Disney vs. other cruise lines

[mikeyy]

I know there are many threads on this site for this subject, But I would like to have some experienced family cruisers help me out.

 

We are a family of 4, kids:6female,8male

 

Looking for someone who has multiple cruises with kids this age on various cruise lines.

 

Is Disney worth the extra money? Did you say to yourself after " I never want to see another Disney character again?"

 

Thank You.

[Vyhanek]

I've been on many cruises but only one time on Disney and personally I felt there were too many kids on board. They handle the children pretty well but in general I didn't like that many kids. The dining room was always loud, always some child was crying and lots of parents choose to disrespect the other passangers and allow a crying child to ruin a nice meal for the rest of the dining room.

 

I have 2 small children so I in no way am bashing families. I just like when there is a healthy mix of people, some with small kids, some honeymooners, some single travelers, some couples, some retirees, etc. That way you can always find something to do that caters to your mood or desire to deal with lots of kids or not.

 

I think all of the cruise lines do an excellent job with the kids programs and I think all of the lines welcome families with children. So children can be very happy on any cruise. I just think there is a point where too many families and too many children spoil the vacation and you begin to feel like you are vacationing in a glorified daycare center.

 

I say go to Orlando and do Disney up! Then get on a cruise and get away from the crowds of families.

[TYMAN]

We just off the Wonder last week, our 2nd Disney cruise. We've done RCCL 5 times, Hal 2 times (3rd in June), NCL, and a few of the smaller lines. We have a 7yr old son, and he enjoys HAL the best. There were 1200 kids on the Wonder last week..although Disney does a great job with handling all of them, that's alot for a cruise. Our son likes the attention he gets from Club HAL because there are less kids. To each it's own, as they say, but HAL is our 1st choice. If you can get a good deal on Disney, GO, you'll have fun.

[janep]

Disney does a great job, the service is outstanding and the ships are sparkling; however, you are talking non-stop disney for 7 straight days, disney food, disney music, disney trivia, it's way too much!!! If you do not absolutely live for disney and I mean a die hard disney fan, chose another line. ;)

[hilltopfamily]

Each line seems to have its pluses and minuses, with Disney being no exception. Our family of 5 first cruised on Disney Magic, then next two cruises were on Carnival. Kids really loved all of them, and my son wants to know why we're going to Disney World this summer instead of going on another cruise!!!! :D (I think he is Spoiled!)

 

Anyway, many of us here could point out individual differences and what is better/worse when cruising with the mouse vs. other lines. But in our case, we didn't think it was worth the significant amount of extra $$ we paid to be on it compared to our other 2 cruises. Many will have different views on this, but that is what we felt after having done both DCL & CCL. There were some things better on DCL, just not significant enough to warrant paying the extra $2500 that our Disney cruise cost us. (If you'd like more specific info, feel free to ask and I'll be happy to answer, I just didn't want to get too nit-picky unless requested.)

[unique]

We have been on Disney, Celebrity and this March Mariner. Disney was super expensive compared to the others. My son didn't care for the characters and didn't even go to the kids club. I think you get alot more for your money doing RCCL or Celebrity. We did a 4 night cruise on Disney last year and this year we are doing a 7 night on the Mariner and the price is so much cheaper!!!

[42trvl]

Our kids enjoyed the kids club on Celebrity much more than on Disney. As already mentioned on this thread, DCL was just overwhelming with the number of kids and Disney theme. We love Disney, but it was just too much for us and our kids on the cruise (and we just did a short one - I can't imagine 7 days of that). It's worth trying once in that their ships, cabins and facilities are very nice, but I don't know how quickly I'd do it again.

[MMsteffey]

Family of four, kids currently 7 and 9 here -- 5 cruises on four lines with kids, including DCL.

 

Ditto that there are so many kids on DCL that ours felt lost and overwhelmed in the kids clubs. With the exception of Disney characters and merchandise, most of the DCL kids "features" are available on other family oriented lines such as Princess and Carnival and RCCL. This includes waiters who attend to them, pagers for parents, a "lab" and science projects for the older kids, and lots of things great things to do on board in general.

 

We were on the Star Princess this summer which was built by the same shipyard as the Magic and Wonder -- extremely similar decor and layout, except there is a nice casino where the DCL kids club is located. :D Our kids liked the kids club on the Star much better as the kid/staff ratio was a lot lower, staff actually played with them, the club was upper aft so it had windows and outdoor play decks and pool, (DCL club is interior and very dark).

 

DCL food is the worst we have ever had on any cruise. Dining was fun but noisy as there were children at every single table for first seating. Lots of families sailing with 2-3-4 year olds and all the dining excitement and distraction that that entails. ;) We barely spoke to our dining table mates throughout the cruise as they were quite consumed by meeting the needs of their 2 and 4 year olds.

 

DCL Castaway Cay is nice but except for Disney theme not that different from other lines' "Private Islands". Excursion opportunities in other ports of call are exactly the same as on any other cruise line.

 

Watch DCL for quiet discounting, particularly cruise-only -- we sailed for adults $600 each for 1 week in 2001 after spotting a flyer in a travel agent's window. Otherwise I'm solidly in the "unless you're a die hard Disney fan go on another cruise" camp. Hope you have a great time whatever you decide.

[cbr47]

I know there are many threads on this site for this subject, But I would like to have some experienced family cruisers help me out.

 

We are a family of 4, kids:6female,8male

 

Looking for someone who has multiple cruises with kids this age on various cruise lines.

 

Is Disney worth the extra money? Did you say to yourself after " I never want to see another Disney character again?"

 

Thank You.

Our daughters are 9 and 11 and we just returned from 7 days on board Cunard's QM II, which was my 11th cruise, our 11 year old's 10th cruise and our 9 year old's 9th cruise, so I think we have some experience. The girls have been on NCL, Royal Carribean's Sovereign of the Seas (they loved the childrens' program on Royal Carribean, even asking to go there in the evening), Carnival (Exctasy & Fascination-the kids loved Carnival's kids program), Premier Cruise Line (which went out of business - we all loved the Big Red Boat), Cunard's QE II and QM II and Disney's Wonder. The girls were not crazy about Disney's childrens program, though I thought it had a lot going for it. We loved Disney (though my husband isn't happy there's no casino on board). We had gotten a bargain price for our 7 day land/sea package - one of the Disney "sale" prices, staying 3 days at the Disney World Carribean Beach Resort, followed by 4 days on board the Wonder. It was a terrific experience - you check in just once and your room key card also gets you into your ship stateroom. If you shop around you can really save a bundle on the Disney land/sea packages, which we highly recommend. One price includes your room at the resort as well as entry into everything, including water parks, and the cruise. I don't agree that cruising with Disney is too much in terms of characters. It was a pleasure and the kids adored it. There are 2 pools-one for families and one adults only. We were surprised there were so many adults on board who did not have children with them-even grandparents without their kids or grand kids. We very much recommend the Disney cruise, but strongly urge everyone to shop around, as well as get prices directly from Disney-check their website for specials. That's how we booked. Bon Voyage!:cool:

[addicted to cruising]

Mileyy:

 

I too struggled with this decision... For the first time in May my 10 and 13yr old boys will set sail. We love Disney and what a better way to cruise than with Disney. many others have brought up the same concerns that I had. The cost is ridiculous even though we all know Disney spares no detail! I factored in this would be a ship full if kids and I even said to myself, stop being selfish this is a trip for the boys its about what they want. In the end even though I still get excited when I see one of there ships, the reality is we booked on Carnivals newest ship Valor in May for 7 days and will just about have enough money leftover to go to Disney for a week. It wasnt a hard decision for our family when we presented it that way to our boys. Your kids are a good age, my thoughts were to get on a newer/bigger boat and we chose 4 ports of call to keep them busy so there is less of a chance to get bored at sea. The childrens programs are fantastic now a days. My fear is that I wont even see my 10yr old on this trip as he will be doing his own thing.

 

good luck

I know there are many threads on this site for this subject, But I would like to have some experienced family cruisers help me out.

 

We are a family of 4, kids:6female,8male

 

Looking for someone who has multiple cruises with kids this age on various cruise lines.

 

Is Disney worth the extra money? Did you say to yourself after " I never want to see another Disney character again?"

 

Thank You.

[Cruisin' Chick]

CBR (if you go by here again),

just looking at the Cunard brochure we got in the mail and we figured it wouldn't fit us because our 7-year-old is really into the kids programs (she's been on Carnival three times and Princess twice). How did yours enjoy that ship?

 

Mikeyy,

our girl loved all the cruises she's been on. But then she's into playing and crafts so Carnival and Princess fit her. We haven't done Disney because we thought it was overpriced and until this year was just doing Caribbean and for now we're sticking to West Coast cruises. One of the Disney ships is supposed to be here this summer but we've already decided to go to Hawaii. I'm sure she wouldn't mind a Disney cruise -- she doesn't worry about money. ;) :rolleyes: