Summer 2020 European Cruises - DCL v. others?

[ngl]

I saw a similar thread on this topic and cannot find it now!

We are anxiously awaiting the Spring release of Disney's 2020 summer European cruise itineraries. I've been pricing them over the years and know it is a much bigger tag than what we have been paying for the DCL Carribbean ones we have been on. Also, I know their dates and itineraries are not as extensive as some others.

Each time we have sailed Concierge and really like that service. I've read on the boards that Norwegian Haven service may be comparable at a lower cost and possibly Princess lines. However, the one thing that seems to be the case is that neither seem to be child-friendly.

Our kids will be 11 and 9 and that time and are very well behaved but I do not want them to feel they are intruding on adult areas if that is truly what Norwegian and Princess are like. We want them to enjoy themselves fully. For that, the extra Disney price tag may be well worth it.

Just wanted to know if anyone had experience on those lines and the overall takeaway.

Thanks so much!

 

[cadien]

I've cruised in the Haven. It is very much designed and marketed for families. You just get a certain portion of passengers who grumble online that expensive and exclusive should automatically mean kid-free. The odds someone will express that opinion in person are pretty small. Norwegian does have adult-only areas separate from the Haven.

The Norwegian kids clubs are more structured than Disney's. More adult-led activities. Which I appreciated. And the tween age group ends up with a lot of field trips, for lack of a better word. We would see them all around the ship doing something as a group.

 

[lilsonicfan]

We are doing Europe in 2019 and originally were looking at DCL vs NCL in the Haven (on the Epic). NCL does now have one area that is age- restricted on the Haven (the sundeck, I think). To compare the cost, we are a family of 5. Sailing on NCL Epic in Haven for a very similar itinerary and dates as DCL Magic, the cost was the same (perhaps a touch less) in a 2BR Haven room vs two oceanview or inside rooms on the Magic. So we were sold. Haven is and has always been billed as a family-friendly area, though I think for many of the cruise lines that have a concierge level, some folks always suggest it should be adult-only.

Anyway, then I got antsy and decided to move the NCL cruise to MSC instead, where we will be staying at their concierge level (Yacht Club) for half the price of the Haven, but with even more and better perks. Again, a similar itinerary and same dates.

We have sailed Princess and our kids were very happy. Definitely more structure to the kids clubs. My kids were younger though so I'm not sure what the tweens do on Princess.

 

[lilsonicfan]

Forgot to say that Concierge on the Magic for that similar itinerary (7 night mediterranean) was more than twice the price of the NCL Haven. Haven guests get their own restaurant, pool etc.

 

[ngl]

Great info! Thanks to all of you.

I guess in general (besides price) how do you feel NCL compares to DCL in way of food, activities, staff friendliness, etc? I know it is all subjective but would like any and all input. Thanks!

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Great info! Thanks to all of you.

I guess in general (besides price) how do you feel NCL compares to DCL in way of food, activities, staff friendliness, etc? I know it is all subjective but would like any and all input. Thanks!

We've done 3 NCL cruises (1 in the Haven) and 6 DCL cruises (including 2 in Europe, in concierge). I hate to say it, but I didn't like NCL. I found it to be a bit tacky. There is a lot of up-selling and the staff never seemed to want to really help us. Even in the Haven, I felt very much, on my own. The food was fine and my son enjoyed the kids club. It's definitely family-friendly. I never felt like we were intruding on adult spaces. Yes, the DCL price tag is hard to swallow. We did our DCL Europe cruises in 2015 (we did a B2B). They were extraordinary. DCL does an amazing job of incorporating the culture, food, music of each country you visit into the sailing - when we sailed to Scotland, you would hear bagpipe music playing and Merida would make an appearance or Mickey and Minnie would appear in Norwegian costume when we visited the fjords. The menus all reflected each country as well. And the concierge staff on the Magic are fantastic. They bent over backwards to do whatever they could to make concierge guests' cruises the best they possibly could. They had private receptions on many evenings with special character meets. They even helped us book a last minute, sold out tour in Scotland. I still don't know how they pulled that off. My son got sick one day and they showed up at our stateroom with cards and a Mickey plush for him. We went to Iceland on our cruise and everyone had to line up in the theater to surrender our passports (they gave them back when we left Iceland!). Instead of waiting in line, the concierge staff took care of our passports for us. Truly extraordinary service. The prices have really skyrocketed over the years, though, I know. If we were to cruise in Europe, again, even with the price tag, I would pick DCL over NCL. Now, just thinking about it, I want to go back! I'll be checking out those 2020 itineraries as well

 

[Pens Fan]

I've only been on one NCL cruise (though our second begins in a little over a week). You will probably get a lot of differing opinions, but our experience was extremely positive. We found the service to be very comparable to Disney. The staff was friendly and professional and we enjoyed interacting with them. We found the food to be much better than Disney. Though, full disclaimer, we've never been huge fans of Disney's food. YMMV. One thing to be aware of on NCL is that they utilize the Freestyle dining concept. You won't have set dining times, tables, etc. You do need to make reservations at times - especially for the specialty restaurants. On the larger ships, you also need to reserve some of the shows. This annoys some people, but we loved it. We much prefer making our own plans and it is incredibly easy to make reservations online before your cruise even begins.

At some point, someone will come on here and offer up a "nickel and dime" comment, but we did not experience that - at all. Yes there are a few things they charge for that Disney doesn't (soda, room service are all that springs to mind right now - though room service is free in the Haven). By sailing in a suite, we received free specialty dining, free alcohol, free internet, $300 OBC, and even a small credit if we had booked shore excursions through NCL (we didn't). All of those things cost extra on Disney. You do have to pay the gratuities for the alcohol and specialty dining package. This annoys a lot of people. It doesn't bother me one bit, as we would tip the servers anyway. Now it's just built into the cruise fare. Works for me! On our upcoming cruise we are starting out with $550 in OBC due to NCL's booking perks and TA perks. Honestly, I have no clue what we will even spend it on. We don't gamble, so we can't even use it on that. Oh well. We will think of something! We may end up using it to tip our butler and concierge .

Our son was 19 on the one NCL cruise we have taken, so I can't speak to the kid's clubs. He loved it though! There were quite a few kids on board (summer in Alaska) and they all seemed to be having a good time. But I can't really help you other than that, sorry.

On the negative side, they do have a casino and yes, you will occasionally have to walk through or near it and you might smell smoke. If you are very sensitive about that, it could be an issue. My husband is allergic to cigarette smoke and my son has asthma. It still was not a big deal to us, but you will hear from others that it was. Everyone's different and has a right to their opinion about their own experience. It just wan't an issue for us, though. Also as a negative, on Disney we really enjoyed the enrichment programs - lectures and such. NCL really didn't do anything like that other than bring on a park ranger when we were in Glacier Bay to narrate. As we were out on our balcony, we couldn't even hear her. Oh well. They could really improve in that aspect!

In addition to our upcoming cruise, we are sailing with them in 2019 on a 14 night cruise to Italy, Greece, Croatia and Montenegro. They really do have some fabulous itineraries, as do many other lines (Celebrity, Princess and HAL all seem to offer some great ports). There is lot to choose from. Before you make a final decision, I'd recommend going over to Cruise Critic and checking out some of the forums for other cruise lines as well.

We also sailed Disney to Iceland / Norway and it was a fabulous cruise. But that was the very first one and the price since then has risen to an amount I'm just not willing to pay anymore. But everyone spends their money differently. For us, at this point in our lives, Penn State gets the biggest cut . Also, being able to sail in a suite is perfect for 3 adults traveling together due to the extra space and privacy a suite gives you. (Though our son won't be on the next two - Penn State calls ) Sailing in a suite on Disney was never an option for us - we just could never stomach that price as we like to take several vacations a year. A suite on Disney would mean that was the only trip we took, and that just didn't work for us. To each their own, though. It's good to have choices.

 

[lilsonicfan]

One of the reasons we are okay with doing a non-DCL cruise for Europe is because it’s so port-intensive. I just can’t stomach paying $10-11,000 for a 7 night cruise in two oceanview rooms where much of the day isn’t even on the ship. On our MSC cruise we will have a full drink package which includes things like milkshakes for the kids, crepes, unlimited gelato, and my fave: specialty coffees. We will have a private restaurant which I am really going to enjoy after a long port day. And it’s literally half the price. (Kids sail free or super cheap on MSC)

But okay onto service. We have done an NCL cruise and we were very happy with the service and food. We weren’t concierge on NCL or on DCL and I did not feel that DCL’s service far outshone that of NCL, but it sounds like concierge does get treated better. I’ve never really needed much from staff, though. I would sail either line again happily.

 

[aggiedog]

Another vote for MSC yacht club. We did the Med with them in 2017 for half the cost of DCL non-concierge. I loved the YC, the service was excellent (no pun intended!), the ship was ok and sometimes crowded in the non-YC areas. As mentioned though, this was port intensive and we were rarely on the ship. The YC lounge was an oasis of calm and relaxation after long, hot days, with free food, drinks, and the all important good coffee.

Our money goes to Texas A&M, lol, so cost is very important to us at this point in our lives.

 

[cadien]

I found both the service and food on NCL and Disney pretty equal. And since we were in the Haven on NCL, there wasn’t as much to upsell. The biggest difference to us is the atmosphere. Leaving Disney theming aside, their ships are very elegant and old-fashioned. NCL feels like Vegas or a nightclub. The overall decor, not just the presence of a casino. And there are just as many people who prefer the one as the other.

 

[owensamo]

We've cruised both Celebrity and DCL in Europe, and would consider MSC in the future as well. We actually have come to the conclusion that for a port-intensive cruise, we'd prefer to sail something other than DCL - the money saved allows us to do some more amazing things in port, as well as customize our cruise to our preferences. We haven't sailed concierge on Disney, but our 10n Italy/Greece cruise on Celebrity in a concierge verandah with included drinks package, unlimited internet, and 6 meals for the whole family in specialty restaurants cost less than our 12n Baltic in 2015 - which I'm pretty sure was in an inside stateroom. And we didn't feel like we were missing anything on the ship by spending more time in port, like I usually do on Disney.

I'm very interested in MSC since they actually do loyalty matching - so as Platnium on Disney, I'd be able to match to their highest loyalty level from the get go. That added to their top experiences (which are still less expensive than Disney) sounds like another great option for port-intensive cruises.

We are still sailing DCL - we're booked on the next WBPC. For that many sea days, I'll enjoy DCL and all the activities. We had a hard time finding onboard activities on Celebrity that were interesting - which is fine, since we all enjoy just sitting on deck or in the sky lounge reading - but I am looking forward to relaxing and fun Disney sea days. We're not going to stop sailing DCL, but for similar itineraries, we've found that for us, it can be worth it to try other options.

 

[ngl]

It seems like the consensus is for port intensive DCL, while wonderful, may not give you the bang for your buck (especially with near tweeners that we will have). On that note, this will be kids first trip to Europe (we have been doing many US or Carribbean trips to date). Do you think a land trip is better for the first? Or cruise? Again I know it is personal opinion but those with kids around 10-12 that went to Europe with them at that age would love the perspective.

I know nothing re MSC - I need to research!

You are all SO helpful. Thank you!!

 

[owensamo]

Do you think a land trip is better for the first? Or cruise? Again I know it is personal opinion but those with kids around 10-12 that went to Europe with them at that age would love the perspective.

It is very personal. I will say we've done a bit of both - both of our European cruises (and a DCL TA that ended in Barcelona) included a land portion tacked onto the cruise:

• 10yo DD - DCL 14n EBTA to Barecelona, then 5 nights in London
• 13yo DD - 6 nights in Paris, then train to Dover for DCL 12n Baltic
• 15yo DD - 5 nights in Rome, then train to Civitavecchia for Celebrity 10n Italy/Greece

Next year will be our first year doing a non-cruise European vacation - we're doing 4n each in 4 different cities in various countries in Europe. It will be more similar to our recent Hawaii vacation (3 islands) so not a completely unknown way of travel, but we're really used to land+cruise style vacations, so it'll be different. Our DD will be 17 at that point, so it's really more like 3 adults (which is hard to book hotels for!).

We've found that the cruises take some pressure off of things - you don't have to worry about booking different hotels, or how to get between cities, or where you're going to eat (or even if you'll be able to find food you like/can eat based on allergies). I think cruising is a great way to dip your toes in and get a feel for the places you may want to re-visit. But no cruise port stop is going to give you the same experience as extended time in an area. So like you said - it really is personal preference. I do know that we would likely not have had the experiences or trips we've had - or be taking our next trip like it is planned - had we not started with cruising.

 

[Pens Fan]

I think @owensamo perfectly summed up the comparison of land vs sea in Europe (or anywhere, really). I don't think there is a "best" way to do it. Though as this will be your kid's first time in Europe, maybe the cruise is a good way to introduce them to the region. You can always add in a few days at either end of the cruise to explore on land - have the best of both worlds. The way I look at it, if I'm going to shell out the money for airfare to Europe, I'm going to make it count. The 14 day cruise I mentioned above will be bookended by 3 nights in Rome and 2 nights in Montepulciano.

 

[FSU Girl]

The concierge prices for Europe on Disney are crazy expensive. They are also usually more port intense so you don’t use the concierge benefits as much. I think the biggest thing to off of would be itinerary. With only one ship sailing Europe you’ll be limited in where you can at what time of year if you sail with Disney.

When I was looking at different cruises for next year, sailing in Norwegian haven would have been less than a normal balcony cabin on Disney. I haven’t sailed on Norwegian, but I’ve heard good things and if you do one of the larger ships they’ll have all the bells and whistles for the kids.

Growing up I only sailed on Princess and had a blast. I loved the kids clubs and had a great time. We sailed in Europe on them when I was a teenager and it’s one of my favorite cruises I did. I can only imagine the kids clubs are even better now since I haven’t been in them for 10 years.

My advice is to wait until everyone has their schedules released and make a decision based on when would work best and where you want to go then go from there. Have fun!

 

[ldo]

Went on princess to British isles in July and med a few years ago.
They have kids clubs. If your kids will go into them, they’ll find plenty to do.
There is usually putt putt and a sports court with basketball. Regal class will have pickle ball also. Regale also have Alfredo’s a fantastic free upscale pizza parlor.
The shows are good and generally g pg rated. The movies under the stars are more Pg. we had star wars, black panther, midterm on orient express, darkest hour. At least 1/2 will be too “old” for 9/11 hr old imho. They show Strong R in a lounge such as red sparrow (?) 15:17 train.
They had voice on the ocean tryouts and final performance. Dancing with the seas. Both great for your ages.
Europe is very port intensive. You don’t spend much time on the ship. No pool slides etc.
A balcony deluxe with a pull down bunk bed works very well and is quite cost effective if you feel like downgrading from concierge. Our cruise fare with taxes port charges was $7000 for 4 persons for 12 day BI in July. I have zero complaints or ways to improve our BI cruise— from food to staff to entertainment. All excellent.
We ate in Mdr or Alfredo’s or even buffet a few nights. I asked kids and dh if it would have been worth it for dcl. All said no bc we were so busy and there were good options for evening.
We have also been on ncl epic when kids were 12. Pools and slides geared to them. Fun Bowling alley. Cirque. Pool area was crowded. Shows were good.
We prefer princess if a lot of days in port. Ncl if we need more onboard entertainment.

 

[ldo]

For your ages, the perfect pairing is a diy land trip then a cruise. But if you must pick, I’d do a cruise. Once unpacking and more options to relax. Shows. Unlimited food. Pools. Maybe Allow kids to skip a day in port and stay in kids club.
I recommend 3-4 days pre and a 1 week cruise. Rome is excellent for these ages. European flights and trains are inexpensive. You don’t have to limit your land to the port city. We have done Switzerland-Rome, Rome-Paris, Copenhagen-London, for example.
My kids don’t like a set schedule. So a land tour having to be up at 7 am is not going to work.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

It seems like the consensus is for port intensive DCL, while wonderful, may not give you the bang for your buck (especially with near tweeners that we will have). On that note, this will be kids first trip to Europe (we have been doing many US or Carribbean trips to date). Do you think a land trip is better for the first? Or cruise? Again I know it is personal opinion but those with kids around 10-12 that went to Europe with them at that age would love the perspective.

I know nothing re MSC - I need to research!

You are all SO helpful. Thank you!!

It really depends on the kid. We've done both cruises and land tours in Europe (DCL, Adventures by Disney and then Greece on our own). When my DS was younger, he definitely preferred the cruise. It offered him a dedicated place to run around and unwind after a day of touring. My son is now 10 and we just did Greece on our own for three weeks this past summer. I definitely made sure to create a balance of touring with some days of simply relaxing. I would say he definitely enjoyed the "relaxing" part more, LOL, but he did enjoy seeing Greece!

 

[MonaMN]

We are considering a European cruise in a few years due to my kid’s food allergies (navigating that in a country where we don’t know the language is daunting, and at least we know she could eat on the ship). But since time on the ship would be limited, it is likely we would try a non-Disney ship... well, if I can convince DD and DH who are enamored with DCL.

 

[cheermom2four]

We did a european cruise last september (there was 7 of us between 2 verandah cabins). Honestly, its so port intensive, we really never enjoyed the ship much. We were exhausted from all the ports (3 of them we did ourselves and one we did a DCL excursion). I havent been on any other cruise lines yet but because its so port intensive (we are looking at northern europe) we may go another cruise line.