Disney vs. RCCL/Carnival/Princess

[imlazar]

We're looking at taking a cruise in November '06 to the Caribbean, it will be me, my wife, and our two boys who will be 3 1/2 and 6 at time of departure.

We just did the magic and we loved it, however the other lines seem to be a lot more economical (re: cheaper).

I've been reading various reviews and threads and the other cruise lines seem to score fairly well for older kids, especially RCCL. And, the other kids clubs seem to get very high marks (as well as more flexible dining options).

However, outside of the kids clubs I'm concerned that the shows won't be suitable for the age of our kids, and that there isn't much else for them to do on the cruise other than play in the pool.

So the questions I have are:
- do the other lines have shows that my kids would enjoy?
- do the other lines have kids pools that are on-par or better than the Mickey pool?

As of now, we're pretty sure we're going to do Disney again (especially since the magic is adding an outdoor movie screen), but the RCCL ships look pretty darn nice as well.

Any thoughts? Has anyone done the other cruises with kids the same age as ours?

Thanks in advance!!

 

[Jsme]

We're looking at taking a cruise in November '06 to the Caribbean, it will be me, my wife, and our two boys who will be 3 1/2 and 6 at time of departure.

We just did the magic and we loved it, however the other lines seem to be a lot more economical (re: cheaper).

I've been reading various reviews and threads and the other cruise lines seem to score fairly well for older kids, especially RCCL. And, the other kids clubs seem to get very high marks (as well as more flexible dining options).

However, outside of the kids clubs I'm concerned that the shows won't be suitable for the age of our kids, and that there isn't much else for them to do on the cruise other than play in the pool.

So the questions I have are:
- do the other lines have shows that my kids would enjoy?
- do the other lines have kids pools that are on-par or better than the Mickey pool?

As of now, we're pretty sure we're going to do Disney again (especially since the magic is adding an outdoor movie screen), but the RCCL ships look pretty darn nice as well.

Any thoughts? Has anyone done the other cruises with kids the same age as ours?

Thanks in advance!!

We are going on the RCI's new FOS in November 2006. Chose it over a DCL. My kids are older and I think they will love this cruise. We have cruised on both RCI and DCL.

But your family would probably enjoy DCL better.

I ahve a friend and her daughter is 9 and they love Carnival better.

 

[johare]

I posted this link:

http://www.new-horizons-travel.com/dclvrccl.htm

in another thread. It has a nice comparison between RCCL and Disney. Royal Caribbeans new Freedom of the Seas ship looks really nice too. Has a fantastic looking pool area. You can check it out at http://www.freedomoftheseas.com/ I think it begins sailing next summer. That said, Disney is going to be tough to beat for a 3 1/2 and a 6 year old!

 

[AnnaS]

I tried to look at the website the other day for freedom of the seas and it said nothing available yet -

Where is it going and from where? thank you. I will try the link again anyway.

 

[johare]

I tried to look at the website the other day for freedom of the seas and it said nothing available yet -

Where is it going and from where? thank you. I will try the link again anyway.

The Freedom is going to do a 7 day cruise departing from Miami. I guess you could call it a western Caribbean itinerary...it stops in Cozumel, Grand Caymen, Montego Bay and a place called Labadee which is supposedly one of their private spots right off Haiti.

Here's a small pic I found of the H2O Zone...my kid would have a blast there!
http://www.cruisenewsdaily.com/s-rfreedom1-f.jpg

 

[Firegoalie23]

Just got off the wonder today, It sucked and we will never sail DCL again. What a waste of money. Stick with RCCL, you can't go wrong.

 

[imlazar]

I tried to look at the website the other day for freedom of the seas and it said nothing available yet -

Where is it going and from where? thank you. I will try the link again anyway.

Try: http://www.freedomoftheseas.com/?sid=7

Wow!!!

 

[imlazar]

Just got off the wonder today, It sucked and we will never sail DCL again. What a waste of money. Stick with RCCL, you can't go wrong.

You know you are going to get asked to explain that one.

 

[newarknut]

Tell us how you really feel.

 

[joksten2000]

Rccl Allows Smoking In The Staterooms So That Turns Me Off To Sailing With Them

 

[dlf246]

Rccl Allows Smoking In The Staterooms So That Turns Me Off To Sailing With Them

Are you sure about that? We have found all the present major cruise lines allow smoking on verandas (balconies) but not in staterooms. We have cruised RCCL, and I really think that is not correct, but it has been a few years.

We are doing DCL next year, so cannot compare just yet.

 

[ROEDISNEY]

WOW! I REALLY FIND THAT HARD TO BELIEVE.I HAVE CRUISED RCCL 1X AND DISNEY WONDER 2X.DISNEY WIN'S HAND DOWN.REALLY CURIOUS IS TO WHAT YOU DIDN'T LIKE.IF YOU DON'Y MIND ME ASKING?



To many times to DISNEY WORLD/LAND TO COUNT

 

[Firegoalie23]

food sucked, not enough activities for adults, a huge waste of money,

 

[imlazar]

Does anyone know if RCCL varies the kids menu each night like Disney, or if it's always chicken fingers, hot dogs, mac & cheese, and pizza?

One of thing things we really liked about Disney was that the kids menu varied so much.

 

[AnnaS]

It never loaded/launched when I clicked on the freedomooftheseas link - probably my computer but I was able to see a few pictures and itinerary from the cruisecritic website. I thank you again. I did see the picture through johare's link. Wow - kids are going to love that water/park/pool area.

 

[mackymaddyconnorsmom]

We are going on the magic in Jan, but we are booking FOS (RCCL) for our next cruise. In fact, we are booking it tomorrow. My kids saw the commercial last night on tv and they thought it looked great. It has the surf pool and the highest climbing wall on any ship. We still love Disney though and it is still a great ship

 

[NJBILL]

I have sailed with Disney,NCL and RCCL. From a kids program view, Disney was the best..hands down..RCCL was next and the NCL. NCL was not bad, just not up to what we experienced with Disney. The food on RCCL was good,but I would give the nod to Disney if pressed. We are doing Disney again next year. Every cruise we go on my wife reminds me that "Disney was better".. I believe my kids had the best time on Disney, but I would cruise any of these lines again. If there were three pairs of free tickets on the table, I would take the Disney tickets.
We ate in the buffet alot with the kids on Disney, and they loved it.