This might be taboo but... cruise lines comparable to Disney for families?

[darnheather]

The major thing that keeps me going with another cruise line is the size of the rooms. There is no way my family of three would be comfortable in the majority of single rooms on the other lines. We loved the inside stateroom on DCL which can be a huge savings. Also, only one or two other lines that I have checked have an automatic savings for guests 3 and 4. For the trips that my family wants to do the savings are less than $1000 which is more than enough to keep me with DCL.

 

[disneyholic family]

royal caribbean...
we like both royal and dcl

 

[tvguy]

It also depends on your kids and your family as to what is a good fit.

Our kids first cruise was on HAL, they were 11 and 15. They loved the organized family activities, and had no interest at all in the kids clubs. But there were so many things to do on the ship on our own it was a great cruise.

Their second cruise was on Disney, they were 12 and 16. They (and DW and I) found the organized family activities very poorly attended (we were one of 4 families at the Disney Trivia contest), and DD did go to one kids club activity and found it lacking. Hard to have a music trivia event with a Castmember who knows nothing about music. But there were so many things to do on the ship on our own it was a great cruise.

Their third cruise, was on NCL America they were 16 and 20. There was no kids club for the 16 year old, but being that this cruise the ship was just basically a hotel, most of our time was in port almost all the time, it was a great cruise.

Their fourth cruise was on HAL, and they weren't kids anymore at ages 22 and 26, and my bar tab at the end of the cruise proved that.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Actually Disney Magic and Pixie Dust is the whole product, the superior designed, and built vessels with the classic lines and feel, the art deco and Nuevo deco interoir feel and just enough Disney touches to bring a smile to peoples faces.

A ship crew that is excellent and the best trained and I know that for a fact, because I know all the special training they get on American Maritime schools. Add to that how they have rescued many at sea, including being able to get the rescue boat in the water and save a person who fell off another cruise ship when the other cruise ship could not even get their boat in the water.

Their own special designed terminal and Bus service where the magic begins with videos on what's coming and Disney cartoons.

The excellent service,, yes other lines may have great service, but twisting that into saying its Disney Pixie Dust, doesn't work, Add great food and good family entertainment. The DISNEY characters that bring joy to the kids, young and old. Mickey and Minnie. Things like Animators Pallet MDR, food and mixers events and that is just starters.

One of my thing was we were taken the design of the Magic tour, (which by itself is a great tour) when Belle came around the corner and a young girl on the tour with her MOM, just cried out in joy. Belle spun around, flopped down onto the deck, lifted the girl into lap and calmed her down. She finally told the child that if she was at a door down the passageway at 1830, she could walk with Belle to a greeting session. Mom nodded ok, Belle got up waved good bye and I would bet a week pay that child was at the door at 1830 and had a memory that would last a lifetime.

If you feel DCL cruise are not world the money or your not willing to pay for it........please don't pay it, find another line your happy with and enjoy their product. RCCL is ok, NCL new ships the same, but they are cutting left and right. I will not sail Carnival.

However the bottom line is the Disney cruises are special with real Disney Magic and Pixie dust only found on their ships.

AKK

 

[Ofinn]

I was looking at the NCL Getaway(new ship) 9 night Baltic cruise next June. A verandah for 4 people is 5,200 this includes free drink package and free specialty dining. DCL Magic(old ship) verandah 10 night Baltic 16,000. Sometimes the price differences are too big too ignore.

 

[Hundredacre]

I was looking at the NCL Getaway(new ship) 9 night Baltic cruise next June. A verandah for 4 people is 5,200 this includes free drink package and free specialty dining. DCL Magic(old ship) verandah 10 night Baltic 16,000. Sometimes the price differences are too big too ignore.

I agree. Sometimes it is just obscene. And you wonder if you really are practicing good parenting putting your kids on dcl. I do not want my kids to get too delusional. I want them to understand how lucky they are. Going on the carnival vista or norwegian's escape amounts to baby steps because its not like they will be roughing it on brand new ships. But at least they won't be completely catered to. We will still go on dcl-- just much much less and more descriminatly.

 

[Jess_S]

I think this thread really illustrates how subjective people's opinions of cruise line are. I have sailed HAL, NCL and DCL and prefer DCL by a large margin. In my opinion, the food on NCL is way below DCL in terms of choice and quality. (I'm a vegetarian). Other posters here said that they thought the food quality and variety on NCL were superior to DCL.

I also thought service was better on DCL as compared to NCL (and that's comparing a DCL ocean view to an NCL suite). Others absolutely love the suite amenities and service on NCL.

My suggestion is to look at trip reports from the various lines so you can get a sense of the food, entertainment, and feel of each line. You can then decide which lines are comparable to DCL for you. (I'm not sure whether we can recommend other message boards, but I'm a big fan of a certain cruise-centric travel forum that covers all the major lines).

 

[Ofinn]

Our last cruise on dcl was great because of the ports. The food and service was mediocre at best. The crew wasnt exceptionally friendly. Im not trying to bash dcl, but Ive been on enough cruises to know that food and service varies from cruise to cruise. There were other things Ive noticed they have cut back on. I will cruise on dcl when I get a good price., but I've never gotten a high off the pixie dust that some of you speak of.

I did talk to someone on our last cruise that booked the 16000 dollar baltic cruise, but they lived in manhatten and also brought their nanny with them...im not in that tax bracket.