Having dilemma on what cruise line to book

[FSU Girl]

So I'm planning my first cruise taking kids (it won't be a first cruise for anyone, just together) The whole trip came about from me discovering a July 4th cruise on Disney. It's pretty perfect since I'd only need to take off two days of work and everyone is familiar with and loves the Disney ships. The one thing I don't love is the price. It's coming out to around $8k for four people. Although the amount won't hurt us financially, it's a lot when adding in all the other cruises we have coming up for our honeymoon next year.

So I started looking at other cruise lines and I found a Carnival cruise that is three nights and would only be $2k for all 4. But None of us have been on Carnival and I'm a little nervous to go on this ship, especially such a short itinerary.

I could potentially do a week long cruise on Royal Caribbean on one of their humongous cruises. This would be 4k for the 4 of us. The downside to this would having to take off an entire week of work, which I'm not sure if they'll approve (I'm taking off a lot of days this year for my wedding) The size of these ships are a little daunting and the kids have never been on them either.

Or should I plan something else entirely that doesn't involve a cruise? We've taken them to Disney already so I'd rather do something different than that.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Sigh. DCL, of course.

How old are your kids? If they're older, then maybe the RCL cruise, but if they're kids, then it'll be extra magical for them. That said, my 15 and 13 year olds are looking forward to their 7 days on the Fantasy and weren't interested in the Oasis or the Harmony.

 

[keaster]

Personally, I would not pay $8000 for a 4-night cruise (especially being from Canada that $8000 would actually be over $10,000! Yikes).

I would go with a week long on RCL, I always believe longer cruises are better

 

[AquaDame]

With a wedding coming up I am not sure I could stomach 8K for almost half as many nights... I'd try one of the RCCL ships after making sure you can get the time and sitting down with the family to look the ship over. If they don't like it I'd do something else or save up for the Dream next year.

 

[mevelandry]

Easy: Oasis and Allure look like the "Cadillac of cruiseships" and you get 7 nights for half the price of DCL's 4 nights. The itinerary is going to be much better than any shorter cruise you'll get!

 

[FSU Girl]

Sigh. DCL, of course.

How old are your kids? If they're older, then maybe the RCL cruise, but if they're kids, then it'll be extra magical for them. That said, my 15 and 13 year olds are looking forward to their 7 days on the Fantasy and weren't interested in the Oasis or the Harmony.

The kids are 9 and 14. They've been on Disney before and love it. Never Royal Caribbean

Personally, I would not pay $8000 for a 4-night cruise (especially being from Canada that $8000 would actually be over $10,000! Yikes).

I would go with a week long on RCL, I always believe longer cruises are better

I agree I prefer the longer cruises. I'm just not sure if the ships will be too big? How do people keep track of their kids on those ships?

With a wedding coming up I am not sure I could stomach 8K for almost half as many nights... I'd try one of the RCCL ships after making sure you can get the time and sitting down with the family to look the ship over. If they don't like it I'd do something else or save up for the Dream next year.

The price tag is a big part of why I'm having doubts. I already have two cruises booked for next year and the wedding is a huge expense. I probably won't have enough vacation time next year to do any vacations besides my honeymoon, which was why were looking to do a cruise now with the kids.

Easy: Oasis and Allure look like the "Cadillac of cruiseships" and you get 7 nights for half the price of DCL's 4 nights. The itinerary is going to be much better than any shorter cruise you'll get!

Have you been on those ships before? I've been on the smaller Royal Caribbean ship, but never the huge ones. How do you keep track of where everyone is? And they have kid clubs on those ships too right?

 

[mevelandry]

The kids are 9 and 14. They've been on Disney before and love it. Never Royal Caribbean


I agree I prefer the longer cruises. I'm just not sure if the ships will be too big? How do people keep track of their kids on those ships?


The price tag is a big part of why I'm having doubts. I already have two cruises booked for next year and the wedding is a huge expense. I probably won't have enough vacation time next year to do any vacations besides my honeymoon, which was why were looking to do a cruise now with the kids.


Have you been on those ships before? I've been on the smaller Royal Caribbean ship, but never the huge ones. How do you keep track of where everyone is? And they have kid clubs on those ships too right?

I haven't sailed with RCCL yet but they are on my "to do list". Especially the Oasis. Don't know if you've seen the Sea Cruisers series of vlogs on youtube about the Oasis but it's worth watching.

 

[cruiser21]

Personally, I would not pay $8000 for a 4-night cruise (especially being from Canada that $8000 would actually be over $10,000! Yikes).

I would go with a week long on RCL, I always believe longer cruises are better

I wouldn't pay 8k for a 7 night cruise unless I'm in a suite.

 

[Carrie in AZ]

I would never pay $8K for such a short cruise, and I would never sail any line for only three nights as that is wayyyy too short. That leaves 7 nt RCL or another option vacation option.

I would ask your kids and really listen to what they want if this is a trip all about them. Sometimes I dive in and frame our famiy’s choices from my perspective instead of asking them what they would like to do. What I mean to say is, maybe they would be happy staying at a resort somewhere and swimming in the pool or going to the beach, maybe they don’t care so much about a cruise. Good luck!

 

[tink1970]

I'm going to say consider something else...a week away from work is a long time on top of everything else you'll be doing for your wedding. Honestly you could go to Disney and just do the water parks and bowl at Disney Springs...or go to Tampa and do Busch Gardens...or Universal and HP land...or something else (any can be done as 3 or 4 day weekends) and save a little money AND time off. Getting married is so stressful and there always seems to be something that pops up to distract from work. Take it from me, I've had two

 

[FireflyTrance]

That price seems high for a 4-night Disney Dream cruise. Could you try a different week or downgrade your room category? That's probably what I would do as I prefer DCL.

I honestly didn't like the RCL Allure very much. Two of my family members got horrible food poisoning while onboard. I didn't get food poisoning but the large ship made it so I got sea sickness (something I have never had on another cruise ship.) My daughter was 2 at the time and there wasn't much for little kids. However I think for a 9 and 14 year old there would be a decent amount of activities that interested them. Trying to disembark off the Allure took some people 4-5 hours, it seemed very disorganized and some were complaining they would miss their flights. This is just my experience, and I am sure some like the Allure and these things don't always happen.

 

[starvenger]

I agree I prefer the longer cruises. I'm just not sure if the ships will be too big? How do people keep track of their kids on those ships?

You have to think of the Oasis class as more of a small floating resort than a traditional cruise ship, tbh. Whether you think that is too big or not will vary by person.

My kids are 7 and 10, so a bit easier to keep them on a leash, so to speak. On last year's cruise on Harmony, we used the old "magnetic whiteboard on the cabin door" routine to keep track of one another (we were travelling with my parents and brothers as well). That seemed to work well.

 

[Sunshine2U]

I voted for "Other" based on your statement that extra days off would be hard. I vote for a long weekend at WDW or staying at one of the Universal hotels and doing those parks.

 

[mkh531]

Originally I voted for a Royal Cruise, but if you are concerned about days off just go to a Disney resort for 4 Days. You could even do the less crazy ones like Hilton Head or Vero Beach. Kids will be happy anywhere.

 

[kaseyC]

I would never pay 8K for a 4 night cruise. We paid a bit more than that for our 2017 7 night Spring Break cruise in a Crown Loft Suite on the Harmony of the Seas. I traveled with 3 teen girls ( my 2 DDs and one of their friends) and they had a blast. We easily kept in contact using iMessage since one of the concierge perks on RCCL is unlimited Vroom internet for each guest in a suite.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

I voted for Oasis/Allure for several reasons. 1 - there is no way I would ever pay $8000 for a 4 day cruise. 2 - even though I’m a huge Carnival fan, I’d never take a 3 day cruise over a Holiday weekend on one of their slightly older and smaller ships. 3 - I really want to try one of the mega Royal ships and RCCL has an app similar to DCL and CCL that gives you the opportunity to text each other. Even if your kids don’t have smart phones yet, you can use an old one that doesn’t have cell service or an iPod Touch to text with them.

The key to trying a different cruise line is you must go into it knowing it will not be like Disney, all lines do some things better and some things worse. Some foods are better, others are worse. We’ve spent 22 nights on Carnival ships and 28 nights on Disney ships, and have another cruise booked on both lines and can honestly say we have an equally great time on both cruise lines. BTW, Carnival Vista has an 8 night Southern Caribbean over July 4th weekend that is an amazing itinerary, not to confuse you any more but Curaçao, Grand Turk, and Aruba were amazing! I’m just sayin’

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I voted for other. For less then $8k we are doing 7 nights on the Fantasy in a Cat 4A. There is no way I would spend $8k on a 4 night cruise to the Bahamas. Some super exotic location, perhaps, but not the Bahamas! For the price, I'd be tempted to do RCCL, but it sounds like taking time off is a factor. You live in FL, correct? Why not just go to another luxury FL location, stay in a 5-star resort and enjoy the beach and other activities for the long weekend? There are some amazing hotels in the Ft. Lauderdale area. Or go to Clearwater, stay in the Sandpearl and go to the aquarium and Busch Gardens.

 

[FSU Girl]

You have to think of the Oasis class as more of a small floating resort than a traditional cruise ship, tbh. Whether you think that is too big or not will vary by person.

My kids are 7 and 10, so a bit easier to keep them on a leash, so to speak. On last year's cruise on Harmony, we used the old "magnetic whiteboard on the cabin door" routine to keep track of one another (we were travelling with my parents and brothers as well). That seemed to work well.

So we ended up booking the Harmony last night. Does Royal use an app like Disney where we can text the kids? The little one will go to the kids club so I'm not worried about her, but the older one will probably wander the ship and I don't want her getting lost or not having a way to reach out to us if she needs to get a hold of us.

 

[FSU Girl]

So we decided to go with the Harmony of the Seas. Work gave me the days off (I just can't get sick the rest of the year lol) and since it was a lot cheaper than Disney with more days we decided to go with that option. So I'll probably hop over to the Royal Caribbean board since I have a lot of questions. My biggest concerns are keeping track of the kids and being able to get in touch with them while on the boat.

 

[Spork24]

Easy: Oasis and Allure look like the "Cadillac of cruiseships" and you get 7 nights for half the price of DCL's 4 nights. The itinerary is going to be much better than any shorter cruise you'll get!

The Disney itenerary in question is a double dip to castaway cay, depending on what your looking for, that could be a “better” itenerary than a 7 night.