Why are the pools not so great on DCL?

[Blessed_wth_Triplets]

I'm leaning towards a Wonder cruise vs. RCC for my family's first cruise....but I have to be honest...the pools are so small and not exciting compared to other lines. And this is a pretty big deal for my older kids (13). Just curious why they aren't competing with more/bigger/better pools, or if they really are catering and marketing towards the younger families with kids under 10? Besides the kids club for my teens...I'm just not sure what else there is to do for ship days?

 

[Trera]

I'm leaning towards a Wonder cruise vs. RCC for my family's first cruise....but I have to be honest...the pools are so small and not exciting compared to other lines. And this is a pretty big deal for my older kids (13). Just curious why they aren't competing with more/bigger/better pools, or if they really are catering and marketing towards the younger families with kids under 10? Besides the kids club for my teens...I'm just not sure what else there is to do for ship days?

My older kids seemed pretty busy on sea days. They loved the clubs but also they can see movies, play bingo, putt putt golf, eat endlessly, play trivia, go on the aqua duct, etc.

I have not been on a RCC but i am sure they do a great job of entertaining teens as well.

good luck with your choice.

 

[Crystal O_o]

I'm leaning towards a Wonder cruise vs. RCC for my family's first cruise....but I have to be honest...the pools are so small and not exciting compared to other lines. And this is a pretty big deal for my older kids (13). Just curious why they aren't competing with more/bigger/better pools, or if they really are catering and marketing towards the younger families with kids under 10? Besides the kids club for my teens...I'm just not sure what else there is to do for ship days?

What ship are you looking at? On the fantasy, they have the whole area on the front of the ship. I thought it was cool.

edit: Sorry I missed over that you were looking at the Wonder cruises.

 

[Quellman]

You've brought up more than just the pools in your list of concerns, not knowing the size of the RCCL ship you are comparing too you are left with some of the following generalities:

1. Pool sizes and water sports. The Wonder is the ship that IMO is the "oldest ship sailing". She is yet to receive her upgrades and updates (other than the staterooms which was accomplished this year). So the ship lacks the expanded water section and Aqua Dunk found on the Magic post refurbishment. The Wonder is also smaller than the Dream and Fantasy so you won't see the expanded splash pad areas and more secluded adult offerings. You may be looking at other lines and see that they have multiple slides stacked high across the ship. Yes this fulfills an additional niche for the more adventurous thrill seeker looking for the speed and fun. But it also takes away from useful space on the deck. Remember the size thing? Disney prides itself on providing a small children (under 5) area, a family area, and an adult area. In addition to pool space Disney uses the top deck for parties, fireworks viewing, and movies under the stars. Pools are people soup no matter what ship you go on because frankly fitting 2,000 on the top deck is never going to end well.
1a. They are competing to a degree with other lines. They built the first water coasters at sea on the Dream and the Fantasy. Then they debuted the Dunk on the Magic. Have you ever seen the wave rider videos where people try surfing? Those areas are packed for the first day or two, but by day 4-7 you can get on with no wait and the novelty has worn off. I suspect that Disney understands this. It also takes more manpower, energy (moving the water), and stress on the ship to add in towering water slides. Disney likely has done its focus groups and decided thrill slides are not for them. Not to mention it could greatly change the ships silhouette.
2. You can see other posts about what types of activities there are to do on sea days, and ship navigators posted here or over at Disneycruiselineblog. A selection of offerings include: animation classes, movies (including new releases and in 3d), trivia, karaoke, not to mention whatever kids club activities are going on; then there are talent shows, game shows, and arts and crafts.

 

[professorandmom]

For our family, my kids (now 25 and twins 21) never set a toe into the pools on the Wonder or pre-updated Magic - WAY too may other activities for teens...they still talk about crab walking through the lobby and a few other unforgettable activities...all three wish they could take another cruise AND participate in the teen club in a sweet Peter Pan way....personally, I wouldn't let the pools be a deciding factor either way

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

My teens never go in the pool either, always way too busy doing other things.

 

[bumbershoot]

The pools are just too small. There's nothing to DO in them apart from bobbing with all the other people.


Royal is calling your name.....

 

[Bella29]

I agree, the lackluster pools/outdoor areas are a huge negative on DCL for families with actives teens. My 13 and 15 year old boys find enough to do to keep them busy but nothing really fun/wow. The aqua dunk is their favorite, along with the free flowing ice cream! They also play shuffleboard and go to movies. The clubs are hit or miss for them. We make a point of planning fun/active things at the ports to make up for the low-key sea days.

We have been debating about our next few cruises. On DCL we really enjoy the shows, the dining, and Castaway Cay, so we are back and forth. We are lucky enough to be planning cruises once a year for the next few years until the boys go to college, but I am going back and forth on staying with what we know vs. trying the Norwegian ships that look like they have so much more for my boys to do on sea days.

It would have been so easy for DCL to add an amazing deck with a few more waterslides, a zip line, a flow rider, a climbing wall. Heck a climbing wall and a zip line would be relatively inexpensive and easy to add to any of the ships, they hardly take up any space! And IMO the basketball court is a huge waste of space begging to be replaced with something with major Disney wow factor.

P.S. The Fantasy does have the Sports Simulator and minigolf which are fun, but my kids prefer the Aqua Dunk (body slide where you start almost vertical) on the Magic to the Aqua Duck (tube ride) on the Fantasy. I hope I have those names right. Also I am not sure what the Dream has.

 

[Trera]

P.S. The Fantasy does have the Sports Simulator and minigolf which are fun, but my kids prefer the Aqua Dunk (body slide where you start almost vertical) on the Magic to the Aqua Duck (tube ride) on the Fantasy. I hope I have those names right. Also I am not sure what the Dream has.

The Dream has an Aqua Duct also.

 

[moosecrouse]

Disney has nothing comparable to the mega ships in terms of water slides and rope courses. But you do lose a lot of that Disney Cruise Magic. Have sailed 3 out 4 of the new NCL mega ships. While I love them for all they offer its not the same as a Disney Cruise. That being said I can usually do 2 NCL cruises for price of one DCL

 

[DnA2010]

DD11 loved our cruise on the fantasy, however she hooked up with the daughter of our table mate and really enjoyed the tween club...she loved the Aqua duct but did mention a lot that she missed the pools of the Oasis (Royal) which is the other cruise she has been on

 

[Ofinn]

If swimming is a big deal DCL may not be the best choice. My kids never swim on DCL, but we have a pool in our backyard. They can swim anytime they want so a great pool is not a selling point for us. They really like the clubs on DCL. DCL works for us. The activities in the Edge keep our kids busy all day and night, but since its your first cruise you don't know how your kids will like the clubs. I would choose the ship you think will best fit your family. Have fun whatever you decide.

 

[perditax]

Are there ANY mass-market cruise lines with pools that don't feel insanely crowded on sea days?

I get that DCL's are even smaller than usual, but overall the impression I have is that if you want to swim you should do a land-based vacation. (I was able to get around this on Norwegian by buying a spa pass and using the thalassotherapy pool, but that was warmish so it wasn't quite the same.)

 

[bumbershoot]

Are there ANY mass-market cruise lines with pools that don't feel insanely crowded on sea days?

Freedom (which if I recall correctly is what the OP is looking at) never felt crowded on our 3 sea days. Of course, it was January so not a big cruising time, but it sure was warm out!

On the other hand, and OP this is good to know in advance...Royal doesn't really heat their pools. Once you're in it and used to it it's fine, but that first 5 minutes is difficult.

 

[The Sasquatch]

we are huge DCL fans because of the entire experience but I have to say...The pools are awful. I dont want to bob around in human soup. Its a tad better in the adult pools but the main deck pools are wild. Dont even get me started on those liquid mersa tanks on the side that have just as many people in them. I mean who decides to get in a 3x3 tank of warm excrement with 15 people? LOL

yes there is plenty else to do but many families enjoy some fun in a nice pool.

 

[SeattleSuz]

Even my 7 YO was unimpressed with the pool on the Wonder. Hubby said on the first day "Wow, the pool is so small. It seemed so much bigger in the pictures" I got in on the first day, but other than that, I would mostly just sit on the side and dip my feet in. The adult pool seemed a lot nicer, IMO.

 

[Anonny]

It will be my husband's first cruise. I've warned him that the pools are small, really small. He sees lines painted on the bottom of the adult pool on the Magic and thinks he'll be able to swim laps in the morning. Ha!

Do you know how many feet long the pool is?

 

[SeattleSuz]

It will be my husband's first cruise. I've warned him that the pools are small, really small. He sees lines painted on the bottom of the adult pool on the Magic and thinks he'll be able to swim laps in the morning. Ha!

Do you know how many feet long the pool is?

Gosh, I would assume it's the same size as the one on the Wonder and that was not very long... They would be VERY short laps.

 

[Trera]

i remember someone swimming laps in the Magic adult pool when we were on board.

 

[MunFam]

We were on the Wonder for 15 days in May. I cannot stand crowds. We went to the pool twice during the day on our trip. More towards the end of the cruise when everyone was burnt lobster-crisp and avoiding the sun...so there were less people and the novelty had worn off. We went quite a few times in the evenings from 7-10pm and often we were the only family on the deck. We ate dinner up there and watched a movie floating in the water. The pools are small...add in a bit of ship rocking and people are bumping in to each other. What I found to be really interesting on our cruise in particular...the adult pool was always way more crowded than the family pools...and much louder too!