If you had to choose....

[Luckymommyx2]

#1...RCCL, 5 day/4 night on one of the newest ships in a balcony cabin going out of Miami OR

#2...DCL, 5 day/4 night in a guaranteed inside (cat 11) cabin


I have two children who adore Disney. We had planned a 7 day DCL but had to cancel and cannot afford to rebook a 7 day at this time. I know 4 nights on any ship is not enough but this will be my kids' first cruise. I want it to be special for them but I worry about the inside cabin. This has been a very stressful month and I really want to be able to look forward to getting away. I think my husband wants to just cancel everything (again) but I just can't right now; besides, we wouldn't be traveling until fall so we have time. Thanks for any input!

 

[zacsmom]

I don't even have to think about this one. We took my son on his 1st cruise with Disney for 3 days. Just enough to see if he enjoyed it or not. We never saw him and he was 8 years old then. I never heard mom , I'm bored. He loved it soooo much, that we immediately booked a 1 week western cruise. My husband and I have been on 9 cruises so far, 7 with other cruise lines. If I am going to take my child, it is with Disney. Where else can you get to see all of the characters and get photos or autographs without waiting in line for hours or paying large sums of money. The child care is phenomenal, meals all geared for the kids but with adults in mind as well, staff that are trained to deal with children, and activities galore for kids and families. When we got back from our last cruise in February (Disney), we talked about booking another cruise. Due to all of the recent talk about RCL, I thought I would check out there web site with my son. We were not overly impressed. The rooms looked like they were made for a bunch of old people for 1, the size was much smaller and the decor was ugly. There kids programs did not run all day like Disneys either. So, he got excited about the rock climbing wall and ice skating rink. I figured that after he was dissapointed by not being able to climb the wall and being a terrible skater I would have a miserable kid on my hands who would be saying to me that we should have gone on Disney. As far as the room selsction, you are not in your room that much for it to matter. Remember, you want to have fun as well as your children.

 

[disny4ever]

As long as the family has a good trip I would say to go where you know you will have a great time. If they love Disney then I would go for the insode cabin and probably a guaranteed great vacation. Just know I am very partial to DCL so my vote may be clouded. Hope things work out and you get the trip you want.

 

[Fay Ray]

I would go for the DCL cruise. No matter what cabin, they are all nice enoughand your kids won't care. We did the 3 day Wonder and our DS (9 at the time) loved it. I think that there aren't many kids who wouldn't love a DCL cruise, regardless of the length.

 

[Euphscott]

All of the worrying and fretting over location and cabin categories is really a whole lot of wasted effort. Just get on the ship you like and all will be well! In MOST cases the magic found on the cruise is not found inside the cabin.

True, some HAVE to have a balcony, but it does not ruin your trip to be inside. I've sailed with Disney Inside, Outside, and Verandah style and frankly it made NO difference in my experience. It's the cast members, programming, and food that make the cruise.

So in light of my mini rant, you have to decide what is important to you - the port of embarkation (Miami vs Port Canaveral - flights may be vastly different in price) the itinerary and the atmosphere you are looking for (Disney is Disney, Royal Caribbean is a little more adventurous, but still quite family friendly).

Either way you choose, get out there (not a pun intended to play up RCI with their tag line) and get away. It sounds like you need to relax and worrying over cabin location is the LAST thing you need to get in your way.

 

[DopeyRN]

Just got home from my 1st Disney cruise yesterday...it was phenominal!!! We had a category 10 and personally I was glad we did not have a port hole or verandah...it kept the room nice and dark, our location was great. the cat 10 has the split bathroom which was extremely helpful. I would choose DCL.

 

["Ginger"]

Luckymommyx2 if you can be flexible on your sailing dates mid Sept-Oct. and some of January are the cheapest times to sail with Disney. A 7 day cruise in these month can be less expensive than a 4 day in the spring or summer.
Check around on the rates. I found a big difference from one TA to the next. I just booked our Oct 25, 2003 cruise 1 1/2 weeks ago. I found DCL, DU, Travelocity, and a few more priced much, much higher than Costco. It pays to shop.
DCL staterooms are a bit larger than on most cruislines. Remember your not going to be in your stateroom that much, there's to much fun going on around the ship.
Disney's Halloween cruise on the Magic is the perfect time for us to sail. The rates are low, the temps are just right, not to hot not to cold, the ship is not full and there are parties, parades, and Trick-or-Treating, fun to be had by all.
We do have to take our DD(6) out of school, her teachers give us work for her to do while she is away. Disney's offers the very best childrens program of all the cruiselines.

 

[tigger41]

We took our daughter on the RCCL Radiance of the Seas on a 7 day Alaskan cruise in 2000. Great cruise....great ship and we had a verandah. Still, I"d cruise Disney at ANY category level due to the quality of the entertainment, the atmosphere, the programs for kids and the overall attitude of the crew.

5 days to go and my wife, daughter and I are off on the Disney Magic!! Yes!!!!

 

["Ginger"]

You're one lucky tigger, tigger41. Have a great time

 

[Luckymommyx2]

Thanks for all of the input. I just got off the phone with my husband and we are going to cancel the RCCL. My main objective now is to convince him to rebook (with DCL). We are looking at the fall sailings since they are the least expensive. Thanks to several of your posts I'm not so concerned about the inside cabin now. I don't plan to spend much time there anyhow. It's been a long, cold, snowy winter and some sun will definitely do some wonders.