tinybiny

Thanks for the detailed trip. We have done lots of Disney vacations because of their ability to deal with food allergies. I'm always fearful of trying something else because I don't know if other lines would be as good at it.

We usually stick with the same restaurants at home, too, because so many people have no idea whatsoever what we are talking about when we say someone can't eat deadly nightshades. At least people finally know what gluten is. 20 years ago, nobody working in restaurants did.

Wow, how odd that you don't remember it at that age. I guess it wasn't that special.

Sorry to hear you had such a bad vacation and follow up afterward. Sometimes being very vocal in social media makes a difference. Not only here, but any other outlet you can find. That is of course, if you are very detailed and honest about everything, which I think you will be.

So nice to hear from someone who has cruised DCL without kids. I'm trying to talk hubby into going on a Disney cruise, but he thinks it's for kids and can't see paying the extra. We've never had a bad cruise and love the variety. Even though the cost is quite cheaper than it was 20 some years ago, I see a lot of things cut down (and understandably). But, I'd like to try a different cruise line and know that will be at a cost. Can you tell me what there is for adults and I see you've been on Carnival and other lines, the differences Disney offers? Thanks so much for your insight. Bonnie :cool:

I cruise without kids, but I haven't been on any other lines. So, I can't give you a comparison, but I can tell you what I enjoy there.

First off, I am not a fan of smoking or gambling, so that makes DCL a good choice. They do have bingo, but they have no casino. There are many areas that are 18+ only, which makes it easy to find a quiet place to chill out.

The service level is fantastic. In my family, I am the one who has do all the work before/during/after any vacation. So, a DCL cruise is truly the only full vacation experience I ever get (aside from still having to plan the before and after). I suspect that would be true with any cruise line, though, based on trip reports I've read about other lines.

The shows are good and not raunchy. They will have performers who do a family show at the main show times and do an adults only performance later, but I've never seen any raunchy comedy stuff in the adult venues. Depending on which ship you are on, you may have lots of areas to choose from with different music in different bar/lounges.

I don't think the negativity comes from this forum in particular. I joined Cruise Critic to check out other cruise lines. I've only been on DCL. I spent a lot of time studying the NCL forum and found that there were many unhappy long time customers posting there. Next, I thought I'd check out Celebrity and found nearly the same thing. There were many complaints from long time customers, but not as many as for NCL.

From what I've seen here in my limited time here, there are actually less long time DCL customer complaints than the others. Maybe the happy people don't post as often because they are too busy enjoying life.

Basically, my questions are: Are the prices I see on their website for two people? Are there any hidden fees (other than gratuities and excursions, etc.)? How much is a normal deposit? What is the usual cancellation fee (is it similar to other lines where you can cancel with no penalty up to 60-90 days prior to sailing without penalty depending on the rate you booked)? Is there anything else you could share with me that I am sure I am forgetting since I am typing this in a rush?

Yes, the pricing is shown for 2 passengers.

There are some extra fees for drinks from waiters, etc, but they are not really hidden because they ask for your key card so they can charge it.

Deposits are 20% of the cruise fare.

Copy/paste of my cancellation info:

CRUISE CANCELLATION FEES:

CATEGORIES WITH RESTRICTIONS: Reservations for Inside, Outside or Verandah Categories with Restrictions are NON-REFUNDABLE and NON-TRANSFERABLE. A 100% cruise cancellation fee applies from time of payment.

Cruises 1 to 5 Nights where Embark or Debark is U.S. Port

Days Prior to Vacation Commencement Date Fee Amount

74 to 45 days Deposit per Guest for Non-Suites/Concierge Staterooms

44 to 30 days 50% of vacation price per Guest

29 to 15 days 75% of vacation price per Guest

14 days or less No refund

Cruises 6 to 9 Nights where Embark or Debark is U.S. Port

Days Prior to Vacation Commencement Date Fee Amount

89 to 56 days Deposit per Guest for Non-Suites/Concierge Staterooms

55 to 30 days 50% of vacation price per Guest

29 to 15 days 75% of vacation price per Guest

14 days or less No refund

Holiday Sailings*: Cruises 1 to 5 Nights where Embark or Debark is U.S. Port

Days Prior to Vacation Commencement Date Fee Amount

89 to 65 days Deposit per Guest for Non-Suites/Concierge Staterooms

64 to 43 days 50% of vacation price per Guest

42 to 15 days 75% of vacation price per Guest

14 days or less No refund

Holiday Sailings*: Cruises 6 to 9 Nights where Embark or Debark is U.S. Port

Days Prior to Vacation Commencement Date Fee Amount

104 to 75 days Deposit per Guest for Non-Suites/Concierge Staterooms

74 to 43 days 50% of vacation price per Guest

42 to 15 days 75% of vacation price per Guest

14 days or less No refund

*Holiday Sailings are sailings that include Christmas Day, New Year's Day, Thanksgiving Day (US) or July 4th.

Cruises of 10 days or More and Cruises Less than 10 days where Embark and Debark is non-U.S. Port

Days Prior to Vacation Commencement Date Fee Amount

119 to 56 days Deposit per Guest for Non-Suites/Concierge Staterooms

55 to 30 days 50% of vacation price per Guest

29 to 15 days 75% of vacation price per Guest

14 days or less No refund

Suites and Concierge Staterooms: All Sailings

Days Prior to Vacation Commencement Date Fee Amount

90 days or more Deposit per Guest

89 to 56 days 50% of vacation price per Guest

55 to 30 days 75% of vacation price per Guest

I recommend trip insurance. If you book through a travel agent, they can probably get you a better deal for insurance than what DCL offers.

If you will be happy with an inside stateroom, you can keep that and use your extra $s for excursions and on board activities. You can also ask if there are any upgrades available when you check in at the port and decide at that moment if you want to pay more for a different room.

What were some of the benefits of sailing concierge? I know about the in room sodas and daily snacks, but how about the rest of the ship? Is there a special lounge open all day? Do you get priority seating in the theaters? etc

That was a great review and comparison. I have a couple random questions. Do they serve chicken strips in anything (quick service, room service, MDRs)?

Is the all day buffet comprehensive enough that people could totally skip out MDRs and still have varied choices?

Thanks for the report. My first cruise was on the Dream and I felt like there were way long lines everywhere, also. We had really long lines to enter the MDRs. It was a sold out cruise. I've never had issues with lines on the Wonder.

What did you think about the food in the MDRs compared to other lines you've been on?

What other line are you talking about? I've only been on DCL.

Next years cruise is set for November. It will be 7 days on the Fantasy leaving from port Caniveral to Puerto Rico, st Maarten and castaway cay.

I keep checking the internet and nothing shows up for next year, so thanks for that information. I am interested depending on pricing, of course. I've never been on the Fantasy. This could really be fun.

I've always sailed on deck 2 of the Wonder and Dream. The OP has me a bit creeped out about that now if we don't get to pick our room. :p

NJCruiser923, do you know if the TCM cruise counted towards your castaway club cruises on DCL?

Why is Disney so high priced?

As you can tell, there are many opinions on why. You really need to compare apples to apples. For example, I priced out Alaska on DCL, cheapest ocean view room and then looked at Princess. Princess ocean view room was much cheaper, but waaay smaller. I'd have to book a mini suite with Princess to get a comparable room to DCL's cheapest ocean view. And, I wouldn't have the split bathroom, which is like having 2 bathrooms when you sail DCL. Once I compared actual rooms sizes/amenities, there was only a couple hundred dollars difference.

I don't drink soda, but other people in my party do and they can get it for free on DCL. Other lines would force our entire party to buy a soda package if only one person wanted it.

I am tired of the Disney live shows, but when I read trip reports from other lines, people often say they only had one or 2 good shows on a 7 night cruise. If DCL had more show options, I probably wouldn't even consider a different cruise line.

Thanks for the quick replies! The chicken breast, chicken fingers and hot dogs should be fine. I'm glad I won't have to be stuck eating out of the MDRs.

I'm very interested in the meals in the MDRs, but will be cruising with a picky eater. Think adult that eats like a toddler. We've only sailed DCL in the past and they will get us anything in the MDRs, even if it isn't on the menu. Does Celebrity do that also? I'm looking particularly into Solstice.

I've been on the Wonder 3 times and I love it. I have never been on the Magic, but have been on the Dream and I prefer Wonder.

Is Disney worth the extra cost for people with no kids and can we still enjoy ourselves and not feel out of place, when's the best time to go with few kids, adult activities, what's the best ship to go on?

I've done 2 Disney cruises without any children, both of those were on the Wonder. I like the adults only area and tend to hang out over there. It is quite large. There were people walking their kids through it regularly, but since they were just cutting through, it didn't bother me.

If you like Disney, you'll enjoy the artwork, the characters, the production shows and the movie theatre. Just remember that you will be around kids anytime you aren't in the adults only area.

The service level is really high in the staterooms, MDRs and adult bars/restaurants. You could have an excellent adults only cruise, especially if you haven't already been on one. The shows will be all new to you.

While the anytime dining works much better for us overall, are there more restaurant specific exclusions? In the MDR on DCL, we could order a burger even if it isn't on the menu. Would that be the same with NCL or would we need to go from venue to venue to make everyone in the traveling party happy?

Gratuities of 18% are automatically applied to bar service and spa services.

Regarding the spa - do they do a hard sales pitch for expensive products?

Since you have different servers all the time, how is tipping handled? Do people pay each meal or does the cruise figure what your tips should be and auto charge you?

I'm used to DCL, where we getting tip envelopes at the end of the cruise. There is an auto charge for tips, but we can add money if we want to. Do you tip your stateroom host or is that auto charged to your account?

Thanks for all the replies!

I've been looking at so many choice in lines and it does seem like NCL would be a good alternative to DCL. When the 2017 itineraries come out, I'll compare those w/overall costs. Since I've already cruised Alaska once, I already know everything that I want to do in port.

I've loved my Disney cruises, but I get tired of the music and as mentioned above, the shows are pretty much all Disney. They did bring other entertainers on board when I cruised Alaska with them before, but the majority of nights, it was Disney stuff - not that there's anything wrong with that. I just tired of same stuff over and over. They did have a really good naturalist who gave some talks about the area.

Not sure if I'll ever do the Hawaii cruise. We've been to Hawaii 5 times, each time stayed on one island the whole time. I thought it could be fun to come back to a ship at the end of the day and get some food and have a place to stay without having to pack/unpack like staying in hotels if island hopping. It really boils down to overall cost to me. I think the cruise is cheaper than buying plane tickets and hotels stays and the added cost of food.

It's been interesting to read the other threads here. Seems like a lot of loyal NCL cruisers are unhappy with changes. That same thing is happening with DCL. It's probably happening with a lot of cruise lines.

I've never sailed NCL, but am looking at their Alaska and Hawaii cruises. I have a few questions.

Are adults under age 21 allowed in the adult areas on board?

Do they tend to have significant price drops close to the cruise date? Is it better to book the day dates are announced or wait for price drops if we have flexible dates?

We are used to the level of service on Disney and have stuck with them for that reason alone. Is the service level really that different?

Any other thoughts/opinions are appreciated. There are so many cruise lines to choose from. NCL seems to be what I'd consider the closest to DCL as far as being laid back and casual, but without the screaming kids (hopefully).

I may end up sticking with Disney. The one I went on previously started and ended in Seattle, making the port times freakishly short. It looks like their Vancouver start/stop cruises have much longer port times. We had really good entertainers, but being that it was so cold/rainy most of the time, the indoor adults only areas were pretty crowded. Of course, the good side to that was that we got to chat and socialize with a lot of people. It was just difficult to get a seat, especially one by a window.

Disney cannot go into Glacier Bay. Has anyone done both Glacier Bay and non Glacier Bay cruises that has an opinion? Everyone that I know who has seen Glacier Bay says it is a must, but they never cruised without it and can't really give a comparison. Tracy Arm was wonderful and I didn't feel like I missed out or needed to see a bigger glacier. I did visit Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, but that was a combo tour and I didn't get to spend as much time there as I wanted to. My plan is to go there via bus and not a tour group next time so I have time to walk to the waterfall and the glacier.

Thanks for the suggestions. I had pretty much written off Holland because my pet sitter who is in her 50s said that she did an Alaskan cruise with them and she was "by far" the youngest person on the cruise. She said everyone was asleep all the time on the ship, the train in Skagway, etc and she never had anyone to socialize with. Perhaps she just ended up on some senior special cruise? I'll read some more reviews about it.

Does anyone know if the adult areas on Princess allow under 21 adults? I can't find it on their website anywhere. I know Disney allows 18 - 20 to go to all adult areas, but I noticed Carnival does not. Since my cruise partner is in that age group, it is important to me.