Child care and alcohol

I know there are rooms for the little ones but my question is can they stay there for an extended period of time? We've only been on a Carnival Cruise with our kids and and you can pretty much leave them there all day except for a couple hours here and there when they are closed. Is it the same with Disney? I assume it's not extra cost it's part of the price right?

My next question is about alcohol do they have an unlimited drink card or bracelet of some sort?

My last question is about the food everybody said Carnival Food was so delicious and when I got there it was some of the grossest stuff I've ever had so how is Disney food compared to Carnival? :)

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I know there are rooms for the little ones but my question is can they stay there for an extended period of time? We've only been on a Carnival Cruise with our kids and and you can pretty much leave them there all day except for a couple hours here and there when they are closed. Is it the same with Disney? I assume it's not extra cost it's part of the price right?

 

My next question is about alcohol do they have an unlimited drink card or bracelet of some sort?

 

My last question is about the food everybody said Carnival Food was so delicious and when I got there it was some of the grossest stuff I've ever had so how is Disney food compared to Carnival? :)

 

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1. Yes - the kids clubs are open from morning until late night (from age 3 up - no extra charges and they don't close through the day like Carnival does - kids can even eat lunch and dinner at the club if you choose).

2. No drink package on DCL. You need to pay as you go. You can bring on a limited quantity of wine or beer but that's it.

3. I find DCL's main dining room food a step down from Carnival. Their lunch buffet and breakfast buffet a step up. The pool food on Disney isn't as good as Guy's burgers, blue Iguana, the deli, the pizza place on Carnivals ships (my opinion). Room service maybe a slight edge to Disney because they offer hot foods but they don't have anything as good as the chocolate cake that carnival offers.

I know there are rooms for the little ones but my question is can they stay there for an extended period of time? We've only been on a Carnival Cruise with our kids and and you can pretty much leave them there all day except for a couple hours here and there when they are closed. Is it the same with Disney? I assume it's not extra cost it's part of the price right?

 

My next question is about alcohol do they have an unlimited drink card or bracelet of some sort?

 

My last question is about the food everybody said Carnival Food was so delicious and when I got there it was some of the grossest stuff I've ever had so how is Disney food compared to Carnival? :)

 

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Not sure of the age of your "little ones", but DCL offers several levels of child "care". There's the nursery (under age 3). That has a cost, I believe $9.00 an hour and there's a maximum number of hours you can book there pre-cruise. Once onboard, if time is available, you can book additional hours.

Oceaneer's Club/Lab (ages 3-12). You must register the kids for. They will receive wristbands for signing in and out of the club space (you must do that).

Edge (ages 11-14) no pre-registration necessary. No sign-in or out necessary.

Vibe (ages 14-17) again, no pre-registration, and they can come and go as they wish.

Oceaneer's, Edge, and Vibe have no extra cost.

Most of the kid's clubs are open (generally) 9:00 am to midnight every day. It can vary, however. You need to keep an eye on the Navigator as to when each day's hours are.

The kid's clubs also do Open House times. Roughly 1 or 2 hours once or twice a day in either the Club or the Lab. During the time the Club is having Open House the Lab is in secured programming. And vice versa. During Open Hours times, you (an adult) must accompany your child in the space.

No unlimited drink cards on Disney. There is a wine package (you may purchase a bottle of wine for consumption at dinner), and a beer mug package (you get a mug/token good for a 22 oz pour for a 16 oz cost).

Those guests 21 and over may bring onboard either 2 bottles of wine/champagne (750 ml max) OR 6 beers (12 oz max) on embarkation and from each port of call. No hard liquor may be brought onboard for consumption onboard.

My personal opinion, while most cruise line food (any cruise line) is basically of catered dinner quality, I like DCL food better than Carnival food. But I will admit the best hamburgers I've had on any cruise line were on Carnival.

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That's what I thought!

THen I got a little crazy dreaming up some creative replies, but it was such a nice post that I decided to not use any of them.

Child programming for ages 3-14 is available from 9am till midnight at no extra charge. The only exception is Castaway day when there is a small break as they move the programming from the ship to the island in the morning and back onto the ship at night. Those hours will be clearly posted in the Navigator. You can hypothetically drop off a child at 9am and not see them for 15 hours. Meals are served in the programming, but they don't make the kids eat. SO...if lunch is served and your child is playing and not interested, there won't be any more food till dinner time. ALso, the food served in the programming is not exactly wonderful.

Kids in the Edge and Vibe can go to the various food outlets on their own as they are not signed in. The Vibe (teen programming) starts about noon and lasts past midnight.

Food is a subjective issue. I feel that the quality of DCL food has declined over the years. It is quite edible, but not amazing.

There are no unlimited alcohol packages on DCL. There is a 2 for 1 happy hour daily, the "drink of the day" has a slightly reduced price. There are 2 wine packages, a beer mug program, and you can bring on a limited amount of beer or wine. The lack of an unlimited package means that the level and number of drunken passengers (obnoxiously drunk) on DCL is less than what we've seen on other lines. I have no issue with people drinking unless their behavior or noise level interferes with my enjoyment of the cruise. This is exceedingly rare on DCL.

Thanks everyone. I figured my title was quick and to the point. Thanks for all the info. I wonder if any Cruise Line has amazing food. If you know of any let me know.

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Thanks everyone. I figured my title was quick and to the point. Thanks for all the info. I wonder if any Cruise Line has amazing food. If you know of any let me know.

 

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We were very impressed with Celebrity's food in 2010. However, they now have a special "MDR" type restaurant for their concierge level guests. We've read that they are placing their effort and money into this restaurant called "Blu" and that the fare in the normal restaurant had decreased. They also had a "healthy food" place in the Aqua Spa area that was absolutely excellent. They had fresh salmon which was grilled while I waited. Yummy.

In fact the salmon was one of the high points of the cruise. I don't know if it was because it was Alaska or if they always have it that good. The buffet was more elaborate than on some other lines with more variety.

Other than that, only the truly upscale lines seem to have better food. The family oriented lines are pretty much the same quality level. i do think that DCL's quality has decreased over the years.

Thanks everyone. I figured my title was quick and to the point. Thanks for all the info. I wonder if any Cruise Line has amazing food. If you know of any let me know.

 

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I am usually a NCL cruiser, but did a 4 day on the Dream in October. Had the opportunity to go to Palo, OMG, was EXCELLENT and the service was impeccable Would highly recommend it!

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The upcharge restaurants on DCL (and some other lines) are excellent. But you pay the upcharge.