen time. They didn't participate in a lot of the structured activities offered b/c they were glued to ipads. As a result they didn't learn a single CM's name nor did any CM connect with them - that was VERY different from their interactions on Princess and even for my oldest with NCL, years back. But i will definitely prepare them for the differences if we go this route.

Sounds like Haven is the way to go with the Epic. Thanks, if we do this I will be sure to update and review

 

[lilsonicfan]

I don't know what state you are in but we get in serious hot water here in TX if the kids miss 10 days or more. School funding is tied to attendance so they have no mercy. I inexplicably received a warning letter last month because my daughter has missed 3 days this year. Just be careful that you know the rules and consequences before you book.

Thanks! I’m in Canada and there isn’t any real issue with funding being connected to school attendance here thankfully!

 

[delauzons]

Last summer we went on the mediterranean Epic cruise with NCL. We had originally booked Disney. We got a 2 bedroom family villa in the Haven for less than 2 rooms on Disney. My kids were 13, 18, and 22 at the time. I personally would not do it again. We are used to Disney. I feel safe with my kids going to do things on DCL without my husband and I. NCL was a lot of singles and lots of drinking. I was very nervous with my older kids going off on their own. The ship was also huge! We also got the free drink package which saved a lot of money on NCL. it was a good value for what you got just not my taste. I missed the activities, the food, and shows and overall Disney feel.

 

[lilsonicfan]

Thank you delauzons, great perspective. I would not likely allow my 10yo to sign himself out; certainly at 8.5 he isn't showing signs of a superb common sense lol... but I appreciate the thoughts! So sorry you didn't enjoy it much!

 

[cadien]

I'm just back (yesterday!) from our first Disney cruise so I can finally offer a few comparisons to our NCL suite experience. We were just in an Oceanview on the Magic.

Our son turned 7 on the cruise. When we go back on NCL in July 2019 he is definitely going to miss the unlimited soft serve and pizza by the slice. He really loved not just eating both but being able to go get his own. (We'd be at a nearby table, not a different deck.) He seemed to enjoy both kids clubs equally and although the odds were excellent he'd spend it all on the iPads, he really spent more time playing. Especially in Andy's room. I missed him bringing back completed craft projects every night like on NCL, but that was me, not him.

I'm going to miss the lifeguards. When he was in the main pool, there wasn't a way to see him other than sitting on the edge, since that wall is so high, and it was so much nicer on my back to be in a nearby chair instead.

The smaller cabin was only an issue for our son. Was not expecting him to comment on it but he did. DH and I were fine with less space. In fact, DH preferred it. We tend to get suites in hotels, so DS was comparing it to those as much as to NCL.

The dining room service was interesting. DS didn't really appreciate all the interruptions to show him magic tricks and logic puzzles. But the children in the other family at our table loved it.

 

[lilsonicfan]

Cadien - thanks so much for the review! How funny that your DS didn't appreciate the interruptions in dining room service! I guess it's a personal thing.

 

[KashasMom]

NCL is fine. We've sailed with them 3 times, each time in Haven. They just really can't beat DCL's service which I find to be stellar. There is a lot of upselling on NCL and it felt a little tacky to us. The entertainment is not as good either. It's cheaper, I'll give them that, but if given the choice, I would sail DCL.

I haven't been on NCL in a while. Going back in August on the Bliss. Can you share what they were uspelling?