DCL with kids vs without

[darnheather]

Are DCL inside rooms big? We've had 4 in an inside on Princess before. Not ideal, but doable.

We've only had 3 people in them but I think it's wonderful. Most lines have bunk beds over the main bed. On DCL there is an entire living area where the couch makes out into a bed and in the four person rooms a bunk above that. My oldest daughter tends to get in around 2am so having her climb over top of me would be horrible. On DCL my younger daughter comes to bed and closes the curtain and we never get woken up by the other one.

 

[mike314]

I just did my first cruise on the Dream this summer with my wife (we don't have kids yet) and we ventured into the 18+ areas and you can totally escape from kids and it is very nice, quiet, and relaxing. It definitely gave it a different feel. Either way with or without kids I think you'll have more fun on DCL.

 

[Shanti]

Are DCL inside rooms big? We've had 4 in an inside on Princess before. Not ideal, but doable.

We've sailed twice in inside staterooms (the standard ones that hold 3 people, not the deluxe ones that hold 4 people), and found them attractive and comfortable.

 

[PrincessTrisha]

We just got back from a fantastic first Disney Dream cruise with 10 people (age range 6-50). Our only other cruise was 20+ years ago on Carnival. We are now planning an adult only (girls trip) and are debating Disney, RC and Carnival. I know that many of you on the boards have sailed more than just Disney. I'd love to get some opinions! Here are our details: 4 women (age 42-75), one needs a scooter to get around, Caribbean itinerary (no Bahamas). We would love a ship at least as big as Dream and with food at least as good as Dream. Thank you for any input!

I would choose a cruise on another line - that way you could get two cabins for less than 4 people sharing on DCL.

I would recommend a large Carnival ship like the Breeze or the Horizon. And maybe look into Spa cabins.....or if you're cruising on the Horizon, Havana cabins.

The Horizon does an 8 night out of Miami that goes to Grand Turk, La Romana, Curacao and Aruba.

They even have accessible ocean view spa cabins if the person on the scooter needs it (scooters can't be kept in the hallways and often people with mobility issues need the accessible grab bars and no step entry to the bathrooms).

 

[GrrArrgh]

I don't think I'd do a Disney cruise with an adult group unless all the adults are really into Disney. I mean yeah, it's not in-your-face Disney like in the parks, but a lot of what people are there for is the Disney touches and how many things there are that appeal to kids. We just brought my mom with us on a DCL cruise and I don't think she really enjoyed it. She enjoyed the violinist, but not so much Twice Charmed, Rapunzel or the other productions. At one point, she was like, "well, I don't live and breathe Disney like you do." And this is a person who had previously told us she wanted to come to Disneyland with us. Soooo yeah.

I have previously really enjoyed Princess and Holland America. I'd really like to try Celebrity -- I've heard their food is great. We have an upcoming Alaska cruise on NCL, which I've heard has a number of accessible rooms (even inside) with space to turn around in a wheelchair.

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

Thank you to everyone for your replies! If it were up to me, I'd do Disney only because I love the shows. The other women are leaning away from it because they want a more "adult" cruise. So far we have narrowed things down to Disney Fantasy, Celebrity Equinox, Norwegian Epic and Bliss, Princess Regal and Holland America N Statendam. We ended up with those due to our date restrictions.

So you have specific sailings on specific dates with specific lines. That is really important.

You will hear many people say "DCL is twice (or more) as much." "DCL isn't that much more," etc. It really depends on which sailing you are looking at (summers and holidays cost a lot more and have a lot more kids), so now you are in a position to compare apples to apples and by now you probably know just how much more or less each of your potential cruises will cost each person. Of course, there are different "extra" costs on each line, but you should at least have a good ballpark.

I will say, when I was on the Fantasy and went to the adult areas (or the Fitness Center which is adults only) it was very easy to forget it was a "kids" ship. Plus, sometimes it is fun to be a "kid." My wife, on formal night, asked me to pose for a "Cinderella" shot during the Evening Picture session on the main staircase, with her halfway up the stairs looking back and me, holding her shoe kneeling at the bottom of the staircase. Whimsical stuff. Disney Magic.

I'll also say that the Meridian bar had some very high end drinks, the Skyline (with its ever changing lineup of Famous Cityscapes) had great Martinnis, and the Irish Pub was nice too. So plenty of adult venues, and they are all adults only after 9PM.

 

[cyclenut]

Be very careful when reading opinions on which line has better food. We haven't been on a ton of cruises, but have sampled a few and food quality can vary from line to line, ship to ship or even night to night. I've been on the Wonder most often and I remember getting off one cruise thinking I liked RCL food better then the next time on the Wonder I felt like the food was way better. Our last cruise we had great food three nights and then night four I thought we had changed ships or something. There are so many variables when serving that many guests, not the least of which is guest personal preference. The one thing you get with Disney that I have never experienced on other lines I've sailed is that they really care about food quality. When we have had an issue, we had the chef come to our table the next night to personally apologize.

My wife and I have sailed Disney as adults and also sailed with our adult children. We like DCL because we love Disney and we love the service and vacation experience that Disney offers. What I'm sure you noticed on the Dream, Disney is everywhere you look and everything you hear. While the Disney universe has expanded with Marvel and Star Wars, it's still all Disney all the time. If your party isn't all in on the Disney bandwagon, they may not enjoy a Disney cruise as much as you would.

If you love broadway musicals and big productions, then DCL offers the best option there. My wife and I are picky about show quality (lots of reasons) and there is no comparison really. Disney brings the best talent on board their ships. Carnival knows how to create a production show, but they struggle to execute. Yes, the people on stage are more talented than I am, but that's not saying much. We have also enjoyed the RCL shows, but they just are not as good as Disney, even though we noticed RCL (at least at the time we last sailed) had live orchestra with the production show and DCL does not.

DCL accommodations are very good. I can't speak to how each line compares in terms of accessible rooms since you mentioned one member of the party uses a scooter. You'll want to research that carefully. I've seen scooters on all ships so I don't think that would be a problem wherever you go, but some ships may be better than others for scooters.

Not sure why you have ruled out ships smaller than the Dream. We've sailed the Wonder a few times and would definitely recommend it. Smaller ship does not necessarily mean smaller spaces. It means fewer people for sure. While the Walt Disney Theater is smaller, the relative scale and fewer passengers make it just as grand.

If you really want to learn what other lines are like, there is another message board that caters to cruising in general that I recommend you check out. It's called Cruise Critic.

 

[KashasMom]

Personally, I wouldn't sail DCL without kids (and fwiw, I'd never squeeze 4 people in an inside - 3 is pushing it for us). Which line you choose depends on what you like to do - and that part is really important. Each line has its pros/cons. For us - we don't like NCL entertainment but enjoy just about everything on RCI Oasis class ships. Food has been better on RCI and recently NCL Bliss (although not much else was good there) than on DCL. Other cruise lines have great specialty restaurants as well. I agree with others who say unless everyone is a Disney fan cruise with someone else. I'd suggest reading some sample daily activities paper from possible ships/itineraries that you are interested in. That will give you a good feel for what there is to do during your cruise.

 

[Bethany10]

You will hear many people say "DCL is twice (or more) as much." "DCL isn't that much more," etc. It really depends on which sailing you are looking at (summers and holidays cost a lot more and have a lot more kids), so now you are in a position to compare apples to apples and by now you probably know just how much more or less each of your potential cruises will cost each person. Of course, there are different "extra" costs on each line, but you should at least have a good ballpark.

Ding Ding Ding Ding

DH and I are looking at a 4 night into Key West, no kids. I'm the Disney fan, he's ambivalent. Is the Magic more expensive? yes, but not by that much. The key for us is the stop at Key West which means the big (new) mega ships can't dock there. Therefore we're comparing older, smaller (lovely) ships to Disney's older, smaller (lovely) ships and making the decision using those factors. If we were looking at Europe, Alaska or even a longer Caribbean cruise then I'd look at a different line. But, I feel like the value is there for us in spending the extra for Disney on this particular itinerary.

Truly compare apples to apples to see cost difference, ports and what kind of room you'll get for the money. That's going to give you your answer.

 

[smd8z]

Just wanted to come back and say we ended up booking Norwegian Epic and had a great time! Food was better than Disney in my opinion and the shows were great. The Epic is a much larger ship though with way more people, and you definitely could notice. Instead of a lot of families and young kids, we were on board with 1000s of college Spring Breakers (we cruised mid March). We were expecting it though, so it wasn't a surprise. The ship itself was beautiful and the accessible room was massive. I have to say that the staff, although nice, were no where near the caliber or Disney-nice! Thanks to everyone who helped me with some great advice! Next time we are hoping to try Princess or RC.