Disney Cruise versus Other cruise + WDW vacay...what would you do?

[sprinklesofpixiedust]

Hi all,
We are a family of 5 and my hubby surprised us on Christmas with a 2021 vacation. He has given us the choice of either doing a Disney Cruise (3 day) or a 3 day Carnival cruise plus several days at WDW (unless I am able to find some kind of mega awesome land and sea Disney cruise deal.)
I know that Disney cruises are supposed to be amazing...but amazing enough to pass both a cruise plus several days at WDW for probably the same price? Any input would be appreciated! We have never been on a Disney cruise but the general consensus from the kids is to do the cruise/WDW combo.

We also will probably have to go to WDW during the summer due to my kids' school schedule, which we have never done before (always been to WDW in fall and winter.) How bad is June crowd-wise? I know it's going to be bad but the crowd calendar only goes to June for 2020 so it's hard to gauge exactly how bad it will be.

Thank you!!

 

[CaptainJack4077913]

We have done Carnival and Disney cruises and Disney cruises are better than Carnival cruises, but they're not that much better. We eventually stopped going on Disney cruises simply because they were so much more expensive than other options. If you do WDW and the Carnival cruise, you can get away for longer and you won't miss that much by not sailing on Disney.

 

[sprinklesofpixiedust]

We have done Carnival and Disney cruises and Disney cruises are better than Carnival cruises, but they're not that much better. We eventually stopped going on Disney cruises simply because they were so much more expensive than other options. If you do WDW and the Carnival cruise, you can get away for longer and you won't miss that much by not sailing on Disney.

Thanks! That's what I'm thinking we will do but wanted feedback from those who have been on a Disney cruise.

 

[tinkerjo]

What a wonderful surprise!!! I have been on 3 Disney Cruises. Family of 5 makes the price go up because you need a bigger stateroom and cruise prices have gone up and unfortunately have priced us out. But all that said, The cruises are AMAZING!!!! The problem is 3 days is not very long. The 5-7 day cruises are way better. There is so much to do and eat!!! Character meets are also way easier than WDW. Castaway Cay is a paradise. My kids all enjoyed cruising (ages 2-adult) but none of them likes the kids clubs. That was OK because I wanted to spend time with them anyway. I have never been on a carnival cruise but the Disney ships look far more superior when you are up against a Carnival ship. You didn’t say how old the kids were or where you live but they usually have pretty good Florida resident rates/ military rates if you are willing to wait last minute( couple months). Honestly, I would probably take the Carnival cruise and short WDW vacation just because it gives you more time away but DCL is an awesome experience that we will never forget

 

[CaptainJack4077913]

I agree that Disney ships are better, but Carnival ships have a lot of fun things for families too. They have movies under the stars, a pool, mini golf, activities, etc. Especially since you're only looking at a 3 day cruise, you won't run out of things to do on Carnival.

 

[mjkacmom]

We’ve done a DCL 3 night cruise and the rest NCL. For us, DCL was not worth the extra $. We took that cruise after 6 nights at the BC in a 2 bedroom villa, and even being at the tail end of our vacation, 3 nights was not enough. After that, we stuck to 7 night cruises.

 

[CaptainJack4077913]

We’ve done a DCL 3 night cruise and the rest NCL. For us, DCL was not worth the extra $. We took that cruise after 6 nights at the BC in a 2 bedroom villa, and even being at the tail end of our vacation, 3 nights was not enough. After that, we stuck to 7 night cruises.

I agree. I think if we had unlimited money we would sail on Disney, but since we don't it's just not worth the cost.

 

[KayaWildfire]

Having done both carnival and dcl, do the carnival cruise. Disney is awesome, but not that much more so and cruises just never replaced the parks for us. We honestly thought the food was better on carnival too.

 

[Specter]

No first hand experience but DW and I have looked longingly at DCL for trips, but we just can't justify the significant jump in price. We've heard nothing but good things about DCL but when it's nearly double the cost we just can't bring ourselves to pull the trigger on it. We love Disney, going in March, and we love cruising, but until DCL rates are a bit more in line with industry standard I don't think that we'll cruise with them, unfortunately.

 

[NicoleK219]

I have done Disney, Carnival and Royal Caribbean although I had a great time on the DCL it was not much better than the other cruise lines to justify the price difference.

 

[Macprincess]

Family of five here. Two questions, are you flying or driving to Florida? How old are your children?

I have done both a Carnival and many Disney Cruises... My family much prefers DCL...While we might consider doing a Carnival or Royal Caribbean again we absolutely would not do a 3 day on Carnival again with kids or even teenagers. Sorry, but for us it would be fine if hubby and I were traveling alone or with adult friends, but not with the children. We found it to be a big time party cruise with tons of people getting the most out of their drink package. Yes, their were family activities, but as a Mom I found it hard to relax and enjoy myself, as I felt I always trying to keep tabs on our three kids who were teens at the time. On DCL we allowed our children, once they were teens, to come and go to the teen club, pools, movies ect as long as they check in regularly. They had to stay together and had ground rules they were required to follow but I felt much more at ease allowing more freedom on DCL ships. Personally, we find everything a step or two or three above on a DCL over Carnival.

Again, I don't know the ages of your kids, but is there anyway to take the children out of school for the week. If you can travel when school is in it will be a lot less expensive. If not, I get it when ours reached a certain age we had to suck it up and pay the higher school break prices. Yet, have you looked at your school calendar closely. Some school get out in May and DCL is less expensive then or some school go back in late August or even September. I would see if a DCL and WDW trip was possible then.

Honestly, I would rather save money staying offsite at WDW and spend the extra for the DCL cruise when cruising with kids. Have you considered an off site condo and possibly cooking a few meals during the WDW portion of the trip? If your driving you could easily bring a crock pot and start a few meals each day before you leave for the parks. We love having an in room washer and dryer in the condo to throw a load in each night. Less laundry when we return home.

Regardless what you decided, I'm sure you will enjoy you time away as a family. Enjoy making those memories!

 

[katyjeka]

We LOVE Disneyworld but find RCCL, NCL, and Princess cruises to be just as nice and A LOT less money. I can't help much with Carnival as I haven't cruised Carnival since 1990!!! I would probably do the cheaper cruise and visit WDW. What a nice surprise and a "fun" problem to have. Happy planning

 

[SandyinMonterey]

I have been a lot of cruises (and cruise lines) and I would not take kids on a Carnival cruise. They are known just for being a party ship. If you can, look into other lines such as Norwegian or Royal Caribbean.

 

[CaptainJack4077913]

We've taken young kids on Carnival cruises and have never had a problem. While some people certainly drink, they don't let it get out of hand. People drink on every cruise and Carnival hasn't been any worse than any of the other cruises we've been on like DCL, NCL, MSC, or Princess.

 

[ldo]

Imho. Dcl is better and great experience. But if you’ve never been on a cruise, you’ll love carnival. Our 1st family cruise was a 5 day carnival and we were thrilled with pretty much everything.
I’d also go with a non-dcl and wdw vacation. However, don’t just limit to carnival. Rccl has very competitive pricing. They have rooms for 5 on many ships. If you are “ultra” or “super” spacious cabin the description will say if it holds 5. I’d also take a 4 day instead of a 3 day. Usually not much more $ and a more relaxing experience. A 3 day is only 2 full days.

 

[stsomewhere]

Without knowing the ages of your kids, it is hard to determine. When our kids were younger, they loved DCL. An advantage is that the kids programs are open all the time and is covered in cruise cost. Carnival kids/teen clubs has a few hours and a few hours there. After a certain time (10pm?) it is an extra fee. My kids loved making friends in the cubs. I would recommend not going to WDW. Look at a 5-7 night cruise on NCL or RCC. One of my kids favorite cruises was Holland America 11 night, There were 18 kids under the age of 17 on board. They got to know the staff and all the kids onboard.

 

[CaptainJack4077913]

Without knowing the ages of your kids, it is hard to determine. When our kids were younger, they loved DCL. An advantage is that the kids programs are open all the time and is covered in cruise cost. Carnival kids/teen clubs has a few hours and a few hours there. After a certain time (10pm?) it is an extra fee. My kids loved making friends in the cubs. I would recommend not going to WDW. Look at a 5-7 night cruise on NCL or RCC. One of my kids favorite cruises was Holland America 11 night, There were 18 kids under the age of 17 on board. They got to know the staff and all the kids onboard.

The kids club on Carnival is open all day, not just sometimes. Both Disney and carnival charge for the kids club late at night. It has been our experience that Disney closes the kids club sometimes during the day, but Carnival never has.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Honestly, if the choice is 3-night DCL vs. 3-night Carnival plus just a few nights at WDW, I would ditch the cruise altogether and just go to WDW for as many days as possible based on your budget. I do not find 3-night cruises relaxing at all. There is not a ton of time to settle in and fully enjoy the ship and ports. Then you will be spending time driving to WDW and then trying to settle in for your few nights there. Why not 6 or 7 night just in WDW? You will have more time to explore the parks and can even use a few of your days to simply enjoy the pool at your resort.

 

[mjkacmom]

Honestly, if the choice is 3-night DCL vs. 3-night Carnival plus just a few nights at WDW, I would ditch the cruise altogether and just go to WDW for as many days as possible based on your budget. I do not find 3-night cruises relaxing at all. There is not a ton of time to settle in and fully enjoy the ship and ports. Then you will be spending time driving to WDW and then trying to settle in for your few nights there. Why not 6 or 7 night just in WDW? You will have more time to explore the parks and can even use a few of your days to simply enjoy the pool at your resort.

Since you’ve never cruised, perhaps skip WDW and just do a 7 day cruise.

 

[Wakey]

I did the CocoCay cruise last year. CocoCay is absolutely phenomenal and much better than Disney's current island- it was the best day's vacation I have ever had (and I go on 4 good vacations a year) that day.