DCL or Royal with infant and 3-year-old

[cruisegirl06]

We just sailed DCL with our two-year-old and she loved it. We are debating between RCL and DCL for the next cruise, likely when DD is 3 and we'll also have a 1-year-old. If we do RCL it will be a ship with a nursery. I'm leaning towards DCL but nervous that they group ages 3-12 together! DD is in daycare and does well around other kids but there is a HUGE difference between a 3-year old and a 12-year old. Can anyone with experience with a 3-year-old in either club share their opinions?

 

I'm less worried about the nursery, as age ranges are similar between the two lines and I imagine ratios are similar, but if there are any differences there I should be aware of let me know. We used the nursery on DCL and DD seemed to haveac good enough time (she preferred open-house at the club).

[cb at sea]

It seems to be the concensus that kids prefer the activities on RCI much more than on Disney....it's a bit more organized....and kids do need organization!

 

Yes...the nursery will be just that...a nursery, on either cruiseline! But the kid's club....there is a difference!

[boulders]

Disney's kids clubs are a free for all. DS sailed on Disney when he was 4 1/2. We were on the ship for 11 nights. DS discovered all the computer games and video games and he was in heaven. The club allowed him to do whatever he wanted. Even though the ship did not have a lot of kids on it (for Disney), the kids club was packed. Disney had a separate club for 11-13 year olds, so the oldest kids in the club were 10. DCL seems to be always changing its rules in the kids club - parents can come in, parents can't come in, parents can come in. Two year olds allowed, two year olds not allowed etc.

 

Royal's kids clubs are much more organized. The 3-5's will have a kids counsellor (or more) who will engage them in age appropriate activities. Children must be potty trained (and not need reminders).

 

My ds is the youngest and his siblings are 7 and 10 years older, so I was confident of his ability to handle himself around older kids on Disney. If I had a little girl, I'd prefer Royal Caribbean, just because I wouldn't trust Disney to keep her safe. The kids really aren't supervised well on Disney.

[RSLeesburg]

I cannot comment on DCL, but we just got off our first RCI cruise, and our son (3) loved it. He is also in an all-day daycare program, but it is small. So, we specifically traveled on a smaller ship in off-season, so there were not hundreds of kids in the club. I would guess that there were less hat 25 under 10 years old. This was good and bad. The first day, he was only kid in there for the first hour, and was not that enthused about going back. However, he met a few friends at the pool, and from thereafter, if his friends were going or in the club, he wanted to join them. In the end, it worked out perfectly. If you go one one of the larger ships, this may not be a problem as I would guess that they will have a lot more kids even in the non peak times. As a side note, our son loved the splash pool first, and spent a lot of time there during the day, usually took a late nap, which he does not really do at home anymore, and went to kids club for a couple of hours at night (so my wife and I could see a show). So, he really did not spend lots of time in there.

[racnug]

We have only done 1 cruise (on RCI). The kids club was great and the whole family loved it. We personally live 10 minutes from Walt Disney World, so we don't feel the need to have a Disney experience on board a cruise, since we can get that easily. I think I would be overwhelmed with Disney and hidden Mickeys by day 2. My guess is that the Disney ships have a lot more kids on them than RCI, considering most travelers probably are taking a Disney cruise due to kids. Not all, but most. It was very easy to keep tabs on our kids on RCI in the pool/H20 Zone areas, because it was not crazy overcrowded with kiddos Definitely do not feel like we miss out on anything with Royal, and the cost is much lower than Disney also. We are taking 2nd cruise in 10 days on RCI.

[Onessa]

DD was a daycare kid - she preferred RCCI over Disney cruises. As others have said the one big age group on Disney was a bit intimidating when she was younger, and hanging with "little kids" was a downer when she was older. By aging the groups, RCCI gear activities to the group. DD was also a little freaked out by costumed characters when she was younger so that portion of Disney did not appeal to her either.

 

I honestly think that now, as an older teen, she'd appreciate the Disney cruise experience more than when she was a child. Their attention to detail and high level of service certainly are attractive.

[RSLeesburg]

We have only done 1 cruise (on RCI). The kids club was great and the whole family loved it. We personally live 10 minutes from Walt Disney World, so we don't feel the need to have a Disney experience on board a cruise, since we can get that easily. I think I would be overwhelmed with Disney and hidden Mickeys by day 2. My guess is that the Disney ships have a lot more kids on them than RCI, considering most travelers probably are taking a Disney cruise due to kids. Not all, but most. It was very easy to keep tabs on our kids on RCI in the pool/H20 Zone areas, because it was not crazy overcrowded with kiddos Definitely do not feel like we miss out on anything with Royal, and the cost is much lower than Disney also. We are taking 2nd cruise in 10 days on RCI.

 

This brings up a very good point - there was another thread, cannot remember if it was posted here or in the RCI forum, where someone ran through a side by side comparison of a Disney ship (can't remember which one) vs. RCI Freedom of the Seas, and one of the huge differences (in her mind) were the pool decks - Freedom had much more pool area vs Disney, and therefore, could accommodate more children without it being dangerous. If your daughter likes the splash zones/pool, you may want consider this in addition to the kids club.

[boulders]

This brings up a very good point - there was another thread, cannot remember if it was posted here or in the RCI forum, where someone ran through a side by side comparison of a Disney ship (can't remember which one) vs. RCI Freedom of the Seas, and one of the huge differences (in her mind) were the pool decks - Freedom had much more pool area vs Disney, and therefore, could accommodate more children without it being dangerous. If your daughter likes the splash zones/pool, you may want consider this in addition to the kids club.

 

I believe the thread you're referencing was titled Freedom from the Mouse.

 

Here it is

[momto2js]

We did the WBPC on Disney last spring. My kids at the time were 3 (almost 4) and 6. The nice thing for my family was they could be together. There were so few kids on this trip, it really didn't matter which club they were in. I suspect that for the most part is suspect I sorts itself out.