NCL getaway/RCI Freedom/Carnival Breeze for Disney lover

[ellasmomanddad]

how much is the upcharge for the specialty restaurants? are kids allowed in there?

The last night they do half off but 20 - 35 regular price. Kids love Japanese steakhouses on ships and Brazilian BBQ restaurants and I wouldn't feel funny about bringing children in( i have read some parents do) because they are for fee restaurants your table is more than likely private.

[bfamily4]

dh and i love a good steak and i love seafood. those are pretty much what we ate on our dcl cruises. would we have to pay for them on ncl? how about fruits? is that in the buffet? kids will only eat chicken fingers/fries/pizza/mac/cheese. hope that is included in the price?

 

b/c of the promotion right now i'm tempted to book with ncl but also afraid that by the time everything is said and done the final bill will be >/= dcl.

[ellasmomanddad]

The mdr will have some sort of beef not necessarily a t bone and fish is all over the menu's and the buffet has the stuff for kids but if you like a good proper sirloin /filet best to book a steak house and pay for it you will be happy....I did see a carnival KSf out of Miami too I have never sailed them though I broke it down 2 adults 2 kids 168 a piece a night that's pretty good

Edited February 23, 2015 by ellasmomanddad

[darwinsrule]

how much is the upcharge for the specialty restaurants? are kids allowed in there?

 

Depends upon the restaurant. Italian is the cheapest at $15. Ocean Blue on Getaway was the most expensive but I believe the price has dropped to $40. As someone else mentioned if kids order from the regular menu they are 1/2 price.

 

And yes kids are allowed in. I have seen threads where people bitch about it, but last time I checked my bill they were paid passengers as well. But then there are people who feel the need to complain. Constantly.

[darwinsrule]

dh and i love a good steak and i love seafood. those are pretty much what we ate on our dcl cruises. would we have to pay for them on ncl? how about fruits? is that in the buffet? kids will only eat chicken fingers/fries/pizza/mac/cheese. hope that is included in the price?

 

b/c of the promotion right now i'm tempted to book with ncl but also afraid that by the time everything is said and done the final bill will be >/= dcl.

 

Quality of the steaks has improved a lot. When we sailed to Bermuda the steak in the MDR was horrible. Last summer more Outback chain restaurant. We did the steakhouse in 2012 and it was good. Not the best steak of my life but better than most chains.

 

Our kids have never had a problem getting all the standard stuff. One of the best memories from Getaway was DD10 downing lobster tail after lobster tail at the buffet on night.

[captcruiser]

Have sailed the Disney Dream a couple times and just cruised Freedom of the Seas(without the kids) this past July. We have two kids. We love the Disney cruise experience, but we were blown away by the Freedom, too. Great trip! While the kids clubs don't have the visual wow factor that Disney's do, the staff was getting rave reviews from parents. Also, the pool deck on the Freedom is much better with way more space and we thought our kids would love the H2O zone even in the absence of the AquaDuck. The staff on both lines were superb. Cabanas buffet on Dream is better than Windjammer on Freedom, but the main dining room food we liked better on Freedom.

 

Can't go wrong with either...bottom line.

[captcruiser]

Castaway Cay is also better than Coco, although to be completely honest the weather was terrible the day we were on Coco.

[calmpets]

When I first started cruising I went on DCL, several times. The ships were amazing, the shows wonderful, and the crew excellent. The prohibitive pricing is really why I started to venture into other cruise lines.

 

I did give Royal Caribbean a shot, but I wasn't impressed. I had one significant problem that nobody onboard cared about, and nobody at corporate cared about either when I returned home and complained. The cruise was okay, and the crew was efficient for the most part (although not what I'd call friendly), but it would take an amazing deal for me to give them another shot.

 

From that I moved onto NCL, where I've been happily sailing for years now. I was a bit reluctant to try the freestyle concept (on DCL one of my favorite things was how the servers rotate through dining rooms with you), but I found it suited me really well. I could eat whenever I felt like it, and I never had to wait for more than a few minutes to get a table. If I made friends throughout the day, I could invite them to dine with us later, at whatever time was convenient for everyone. The main dining room food was equal to DCL's main dining room food for the most part, and the specialty restaurants were an option if nothing on the regular dinner menu appealed to me. I actually spend less on average on NCL than I ever did on DCL, though I'm not sure why. I think it has to do with the fact that NCL has a better variety of adult activities throughout the day to keep me amused, where on DCL I tended to fill gaps in time with visits to the spa. :D But I like trivia, and tastings, and stops at the casino. If you decide to sail NCL, be sure to get involved with your roll call on cruise critic. For the cruise critic meet & greets on NCL you get a nice spread of danish and coffee (provided by NCL), and many of the officers attend. It's a great opportunity to meet some of your fellow travelers, as well as learning who to contact if you have any questions or issues during your trip. DCL, unless they have changed things, provides nothing and organizes nothing for cruise critic groups or dis board groups.

[Irene7]

I understand wanting to try different cruise lines. Our heart's belong to DCL but our wallets are always not. Anyway, we really like the Freedom class ships. RCL has very good entertainment and there is a variety of it. Royal does no less nickle and diming than NCL in my opinion. I find the service better on NCL than on RCCL (no one beats Disney IMO). As far as the kids clubs, someone else's opinion on that would be better since our children are young adults. Have never been on the Carnival Breeze but if there were a Carnival ship that I would sail, it would be the Breeze based on her reviews and the look of the ship.

[TowerOrchard]

We love NCL, and I am always baffled by the "NCL has a ton of upcharges" comments. Yes, NCL charges for soda and Disney doesn't. But by that logic, if you aren't a soda drinker, DCL is forcing you to pay for something you aren't going to use. I am travelling in May with my DH, 2 children and my parents. Only my DH and I drink soda out of our group, so I am paying for something 2/3 of my travelling party will not use. I fail to see the savings there, never mind that even if we all purchased the soda package on NCL, it wouldn't even come close to the premium DCL charges for the cruise.

 

NCL has upcharge restaurants - just like DCL does. There are more of them to choose from, but just like DCL, you don't have to eat there if you don't want to. There are LOTS of free options on NCL and based on my reading, they are open longer hours with more variety. NCL also has upcharges for special activities such as golf simulators - just like DCL does. I know there is nothing comparable on other cruise lines, but there is no upcharge for any kids' experiences either - like DCL charges for BBB.

 

As another poster mentioned, I am not saying all this to be a NCL cheerleader, but just to point out the reality of the situation. It seems like many DCL fans are either blind to Disney's upcharges, or for some reason apply a double standard when looking at other cruise lines - warning posters to watch their bottom line because upcharge dining "adds up." Yes - but eating at Palo and Remy adds up, too.

[bfamily4]

We actually ended up booking the getaway next feb. 2016. For a large balcony we only paid $3165 cdn plus prepaid gratuities for the 1st 2 pax.it was a promotion that was too hard to pass up. and we can buy obc at a $1.1 exchange rate which is awesome since the cdn $ is so low right now. it makes me sad to not have a dcl cruise next yr to look forward to but at the same time excited to try something new, esp. since we've never had a balcony before. always 11b on dcl. with the money that we saved we can spend a week @ wdw to get our "disney fix".

[Irene7]

We love NCL, and I am always baffled by the "NCL has a ton of upcharges" comments. Yes, NCL charges for soda and Disney doesn't. But by that logic, if you aren't a soda drinker, DCL is forcing you to pay for something you aren't going to use. I am travelling in May with my DH, 2 children and my parents. Only my DH and I drink soda out of our group, so I am paying for something 2/3 of my travelling party will not use. I fail to see the savings there, never mind that even if we all purchased the soda package on NCL, it wouldn't even come close to the premium DCL charges for the cruise.

 

NCL has upcharge restaurants - just like DCL does. There are more of them to choose from, but just like DCL, you don't have to eat there if you don't want to. There are LOTS of free options on NCL and based on my reading, they are open longer hours with more variety. NCL also has upcharges for special activities such as golf simulators - just like DCL does. I know there is nothing comparable on other cruise lines, but there is no upcharge for any kids' experiences either - like DCL charges for BBB.

 

As another poster mentioned, I am not saying all this to be a NCL cheerleader, but just to point out the reality of the situation. It seems like many DCL fans are either blind to Disney's upcharges, or for some reason apply a double standard when looking at other cruise lines - warning posters to watch their bottom line because upcharge dining "adds up." Yes - but eating at Palo and Remy adds up, too.

 

 

True if you are not a soda drinker then you are not saving money with DCL, however, it is more than just soda. It also includes Minute Maid juices and punch which a lot of children including adults drink. The free drinks on NCL & RCCL are watered down ice tea and lemon aid, so for us we really miss not having the free beverages that Disney offers when we cruise the other two lines.

 

True the food venues do not stay open long enough on DCL, however, the room service is free around the clock. The other two lines charge a fee between Midnight and 5 or 6am. Disney only has two specialty restaurants, however, my family finds the food in the dining rooms (where the menu's are different in each of the three unlike NCL where the two main complimentary dining rooms serve the same food)to be good and do not need the specialty unless we are just in the mood for them.

 

Don't get me wrong, I like NCL and RCCL and we also sail them and have always had a good time. We have a cruise booked on the Gem for this May and one on the Escape for 2017. Oasis of the Seas is in between the two. We like the food on NCL but not so much on RCCL. We like the entertainment and activities better on Royal then NCL but NCL has better food and service than Royal - IMO of course.

 

Lastly as far as up-charges, we have been hit pretty hard by all three lines, so that subject is a closed matter for me anyway. All in all, Disney is our favorite line and we have cruised with them many times, but all three have something special to offer and you can not go wrong with either. Happy Cruising!:)

Edited March 20, 2015 by Irene7

[Ex techie]

And yes kids are allowed in. I have seen threads where people bitch about it, but last time I checked my bill they were paid passengers as well. But then there are people who feel the need to complain. Constantly.

 

Your bill may have had a charge for kids, but was that at the full adult fare?

Since you paid a full adult fare does that entitle you to use the kids clubs swell yourself?

 

Probably not, and everyone is entitled to their opinion, even those that feel they are entitled to expose their children to adults that wish it were adult only.

 

Until NCL make it kid free, those that do not enjoy the company of your or others kids are entitled to piss and moan about them being able to use the uncharge restaurants as much as you are entitled to piss and moan about them being able to because you paid for them to.

 

ex techie

[Jenjer]

We have sailed Getaway, Freedom (x2) and Magic. We are currently comparing NCL Escape or Disney for Summer of 2016.

 

We loved them all but for different reasons. Of the 3, Getaway I would say has been my favorite but my kids were 12 and 10 at sailing time. If they had been 6 and 4 like when we did Disney I would have a different opinion.

 

Yes Getaway has a lot of stuff for younger kids but it cannot touch Disney.

 

I think of NCL as more A la Catre pricing but its 1/2 a Disney cruise (for the times I am checking) 4 of us in a Minisuite can do NCL for under 5K for Disney I am getting 10K for just a balcony. On NCL we love the specialty dinning and buy the plan its $119 for a 7 day cruise. With that you get the Illusionarium for free on the first night (dinner magic show) The other shows are all free.

 

Price matters to me we have to cruise during high season and I would rather take 2 cruise a year than just one.

 

Soda is free on DCL but on most other lines you have to pay for them. About $6 a day for a soda pass.

 

Entertainment, Disney's is more kid focused its their target market my DH got bored with it but the kids loved it. On RCL and NCL my kids have enjoyed the entertainment very much and nothing ever made me feel like kids are not welcome.

 

 

Freedom is wonderful in fact my kids loved all the pools and water play area, something that Disney ships have under sized IMO. My DD at 7 went crazy for the flowrider. They loved Freedom so much they said "we don't have to do Disney again"

[Jenjer]

We actually ended up booking the getaway next feb. 2016. For a large balcony we only paid $3165 cdn plus prepaid gratuities for the 1st 2 pax.it was a promotion that was too hard to pass up. and we can buy obc at a $1.1 exchange rate which is awesome since the cdn $ is so low right now. it makes me sad to not have a dcl cruise next yr to look forward to but at the same time excited to try something new, esp. since we've never had a balcony before. always 11b on dcl. with the money that we saved we can spend a week @ wdw to get our "disney fix".

 

 

I see you booked the Getaway. Buy the Dinning package and book the Illusionarium for the first night. Its free with the Dinning package on the first night great deal and really cool show.