We always end up back with DCL

[longboard55]

8 DCLs loved every trip, but we will try Explora in the Mediterranean. next summer. Before Disney we tried of few others like Carnival and Princess and did not really like them but looking back a lot was an unexciting itinerary. We are finding the best thing about cruising is discovering places you would never visit. You will never get me on one of those new monster boats.

 

[CM Dad]

I am one cruise short of Pearl on DCL (my wife is 2 short, since I did take one cruise without her). We have done multiple itineraries, including Mediterranean, Norwegian Fjords, Alaska, Hawaii, Panama Canal, Canada, Bermuda as well as the normal Bahamas/Caribbean. The last 2 DCL cruises we took were the first two Wish cruises. We have mostly gone with just the two of us. Our first cruise was with our 4 kids, one boyfriend and our three living parents. We have also taken 2 DCL cruises with our 4 kids and their families (6 grandkids for the 1st and 7 for the 2nd). The first with 6 grandkids, they ranged from barely 3 months (before they changed the minimum age to 6 months) and 5 years, with one of our daughters 23 weeks pregnant. The 2nd with grandkids was two years later in 2017, now with the additional grandkid. In 2018, one of our daughters and her family with 4 kids joined us on the 1st Disney Bermuda cruise.

More recently, we have been cruising on RCL. Last November, we took 3 of our kids and their families on the RCL Wonder of the Seas. The grandkids had a great time and the oldest grandson has been trying to see how they can arrange another cruise. I don't think they used the RCL kids clubs at all (or if they did, they didn't find them to their liking). The two families don't live near each other, so the cousins spent their time together.

My wife and I have been on 10 RCL cruises, starting in 2021, and have 5 more booked. To be honest, if it were up to my wife, we would switch back to DCL, RCL does have cruises out of Baltimore, which is only about and hour drive from our home, so that makes it easier to get to the port. I do enjoy using the casino while on the cruise (I don't go to land based casinos, except a few years ago when we visited Las Vegas to get together with 2 of my brothers who are spread across the country. In fact, some of my RCL cruises have been "free" based on my play in the casino. I don't have very good records, but I'm sure that I have lost less in the casino than the cruises would have cost me. The casino status also gets me, but not my wife, free drinks in the casino while gambling. Since we recently reached the Diamond status in their equivalent to DCLs Castaway Club, we also get 4 free drinks per day. I think I saw one of the prior comments mention that you could bring wine onboard with DCL, but not other cruise lines. RCL allows each adult 21+ to bring a bottle of wine at embarkation. DCL allows beer, but RCL does not.

I do miss the DCL All Hands on Deck cheese platter from room service. RCL does not seem to anything like that.

We do enjoy the rotational dining on DCL, vs eating at the same location every dinner on RCL.

Depending on the ship, RCL does offer more options for specialty (paid) dining and they are not adult only (having kids in the specialty dining could be a positive or negative depending on what you want).

We did have a NCL Alaska cruise booked, but that ended up being cancelled due to the covid shutdowns.

We will be trying a Princess cruise booked for next year. Originally, we had booked a transatlantic next October on what will be the next new Princess ship that was supposed to start sailing next July. The last I heard that was being delayed until late September, se we cancelled that, and used the future cruise credit to book a cruise to Canada instead.

I probably will book at least one more cruise on Disney, but It will probably have to wait until after I retire. I'm running out of vacation time to take the cruises we already have scheduled.

 

[JM_97]

I am one cruise short of Pearl on DCL (my wife is 2 short, since I did take one cruise without her). We have done multiple itineraries, including Mediterranean, Norwegian Fjords, Alaska, Hawaii, Panama Canal, Canada, Bermuda as well as the normal Bahamas/Caribbean. The last 2 DCL cruises we took were the first two Wish cruises. We have mostly gone with just the two of us. Our first cruise was with our 4 kids, one boyfriend and our three living parents. We have also taken 2 DCL cruises with our 4 kids and their families (6 grandkids for the 1st and 7 for the 2nd). The first with 6 grandkids, they ranged from barely 3 months (before they changed the minimum age to 6 months) and 5 years, with one of our daughters 23 weeks pregnant. The 2nd with grandkids was two years later in 2017, now with the additional grandkid. In 2018, one of our daughters and her family with 4 kids joined us on the 1st Disney Bermuda cruise.

More recently, we have been cruising on RCL. Last November, we took 3 of our kids and their families on the RCL Wonder of the Seas. The grandkids had a great time and the oldest grandson has been trying to see how they can arrange another cruise. I don't think they used the RCL kids clubs at all (or if they did, they didn't find them to their liking). The two families don't live near each other, so the cousins spent their time together.

My wife and I have been on 10 RCL cruises, starting in 2021, and have 5 more booked. To be honest, if it were up to my wife, we would switch back to DCL, RCL does have cruises out of Baltimore, which is only about and hour drive from our home, so that makes it easier to get to the port. I do enjoy using the casino while on the cruise (I don't go to land based casinos, except a few years ago when we visited Las Vegas to get together with 2 of my brothers who are spread across the country. In fact, some of my RCL cruises have been "free" based on my play in the casino. I don't have very good records, but I'm sure that I have lost less in the casino than the cruises would have cost me. The casino status also gets me, but not my wife, free drinks in the casino while gambling. Since we recently reached the Diamond status in their equivalent to DCLs Castaway Club, we also get 4 free drinks per day. I think I saw one of the prior comments mention that you could bring wine onboard with DCL, but not other cruise lines. RCL allows each adult 21+ to bring a bottle of wine at embarkation. DCL allows beer, but RCL does not.

I do miss the DCL All Hands on Deck cheese platter from room service. RCL does not seem to anything like that.

We do enjoy the rotational dining on DCL, vs eating at the same location every dinner on RCL.

Depending on the ship, RCL does offer more options for specialty (paid) dining and they are not adult only (having kids in the specialty dining could be a positive or negative depending on what you want).

We did have a NCL Alaska cruise booked, but that ended up being cancelled due to the covid shutdowns.

We will be trying a Princess cruise booked for next year. Originally, we had booked a transatlantic next October on what will be the next new Princess ship that was supposed to start sailing next July. The last I heard that was being delayed until late September, se we cancelled that, and used the future cruise credit to book a cruise to Canada instead.

I probably will book at least one more cruise on Disney, but It will probably have to wait until after I retire. I'm running out of vacation time to take the cruises we already have scheduled.

My only hesitation is that Royal is building nothing but mega ships. Which is fine and they are clearly the way of the industry. But the Fantasy and Wish-sized ships are my favorite.

I definitely want to try RCL, but I go back and forth on if I want a ship that size.

 

[Retiredcruiser]

We thought the same about RCL until we sailed with them on a 7 night Alaskan cruise back in May.

My wife and I have been on 7 DCL cruises to date and are looking to other lines in search of new destinations and experiences. Next up for us is Virgin and Celebrity but of course have them surrounded by 5 DCL cruises booked!

In regards to RCL, my advice is to stay away. We had the opportunity to experience the "best" they had to offer on our 7 night Alaskan cruise back in May which included the Genie, speciality restaurants, etc. and let's just say we will never sail RCL again. We were provided FCCs resulting from everything that went wrong during the trip and they are now failing to honor them as promised for our Celebrity cruise.

 

[CM Dad]

My only hesitation is that Royal is building nothing but mega ships. Which is fine and they are clearly the way of the industry. But the Fantasy and Wish-sized ships are my favorite.

I definitely want to try RCL, but I go back and forth on if I want a ship that size.

Royal has announced plans to build a smaller class of ships apparently called Project Discovery. If they were to retire the current smaller ships without a replacement, my wife and I would no longer be able to cruise out of the port of Baltimore, which can't handle the mega ships.

https://www.thestreet.com/travel/fo...ibbean has been hinting,just that,” he shared.

 

[wishiwasindisneyjen]

We've tried RCL (Allure) and NCL (Prima) and are back to DCL. RCL was to try something different and we sailed NCL last year for the 10 night Iceland and Norway itinery. RCL was ok. I thought the NCL Prima was a beautiful ship and the food was really good, however the level of service just wasn't up to Disney. Also, the crowd seemed older than DCL, which was one of the reasons my daughter wanted to stick with DCL.

I would try another line again in the future for the itinerary. But our preference is DCL.

I've been wanting to book the Prima Iceland/Norway itinerary, did you enjoy it? Would you recommend?

 

[Snowwhyt]

I’m planning on sending my parents on Royal Caribbean in September. So I feel it’s a better fit for them than me.

But no interest in Castaway Cay or Lookout Cay? Or just beaches in general? I do hope the Wish ship and experience is great for you otherwise.

I look forward to Lookout Cay for one weird reason. To see it in its infancy with underdeveloped landscaping. And a second time to see its beauty with comparison to my memories of its beginning. So lol, I want to have my back to the beach and look at the trees and brush and any color they can add to the area. I’m so weird!
After that, if daughter has kids maybe a little beach time then and either beach will do.
I might check out CC in September because it seems changed a little because I didn’t find the shops except the DCL one. I know they had several shops before Covid but is there only one now?

But what really took me by surprise was the salmon on the buffet (offered nightly). There was a choice of crispy (not fried, but the topping was crunchy) or broiled. A few weeks ago, we stayed at the Yacht Club at WDW and went to Flying Fish for dinner. I opted for their salmon as the waitress told me how wonderful it is. Pre-AP discount, I think it was $48. I asked for it blackened and got this woeful piece that looked like it was an appetizer that had zero char to it. This was really disappointing. I can hand-on-heart say that the buffet salmon on MSC not only was prepared better, looked better, tasted better, but was fresh and plentiful. Flying Fish holds nothing over MSC's salmon even on a buffet (that's really telling to me). The desserts in the MDR were exceptional. My strawberry reduction cannoli was the winner this past trip.

MSC's main theater entertainment is very good, but certainly not what I would classify as world class. They seem to use the same dancers/singers, but in various sets/arrangements creating a different show each night. In contrast, I found the lounge entertainment to be excellent.

Since I did a back-to-back cruise, I spent quite a bit of time on their island. I loved staying overnight (2X) to see things at sunset and nighttime.

Always did dinner in the main restaurant so I missed the salmon. Sounds like I would have liked it. I did find most of the really good things empty on the buffet. It was kind of a bummer. After a while one(me) looks like a pig if you take too many trips to get in line.

 

[auntlynne]

I’m planning on sending my parents on Royal Caribbean in September. So I feel it’s a better fit for them than me.

I look forward to Lookout Cay for one weird reason. To see it in its infancy with underdeveloped landscaping. And a second time to see its beauty with comparison to my memories of its beginning. So lol, I want to have my back to the beach and look at the trees and brush and any color they can add to the area. I’m so weird!
After that, if daughter has kids maybe a little beach time then and either beach will do.
I might check out CC in September because it seems changed a little because I didn’t find the shops except the DCL one. I know they had several shops before Covid but is there only one now?

Always did dinner in the main restaurant so I missed the salmon. Sounds like I would have liked it. I did find most of the really good things empty on the buffet. It was kind of a bummer. After a while one(me) looks like a pig if you take too many trips to get in line.

Totally understand the interest in seeing the growth of foliage. And you get to see (and photograph) the maturation over time. Many guests will not make the effort to consciously pay attention in the early years. Maybe just think LC isn’t as good as CC. Years later, with developed plants, they may return and think it’s not so bad - never realizing it’s the way plants fill in that was the difference. (Probably preaching to the choir with you).

I am not a “beach person”, either. Or maybe not a sun lounger. The water and sand at LC are what I would like to see.

CC plants are so well developed now. Enjoy!

 

[Joel0917]

Just finishing our first RCL after 17 DCL cruises. We chose Utopia. Safe to say we are sticking with DCL.
Pro: main dining room food was excellent
Pro: we got to terminal at 10 am and were on the ship by 1020. No hanging it in terminal like all DCL cruises.
Best pro: Coco cay. The pool!!! OMG what a break from those of us that don’t want the ocean.
Pro: nice pools on ship and plenty of chairs

Cons: loud music everywhere. My head was thumping at the pool had to leave at 230 pm
Every show is super loud
Con: smoking on pool deck
Con: the adult area is the solarium so shaded and the pools there are pam
Con; nowhere to put glasses and plates so plates and glasses everywhere everyday
Huge con: paying up for dinner at chops. It was $130 for the 2 of us to upgrade and it was not worth it. Poor service. Waiter knew nothing about the wines. Also no real cocktail menu there. And the service was so rushed we had t make the process slow and that was like effort. The steak was delicious. The deserts felt like store bought.
Compared to Palo for $100 two people upgrade with excellent service and better food and presentation.


shows were fun and good but if I did RCL multiple times I’d skip these shows like I do on DCL sometimes after having seen Believ over and over.
Room layout for us was good.

And i need to mention this was fist cruise no kids just us two as a test. My son talked us out of Icon of the seas this year for spring break.

 

[shaycamp21]

We have cruised on DCL, NCL, Carnival and RCCL (NCL is our least favourite). DLC has my heart but I just can't justify their prices (especially when converted to CAD $) and I don't find the itineraries very exciting, at least at the times of year we can travel. Last summer we did an amazing 12 night RCCL cruise from Singapore to Japan. We stayed 5 nights pre-cruise in Singapore and the cruise had ports in Vietnam, Hong Kong (2 days in port here), Taiwan and several ports in Japan ending in Tokyo (where we stayed 5 nights post cruise). We got to experience Hong Kong Disneyland as a port excursion and Tokyo Disneyland and Disney Sea (we stayed for 3 nights at Tokyo Disney's Ambassador Hotel) which was just amazing. I am not knocking anyone's love for Disney as I try as best as I can to find some way to add Disney magic in my vacations but there is a whole big world to explore. We just returned from 3 incredible weeks exploring Thailand and am glad I've started venturing outside the Disney bubble.

 

[CarolynU]

Well, we are now Platinum with DCL and are returning to do the 7-day Eastern Carribean on the Treasure with our entire family in November 2025. But after having a bad experience (absolutely terrible servers/tons of noisy little kids) on the 7-day Eastern Carribean Fantasy Pixar Cruise last January, DW and I decided to branch out and try an expedition cruise. We chose to sail on Swan Hellenic's Circumnavigation of Iceland Cruise this past June. We were on the SH Diana, which holds 192 passengers and a crew of 142. But there were only 82 passengers, and we were treated like royalty!
View attachment 880445
Yes, the cruise was expensive. But DW sailed for 50% off and we got a $1600 upgrade from our Travel Advisor to a balcony stateroom. And the cost of the cruise included staying our first night at the Courtyard by Marriot just down the road from the Reykjavik Airport. We were also met at the airport, shuttled to the hotel, and provided a free huge-buffet breakfast when we arrived there at 7:30 in the morning. Afterwards a free bus was provided to take you to the city for the day and then back to the hotel. The following morning after another free buffet breakfast a bus shuttled us to the ship. Once aboard, all alcohol drinks (almost anything you could want including some craft beers), lattes, cappuccinos and expressos were included. When we boarded, we were given a welcoming glass of champagne and all of the ship's officer's and expedition staff were introduced. Our balcony stateroom with a faux fireplace contained a refrigerator stocked with bottled water and a selection of canned soda, beer, and a bottle of champagne. We had free 24-hr. room service but never used it or touched the selection in the refrigerator because we were hardly in the room except to sleep. A free excursion is offered every day, and the main lounge was so beautiful that we spent a lot of time in it with other guests when not eating or listening to the daily lectures. The food was spectacular! A 5-star chef treated us to a meal from a different area of the world each night and we had two opportunities to catch a wonderful buffet for breakfast where you could get anything you desired -- including made to order eggs, pancakes, French toast, and even eggs benedict. Made to order hamburgers, chicken and fish sandwiches etc. were also provided at lunch if you wanted any of those, but the buffet included a huge selection of make your own salads and some great prepared entrees.

The ship also contains a well-stocked library, and a number of jig-saw puzzles in the very comfortable and huge, main lounge/bar area. Lots of free movies are available to watch on the flat screen TV in your stateroom but we never had the time to do so. The DCL Treasure cruise next Fall may be our last cruise on such a large ship. We can't wait to book another expedition cruise with Swan Hellenic. Did I mention that Swan Hellenic also provides each guest with a free waterproof backpack and a $300 parka? Oh, and we also were provided free bus transport to a Reykjavik hotel or back to the airport at the end of the cruise. the airport is a 1-hour drive from the city.

Oh my goodness this sounds stunning. I’m not a fan of any cold itinerary but your post makes this sound amazing in every way.

 

[hertamaniac]

Always did dinner in the main restaurant so I missed the salmon. Sounds like I would have liked it. I did find most of the really good things empty on the buffet. It was kind of a bummer. After a while one(me) looks like a pig if you take too many trips to get in line.

Salmon was/is available each night in the main restaurant. It is listed below the specialties along with the N.Y. strip steak and a couple of other entrees.

I'm going back on another cruise with MSC (Port Canaveral) next month.

 

[jolynne28]

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.

We're doing our first cruise with the kids on the new Celebrity Ascent over Thanksgiving and your post is scaring me! Can you elaborate on what was so bad? We had a DCL booked last year but cancelled b/c it was so much more expensive than the Celebrity.

 

[Mango7100]

We're doing our first cruise with the kids on the new Celebrity Ascent over Thanksgiving and your post is scaring me! Can you elaborate on what was so bad? We had a DCL booked last year but cancelled b/c it was so much more expensive than the Celebrity.

We just got off the Celebrity Beyond today (first Celebrity cruise) and I will write a full review, but we loved it. Like you we originally had an DCL booked but switched to save literally thousands of dollars and to try something different All 3 of us (including DD11) preferred it over DCL in a majority of aspects.

 

[jolynne28]

We just got off the Celebrity Beyond today (first Celebrity cruise) and I will write a full review, but we loved it. Like you we originally had an DCL booked but switched to save literally thousands of dollars and to try something different All 3 of us (including DD11) preferred it over DCL in a majority of aspects.

I’m so glad you posted this, thank you! Our final payment is due in a week and I was having some major doubts about our choice. Looking forward to your review, glad y’all had a great cruise!

 

[cdoc29]

In this discussion after thinking about it I realize I don't cruise to cruise, I go on DCL to go to go to Disney, like I go to Disneyland or Disney World to go to Disney. All the comparisons are of is this cruise line better than another because of X for me are moot because the decision for me is do I want to go to Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise, or something else. While it interesting to hear what other cruise lines for me it's like comparing Universal, Dollywood, 6 Flags, or SeaWorld to Disney. While I have been to all of those parks and had fun I still prefer Disney parks. I am guessing that is why when I went with another cruise line it was fun but I still prefer Disney.

 

[Chipmunkmaniac]

In this discussion after thinking about it I realize I don't cruise to cruise, I go on DCL to go to go to Disney, like I go to Disneyland or Disney World to go to Disney. All the comparisons are of is this cruise line better than another because of X for me are moot because the decision for me is do I want to go to Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise, or something else. While it interesting to hear what other cruise lines for me it's like comparing Universal, Dollywood, 6 Flags, or SeaWorld to Disney. While I have been to all of those parks and had fun I still prefer Disney parks. I am guessing that is why when I went with another cruise line it was fun but I still prefer Disney.

That used to be me but DCL keeps talong stuff away onboard and offers so little new onboard experiences that ports became more important… i ve done 27 (28 en 29 coming up) and most were longer than 7 nights… i just cant care for a 500th time trivia with rhe same questions or making a button from a Disney print. Variety of characters is also so much more limited…

 

[auntlynne]

In this discussion after thinking about it I realize I don't cruise to cruise, I go on DCL to go to go to Disney, like I go to Disneyland or Disney World to go to Disney. All the comparisons are of is this cruise line better than another because of X for me are moot because the decision for me is do I want to go to Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise, or something else. While it interesting to hear what other cruise lines for me it's like comparing Universal, Dollywood, 6 Flags, or SeaWorld to Disney. While I have been to all of those parks and had fun I still prefer Disney parks. I am guessing that is why when I went with another cruise line it was fun but I still prefer Disney.

If these discussions help solidify how you feel, that’s a big and now you know it’s not about cruising for you - it is Disney cruising.

I’d be very happy if I could have a merger of a Disney cruise with different itineraries with the lower prices I can get elsewhere. A little variety in food could help. But the Mouse’s price is getting beyond my reach - and my interest in both cruising and seeing the world doesn’t seem to be going away.

 

[dreamer17555]

That used to be me but DCL keeps talong stuff away onboard and offers so little new onboard experiences that ports became more important… i ve done 27 (28 en 29 coming up) and most were longer than 7 nights… i just cant care for a 500th time trivia with rhe same questions or making a button from a Disney print. Variety of characters is also so much more limited…

The new Knowsmore trivia system is making the trivia games more random and DCL does like to add on new categories. I got to experience Broadway Trivia on the Wish in May and they added Old School Disney Channel & Disney Channel Trivia, Cult Classic Disney Trivia, Caribbean Trivia (winning score was a 12/20 so we all learned a lot that day!) but if not a trivia fan I can see it being an issue.

 

[kiddisney]

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've done another cruise line - but DCL provides all the special touches needed to make this as relaxing, exciting, educational, etc. as you want it to be - just have a couple more itineraries to try - but we love the DCL service - and I never want to have to pay extra for a drink package for soda or a meal upgrade for a steak.