Why DCL?

[Goofy4Disney]

What is it that makes DCL so special over other cheaper cruises? And for those of you who are repeat cruisers, what keeps bringing you back?

 

[kcashner]

On any other line, a MOUSE in the halls would be a disaster. On DCL it is a Magical Moment!

Seriously though, I think it is the quality of the service, the attention to detail, and the fact that the vacation is an "experience," not just going for a cruise. It's perfect for any age. And...I don't have to think--I get to be on vacation too!

 

[Donaldcp98]

I have been on Royal Caribbean, Carnival and Disney. Disney far surpasses the other two by a mile. I am so spoiled after having gone a Disney Cruise that I don't think I will ever go back on another line. It is the little touches that make is so special. Just to name a few things that stand out for me. I don't drink so for me I love sodas. On the other two cruise lines you had a pay a fee to get a drink card or pay by the glass. On Disney they have a soda machine on deck ten that is open 24hours.

Royal Caribbean really didn't have a lot to do after 10pm unless you wanted to go to a bar, gamble or go to an "adult orientied" show. Now I have always done the late seating for all my cruises and on Royal Caribbean I felt like I was missing out because all the fun stuff happened during that seating. Like I said before I don't drink so a bar for me is no fun. I don't gamble (I would rather play for free online then waste my money) so after a roll of nickles in the nickle slots I am done. I also find a lot of "adult themed shows" offensive so I didn't want to do that. Disney always has two showings of their main shows, so no matter what seating you have for Dinner you never missed out. And you don't have to worry about being offended by anything they say.

Disney has a movie theater on board as well as the jumbo tron outside that is showing movies so you can always find that to do during the day.

The food was great on Disney. The other two ships had typical buffet food between meals. Kind of gross unless you got there right as they put it out. Disney has places that you can get healthy food (fruit, wraps, etc.), a place for pizzas made for you (not sitting in a warmer for hours) or burgers, chicken fingers and hot dogs made fresh. Always a nice treat if you have the late seating and you are feeling peckish an hour or so before dinner.

This might have been a little bit longer winded answer then what you were looking and there are so many other little touches that I can't really explain. You will just have to experience it for yourself. It is so well worth the extra money that you spend!

 

[PearlySwan]

1. Service, service, service.
2. Castaway Cay
3. Disney Characters
4. Kids Clubs
5. Rotational Dining in 3 fabulously themed table service restaurants
6. Palo
7. Broadway quality shows
8. Movies
9. Mickey Pool/Slide
10. Themed Nights: Pirate Night and Formal Night

 

[mishoe01]

No casino
Beauty of the ship
Adult only areas

But number 1 reason:
The crew/CM's.....I've made friends on board & THEY are why I keep going back

 

[Olga]

The convenience and comfort of Castaway Cay, friendly and efficent CMs and attention to detail. DCL operation runs like clockwork, they thought of almost everything to make it all effortless.

 

[glnrcker]

and my children were the ones working and paying for a cruise, they would without a doubt choose DCL (hands down no one treats a kid like Disney).
We adults would get to tag along, and still have a great area if we wanted to be alone or, the rest of the ship for the best family experience outside of Lake Buena Vista.

 

[branv]

I'll be perfectly honest: some of my reasons are a result of hearing trip reports from friends/families and from reading them on places like cruise critic. I know people should form their own opinions, but in this case it could be an expensive way to find out negative issues are right. We just don't get to vacation enough to want to take as many chances.

So onward we go:

1) I just like Disney

2) CASTAWAY CAY

3) Though we are two adults, no kids, we aren't party people other than a few drinks. I like the family oriented atmosphere you find on DCL. Oddly enough, apart from the occasional shrieking, it's pretty peaceful.

4) Addendum to #3 -- the stories I've heard from people I know as well as reviewers reflect a more adult/party atmosphere on other cruise ships. I like that even the adult venues on DCL are very tame.

5) We sail 4-nighters, and on other cruise lines, the shorter cruises are typically done on older, more run-down ships...and addendum again, tend to have a reputation for the wilder crowd. I like that on DCL you could expect the same ship and service quality on the Wonder as on the Magic.

6) I've also heard a lot of stories about other cruise lines being less strict about keeping children out of the adult pool areas. I haven't yet run across a child in the adult pool or Serenity Beach. Have heard similar things about enforcing smoking areas as well.

7) Majority of people sailing on DCL are sailing with children -- which means the adult-only sections always seem to be used less (at least in comparison to the family areas...wow those pictures we have of CC family beach )

8) Amazing, personal, friendly service.

9) I haven't had another cruise line offer anything different enough to make me think I just HAVE to try them out. Could care less about flow riders, ice skating, restaurants you pay for (well, that number of them anyway, perfectly happy just having the one...or maybe two on the Dream ). Although I do wish DCL would try that anytime dining.

10) Larger staterooms

11) Easy-peasy embark/disembark

12) Had to edit to add: FIREWORKS at sea! Love that!

Again, I know for everyone that complains about these other cruise ships, there is someone who will post on here that they never saw any of that. And I believe they did experience it like they say as well. But I can't dismiss the opinions of people I know and respect, and besides...it's harder to convince yourself to go another way line when you know that while you might be happy on a different cruise line, you know from experience you'll almost certainly be happy on DCL.

 

[clten]

For us it's the crew, hands down. 18 sailings down with 6 more booked in the next 18 months. We have sailed with other cruiselines but we much prefer the service we get on Disney. It is the little things (i.e. buying a soda card on another cruiseline really isn't a big thing. But you had to go to the bar to get the sodas and very often we were given poor service/attitude because there was no tip coming their way.)

How the DCL crew remembers repeat cruisers I have yet to figure out! But they do remember you and it feels like coming back home every sailing.

Also, DCL isn't perfect and we have had problems on our sailings. But Disney has tried harder for us to make things right than we've had on other cruiselines. For us, this makes it worth the extra money. What good is a vacation if you are going to spend half of it annoyed with service you are receiving?

Oh yeah, and absolutely loving Castaway Cay doesn't hurt.

 

[NC_Tink]

First and foremost - because of my kids! When I asked them last year which cruise they would like to take next (we had a chance to do another cruise line for the Mediterranean this year which had better ports and was somewhat cheaper) hands down, the boys wanted it to be DCL! They love the clubs, the counselors, and all of the different aspects of a Disney Cruise (they've now been on two - April will be #3). And,honestly, if my children are happy -then I'm happy! But, really - I love the service we get on a Disney ship. I love that we don't have to pay for soda. I love that we can bring our own alcohol - no sneaking necessary. I love that it's not a "party" atmosphere like some of the other lines. I don't miss casinos or the party until I'm sick attitudes of some of passengers on other lines! I love the shows on a Disney ship. And, where else can you see Mickey Mouse and all the gang at sea??? Oh, and like others said - Castaway Cay - 'nuff said

 

[Edd]

I have cruised on all three cruise lines, at Port Canaveral, and find the DCL gets boring after a few cruises. The DCL ships are old and the splendor just doesn't happen to be there anymore. If you have children the magic of Disney is the children's smiles when they are on the ship. I saw that in my grandson and he enjoyed three cruises as well as I. They were great cruises.

However I have found the Carnivals and the Royal Caribbeans are a step above the service and the fun that can be had on the DCL. My grandson cruises with me, a lot, and likes the kids clubs on the Carnivals and the RCCL" much better.

For adult entertainment the Carnival and the RCCL cannot be beaten DCL rolls up the carpet at about 11:00 pm. The food is also much better than the DCL. The production shows on the DCL are good for kids, but I prefer the musical dance numbers on the other ships. There is no real dancing in the Disney production shows. It is Disney choreography at its best. Not even close to Broadway choreography. The casinos on the other ships are also fun for a lot of passengers, including myself. One ship has ice-skating and actual surfing. DCL doesn't have that. The water park is one in one of the biggest RCCL ships is twice as big as the water park on the DCL.

I think Disney is just way behind now in cruising. Their ships are outdated and small. They will look much better when they get the new ships in and cruising. Hopefully they will catch up with the newer ships.

 

[MaryKLady]

This may seem like a small thing but to us it was a life saver...curtain divider in the state room. DD is a sleeper. Still at 6 she takes a nap on vacations and still goes to bed between 8 and 9. So DH and I would order a cheese plate and some wine and sit on the balcony while DD slept. I haven't seen them on other lines.

 

[tvguy]

First it's Disney. Nobody else cruising is Disney.

Second, everyone has kids clubs, but nobody has them like Disney.

Third, they cater like nobody else to young families by planning their evening events far earlier than other lines. Evenings on most cruises are just getting up to speed at 10 or 11 pm, on Disney they are winding down.

Honestly, others like HAL have service and food on par or better, BUT Disney is near the top of the pack, and bundled with the above, it gives them an advantage.

As for price, the best way I can put it is, you get more from Disney, but expected to pay $3 for every $1 more you get. But that's no different than in the parks.

 

[lovethedream]

5) We sail 4-nighters, and on other cruise lines, the shorter cruises are typically done on older, more run-down ships...and addendum again, tend to have a reputation for the wilder crowd. I like that on DCL you could expect the same ship and service quality on the Wonder as on the Magic.

9) I haven't had another cruise line offer anything different enough to make me think I just HAVE to try them out. Could care less about flow riders, ice skating, restaurants you pay for (well, that number of them anyway, perfectly happy just having the one...or maybe two on the Dream ). Although I do wish DCL would try that anytime dining.

10) Larger staterooms

12) Had to edit to add: FIREWORKS at sea! Love that!

For number 5. I have heard a lot of comments concerning older versus newer ships. What was interesting to us was that having sailed on the Wonder twice and then going on the Freedom of the Seas, we felt the older wonder was in better shape then the newer Freedom. The Wonder felt brand new to us while the Freedom seemed a little tired. Now to be fair, we do not know if we caught one going into dry dock versus one just coming out. But the age of the ship is something we no longer consider based upon our experience.

Ditto on number 9. Even with all of the "new" things on the larger ship, we still had more fun on the Wonder than we did on the FOTS. When I asked the family, DCL wins hands down every time.

Loved the larger staterooms.

Fireworks can't be beat!

Announcement upon boarding. Nice.

It is our opinion that Disney fills a niche in the cruise industry and does it very very well, even compared to the "newer" ships out there. In my opinion, there simply is no comparison.

A few last comments, was not a big fan of the "adult entertainment" on the Freedom, nor did we care for the dining experience. Nor do we really care to gamble. However, we do have friends that sail Celebrity and RCCL every year and love them...

 

[Edd]

Never measured the staterooms just cleaned up, took a nap and slept in them. I can see fireworks almost any night of the week. I can do without any announcement I am aboard, for the reduction in price I can get on the other lines. I can also eat in the smae dining room everynight, it doesn't seem to bother me.

I will guarantee you the newer ships are in much better repair than the older ships. The older a ship gets the more repair work that has to be done. There becomes a time when the ship becomes to costly to continue to repair. That is not far off in the case of the Wonder and the Magic. They already are showing their age with the lack of power in the turbines to keep them out of trouble.

Still the fact remains you get better entertainment, dining and value in many of the other lines for less than you pay in the DCL. It is true Disney has its following, but to each his own.

 

[lovethedream]

Never measured the staterooms just cleaned up, took a nap and slept in them. I can see fireworks almost any night of the week. I can do without any announcement I am aboard, for the reduction in price I can get on the other lines. I can also eat in the smae dining room everynight, it doesn't seem to bother me.

I will guarantee you the newer ships are in much better repair than the older ships. The older a ship gets the more repair work that has to be done. There becomes a time when the ship becomes to costly to continue to repair. That is not far off in the case of the Wonder and the Magic. They already are showing their age with the lack of power in the turbines to keep them out of trouble.

Still the fact remains you get better entertainment, dining and value in many of the other lines for less than you pay in the DCL. It is true Disney has its following, but to each his own.

Well, the OP did ask why Disney? And newer versus older was not our experience at all so much to the fact that we do not consider it anymore. And yes, I guess we will agree to disagree as we look forward to another Magical sailing on Disney Cruise Lines!

 

[everafter1]

I agree with many of the reasons posted previously! We especially love Castaway Cay, Fireworks at Sea, the larger rooms, the adult activities, and the overall service