NCL vs. DCL vs. RCCL

We are die-hard DCL fans..... But have enjoyed the two RCCL cruises we have taken--- but didn't find the kids clubs as organized and entertaining. We are booked on an NCL jewel cruise next month... I'm wondering how the experience will compare? We have an 11&8 year old.

It's tough to beat DCL if you have kids who are Disney fans. I think they have the best programs for kids under 15. But my kids are grown, and I know I will never cruise DCL again!

DLC is the top of the line for most mass marketed cruisers. I think most of us know that, but the price goes along with the pleasures. As for the kids activities, depending on which RCI ships you cruised you won't find a lot of difference. RCI has the rock climbing, etc but I think the kids clubs are about the same. NCL probably has better entertainment overall unless you are talking one of the new RCI mega ships. I think all the lines today offer plenty of activities to keep the kids entertained. Heck our grandkids started cruising before the days of kids clubs and never were bored. Go and have a great time.

My family are also DCL fans, though we do sail other lines. Even though my children are at University now, ask them who they want to cruise with, and they will tell you Disney. As adults, it still provides my family with a wonderful experience, and we are still always finding ourselves busy on our DCL cruises.

That said, there are other lines out there that go other places that Disney doesn't! My eldest DD and I just tried out the Norwegian Pearl, and we did find that quite of the crew was as pleasant as the DCL crew (though DCL is still hands down the most pleasant crew I have ever sailed with).

The Freestyle dining is different, and not something we cared for. We really like having the same servers every night, having 3 restaurants in our rotation, and menus that change as the restaurant changes. I have never had to pay to get good food on DCL, whereas NCL I felt that for food that I prefer, I had to pay. But I don't care for red meat or pork, so seafood choices are what I am after, and DCL offers that in the regular rotation.

The shows on NCL Pearl were very different. During the "family" magician/comedian show, he swore 4 times, and when he had a 7 year old boy onstage to help during a magic trick, he joked about wishing his ex-wife was a pumpkin so he could gouge her eyes out with a knife and spoon. I just didn't find it to be my version of a "family" show, but then I haven't found a cruise line that puts on a family show with the quality that Disney does.

I can't help you at all with the clubs, as my children are grown, but I did talk to another family one day on the tender into Grand Cayman, and they said their daughter was just thrilled to meet Dora and loved hanging out in the club with her! So an endorsement of the kid's club from a smiling little girl on the Pearl, at least!

Either way, you are on vacation with your family, enjoy the time together and make some wonderful memories! :)

We are die-hard DCL fans..... But have enjoyed the two RCCL cruises we have taken--- but didn't find the kids clubs as organized and entertaining. We are booked on an NCL jewel cruise next month... I'm wondering how the experience will compare? We have an 11&8 year old.

We've been on many NCL and DCL. The main thing I try to do is not compare them and take them for what they are individually. If you haven't been on NCL, try it once and see if it by itself makes you happy.

You say you are going next month - if it isn't during the holiday break there might not be many kids on board so they may combine some of the kids functions across the age groups.

As others said, you get what you pay for. Nobody beats Disney for dealing with kids. Rccl and NCL are comparable, but the freestyle aspect of NCL is what makes most of the difference. If you like set dinning times then Rccl you may continue to like better. If you hate traditional dinning or having to dress up NCL is the cruise line for you.

I always say try it. Even if the cruise is a flop it will still be fun. I personally hated my NCL Hawaii cruise. The food, service etc... Was just awful. I count it as my worse cruise ever. But did I have fun, absolutely! It just wasn't as good as my cruises on DcL or Rccl, but we did have a nice vacation. So try it and then you can judge for your family based on your experience.

It's the New Year's cruise right smack in the middle of the school holiday (which is why we picked it...the timing, price, and port location made it desirable). Oh, I have no doubt we'll have fun--as long as the kids are happy, I'm happy since all it takes is a good book to keep me entertained!

We have cruised all 3 lines my kids started cruising at 4 and 6 and have been on 7 cruises. Our most recent cruise was RCCL Allure they were 8 and 10 so similar ages.

No body does it better than Disney but you pay for that. Like a extra 20% or more. Their kids clubs are top notch and the hours they are open, what like 7 am to midnight or something like that is better than other lines. Entertainment is geared to kids, MDR food is exceptional. Its Disney, its top of the line and you pay for it.

Once my kid set foot and Freedom the first time they said they don’t have to do Disney any more. My bank account shouted hallelujah. They loved the food, the flowrider the pools and splash area. The entertainment was not as exciting except the ice show and dive show on Allure. Its more adult and not as focused on kids. Allures entertainment captured their attention the most over other RCCL ships.

But they wanted water slides and NCL markets to kids so last year we went on Epic. I had pretty low expectations but high hopes. I was blown away it was awesome. They used the kids club some but not as much they were older (9 and 7) and wanted to spend time in the pool area. The staff was amazing. The pool guys knew my kids names the first day. My DD got a chemical burn on her face from a very cool face painting. Not the ships fault, she has sensitive skin. The pool guy saw her trying to hide under big hat and big sunglasses. He told her the same thing mom did that she looked cool. And to just tell the kids she was getting a tribal tattoo and her mom stopped her. He really made her feel better and improved her mood. He tried to call the ship Doc on the spot but we assured him that she is okay and since her dad is a Dr. we took care of it. He honestly cared and that meant a lot.

Now NCL food in the main dinning room is no were as good as DCL or RCCL. They really push you to the specialty restraunts. If your kids are like mine they do not want kids meals they want to adult food. NCL charged ½ the cover charge for kids under 12 so its very reasonable to take them. My kids have never been to RCCL or DCL specialty dinning the don’t want kids in there and the MDF food is so good, not a need.

When we price out a cruise we know on NCL we are going to spend 700-1000 on dinning so its not a big deal to us. We book our reservations when we get aboard since you can not book kids ahead of time or you couldn’t last year.

I am currently researching Breakaway for May 2014. Very excited to go back on NCL and so are my kids…..5 slides enough said. J

If you have any questions I can answer for you just let me know

We've sailed on all 3 lines with our family - yes, there are differences, but IMO it is very subjective to your individual preferences. I know some people LOVE DCL food - I thought it was good, but the rotating restaurants on a set schedule was very annoying to me. Each line excelled in different ways for us food wise, but to each his own.

It seems that regardless the ship or line, the kids camps vary with each sailing mostly depending on the mood of our kids at the time. Sometimes they want to go, and other times they want to lurp around 'bored' with us. Maybe they are getting older and that's just how it goes ;) Staff and activities have been great on all in our experience, but the combination of my kids moods and how many other kids are onboard seems to make a difference as well. We've been on some sailings with only 20 kids on the entire ship and the kids camps were deserted most of the time obviously.

"Family" entertainment is best on DCL - most would agree, but you can usually find some shows to go to on the other lines that you won't want to walk out in the middle of the show, but it can be a gamble that doesn't exist on DCL.

I say give them all a try - a week at sea sure beats a week on dry ground IMO almost regardless of which line you try. In many ways this is a McDonalds, Burger King, or Taco Bell discussion :)

I say give them all a try - a week at sea sure beats a week on dry ground IMO almost regardless of which line you try. In many ways this is a McDonalds, Burger King, or Taco Bell discussion :)

Probably more of a Denny's, Applebees, IHop discussion :D