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Wondering how DCL is taking cruises out of Copenhagen to Norway?


Oceansaway17
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Your sig line shows that you have lots of experience with various cruise lines, including DCL. The Magic is smaller and more intimate, which we consider a good thing. On the other hand, it isn't as "high tech" as the Dream. The TV movies aren't "on demand," but rather several repeating loops on various channels. There is no "Midship Detective Agency." But we prefer the Magic for lots of reasons.

 

There is nothing amazingly different about the Magic in Europe when compared to any other ship. Yes, the characters have outfits themed to each port and the titles on the menus change. For cruises longer than 7 nights, there is extra entertainment and additional menus. If Tom happens to be in command, Norway is his home and he's very proud to take DCL's guests there.

 

This is a port intensive cruise. You have to decide whether the fare surcharge for cruising DCL is worth the special Disney touches, and to do that, you need to get pretty specific about which other lines and dates you are exploring. We found that balcony cabins on DCL for Northern Europe and British Isles cruises were 4 times more than the same cruise on another line, and the inside cabin we had booked was twice the cost of a balcony on a different line. We actually did a short cruise on the ship we were considering on the other line before we canceled DCL.

 

Yes, there are things that are special to DCL, but each line we've cruised has things that are special to them and that they do better than other lines. It comes down to personal preference.

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Not sure which Norway itinerary you are looking at doing, but I did the 12 day Disney Norway, Iceland and Scotland cruise out of Copenhagen last summer. For some perspective on my European cruise background, it was my fifth cruise in Europe. The first three were on Princess traveling with my parents (Baltics, British Isles, and Western Mediterranean) and this was my second on Disney traveling with my husband (first one was Eastern Mediterranean). All were port intensive cruises with great itineraries. I enjoyed them all but there were some things that I appreciated on my two Disney cruises after having previously done the three Princess.

 

I liked that my two Disney had more sea days included in the itinerary. I have found for me after having previously done land trips in Europe and the Princess cruises with less sea days, I strongly prefer having more built in sea days to relax and take a break from the heavy touring that is involved. I enjoyed the scheduled activities the Magic has including adult only ones. I also enjoyed all the Disney touches including the characters dressed specifically for this itinerary. If you are a Disney person, you will enjoy those touches.

 

I did late traditional dining on all of those cruises so as to not interfere with our touring. (I was given anytime on one of my Princess but was able to get it changed to traditional.) Since I prefer traditional dining to anytime/freestyle/my time dining on the cruise lines, I really enjoy Disney's rotational dining. When I did an NCL freestyle cruise in Hawaii, which was also a port intensive cruise, everyone seemed to show up at the dining rooms at the same time. We waited a long time and that just left a bad taste in my mouth for having this type of dining on port intensive cruises. I know reservations can be made on some lines, but I really didn't want to have to do this on these cruises.

 

I stayed in the cheapest room on all of these cruises as I don't spend much time in my room. When I was deciding on my Norway, Iceland and Scotland cruise, Princess and Disney were the only two offering that particular itinerary the weeks I needed. The Princess one was two days longer but would have been more expensive. I also preferred the Magic to the Princess ship that was doing the itinerary. It was an easy choice for me to choose Disney.

 

I didn't purchase the internet package on my Disney Norway cruise, but I know from others who purchased it on the ship that there were a lot of issues. I was fine with finding a lot of free wifi in ports and was glad I did not purchase it. However, I do have to say I love the Disney Navigator app as I find it very user friendly and it includes the ability to chat with others on the ship. I appreciate the Disney app even more after just using the Royal Caribbean app on my Anthem cruise which I did not find to be user friendly and in addition you had to pay for the chat feature. By the end of the cruise, I ended up not using it except for checking my balance.

 

I absolutely loved my Disney Norway, Iceland and Scotland cruise and would definitely choose Disney in Europe again as long as it is in my price range. For me, I would have a hard time cruising in Europe on another line after experiencing Disney. That is how much I loved Disney in Europe. I hope I provided some useful information as you go through the process of selecting your cruise. Best wishes to you for a great cruise no matter what line you choose.

 

 

 

 

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We were on the 11 day Norway, Iceland and Scotland cruise on the Magic this summer. It actually departed out of Dover, England, although DCL did Norwegian cruises out of Copenhagen for most of the summer. We were also on the 10 night Northern European (Baltic) cruise that preceded the Norwegian cruise and we embarked for that cruise from Copenhagen. Thus, we had 21 days on the Magic this summer.

 

At one time we were also booked on similar itineraries on Princess, in a full suite at the back of the ship, which is roughly the same price as a normal stateroom on DCL. The DCL stateroom is more comparable to a mini-suite on Princess (except no split bath on Princess), but is approximately 30% to 40% higher than Princess. It is difficult to get an absolute apples-to-apples price comparison.

 

We had an outstanding 3 weeks with Disney on the Magic in the Baltic, Norwegian and Icelandic regions along with the stopover in Scotland on the way back. We strongly prefer the Disney experience - the crews is the best! Friendly and engaging. Add to that the wonderful entertainment, rotational dining, great adult programs, and an immaculately clean ship. We almost always know some crew members and that is a plus.

 

The Norwegian ports are some of our favorites (and while we are not discussing the Baltic, that was fantastic as well). We had been to Norway with DCL once before, on a Transatlantic, with stops in Stavanger and Oslo on the way into Copenhagen. Norway is majestic, with beautiful landscapes and the like. Copenhagen is a great city for pre- and/or post-cruise activities, aside (at least for us) from the lack of direct flights. Some passengers struggled with connections. We were fine. The actual port in Copenhagen is an industrial area, and there is no reason to stay nearby when there are terrific pre- and post-cruise hotels near the city center. We stayed at a Marriott before the cruise that was very nice. Prior to the cruise, we took a train out to a castle and that was very easy to do.

 

Objectively, DCL is more expensive. Whether there is value in that price differential is subjective. For us, the answer has always been "yes", the value we receive from a DCL cruise is higher than the alternatives, and we continue to book DCL cruises. I always give DCL feedback on the end-of-cruise survey that value is not excellent, and I agree with the analysis that their prices are higher. We tried Princess and were disappointed. We will eventually do a cruise with Crystal or possibly Viking Ocean Cruise (saw their ship in Warnemunde this summer and it looked very nice). But, we love the DCL experience and it seems to win out for us almost every time we make a decision to book a cruise, despite the higher prices.

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We have done Norway cruise twice. Once on Crystal. Adults only cruise. Beautiful small ship, all inclusive, wonderful service. That cruise left out of Copenhagen and came back to Dover. It was great. Weather rained every day but the ship was small enough to get close and upfront with waterfalls. Stopped in several smaller ports.

 

The second time was on Disney Magic. We loved it too. Didn't get as far north as the crystal but it too was very special. Had the family with us for this one. We have done Disney on all the European cruises, Norway, Baltic, Greece. They do a wonderful job.

 

 

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