Loyal to Royal, but would a one-off Disney be worthwhile?

[FamilyCruiserUK]

6 minutes ago, billslowsky said:

Completely agree.  Other than when you get to a free drinks level, the "awards" are nothing you won't miss.  "Discount on photo packages"...  oooh sign me up.  "Recognition event"...  other than the free drinks, nothing.

Yeah i am with you on that. 

[Liljo22]

I am a huge Disney fan but to me its not worth the extra cost.  We did DCL around that same age with my kids.  The next year we went on the NCL Dawn and my both agreed they loved that cruise more than the DCL one.  The meet and greets are great and the shows are Broadway level but we can do 2-3 cruises for the same price.  

 

Also, the ship is dead at night.  Since almost everyone on board has little kids, no one is out past 10.  They have an adults only area but not a lot of people were in there at night.  

[Oceansaway17]

On 6/13/2022 at 8:00 PM, alohayall said:

We started cruising with Disney. My latest cruise was with Disney.  My next cruise is on MSC - principally for the price.  Only one RC cruise (Allure) so far.  

 

Price is the hardest thing to swallow for Disney.  All things Disney, including a theme park vacation.  

No drinks packages, no adult parties by the pool (they show Disney movies all day on the Jumbotron above the kids pool.). There is an dedicated adult pool area. There are plenty of bars. 
No casino = no wafting of smoke into the Promenade (this could have changed since I sailed on Allure.)

The private island is very much a private tropical beach.  No plastic water park.  Sand, clear water, one water feature.  A dedicated adult beach.  Peaceful.  Plenty of free loungers and umbrellas.  
 

I just got off the allure, symphony and Wonder, and so I am ready to return to Disney. I kinda got tired of the Promenade that indeed did feel like a mall.  But each ship had a neat car at the one end and I liked the smash up VW bug on Symphony.

 I like all the things listed above, no casino, Castaway island, and also great areas on ship for kids.  Oh and free sodas for everybody.  Their specialty dining is als good on Disney.

One thing is on last day, no waiting for luggage tags and no buffet madness, you go to dining room and then walk off the ship when you are done.  Disney ships are very clean and believe me I feel the kids on Disney act nicer and behave just a bit better.

[Travelgrrl]

We took one Disney cruise when my kids were M12 and F10, and I definitely think it was worth it. Here are some things I liked (YMMV because this was awhile ago and Before Covid):

 

When the ship departs Port Canaveral, the checkin staff at the port run outside and wave to you with big Mickey hands. Coupled with the ship's whistle that played "When You Wish Upon A Star", it was adorable. Then there was a big Welcome show on the pool deck where Mickey and the gang did a cute performance and the kids got to dance with the classic characters! If you've been to Disney parks, you know that you're not terribly close to Mickey and company in performance. Here you were really close!

 

There were wooden deck chairs that had super comfy cushions on them. Very "Vintage Voyage".

 

I know a lot of people on this thread said the kids club doesn't compare, but I seem to remember that there were more organized activities for kids than on RCCL. When my kids were the age for the kids clubs, oftentimes Royal would have an activity in the Compass but when we stopped by the club there was no one there - no kids OR counselors!  These were possibly off season sailings so there was less interest, but our experience with RCCL is that the quality of the activities for kids varies widely from ship to ship and time of year.  It has never mattered to us, because both my son and daughter always preferred hanging out with myself or family anyway...

 

Which leads to my next bit, which is that we had some super fun family activities on Disney. One I remember was gingerbread house decorating, where each family was given a pre-assembled (real gingerbread) house and all the fixings to decorate it. Really elaborate candy for trimming, and a free activity.

 

Also, you couldn't head anywhere on the ship without running into Belle or Alice, etc. It was neat to just stumble over characters as if they were also guests on the cruise, rather than the more regimented lining up to meet characters at the Disney Parks. On formal nights Mickey and Minnie were wearing a tuxedo and a gown!  When we went to Disney's private island (pristine, lovely) I actually saw Goofy in an old fashioned kind of swimsuit leading kids in games. Yikes, that must have been hot!  But cool to see a character in the wild, so to speak.

 

I don't remember any more kids than on RCCL. There was an entire entertainment district that kids aren't allowed to enter at any time, so no Timmys or Sallys at the bar at 10 PM!  Which actually meant less kids around in adult venues.

 

The entertainment was terrific, the equal of the shows in the parks. And one was a areal tearjerker, if I recall.  The food was also great, and their concept then was that you went to a different restaurant each night (twice if on a 7 day cruise, which we were), and your wait staff followed you from restaurant to restaurant! One night was like a tropical restaurant, one was a stark restaurant with black and white illustrations of Disney characters on the walls and the waiters' vests, which slowly got 'colored in' over the course of the meal. (The waiters ran 'offstage' to flip their vests to a colorful side right about dessert time when the walls had also exploded into color), I can't remember the third restaurant, but there was a fine dining restaurant that you could visit once per cruise that cost nothing extra. (Adults only.)!

 

Speaking of our waiter, he was one of the most engaging we've had on many cruises. A Frenchman, he was saving up to go back to France and open his own restaurant, he was dating Belle (!) and he literally hand fed the kids escargot which they ended up loving.

 

It was a quality cruise and I'm glad we did it. However we never returned because it WAS so much more expensive than Royal. We also have sailed Carnival a couple times and there were some nice touches there, too. For me, Princess was one and done also. All and all, RCCL was and is our overall favorite!

[Norwich Cruiser]

On 6/13/2022 at 10:30 PM, crzndeb said:

I did a 7 day Disney cruise back in 2016, when the grandkids were almost 3 and 4. It was magical, and they loved it, and it was a great cruise. My oldest daughter and granddaughter are Disney fanatics, and have continued to do a few more since then. You only live once and to me it is totally worth it. 
Everybody chooses how they spend their money, and I think some of those are nuts, but taking your grandchild on a Disney cruise is something you won’t ever regret.

Totally agree.

 

We’ve taken the grandchildren and are again later this year on a few Royal cruises.

 

Last year we did a Disney staycation cruise three days from Southampton it’s really the only cruise they talk about.

[David_Dian]

On 6/13/2022 at 4:59 PM, TBone2K said:

Done many RC cruises as you can see in my sig. Comparing RC vs Disney. Same dates, 4 nights, private island and a stop at Nassau. Balcony room. The mouse is 3x the price. Have the best and brightest here tried? For a six year old, is it worth paying the extra for a one-off Disney cruise?

My sister and niece do Disney. Sister says RC is just as nice. Only reason to do Disney is if you have kids that are Disney nuts, or you are, and have the money to blow. Even their private island isn’t as nice as RC’s island. According to my sister at least. They do the Disney because of grandkids and they are all loaded so price isn’t a concern. They’ve spent $10k for a 7 day cruise, regular balcony room. Ridiculous if you ask me. 

[iuki]

For our 25th Wedding Anniversary (1990) my husband and I went on our first cruise with Premier Cruise Line (The Big Red Boat).  They were on contract with Disney and had Disney Characters walking around on the ship.  It was a 4-night cruise.  I can honestly say that was probably my favorite cruise of all time.  The food and activities were the best ever!  The beach party on Blue Lagoon Island was so much fun and the best BBQ ever!  There were volleyball games, crab races, just to mention a couple of things.  The water was shallow way out with no rocks, just smooth sand.  Back then, there were midnight buffets and one night with edible carvings that you stood in line to take photos and stood in line again to feast on.

 

The downside is we were kept awake all night, every night, with teenagers on both sides of our room, despite calling the front desk.  We’d hear Security knocking on their doors and, after short while later, they would continue partying.  Entertainment was in a lounge, and the entertainers performed on the dance floor, since there was no stage.  There were two children who kept running on to the floor and almost knocked over one of the dancers.  At the end of the show, the leader of the group asked the audience how they would enjoy barbecuing a couple of kids.  The audience gave him a standing ovation and the parents furiously stormed out with their two little darlings. 🤣😂😈

[TPCRUISER2]

On 6/13/2022 at 4:59 PM, TBone2K said:

Done many RC cruises as you can see in my sig. Comparing RC vs Disney. Same dates, 4 nights, private island and a stop at Nassau. Balcony room. The mouse is 3x the price. Have the best and brightest here tried? For a six year old, is it worth paying the extra for a one-off Disney cruise?

This a personal decision on how you want to spend your money. I did my first and possibly my only Disney cruise last October for Halloween on the Dream. My friends were getting married. No children.

 

It was my first cruise back after the pandemic. Ha! Never thought my first back would be Disney since I am top of the rung on Royal. 

 

Well no comparison. The ships are in wonderful condition. The cabin was awesome and I had an inside. The food was Soo good. Best sea bass I had ever eaten in my life, service was really good,  and fireworks on a ship!

 

Granted not many passengers on the ship due to just after the restart. 

 

There were characters just could not get close and had to wear a mask. 

 

Happy Cruising

[hotsauce126]

On 6/17/2022 at 6:57 AM, billslowsky said:

Completely agree.  Other than when you get to a free drinks level, the "awards" are nothing you won't miss.  "Discount on photo packages"...  oooh sign me up.  "Recognition event"...  other than the free drinks, nothing.

Yeah cruise loyalty programs are about the least valuable loyalty program imo and unless you’re getting free drinks it shouldn’t factor into your decision

[TBone2K]

Thanks for sharing your collective experiences everyone.

 

The reason for the big price difference may be the Disney cruise is on the Dream and it seems to have premium pricing being a new ship. So we are booked for Royal once again and are going to visit Disney World for a couple of days while we are down visiting family at Christmas.

Edited June 27, 2022 by TBone2K

[LisaLisa87]

9 hours ago, TBone2K said:

Thanks for sharing your collective experiences everyone.

 

The reason for the big price difference may be the Disney cruise is on the Dream and it seems to have premium pricing being a new ship. So we are booked for Royal once again and are going to visit Disney World for a couple of days while we are down visiting family at Christmas.

The Dream is actually 11 years old. The Wish is the new ship. We went on 5 Disney cruises when DD was younger and thought we were done with them. We decided to book a 4-night on the Wish out of a sense of nostalgia and because it has some really cool innovations. We’ve really enjoyed our RCCL cruises and will definitely sail with them again, but there is something special about a Disney Cruise. Yes, it’s more expensive, but it is really a unique product. If you have some flexibility, sailing with them in the off season is much less expensive.

[TBone2K]

19 hours ago, LisaLisa87 said:

The Dream is actually 11 years old.

Oops! Yes, I meant Wish.🤨

[taglovestocruise]

Just booked a Disney 5 nighter in OCT. on the Wonder.  Son and wife and two grandkids invited us to come along.  $1900.00 for a special priced GTY balcony for two of us.  Is it worth it .. hell no. Does my wife think it is worth it, absolutely.  Same week on Navigator, 4 nighter, balcony GTY, $800.00 for two of us total. Am I a Disney nut case, once again hell no, I plan to never go to Disneyland again. Thanks for letting me vent...