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Disney Sticker Shock... other options?


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Our grandson will be 5 NEXT winter (2018-19) and we would love to do a 4 adult / 1 kid cruise. Probably 4 day out of Port Canaveral or Lauderdale. I admit to feeling a bit of sticker shock when it came to pricing a Disney cruise. Before I start making commitments... are there other kid friendly cruises? I know Disney has the reputation but in truth our grandson has not been raised 'Disney'. His favorites are Paw Patrol, Ranger Rob, etc. The Marvel Super Heroes are far more familiar to him than Mickey, Goofy, or etc? Disney seems to be the default choice and I know they would do a first rate job. But are there other choices? I know ships have kid clubs etc but are there also other character opportunities that he might enjoy? Costumed characters on board? Dining visits? Themed cruises? As much as I would like to do a Holiday Season cruise I doubt work schedules would allow for a cruise during November or December. January or February 2019 would be much easier to do. Suggestions??

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Carnival has lots of fun Dr Seuss themed activities and thier kids clubs are fantastic. I would recommend a longer sailing if possible because you tend to see more families and less of the 20 something party crowd. Carnival ships are always lots of fun, but as with all the mainstream lines, the shorter sailings tend to attract the weekend warriors. The Magic is a very fun ship for children and families :) and is in FL for a while. We sailed her from Galveston in Dec 2015 with 5 of our children and had a fantastic trip. The Magic has cabins for 5 that are very nice and budget friendly including 2 bathrooms, if you would like to share one cabin. If not, there are other great ways to arrange the family.

 

Ps. Jan/Feb/(early)Mar are our favorite times to cruise.

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Royal Caribbean Oasis class ships have a TON to offer for young kids (Allure, Harmony, Oasis). They have Dreamworks characters onboard. We spent much time getting pictures with the various characters (from shrek, madagascar etc). My 3.5yr old even got to ride the carousel with 2 of the characters. Each time they walked up, took her hand and led her on the carousel riding around with her. She LOVED it. She had never seen any of those movies but it didn't matter.

 

We have lucked out with both our cruises in getting sales that put the price cheaper than Carnival Cruises.

 

They have a great kids program which we used for an hour or so a day. Over a year later and our daughter still talks about things she did at the kids camp. Their program where they come pick the kids up at the dinner table (40min into supper after their food was rushed for them to eat a full meal while we have our appetizer) is awesome as well :-)

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I will note if you are looking to sail in Jan-Feb 2019 you have plenty of time to wait for a good sale. Both of our cruises we booked during a low price point period when they also had their 50% of second guest and kids sale free. We paid a total of $2200 CAD for our 7 night cruise for this coming February (Boardwalk Balcony room for 3 people) and I believe it was $2300ish CAD when we sailed last Oct 2016 on our 8night cruise. The price is much higher right now for our same cruise, so it is all a matter of timing for your booking.

 

Just note that not all sales are actual sales. They list the per person fee. Keep an eye on that not on what sales/discounts are being offered. Our February cruise was listed as $707 per person for a Boardwalk balcony room. Right now it is about $1500 per person. I would check every few days and see when the price is low!

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Thank you.

I totally agree with avoiding the long weekend drunks... sorry if I offended anyone. Just not a good mix for a family style cruise (or grownups in general). Hopefully we can do a cruise covering mostly weekdays. 4 Days is pretty much the limit as it involves flying down & back from Upstate NY. Plus our daughter & son in law will need to get back to work. Easy to forget not everyone is retired!

I clearly need to do some more homework. Did not know there were family style cabins? Do the kid activities need to be booked in advance... like excursions? Good idea or bad idea to have cabins close to each other?

BTW My wife is insisting we go Disney or stay home. Some how the 4x price difference is not on her radar so this may be a hard sell. Doubt Disney ever has a sale? BTW: I might do a You tube search for kid activities on the difference ships. Any particular program names I should search for?

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Our grandson will be 5 NEXT winter (2018-19) and we would love to do a 4 adult / 1 kid cruise. Probably 4 day out of Port Canaveral or Lauderdale. I admit to feeling a bit of sticker shock when it came to pricing a Disney cruise. Before I start making commitments... are there other kid friendly cruises? I know Disney has the reputation but in truth our grandson has not been raised 'Disney'. His favorites are Paw Patrol, Ranger Rob, etc. The Marvel Super Heroes are far more familiar to him than Mickey, Goofy, or etc? Disney seems to be the default choice and I know they would do a first rate job. But are there other choices? I know ships have kid clubs etc but are there also other character opportunities that he might enjoy? Costumed characters on board? Dining visits? Themed cruises? As much as I would like to do a Holiday Season cruise I doubt work schedules would allow for a cruise during November or December. January or February 2019 would be much easier to do. Suggestions??

 

 

 

If you truly love your grandchild, you WILL take him on a Disney cruise and settle for nothing less.

Yours Truly,

distant Disney relation and stock holder.

 

 

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We did Disney with our daughter when she was 4. It was very nice. We got an excellent deal because they came to Galveston for the first time, in the off season, and did not advertise that they were sailing out of this port at all. No one knew! We got a great deal because they were having a fire sale to fill cabins. Never seen anything like it from them since.

 

Since then we've taken the (then) 6 year old daughter and 2.5 year old son on a Royal Caribbean cruise. We're headed on another in 3 days.

 

Disney is really nice. But Royal is very nice too. Whenever I think it would be so nice to take DS on a Disney cruise since he IS so into the Mickey crew, a quick price check is enough to bring me back to reality. It is a little nicer. It is NOT, in any way, shape or form, 3x the price nicer.

 

This is a personal opinion, based off observing the two kids' clubs. RC's kids clubs are better than Disney's. Or I should say, they are VERY different and which is better is based off of your child's personal preferences. Disney's looks like Disney. It's a beautiful wonderland. You drop them off there and they are basically left to their own devices, with babysitters standing around to make sure no one bites anyone or breaks an arm. The "counselors" do not really interact with the kids. They run some cool events, but they're announced in a moderate voice to a room of crazy kids and my DD missed more than one thing she had wanted to do because she didn't know it was happening.

 

RC's kids clubs look like a conference room! But they are run like a summer camp. The counselors know the kids (we sail in the off season, so this may be easier with less kids), they run activities and games and try to engage all the kids personally. DD was always excited to be there, whereas at Disney she would get bored and had a hard time meeting people (because: free for all.)

 

RC's kids swim area and slides are also the best at sea. Disney doesn't have anything like it. Disney DOES have more family stuff going on during the day. Hit a dance party in the lounge, crafts in the promenade. I do miss that on Royal. But not so much I'm willing to pay $4K extra for it.

 

And yes, the RC boats have Dreamworks characters, meet and greets, and a character breakfast.

 

I'm not bashing Disney, it's an excellent product, but having done both lines, we're more than happy to stick with RCI. A handful of things are nicer on Disney, but not anywhere near enough to make me consider the price jump.

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The other thing to consider is that your grandchild is 5. The disney kids club is for children aged 3-12, all together in one room (otherwise the kids club staff would have to deal with people upset all the time that a kid want to go to the kids club in the same group as their cousin, who lives across the country and they never see but is 3 years older and scheduled to be in a different group). But when you put 3 and 12 year olds together in the same room, there are very few activities they can jointly complete so the clubs are extremely unstructured. Most people who have taken disney cruises seem to really love it, but the few who report problems on this forum are from children who were overwhelmed by the unstructured clubs and intimidated by the much older children.

 

Also, please note that you should check the port times carefully. I plan private excursions, and a complaint that seems to come up on tripadvisor is that the disney cruise spent less time in port than the other cruise lines, and their customers were unhappy and felt rushed during the excursions. I can't personally attest to the veracity of this, since we plan our cruises primarily for the itinerary and with only 4 ships, it would be unlikely that one of the disney ships would be able to compete on itinerary with all the other cruise lines available. But I'd keep an eye out for it (though you should check port times no matter what line you sail).

 

Honestly, my kids loved all the cruises they've been on, and we still haven't yet sailed a newer, family friendly ship with lots of kid amenities. They've had a great time on Princess, HAL, NCL and Cunard (although the kids club staff wasn't great with a 2 year old, but my 5 year old had a blast at the kids club there).

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We are self proclaimed Disney addicts. We have been passholders for 12 years, own DVC timeshare, and visit about 4-5 times a year. That said, we will not pay Disney prices for the cruiseline. Rather we are Norwegian Cruise loyalists. Our son has great fun on the Sky, even though it has a reputation for being a drunk cruise because the cost includes alcohol. On a short cruise you are in ports all day and at night the Splash Academy is the place to be for kids. Sometimes NCL's bigger ships that have more toys offer short cruises and NCL just moved The Sun to Cape Canaveral for 3 and 4 day cruises. No matter what you choose... RCL, NCL, or Carnival... you will have a great time and not pay Disney prices.

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We did a 3 night DCL with 5 kids ages 4 - 11. It was fun, will never do another cruise that short, and never spend that much again. We’ve since taken 4 NCL cruises, and loved them all (we live in NJ and it’s a really short ride to the Manhattan cruise port, I’d also consider RCL out of Bayonne).

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I'm a Disney addict. I LOVE Disney world. We've been 3 times in the last 5 years. But I refuse to pay Disney cruise line prices. I've priced it and for the price of a 4 night Disney cruise my family can go on 2 seven night cruises on other lines.

 

I would look into royal carribean or even carnival. Just research the ships as not all ships are created equal. I think you would have a better time and save money on one of the newer ships from royal or carnival. You would possible save enough to also have a couple days at Disney pre or post cruise if that's what you wanted.

 

 

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I think your 5 year old will be quite happy with Carnival, RCI or NCL....all are very "family friendly"...and even Celebrity, Princess and Hal have kid's clubs....but they don't have the "bells and whistles" of the newer ships that the 1st 3 lines have.

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Our grandson will be 5 NEXT winter (2018-19) and we would love to do a 4 adult / 1 kid cruise. Probably 4 day out of Port Canaveral or Lauderdale. I admit to feeling a bit of sticker shock when it came to pricing a Disney cruise. Before I start making commitments... are there other kid friendly cruises? I know Disney has the reputation but in truth our grandson has not been raised 'Disney'. His favorites are Paw Patrol, Ranger Rob, etc. The Marvel Super Heroes are far more familiar to him than Mickey, Goofy, or etc? Disney seems to be the default choice and I know they would do a first rate job. But are there other choices? I know ships have kid clubs etc but are there also other character opportunities that he might enjoy? Costumed characters on board? Dining visits? Themed cruises? As much as I would like to do a Holiday Season cruise I doubt work schedules would allow for a cruise during November or December. January or February 2019 would be much easier to do. Suggestions??

 

 

 

There are some Marvel specific sailings on Disney that are 25% off. It’s under the special offers page. Maybe the 25% will make a difference? He will get to meet all kind of superheroes. :)

 

 

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Thank you for the great information. Definitely giving me the confidence to a least consider one of the newer NCL or Carnival ships. When we were on the Majesty of the Seas 7+ years ago I never noticed the kids clubs or activities? Maybe it was confined to a deck I just never visited?I t was an end of January cruise out of Miami. It clearly appears the newer ships have made it a higher priority? Middle Jan to Mid Feb 2019 is now my target date. Grandson has his 5th birthday then and will not yet be in Kindergarten. IF I do go with NCL or Carnival are there particular types of cabins I should consider? I also will take another look at Kid friendly excursions. I know the free section of the Aquarium at The Atlantis would be a hit as would the water taxi ride there. Coco Key activities were good but I suspect he might enjoy the less crowded ship just as much?

Like I said thank you for the very helpful information....:D

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The 3/4 days on NCL, Carnival, and RCL are all older ships. The newer ships are 7+ nights. But really on 3/4 night cruise you are not on the ship very much as you are in port. On the 3 night cruise NCL and RCL both go to the Nassau/Grand Bahama Island on one day and their private island on the second. Carnival tends to go the Nassau and then a day at sea. NCL and Carnival both have 3/4 night sailings out of Cape Carnival so if you want, a day/or two at WDW is absolutely doable.

 

As for cabins, we love our balconies. We really love the aft balcony but will accept any balcony if the price is too high for aft.

 

Have a great trip!.

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Thank you for the great information. Definitely giving me the confidence to a least consider one of the newer NCL or Carnival ships. When we were on the Majesty of the Seas 7+ years ago I never noticed the kids clubs or activities? Maybe it was confined to a deck I just never visited?I t was an end of January cruise out of Miami. It clearly appears the newer ships have made it a higher priority? Middle Jan to Mid Feb 2019 is now my target date. Grandson has his 5th birthday then and will not yet be in Kindergarten. IF I do go with NCL or Carnival are there particular types of cabins I should consider? I also will take another look at Kid friendly excursions. I know the free section of the Aquarium at The Atlantis would be a hit as would the water taxi ride there. Coco Key activities were good but I suspect he might enjoy the less crowded ship just as much?

 

Like I said thank you for the very helpful information....:D

 

 

 

Stick with a longer cruise. Those short cruises on carnival and ncl are "party ships". My husband and I have a blast on the short carnival cruises but wouldn't take my kids on it. For more of a family environment go for a longer cruise. That's also how you will get on a newer ship.

 

The aquarium portion of Atlantis is no longer free. You must pay to have access to it. I don't think you can go anywhere around Atlantis except maybe the shops unless you have a pass.

 

 

 

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Not sure if we really saw the actual aquarium. What we saw for free was the areas under the swim areas that encircle the Atlantis as we walked from marina to the casino / dining area? Might have also been where check in was ? We have seen plenty of aquariums (Ex: New England Aquarium in Boston) but it was still interesting. I do remember you had to pay for the full aquarium. Hopefully the mini experience is still free?

Are there other areas in Nassau that might interest a 5 year old? He would probably get a kick out of the balloon animal hats at Senor Frogs but not really the experience we are looking for.:D

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All of the major lines cater to families now. That is the one thing Disney did make all lines do. They have to to compete. I have done 2 Disney cruises and yes I enjoyed them very much, and I really like Disney (I live a stones throw from it in Orlando) . BUT I cant justify paying twice as much or more for a Disney cruise. I agree with many of the posts above. We did the NCL Getaway with kids and they really liked it.

But, let me propose another option. Don't leave MSC out of your consideration. We took our 5yo twins on the Divina a year ago and they had a ball! The kids club ladies were fantastic. Their kids club wasnt visually impressive, but they had it where it counts...the people and the activities. MSC now has the Seaside coming to Miami as we speak. Its will be the full blown family experience. Water park, the whole schmear. We are going in March and can't wait. Also...the most important part. On MSC KIDS SAIL FREE...always. Frankly, I don't think you will go wrong on any of the mega ships as they all cater to kids and families now...but I would check out MSC too, which many people haven't considered yet.

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I highly recommend Royal Caribbean! We did Disney with a great deal, but have stuck with RCCL since. DD was 4 on Disney and did not like the children's program (4 year olds with 12 year olds is not good). On RCCL she loves the program and begs to go/stay. The Dreamworks characters were a lot of fun too. The Oasis Class ships (& Harmony) have rock climbing, carousel, ice skating, etc).

 

 

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Another vote for Royal. We took our kids on Allure when DS was 10.5 and DD 6 years. Both loved it! The pools are less crowded, great rock wall, mini golf , variety of pools, and lots of amazing shows including DreamWorks shows and parades. We have Symphony booked in future. Our kids didn't attend but they have a kids club with organizef activities that are supposed to be great. I highly recommend Royal Oasis class. If you want waterslides then Harmony or Symphony (there is a smaller slide in kiddy area).

 

P.S. I love love love Disney Parks but when it comes to cruises I actually prefer Royal

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

We are HUGE Disney fans and have been to WDW more times than I care to admit...However our Disney cruise remains our least favorite. We enjoy Princess and RCCL but our hearts are with NCL. I don't know if we've been lucky but every cruise with them has been great. The suites are really beautiful if your willing to pay the price and worth every penny. Our girls liked the kids clubs on Disney but loved the clubs on the other lines. My dh and I are a little strange but we don't want Mickey shoved down our throat around every corner when we are on a ship

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