Disney Cruisers...need your input!!

[Yellowlily]

Ok, here's my story....I'm a cruiseaholic, like most of you on this board. I love it and can't get enough of it. However, the past several years, we've noticed (and were not surprised due to the economy, etc.), certain things about cruising have lost their finesse. Apparent downgrades, etc., have taken out the fun of cruising on some levels.

 

We are veteran cruisers in our late 30's and mid 40's with a 6 yo DD. We just completed our 12th cruise and our DD her 5th. With that being said, our last cruise we chose Holland America for "something different" thinking it would fall into the lines of Celebrity. This was not the case. It was not that great. Luckily, the itinerary was fantastic. Thinking that would be the last cruise, something struck me when DH came home and said his boss (who is a seasoned cruiser as well) said their Disney Cruise was the best cruise ever! Talk about a wake-up!

 

Never in a million years did I think we'd consider....well, we actually had in the past and had a one booked, we just had changes in travel plans, etc. We have done Disney parks 3 consecutive years in a row prior to this last cruise with HAL. We love Disney, but let's be frank....it can be down right exhausting.

 

We loved RCCI and all it had to offer, just felt like it became too "Wal-mart"ish, too commercialized and the extra touches and food quality started to fall short.

 

So, this brings me to my major question........on a Disney cruise.....can you really relax??? Is there enough things to do for the adults to they won't become bored? how is the food? how is the kids club (I'm assuming top-notch). Note: Club HAL with Holland America was really great, only complaint it was only open for a few hours at a time on sea days (only days we used it) and they did not have anyone do after-hours, which was a total bummer.

 

When cruising, we like to be comfortable (hear DCL has spacious rooms?), we love good food (who doesn't?) and there must be fun for all, adults and kids alike. We are not fans of cigarette smoke (many places on our last cruise trying to walk through you needed a mask, it was horrible, the smoke). And of course, good excursions.

 

Any input would be appreciated!! Thanks in advance!

[Yellowlily]

Just wanted to add........NCL has been brought to our attention by several people who love it......I just don't know.....love cruising but hate spending 10K on a vacation that is subpar. In thinking of 2013, I'm definitely wanting to consider cruising again....just very afraid based on our past experiences as of late. But again, you win some, you lose some.......

 

I'd really love to know about Disney and if it's worth the $$ and how does NCL compare?? Any input, I'd certainly appreciate. Thanks!

[Warm Breezes]

I think Disney is perfect with a 6 year old and well worth the cost for the Disney experience at that age. My kids were 4 and 7 on our first Disney Cruise and 7 and 10 on our second. While they don't have a casino there are plenty of adult only places. We think Palo, the adult only restaurant, is one of the best restaurants we have been to on the seas. The production shows are pure Disney entertainment and IMHO Castaway Cay is an great private island to go to.

 

We have also sailed NCL Epic which has Nickelodean, awesome shows, and cool slides. I think this would also be a good choice for a 6 year old if they were into Nickelodean. The Blue Man Group ranks right up there with the Disney shows.

 

Have fun no matter which you choose.

[Friend100]

One word to sum up Disney cruise: magical. This is the word you hear most from people describing their Disney cruise experience. You rarely hear people talking about their CCL/NCL/RCI/Princess/X/HAL cruises being "magical".

 

Here are a few pictures of the Disney Dream.

 

 

 

 

The atrium:

 

Free soda:

 

Pool deck:

 

Promenade deck:

 

One of the menus:

[cb at sea]

There are PLENTY of "adult" areas on the Disney ships AND the private island...no worries about that.

 

I've heard that Carnival and RCI's kid's club exceeds Disney's, which is surprising.....apparently, Disney has lots of "free play"...not as much structure as the others.

 

The excursions will be similar on every cruiseline...they all use the same vendors!

 

The cabins are more spacious than RCI, definitely (they have some of the smallest cabins going!)...and I don't think they've reduced the dining experience as much as the other lines.

The downside is the cost...you will pay a lot more for Disney than for any of the other "mass-market" lines.

[Yellowlily]

wow, really good to know and very much worth considering. Big thanks to the poster who posted the magical pix! they were awesome!

[Gatrcruzer]

Yellowlily,

 

I am in your "boat" ;-) I've been cruising since the early 1980's, and have sadly watched some of the changes to cruising over time. While there have been some improvements, I think that cruise prices haven't changed much over the years, but the cost of everything has changed, so as a result cruise lines have had to cut corners a lot. Then there is the issue of the progressively increasing size of ships, which have their plusses and minuses, but certainly it is much harder to provide excellent food for such a large number of people, particularly at a low cost.

 

All of this said, I still love cruising, and think it's a great vacation despite the changes. For folks like me who live in FL and can drive to the port it is especially relaxing not to have to deal with air travel.

 

We've been continuing to cruise every year since my daughter was born. This year we have the Disney Fantasy booked for December, when she will be 4. Cruising with children is certainly different, and the considerations are different. Previously we sailed with her on Celebrity Century (yuck), and twice on RCI Liberty of the Seas. RCI is great for families, nice kids club, many things to do, and now some ships have the Dreamworks characters, which my daughter loved. We found the food to be acceptable, and while there is certainly some nickel and diming, it wasn't horrible.

 

Disney Fantasy sounds great, but I'm a little concerned about whether it is worth the cost, so we are also considering switching over to the NCL Epic (would save over $1000 to take an Epic mini-suite versus a family oceanview on Disney for my cruise date). I've heard great things about the NCL kids clubs, and Epic seems to have a lot going on for families. However, the 2 lines provide very different experiences, so I guess we both need to think about what is most important for our cruise experience. Disney offers more of a classic cruise experience with set dining times and waiters, although they do have the rotating restaurants. NCL has the freestyle dining, which does sound kind of appealing, too. I've heard mixed things about food on both - most people think that the pay venues on NCL are good, but the free options get mixed reviews. The way I see it, even if I ate at the specialty restaurants every day it would still be way cheaper than Disney. And a lot of people complain abou the food on Disney. I do worry about the snug rooms on Epic. I like to hang out in the stateroom, and I like to sleep at night. The setup in the Disney room seems more amenable to both. I also like the idea of being able to get a towel at the pool without having to sign them out (many lines are doing this, and it is just annoying). There is a lot of nickel and diming on NCL. While that is related to their price structuring, it's unpleasant to deal with on vacation.

 

So the question remains, which would you prefer to try this go round? I'm still undecided, but keeping the Disney reservation for now. If a good deal comes out on NCL (and the free kids excursions aren't enough to sway me), I'll probably jump ship. Good luck in making your decision!

[crusinmama06]

We were just talking about this topic in a "Is it worth it" thread :)

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1611698