We always end up back with DCL

[Karin1984]

I find it interesting that you do not get past the stage to think about another cruiseline. You will never know if you will enjoy another line unless you try it.

Only when experiencing the Disney brand is vital to your vacations, you can stop looking.

If it is not an essential part of your vacation, do your research and find what other cruiseline(s) might be a good fit as well.

 

[tink1970]

For a while...then we tried Viking and fell in love. Buuut they really like to have their money up front unless you have another cruise booked with them. So that's challenging. After a lot of research, we tried Celebrity...and RAN back to The Mouse.

Right now, we have 3 more DCLs and 2 Viking cruises booked. I'm excited about the Destiny so I'm sure we'll sail her at some point. Vacation time and funds are finite in my household so after the Celebrity Debacle there's only so much experimentation I'm willing to do so I'm happy to split my cruising between Disney and Viking if the time/itineraries work for me.

 

[cdoc29]

We cruised with Carnival and Princess and they were fine as a couple with no kids though I preferred carnival as it was less pretentious and the food tasted better before we went on our first DCL cruise. We did two of them with our Kids and then we went with RCCL for our Alaska cruise. The differences for us were stark. The kids clubs were only open for 2-3 hour blocks at a time and were so small compared to DCL. I had to walk through the arcade to get to them which was an annoyance. The service across the ship (especially our dining staff and room steward) was not good (this just may be our bad luck as we near the end of the season) compared to our two DCL cruises. Quick story to show what I mean, the first night in the dining room the table next to us was 45 minutes late arriving to dinner and we didn't get service our meal until they did, when I asked what took so long I was told they could only pick up the meals 1 time and our server had to wait until both of their tables were ready to pick up the food. I asked to speak to the head waiter as I had two little kids and thought this was a bad policy and it was reaffirmed by him. The table next to us was late every night to dinner. RCCL did a mid-week survey and I put in the survey (among other things) that I thought this was a stupid policy, that night our table got a lecture from the waiter and the head waiter that if we had an issue we should have brought it up with them, it was really uncomfortable. That night they brought all our food at the same time, appetizer, main dish and dessert. We never ate in the main dining room again that cruise and removed our tips for them. It seemed RCCL was always looking to upsell, from the waitstaff always recommending the specialty restaurant steak served in the main dining room for an uncharge, to the staff from specialty restaurants wandering the ship trying to book passengers, to the spa staff interrupting my coffee every morning asking if I would like to book a massage. The pastries cost extra in the coffee shop etc.... I felt like I pay more for DCL but I get better service, no hassle or upsell when I am eating, and my Soda is included. After two Disney cruises all we could do was wander the ship thinking DCL is more clean, service is better delivered and food tasted way better in main dining rooms. We are cruising in three weeks after taking a hiatus during the covid pandemic and we didn't even consider another cruise line after DCL has spoiled us.

 

[brentm77]

Anyone else who has gone on DCL having a hard time considering another cruise line such as Royal Caribbean? When we think about another cruise we end up back at DCL. Anyone else in the same boat?

Ha. Yes, that has happened to us for years. It's really come down to risk aversion and not wanting to risk vacation time. This summer we will finally break that pattern and then we will see if we have been spending extra money needlessly or come running back.

 

[brentm77]

You’re describing loyalty. That’s why brands work so hard to earn it - because you become emotionally invested and thus reject the competition.

Posters want to justify it by complimenting Disney’s service, but yet DVl charges a premium so that service isn’t coming without a price. Meanwhile, on other cruise lines/ specific ships, you can upgrade to a higher level of service that blows DCL away and still costs less…

Not all brand loyalty is emotional. Just because someone has looked at the evidence and reached a different conclusion than you as to why the prefer this brand, doesn't mean it's emotional. It could be, but you don't have enough information to reach that conclusion with OP.

Before you respond, "how do you know if you haven't tried other lines," that's not realistic for every brand you use. If I find a good salsa brand that I love, I don't need to try the 50 salsas my store has to stick to the brand. I can look at the ingredients of other bottles and decide I'm happy with the salsa brand I like, even if there other brands are half the price.

Similarly, a person can look at the marketing materials, reviews, blogs, vlogs, and forums to decide if another brand could be a replacement for DCL and conclude it's not likely, or even that, they don't know. Then it becomes a simple risk analysis. The risk is that, given the average person only gets a very small number of vacations in a lifetime, a bad vacation uses a valuable limited resource. Meaning the downside of a bad cruise is rather high. On the other hand, when taking the entire vacation cost into account, the DCL premium may be rather small, and for some people, "in the noise." It could be a completely logical decision not to take the risk of trying another brand, even if ultimately the brand would turn out to be as good or better. They are buying security of knowing they will use their vacation time and overall investment well.

Finally, what is "better" is almost completely subjective. If everything just works well for someone on DCL, and the price difference isn't that important to them, there is little incentive to try something else.

 

[scoobysgirl]

Nope...something would be missing...mainly, Mickey & Minnie!!

Anyone else who has gone on DCL having a hard time considering another cruise line such as Royal Caribbean? When we think about another cruise we end up back at DCL. Anyone else in the same boat?

 

[scrappinginontario]

For us it's all about the cost of the cruise. We have sailed DCL 4 times but that's over a 12 year span as it took me that long each time to afford the price and often we stayed interior.

Earlier this year we branched out and tried RCL.

Was it Disney? No.

Did we enjoy it? Yes, almost as much.

Who are we sailing with next? RCL.

With my income where it is, it's sail RCL or don't sail at all so, we sail RCL. We're booked on a 7 night cruise next March on the Harmony. A 7 night Caribbean sailing, verandah cabin was 55% of the cost of almost an identical sailing, same week, INTERIOR cabin with DCL.

DCL will always have my heart and if we win the lottery I'll jump back in a heartbeat but, for now, RCL is who we'll be sailing with.

PS - I did notice that the vast majority of those who responded who are able to be loyal to Disney, have sailed MANY times so in a different financial bracket. Not saying it's wrong and is understandable, just possibly a factor (plus itinerary options DCL does not offer) for those who sail DCL exclusively vs those who branch out.

 

[maui2k5]

For us it's all about the cost of the cruise. We have sailed DCL 4 times but that's over a 12 year span as it took me that long each time to afford the price and often we stayed interior.

Earlier this year we branched out and tried RCL.

Was it Disney? No.

Did we enjoy it? Yes, almost as much.

Who are we sailing with next? RCL.

With my income where it is, it's sail RCL or don't sail at all so, we sail RCL. We're booked on a 7 night cruise next March on the Harmony. A 7 night Caribbean sailing, verandah cabin was 55% of the cost of almost an identical sailing, same week, INTERIOR cabin with DCL.

DCL will always have my heart and if we win the lottery I'll jump back in a heartbeat but, for now, RCL is who we'll be sailing with.

PS - I did notice that the vast majority of those who responded who are able to be loyal to Disney, have sailed MANY times so in a different financial bracket. Not saying it's wrong and is understandable, just possibly a factor (plus itinerary options DCL does not offer) for those who sail DCL exclusively vs those who branch out.

Totally makes sense financially and that is a wise way to look at travel - to stay within your means. For us, we have been on 6 Disney Cruises, but did have a gap between 2016-2021 where we did not cruise. We have gone on 3 DCL cruises since 2021, but I have been considering RCL just to experience it and they do have ships that leave out of Galveston (we are in Houston).

I can see us one day trying out one of the mega ships to experience it and have our own comparison. The other consideration is my wife has Celiac so she has to avoid gluten so I am unsure how well RCL is with allergies. I would imagine quite good being they have upwards of 6000 passengers on their Oasis class ships.

 

[jnsma]

We love DCL and have done 20+ cruises with them, but are experimenting with others when DCL doesn’t have quite the itinerary we are looking for. We’ve done Viking (Christmas markets) and are about to go on RCCL (Croatia) cruise. Also considering other smaller ship options (Windstar). I’m at the point where the itinerary is the primary consideration and the line/ship comes later.
Also, for us the shows and restaurants are getting repetitive, so that isn’t a compelling factor for us. That said given the same itinerary, we would default to DCL.

 

[juxtapose]

We don't cruise enough to need a ton of itinerary options so that'd not a negative to us. I've looked at other lines but by the time I get a room that has as much space as DCL and also has bunk beds for my kids (they will not share a bed anymore) it's usually almost the same cost. Throw in food allergies, my son's love of DCL kid's clubs, and I can't convince myself to try another line.

Now if in the future we cruise without kids, I don't see us doing DCL.

 

[tgropp]

Eve went on five Disney cruises , two Royal Caribbean and two Celebrity Cruises. Princess will be our next cruise. Disney is still the best by far but definitely not worth it to us when it’s almost double that of other cruises

 

[Henlady]

We did 15 Disney cruises over all of the ships, then we tried RC Independence of the Seas last October. It was just OK. Food onboard was not great. DH actually had a difficult time finding stuff he liked a couple of nights. Food on CoCo Cay was good. The central promenade of the ship felt like a mall. We are back to DCL in August. We might try RC again but definitely a different ship.

 

[auntlynne]

@brentm77 - I always use used Kraft Mayo. After 60 years, I wondered if it truly was my favorite. Now I have Duke’s in my fridge (which my mother said she grew up with; don’t know why we didn’t, unless it was not available). And also like Hellman’s.

I’m challenging my thinking and reaching out to experiment. It’s just a $5 jar of Mayo or a new restaurant or menu item - but at least I expect to eat again if I’m not thrilled.

For those with limited vacation time and money (I have plenty of time, not so much money), I can see how intimidating trying a new cruise line could be.

 

[auntlynne]

For a while...then we tried Viking and fell in love. Buuut they really like to have their money up front unless you have another cruise booked with them. So that's challenging. After a lot of research, we tried Celebrity...and RAN back to The Mouse.

Right now, we have 3 more DCLs and 2 Viking cruises booked. I'm excited about the Destiny so I'm sure we'll sail her at some point. Vacation time and funds are finite in my household so after the Celebrity Debacle there's only so much experimentation I'm willing to do so I'm happy to split my cruising between Disney and Viking if the time/itineraries work for me.

I’d like to be able to fall in love with Viking, too. When I see photos of it, I think “adult answer to Disney.” Are they as serene and peaceful as they seem? I know guests contribute to this aspect, but background music, frantic entertainment (trying to pump up the audience)?

 

[CarolynU]

We cruised with Carnival and Princess and they were fine as a couple with no kids though I preferred carnival as it was less pretentious and the food tasted better before we went on our first DCL cruise. We did two of them with our Kids and then we went with RCCL for our Alaska cruise. The differences for us were stark. The kids clubs were only open for 2-3 hour blocks at a time and were so small compared to DCL. I had to walk through the arcade to get to them which was an annoyance. The service across the ship (especially our dining staff and room steward) was not good (this just may be our bad luck as we near the end of the season) compared to our two DCL cruises. Quick story to show what I mean, the first night in the dining room the table next to us was 45 minutes late arriving to dinner and we didn't get service our meal until they did, when I asked what took so long I was told they could only pick up the meals 1 time and our server had to wait until both of their tables were ready to pick up the food. I asked to speak to the head waiter as I had two little kids and thought this was a bad policy and it was reaffirmed by him. The table next to us was late every night to dinner. RCCL did a mid-week survey and I put in the survey (among other things) that I thought this was a stupid policy, that night our table got a lecture from the waiter and the head waiter that if we had an issue we should have brought it up with them, it was really uncomfortable. That night they brought all our food at the same time, appetizer, main dish and dessert. We never ate in the main dining room again that cruise and removed our tips for them. It seemed RCCL was always looking to upsell, from the waitstaff always recommending the specialty restaurant steak served in the main dining room for an uncharge, to the staff from specialty restaurants wandering the ship trying to book passengers, to the spa staff interrupting my coffee every morning asking if I would like to book a massage. The pastries cost extra in the coffee shop etc.... I felt like I pay more for DCL but I get better service, no hassle or upsell when I am eating, and my Soda is included. After two Disney cruises all we could do was wander the ship thinking DCL is more clean, service is better delivered and food tasted way better in main dining rooms. We are cruising in three weeks after taking a hiatus during the covid pandemic and we didn't even consider another cruise line after DCL has spoiled us.

I’ve never cruised RCCL but I have loads of friends who have and I’m amazed by this rule bringing multiple tables food at the same time, and once only. Was this a pandemic rule or something? Has anyone else on here experienced this with RCCL. My friend is a Canadian TA and sails with them regularly I’ll have to ask her about it.
Maybe there were very specific circumstances for this but I’d want to know why. Plus it’s inexcusable to lecture guests!!

 

[mousewithralph]

Anyone else who has gone on DCL having a hard time considering another cruise line such as Royal Caribbean? When we think about another cruise we end up back at DCL. Anyone else in the same boat?

We're in the same boat. By the time I price out the rooms we would need since we have a family of 5, Disney makes sense. I would never sail Carnival and I do like the RCL itineraries, but apples to apples I feel DCL wins in so many categories. We also drink and the ability to bring on our own wine and the cheap drinks on ship make it a value as well because the drink plans/individual drinks are crazy on the other lines.

That being said if I am going without my kids I do want to try Utopia or Icon from RCL.

 

[JM_97]

For us it's all about the cost of the cruise. We have sailed DCL 4 times but that's over a 12 year span as it took me that long each time to afford the price and often we stayed interior.

Earlier this year we branched out and tried RCL.

Was it Disney? No.

Did we enjoy it? Yes, almost as much.

Who are we sailing with next? RCL.

With my income where it is, it's sail RCL or don't sail at all so, we sail RCL. We're booked on a 7 night cruise next March on the Harmony. A 7 night Caribbean sailing, verandah cabin was 55% of the cost of almost an identical sailing, same week, INTERIOR cabin with DCL.

DCL will always have my heart and if we win the lottery I'll jump back in a heartbeat but, for now, RCL is who we'll be sailing with.

PS - I did notice that the vast majority of those who responded who are able to be loyal to Disney, have sailed MANY times so in a different financial bracket. Not saying it's wrong and is understandable, just possibly a factor (plus itinerary options DCL does not offer) for those who sail DCL exclusively vs those who branch out.

I say it all the time... If it was financially possible for me to sail Disney every single time, I'd do it without hesitation. But that's just not realistic.

For my next non-Disney cruise out of PC, I'm probably going to compromise and go to Disney Springs or Epcot the day before.

 

[Joysnote]

I do prefer Disney for most cruises & am Platinum so if they go where I want to go then I pick them. I have tried Carnival, Royal and Princess because they do go other places. I also have a Viking Christmas Market River cruise booked, so very excited about that.

Just like I love going to WDW and DLR but there are other places to go, so I do go skiing on vacation and to Europe etc but I am also always going to go to WDW & DLR.

Joy

 

[o&smom]

I’d like to be able to fall in love with Viking, too. When I see photos of it, I think “adult answer to Disney.” Are they as serene and peaceful as they seem? I know guests contribute to this aspect, but background music, frantic entertainment (trying to pump up the audience)?

I have been excited to try Viking ocean once the kids are out of the house. I just watched a review from Gary Bembridge (tips for travelers) on YouTube and am now a little hesitant. He went on an Alaska sailing and felt the crowd was quite old. I believe he is his mid 60’s and felt most people were at least 10 to 20 years older than him.

 

[cdoc29]

I’ve never cruised RCCL but I have loads of friends who have and I’m amazed by this rule bringing multiple tables food at the same time, and once only. Was this a pandemic rule or something? Has anyone else on here experienced this with RCCL. My friend is a Canadian TA and sails with them regularly I’ll have to ask her about it.
Maybe there were very specific circumstances for this but I’d want to know why. Plus it’s inexcusable to lecture guests!!

This was in 2018 well before Covid. I think it was more the waitstaff being lazy and not wanting to make two trips to get the food. They also told me that the only glasses available for my 5 and 7 year old was the big heavy goblets for water. In fact When we went o sit down lunch with random servers we had no problem with getting more kid friendly glasses, food served in a reasonable time etc.... We had a Jr. Suite and our room steward would leave couch as a bed all day unless we called and when we got back in the evening we would have to call to ask for it to be set up for bedtime, My parents on the opposite side of the ship had a wonderful cabin steward who they tipped extra the service was so good. My biggest issue was the service was inconsistent, 25% of the staff were awesome, 50% did an OK job and 25% were really bad at their jobs. When I have cruised DCL it has always been 80-90% of the staff are awesome and the rest do an OK job. I know DCL costs more (but not that much more when you are looking at comparable cabin size) but the service we have received on DCL makes it worth it for the extra cost for us.