Kids aged 11 and 15 - deciding between Disney and RCCL?

[graceinmelbourne]

We are starting to plan a trip to the USA for September this year. We are from Australia and plan to take about 3 weeks all up. Our plan is to fly to L.A. and do Disneyland/Universal then fly to New York for about 6 days. After that we will fly to Florida where we plan to take a cruise. The problem is that we can't decide which cruise would be most suitable.

 

We have narrowed it down to Disney Fantasy or either Oasis or Allure of the seas. Our girls will be 15 and 12 at the time. They do like Disney (who doesn't!) but are they too old for Disney now? Being September I understand most American school kids will be school but will the ship be full of toddlers and young kids who aren't in school yet? Will they be one of the few older kids and teens on the ship at this time?

 

Have any of you been on Disney with older kids and teens and if so, how did they enjoy it?

 

This will not be a cheap trip (the airfares and the accommodation in New York take a big chunk out of the budget) so we want to make the right choice as far as the cruise goes.

 

Thanks :)

[grand isle joe]

We sail both lines mostly. My daughter is 11 yr. old going on 17(:rolleyes: just kidding) and she LOVED the Princesses but now graduated to the activities on Royal Caribbean. We sailed the Freedom and she loved it. There is much more activities for teens than Disney,(we just sailed the Dream last fall) although we have not cruised the Oasis yet but hear it is even more inviting for teens. We travel to Disney World practically every year and she still loves the parks but as far as sailing it is Royal at this point in her life.Yes we also have sailed during school year and we found enough kids on board to make it inviting in the kids activities. In the U.S. a large number of home schoolers travel when the other kids are in school.I hope you have a wonderful cruise no matter which you choose mate.:)

[graceinmelbourne]

We sail both lines mostly. My daughter is 11 yr. old going on 17(:rolleyes: just kidding) and she LOVED the Princesses but now graduated to the activities on Royal Caribbean. We sailed the Freedom and she loved it. There is much more activities for teens than Disney,(we just sailed the Dream last fall) although we have not cruised the Oasis yet but hear it is even more inviting for teens. We travel to Disney World practically every year and she still loves the parks but as far as sailing it is Royal at this point in her life.Yes we also have sailed during school year and we found enough kids on board to make it inviting in the kids activities. In the U.S. a large number of home schoolers travel when the other kids are in school.I hope you have a wonderful cruise no matter which you choose mate.:)

 

Thanks, that is really helpful. We are leaning towards RCCL at this point but just wanted to make sure we are making the right decision. I know what you mean about an 11 year old going on 17. I have one of those too! :rolleyes: Thanks again 'mate'.

[stsomewhere]

My kids are 13 and 11. They love Disney cruises. They have been on 4 Disney cruise, 2 Carnival, 2 Royal Carribean, and 2 NCL and 1 Holland America. Disney is our favorite hands down.

 

My son (13) sailed on the Oasis in Dec.2010 with a friend. I was afraid he would not enjoy our Disney cruise on Aug. 2011. He said he would rather cruise on Disney. He felt that Oasos was just too big.,

 

It really depends on what your kids like to do. My son felt that he could not connect with other kids on Oasis like he could on Disney.

While he did participate in Rock Climbing and ziplining on Oasis, he would rather just hang out and relax. He never got to go ice skating due to limited schedule.

[Traveling Mike]

We are starting to plan a trip to the USA for September this year. We are from Australia and plan to take about 3 weeks all up. Our plan is to fly to L.A. and do Disneyland/Universal then fly to New York for about 6 days. After that we will fly to Florida where we plan to take a cruise. The problem is that we can't decide which cruise would be most suitable.

 

We have narrowed it down to Disney Fantasy or either Oasis or Allure of the seas. Our girls will be 15 and 12 at the time. They do like Disney (who doesn't!) but are they too old for Disney now? Being September I understand most American school kids will be school but will the ship be full of toddlers and young kids who aren't in school yet? Will they be one of the few older kids and teens on the ship at this time?

 

Have any of you been on Disney with older kids and teens and if so, how did they enjoy it?

 

This will not be a cheap trip (the airfares and the accommodation in New York take a big chunk out of the budget) so we want to make the right choice as far as the cruise goes.

 

Thanks :)

 

My son is 15 and has done most of the major cruise lines at least once. We just got off the MR Cruise on Thanksgiving and my son is looking forward to the Fantasy in June. I find the kids on the Disney ships a little different because they can still enjoy Disney. If you have never done Disney and can afford it I would recommend it before your kids get much older. When they are older you can do the other cruise lines.

 

One note: The best cruise my son ever did was when he was 10 and there were only 20 kids on the entire ship. There were 4 10 year old kids (2 boys 1 girl) and they had the run of the ship. The became very good friends and he still has contact with 2 of them. We have found when there are less kids on the ship they tend to become better friends with the kids on the ship. When there are lots of kids it is to easy to change groups or have groups not notice you.

[iceman93]

I find the kids on the Disney ships a little different because they can still enjoy Disney.

 

I think that sums it up right there. I was the kind of teenager who loved my annual family vacations to WDW (well before there was a DCL), and never "outgrew" the magic, quality, and experience that only Disney can provide. I think I would have been bored and unsatisfied on something like a RCCL cruise.

 

But there are other kids (the majority, maybe?) who think Disney is uncool at that age. For them, a Shrek cruise is probably a better choice. There are certainly plenty of people who sail and love RCCL, so they must be doing something right. But to me, if you are Disney people, there's no better experience at sea than a DCL cruise...

[CariBear]

We sailed Oasis in November 2010. My 3 year old and 8 year old had a blast. So much to do!! Both kids loved the kid's club on RCCL and would want to stay all night! My 8 year old loved the ice skating sessions and rock climbing. She was too small to do the zip line (which husband and I enjoyed), but cannot wait until she is a little bigger so she can try it out along with the flowrider.

 

As much as I love Disney (I am a seasonal Cast Member) I prefer the Oasis and Allure over a Disney ship. I love the big ships...and the diversity they provide.

[graceinmelbourne]

My kids are 13 and 11. They love Disney cruises. They have been on 4 Disney cruise, 2 Carnival, 2 Royal Carribean, and 2 NCL and 1 Holland America. Disney is our favorite hands down.

 

My son (13) sailed on the Oasis in Dec.2010 with a friend. I was afraid he would not enjoy our Disney cruise on Aug. 2011. He said he would rather cruise on Disney. He felt that Oasos was just too big.,

 

It really depends on what your kids like to do. My son felt that he could not connect with other kids on Oasis like he could on Disney.

While he did participate in Rock Climbing and ziplining on Oasis, he would rather just hang out and relax. He never got to go ice skating due to limited schedule.

 

Wow, you have done a lot of cruises. I get your point about not connecting with other kids on Oasis because of the sheer number of people on board. Good to hear your point of view.:)

[graceinmelbourne]

We sailed Oasis in November 2010. My 3 year old and 8 year old had a blast. So much to do!! Both kids loved the kid's club on RCCL and would want to stay all night! My 8 year old loved the ice skating sessions and rock climbing. She was too small to do the zip line (which husband and I enjoyed), but cannot wait until she is a little bigger so she can try it out along with the flowrider.

 

As much as I love Disney (I am a seasonal Cast Member) I prefer the Oasis and Allure over a Disney ship. I love the big ships...and the diversity they provide.

 

Well you can never get bored on the Oasis. So much to do especially for the kids. They did the rock climbing on Brilliance which was great as there were only 30 kids on board so no waiting in lines. The zip line looks like so much fun. I would love to do that one myself.

[graceinmelbourne]

I think that sums it up right there. I was the kind of teenager who loved my annual family vacations to WDW (well before there was a DCL), and never "outgrew" the magic, quality, and experience that only Disney can provide. I think I would have been bored and unsatisfied on something like a RCCL cruise.

 

But there are other kids (the majority, maybe?) who think Disney is uncool at that age. For them, a Shrek cruise is probably a better choice. There are certainly plenty of people who sail and love RCCL, so they must be doing something right. But to me, if you are Disney people, there's no better experience at sea than a DCL cruise...

 

I still love Disney. I remember every Sunday night when I was a kid on TV there would be the 'Wonderful World of Disney' program which every kid in Australia loved. I don't think you outgrow Disney, especially the old school Disney characters. Chip and Dale are our favourites, they are just so cute. I want to take them home with me, I wonder if they would notice if we smuggled them off the ship .:D

[drarill]

We are starting to plan a trip to the USA for September this year. We are from Australia and plan to take about 3 weeks all up. Our plan is to fly to L.A. and do Disneyland/Universal then fly to New York for about 6 days. After that we will fly to Florida where we plan to take a cruise. The problem is that we can't decide which cruise would be most suitable.

 

We have narrowed it down to Disney Fantasy or either Oasis or Allure of the seas. Our girls will be 15 and 12 at the time. They do like Disney (who doesn't!) but are they too old for Disney now? Being September I understand most American school kids will be school but will the ship be full of toddlers and young kids who aren't in school yet? Will they be one of the few older kids and teens on the ship at this time?

 

Have any of you been on Disney with older kids and teens and if so, how did they enjoy it?

 

This will not be a cheap trip (the airfares and the accommodation in New York take a big chunk out of the budget) so we want to make the right choice as far as the cruise goes.

 

Thanks :)

Hi! We returned yesterday from the Dream's January 3rd cruise. Last year we cruised on the Allure's January 2nd cruise and the year before, the same date, on the Oasis. We always travel with friends with children, this year the younger was six and the oldest were almost 14. My son will be 14 in two weeks and was allowed to join the Vibe (14-17) and my daughter had a great time on the Edge (11-13). The Dream is a beautiful ship, we had a one-bedroom suite, and really had a great time. But, the six year old was the member of our party who enjoyed the cruise the most. My children liked the Oasis and the Allure more and even for the adults I think that RCCL is a better option.

We cruised on the Wonder and Magic when our kids were 5 and 6, and I remember liking the shows a lot, but the Dream's shows are not as good as the Oasis and Allure shows.

My children liked the Aquaduck, but in RCCL you have the Flowrider,the climbing wall, and the zip-line.

As I said, the shows are better in RCCL, plus you have the Central Park, the Promenade, the Boardwalk. I also liked having more specialty restaurants. I was also disappointed with Disney's stores, you have more options in RCCL and if you like to gamble, Disney doesn't have a Casino.

If smoking is an issue for you, Disney is a better option, their smoking policy is more restrictive than RCCL.

After cruising on the Magic and the Wonder, we decided that we could have a suite in RCCL for the same amount of money that Disney charges for a family room. Suite life is good in both lines, both have Concierge services and lounges.

If you have any other questions, let me know. Although we are D+ in RCCL, we have cruised with NCL, Celebrity and Disney with our children.