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Disney Sticker Shock... other options?


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We've been in Royal, Carnival and NCL. We took the breakaway out of NYC and it was great. Very cute kids club. We are going to take the Anthem out of Bayonne in May. I'm not a fan of flying with two kids under the age of 5. Like a previous poster said, most large lines cater to kids these days so you can't go wrong. To avoid the 4 day cruise it might be an option to go right out of Boston or NY/NJ? Then you don't have to take time to fly and can get right to having fun :)

 

 

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Don't worry about skipping Disney! I love the parks - my husband and I did WDW for our honeymoon, and cannot wait for our almost 3 year old to be big enough to really get a good trip out of Orlando.

 

BUUUT - like many other posters, we love more affordable cruise lines with kids. We took our then 2.5 year old on Carnival this fall, her first cruise. She LOVED it. The kid's camp was AMAZING and she tried to ditch us to have dinner with her friends rather than with us, twice! We ended up not using the camp as much as we had planned because she was so fun to be on the ship with - swimming, exploring, dancing, grabbing a taco and charming the socks off of the taco stand guys. She also fell in love with the automatic handwashers and the lobster costume - she called it her "cwab" and would hug the person in it for hours if we let her. (And this was on the Sunshine, an old ship, for a fall Canada cruise, so cool and foggy. It was still a blast. There was still more for us to do as a family than we had time for.)

 

I picked Carnival over Disney because my daughter is so young - the idea of all ages together sounds like a madhouse and I wanted her to get some age appropriate focus and care. I'd recommend Carnival over every other line for toddlers. At 5, unless your child has special needs, I don't think you can go wrong with any of the cruise lines that look toward supporting families. Royal and Carnival will be great - but look at the ship to make sure that it has the programs/amenities you're interested in.

 

Consider going out of New York or Boston - Norwegian has some really good deals out of New York.

 

Also, remember that being on a boat is pretty darn magical to begin with. While your kid might not want to lay by the pool all day, swimming, walking the deck, checking out the music and lights in the different venues is a lot of fun.

 

You're going to have a great time, you don't need to pay Disney prices for a wonderful cruise.

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We did 2 Disney cruises before children and now have 5 year old twins. Our children's first cruise was at 3.5 on Carnival. My 8 and 6 year old niece and nephew were also on the boat with us as well as 3 other children who are friends of ours. Every kid with us had an absolute ball and beg to cruise again often!

 

We plan to take ours on 1 Disney cruise, probably around 6-7yo once they can ride the large water slides...but that will be it. We actually love Carnival and our children love the ship kids' club FAR more than they liked Lilo's Playhouse at Disney World this year.

 

Cruises are what you make of them! We did a $10k Disney vacation this year and agree that we had more fun on our last $5k Carnival cruise vacation. We are not rednecks, not huge drinkers, won't gamble more than $20 for an entire week, etc....just so nobody assumes we are "that type" just because we enjoy Carnival!

 

If it's a one-time deal, then Disney is fine. Otherwise, save money and cruise another line!

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  • 2 months later...

I'd like to ditto the MSC comment. We went on a Disney cruise last year; by booking 15 months in advance and sailing during off-peak, we received a great deal on a concierge room. Well, this year we are going with MSC to the Mediterranean. The room is just as nice, the perks are better, the cruise is two days longer, and even WITH airfare, it's cheaper than the Disney trip. Definitely worth a look...Despite many beliefs that Europeans are "stuffy" (MSC is a European company), I have always found the opposite to be true. I've traveled through Europe extensively, and even the luxury resorts are SO accepting of families and children. I agree, they may not look as flashy, but they've got the substance where it counts.

 

(Also, before anyone gets mad, yes, we all loved the Disney trip. But we wanted something different, and what a great way give your kids a taste of Italy, Spain, and France!)

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I have never done a Disney cruise simply due to the price, though my kids have had multiple trips to Disney World. To me, that price is simply not worth it.

 

We started on Carnival when my youngest was almost 3 and 13 he turned Platinum, so clearly we have found it to be a great experience. Carnival has first rate kids programs (2-5, 6-8, 9-11, 12-14 and 15-17) with age appropriate programming. They are a fun relaxing cruise and if you go with good attitude, you can't help but enjoy yourself.

 

If you are going to do a short cruise, I would really consider one that runs on weekdays - we have found that the Thur-M can draw more of a party...as it should! I would highly recommend 7 days if the family can get off work.

 

If you feel like you want something a little more upscale, we enjoy Princess and also have found they have a great kids program - my youngest enjoyed it more than Carnival because it is more active and he is an athlete. They are more of a classic cruise experience - relax and come back new is their slogan - and it fits.

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We are Disney nuts and have only cruised on DCL. Im glad we did it when we did, because we are now priced out of Disney cruises. The fares for summer, 2019 that were recently released - obscene! So, i am excited to try other lines. we are booked on NCL for next year. My kids are a bit older now (10 & 14), but for younger kids, I think I'd go with RCCL with the dreamworks characters. They seem like they really cater to the younger kids. I bet it's *almost* as magical as sailing on Disney.

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

This post is mostly about cabin configuration since I have yet to cruise with my kids, but this summer we’re all cruising to AK. The clincher for the cruise line chosen (NCL) was connecting minisuite cabins. NCL’s mini-suites appear to be larger (220 sq ft) than other lines and can accommodate 4 people with no pull down bunks. Large room for 4 people and no pull down bunks we’re important for us. I think the partition between balconies can be removed too opening up even more space (that perk might have just been princess I don’t remember precisely).

 

My in-laws are paying for the cruise and that was the room configuration they wanted. So NCL beat out Princess and Hal. Carnival and RCI are not competitive in the AK market so they weren’t options we looked at. Don’t know about their rooms or perks at all.

 

 

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We have cruised on Royal Caribbean and NCL with our school aged grandchildren. Liberty of the Seas won hands down on facilities but NCL Gem did an outstanding job with the kid's club. So....you can have a great time without the Disney prices just figure out what it is that is important to you. I did want to add that we sail the Haven on NCL but Disney was even too high for us!!

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  • 2 months later...
I'm a Disney addict. I LOVE Disney world. We've been 3 times in the last 5 years. But I refuse to pay Disney cruise line prices. I've priced it and for the price of a 4 night Disney cruise my family can go on 2 seven night cruises on other lines.

 

I would look into royal carribean or even carnival. Just research the ships as not all ships are created equal. I think you would have a better time and save money on one of the newer ships from royal or carnival. You would possible save enough to also have a couple days at Disney pre or post cruise if that's what you wanted.

 

 

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My kids keep wanting to do a Disney cruise (6-yr-old and 8-yr-old) but I pointed out that with what we're saving by going on Carnival, we can go to Disneyland at the end of this cruise, and then do another cruise+Disneyland at Spring Break. Put that way, it was a no brainer. One Disney cruise or two cruises and two trips to Disneyland?

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  • 2 weeks later...

This is a great thread! We want to take our kids and grand kids to Alaska next summer and we've been cruising Holland America who (admittedly) have been stereo-typed as targeting an older crowd. Our daughter is a Disney fanatic (they've been to Disneyland and Disney World numerous times in the last few years - often more than 1x per year). Since we're footing the bill and it's all about a different experience for the grand kids, DCL seems to be way more than I'm willing to go. Norwegian was suggested by a couple we dined with last week (while cruising Norway). Our plan is to cruise out of Seattle since we can drive to the pier and park (eliminating the expense of airfare). I didn't know that NCL had mini-suites allowing everyone to be on one level rather than in bunks. That would be an attractive option. We're also interested in hearing from anyone who can compare the pro's and con's of the child activities. Thanks for your collective help!

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Your DGS will be five and has never cruised before. He will be very happy no matter which line you choose. We’ve taken our DGS (and their parents) on four cruises on Celebrity and RCCL. They’ve loved them all, as they did their two trips to DW. When I priced a Disney cruise roughly equivalent to our RCI cruise, I found DCL to be three times the cost, or approximately the cost of one college semester. No, thank you.

 

We’ve liked having connecting rooms. DD and her DH can put the boys to bed and go out to a late show while we stay in our cabin with the door propped open and watch a movie or read.

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Ever consider cruise out of NY as you say your kids are from upstate NY? Saves air fare 7day Cruise would be 5 work days. Not my favorite itinerary, but is still a vacation. And our 6 yo GD loved Splash Academy

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FYI, RCCL is running their Kids Sail Free promotion right now on select cruises. I just booked our Spring Break 2019 on Allure of the Seas cheaper than on MSC and Princess. I am very excited. We haven't sailed on RCCL since 2014 and haven' been on their Oasis or bigger ships.

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Not to hijack the thread, but I was wondering if you could expand on your experience with Celebrity and smaller kids. We did RCCL Anthem last fall with my kids (2 and 4) and had a good time but felt a little underwhelmed by the ship (huge, beautiful, lots of attractions to be sure, but not quite our “scene”). The kids club was wonderful, though!

 

 

quote=NewSalt;56449884]Your DGS will be five and has never cruised before. He will be very happy no matter which line you choose. We’ve taken our DGS (and their parents) on four cruises on Celebrity and RCCL. They’ve loved them all, as they did their two trips to DW. When I priced a Disney cruise roughly equivalent to our RCI cruise, I found DCL to be three times the cost, or approximately the cost of one college semester. No, thank you.

 

We’ve liked having connecting rooms. DD and her DH can put the boys to bed and go out to a late show while we stay in our cabin with the door propped open and watch a movie or read.

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We have tried several different lines and keep coming back to RCCI. Been taking our oldest cruising since she was 6 months old. That being said, she was the easier traveller than my younger little one. We love Disney World (took off several years of cruising for Disney parks vacations) but were not at all impressed with DCL. Just my opinion as a seasoned cruiser. You will find a million other people with the opposite opinion. However, keep in mind that DCL is ridiculous $$$$, the pools are practically unatainable because they are so overcrowded and I could go on. One exception, the staterooms are awesome. And their specialty restaurants are amazing (Remy, in particular - however expect to drop about $500 for this experience). Anyway......overall, we like RCCI overall for cruising with kids. Their programs are great, they have the Dreamworks characters on certain ships (character parades, breakfasts, meet and greets, etc.) and cater to children and parents alike. The other lines have great kids clubs too but if you're going for the most bang for your buck (not just money, but keeping the kids happy while the parents are able to have a good time too), don't rule out RCCI. We have been very happy with them. Good luck and have fun!

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