Help - can't decide which med cruise Disney or RC?

[pepsimiddleton]

I am a first time cruiser and have 2 girls aged 7 and 4.

I really wanted to go on a Caribbean cruise but can't afford the airfare's so will have to go round the Med this year instead.

 

I have narrowed it down to the Disney Magic leaving Barcelona 5th June stopping at Gibralter, Cadiz and Lisbon.

 

Or the RC leaving Rome 6th June and stopping at Genoa, Provance, Barcelona, Palma and Sardinia.

 

I think my kids would enjoy the whole Disney entertainment aspect and even theough the RC ships seem better equipped in terms of rock climbing / ice skating / roller blading the lack of days cruising and the opening times of these activities seem like they wouldn't get much chance to use them.

 

It's the ports of call that I'm more concerned with, I have already been to Rome and Barcelona and know what I can and can't do with my children, I just wondered if anyone had any experiences of the listed ports of call that they could advise whether there is much to do with children although I appreciate we can stay on the ship.

 

I've also read some reviews that say the food isn't really that great on either ship, is that really true?

 

oh the only other thing is that the Disney one I can only afford to go for an inside cabin on a guarantee basis (does anyone have any experience of this? are we going to get the worst cabin or a possible upgrade?)

on RC I can probably stretch to a balcony cabin but I am a bit nervous about the kids having a balcony - am I being daft?

 

All advice greatly appreciated.

[FINTUCKYFARMS]

I am a first time cruiser and have 2 girls aged 7 and 4.

I have narrowed it down to the Disney Magic leaving Barcelona 5th June stopping at Gibralter, Cadiz and Lisbon.

 

Or the RC leaving Rome 6th June and stopping at Genoa, Provance, Barcelona, Palma and Sardinia. Sorry, can't help with these locations. Only been to Alaska and the western caribbean.

 

I think my kids would enjoy the whole Disney entertainment aspect and even theough the RC ships seem better equipped in terms of rock climbing / ice skating / roller blading the lack of days cruising and the opening times of these activities seem like they wouldn't get much chance to use them. Both ships have excellent childrens programs and your kids will not be board!

 

It's the ports of call that I'm more concerned with, I have already been to Rome and Barcelona and know what I can and can't do with my children, I just wondered if anyone had any experiences of the listed ports of call that they could advise whether there is much to do with children although I appreciate we can stay on the ship.

 

I've also read some reviews that say the food isn't really that great on either ship, is that really true? I have not been on Disney, but family members liked the food. The only RC ship I have been on is the FOS, the food was excellent, many choices at both the main dining and the buffet. The kids will enjoy the poolside food of pizza, hotdogs, hamburgers and ice cream. Plus there are speciality restraunts like Johnny rockets or a pizza shop and even expensive ones like a steak place.

 

oh the only other thing is that the Disney one I can only afford to go for an inside cabin on a guarantee basis (does anyone have any experience of this? are we going to get the worst cabin or a possible upgrade?) Most likely with 3 in a room, you will not get an upgrade. Look at the deck plan to see the symbol for 3 & 4 persons in a room and those are your choices unless you upgrade to a suite.

on RC I can probably stretch to a balcony cabin but I am a bit nervous about the kids having a balcony - am I being daft? Our kids never had an issue with the balcony, just lay the ground rules down. No climbing and you should be good.

 

All advice greatly appreciated.

 

No cruise is a bad cruise :)

[KKB]

You do not need a balcony, especially w/ the young girls. And they will not be able to use the rock climbing wall.

Disney does kids better than any line out there, especially the young ones. Plus you are much more likely to have more children on a DCL cruise to the Med than RCL.

We did DCL and it would be unlikely we would do it again. We can cruise other lines for 30-50% cheaper, and our kids are older now. We did not feel it was definitively better than Princess--there were things we liked better on Princess, others we liked better on Disney. We were NOT impressed w/ the food, except at Palo the adult only restaurant was some of the best food I have had anywhere.

One nice advantage of DCL is that if you want a day at port w/o the kids, you can leave them at kids club!They will also take them to dinner if you wanted a meal at Palo.

[KKB]

You do not need a balcony, especially w/ the young girls. We have done both balcony & interior, and just cannot justify the expense. Some will only cruise w/ balcony...I often advise an interior for a first cruise, as once you go up to a balcony for some they can never go back to an interior! (my folks no longer pay for balconies, either)

The girls are too young to use the rock climbing wall.

Disney does kids better than any line out there, especially the young ones. Plus you are much more likely to have more children on a DCL cruise to the Med than RCL to Med.

We did DCL and it would be unlikely we would do it again. We can cruise other lines for 30-50% cheaper, and our kids are older now. We did not feel it was definitively better than Princess--there were things we liked better on Princess, others we liked better on Disney. We were not impressed w/ the food, except at Palo the adult only restaurant which was some of the best food I have had anywhere.

One nice advantage of DCL is that if you want a day at port w/o the kids, you can leave them at kids club!They will also take them to dinner if you wanted a meal at Palo. Most other lines will not keep your children if you are on port, and kids clubs are often closed during meals.

[janabm81]

I'd go with Disney too. I think your girls would looooove it! Diney is really good about keeping the younger crowd entertained. Yes RCCL has the rockwall and skating and cool stuff like that but your kids are still a bit young for all that.

[HdGDanceMom]

We have sailed on Disney 5 or 6 times now. Always with little kids, as young as 18 months, up to the latest cruise when she was 6 years old. We have always had a balcony on the ship, or a family balcony, but that is largely due to us owning into the Disney Vacation club and using our points towards paying for the cruise!

 

We were scheduled for the DCL cruise for the Baltic, but it has because cost prohibitive for us and we had to cancel. Now, of course they go and make the "kids sail free" deal, which drops the price by $3000. But we already booked a New England/Canada crusie on RC so we are excited about being able to cruise without the huge flight over the pond. But I am very disappointed to not be going on my dream cruise through the Baltic.

 

I know they have specially designed excursions for the Disney cruise, so more than the typcial ones that are offered in the ports. I know one of the excursions we had been excited about in Russia was going to a Royal Ball in a REAL palace with the Pricesses. BUt that was $400 per person! UGH!

 

EIther way, will be great, whatever you make of it. If you go on the one ship, disappointed that you didn't chose the other, it may bring down the whole cruise. I'd make a list of "must haves" without thinking of one ship vs the other, then compare the two. See which has more of the things you REALLY want, and go from there...

 

I'm partial to Disney, but we are Disney Fanatics, been married in Disney World, etc. My kids love the ship and know it well. They love the kids clubs, and they love the Mickey Head ketchup they get at dinner. We told them that our upcoming trip on RC will not have any characters, and they are terribly disappointed to not be meeting Mickey, Minnie, Donald, the Princesses, etc this trip. But we will make it fun for them in other ways.

 

If you have any quetions about Disney, let me know, and I can see if I can help you!

[Cruzaholic41]

I have mixed feeling on this.

 

I disagree that Disney does kids better. I think the kids programs on RCI's Voyager Class ships surpass all other cruise lines, including Disney. Disney is great for walking around with kids and taking hundreds of pictures with characters. However, the kids facilites on Navigator are much bigger and have better amenities than either of the 2 existing Disney ships.

 

But that being said, I recommend the Disney ship out of Barcelona. I loved my Navigator cruise out of Rome, but the fellow passengers were absolute hell. I have never encountered this level of rudeness in my life.