Well, we tried…

[Mango7100]

We also rented a bed at South Beach and for the short time we were there, it was lovely. Mostly quiet and not crowded. I would love for Disney to add more options like that - not as expensive as a full cabana but a place to call “home” for the day.

Unfortunately for us, a storm popped up and it started raining pretty hard… at which point the entire population of the Oasis and Icon were all trying to make it back to the ships!

Agree. Husband and I were saying how we would love Disney to have some middle option. We never rent a cabana since we never get the option as a non concierge non Pearl cruiser, and I don’t want to spend 1k. We paid 350 for our daybed and booked it a few weeks before the cruise easily. Will do it again every time.

 

[Mango7100]

I disagree on the fine dining comment. Ive been to multiple 3 michlin star restsurants in paris, london and vegas and countless 2 star michelin restaurants across the world and remys and enchante is right up there with them. Is it the absolute best? No. But its at worst middle of the road along side them. Had a number of worse 3 star michelins before (yes paris im talking about you). Palo is also excellent for non degustion type high end restaurants on land and very different to remys/enchante giving a great deal of high end variety.

The main room dining is well poor food wise. But no different to other cruise lines. Its the atmosphere/shows that makes main room dining worth it (and the magic tricks for the kids and the fact you can order extra meals and desserts for no cost).

And whats wrong with starbucks? Well i dont even know where to start. Coffee that tastes like dust. The horrible mall like sign. The horrible mall like decor.

Other cruise ships look like malls cos they literally look like malls. All white with occassional pot plants, chained shops, cafes, restaurants that look like they belong in a mall, crappy music playing in elevators. My idea of hell.

Congrats on eating at fine restaurants and traveling to Europe (ps, so have a lot of people on this board). For someone who wants to show off how much they travel, you seem to know very little of other cruise lines. It is obvious you like DCL the best which is great for you. But your attitude that everything else is just so far inferior and you are above and better than other cruise lines or chain shops is off putting. Especially since your observations of other cruise lines are not even true…

Didn’t see a single chain shop or cafe on our cruise last week. No Starbucks. The coffee shop was called Cafe Al Bacio. Never even heard any elevator music. Mickeys Mainsail looks like a Disney outlet. It doesn’t look any different than any other cruise lines souvenir store except it has all Disney instead of Royal, Princess, Carnival, etc.

You state that Disney lets you order extra meals and desserts in the main dining. So do other cruise lines. Just got off celebrity snd frequently ordered an extra meal to split with family or 2 desserts. I would also argue the atmosphere in the MDRs at Disney is subjective. On celebrity we didn’t have to share a table with another family, we weren’t 1 inch apart from another table, we had a window at our table each evening, and we didn’t have to listen to Marvel music screeching in our ear. They had piano music playing. Way more relaxing and upscale.

 

[FastPasser.]

We’re at the Platinum level but lately, and even though we prefer DCL, we have been moving away from DCL for various reasons.

 

[John VN]

We’re at the Platinum level but lately, and even though we prefer DCL, we have been moving away from DCL for various reasons.

We are Blue Diamond on MSC that is Pearl Level for DCL. We also only cruise Yacht Club that would be DCL Concierge on Steroids for far le$$. Have done the other lines AND found them enjoyable but our laid back cruising-ways are easily met and exceeded by most and our current line of choice FAR exceeds our needs.

Just did a price comparison for Destiny next June with our line ---

DCL Destiny Category 07A -- $4,241.70 24 for 243sq/ft WITH VERANDAH

Yacht Club Deluxe Suite -- $4,142.00 for 269sq/ft PLUS VERANDAH of 86sq/ft

 

[yowcruiser]

Ah yes, the good old is DCL worth the extra money debate and how do they actually compare. Well part of me feels like just getting the popcorn and watch this play out. The challenge is that individuals may compare their experience on one ship of one cruise line (be it DCL or another) and then draw general conclusions.

Some will like megaships that are floating entertainment malls at sea (and arguably DCL is just about to get one single ship in that category). Some will prefer an adult like atmosphere. Some will prefer genuine luxury and some will enjoy a relatively straightforward sailing experience. Some cruise lines or cruise companies have cruise ships or individual cruise lines in each of these segments. And individual preference can vary over time. Some wouldn't care what the ship looks like as long as it is safe and goes to interesting places.

It's always great to hear everyone's different perspective on their own experience with DCL, or another cruise line - and whether it is worth the premium that is being charged. For us, it tends to be.

I personally couldn't care less whether a ship has a buffet at night or not - I really enjoy stateroom dining and would rarely if ever do buffet at night... but that's me. Is it nice that other cruise lines may have brand name venues? Sure, it can increase the appeal, but for others, coffee, a burger or a slice of pizza is just that - no need for a celebrity chef or branded joint. Do I find comfort in seeing mostly the exact same menus for the last...forever... in the more classic ships, I do... but again, that's just me... for others all of this would be epic fail and not wort the money... for me, it is simplicity and a highly predictable experience... so less leads to a more enjoyable experience.

 

[jimmymc]

My thoughts exactly. Prison? What's wrong with Starbucks? Not only do cruise lines vary, but so do ships owned by the same cruise line. Not all Royal ships have a royal promenade{mall}. Just like not all Disney ships lack a running track.

Every Disney World park has a starbucks. I think most guests see them as a feature and not a downside.

While I also think Oasis is too big, I've done several NCL cruises and loved them. It's different than Disney, but it's also way more flexible.

 

[GhostHost24]

Please share how Utopia is. Been looking at that one but worried it might be too much of a party vibe

I know I wasn't the one you were replying to, but I did the 4 night utopia earlier this year. The only DCL ship i;ve been on in Dream (Im doing treasure later this year). Overall I enjoyed it, but I did leave thinking I enjoyed DCL more. There is a party vibe but it's also very easy to stay clear of. It's not like it's drunken adults everywhere causing a scene. There were A LOT of kids on my sailing (way more than I thought there would be considering how the boat is advertised), and it seemed like there was plenty for them to do. I know people don't like the mall on a ship vibe which I get, but the nice thing is it gives you more to do. 4-5 slides, rock climbing, zipline, etc. The water show they have is so far the best thing i've seen on a cruise ship. We ended up not eating in the MDR once because the menus didn't sound that great to us. Two nights we picked two of their speciality places (a seafood place, and chops, their steakhouse), both really good. The other 2 nights we just ate at the buffet.

 

[owensamo]

We've primarily sailed DCL and Celebrity, but did try Harmony of the Seas (Oasis-class) and was not impressed. The MDR was... fine. Service okay. We had DDP for one cruise and that was also... fine. The food in the steakhouses was excellent, Jamie's was OK, I really enjoyed the Mexican place, but we couldn't get a reservation at Izumi at all. Windjammer wasn't anywhere near as good as the Oceanview on Celebrity, though - maybe on par with the menus we had in Cabanas on the Dream (where the food was good, but lackluster and never changing).

I didn't mind the promenade, but was frustrated with the venues - they all seemed *way* too small for any of the events scheduled in there. We had Disney Music Trivia in On Air, and people sitting on the floor and just outside the doors because it was so popular. I saw free crafts advertised we didn't bother to go to even though it sounded interesting because it stated there were only 15 spots! On a ship of 5500 guests! Others had a max of 25, without multiple timeslots.

There were a lot of issues our family had, mostly with the ship and scheduling. We're trying a smaller ship (Explorer OTS) in the future in the hopes it's just the mega ships we don't like, not RCL itself. I *would* sail an Oasis class again (or an Icon class) if the itinerary was right, but I'd go into it knowing what issues we had in the past and planning ways to work around them.

 

[SnowWhite2]

Having taken 25 DCL cruises, breaking out to another line is scary. I am tired of DCL’s lack of new ports and high prices. I wanted to go to Grand Turk and the only cruise lines going there are Carnival and Holland America. Well, Carnival is out so I chose HAL. I was very nervous that the ship would be full of old people and that it would be boring. Well, there were more old people (I mean over 80 crowd) than DCL but we had a really good time. The amount of live music venues was awesome. I don’t mean a piano player in a lounge or a duo in the old Promenade lounge. I mean a dueling piano bar, a rock band, a three piece ensemble in the bar, etc. all going constantly all evening until around midnight. What did I give up? The 3 broadway shows on DCL. But the issue is I’ve seen them all over and over again so much that I rarely go to them any more. The shows in the theater on HAL were definitely lacking but the live music venues made up for it. Would I cruise HAL again? Absolutely! My next cruise is on Virgin Voyages to Iceland, Greenland and Canada for 13 days in 2006. Very nervous about this also since it is so different of a cruise line. But I’m going in with an open mind.

I’m sad that I’ve outgrown DCL but 3/4/5 day cruises are not my thing right now. I want longer itineraries and more exciting ports than the Bahamas and standard East/West Caribbean routes. DCL can’t give that to me at a reasonable price. I’m off to find greener pastures until I get grandkids.

 

[jimmymc]

Having taken 25 DCL cruises, breaking out to another line is scary. I am tired of DCL’s lack of new ports and high prices. I wanted to go to Grand Turk and the only cruise lines going there are Carnival and Holland America. Well, Carnival is out so I chose HAL. I was very nervous that the ship would be full of old people and that it would be boring. Well, there were more old people (I mean over 80 crowd) than DCL but we had a really good time. The amount of live music venues was awesome. I don’t mean a piano player in a lounge or a duo in the old Promenade lounge. I mean a dueling piano bar, a rock band, a three piece ensemble in the bar, etc. all going constantly all evening until around midnight. What did I give up? The 3 broadway shows on DCL. But the issue is I’ve seen them all over and over again so much that I rarely go to them any more. The shows in the theater on HAL were definitely lacking but the live music venues made up for it. Would I cruise HAL again? Absolutely! My next cruise is on Virgin Voyages to Iceland, Greenland and Canada for 13 days in 2006. Very nervous about this also since it is so different of a cruise line. But I’m going in with an open mind.

I’m sad that I’ve outgrown DCL but 3/4/5 day cruises are not my thing right now. I want longer itineraries and more exciting ports than the Bahamas and standard East/West Caribbean routes. DCL can’t give that to me at a reasonable price. I’m off to find greener pastures until I get grandkids.

Virgin looks amazing and does more interesting itineraries than DCL. I want to try them soon.

 

[tidefan]

Funny you should say prison… our eldest son said he felt like a prison inmate on our last princess cruise.

Really? When our DD was still a teen a few years ago, she said that she liked Regal Princess way better than any of the DCL cruises she had taken. Of course, it could have been the mix of kids that was on that sailing. FWIW, her least favorite line was RCCL...

 

[CamColt]

Please share how Utopia is. Been looking at that one but worried it might be too much of a party vibe

I got that vibe too when it first came out and I watched a lot of videos. 1 even said if you bring kids, don't take them to the sail away party. But with that said, I'm now in a group for Utopia in general, and another for my specific cruise, and it seems like the majority of people go with kids, and it's not that crazy party boat. I'm kind of feeling that the reality isn't what it started out to be hyped as. But that is something else I am looking forward to seeing. I will share when I'm back.

 

[DCLMP]

Congrats on eating at fine restaurants and traveling to Europe (ps, so have a lot of people on this board). For someone who wants to show off how much they travel, you seem to know very little of other cruise lines. It is obvious you like DCL the best which is great for you. But your attitude that everything else is just so far inferior and you are above and better than other cruise lines or chain shops is off putting. Especially since your observations of other cruise lines are not even true…

People need to keep in mind that as much they are in love with a product such as DCL you are just a number or dollar sign to them. I've cruised on DCL 34 times and if I never set on foot on another DCL cruise ship no one at DCL is going to care. Same goes for Royal. They don't care.

I would never take it personally if someone does not like DCL. They are not my family. I've also never understood why some people need to disparage other cruise lines to justify the cost of DCL.

 

[LoveDaisy]

Having taken 25 DCL cruises, breaking out to another line is scary. I am tired of DCL’s lack of new ports and high prices. I wanted to go to Grand Turk and the only cruise lines going there are Carnival and Holland America. Well, Carnival is out so I chose HAL. I was very nervous that the ship would be full of old people and that it would be boring. Well, there were more old people (I mean over 80 crowd) than DCL but we had a really good time. The amount of live music venues was awesome. I don’t mean a piano player in a lounge or a duo in the old Promenade lounge. I mean a dueling piano bar, a rock band, a three piece ensemble in the bar, etc. all going constantly all evening until around midnight. What did I give up? The 3 broadway shows on DCL. But the issue is I’ve seen them all over and over again so much that I rarely go to them any more. The shows in the theater on HAL were definitely lacking but the live music venues made up for it. Would I cruise HAL again? Absolutely! My next cruise is on Virgin Voyages to Iceland, Greenland and Canada for 13 days in 2006. Very nervous about this also since it is so different of a cruise line. But I’m going in with an open mind.

I’m sad that I’ve outgrown DCL but 3/4/5 day cruises are not my thing right now. I want longer itineraries and more exciting ports than the Bahamas and standard East/West Caribbean routes. DCL can’t give that to me at a reasonable price. I’m off to find greener pastures until I get grandkids.

Virgin is in my list to try. It sounds fantastic and friends who have cruised with them loved it.

 

[DCLMP]

Really? When our DD was still a teen a few years ago, she said that she liked Regal Princess way better than any of the DCL cruises she had taken. Of course, it could have been the mix of kids that was on that sailing. FWIW, her least favorite line was RCCL...

My son is 20 and has been on 39 cruises{crazy I know}. I can tell you it always comes down the mix of kids. It became more of an issue when he got the upper age group of the teen clubs. There is a big difference between a 14 year old and a 17 year old.

 

[justafigment27]

My husband and I did a 4 night sailing on Utopia in February that stopped at Coco Cay twice. We are newly minted empty nesters and were eager to try a non-DCL cruise.

Overall, we had a good time and I left satisfied with my experience, but it was definitely a different vibe than Disney. “Shopping Mall at Sea” is a good descriptor of the vibe we got upon embarking - nice shopping mall, but just not the same as any of Disney’s ships upon entry. Kind of like walking into the lobby of the Wilderness Lodge vs. a nice Hilton.

I also thought it was way too loud - but figured that was because Utopia is “the world’s biggest weekend”. I didn’t realize it was a fleet wide thing! Fortunately, I had read that it was loud and brought ear plugs to wear to the shows and such, but didn’t realize how loud it was going to be everywhere else! We avoided pool parties and the main pool deck at all costs due to noise (we spent about 5 minutes at a deck party before the noise got to be too much). Even Windjammer had ridiculously loud “party music” playing for the first 15 minutes or so at opening when we went there for dinner one night.

There were things I really liked: the adults only solarium, the balcony furniture (reclining chairs with ottomans in the ocean view balconies … though this did not look like the case on Liberty of the Seas that was parked next to us, so must be ship specific), the stateroom showers, the ability to split the main bed into two twins, etc. I also really liked the Central Park area. I also thought the shows were very good and it was a nice change of pace from DCL.

I really liked Coco Cay. We had great weather and going two different days allowed us to try a variety of things. On Day 1, we only utilized included amenities and spent most of the day on South Beach in shaded loungers. On Day 2, we paid for Coco Beach Club. Coco Beach Club was very nice, but I would be happy just utilizing included amenities on future visits.

I was not impressed with the food in general and prefer Disney. We didn’t try any specialty dining on the ship and actively disliked the main dining room (we went twice). Windjammers had a lot of variety, but it was pure chaos and felt stressful. We did really like the Park Cafe’ in Central Park for breakfast and lunch - it was like an elevated Daisy’s Delights with seating. Coco Cay food was on par with Cookies, but with more variety.

I would cruise Royal again (actually hoping to try a 7 night on Star of the Seas) and think my young adult children would probably enjoy it, but nothing compares to DCL for a wholesome family cruise. Disney definitely feels like an elevated experience over Royal and I prefer the Disney vibe and atmosphere. Utopia didn’t feel “trashy” to me, but I don’t like to gamble, I drink very little and I’m not into nightlife … and these were prominent features on Royal. You can avoid them, but they are there and attract crowds that enjoy these activities, so the demographic is definitely different … more adults only groups, more older people, couples on vacation without kids, etc. I heard so many Florida retirees in the Solarium talking about past cruises and boasting to each other about deals they got with casino comp cruises or Florida residents rates or free drink packages.

Also, on Disney, I never worried if an all ages venue would be appropriate for my kids … on Royal, even though it was just my husband and I, I found myself thinking “this is not kid friendly” on several occasions while at events where there were no age restrictions.

I liked my cruise and can see myself cruising Royal again with my husband, but it would not be my first choice for a family cruise. If you’re going on Royal because you want to try something different and go in with the right expectations, I think you’ll be fine. If you really want to cruise DCL and are thinking about Royal just to save money, I would re-think the plan.

 

[tidefan]

Virgin looks amazing and does more interesting itineraries than DCL. I want to try them soon.

We did a 10-night Greek Isles this past July on Virgin and it may have been the best cruise we've ever taken. We have pretty much moved on to some mix of Virgin, Princess, and Carnival (I know, I know, however, we really, really like the new ships like Mardi Gras, etc. - very different from past Carnival ships), but mainly Virgin as our DD is now old enough to cruise them.

There is no one "right" opinion on cruise ships, however, as we all have individual tastes/priorities that may lend us to one thing over another. For us, the lack of upcharges, great dining, and relaxed elegance of Virgin is where we are right now.