Disney Cruise vs. Fill-in-the-Blank Cruise

[DCLDVC1]

.........
"I finally bit the bullet and tried DCL for a Caribbean cruise in October 2019 because it was only $4000 more than RCCL or CCL. And all the people we knew that cruised Disney said it's the best and we'd never go back to other cruise lines. Unfortunately, we discovered that they've never tried other cruise lines (and many of them weren't actually paying for their cruises - their parents/grandparents were taking them and paying for them) - hence, the extra cost didn't matter to them!"
..........

I've noticed the same thing.

 

[shadow1227]

I have done many cruises on several different lines all with kids. I have only done one Disney cruise to “try it” and see if it seemed worth the significantly higher cost. We went in October on a four day because I wanted the lowest price. (For comparison, this four day cruise on Disney cost the same as our 10-day Mediterranean cruise on Carnival and our 10 day Northern Europe/Russia cruise on RCL and twice or more what we have paid typically for the Caribbean cruises we have done ). We didn’t find that big of a difference, and there were many more kids than other cruise lines (not in a good way for us). Here’s something that I think you may find helpful as a “research angle” when making your decisions. Cruise lines license different characters/programming. So, depending on what your kids enjoy, they may like the children’s programming on different lines. Carnival has Cat in the Hat, including a green eggs and ham breakfast with music and dancing characters, a parade and stage show (kids can sit on the stage) and other things that vary by ship, Princess has partnered with Discovery Channel and had really great science programming including some people from Shark Week, the kids camp had a special reservation at the dance club where they got glow sticks and had a dance party that was shark themed and the parents did a dance off to....you guessed it.....baby shark (sorry that is now stuck in everyone’s head that reads this) RCL had some licensed characters but I think that’s changing but they still had an impressive array of kids and family programming and even Holland America (we were surprised by this) had a lot going on for kids. I actually didn’t like our Norwegian cruises very much (only two) I won’t go into alllll the details because we don’t know what kids activities will look like when cruising reopens. I just wanted to bring it up bc MANY people we met on the Disney cruise had not cruised any other line and didn’t know that other cruises had kids clubs and activities and kid exclusive pools (yes even Holland America had a kid pool!) if you have any specific questions you can PM me we have cruised A LOT —one of my kids first words was Lido....(bc the elevators say it) and despite being only 7 she is second from top tier in the loyalty programs on three different lines.....staff often do a double take at her lanyard haha.
Edited to add that one major difference on Disney that is very important for some parents is that the kids club doesn’t seaparate by age, so if a sibling group wants to play together they can. Different cruise lines hane different categories and locations for age groups to do age appropriate programming. We didn’t really like the all ages thing as older kids were trampling the little ones despite the cruise staff doing their best to manage behavior.

This is super helpful. Great post - thank you! I'll look into the different kids programs as you mentioned, and I am a stickler on the age separation because of exactly what you said. Older kids who don't have younger siblings (or even those that do) sometimes just don't pay attention to the younger ones and trampling as you say, often happens. Haha. Thanks again!

 

[shadow1227]

We are avid cruisers and DVC members (and LOVE DISNEY).... but DCL was a one and done for us!

We cruise RCCL, CCL, and NCL pretty regularly and have tried Celebrity once as well. We took NCL to Alaska 3 summers ago and chose it because it went to Glacier Bay, was a one way cruise from Vancouver (so we could extend our trip by a week afterward in Alaska) and because it was $10,000 cheaper than DCL. Yes that's right....$10,000 CHEAPER. (And on DCL we would have been cruising in connecting cabins with a window vs connecting cabins with balconies). We are a family of 5 (now 8 year old, 14 year old, and 16 year old). I finally bit the bullet and tried DCL for a Caribbean cruise in October 2019 because it was only $4000 more than RCCL or CCL. And all the people we knew that cruised Disney said it's the best and we'd never go back to other cruise lines. Unfortunately, we discovered that they've never tried other cruise lines (and many of them weren't actually paying for their cruises - their parents/grandparents were taking them and paying for them) - hence, the extra cost didn't matter to them!

Disney is GREAT for parents of toddlers and small children - in fact, they may not want to leave the kids clubs on DCL. My husband and I work quite a bit so we really want to spend time with our kids on vacations. (But for all you stay at home parents - you may need a break from your kids because you see them all day, every day....this could be a perk for some families!) However, on all other cruise lines, when I went to pick up my daughter from kids club - all of the staff knew who she was and went to get her. On DCL, they made me GO FIND HER among 200 other children in a giant kids club. They don't know your children at all on DCL. One night it took me nearly 15 minutes to find her and I almost had a meltdown because no one would help me find her. That kids club is HUGE on DCL. They told me "she's in this area" based on her GPS location. I finally found her and I was pretty upset by then.

Food: We all found the food to be very bland on DCL and voted it 5th (last) out of all of the other cruise lines we've tried (Celebrity won top awards for food). They also put all 5 of us at a table for 4 at the restaurants on DCL (we usually sit at a large table for 6 on other cruise lines). This made dinner cramped and uncomfortable when they just threw a chair at the end. The dining rooms were also so loud on DCL (with such a loud roar that we had difficulty hearing out youngest child across the table). What can I say....hundreds of small children are loud. And although I LOVE KIDS, I found the amount of kids on DCL was WAY too much for us. They seemed to outnumber the adults in almost every area. RCCL and CCL have great food (but Carnival wins by far for best pool side food- you don't get poolside food on RCCL). I dream about Guy's Burger Bar at night....

Cabins: The shower ceiling was only about 5'10" tall on DCL (so my husband's head brushed the ceiling while in the shower). For all of you tall guys and girls, you'll have to stoop in the shower. The cabins on DCL were nice but since we usually cruise in Junior Suites on RCCL (for a much lower price) they were inferior to what we are used to.

Pools:/Water areas: Way better on most other cruise lines. Other cruise lines have giant splash pads, multiple pools, and multiple water slides. DCL had one slide with a 2-4 hour line. (We only rode it once because we waited 2 hours in line on a port day). On other cruise lines the wait times for a slide are 5-10 minutes most days. Maybe 20 minutes on a sea day because they have multiple slides.

Daytime Activity: RCCL has the most to do during sea days so this is our favorite for daytime activity. They have shows during the day, water activities, escape rooms, 3D movies, zip lining, rock climbing, boogie boarding/surfing simulators, ice skating, etc. You can't even do it all in a week! We were bored on sea days on DCL because character meet and greets can only entertain you so far.

Entertainment: For us, the shows are so much better on other cruise lines, but I prefer adult shows, adult comedy, etc. We walked out of shows 3 times on DCL which is unusual for us. They weren't bad, they were just geared for 5 year olds. (And I'm not offended by adult content, raunchy comedy....I find it hilarious). The Aqua Theater shows on the Oasis Class RCCL ships are AMAZING and so are their stage shows. Carnival theater shows can sometimes be mediocre but they clearly spend their money on comedians, so if you like comedy shows, CCL is the best for this. The stage shows on other lines are wonderful as well. I'm not a gambler but there are casinos on other lines if you're into that. Just beware the smoke....

Nightlife: I found the nightlife to be non-existent on DCL. (Maybe lots of parents of young children were going to be early). The bars were almost empty on DCL. It was so odd. The bars are HOPPING on CCL - until the wee hours. We love to bar hop in the evening on CCL. If you love to dance, CCL is the best for that - people are DANCING at the parties!

Drinks: CCL wins this hands down. They make the best darn cocktails! We usually get the full beverage package so we can try out new drinks (and since we don't have to drive anywhere) and this always makes it a lot of fun for us. For those who don't like to be around adults drinking, this could be a deal breaker. CCL also includes specialty coffees with this package so we like this in the mornings.

Staff: DCL wins this by far! They just go out of their way to please you. However, our staff has always been great on other cruise lines and we haven't had a terrible experience with any of them.

Private Island: They all look the same to me. I didn't find DCL's island to be better than CCL or RCCL's (or NCL's) ....however, Cococay may blow these all away (we haven't been there yet.

My advice: Try DCL once! You may find it's worth the money for you! And it may fit your family perfectly! You might want to try a shorter cruise or Caribbean cruise which would be less than the Alaskan cruise. Although we can easily afford DCL, I didn't find the value to be there for me since I found it to be a similar product to other lines. And for my older kids, there was much more to do for them on other cruise lines. Good luck!

Thanks for all the insights! I think trying it once might be the route to go. Especially a shorter one to get the experience. But not knowing what we're going to come back to when it all opens up is probably something I'll need to consider. Herding 200+ kids is probably not something that's going to be normal practice anymore, I'd imagine. Thanks again!

 

[shadow1227]

Different view: my younger kids didn’t care!! I’m glad I saved the $. My under 10 kids loved the kids clubs, crafts, water play areas, Putt putt, movies by the pool and (“not as good”) shows of other cruiselines. Even eating in the cafeteria type dining was fun for them. They had a ball on royal carib island in the kids club playing in the sand. We didn’t sail on dcl until youngest was 9 and we didn’t miss it at all. Imho other cruise lines do a good job with kids clubs. My 5-9 yr old kids loved simple games, crafts, etc. I was actually disappointed with dcl. My kids said they preferred akl community hall. I wondered why, so I Watched for a while. Bolder kids seems to have fun, but counselors didn’t seem to notice when shy kids got left out. It was Easter, so maybe just overloaded. On balance, Older DD loved preteen/teen clubs.
As older tweens/teens, they loved dcl for themed dining shows characters movies. Now, We’re usually willing to pay more for dcl.

That is a different view. I'd have imagined the opposite - youngers like it more and olders care less. I think my kids just want different things to do, and if they can do that, that's probably the winner. Thanks for the helpful feedback!

 

[ninergrl6]

I went to Alaska on Holland America. I loved the service and the food equal (although not the same) to DCL.
The entertainment was horrible though. Evening shows were boring (many people walked out). During the day activities were a joke. We were bored on seas days and went to bed early each night.
When it comes to excursions, I don't think there is really a difference.

I also went to Alaska on HAL and had horrible service, by far the worst of any of the 4 cruise lines I've tried. On the other hand, our entertainment was great (IMO) because it was a Twilight-themed fan cruise so every day we had special events like Family Feud, costume contests, photo ops with actors from the movies, etc. I don't know what the other cruisers did that weren't part of our group, but we had FUN. That and the beautiful scenery made up for the awful HAL service. Go figure -- two totally opposite experiences for basically the same cruise.

 

[mevelandry]

Boy, you’ve given me a lot to think about! I have a September cruise booked on the Fantasy, with my 2 adult children, who happen to have Down syndrome. I’ve been wondering, since they are too old for the teen club, if they’ll even get bored! They loved pools and slides and swimming, and geez, sounds like I can get that on any other cruise line for a fraction of the money. ho hum . . . What to do . . .

They would love a Royal Caribbean ship I think. They have the best pools and waterslides!

 

[Chrissy-Mickey]

I also went to Alaska on HAL and had horrible service, by far the worst of any of the 4 cruise lines I've tried. On the other hand, our entertainment was great (IMO) Go figure -- two totally opposite experiences for basically the same cruise.

True! It's hard to not judge a cruise line on that one/first bad experience though. We've been on Celebrity once, and the food and service were BAD (we even had an upgraded experience with a special restaurant and everything). Never again!
HAL I'm willing to cruise with again; we'll just be ready for the lack of entertainment.

 

[NashvilleMama]

The price difference is just astronomical. I really wanted to be able to justify DCL for an Alaska cruise, but Princess won out (booked for 2020, so suffice it to say we haven't actually done this yet and so can't speak to the actual experience.) But the extensive research I did made me feel VERY confident about our choice. The only hesitation, as mentioned above, is how the kids clubs are split by age. That can be a big deal depending on your travel party, and apparently they're 100% rigorous about adhering to those age groupings without exception.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

The price difference is just astronomical. I really wanted to be able to justify DCL for an Alaska cruise, but Princess won out (booked for 2020, so suffice it to say we haven't actually done this yet and so can't speak to the actual experience.) But the extensive research I did made me feel VERY confident about our choice. The only hesitation, as mentioned above, is how the kids clubs are split by age. That can be a big deal depending on your travel party, and apparently they're 100% rigorous about adhering to those age groupings without exception.

The only exceptions I've read about on Princess say that they will, on occasion, allow kids to "age down" (rather than "ageing up") to be with siblings. And, funnily, most older kids don't want to do that.

 

[tinkerone]

We are in the group that tried DCL first and thought it was amazing, which it was. Doing research, especially on these boards, told us we should never leave because we will be nickel and dimed to death, get smaller cabins, get lower quality food, have to put up with drunks, you name it. We bought into it. We are Platinum. Sadly it was years before I discovered this was not going to be our experience. After speaking with a client at work I decided to look into RCCL. Half the price but would I get half the service as well? NOPE! We found it to be as good as, and in some areas, better than DCL. Full disclosure, we have not small children. We did take our adult children on DCL and they loved it to but mainly for the adult only areas. Come to find out that the adult only areas on the Oasis class ships blow DCL out of the water. Did not see one child in the area where as I have never gone a whole cruise on DCL without seeing children at least walking through the adult only area, it's hard to prevent that as it is a walkway through. I don't drink a lot and DH doesn't drink at all but we purchased drink packages which includes sparkling water, still water, smoothies, wine, mixed drinks, beer, specialty coffees, soda, fresh squeezed orange juice. You could use these packages on deck, at dinner, on their private island. Grab a bottle or two of water on your way to an excursion. We didn't worry about a bill at the end of the cruise.
Wifi, do your kids use it a lot, say for streaming? RCCL has a package that is unlimited. I don't even go near wifi on DCL. Way to expensive. Some people like unplugging on vacation but I like to have access to email and I like to stream while lying by the pool.
Dining, DCL is great because of the dinner shows but as someone above mentioned, it can get loud and you can miss a lot of what's being said. Dinner shows aren't every night though. You also have a set time to dine and if that doesn't fit your needs on a particular day then you can get room service or a piece of pizza/burger by the pool. On RCCL you can do 'My time dining' where you can go to the dinning room any time you please. They don't have much in the way of dinner shows. They have a few things that involve the waiters marching through the dinning rooms but it's not something to write home about. If you don't want to do the dinning room they always have the buffet open and it is huge. I was on my third sailing before I found out they offered a noodle bar. DCL has two specialty dinning rooms to pick from. RCCL has six. Wonderland was by far our favorite, it is themed to Wonderland and the menu is as well. Something to keep in mind, DCL does not allow anyone under 18 in their specialty dinning, RCCL has no restrictions. We have never had a problem with children being loud or bothersome at dinner so no worry there.
I have done lots of research on sizes of the cabins and have not found a huge difference between the two lines. It's a matter of a few square feet. Not something you would notice. RCCL does not have a split bathroom but it didn't make much of a difference.
They have loads of stuff for kids to do although I can't talk about the kids clubs. Most everything was talked about in an earlier post so I won't repeat it all. I will say their water show is equivalent to Cirque du Soleil. Mouth dropping!
Everything I have said above pertains to RCCL Oasis class ships only as that is all we have done. I'm happy with this class of ship and will continue to sail it. The other thing I will mention is that we have only sailed the Caribbean, I prefer hot, hate cold, so Alaska has always been a big no for me.
We haven't completely written off DCL, we have a family cruise booked for early 2022. That is to celebrate our grandsons 5th birthday. It has always been a right of passage to take our children/grandchildren to WDW for their 5th. This time we decided that maybe WDW would be to much for the entire family and we would bring it down a notch by doing the cruise instead. Maybe a few days at WDW to start with, we will see.
Whatever you decide, enjoy! And remember, If you sail DCL first make sure you do something else second so you can make up your own mind.

 

[Blondie58]

I did ABD to Alaska and it was amazing although not a cruise. You can look at the itinerary on ABD site. Better expereince than it reads on the website. I did a small ship cruise of about 90 people with American Cruise Lines to Alaska as we wanted the small intimate expereince with lots of land options and site seeing. LOVED IT! However, we have a DisneyCruise booked if it happens this fall.

 

[kathi]

We have sailed 20 DCL cruises but decided to try Celebrity for Alaska 2021 (now 2022). For a port intensive cruise, we just couldn't justify the cost of DCL. We are in a suite which was the same cost as a veranda on DCL. We have cruise concierge maybe 50% of our DCL sailings, so it will be interesting to compare those services as well. Our daughter really stopped liking the clubs when she aged out of the lab, so that was also not a consideration for us. I will absolutely report back next year and let you all know how it goes. Food, service and quality are all really important to us - my TA says we will be happy and I trust her. I just have to be prepared for no Disney magic. (We have 3 DCL cruises booked for 2021/2022, so it's not like we are giving up on them.)

 

[AJA55]

You have a lot of great info here. It was interesting for me to read.

My two cents? I haven’t sailed with children. But I have tried four different lines. Disney, Norwegian, Carnival and Royal. All had good and all had some not so good. Best meal I have had was on Norwegian and worst was Disney.

That one best meal was at a specialty restaurant. Mom commented that it was the best meal that she ever had. I said on all the ships we have been on? She stated “No, ever, anywhere.” We did the same meal, same restaurant on another ship and nope. No repeats. Lesson learned, each ship, day, island excursion, current employee, hour, weather, can make a big difference in one’s experience.

So with that said, I don't find the Disney line so much better than the other lines that I would pay their price again. Well maybe some time. But really, the new ships of the other lines that have all the bells and whistles are wonderful.

Here’s hoping that you have a excellent trip whatever line you choose.

 

[auntlynne]

Boy, you’ve given me a lot to think about! I have a September cruise booked on the Fantasy, with my 2 adult children, who happen to have Down syndrome. I’ve been wondering, since they are too old for the teen club, if they’ll even get bored! They loved pools and slides and swimming, and geez, sounds like I can get that on any other cruise line for a fraction of the money. ho hum . . . What to do . . .

If they are big Disney fans, it could be fun. There is the water slide. Pools are small on nearly every cruise ship, although Princess seemed a bit bigger with their indoor ones (but lots of chlorine in the air).

With a September date, you possibly need to check out options in case it’s cancelled...

We are ready to jump ship to Celebrity for the price next time we go to Alaska.

They would love a Royal Caribbean ship I think. They have the best pools and waterslides!

My college-aged niece and I sailed Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas on a 7-night Western Caribbean. It was a floating city. Both in a good and bad way. Lots of activities and dining options. But lacking the intimacy of the (smaller) Disney ships (like the Wonder in AK). Their water theater was a fun and different entertainment.

 

[Heather07438]

I've been an on-and-off-again DL passholder for the past 15 years. Probably 8 or 9 of those years. I enjoy Disney and my under-8 y/o kids do too. I get the whole "Disney does it better" and believe that they do. I've been on one cruise with Norwegian about 10 years ago. SO and I thoroughly enjoyed it and would do it again, but then we had kids, so things changed. Haha. Kids are at an age now where they're old enough to enjoy the cruise (not throwing shade to those who take younger kids, more power to you), so I wanted to pose the question to see the responses. Assuming it's a normal year, compare the advantages and disadvantages of DCL vs. another brand. I can only compare it to my one trip on NCL, which was awesome. But we didn't have kids, so I could see that having kids might change the experience. 4 total in the fam. It's very hard for me to look beyond pricing, and wanted input on what makes it so much more expensive, or really, what makes the experience better/different. My one experience was awesome - and it didn't break the bank. In my head, I feel like I could justify going on a non-DCL cruise and just renew passes for the same price as going on a DCL cruise. But there's something I'm missing, so let me know!

A quick search for June 2022 RT sailings to Alaska:

1. DCL - cost per person for inside is 2.1k per person
2. Multiple others - cost per person for inside is $650 - 1k per person

We're talking reputable cruise brands (I may not have gone on many cruises, but I've done research on them) and even higher quality ones. What am I actually paying 1k per person for DCL that provides something over Princess, Celebrity, Holland, etc? I'd love dialogue on both sides of the aisle, and I'll provide feedback/questions to anyone who posts. It's the one thing that reading multiple articles online can't really do, so I'd enjoy the dialogue. Thanks in advance!

Glad you started this board. DH and I recently discussed this. Haven’t tried DCL yet and wondered if we should at some point. Very interested to read the different perspectives.

 

[mevelandry]

If they are big Disney fans, it could be fun. There is the water slide. Pools are small on nearly every cruise ship, although Princess seemed a bit bigger with their indoor ones (but lots of chlorine in the air).

With a September date, you possibly need to check out options in case it’s cancelled...

We are ready to jump ship to Celebrity for the price next time we go to Alaska.



My college-aged niece and I sailed Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas on a 7-night Western Caribbean. It was a floating city. Both in a good and bad way. Lots of activities and dining options. But lacking the intimacy of the (smaller) Disney ships (like the Wonder in AK). Their water theater was a fun and different entertainment.

It could be a smaller ship like the Mariner?

 

[belle032]

Full disclosure: we don't have children, but we've sailed DCL twice, once on the Dream in the Bahamas and once to the British Isles on the Magic. I can't compare Alaska unfortunately (our September sailing on the NCL Encore was cancelled ), but our BI sailing was along those lines - colder climate and more port intensive.

We loved our DCL staterooms and the rotational dining. The ships themselves were lovely. Theater shows were wonderful and definitely up to Disney standards. Food was fine - not better or worse than any other line we've tried. Service was wonderful, but then again, we've honestly had wonderful service on each and every ship we've ever sailed on. And we had an amazing time on both of our DCL sailings! But we missed things like late-night entertainment (and by late night I mean 10-11PM) and the opportunity to purchase a beverage package (it's like the Dining Plan at WDW for us. We aren't drunks, but having that convenience of prepaying for drinks is sooooo worth it for us).

And to be completely honest, I have to say the first and only time we've ever been bored on a cruise ship was during our sea days on the DCL Magic in the BI. Because of the colder climate, activities were indoors (understandably) and seemed very limited to trivia and bingo. We lucked out and met some wonderful people, but I think a newer & bigger ship would have offered more activities and alleviated some of that for sure.

Carnival is generally our go-to for the Caribbean, but we chose Norwegian for Alaska mainly because of the itinerary and it offers those larger, newer ships with more activities. DCL also doesn't visit Glacier Bay, which was pretty much a deal breaker right there. It also doesn't offer anything "new & different" in terms of port stops from what I can see.

For cost difference, I would book another line in a second. I still highly recommend trying DCL to see if it's a good fit for your family, but I'd book a Bahamas/Caribbean sailing with the money you're saving from sailing another line to Alaska!

Don't get me wrong, we LOVE DISNEY. However, the cost vs. the value we get from DCL is not there for us. And that opinion might completely change if we had young children (no direct experience with the Kid's Clubs obviously, but we did peek in and they look awesome), but in terms of itineraries, ships, activities, service, dining, and everything else, DCL just doesn't justify those kinds of price differences.

I've always said on these boards that you need to determine what vacations and cruise lines are best for your family, but we have learned to get our Disney fix at WDW.

Boy, you’ve given me a lot to think about! I have a September cruise booked on the Fantasy, with my 2 adult children, who happen to have Down syndrome. I’ve been wondering, since they are too old for the teen club, if they’ll even get bored! They loved pools and slides and swimming, and geez, sounds like I can get that on any other cruise line for a fraction of the money. ho hum . . . What to do . . .

Our sailing on the Dream included my younger brother with Down Syndrome! He's 26 and shares my Disney loving heart completely! He also adores waterslides and pools. We did the AquaDunk (loved it!), but be prepared to wait in line just to ride it. That was the one downside. And he tried doing the smaller slides in the Kid's area, but the CM stopped him as he was too old. I didn't fight them about it, I understand it's for children and we were technically in the wrong, but he was a bit disappointed in that. But we all spent time in the adult pool and up on top at Satellite Falls, and he was fine. If you're really looking for better slides and pools though, other cruise lines with newer & bigger ships might have DCL beat in that department.

Like I said above, we determined that WDW is best for us to get our Disney fix, but still give DCL a try! Especially if your children love Disney! You'll never know and you may find it absolutely perfect for you and your family.

 

[MelSD6876]

Its also important to have a look at what other activities are available onboard. For example if you were to go to alaska on Royals ovation you also have bumper cars, flo rider, trapeze, North star, indoor sky diving, kids splash pad etc, but if you were to go on a older ship you would probably have non of that.
Disney tend not to have as many 'active' activities onbaord.

If you were to utilise kids clubs, disney keeps all ages together and is more of a free for all where as other lines provide structured age appropriate clubs. Doesn't make one right or wrong, its just preference.

(Over on the Royal page i wrote a (long but detailed) comparison of the DCL/RCCL kids clubs after working 5 contracts in each.)

Also look at the ports the lines go to, if that's an important factor to you.

Could I ask where the Royal page you mention is? We are very new to cruising and I’m trying to figure this all out. Thanks for the info you shared!

 

[DisneyParkLover]

We love cruising all lines. I personally love DCL, but I doubt I’ll sail with them to Alaska unless I find a terrific deal. Alaska is such a port heavy cruise that I don’t spend that much time on the ship. Also, it’s usually chilly so I’m not as inclined to use the pool areas. So that takes out quite a bit of what makes Disney worth the extra money for me. I like to cruise DCL when I know I’m going to be spending a lot of time onboard enjoying the ship and that’s not Alaska.

 

[bbel]

Could I ask where the Royal page you mention is? We are very new to cruising and I’m trying to figure this all out. Thanks for the info you shared!

Here's a link to it.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/my-comparison-ish-of-royals-and-disneys-kids-clubs.3756878/
Its super long, and probably completely out of date as it was written back when Corona was just a beer....
But hopefully still helpful.