Transatlantic Seniors

[johngalt181]

My wife and I (early 70's and in good shape) have taken 2 very good Transatlantic crossings (Celebrity Infinity, Cunard QM2) in the past 12 months. Because of convenience, we are now contemplating a westbound 11 day DCL crossing in Sept 2016 from Barcelona to NY. We like daytime lectures, evening production shows, libraries and quiet. I am concerned about noise, chaos and a far younger group on the DCL crossing. Am I all wet, or is my concern valid?

[moki'smommy]

The longer the cruise, the fewer the kids (in general). We've done TA crossings with 400 and 600 kids on board. Normal on the Magic is 1000-1200. Most of these are very young as these crossings typically occur during times when traditional schools are in session.

 

There is no library any more. There is a book shelf in the Cove Cafe (adult coffee shop) where you can sign out books. There will be daytime programs, some adult only. DCL does evening shows like no other line we've been on. They do a fair job of keeping kids out of the adult pool area, a good job of keeping them out of the nightclub area. The most chaos is at dinner due to those parents who don't realize that "parent" is also a verb. Most are great. Some allow their little entitled snowflakes to run around, throw temper tantrums, etc. But the dining rooms on the Magic were no more crowded or crazy than on the Infinity.

 

My comparison between Infinity and Magic--basically same size, same "era" of building. Food better on Infinity, especially in the Aqua Spa area and the daytime munchie area. "Around the ship" entertainment better on the Infinity. They had an excellent a capella quartet as well as some other small groups. DCL has characters. Evening main stage--better on DCL. Evening variety acts about equal, although I really enjoyed one stand up comedian on the Infinity. Service better on the Magic. Crew friendliness--Magic. Stateroom size, decor--Magic. Price--Infinity. Excursions--about the same. Daytime lectures....the fact based lectures were more entertaining on the Infinity (the ones where the college professor type talks), but on the TAs, DCL typically brings one or two Disney long term "stars." Their talks and performances were great.

 

There are places on the Magic to get away from kids and craziness--deck 4 is super. I would happily cruise either one again, but the young adults in my family prefer the Magic.

Edited October 22, 2015 by moki'smommy

[STHCruising]

As always, moki's mommy provides great insights. We did the eastbound TA on the Magic last spring and it was one of the best cruises we have ever taken. We are empty nesters who have cruised with Disney since our kids were younger, and continue to do Disney cruises (although we are doing a Princess next year). Many things stood out about our EBTA, but the most notable was the evening entertainment in the Walt Disney Theatre. Of the 15 nights there were only 2 or 3 that were so-so (an Elton John impersonator, same for Abba, and a split decision on one comedian!). We usually will skip a few shows during a cruise but this slate of entertainers was so good we went every night. Most notable was "Voiceplay" an acapella group that finished runner up on NBC's Sing Off show. They received at least three standing ovations, and we saw the guys walking the decks and talked to them like normal people. There was a Broadway star who did a show that was also quite good. Don Ducky Williams, a well known Disney animator, was on the ship teaching how to draw illustrations, and a lecturer from the Walt Disney Museum in San Francisco, but not the kind of lecturers you might see on other ships. We also enjoyed the nightly trivia in O'Gills pub. We would do another TA with DCL in a heartbeat. There were not many kids. We met some fantastic table mates, show mates, and trivia mates on this cruise and will likely cruise with some of these folks in the future.

Edited October 22, 2015 by STHCruising

[johngalt181]

Moki and STH: Thanks very much for the insights. The number of kids is much more than I expected at that time of year. We love kids (have 4 grand kids) and have gone to Disney World for many, many years with our 2 kids, but we have become all Disney'd out. The last trip to Epcot in 2014 (which I hoped would be relaxing as in previous trips) required more strategic planning and scurrying to secure tickets to popular pavilions than I found fun in a vacation. BTW Moki: Was the Celebrity comedian you liked Fred Klett?

Thanks again and Cheers,

[moki'smommy]

Moki and STH: Thanks very much for the insights. The number of kids is much more than I expected at that time of year. We love kids (have 4 grand kids) and have gone to Disney World for many, many years with our 2 kids, but we have become all Disney'd out. The last trip to Epcot in 2014 (which I hoped would be relaxing as in previous trips) required more strategic planning and scurrying to secure tickets to popular pavilions than I found fun in a vacation. BTW Moki: Was the Celebrity comedian you liked Fred Klett?

Thanks again and Cheers,

 

No, the comedian was a female. I don't remember her name--sorry. Funny, I do remember the song played as her opening music. It was "I'm glad you came."

[Capt_BJ]

one word for you

 

CUNARD!

 

sounds MUCH more what you are looking for

[johngalt181]

Capt. BJ: Thanks. Celebrity was good also. I'll try to gather more info.

[Scrapnana]

I haven't been on Magic but on Fantasy there were not a lot of quiet areas other than the adult pool area (which is probably not what you are looking for). Disney Cruise Lines' production shows are the best I've seen at sea. Not sure what kind of lectures they might have on a TA but likely not as many or as varied as on Cunard.

[moki'smommy]

I haven't been on Magic but on Fantasy there were not a lot of quiet areas other than the adult pool area (which is probably not what you are looking for). Disney Cruise Lines' production shows are the best I've seen at sea. Not sure what kind of lectures they might have on a TA but likely not as many or as varied as on Cunard.

 

The Magic is significantly different than the Fantasy, and the TA cruises are different than any other type of cruise we've been on (and are probably our favorite!) You cannot compare a 14 day TA crossing on the Magic to a 7 night Caribbean on the Fantasy.

 

I'll likely never book another Caribbean on the Fantasy again. I'd book a TA on the Magic in a heartbeat.

[ljandgb]

We did a Baltic Cruise on the Magic this summer. I was surprised at how few kids there seemed to be. It was our first DCL cruise and I suppose I was expecting WDW style crowding at some point. It was nothing like that.

 

Now, if you hang out in the main atrium during princess round up, it will be teeming with kids. But for most times, while there are kids around, it's not by any means overwhelming. It was not the over all quiet, sedate surrounding that our Oceania cruise was, but it was not bad either.

[johngalt181]

Scarpnana: Thanks

[PopFla]

We're on the EBTA next May (our 50th Anniversary present to ourselves), our first TA but our 9th DCL cruise. It will also be our third aboard Magic, our favorite in the DCL fleet. We are really looking forward to it, and I was glad to read some of the info above.

[MandyGirl]

We have done three DCL transatlantics with our children (now ages 9 and 5) and our kids prefer them to the normal cruises because so few children. Ironically we are booked for Celebrity Infinity for Panama Canal 2016 (on the Infinity previously without kids) so we are just the opposite --- my oldest is afraid Celebrity will be "boring". Kiddos have DCL Wonder, DCL Magic and a NCL cruise prior to that one so hopefully they will get their DCL fix. All that said, I still wish school schedules were conducive to DCL transatlantics - they are mine and hubby's favorites! Good luck with your decision!

[Froxfield]

We are already booked on the 2016 westbound TA and this will be our third TA on the Magic. We are both in our 60s and travel without the children. On the last TA, there were so few kids that they were opening up the Kids' Club to the adults (to play in!). It was certainly interesting to view the facilities Disney make available to the children.

 

Last time, we returned to the UK on QM2 from New York and would probably say that we much preferred the Disney experience. In terms of entertainment, Disney shows and cooking demonstrations were far better than the mediocre entertainment and guest speakers offered by Cunard. Nevertheless, we shall make the same return crossing on QM2 in 2016, albeit with a couple of weeks in WDW in Florida with the family in between.

[moki'smommy]

"Adult time in the OC" did not mean that there were so few children on board. It was another way to occupy the adults and since the ship had been recently remodeled, there were many adults who wanted to see the spaces. The "adult time in the Oceaneer's Club" and ....Lab were usually late in the evening at times when even on "normal" cruises there are few kids present. Any kids who were checked in were taken to the other side.

[Froxfield]

Yes, but on this trip I really think there were almost no children: we were given figures at one point but I didn't note them down. We travel in the aft section on Deck 5 and thus walk past OC etc several times most days. Cast members were sitting with nothing to do and there was no-one in. I can see you were on the same TA: did you not notice an absence of small persons?

[moki'smommy]

Yes, but on this trip I really think there were almost no children: we were given figures at one point but I didn't note them down. We travel in the aft section on Deck 5 and thus walk past OC etc several times most days. Cast members were sitting with nothing to do and there was no-one in. I can see you were on the same TA: did you not notice an absence of small persons?

 

I'm well aware that there are few young people on TA cruises...and most that are on board are under age 5. We were on one TA with 400 kids (age 0-17), but again, most were 4 or under. The following year, the number was up to 600. It is one of the reasons we love the TAs. Yes, the adult areas are more crowded, but overall there are fewer guests on the ship even when "full." Many cabins contain only 1 or 2 guests.

 

When the kids on board are very young, you don't see them as much--they are in the nursery, the OC, or with parent. They aren't running around the ship. Another plus.

 

I'm NOT a kid hater, I promise. But I don't like kids traipsing thru adult areas and I love the relatively more empty ship. So sad that we had/have 2 WBTAs in a row that are only 11 nights.