DCL VS OTHER CRUISE LINES

[BeckyB00]

Hey Everyone,
I'm sure this question gets asked a lot and I tried to skim through for answers but it's impossible on a cell lol.

Anyway, my family are HUGE Disney people, I also used to work at WDW, to say we are huge Disney people is an understatement but I am just looking for some general inquiries.

My parents are platinum members & I am a gold cast away member but we all know Disney is expensive. The latest debate in my household is why Disney over other cruise lines? We are we paying so much more vs another line?

It never seems to say in any advertising but I know the fares may seem cheap but what about when you are on board? Do you pay extra for entertainment? Soft beverages? Snacks? Etc

ANY information / which cruise line you are talking about will be super helpful. People always say once they do Disney, they won't go back. but my parents want to know WHY?

I know, super wordy. Sorry but thanks guys!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Hey Everyone,
I'm sure this question gets asked a lot and I tried to skim through for answers but it's impossible on a cell lol.

Anyway, my family are HUGE Disney people, I also used to work at WDW, to say we are huge Disney people is an understatement but I am just looking for some general inquiries.

My parents are platinum members & I am a gold cast away member but we all know Disney is expensive. The latest debate in my household is why Disney over other cruise lines? We are we paying so much more vs another line?

It never seems to say in any advertising but I know the fares may seem cheap but what about when you are on board? Do you pay extra for entertainment? Soft beverages? Snacks? Etc

ANY information / which cruise line you are talking about will be super helpful. People always say once they do Disney, they won't go back. but my parents want to know WHY?

I know, super wordy. Sorry but thanks guys!

Most other cruise lines, sodas cost extra, but you can purchase soda cards that can lower the cost of those. You can also bring your own non-alcoholic beverages onboard.

Entertainment, for the most part, is your basic Vegas-style musical review with singers and dancers. Often not all that good, but there are some really good shows on other lines. Also, they have different individual entertainers (some of which could never do a show on DCL).

There is a buffet, usually open more hours than on DCL, that you can get meals/snacks.

Rooms are often smaller (for the same category-type room). And usually only have showers, but some have bathtubs, also.

Trivia games onboard other lines are cut throat. Yes, people "cheat" by using their internet connections to get the answers for a cheap 50 cent prize.

I don't know that "once you do Disney you won't go back" is accurate. We started on DCL, and since then have done Carnival, Princess and Holland America. You just need to be realistic that the others are not DCL, and take them for what they are. We typically book a cruise based on itinerary, then dates and/or cost. Since DCL is pretty limited in itineraries once you've cruised with them multiple times, there are lots of other options on other lines. We currently have a Princess and a Holland America cruise booked in the next year.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Everyone here likely has their own reasons and many here cruise other lines, as well.

For me, the deciding factors:

• No casino. More to the point, no smoke-filling place in the lobby that I need to avoid.
• Family feeling and therefore a feeling of safety.
• Familiarity (of the mouse and of the ship)
  
• CMs that are friendly, helpful and just nice people.
• Feeling my kids are safe in the clubs and the clubs are of interest to them.
• Enjoy the food and that the service team moves with us from MDR to MDR.
  
• Enjoy the shows, which have a throwback to my childhood in the music and references.
• On Demand movies/TV.
  
• Prem-ears and first run movies in the theater
• Cleanliness in the rooms and the ship.
• Inviting atmosphere.
• Inclusive atmosphere.
  
• Fun for the family and things for families to do together, like Mid-ship Detective agency, Mini-golf, funnel-vision, etc.
• Bigger rooms
• More connecting rooms
• Comfortable beds, including the pull-down beds
• Murphy bed in some rooms
• Magnets on doors - I love seeing other people's creativity and I enjoy showing off mine.
• Attention to details
• Easy transition to land vacation while keeping the same vibe/mindset.

 

[cgolf]

If you check my posts on here you will find a review I did on the Brilliance of the seas minus kids. That will give you an idea what we think. Also had a report on the freedom of the seas too. Our daughter is in college and no longer cruises with us. This last cruise was easily one of our top 5. One thing I did want to add is we have found the staff on RCCL overall to be just as friendly as DCL.

The difference with us is we aren’t Disney people, it just happens DCL was our first 12 cruises. We are doing Celebrity next year and we are really looking forward to it. If we see a DCL ship in port with us, we won’t have that wish we were there moment anymore. This is our opinion, and I know others haven’t liked RCCL as much.

While I don’t doubt people cheat on trivia, it isn’t hard on DCL either for repeat cruisers because they kept the same questions year to year We have also seen some ridiculously competitive trivia players on DCL as well

So for us, we see DCL as an equal to other lines.

 

[griffindesign]

My husband and I took a 7 day southern Caribbean cruise on RCI Adventure of the Seas last summer. We have done 5 Disney cruises on all but the wonder. After the Royal Cruise we feel that whenever we can it will be disney. Even when we go without kids. As a designer I love the Disney ships! They never seem dated or tacky and have a beautiful well thought out and well kept Art Deco or Nouveau design. Whereas the Adventure even though 1 year newer than the Magic has very dated and worn out decor. We were on the Magic ebta in 2017 for 2 weeks and everything was beautiful. We also missed the cheery attitude of the staff, the fun atmosphere of Disney music everywhere, and the great shows. The Adventure just had Vegas style shows and the one thing that got raves was the ice skating, but we thought it was cheesy (they tried to make a story for it) and not impressive. Additionally we hated the public mall like space (which you had to go through to get everywhere unless you went through the Smokey casino) because it was crowded, noisy, and we were bombarded with people trying to sell us things (specialty meal packages, drink packages, spa treatments, jewelry, watches, perfume every single day, not just the first day). We were thankful we only had 1 sea day! The islands were great, and we saved a lot of money on that particular cruise but I felt like we were staying in a tacky, cheap hotel.

 

[griffindesign]

I also agree with the pp about the cleanliness! My husband and I are a bit ocd about germs, and Disney is so much better than the royal cruise we took. We also tried a couple of the events that were listed for the day (excercise class and ship tour) and no staff showed for either. After that we gave up on ship events during the day.

 

[griffindesign]

Also on our adventure cruise the adult areas were very crowded and not that great. We think the adult areas are fabulous on the Disney ships with fun varied design and multiple smaller and midsize venues so that they are not so loud. They also aren’t usually very crowded because so many adults are with their kids.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We have also seen some ridiculously competitive trivia players on DCL as well

Yeah. We just returned from a 15 night Princess cruise. The trivia players were brutal. I'm sorry, but I just don't believe a team of 4 people (2 couples around 40ish) can get 25 out 25 correct, multiple times on a cruise without help. And they always sat in the back of the room.

 

[cgolf]

I can’t speak for all RCCL ships, but the Freedom and Brilliance were as clean and a bit better condition than say the Magic. We were very impressed. On the brilliance the had a rock and roll cruise the trip before, so we were actually surprised at how tidy the ship was. Might also explain why the crew was so friendly

I am definitely not anti DCL, hope to sail the new ships, just have become more into budgeting since DD went off to college and we start to think more seriously about retirement and what kind of a lifestyle we want to have during that period of our lives

 

[aggiedog]

We cruise for the itinerary, not the ship. I do enjoy DCL, but for the cost, I can get a lot more vacation, with money to spare, on other lines. I've done a Baltic DCL, a Merrytime over Christmas and enjoyed both. We've also done Oceania to French Polynesia, just DH and me, and MSC, in their Yacht Club concierge, with the whole family in the Med.

They've all had their pros and cons, but we had a great summer vacation - a week in France (details arranged by a French travel company so easy on me), then a week in concierge (so awesome) with amazing port adventures I arranged thru places found on TripAdvisor, for less than a 1 week Med cruise, non-concierge, on DCL. With 2 kids in college, and a 3rd on the way, that is a no brainer for me. I did not love MSC overall, and I don't think I'd sail non-concierge with them, but for what we did, it was great and we made wonderful memories.

Also, while younger dd (now age 15) likes the clubs for the chance to whoop up on other kids while video gaming, youngest ds, age 12, has never loved the clubs (Oceaneer/Lab on our cruises), and older dds, now 18 but Vibe age on our cruises, didn't either.

 

[mevelandry]

Hey Everyone,
I'm sure this question gets asked a lot and I tried to skim through for answers but it's impossible on a cell lol.

Anyway, my family are HUGE Disney people, I also used to work at WDW, to say we are huge Disney people is an understatement but I am just looking for some general inquiries.

My parents are platinum members & I am a gold cast away member but we all know Disney is expensive. The latest debate in my household is why Disney over other cruise lines? We are we paying so much more vs another line?

It never seems to say in any advertising but I know the fares may seem cheap but what about when you are on board? Do you pay extra for entertainment? Soft beverages? Snacks? Etc

ANY information / which cruise line you are talking about will be super helpful. People always say once they do Disney, they won't go back. but my parents want to know WHY?

I know, super wordy. Sorry but thanks guys!

We have a Carnival VS DCL thread. It might answer to a lot of your questions.

You pay extra for soda but they are usually very affordable packages.

Like DCL with Palo & Remy there are some specialty restaurants but the upcharge will cost you half the price they charge on DCL (and they are just as great).

They have shops where you can buy some non included snacks like a candy shop (like Vaneloppe on DCL) but most snacks are included.

Room service: Some items are included, some are not. Carnival just added a fee fpr orders happening during the night.

On the bigger ships, some activities have a fee like the Imax cinema where you'll see the same movies that are at the theater on land (13$) and the Thrill Theater (5$) but they also present recent movies as "dive-in movies" on the main deck and those are free and pop corn is included.

All the shows are free.

Some activities have a fee like alcohol tastings... Just like DCL.

So when you compare, with the 1000$ you saved by not sailing DCL you can sometimes upgrade your room, pay for the soda package, pay the specialty dining and/or pay all your excursions!

 

[UNDDisney]

Years ago I read on another message board a comment along these lines "You select other cruise lines for cruising. You select DCL for the Disney experience on a cruise ship." Whether the Disney experience (hospitality, entertainment, characters, atmosphere, etc) is "worth it" to you is entirely subjective, and thus why this is a constant debate/discussion

At this phase our of lives, we value the Disney experience (kids 10, 6 and 2), but I am sure we will go back to other lines when the kids are older (we cruised other lines many time before/without kids). It may sound silly, but it's the little things like the Disney music playing in the hallways, that makes us happy and at home on our DCL vacation. Our kids love everything about it too, so it's pretty much the best vacation ever for our family right now!

 

[cyclenut]

Everyone here likely has their own reasons and many here cruise other lines, as well.

For me, the deciding factors:

• No casino. More to the point, no smoke-filling place in the lobby that I need to avoid.
• Family feeling and therefore a feeling of safety.
• Familiarity (of the mouse and of the ship)
  
• CMs that are friendly, helpful and just nice people.
• Feeling my kids are safe in the clubs and the clubs are of interest to them.
• Enjoy the food and that the service team moves with us from MDR to MDR.
  
• Enjoy the shows, which have a throwback to my childhood in the music and references.
• On Demand movies/TV.
  
• Prem-ears and first run movies in the theater
• Cleanliness in the rooms and the ship.
• Inviting atmosphere.
• Inclusive atmosphere.
  
• Fun for the family and things for families to do together, like Mid-ship Detective agency, Mini-golf, funnel-vision, etc.
• Bigger rooms
• More connecting rooms
• Comfortable beds, including the pull-down beds
• Murphy bed in some rooms
• Magnets on doors - I love seeing other people's creativity and I enjoy showing off mine.
• Attention to details
• Easy transition to land vacation while keeping the same vibe/mindset.

Some of these bullets are correct, some are not. In the interest of sharing a perspective with the original poster and not to be argumentative with you, I thought I would share my personal views. I get that yours are different on the above.

* Yes, there is no casino on Disney. Ship design plays a big role in whether or not it is easy to avoid the casino. Most are not off the main lobby though. If you really don't want the casino, it's not that hard to avoid.
* The feeling of safety is often misplaced. Please be vigilant, even on Disney.
* Completely agree about the familiarity. I would even add that it gives all guests something in common immediately, and not just about enjoying a cruise vacation. You can always discuss Disney.
* Disney has a better ratio than most other lines. More CMs per passenger. Disney trains customer service very well and I think they are some of the friendliest on the sea. Don't believe though that they are always the best. I've encountered exceptional service on nearly every vacation. Not in every interaction, but somewhere along the line. Either a stateroom steward or dining room host. Sometimes it was the bar staff.
* Kids clubs are somewhat subjective. My teen did not enjoy the Disney Vibe and is a huge Disney fan. I think she would have preferred the younger kids area to be honest.
* Food and service in MDR is spotty. Every line uses the same servers for you every night, if you book a set dining time. Disney wins the dining experience game every time though.
* Disney shows are some of the best at sea. Period. Other lines will have, maybe, one good broadway style show for the entire cruise. The rest might be vegas style acts or similar. However, if you choose carefully, you could get a concert on board another line.
* On-demand movies/TV. Not much of a thing for me so not a differentiation.
* The movie theater is fun and I really enjoy it. A real plus for Disney. Other lines offer movies, but they are usually outdoor movie nights and the movies are not first run.
* Nobody does clean like Disney. Some are close though. Very close. It depends on how important it is.
* The atmosphere on most ships are inclusive and inviting. I'm not sure what you are going for there. I like Disney ship decor for sure, but other lines have some really nice ships too.
* Family fun is very subjective. Every line has the items you mention, except the mid-ship detective agency (only on Dream and Fantasy). Other lines have more to offer than that for families as well. Ice skating on a ship can be a lot of fun for the whole family, for example.
* Rooms are bigger and designed better on DCL. Someone will figure this out eventually. I don't know that they really have *more* connecting rooms, but I'll take your word for it.
* Most lines have metal doors. Only Disney fans go as crazy with the magnets. It's really fun!!
* Few entertainment companies know details like Disney.
* I am not sure what you mean by the easy transitions to land vacation. Maybe you are referring to the parks? If you want to do Alaska land and sea, consider Princess or Royal. They've been doing it for years.

I would also add that while the Disney private island is nice, it isn't the best out there. Most lines have one (or more) and they can be really fun.

 

[californiamomofboys]

We loved our Norwegian cruises (Getaway and Epic) just as much as our Disney cruises (1 Wonder, 5 Dream). When the kids were younger, Disney had the edge but now that they are teens and preteens, they prefer the ropes courses/rock walls and grander waterslides that Disney doesn't have. As adults, we loved the entertainment on NCL (Million Dollar Quartet, Blue Man Group, etc) and the included drink package. We are trying the Carnival Breeze next week, so to say once you try Disney you won't go back to another cruise line is not accurate. Also, the money you save on other cruise lines allows for fabulous excursions and nice pre and post cruise hotels/experiences.

 

[trvlgirlmq]

We have only sailed Carnival and have had only enjoyable vacations where we made great memories. We mainly sail the new ships but have also been on a couple of the older Fantasy Class. My youngest DS loves his cruises and every time I even mention trying RCCL or NCL he gets upset. Familiarity breeds contentment. If you don't leave the Disney bubble you may not know what else is out there. We can't afford DCL and will probably never sail on them.

We never pay for up charge food. We have bought the soda cards for the kids and do have a few adult beverages.
We love the Movies Under the Stars! Sure they are not first run but we have not seen most since we don't go to the movie theater very much.
The family comedy is usually pretty good. We don't go to many of the main shows but have never had a problem getting seats.
We love the fun deck parties. If you ever sail Carnival find a ship with Matt Mitcham as CD. You won't be sorry.
The ships that have ropes courses, SkyRide, Water Works and mini golf are great fun.
You don't have to walk through the casino. And so what if you do, you won't be corrupted by osmosis.
The ships are clean and the staff friendly. Not over the top fake friendly.
Anytime dining! I don't want to be told when to eat even if I am not hungry. I don't want to sit with your family because I just do not care to make small talk with strangers.

Lots of cruising choices out there for everyone.

 

[starvenger]

Hey Everyone,
I'm sure this question gets asked a lot and I tried to skim through for answers but it's impossible on a cell lol.

Anyway, my family are HUGE Disney people, I also used to work at WDW, to say we are huge Disney people is an understatement but I am just looking for some general inquiries.

My parents are platinum members & I am a gold cast away member but we all know Disney is expensive. The latest debate in my household is why Disney over other cruise lines? We are we paying so much more vs another line?

Given the platinum status I can understand why your parents might be loathe to change. Sometimes, perks do overrule price. As for why it's so high vs other cruise lines (in general), I know there's a "Disney factor" but I think it comes down to DCL having 4 ships, while Royal and Carnival have 25. Just based on that, you're going to get high demand vs a small supply, and so they can charge what they thing the market will allow.

It never seems to say in any advertising but I know the fares may seem cheap but what about when you are on board? Do you pay extra for entertainment? Soft beverages? Snacks? Etc

I think this has been covered already. "Nickel and dimeing" is a thing that happens on the other cruise lines, but it's not as prevalent as one might assume. I feel like the people that get caught the most by this are newbies who want to try everything. Since you're a veteran cruiser I don't think there is anything you'd be too surprised about in terms of extra charges.

ANY information / which cruise line you are talking about will be super helpful. People always say once they do Disney, they won't go back. but my parents want to know WHY?

If that was the case, then I'd be the exception to the rule. I had fun on the Disney cruise and I would not be opposed to going back, but I do like Royal better, and I do want to go back and try Princess again as I really liked it the one time I cruised with them (pre-kids). Price point is a factor, not gonna lie - we tend to take cruises at times where the price difference can border on the ridiculous.

So anyway, here are some of the factors for me:
- I like having a casino on board (6:5 payout on Blackjack, less so). Not a big fan of the smoking in the casino though. I will say that on Harmony the ventilation was impressive, as you really didn't get that cigarette smell drifting over. Can't say the same about the elevator bank nearest the casino though.
- I like being able to hang out *IN* a pool with my kids.
- I wasn't a fan of the rotational dining. It was kind of gimmicky, especially Animator's Palate. Perhaps not coincidentally, the food at AP was easily the worst (But still not bad. Grading on a curve here.) I've had on a cruise ship.
- To be fair, I probably wouldn't like "freestyle" dining either. When we did Beaches resort a couple of years ago it was basically a freestyle dining concept. If you weren't at a restaurant when it opened up you risked waiting 1-2 hours to be seated. So I'd imagine that freestyle on a cruise ship would be similar.
- Best food I've had on a cruise ship, btw, was on Princess. It could've just been that cruise in that year, but they made some killer (to my waistline) souffles.
- They let kids eat at the specialty restaurants. YMMV here, but we like having our kids try the specialty places with us. There's no option for this on DCL, so we missed out.
- I do like things like the rock wall and flow rider on Royal.
- Agreed with others on the DCL service. Just really good all around. But with that said, the service I've gotten on Royal and Princess were also quite good, if not quite up to where DCL was.
- Movie theatre on DCL is nice. Sure it's almost all Disney movies, but if I paid $4 billion for Lucasfilm I'd be running Star Wars marathons non-stop. Mind you, I'd retcon the prequels out of existence and make the Thrawn trilogy episodes 7-9 (I did like TFA and TLJ though), but I digress.
- I liked the centrum on DCL Fantasy. Some of the entertainment happening AT the centrum though - not so much. But I'm going to pin this one on the cruise director, as you shouldn't be scheduling entertainment at the same time that people are trying to get into Royal Court.
- Entertainment-wise, it's hard to beat Disney for their Broadway-style musicals. Really wasn't into the ones on Royal. The cirque-style aqua shows on the Oasis class are amazing. Feature performers I've seen on Royal though, are not that entertaining imo. Good at what they do, yes, but if Maximus were to ask me if I was not entertained, I'd have to say "no". I did read that they had an a capella group on Harmony last week, and I would've been into that.

I mean, most of these are really just a subjective "I like A better than B" thing, and it wouldn't prevent me from sailing DCL. The pool thing is a big one for me though. No way around that I'm afraid.

At the end of the day, we can tell you about our experiences on various cruise lines, but nothing replaces firsthand experience and that's the only way to know if DCL is "right" for you or not. Just don't, you know, take a 3-4 day Carnival booze cruise.

I know, super wordy. Sorry but thanks guys!

Wordy is what we do here. No worries.

 

[Trera]

Here is how I sum up my feelings about DCL.

My middle daughter is 18 and told us she wants to do a cruise this summer with her friends.....................I told her that she could as long as it was a Disney cruise.

Just think the friendliness of the staff, cleanliness, family environment is what is really great. I have been on many cruises where the cruise staff is hitting on cruisers.................this is not acceptable.

 

[Dug720]

Here is how I sum up my feelings about DCL.

My middle daughter is 18 and told us she wants to do a cruise this summer with her friends.....................I told her that she could as long as it was a Disney cruise.

Just think the friendliness of the staff, cleanliness, family environment is what is really great. I have been on many cruises where the cruise staff is hitting on cruisers.................this is not acceptable.

Absolutely. Plus other cruisers. I am much more comfortable going to a lounge as a solo cruiser on a DCL ship than I was on RCCL (I can't say about HAL as I was with a group even though I was solo).

 

[LizGirl]

I recently tried NCL Epic for a girls' getaway with no kids.

The good:

• I liked not having assigned servers on NCL and being more free to go where we want for dinner. I'm not really into dressing up for dinner every night. Throwing on shorts and a t-shirt to go to the buffet was nice.

The not as good:

• General cleanliness was not as good as DCL. The cabin was pretty clean but things like the window ledges in the buffet area were visibly dirty and needed to be wiped down.
• I hate towel cards and having to keep track of one precious beach towel.
• Customer service was friendly but not overly helpful. We had to do the leg work to correct their mistake.

I'd cruise NCL again but probably not with my kids until they are older (currently 10 & 8). Basically, if going on a cheaper cruise means I can go on more, I'll go for the cheaper cruise. DCL is definitely the gold standard but I don't need everything to be perfect all the time.

 

[Dug720]

I'm still scheduled for the Celebrity Edge in February...but I'm about 95% sure I am going to cancel that one. Too much unknown combining a new-to-me cruiseline AND a new-to-market ship for me to really feel comfortable with it. I have until the end of September to make my decision 100% one way or another.