NOT to do a disney cruise , OH NO!! advice

[232271]

We are planning a Thanksgiving cruise, but my husband wants to do Carnival
Elation or Royal Caribbean out of Galveston, texas to save money. (since we live in Texas we can drive the 4 hours instead of pay airfare)

I am afraid that I will be miserable as i adore Mickey Mouse!! and my kids
ages 10 and 12 do too.

Anybody have any input on doing "other" cruise lines after Disney?
Good or Bad?

 

[ImMarcik]

Wow, I live in Texas to close to Galveston. We are also going on a cruise on Thanksgiving. We debated, doing Galveston or Disney and Disney won. We are doing the land/sea package. I am really excited since we finally made up our mind. Going to the parks had a lot to do with our decision. That and the bahamas

 

[ivanova]

I'll be doing the Elation out of Galvestion 2/27-3/6..... I can give you every so humble opinion after I return.

 

[zentec]

Been on Disney and RC and can't say enough good things about them.

Also been on Carnival. Can't say much good about them other than they are cheap, and if you like to drink and carry on, it's the boat for you.

 

[LiserAnn]

We did the Carnival Destiny out of Miami and I wouldn't do it again. The ship was nice and all but it was more of a party atmosphere : which was fine for me and DH, but wouldn't be fine now that we have our two DS's. But everyone has a different opinion. I guess one would say a vacation is what you make of it, not the people who surround you.....

Lisa

 

[jkovick]

We've been on DCL, RCC and Carnival. They all have their good points. They each are unique to themselves in what they offer. Apples and oranges if you will. As long as you keep in mind that it will be different you should enjoy yourself.

 

[littlemuffin]

March will be my first Disney cruise. However I've done a RCCL and a Princess cruise. My son was 5 & 6 at the time. I felt the Princess cruise was a little more to my liking because we enjoyed being able to eat when we wanted. They have personal choice dining so you can do the dining room in the traditional way or whenever you want in a range of times.

The RCCl cruise had the best kid's program and I don't think they could be beat for quality either.

I've never heard a lot of good things about the carnival ship but I've never sailed them.


Hope I didn't confuse you more

Good Luck!!!

 

[PlaneJoy1]

I have been on Carnival several times as well as Disney. They are very different lines, but each has its own good/bad qualities. The children's program is very different on Carnival, and to me Disney has the best. But when it comes to food and service, I really think Carnival had Disney beat - hands down.

Carnival has a reputation of being the party ship. I can't say that I've seen anything different on Carnival than I have on Disney. Carnival does have a casino, which Disney does not. You can attibute *some* of the price difference, in my opinion, to this. There is a lot of money to be made in a casino.

I haven't been on Royal Carribean yet, but from what I can tell it is kind of middle ground from Carnival to Disney. I can't verify that opinion, but from what I have read on other boards it seems to be what people perceive.

You might go read some trip reports at cruise critic dot com and ask questions there. For the money, I really can't justify Disney too often. I would rather cruise every year on anther line than every other year or every 3rd year on Disney. I can really relate to the thread where the poster said that she spent $5000 but didn't have a $5000 experience.

 

[dvcmember2000]

We just got back from the 3 ngiht cruise on the Wonder. Last year we did a 4 night with RCCL form Port Canaveral to Nassau on the Soveriegn?? My kids (9 & 8) said the Adventure Ocean Club on RCCL was better than on the Disney Wonder. I also thought for the money that RCCL was a much better cruise. The Disney Wonder was just OK. Nothing to write home about. We ate at the BBB for Breakfast and Lunch and the food was always cold. On the last morning we had breakfast at Parrat Cay and also the food was cold and you could tell it was sitting around for a while. Our dinner experience were not much better. Our rotation was TAP. The kids got there dinner so fast that they would end up sitting there watching us eat for 45 minutes after they were done. I think it is great that they bring the food out quickly for them but it was too quick. RCCL also has their own private island on their Bahama route. I don't think I would sail Disney again. You can get a Jr. Suite on RCCL on a 7 night cruise for the same price as an oceanview on Disney. I personally thought overall that RCCL was much better.