Young Family of 5 DCL or RCI

Hi all, a little about us first, my wife and I have cruised before having kids. Three on royal Caribbean and once on celebrity. We have been on freedom, liberty, allure and celebrity solstice. We are having another child this December. We are looking at doing a cruise fall or winter 2018. We were thinking we should book early in hopes of getting a better price. We are mainly looking at the Dec 8, 2018 sailing of Symphony of the Seas or the December 1, 2018 sailing of Disney Fantasy. These are both 7 night eastern Caribbean cruises. There itineraries are different but we like both. At the time our kids will be 5, 3, and 11 months. We have never cruised with kids and we just aren't sure which way to go plus what cabin or cabins to go with. Thanks for the help!

We have an almost 4 year old and will be doing our 3rd cruise with him on Celebrity.... that being said....

As a family of 5 the issue is moreso getting a cabin that fits 5 - you may have to call the cruise line / travel agent directly vs doing it via one of the websites.

I would say that you actually maybe better off on Disney as I think they price better for families. The other option is get 2 connecting rooms (you and your wife are booked separately in each room, but when you are actually on the ship you can move around)

Here are some things I can say about cruising with little one(s)

1) Go with the flow - have a plan / schedule but realize it might get tossed out the window

2) bring EVERYTHING you will need - meds, diapers, formula (if needed) - depending on how you schedule, you might be able to pick up before the cruise vs having to carry them on the plane with you.

3) We brought a fabric shower curtain and magnetic hooks to put around the pack n play

Since you have a few kids you could bring other magnetic items (ceiling and some of the walls) this could be used to hang things / play games with.

I think Disney will be your most expensive, but you have to look for cabins that hold 5, and that will limit you a lot. There are threads here dealing eith cabins that hold 5. EM

Thank you for the info. That is great advice we can use on either one. Both ships have rooms that accommodate 5. We have priced out the family rooms and two connecting rooms. Kind of unsure which rooms or setups would be better. We have no experience with Disney cruise line but we have lots with Disney world and vacation club, that is what makes us look into dcl. We are leaning towards Symphony but it's a tough decision as they are both close in price. DCL would be about $1000 more.

My son's family of 5 (13, 8 & 3 y/o) enjoyed their Disney Magic cruise. Bit pricey than others but their kids had a great time on the cruise.

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I think it's an "either/or" thing. Your kids will have fun in either "club"...and most prefer the structure of RCI over Disney's clubs.

Cabins are larger on Disney, depending on what you book.

Disney is great, but on the ship, it's usually about the ports....and $$$! Pick either...you'll be fine!

My DH and I cruise Royal when it's just the two of us but Disney when we vacation with our daughter and her family. It's pricier, for sure, but Disney has the vacation with kids thing down pat. And happy kids means happy parents and grandparents. The crew is just so good at dealing with kids.

One example--my daughter and son-in-law celebrated their anniversary at Palo while we ate in the dining room with our grandsons. Their 14 month old took it in stride until I left the table to take his brother to the bathroom. No mommy, no NiNi, time to cry. The wait staff immediately distracted him and all was well.

From my perspective, those kinds of things are worth the $1,000 difference.

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I have stayed in the Royal Family Suite on the Freedom and it is great for a family

2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms plus a living room

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Thank you everybody for your info. We are currently leaning towards doing royal caribbean since we have done a lot of Disney world/beach trips in the last couple years. We also wouldn't mind saving the money by going with royal. We currently have a family ocean balcony held on Symphony.

I highly recommend the family staterooms on RCCL. We stayed in one on Freedom this past Spring Break. It was great to be all together for a change and have so much room and storage available.

Disney would not be my first choice when sailing with a 3 year old because the kids clubs put 3-12 year olds in the same room together, which I think might be overwhelming for a 3 year old. Disney has a lot of multigenerational families on vacation and the wide age gap solves the problem of my kid wants to be with his cousin in the same kids club - could you please move him from the 6 year old to the 7 year old club, but creates the problem of a rather large age gap that could be overwhelming for young children. That being said, I'm sure Disney has a lot for children on their ships and everyone I've spoken to loves the food and service. But personally I'd rather sail a line in which it is more likely the kids club would work for my family.

Disney would not be my first choice when sailing with a 3 year old because the kids clubs put 3-12 year olds in the same room together, which I think might be overwhelming for a 3 year old. Disney has a lot of multigenerational families on vacation and the wide age gap solves the problem of my kid wants to be with his cousin in the same kids club - could you please move him from the 6 year old to the 7 year old club, but creates the problem of a rather large age gap that could be overwhelming for young children. That being said, I'm sure Disney has a lot for children on their ships and everyone I've spoken to loves the food and service. But personally I'd rather sail a line in which it is more likely the kids club would work for my family.

Exactly this! We loved our experience on Disney, except for the children's program. DD was 4 and hated the children's program. She's very social, outgoing, fearless and attended pre-school. However, the large number of 11 and 12 year old children in the program made her fear going--she kept saying she was afraid she'd get hurt. We tried a few times and had a little success when she went for a specific program for children 3-5, but those programs only lasted 20-30 minutes and then it was back to free play and she wanted out. I stood outside one day (while DD was with my parents) to see if it was as bad as DD was saying and it definitely was. When I brought it up to the staff I was told that they were sorry, but there wasn't anything they could do as this is what most parents wanted (don't want their children separated).

DD did great in the MSC children's program when she was 3 (separated in to age appropriate groups) and the RCCL nursery when she was 2. She can't wait to do the 6-8 year old program next week on Allure.

Wow I didn't realize that about the kids programs on Disney. I think that makes our decision. We will definitely try Disney at somepoint but will stick with royal Caribbean on this one. We currently have a family balcony room booked on Symphony and from what I have seen the room looks awesome. Wish we could cruise sooner but with my wife being pregnant we will just have to wait for this cruise. Thanks everybody that info makes me feel better about the decision.

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