Should I change cruise for royal ?

[pclvnmcky88]

Ok thanks

Does anyone know if that's a max of two hours only a day

So my husband remembers them saying we could only reserve 4 hours total at one time. If we wanted to reserve more, we'd have to come back I believe. That could be wrong for other ships, I'm not sure. The nursery was only open for drop offs from 10am-12pm and like 5:30pm-10pm or something on sea days. On the port day, they were only open from 5:30pm-10pm or so for drop off. Basically two hours in the morning and then dinner time. We were very annoyed that the majority of the day was not available.

 

[pclvnmcky88]

Also, there is only a certain number of babies/kids that they can have in the nursery at one time. If their slots are filled, your out of luck. It's not that big of a nursery honestly. On the first day dropping her off, they would not open the door until 10am but then would not allow people with reservations in first. We instead had to wait in line while others signed their kids up and lost 20 minutes of our reservation

 

[MonaMN]

Babies are much more expensive than you think... and as someone else mentioned, you won’t know how well your baby travels or how well you will adjust until baby is here. A cruise with our kid at that age would have been miserable (did not sleep well except at home) and a waste of money...

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

Royal! Those Royal ships are gorgeous and exciting. You won’t feel like you sacrificed anything. It will feel like a fun new adventure. $1000+ is a lot of money. Dcl will always be there to go back to.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

Wow. Also just saw that rccl would be a balcony (missed that the first time)— that really makes it no contest. If you go on dcl, a part of you won’t be able to enjoy it because you will be thinking about the money (been there done that). If you really wanted to do dcl for the higher price, you wouldn’t have so much doubt. Think of all the things you could do with the extra money. All cruises are fun. Congrats on the baby!

 

[Garyjames220]

Also, there is only a certain number of babies/kids that they can have in the nursery at one time. If their slots are filled, your out of luck. It's not that big of a nursery honestly. On the first day dropping her off, they would not open the door until 10am but then would not allow people with reservations in first. We instead had to wait in line while others signed their kids up and lost 20 minutes of our reservation

So the dcl nursery sounds a bit better and would not be as limited hours

 

[_auroraborealis_]

The DCL nursery also has capacity issues. I am not sure why people are suggesting RCCL has issues and DCL doesn't.

 

[BingoJoe]

I think DCL cruises are great, and I am a big Disney fan. At WDW I always spend extra to stay on site and am one of those people that basically think Universal is trash compared to WDW.

Having said that I think there are other cruise lines that are the same, or better than, DCL for the same price or cheaper. Celebrity cruises are simply better than DCL in my view. And I think the newer ships for Royal Caribbean are just as good for less money.

 

[Garyjames220]

I think DCL cruises are great, and I am a big Disney fan. At WDW I always spend extra to stay on site and am one of those people that basically think Universal is trash compared to WDW.

Having said that I think there are other cruise lines that are the same, or better than, DCL for the same price or cheaper. Celebrity cruises are simply better than DCL in my view. And I think the newer ships for Royal Caribbean are just as good for less money.

Does celebrity cruises have our kind of age group on it low. Late 20s early 30s

We can picking between Disney and royal. Omg why is this so hard

 

[BingoJoe]

Does celebrity cruises have our kind of age group on it low. Late 20s early 30s

We can picking between Disney and royal. Omg why is this so hard

I didn’t notice any difference in the demographic between the two on similar itineraries.

 

[Geomom]

Based upon all the interaction on this thread, You don't seem ready to change to a different cruise line. Your booked Disney cruise is in May 2021, over 18 months away. You have the lowest rate for that cruise from booking early and from using your obb. You have until the pif date to change your mind. There's no rush to make a decision at this point, I'd just keep it the way it is right now. Maybe in the next year you'll feel more strongly about switching or keeping this cruise.

 

[starvenger]

Does celebrity cruises have our kind of age group on it low. Late 20s early 30s

We can picking between Disney and royal. Omg why is this so hard

If it was easy, you wouldn't have asked in the first place.

There honestly isn't a "wrong" answer to your dilemma. It's now down to a matter of what works better for you, based on whatever criteria you decide on.

Based upon all the interaction on this thread, You don't seem ready to change to a different cruise line. Your booked Disney cruise is in May 2021, over 18 months away. You have the lowest rate for that cruise from booking early and from using your obb. You have until the pif date to change your mind. There's no rush to make a decision at this point, I'd just keep it the way it is right now. Maybe in the next year you'll feel more strongly about switching or keeping this cruise.

Since you do have the DCL booking you could also, in theory, put down a deposit for the Harmony cruise as well (I'm assuming you went for the refundable option). Then cancel one (or both) before PIF date.

 

[bbel]

So the dcl nursery sounds a bit better and would not be as limited hours

On Oasis (quantum and freedom) class ships the nursery is open 9am till midnight everyday (earlier if the ship docks earlier). $6 an hour before 6 and $8 after.
You may get a set amount of hour to start with (say 16) but you can use those as you like, want 16 all in one go, go for it. Want 2 hours 2 times a day, that works too. After the 2nd day, you can reserve more hours if you want to
You are also welcome to drop in at any time and if they have availability they'll take you.

You can also borrow free bags of toys from the nursery that you can swap around as you want so dont have to pack as much.

If you have any nursery related questions feel free to ask. I've worked in them on both lines, more recently royal, dcl was a while ago now, but there are many of those experts here already.

 

[cruisehopeful]

I feel like you are overthinking things. I would ignore all thoughts and go with my gut. You are going to have a great time no matter what you decide.

 

[JackieO]

I really like the idea a previous poster had, spend a couple of extra days at WDW. This seems like the very best option to me. You get the best room on your cruise and maybe a better island, and with the saved $1000 from changing to RC you could afford a couple of extra days in the parks. Seems like a win win to me!

 

[Kate_45]

Bearing in mind that your income is going to drop, I personally would do something different entirely. Instead of a last hurrah I would pop at least half the money into a fixed term savings account to spend on a Disney holiday when the kids are older.

Babies are relatively cheap to travel with but the costs of a child catches up way before the cute little parasites start paying their way. Imagine how nice it'll be in 5 years time to suddenly have some spare cash for them to go and hug Mickey, just as they become aware of ads and start asking to see the castle.

Personally with a young baby I would go for a nice easy 5 star all inclusive resort in Europe that has some interesting day trips nearby. I would take it in turns to sleep and read whilst the other parent entertains the relatively immobile baby. I would enjoy their naps and the adult time they offer. I would relish being able to go for a long walk with the buggy or sling any time of the day or night if they're poorly or unsettled. But that's just me. Conversely if money were no object I would be on the Disney cruise every time.

Whatever you chose you'll enjoy as you have no way of knowing for certain how the other option would have planned out. Have fun and enjoy your first family holiday.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

Bearing in mind that your income is going to drop, I personally would do something different entirely. Instead of a last hurrah I would pop at least half the money into a fixed term savings account to spend on a Disney holiday when the kids are older.

Babies are relatively cheap to travel with but the costs of a child catches up way before the cute little parasites start paying their way. Imagine how nice it'll be in 5 years time to suddenly have some spare cash for them to go and hug Mickey, just as they become aware of ads and start asking to see the castle.

Personally with a young baby I would go for a nice easy 5 star all inclusive resort in Europe that has some interesting day trips nearby. I would take it in turns to sleep and read whilst the other parent entertains the relatively immobile baby. I would enjoy their naps and the adult time they offer. I would relish being able to go for a long walk with the buggy or sling any time of the day or night if they're poorly or unsettled. But that's just me. Conversely if money were no object I would be on the Disney cruise every time.

Whatever you chose you'll enjoy as you have no way of knowing for certain how the other option would have planned out. Have fun and enjoy your first family holiday.

This is a great idea. There are so many fun things you can do that would cost even less.

 

[Garyjames220]

I really like the idea a previous poster had, spend a couple of extra days at WDW. This seems like the very best option to me. You get the best room on your cruise and maybe a better island, and with the saved $1000 from changing to RC you could afford a couple of extra days in the parks. Seems like a win win to me!

yeah it’s quite a good idea

am just wondering will me miss the magic of the disney ship to much

it’s really tempting though to save 1000 though plus about 600 in drinks

but part of me thinks because it’s going to be years until my wife is in work again should we go out with a bang, if I never had a place holder we would find it to costly. So if I deleyed it, we won’t have a place holder so the chances are we wouldn’t do it anyway. So it’s really a one and only last chance for a while anyway to do dcl

there are royal ships a hour from where I live that we could do at anytime too. However when dcl does cruises from England it’s always in summer months and we are priced out

 

[starvenger]

"Too much" is the real question. At a black and white level (granted it's never this simple), it comes down to what you cruise DCL for - the cruising or the "magic".

 

[Garyjames220]

"Too much" is the real question. At a black and white level (granted it's never this simple), it comes down to what you cruise DCL for - the cruising or the "magic".

i guess it’s mainly for the magic