Other cruise ships comparable to Disney?

[Marilyn]

We are planning a cruise trip to Hawaii this summer. It will be our second cruise. Our first cruise was this past Jan. on the Wonder. We loved it and we will be returning to the Disney cruise next Jan. Anyway, I am afraid that we have been spoiled by Disney. How do other cruise ships compare in cleanliness, friendliness, food, stateroom size and quality etc.. I REALLY need help with this. If any one can assist me with their knowledge of other cruises either to Hawaii or other places it would be most appreciated!! LOVE these boards!! Marilyn

 

[denise5374]

I can't say for certain because I have only been on one Disney cruise but I have heard that Royal Caribbean is a pretty close second!

My parents went on RCCL and they said it was comparable. In fact they are going on there second RCCL cruise this May (to Alaska).

There is a message board on www.cruisecritic.com that is specifically for RCCL, although nowhere near as good as the DIS.

 

[awatt]

Have a wonderful time!

We have sailed RCCL,NCL and DCL. we loved them all. I don't feel that DCL was superior to the others. It was different but not necessarily better. I think all 3 have their strong and weak points. In my opinion,RCL has far and away the best service- on multiple RCL cruises our dining room service was say,comparable to Palo,in the main dining rooms every night. The RCL staff continually went above and beyond,unsolicited by the way,to pamper us. NCL shines for teh beauty of its newer ships- especially the Dawn - and the gorgeous decor/layout,and also for the freestyle concept,which can add flexibility for families. DCL excels in family entertainment-the shows,the characters etc - and also its private island,which is the nicest we've seen.

All three were immaculate. As far as rooms go,DCL's room are a little bigger,but it's decieving. The DCL rooms are on the average bigger,but you pay more for it. And larger rooms/jr sutes etc are available on teh other lines,probably for a price similar to DCL. For instance off the top of my head our Radiance Cat C was similar in size or a little bigger than our Cat 6 on the Magic,and I think the price was similar.

So there's no reason you shouldn't have a wonderful cruise to Hawaii. There are lots of great options out there,,as good as DCL for slightly different reasons.

I would talk to your TA to find out what ships do the Hawaaiian itineraries. Then go to the cruisecritic.com boards and ask the people who have done these cruises how they liked it.

 

[DawnL]

We sailed the Celebrity Zenith to Bermuda last summer and it was absolutely wonderful, I felt the food was far superior to Disney. If you are asking me, I think any top rated cruise ship is going to be great, I actually like trying different ships. We are back to Disney for this August and considering Hawaii for summer of 05. If you ask my kids, it's Disney all the way!! The one thing they love that you can't get on any other ship is the pin trading.

 

[gizfish]

We sailed the Grand Princess in the Caribbean, right after our last Disney cruise, when we were sure nothing would ever compare to Disney. We were pleasantly surprised. Both lines were equals in the long run with Disney getting a ten for artistic merit while Princess would get a ten for technical skill. Check out the Island Princess, a large ship sailing round trip to Hawaii from Los Angeles.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Originally posted by Marilyn
We are planning a cruise trip to Hawaii this summer.

Have you already booked a cruise?

The only cruise line that provides all-Hawaii itineraries is the US-flagged NCL America line, a part of NCL. The Pride of America was supposed to start offering 7-night Hawaiian cruises this summer, but it sank at the shipyard in Germany. It's now sitting on the bottom -- but, fortunately, the water wasn't too deep. The Pride of America's first three decks, including the engine room, are under water. The ship should be refloated some time this month. Then, the long process of repairing the damage will begin.

Here's the whole story about the Pride of America and how NCL is shuffling other ships to deal with the accident: http://www.frommers.com/activities/cruise/article.cfm?articleid=1677&destid=CRUISE

All other "Hawaii cruises" involve at least one foreign port. Usually, this means the cruise begins or ends on the West Coast, with many, many days at sea to get across half of the Pacific. In such cases, the foreign port is usually Vancouver, BC, Canada, or Ensenada, Mexico.

NCL has an itinerary that involves Fanning Island in the Republic of Kiribati. The majority of the 7-night cruise -- from noon Monday until noon Friday -- is spent getting to Fanning Island, spending some time there, and getting back to Hawaii.

 

[doombuggy]

I have sailed on ships from two lines - Cunard and Celebrity. Cunard is my favorite. Been on the QE2 twice, as well as two other Cunard vessels (ok, my step mother used to work for them as a regional sales manager). We sailed to Bermuda from Philly on Celebrity's Meridian back in 1994. I was not as impressed, but I guess I was used to the pampering you get with Cunard!

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Originally posted by doombuggy
We sailed to Bermuda from Philly on Celebrity's Meridian back in 1994. I was not as impressed, but I guess I was used to the pampering you get with Cunard!

I was very impressed with Celebrity when we cruised with them in 1993. But that was a different ship.

Here's some information about the Celebrity Meridian: In 1990, the former Galileo Galilei (1963) become the first ship of the new Celebrity Cruise Line after being stretched and substantially upgraded. In 1997, Celebrity sold the Meridian to Sun Cruises of Singapore. She was renamed Sun Vista. In 1999, the Sun Vista caught fire and sank while on a cruise. Everyone onboard was rescued.

 

[TammyC]

My MIL did not like her Hawaii cruise.. she said there was way too much time at sea and not enough to do (in her case, that meant couldn't go to casino). Hawaii can be great, as can cruises, but maybe not together.

 

[awatt]

As Horace above was trying to explain, NCL's Pride of Aloha will be sailing 7 day inter-island itineraries without the long trip out to Fanning Island and back.

A ship can only sail all-US ports if built in the US. NCL is refitting one of its ships to meet this requirementand therefore will ne the only all-Hawaii itinerary out there.

 

[paulmc80]

NCL's agreement is to have three re-flagged U.S.A. ships operating here within the next two years. There is a lot of recruitment going on for the first two right now.

Once they are re-flagged it should be nice to cruise these beautiful waters without making that far away trip to Fanning.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Originally posted by paulmc80
NCL's agreement is to have three re-flagged U.S.A. ships operating here within the next two years.

NCL America will have 7-night inter-island Hawaii cruises on the Pride of Aloha (former Norwegian Sky) departing from Honolulu every week, beginning July 4 of this year. For more details, see http://www.ncl.com/ncla/

Originally posted by TammyC
My MIL did not like her Hawaii cruise.. she said there was way too much time at sea and not enough to do (in her case, that meant couldn't go to casino). Hawaii can be great, as can cruises, but maybe not together.

My complaint about the new NCL America 7-night inter-island itinerary is that there isn't enough time at sea. The Pride of Aloha is in port every day. The ship even stays in port overnight twice during each cruise. The closest thing to a day at sea is that the ship departs from Nawiliwili, Kauai, one afternoon at 1:00 p.m. and spends the rest of the day at sea.

Still, this could be a very good itinerary for someone who wants to see a lot of Hawaii.

NCL doesn't know when the brand new Pride of America will be launched. The rumor is that it won't launch until 2005 due to the shipyard accident.

 

[candleonwater]

I am taking my second cruise in April... I am apprehensive about going on a NON-DISNEY ship... we're going to be on RCCL's Mariner of the Seas and I'm trying to set my mind to the fact that it is not a matter of one being better than the other, but rather two completely different experiences. I don't imagine I will be spending much (if any) time in the casino, but I know my daughter will love skating on a ship... so we will have to see... I may very well be back with Disney on my next trip!