Which other cruise line do you think is the most (relatively) similar to Disney?

Royal Caribbean maybe? Newer ships?

None, Disney is in its own category and that is why they can charge so much. You need to be more specific as to the experience you are looking for and the make up of your family. My family has cruised with Carnival, RCI and Disney. All were very different experiences, but we enjoyed each one of them for many reasons.

I do suggest generally picking a newer ship and I recommend using the cruise reviews in Cruise Critic to narrow your choices.

It depends on what you look at- food, cabins, kids clubs entertainment. We recently sailed Holland America( first non-Disney cruise) The Oosterdam is remarkably similar to the Wonder/Magic in construction. They were built about the same time at the same shipyard and are the same size. That was where the similarities ended but, surprisingly we found several things (including price) we preferred on Holland.the most important for us is service and the service on HAL was comparable or surpassed Disney.

As noted - depends on what you are looking for. In terms of family appeal I would generally look at RCCL and NCL because of the amenities on their ships but no line has anything equivalent to Disney's kid programs or character options.

Thank you guys.

Frankly I am just looking for a less expensive product for adults leaving from Miami area. One person in our party has mobility problems and even traveling from Miami to Port Canaveral is a challenge.

Funny I almost mentioned Cunard in my op because I also thought they looked kind of similar to the Disney decor. The the two smaller Queens are the same of ship as Oosterdam. Maybe Magic and Wonder are the same class as well?

Cunard uses a similar 'Liner' style, but price point might be above Disney before deals.

Out of Miami, I would probably lean NCL - they run more ships out of there.

We've sailed 11 DCL cruises and 2 Celebrity cruises, and found that Celebrity had a lot of similarities to Disney, especially when it came to service and friendliness of the staff - both of which are high in priority of what we enjoy on DCL. The stage shows were okay (not DCL), but the other entertainers were on par with Disney entertainment - and I really liked the layouts of both the Millennium and Reflection theaters. Celebrity does have casinos, but they're easy to avoid. They have similar smoking policies, but dining is different in that they offer set time dining or select dining in the dining room, along with a buffet at dinner and a number of extra-charge specialty restaurants (all of which were on par with Palo, in both food and service). On both of our cruises we had unlimited internet and included premium beverages - I know we'll miss both of these on our upcoming DCL cruise!

We cruised with Celebrity because it seemed like it was fairly comparable to DCL, and we weren't disappointed. We did miss the Disney magic that you get with DCL - but not so much that we won't cruise Celebrity again. Their itineraries are far more interesting in general - but they have more ships as well. The price is better too! I wouldn't hesitate to cruise Celebrity again.

We find that most cruise lines have more alike than different. DCL ships are prettier, cabins are bigger, and entertainment is better. We actually preferred the food on Celebrity, but that was a few years ago. Princess is very similar.

We enjoyed Oceania, though it has limited "night life" (though so does DCL.) We were on Marina, and it was very pretty but not overdone. The food and service were very good, and I enjoyed the smaller size.

My family cruised on the Disney Fantasy some years back and loved it. We’ve been wanting to sail with them again ever since.

Planning a trip for about a years time, we realise we have been priced out of Disney’s market and can no longer justify the cost.

I was like you, trying to find a comparable, but cheaper product. But in the end I decided that instead of looking for something similar, I needed to look for an option where the appeal factors were completely different, yet still really exciting.

I have since booked Yacht Club on MSC Seaside (a suite worked out cheaper than an inside on Disney). While I haven’t been overly impressed to date by their website and online communication, everything I have read about the yacht club product is really positive. The perks look great.

Will be interesting to see how it goes.

Finding a similar line varies on what is important to you. I find service to be the same and possibly better on Royal to Disney from my family's experiences. Food is the same (were vegetarian). Willingness to work with us about food and both lines' often lame vegetarian offerings is the same. I like the aesthetic of Royal better with the bright ships and clean lines and slight 80s vibe (vs darker and cluttered and 1880s vibe of Disney). Rooms are supposedly bigger on Disney but I've never noticed it. Then again I book cool rooms on Royal.

Anyway, figure out what the important things are then go about finding what lines match those things.

Celebrity does have casinos, but they're easy to avoid. They have similar smoking policies...

Just wanted to mention that celebrity has casinos AND they are NON smoking. For me the obit reason to avoid casinos on cruise ships is bc they are smoking zones. But on celebrity they are not. If you like a casino and don't like cigarettes, it's the best of both worlds.

I think the reply to OP's question depends on what features "like Disney" are important to you. In our experience, no one does characters or main stage entertainment like DCL, and that includes other lines that have "characters." In fact, we found ourselves suppressing a chuckle at the "characters" on our Celebrity Alaska cruise--they were really sad.

If you are looking for great service, good food, etc. there are plenty of lines to provide that. If you are looking for new and different destinations, you'll find those too. If you are looking for "family oriented" or "kid oriented" cruises, some lines are better than others; no one beats DCL but we've had very positive comments about kid programs on other lines.

One thing--on DCL the ships and programs are basically the same. Yes, I'm well aware of size differences and more high tech on the newer ships. On other lines, there can be huge differences among the ships in their fleet--check out not only the line, but the individual ship you are considering.

We enjoyed Oceania, though it has limited "night life" (though so does DCL.) We were on Marina, and it was very pretty but not overdone. The food and service were very good, and I enjoyed the smaller size.

Have to agree, from an adults only standpoint, I believe the Oceania Marina's concierge program and the food was tops! (Loved the buffet) Major disappointment, if I call it that, was the 'free' speciality restaurants were nothing more than noisy, loud, cramped, mini-main dining rooms with unique menus; they do not compare with DCL's Palo ambiance and service and not in the same league as Remy.

Also have to admit that my wife's opinion differs slightly from mine as to the buffet food - just shows you can't please everyone!

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Thank you, guys. All great info. I really appreciate it.

After five cruises with Disney, we tried NCL for the first time this summer (on the Sun in Alaska). Our son is 19, so we were a party of 3 adults. We loved it, so much so that we bought 4 future cruise credits while on board. Comparing it to Disney, we found the following:

Service - equal in every way, NCL crew was just outstanding

Food - far, far better than Disney - not even close. We also loved the free style dining concept. No more being told when and where to dine for us!

Entertainment - Disney definitely wins this one, though we did enjoy the shows we saw on the Sun. It was also nice to take a break from Disney, Disney all the time if you know what I mean. The Sun is one of NCL's smaller and older ships, and the entertainment reflects that. I imagine one of the newer, mega ships would have some terrific entertainment - especially for adults

Overall impression of the ship itself - While the decor is obviously different, we enjoyed the look and feel of the Sun. Not as "elegant" maybe, but bright, cheerful and fun. Disney probably wins on cleanliness/maintenance, but had we not sailed on them prior to the Sun, I'd have thought NCL did a fine job keeping the ships clean and up to date.

Prior to this trip, both my husband and son were skeptical about jumping ship from Disney. Even they were won over in every way. My husband was actually the driving force in purchasing the future cruse credits!! Once our son aged out of Disney's youth programs, I was very excited to move on and try new cruise lines. I'm sure we will back on DCL at some point - we do love it, but it's fun to try new things as well.

 

Prior to this trip, both my husband and son were skeptical about jumping ship from Disney. Even they were won over in every way. My husband was actually the driving force in purchasing the future cruse credits!! Once our son aged out of Disney's youth programs, I was very excited to move on and try new cruise lines. I'm sure we will back on DCL at some point - we do love it, but it's fun to try new things as well.

This, exactly summed up our experience with Princess. We were interested in a long Princess cruise, but decided to book a one week cruise as a "try out" before making a long commitment. My daughter's comment was that she had gotten on "this ship" prepared to dislike it, and in her opinion, "There is nothing wrong with this ship."

There were things we liked better than DCL and things we didn't like as well, but it was an overall great experience. And we did book the 20 night Japan cruise.

For children, RCI. For adults, Celebrity.

Jmho

We sailed MSC Yacht Club this summer on Splendida. I really enjoyed the YC, but did not love the rest of the ship. It was excessively crowded and to get anywhere, you have to walk thru multiple bars, lounges, tables of "good shopping deals,", the casino, etc. There are very few corridors like DCL has. The food was hit or miss in the YC restaurant, but the service was quite good. They even delivered broth and mashed potatoes to dd in her room when she missed dinner for a stomach bug.

I'd do MSC YC again for the right price, but I would not put it in the same category as DCL strictly for what happens on the rest of the ship and how the ship is designed. The YC itself, the Top Sail lounge, and the One Pool, were fantastic and a literal oasis of calm and seclusion. It was never crowded there, and even though the YC was completely full, there were usually just a hand full of people around.

We sailed MSC Yacht Club this summer on Splendida. I really enjoyed the YC, but did not love the rest of the ship. It was excessively crowded and to get anywhere, you have to walk thru multiple bars, lounges, tables of "good shopping deals,", the casino, etc. There are very few corridors like DCL has. The food was hit or miss in the YC restaurant, but the service was quite good. They even delivered broth and mashed potatoes to dd in her room when she missed dinner for a stomach bug.

 

I'd do MSC YC again for the right price, but I would not put it in the same category as DCL strictly for what happens on the rest of the ship and how the ship is designed. The YC itself, the Top Sail lounge, and the One Pool, were fantastic and a literal oasis of calm and seclusion. It was never crowded there, and even though the YC was completely full, there were usually just a hand full of people around.

Thanks, that’s interesting to know.

I must admit, I have read things about crowded MSC ships. I’ve read similar things about NCL and some ships on other cruise lines, and crowding is my worst nightmare. There is nothing enjoyable about walking around and around trying to find a pool chair to use. Particularly when many have been ‘claimed’ despite not actually being used. It’s also the reason I’ll never return to Disney’s Aulani.

It was with this feeling at the forefront Yacht Club appealed.

The food comparison will be interesting as I thought food was definitely Disney’s weakness, along with daytime adult entertainment.

Time will tell :-)

This' date=' exactly summed up our experience with Princess. We were interested in a long Princess cruise, but decided to book a one week cruise as a "try out" before making a long commitment. My daughter's comment was that she had gotten on "this ship" prepared to dislike it, and in her opinion, "There is nothing wrong with this ship."

 

There were things we liked better than DCL and things we didn't like as well, but it was an overall great experience. And we did book the 20 night Japan cruise.[/quote']

 

 

which princess ship were you on?

 

i've heard lots of good things about princess but i have to admit i can't pull the trigger.

(having to do with my own personal misgivings about those associated with carnival corporation more than anything).

 

maybe if one day i find myself back on cunard (which i sailed back in 1962, long before it fell into the hands of what i view as the evil empire), perhaps that will break the ice and i'll try out princess.

 

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which princess ship were you on?

 

i've heard lots of good things about princess but i have to admit i can't pull the trigger.

(having to do with my own personal misgivings about those associated with carnival corporation more than anything).

 

maybe if one day i find myself back on cunard (which i sailed back in 1962, long before it fell into the hands of what i view as the evil empire), perhaps that will break the ice and i'll try out princess.

 

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We did our "try out" cruise on the Caribbean Princess as that was the ship that was doing the European cruise we were considering. She was built in the same shipyard as the Magic and Wonder, about a year later. I really liked this ship, although she doesn't have the pasta and gelato outlet of many of the others. Loved the International Cafe.

Our Japanese cruise was on the Diamond Princess...again, a fine ship but it didn't have an International Cafe. There were more adult activities than on DCL, and on this cruise a lot of Japanese culture sort of activities. There were traditional dance classes, dress up in classic garments, language classes, traditional story telling (bilingual), etc. It was especially neat as during the land part of the trip we stumbled upon a dance festival where they were doing much more advanced versions of the dancing we had learned. It was great to understand the basics!

We had good service, decent HA cabin, etc. My biggest gripe is that their ships are all beige. There is essentially no color anywhere. It gets old. And we had a table for 2. They are VERY close together which is good and bad. If you want to talk to the people at the nearby tables, you can do so but if you want to stick to yourself, you are at a private table. It works!

We have done 12 Disney cruises and have been on all of the Disney ships. We started looking at different cruise lines because DCL is getting way too pricey and our kids are now pre teens/teens.

We have tried NCL and Princess.

Princess is by far more like DCL in terms of service, cleaniness, family oriented, food, enterntainment. We felt like Princess was like DCL but without all the Mickey's.

NCL, we loved, loved, loved NCL but it is a bit of different cruise than DCL. I would say you are going to see more partying (think spring break partying) on deck than you would see on DCL. It fit is a great fit (activity wise(slides, pool, rock wall, ropes courses, sports deck) for ages10 and over but I would say very lacking for younger kids as the pool decks are smaller than Disney.

Both Princess and NCL had better dining options than DCL.

We did our "try out" cruise on the Caribbean Princess as that was the ship that was doing the European cruise we were considering. She was built in the same shipyard as the Magic and Wonder' date=' about a year later. I really liked this ship, although she doesn't have the pasta and gelato outlet of many of the others. Loved the International Cafe.

 

Our Japanese cruise was on the Diamond Princess...again, a fine ship but it didn't have an International Cafe. There were more adult activities than on DCL, and on this cruise a lot of Japanese culture sort of activities. There were traditional dance classes, dress up in classic garments, language classes, traditional story telling (bilingual), etc. It was especially neat as during the land part of the trip we stumbled upon a dance festival where they were doing much more advanced versions of the dancing we had learned. It was great to understand the basics!

 

We had good service, decent HA cabin, etc. My biggest gripe is that their ships are all beige. There is essentially no color anywhere. It gets old. And we had a table for 2. They are VERY close together which is good and bad. If you want to talk to the people at the nearby tables, you can do so but if you want to stick to yourself, you are at a private table. It works![/quote']

 

 

sounds nice....i do like enrichment type activities (in addition to the silly games i also very much enjoy)..

maybe we'll try it one day..

i was thinking of doing a japanese cruise, though i wouldn't want to do one that's too long...

i'd like to spend a few weeks on land as well....i spent a lot of time in japan growing up, but i haven't been back since i was pregnant with my oldest (now 32)...though i apparently successfully brainwashed them to both want to go there (one has since been for a month, the other is planning)..

 

but a combined land/sea would be nice. Maybe 2 or 3 weeks on land and 7 days at sea. that could work for me :)

 

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We have done 12 Disney cruises and have been on all of the Disney ships. We started looking at different cruise lines because DCL is getting way too pricey and our kids are now pre teens/teens.

 

We have tried NCL and Princess.

 

Princess is by far more like DCL in terms of service, cleaniness, family oriented, food, enterntainment. We felt like Princess was like DCL but without all the Mickey's.

 

NCL, we loved, loved, loved NCL but it is a bit of different cruise than DCL. I would say you are going to see more partying (think spring break partying) on deck than you would see on DCL. It fit is a great fit (activity wise(slides, pool, rock wall, ropes courses, sports deck) for ages10 and over but I would say very lacking for younger kids as the pool decks are smaller than Disney.

 

Both Princess and NCL had better dining options than DCL.

good to hear your positive view of NCL.

another cruise line we've been considering for just the two of us (and it happily doesn't have the taint of carnival, other than historically and only peripherally).

and from what i've seen NCL has really great rates...

did you stay in a regular room or one of those specialty areas/suites they have?

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sounds nice....i do like enrichment type activities (in addition to the silly games i also very much enjoy)..

maybe we'll try it one day..

i was thinking of doing a japanese cruise, though i wouldn't want to do one that's too long...

i'd like to spend a few weeks on land as well....i spent a lot of time in japan growing up, but i haven't been back since i was pregnant with my oldest (now 32)...though i apparently successfully brainwashed them to both want to go there (one has since been for a month, the other is planning)..

 

but a combined land/sea would be nice. Maybe 2 or 3 weeks on land and 7 days at sea. that could work for me :)

 

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Daughter had done a semester in at a Japanese language school in Tokyo and wanted to take me there. We did 2 cruise B2B that took us to different ports, and then a week in Tokyo. She had not been able to leave the city while with the school, so seeing smaller places was fun for her too. I started with the idea of allowing her to plan the land portion of the trip, but ultimately had to limit it as she wanted to go everywhere....I said max of 2 cities as I wanted to be somewhere, no on trains all the time. Total was 20 cruise nights, 1 pre-cruise night in Narita, and 7 post cruise nights in Tokyo. It was a great trip.

Interestingly, when I first talked to family about trying another line, the reaction was, "If it starts with a C, forget it." Princess was OK because they didn't know it was owned by Carnival!