Disney Cruises Competition Comparison

[Stryker927]

Hi,

My family and I are looking into our first cruise next in 2013. Since we are such big Disney fans we are obviously interested in the Disney Cruises however after comparing prices Disney is quite a bit more expensive than Royal Caribbean or Carnival. I have heard bad things about Carnival so I was leaning more towards a comparison to Royal Caribbean. Other than the "Disney difference" that makes things so magical, what are the major differentiators for you that make a Disney cruise worth the extra expense? Thanks for your feedback!

 

[Melissa S]

I cannot speak for other cruise lines since we have only done Disney, but the feedback from other family members who have is that with cruises you really do pay for what you get. The service is amazing, the food is great, and the rooms are larger than other lines. I think the big deciding factor is whether or not you have younger children (vs. teens or grown children). This is not to say that Disney is not for adults, but Royal Carribean is also a great cruise line for adults. My parents went a couple months ago and loved it. We have a two year old and she really did have a magical time on the cruises. She loves the one on one interaction she gets with the characters. She had a full "conversation" with Belle in the hallway one day and on Pirate night she got to dance with Chip- experiences that are rare in the theme parks and non existent on other cruise lines. My husband and I love the family atmosphere and there are plenty of activites that we can do as a family such as dance parties and trivia. There are no casinos and since you can bring your own alcohol we have not experienced crazy drunk people walking around (although we haven't stayed up past 11pm lol). THat being said I would not recommend Disney as your first since you will be HOOKED and forever RUINED. I have talked with people that have done Disney and then another line and they hated it because their expectations were too high. Good Luck on your decision!

 

[bmer1rick]

Here is a good TR that highlights the differences to help you make your decision...

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2810383&highlight=rccl

 

[Who's your Mickey?]

Hi,

My family and I are looking into our first cruise next in 2013. Since we are such big Disney fans we are obviously interested in the Disney Cruises however after comparing prices Disney is quite a bit more expensive than Royal Caribbean or Carnival. I have heard bad things about Carnival so I was leaning more towards a comparison to Royal Caribbean. Other than the "Disney difference" that makes things so magical, what are the major differentiators for you that make a Disney cruise worth the extra expense? Thanks for your feedback!

It's all in what you are looking for:

People on this board will rave about the "little things" that Disney does better. They'll tell you about free sodas and servers that remember your name and drink preferences etc. Parents rave about their assistant waiter cutting their child's food or showing them a magic trick after dinner. Remember, this is a pro-Disney board and most posters are blinded by pixie dust.

There are servers on RCCL and CCL that do the exact same things as DCL servers. The good servers will all do that. There are great servers, ok servers and lousy servers on all major cruise lines. The same goes with bartenders, pool servers etc. DCL is no different. The worst waiter I've ever had on a cruise ship was on a DCL ship.

There really is no such thing as free soda. RCCL and CCL offer a soda card per person for the duration of your cruise if you wish to purchase it. DCL builds it into the cost of the cruise. And if you order a soda at a bar or lounge, DCL will charge you for it. There are self service soda stations on the pool deck and at pool deck buffet restaurants. Soda is also available in the dining room at no additional charge.

Magic and Wonder both have a reputation for cabins larger than the industry average. I won't dispute that. However, the same can not be said for Dream and Fantasy. The average cabins on the Dream-class ships have plenty of room, but are no larger than comparable rooms on RCCL's Voyager and Freedom class ships.

DCL really dropped the ball on the Dream-class ships pools. They are tiny and inadequate for the passenger load on sea days. DCL dedicates too much pool space to the 6 & under crowd. The Mickey pool is useless to a family with kids that would rather swim than bathe in a pool of toddler urine. RCCL's Voyager class has far better pools and the Freedom class is a cut above that. RCCL offers the Flowrider surf simulators on Freedom & Oasis-class ships. While the Flowrider is really cool, it's not in the same league as the Aquaduck. The 'duck wins hands down. My kids are too old for Nemo's Reef on DCL's Dream-class, but RCCL's Freedom & Oasis-class ships offer the H2O Zone.

RCCL's Adventure Ocean is very good, however the Oceaneer's Club and Oceaneer's Lab both are better equipped and appear more polished. DCL also carved out a space for tweens away from the younger kids. A nice touch there. I don't have teenagers, so I really can't comment on those areas.

Disney offers Mickey and the gang. It's fun to see the Disney characters around the ship and at Castaway Cay. RCCL added Shrek and the Dreamworks characters to their ships. To me that seems forced, cheesy and unnecessary.

Disney's private island blows CCL's and both of RCCL's private islands/beaches out of the water. It's not even close, so I won't bother with a comparison. Disney wins by the slaughter rule here.

RCCL and CCL have onboard casinos. DCL does not.

RCCL and CCL do more "adult" activities on the pool deck (belly flop contests, best legs etc). DCL's pool deck activities target the kids with some adult interaction. Disney's "adult" entertainment is more family friendly and less adult. Don't get me wrong, I'm not looking for a comedian spewing a non-stop stream of four letter words and pole dancers in the bars, but I wouldn't feel uncomfortable with my kids in the room at a DCL "adult" show. I can't say that about other cruise lines.

The food can range from blech to OMG... I'm just talking buffets and dining rooms. It depends on the day and how late the guy who cooked your food was up the night before (or how hungover he might be) on how your food will taste. The extra fee restaurants (Palo & Remy on DCL, Chops etc on RCCL) I would expect to be better and usually are.

The main showroom shows are not my thing. My DW likes some, my kids like some. I could care less. DCL's are obviously Disney-centric where RCCL's are "Broadway style revues". Again, not my thing, so I'm not gonna pick one over the other. Disney also puts more stock into onboard movies. Their movie theater is much larger and more accessable and will run recent (and even still in theaters) Disney movies. My friend just saw The Avengers on the Dream.

DCL has a sports court and mini-golf course on their ships. RCCL has that and more. RCCL has rock walls, zip lines (Oasis-class) and ice skating (Voyager-class and newer). RCCL, CCL and DCL all have spas and gyms. There is a place to jog etc. All 3 cruise lines offer an adults only pool area on most of their ships. CCL used to use the highest deck on the ship for topless sunbathing, but they stopped doing that several years ago.

I cruised CCL many years ago, back when the Carnival Destiny was the biggest ship in the world. It was cheesy and fun. There were a few more drunks than RCCL seemed to have, but I've heard from several of my friends that Carnivals new ships (while still somewhat cheesy) are much nicer than they used to be. Am I ready to give them another chance? Mmmm, doubtful, but they do seem to be moving away from the drunken partyboat reputation they garnered those many moons ago.

At the end of the day, your cruise vacation is what you make of it. If you want to gamble and bingo isn't gonna cut it for you, then sail RCCL. If seeing Mickey means everything, then sail DCL. Either way, you really can't go wrong and you'll have a tremendous time. Enjoy!

 

[disneydreamer82]

First off, very well said Who's Your Mickey!!!! If you want an honest opinion of the other lines I would suggest you go somewhere OTHER than the Disboards to find it. Go to Cruise Critic to get a better idea of the other lines, unfortunately you will get mostly why Disney is better than every other line on the planet! Don't get me wrong I love DCL BUT I also very much enjoy another line that is constantly bashed on here. Specifically the one you mentioned as hearing bad things about (Carnival). So I would again suggest looking elsewhere for that particular info. The Disboards are AMAZING though when it come to info about DCL!!!

 

[johnlatte]

I've posted this a couple of times. We have cruised with Norwegian and Disney. I like them both just fine. Both do a great job. I personally don't care if Ivo and Pohoo are our servers and they make just the perfect Mickey face in my kids ketchup. I don't engage in a lasting personal relationship with our stateroom attendant. I don't care that the cruise director knows my name, tells the joke of the day or is a "hoot"". That said, there is something that can be said about what Disney does well. The theming is great, the entertainment is family oriented and sweet almost to point of being cloying. I think the service is on par, but not necessarily better, with what I've gotten on most of our NCL cruises, polite and professional. Is it a good value? Depends on what you want out of your cruise. To me, I'm happy with a nice chair by the pool, cold beer in one hand, good book in the other. Tasty chow, comfortable bed and good entertainment when I want it. I hit the casino if there's one, if not, no big deal. I like the fact that Disney has put together areas away from the masses for adults to chill out in. I wish that they would do a better job of keeping the kids out of those areas but can't have everything and Disney isn't going to tell a paying customer that they can't bring the little princess along for a swim in the adult pool. If you are going onboard for the experience of being on a pretty cool cruiseboat, then Disney is a good option. If the cruise is port extensive or you are going to spend time out and about seeing exciting ports of call, then I certainly would rather save the $ to put towards fine dining, cool excursions etc. Hope that helps, enjoy whatever cruise you decide on.

 

[Rogillio]

It's really just the Disney atmosphere. It's one of those intangibles that is hard to pin to any one thing....it's a whole litney of things....it's the culture of Disney. You see it in the theme parks where their business model is to "paint Mainstreet every night". Meaning they want you first and last impression of them to be like stepping into a magic place.

You can cruise on any cruise line and get good food, good service, good entertainment and good activies.....but there is only one cruise line that gives you a Disney experience on top of everything else that is good about a cruise.

If you are looking for objective reasoning, you won't find it. Certain things can be taught, other things must be caught. IOW, one can't explain it, you have to experience it. Once you cruise with DCL you will likely say, "OK, I get it." A very few might not get it but the vast majority get it.

 

[juliebug1997]

One thing that impressed us that hasn't seem to be discussed here is that, according to what I've read, DCL has more staff members per ship than the other cruise lines. Like one of the really big boats from another cruise line that holds more than the DCL big ships only has 1000 employees.

Also, I know that some of the other cruise lines are catching up on this in their own way, but there's also Castaway Cay.

Lastly, free room service (except for drinks). Mickey bars brought to my room? Yes, please.

 

[TXDCLfan]

One thing that impressed us that hasn't seem to be discussed here is that, according to what I've read, DCL has more staff members per ship than the other cruise lines. Like one of the really big boats from another cruise line that holds more than the DCL big ships only has 1000 employees.

Also, I know that some of the other cruise lines are catching up on this in their own way, but there's also Castaway Cay.

Lastly, free room service (except for drinks). Mickey bars brought to my room? Yes, please.

Castaway Cay is nice but half moon cay (Carnival/Princess) is drop dead gorgeous along with Coco Cay ( Royal Carb.)

 

[mhsjax]

Castaway Cay is nice but half moon cay (Carnival/Princess) is drop dead gorgeous along with Coco Cay ( Royal Carb.)

IMHO, Castaway Cay and Half Moon cay are almost the same Island, if I just looked at the sand and water I would swear it was the same. In fact this is the ONLY redeemable quality of CCL, well their food in the MDR's was better than DCL. the food on the Island was not. As far as CoCo Cay, I haven't been so I can't give an opinion on that one.

 

[wdwwishes]

I think the poster would suggested to visit cruise critic or some other boards gives good advice however I find cruise critic to be a bit pro RCCL than other lines. We've sailed only DCL to date and have enjoyed each and every cruise. We're a family of 4 with DDs 16 and 13. I appreciate in a big way that there are no casinos on board the Disney ships. I also feel that the Disney ships in no way attract a party crowd although there are plenty of people having fun on board. I like Disney's more "classic" approach to the cruise ship and the on board experience. I'm not interested in a ship where there's so much to do it becomes a distraction. I feel we can do enough as a family, enough as a couple and our DDs have enough time to do their thing as well. As for the bottom line, I think at the end of the day, you'll end up spending roughly the same across the board given what beverages are/aren't included per line, if you're spending money on the extra places on board to eat, excursions, the spas, gambling etc.

 

[woody73]

. . . Since we are such big Disney fans we are obviously interested in the Disney Cruises however after comparing prices Disney is quite a bit more expensive than Royal Caribbean or Carnival.

That's the cost for the "Disney difference."

Woody

 

[mdvlprof]

DCL has NO casino. Most other lines use the casino revenue to defray some of the cost of cruise. Shows are more Broadway and less Vegas.

Done DCL, NCL, RCCL, CCL. Never had a bad cruise yet. Each line has its own strengths and weaknesses.

 

[johnlatte]

As for the bottom line, I think at the end of the day, you'll end up spending roughly the same across the board given what beverages are/aren't included per line, if you're spending money on the extra places on board to eat, excursions, the spas, gambling etc.

I have to disagree with this. I did a side by side comparison on a 7 night cruise RT to Alaska out of Seattle. NCL came in $5k(as in Thousand) cheaper for a 2 bedroom balcony suite with butler and concierge vs DCL 1 bedroom suite with concierge. Almost identical itinerary. Ship size the same. As for beverages, a drink card on NCL is about $60 a week per person. Since I am the only one in the family that drinks soda, that's a no brainer. I do my own excursions with private companies vs ship's desk, so that's a wash. I could take the family to the most expensive restaurant on the NCL boat ($25 pp) every night and not eat up $5k. If I gamble it will be at most $100 and we'll spend about $300 on alcohol regardless of the ship. We never buy the overpriced pictures so there's no charge there. So you definitely can see that there is a significant difference regarding the bottom line.

 

[Rogillio]

That's the cost for the "Disney difference."

Woody

Exactly. And to some people, it is worth it and to others it is not. If you are Disney fans and go to Disney movies with your kids, going on Disney cruise is like going into the world of Mogli and Buzz and Belle and the Beast and Symba and Pocohantis and Tarzan and Nemo, etc, etc.

 

[hrhdhd]

Castaway Cay is nice but half moon cay (Carnival/Princess) is drop dead gorgeous along with Coco Cay ( Royal Carb.)

Half Moon Cay is owned by Carnival, and both Carnival and HAL ships stop there (but never ships from the different lines simultaneously).

Princess's private island is Princess Cays.

I would rank HMC first, Castaway second, and Princess Cays third.

 

[ilovezach33]

Just ten minutes ago, my DBF and I were talking about cruises, and I told him I didn't want to go on Carnival because I had heard bad things.

Sorry, can't help you with your questions. Never been on a cruise.

Good luck though!

 

[TXDCLfan]

Half Moon Cay is owned by Carnival, and both Carnival and HAL ships stop there (but never ships from the different lines simultaneously).

Princess's private island is Princess Cays.

I would rank HMC first, Castaway second, and Princess Cays third.

Thanks for the correction

 

[TXDCLfan]

Just ten minutes ago, my DBF and I were talking about cruises, and I told him I didn't want to go on Carnival because I had heard bad things.

Sorry, can't help you with your questions. Never been on a cruise.

Good luck though!

We have been on 8 DCL and 9 Carnival and ALL were excellent. Do not believe the negatives about Carnival.

 

[tweis]

We just got back from a 5 night on the Dream and we loved it! However, our TA went on the inagural Dream cruise last year and blocked several rooms at super low rates. Had it not been for that we probably would not have sailed DCL. We had found low rates online when we started looking around Dec 2010 and her rates were even lower so it was a no brainer for us. Since then DCLs rates have skyrocketed! I have never sailed another line but DH and I are seriously considering Carnival for just the two of us just to see how it is. If it is good we will book it for our family. Also, really thinking about Oasis and Allure.

Not trying to bash DCL or posters but room service is not free and neither are your sodas. You have already paid for them in your cruise cost.