What makes Disney cruises better?

[pentex]

We are a family of four (two children...ages 6 and 9) that has never been on a cruise, but really wants to do so. I have two in mind: Celebrity out of New York into Bermuda (7 days) or the Disney 7 day Carribean.

We are Disney fanatics and this would be our first choice but there are a few factors that make me think we'd be crazy not to go with Celebrity. If we did Celebrity, we wouldn't have to pay for airfare, plus the cruise is about $1,800 less. All in all, we'd be saving about $2,600 and a lot of travel time.

Is there really a big difference with the service/activities on a Disney cruise? I'd love to hear from those who have travelled on both Disney and another line.....

Thanks!

 

[tiptoen]

Disney is....well....Disney. Our first cruise was a Disney cruise.
Our second was not but our third will be on the Wonder in October.
Sounds to me like alot of money to save and I can sure agree with saving money, but the question you have to ask youself is after the cruise is over will you be happy you saved the money or wondering what you missed on the Magic. I myself have decided to spend the extra $$ just because we love Disney so much.
Even though I'm sure you can and will have a great time on another line...........I't still isn't Disney. I guess to each his own.
JMHO
Tip

 

[shelly3girls]

I cannot comment on the actual cruises since I have not taken either cruise (we are booked on the disney cruise for January). I have heard that cruises leaving from NY are very rough. Relatives of mine cruised from NY to the Bahamas and said they would never do it again. They were sick the whole time. They have taken other cruises out of other ports and never had that problem. I would definitely ask others who have done it, just wanted to let you know what I was told.

 

[Tluvs2talk]

We have cruised on Carnival's "FANTASY, and have been 3 times on Disney cruises twice on the "WONDER" and once on the "MAGIC". We really enjoyed the Carnival cruise, but we LOVED the Disney cruises. The Disney Ship's are absolutely beautiful and have a lot of detail. We have even stayed in the cheapest room cat 12 inside cabin and loved the room. We liked the pools much better on Disney, as well as the shows. We are sailing with Disney again in October, but are also planning a 7 day cruise on Carnivals, "PRIDE". I would highly recomend Disney, but if money was tight I would still cruise on another cruise line. I have also heard a lot of great things about Celebrity. Good luck in whatever you decide. HAPPY CRUISING>>>>>

 

[tiggere]

We've cruised Disney Magic twice. Loved both very much. No complaints. But in order to know whether Disney is the best for YOU, you have to try both. There are people for and against everything. You just have to find your best fit. We wanted to go on Disney's western carib itenerary very bad but the price just wasn't good enough. We're now sailing on Celebrity's Galaxy on a 10-day western this year for much much less than Disney's best offer on their 7-day cruise! Couldn't resist. We're childless but huge Disney fans. This is our first non-Disney vacation. It will be a fabulous vacation and I can’t wait. After the Celebrity cruise, we’ll decide whether it is worth more to us to sail with Disney for next time. Because, rest assured, Disney is not and will never be a “value”. Every other cruise line in their league offers $599 rates for 7-day cruises at least a few times a year. Disney will only offer this rate to Florida residents. Disney’s best rate is $799/pp (adult) and it goes way up from there!
As far as the port, Port Canaveral departures find rough seas just as easily as NY. We had 15 ft swells on our first cruise out of Port Canaveral. I loved it but a lot of people got very ill and stayed that way. That is cruising in general though, not specific to one line/port or another.

 

[liza]

Don't have experience other than the Magic, but I've asked the same question elsewhere, and so have other people, and what I've gathered is that you will have fewer children onboard Celebrity, it is more geared to adults, but that people who go with their children (especially not the very youngest children) will have a good time.

Here are some comments I saw on other boards (I'll cut and past them):

"After carefully reading and re-reading your post, I would really think that a Celebrity cruise would be exactly what you are looking for.

Your family age makeup is very similar to ours. We currently have kids that are 6 and 9 years old and we are in our early 40's. Together we have been on four Celebrity Cruises including one this past Feb. Each time the kids have had a blast in the children's program (whether we were travelling during the school season or during school break) and us parents have enjoyed the other things that Celebrity has to offer (food, service, cabins, etc).

Each time, we really think that Celebrity has done an excellent job in providing a great product for our family and I think you would enjoy it, too. Most (but not all) of the negative postings on this subject have to do with other issues that are not as relevant to your question such as: does Celebrity market itself to families? Do other posters think that it is appropriate to bring your kids on a cruise (properly handling your kids on a cruise though is a relevant point)?"

Here's another one:

"Celebrity is for you and your family. We have travelled on four cruises with celebrity with our son and he has enjoyed all of them. We started when he was 9 years old and until this past February when he was 21 years old. We have been on different cruise lines over the years and I found that most have good childrens programs. The only negative thing that my son had to say was when he was in his late teens "15 or so" he found that celebrities teen program was not as good as on other lines. If you want some good info and pictures go to www.cruisemates.com and read 4 post by David Chiang they are just what you are looking for. When you go to the site just click on Photo Gallery and I think it is on the second page where you will find David Chiangs four posts. Hope this helps. "

Personally, since my youngest is just 3 and will be 4 for our next cruise, I will most likely go on the Magic again. I do think it is the best for younger children. Later, I would like to try another line. I have heard good things about Celebrity and I have heard raves about the larger RCI ships -- apparently with older children, there is more for them to do and they love it.

With your children being 6 and 9, I think you could happily choose either cruise. The bottom line, if your children like Disney so much, is probably that your children will have more fun on a Disney cruise, while you and your husband would enjoy the Celebrity cruise more. You all will have fun whichever cruise you pick!

Good luck.

 

[pal2pluto]

I think Liza's post was very thorough and accurate.

There is a "magical feeling" aboard the DCL that I don't think I've felt anywhere else cruising. My kids are 3 and 11....young enough to believe in magic and still holding on to the belief. There is nothing that compares with walking down a hallway, to turn a corner and see Mickey coming straight for you, waving, and stopping for a hug! Or when the kids are eating ice cream to have Pluto come over and pat them on the head. That is "magic".

But you have found some great rates, and your savings are substantial...........If you want to experience DCL, then save and go for it. But at the prices you quote in savings.....wow, I'd find that cruise on Carnival hard to pass up! Ask your kids what they think. Maybe they are so hooked on Disney that they would really appreciate it before they become teens and that "magic" passes. Or maybe that $$ would be better spent on really cool excursions...........hmmmm.........what a choice!

Let us know what you decide!!!!

 

[ruvidu]

Is the whole cruise just to Bermuda and Back? If so I would definatly opt fot Disney. Bermuda versus St. Marteen, St. Thomas, and last but not least Castaway Cay. Compare sizes of the rooms for the money. Look at how many square feet of living space you will have on each ship.
Compare driving down to Port Canaveral versus flying to save some money. Four nights lodging and gas money should be less than air fare.

We have never sailed on any ship but the Magic but the people who we have met on board who have say "We will never sail with anyone but Disney again."

Again, it's all opinion and we know what that's worth.

Voting For Disney!!
Russ

 

[CarolG]

I agree with Russ -- compare the space on each ship.

Try Cruisestateroom.com to look at stateroom layouts (and square footage) for lots of cruise lines, including Disney and Celebrity. The site also has a comparison feature that displays stateroom categories for two ships side-by-side.

Another vote for DCL here!

 

[StaceyA]

Originally posted by shelly3girls
I cannot comment on the actual cruises since I have not taken either cruise (we are booked on the disney cruise for January). I have heard that cruises leaving from NY are very rough. Relatives of mine cruised from NY to the Bahamas and said they would never do it again. They were sick the whole time. They have taken other cruises out of other ports and never had that problem. I would definitely ask others who have done it, just wanted to let you know what I was told.

I have been on two cruises so far, one was on Royal Caribbean and it sailed from New York and the second was the Disney Magic (3-day) Shelly3girls is correct, at least in my case, it was extremely rough and we were being tossed around alot, at one point we were walking to dinner and people were falling into each other in the hallways. I do not get seasick at all (it actually makes me sleepy) so I had no problem with it however i know

ALOT of other folks were getting sick left and right.
Of course I had no problem with the tossing on DCL because we had calm water.

This wouldn't dissuade me from sailing out of NY again though since I never got sick, if I was prone to sea sickness then I probably wouldn't do it again.

Just my .02!!

 

[mmouse37]

Another thing to consider is the ages of the ships. The Celebrity Horizon and Zenith which both leave out of NYC to Bermuda are both about 11 and 12 years old and they are showing their age (I have been on both). The Disney Magic is only 4 years old (started service in July of '98) and in much better shape. The other ships are not bad, but the rooms are definitely smaller than the Disney staterooms and they do have less activites geared for children. The Disney Magic is also just a more luxurious ship. It has the high atrium (the Horizon and Zenith have no atrium) and looks more like a hotel, where the Magic looks like a classic ocean vessel.

MJ

 

[Diz-Me]

DH and I have taken 2 DCL cruises, with our DD and DS, and an NCL cruise out of Boston to Bermuda without the kids (as well as a Holland America cruise).

While we loved our Bermuda cruise we were glad that we did not bring DD and DS. We don't think they would have had as great a time that we did either on the ship or in Bermuda. (But yes, it was nice to be able to just drive to the cruise ship and avoid the time and expense of flying to the ship.)

On our DCL cruises there was always more than enough for a family to do both on the ship and on the excursions. Big pluses for kids the ages of yours would be the kids clubs, the fun deck parties with the characters, the rotation dining and just the general feeling of being on a cruise with lots of similar aged families.

Just my opinion but cruising with kids I would choose Disney hands down. For just DH and myself I would love to cruise to Bermuda again.