IF not DCL, what cruise line?

[Mary Anne]

Rae, I have a brand new apprciation for NYCity! I didn't even moan or grown when I got caught in a NYCity subway disaster this morning taking 4 hours to do a 40 minute trip.

 

[goin2disneyagain]

Disney did the best they could do with a bad situation. You really don't have anything to complain about. Some cruise lines did not even offer refunds and Disney was not obligated to so you really should feel fortunate that they did. They didn't want this to happen any more than you did. That being said, I have heard RCCL is a great cruise line as well.

 

[mac_tlc]

Rae,

Without opening old wounds, the situation sounds somewhat familiar to our experience when the 11/30/2002 Magic cruise was cancelled. I promise not to resurrect that discussion, as the boards were on fire for a while after that one....

I would definitely recommend the Voyager-class ships from RCCL as an alternative. We have done DCL three times and RCCL Voyager ships three times, with a 4th next month. PLusses and minuses to each, I would expect you to have a great time..

mac_tlc

 

[adelle]

I haven't been on a Disney ship yet - we sail Ocober 2nd if all goes well. We are taking our 4 year old grandson. As far as cruise lines go, I really like the Radisson ships which have some of the best service and great food. The ships are much smaller and have great staterooms. Gratuities, all non-alcoholic beverages, initial bar set-up in your room (2 bottles of wine or liquor), and wine with dinner are all included. There are childrens programs in the summer on some of the ships. The website is www.rssc.com. We tried the World by ResidenSea last year and had another cruise booked on that ship for this past summer. The World changed their itinerary so much and so close to sail time that we had to cancel. We only received a full refund - nothing additional. We enjoyed the World a lot, but it was more like a floating resort than a ship. We are trying Seadream Yacht Club next year. The two Seadream ships are very small - about 100 passengers and the cabins are smaller than Disney or Radisson, but it is supposed to be a great cruise experience -- not for children though. Have been on Princess, Costa, RCCL, NCL, and Carnival. I like those cruise lines in the order I listed them. Every cruise I have been on has been good to great - some better than others, but all well worth the time and money spent! However I now prefer the smaller ships. Disney has the Mouse and that makes it unique. I love all things Disney, so know we will love the Magic even though it is a large ship. Check out Radisson. I know a great TA that only deals with Radisson, the World and Silverseas and gets he best prices for those cruise lines.

 

[rae519]

Originally posted by mac_tlc
Rae,

Without opening old wounds, the situation sounds somewhat familiar to our experience when the 11/30/2002 Magic cruise was cancelled. I promise not to resurrect that discussion, as the boards were on fire for a while after that one....

mac_tlc

Similarities in the inequality of passenger handling - everything was on an individual basis, as I have been told but the entire cruise was cancelled (late but still cancelled) so there wasn't the enticement to make the ship while Governor Bush said "EVACUATE".

I empathized with the 11/30/02 when there was inequality, and that's my major gripe now. I think everyone was able to rebook with a Discount, correct?

Insurance does cover the cost of the cancelled cruise if Disney didn't make the full refund, but it doesn't cover paying the difference for rebooking one now at the prevailing rate.

Rae

 

[Muushka]

adelle, can you share with me/us your TA who gets you the great prices??? Inquiring minds want to know! Thank you

PM or Email if not wanting to post. Thanks

 

[sstucush]

Rae-

I sent you a PM.

 

[disneyholic family]

to the person who posted that the other lines didn't offer refunds, that's not true...at least not the ones i checked.....all of the cruise lines that were affected by the hurricane, offered refunds and incentives....and by the way, many of them had much more generous incentives than DCL...

hi Rae,
we've only cruised DCL twice, but i've heard very good things about RCCL and Costa....but the people on the Costa cruises were without kids....so take that one with a grain of salt....
oh..and also Celebrity was given high ratings by several friends of mine....but i think i'd go with RCCL if i were you.....i've only heard good things about it.....and lots of kids are on board..

we're also in search of a cruise with activities for old teens and young adults....definitely not the DCL area....

 

[allshookup]

I would just like to add that the NCL Dawn out of NYC is a wonderful cruise to try. Though the itinerary is not that great...Port Canaveral, Miami, Nassau, & Great Stirrup Cay (private island much smaller than Castaway Cay). It's only a 4 hour drive for us so very convenient. The ship is beautiful with 10 restaurants to choose from every night. We absolutely loved the idea of freestyle and not being rushed to make our dinner time. The mini-suites are comparable to a cat. 5/6 on DCL but comes w/ concierge, fruit bowl & lush robes for almost 1/2 what we paid on DCL. Our kids loved the kid's program on board. Although not always "free" like DCL, it was still quite reasonable of $5 pr hour after 10pm. We cruised her last Feb. & we are going on again next April.

That being said...we love DCL & would sail the Magic again, but they just don't make it convenient. We already did the Eastern route & want to try the Western but every time we try to book it on school vaca. it is always the Eastern itinerary or it's heading to CA. We hate to fly & have no desire to be on a plane that long to CA. Still keeping my fingers crossed for 2006 on DCL, but with the new deposit changes....I don't think DH is going to go for it.

 

[debloco]

I would recommend Celebrity, but only on their "Millennium" class of ships (Millennium, Summit,Constellation, Infinity). We did an Alaskan cruise with them two summers ago and it was very nice. The service was on par with that of Disney and I would say that the food was better. The alternative dining on the Summit, the restaurant "Normandy" was phenomenal! And contrary to some of the posts here, we were able to have as much of whatever food we wanted, shrimp and lobster included. Not nearly as kid-friendly, but then that could be because we saw very few kids as Alaska is more of an adult market. Maybe it's different on a Caribbean sailings. The entertainment was not as good as Disney's, but I did like having the casino. We're not big gamblers, but it was nice to go play the slots for awhile a few times.
Sorry to hear about the hassle with DCL on your attempt to rebook. I was wondering what happened to those who wished to reschedule.

CLC Tiger Pom Mom

 

[Minnie&Mickey]

Originally posted by disneyholic family

we're also in search of a cruise with activities for old teens and young adults....definitely not the DCL area....

I've heard good things from friends of mine about the newer Carnival ships. On their recommendation, we are trying the Carnival Miracle next summer out of Tampa. I'm sure that for me, it won't even compare to Disney, but my daughters (17 & almost 21 at the time of cruising) will probably enjoy it more.

 

[adelle]

Muushka,

I sent you an email with the TA information for Radisson.

She is great to work with. I have actually been on two cruises that she and her husband were on also.

Adelle Bell - not related to Tinker Bell

 

[rae519]

Thanks everyone for the recommendations. I've read so many great things about different cruise lines that I am looking forward to making some plans shortly!

Thanks all who participated in this thread!

Rae

 

[Muushka]

Originally posted by adelle
Muushka,

I sent you an email with the TA information for Radisson.

She is great to work with. I have actually been on two cruises that she and her husband were on also.

Adelle Bell - not related to Tinker Bell

Thanks for the info Adelle-not-Tinker!

I saved the site to my favorites. I was kind of bummed that the 'specials' would not open a link. But I registered on the boards and will check in every now and again. Thank you!

 

[disneyholic family]

Minnie&Mickey -- i know what you mean about carnival.....i've always thought that it would totally not be for me...(but good for my son and daugther)...
but recently i've found out that several of my friends went on carnival and had a great time....so....who knows.....
i hope you and your kids have a great time....

 

[Minnie&Mickey]

Originally posted by disneyholic family
recently i've found out that several of my friends went on carnival and had a great time....so....who knows.....
i hope you and your kids have a great time....

I'm really looking forward to giving it a try next summer (274 more days!). I've seen a lot of pictures of the Miracle and it certainly isn't Disney decorating, but I think we will still like it. Our friends that went on the Miracle last year absolutely loved it. Our youngest daughters will be graduating from high school together in 2006 and we (the parents) have been talking about both families taking a cruise together to celebrate. They would really like to go on Carnival again (mainly because of the $$$), and so I am really hoping we like it enough to do it again!

I'm not totally giving up on Disney though...I think my husband and I are going to go on a 4 night on the Wonder next November to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary.

 

[disneyholic family]

Minnie&Mickey -- i'm sure your girls will like the non-stop activities....i know my daughter would....when we were on the wonder in july, it really bothered her (and me for that matter) that the ship seems to go to sleep at midnight or so.....
i mean, why don't they even show movies in the theatre in the middle of the night....i would go....
my son, who is 17, had a good time staying out all night with the other teens, but my daugther was left with nothing to do...and in fact, when there were activities there wasn't really anything for her to do....she's 20....she would have loved to have a disco to go to where people actually dance...on the wonder, except for the half hour the cruise staff is there, no one ever dances (at least not on the two cruises we were on)...everyone just sits around listening to the music....how boring is that????....
in the carnival commercials they show people actually dancing....then again, maybe that's just the commercials....

but i'm sure you'll have a good time....it's always fun to do something new....

i've spent today reading up and i think we might try the celebrity millenium next summer.....depending if we can work out the timing...