Few questions from DCL cruising family

[develizweb]

We are about to go on our 2nd Disney cruise next month and love love love Disney but prices are getting crazy so we are thinking of doing Eastern Caribbean on Freedom of the Seas Feb. 2013. Our kids will be 4 & 8 so they will be in separate clubs which concerns me and after looking at RCCL compasses there doesn't seem to be as much going on as on a Disney cruise. Before kids we always sailed RCCL and loved it but don't know if it is as suited for young ones at Disney.

Any advice? Are we going to wish we spent the extra $ and just sailed with Disney? Should we wait until kids are older to do RCCL?

Also, does 6-8 club give you a pager too or just the younger kid clubs?

 

Thanks :)

[develizweb]

Thought of 2 more questions....does anyone decorate doors or do gift exchanges (like Disney Fish extender gift exchange) on Royal Caribbean cruises?

[grand isle joe]

We are about to go on our 2nd Disney cruise next month and love love love Disney but prices are getting crazy so we are thinking of doing Eastern Caribbean on Freedom of the Seas Feb. 2013. Our kids will be 4 & 8 so they will be in separate clubs which concerns me and after looking at RCCL compasses there doesn't seem to be as much going on as on a Disney cruise. Before kids we always sailed RCCL and loved it but don't know if it is as suited for young ones at Disney.

Any advice? Are we going to wish we spent the extra $ and just sailed with Disney? Should we wait until kids are older to do RCCL?

Also, does 6-8 club give you a pager too or just the younger kid clubs?

 

Thanks :)

We sail Disney as often as RCCL. Our daughter is 11 now but sailed Royal @ age(s) 6 and 9. Royal is better for kids in the aspect of athletic activities in the pool areas IMHO. The kids' clubs are really free wheeling and the kids decide what to do (within parameters of course) and we found the councilors as good or even better than Disney.The rooms in the kids clubs connect, at least on the Freedom class, and they will be within eyesight of each other.Don't tell Mickey on me. They did give us a pager but we had to drag our daughter out of the club. The Freedom class has the water park and is a blast. RCCL is really going full tilt in converting their line to the family cruise line and Celebrity as their exclusive cruise line. The door hangers and fish finders are not as prevelent BUT they do have a meet and greet as you can see on Cruise Critic boards and it is a good way to meet similar families before you cruise. IMHO Royal does as good a job as Disney but as you know the entertainment is not Disney centric and evening shows vary and may be a little boring for the kids in some instances. I say go for it and if your kids have half the fun my daughter has had they will speak about it for years to come. Hope this helped.:)

[grand isle joe]

P.s. welcome to cruise critic!!!!:)

[Cru1s1ng2009]

i have never sailed disney so i dont really have a comparison but i csn tell u that in the evenings they combine the rooms a lot of the time. i think their program is excellent with many different things to do in short time increments. my kid loves it and has a blast. they also get a lot of attentiveness simply because the ship isnt packed to the gills with kids. do not worry, they will have so much fun they wont miss mickey.

[drmomsc]

My kids are going on their first RCCL cruise this March. They have been on Princess once and many DCL. My kids liked both. Royal will be less structured like Princess (which some kids like better). You won't have the hours you are accustomed to- They close at lunch and dinner on sea days. I don't think you can go wrong with Royal- it's a great line. Just different.

[masonpips]

You can see from my signature that we started w/DCL and switched to RCCL. The kids were 3 & just turned 5 the first year so about 6 & 8 on our first RCCL. They LOVED it and were fine w/the switch. They did the rock wall, golf (LOTS of golf), were picked to be IN the ice show (on a train thing), and loved the clubs. They do not have pagers, but we have rented phones onboard before (this does vary by ship/availability) and they let the kids keep one in the cubbie in the club and we'd call to check in (the ring tone was an elephant roaring and they LOVED that).

 

They loved the Promenade, the pizza, etc. They might be big enough to go on the FloRider (probably boogie boarding) and they will LOVE that. You really can't go wrong. There are Roll Call boards here and a lot do get-togethers and/or exchanges, slot pulls, cabin crawls, etc. It depends on the group.

 

If you sail in Feb, chances are there won't be a gazillion kids on board (we sail in Oct typically and this is the same) but enough for your kids to make friends and get great attention from the staff. My DD would NOT let us pick her up early - she has probably 30+ medals from Gaga Ball over the years and all the best competitions were late at night. You do have to pay for late night attendance at the club, but it was cheaper than a sitter for us at home (at the time) and gave us a lot of opportunity to eat dinner in the speciality (or regular) restaurant as a couple and see shows. Quest and Love & Marriage are not to be missed.

 

Also, fwiw, we were in a Cat 6 or a Cat 9 on the Magic and switched to a Junior Suite on RCCL and paid less. Definitely a good move for us!

[woocruiser3]

Our take on it is a little different--- we did a RCCL cruise with daughters 9 and 6 just a few weeks ago and found the kids clubs to be an absolute disappointment compared to DCL.

 

As the others have noted, other amenities that the kids like about the ship are really nice-- bigger pools, rock walls, etc.

 

However, we found the actual kids clubs to be very poorly run. The staff was a bit rude and unorganized-- they didn't seem to know when they were having any activities listed in the Cruise Compass so it became a guessing game. The kids had to go for three hours at a stint to get to one activity---and often the activity wasn't of all that great quality. For example, my 9 year old daughter was interested in the "jewelry making"....which ended up just being stringing cheap plastic pony beads onto yarn. The majority of the activities are "run around" group games. Now my daughters usually love these kinds of games, but even my athlete was getting sick of them. The "clubs" themselves lacked any materials/activities and really sort of looked like empty classrooms in the middle of summer. The "open house' on the first day consisted of one staff member standing in an empty (and I really mean empty--devoid of any kind of game/material/anything....) all alone--- and she did not approach the children or families who were entering the club.

 

Also, they charged 6.00 per hour after 10pm...so that meant our night basically ended at 10:00 unless we wanted to pony up the $$$-- which we did a few times, but found it very annoying since we are used to DCL-- where one night the PJ party actually lasted all night and we picked the kids up in the morning-- no additional $$$.

 

 

One more thing-- we also found the content of the shows-- even the main show that would typically be for those who have the early dinner were a sometimes a bit "racier" than perhaps we thought appropriate. The comedian was making jokes about his genitals, etc. They would also make sort of negative comments about kids in the pre-recorded announcements in the shows.

 

 

Anyway, we are going on another RCCL cruise because we had already planned it with extended family---we are hoping our first experience was an outlier---because if this is all RCCL can do for kid's programming, it will be a long 9 days!

[funfamilyof6]

This question all depends on your kids. As someone previously posted, I believe RCCL are more activity based, but this varies from ship to ship. One thing I am definitely sure about, Disney is for children 9 and under, so if you love Disney I would do it at least one last time while you can before switching to RCCL.

 

Our older kids loved RCCL a lot more than Disney, but since we have done the Freedom of the Seas twice we now want to give Carnival a try. Carnival is also a lot cheaper than RCCL, which means a lot to us since we always need to get 2 rooms because of our 4 kids, so I understand where you are coming from regarding price. Disney could not even be an option for us if we wanted it to be.

 

No matter what you pick, you're safe with either choice. :)

[funfamilyof6]

Our take on it is a little different--- we did a RCCL cruise with daughters 9 and 6 just a few weeks ago and found the kids clubs to be an absolute disappointment compared to DCL.

 

As the others have noted, other amenities that the kids like about the ship are really nice-- bigger pools, rock walls, etc.

 

However, we found the actual kids clubs to be very poorly run. The staff was a bit rude and unorganized-- they didn't seem to know when they were having any activities listed in the Cruise Compass so it became a guessing game. The kids had to go for three hours at a stint to get to one activity---and often the activity wasn't of all that great quality. For example, my 9 year old daughter was interested in the "jewelry making"....which ended up just being stringing cheap plastic pony beads onto yarn. The majority of the activities are "run around" group games. Now my daughters usually love these kinds of games, but even my athlete was getting sick of them. The "clubs" themselves lacked any materials/activities and really sort of looked like empty classrooms in the middle of summer. The "open house' on the first day consisted of one staff member standing in an empty (and I really mean empty--devoid of any kind of game/material/anything....) all alone--- and she did not approach the children or families who were entering the club.

 

Also, they charged 6.00 per hour after 10pm...so that meant our night basically ended at 10:00 unless we wanted to pony up the $$$-- which we did a few times, but found it very annoying since we are used to DCL-- where one night the PJ party actually lasted all night and we picked the kids up in the morning-- no additional $$$.

 

 

One more thing-- we also found the content of the shows-- even the main show that would typically be for those who have the early dinner were a sometimes a bit "racier" than perhaps we thought appropriate. The comedian was making jokes about his genitals, etc. They would also make sort of negative comments about kids in the pre-recorded announcements in the shows.

 

 

Anyway, we are going on another RCCL cruise because we had already planned it with extended family---we are hoping our first experience was an outlier---because if this is all RCCL can do for kid's programming, it will be a long 9 days!

 

The way the kids clubs are run varies from ship to ship. Our 2 Freedom of the Seas cruises were run great, the Explorer of the Seas was terrible.

 

Our Explorer cruise was so bad that we promised ourselves never to take a cruise with our children out of New York again. We were shocked by the poor behavior from the adults and teens alike. The only thing the teen girls wanted to do was chase boys and get alcohol. My teen girls didn't feel comfortable going to the clubs. They had a very different experience on our summer cruise out of Port Canaveral. I don't know why, but we felt the people on the ship seemed a lot nicer on our Florida cruises. I hate admitting this since we are from New York. :o

[Iluvcruising2]

Disney is way more expensive than RCI, is it not?

[funfamilyof6]

Disney is way more expensive than RCI, is it not?

 

Absolutely!!!!

[drmomsc]

Disney is way more expensive than RCI, is it not?

 

I have a cruise booked on the Navigator this March in a grand SUITE for 8 nights-

I paid $100 more than my cruise last year on Disney for 7 night in a regular balcony cabin!!!!!:eek:

 

Now, I got a great deal on my upcoming Navigator cruise, but that should give you an idea.

[Friend100]

Disney is way more expensive than RCI, is it not?

 

Most of the time, but it is not hard to find more reaonsable price during low season, relative to Freedom or Oasis class sailing at the same time.

[sonogal]

Disney has phenomonal kids clubs and like a previous poster commented, is excellent for the younger set. We are taking our kids on their first RCL cruise in March due to large number of other activities available (was booked with Carnival but switched). I am eager to see what their thoughts are about FOS.

 

I do have a DCL Fantasy 7 day cruise booked for 2013 at the same exact price for same number of people, similar room type, as our upcoming FOS sailing. The key with DCL is booking far ahead of time and/or when they have specials such as kids sail free.

[funfamilyof6]

Disney has phenomonal kids clubs and like a previous poster commented, is excellent for the younger set. We are taking our kids on their first RCL cruise in March due to large number of other activities available (was booked with Carnival but switched). I am eager to see what their thoughts are about FOS.

 

I do have a DCL Fantasy 7 day cruise booked for 2013 at the same exact price for same number of people, similar room type, as our upcoming FOS sailing. The key with DCL is booking far ahead of time and/or when they have specials such as kids sail free.

 

This is ideal if you are able to book that far in advance, but many are not able to do this due to jobs, school schedules and kid activities.

[DeanD]

Disney is way more expensive than RCI, is it not?

Generally but DCL tends to have better local discounts evening out the costs for FL residents and some others on comparable ships.

 

We've been on both but more on RCCL. Comparing to the newer RCCL ships, I'd say the kids programs are pretty even overall. The dining is generally better for us on DCL. The quality of the entertainment is comparable but we generally prefer RCCL in this area. No casino for DCL. The smoking isolation is better for DCL. The newer and bigger ships have additional amenities not found on DCL. Rooms are a little bigger on DCL for most comparable situations.

[woocruiser3]

Go figure! That big family cruise I mentioned....it's on the Explorer......it could be a long 9 days! Luckily my dd's will have their cousins and it will be in June---so the pools may be a main attraction more than the clubs might usually be.

 

 

The way the kids clubs are run varies from ship to ship. Our 2 Freedom of the Seas cruises were run great, the Explorer of the Seas was terrible.

 

Our Explorer cruise was so bad that we promised ourselves never to take a cruise with our children out of New York again. We were shocked by the poor behavior from the adults and teens alike. The only thing the teen girls wanted to do was chase boys and get alcohol. My teen girls didn't feel comfortable going to the clubs. They had a very different experience on our summer cruise out of Port Canaveral. I don't know why, but we felt the people on the ship seemed a lot nicer on our Florida cruises. I hate admitting this since we are from New York. :o

[tanelicus]

our second was with RCI Freedom. Though my children enjoyed Disney, and so did we, we loved our experience on FOS much more. There is so much to do on Freedom your kids will love it. The kids program on Freedom is admittedly not as robust, but there is a ton to do. I think your children will really love FOS. Again, our kids enjoyed it more.

 

There's more going on in varying degrees on FOS than Disney. There are bands always playing, they have incredible pools, flowrider, climbing walls and putt putt. The mall in the middle (promenade) has Disney beat on internal amenities.

 

You guys will be impressed!

[funfamilyof6]

Go figure! That big family cruise I mentioned....it's on the Explorer......it could be a long 9 days! Luckily my dd's will have their cousins and it will be in June---so the pools may be a main attraction more than the clubs might usually be.

 

Don't worry, you will have a great time with your family! The Explorer is a beautiful ship. There is something special about going on a cruise with family. ;)

[Lottycruiser]

Have no fear , they will love it ,we are all big Disney fans but have not yet cruised with Disney ,we went on liberty of the seas last April with grandsons aged 8 and 5 , they absolutely loved it , they didn't use the kids clubs at all , they spent most of the time in the pool ,there is also mini golf , the flow rider which is fun to watch , the rock climbing wall ,and of course the arcade, which can eat into your money .they just loved the whole experience ,the waiters made such a fuss of them in the dining room that they loved their meal times in there .the tv in the stateroom shows continuous dream works movies , very handy for the times when in the cabin needing to get ready or just chilling out .they were so impressed with liberty that we ended up going back on her and once again they loved it .Freedom is her sister ship ,we did the eastern Caribbean on her sept 2010 and loved it .

[DeanD]

Don't worry, you will have a great time with your family! The Explorer is a beautiful ship. There is something special about going on a cruise with family. ;)

Our best vacations and cruises have been with family, however, I see a lot of horror stories related to family vacations and I mean A LOT. Generally it's the people that are a problem anyway so if one is cruising with family and you tend to have issues or drama when you get together, it'll likely be the same or worse on a cruise.

[mp466]

We switched to RC after several years of sailing on Disney. Our boys preferred the activities much more on the RC ships over what was offered on Disney. It may have been that they just outgrew the Disney theme.

 

We also have loved the switch. The last 2 Disney cruises allowed us to enjoy the Norovirus experience. Not fun :eek:

[funfamilyof6]

Our best vacations and cruises have been with family, however, I see a lot of horror stories related to family vacations and I mean A LOT. Generally it's the people that are a problem anyway so if one is cruising with family and you tend to have issues or drama when you get together, it'll likely be the same or worse on a cruise.

 

Like you said, it really does depend on your family.

 

Funny story...we decided not to go on a extended family cruise on the Carnival Miracle this past August since we had already had our RCCL FOS summer cruise. Got lots of advice from CC on if we should change or not, and thank goodness we listened and stuck with our FOS cruise. In the back of our minds we knew the answer to our question!

 

Some of the extended family that went on the Miracle cruise came back with comments that they really didn't have a great time and felt that cruises were more for "adults" making us feel like we did cruises just for ourselves and not our kids which couldn't be further from the truth! :rolleyes: Our kids love cruising and actually ask us to go on them. They really don't use the kids clubs much and spend a lot of time with us which says a lot because 3 are teens now. :)

 

Point of my story...you should know your family. We love our extended family, but are very well aware of the fact that we don't do vacations well together. Hopefully when our children grow up they will do better together! Also, cruises are not for everybody, and just because you love them doesn't mean that everybody else will.

 

By the way, we had an outrageous cruise on the Freedom and our daughter, who turned 16 on the cruise, had a blast! :D

[DeanD]

Like you said, it really does depend on your family.

 

Funny story...we decided not to go on a extended family cruise on the Carnival Miracle this past August since we had already had our RCCL FOS summer cruise. Got lots of advice from CC on if we should change or not, and thank goodness we listened and stuck with our FOS cruise. In the back of our minds we knew the answer to our question!

 

Some of the extended family that went on the Miracle cruise came back with comments that they really didn't have a great time and felt that cruises were more for "adults" making us feel like we did cruises just for ourselves and not our kids which couldn't be further from the truth! :rolleyes: Our kids love cruising and actually ask us to go on them. They really don't use the kids clubs much and spend a lot of time with us which says a lot because 3 are teens now. :)

 

Point of my story...you should know your family. We love our extended family, but are very well aware of the fact that we don't do vacations well together. Hopefully when our children grow up they will do better together! Also, cruises are not for everybody, and just because you love them doesn't mean that everybody else will.

 

By the way, we had an outrageous cruise on the Freedom and our daughter, who turned 16 on the cruise, had a blast! :D

It sounds like you made a wise choice. I want to emphasize the point that problem people will be a problem for this type of situation almost all of the time, no matter how nice they are otherwise. Far too often I see people who assume that this time will be different for any number of reasons. OTOH, I also see a lot of issues that are caused by THE PLANNER. Often others feel controlled, manipulated, etc.

 

We had 40 people in Nashville the week before Xmas including 39 in a 2 BR for a "Christmas meal" with five 3 y/o's. One of the best vacations we've had. We enjoy getting together with family. We get the accommodations and invite people until we're full. With seven 2 BR units, if you didn't get invited, you weren't on the A list. Just our way of giving back to the family. However, I put a lot of thought and effort into avoiding controlling other people and avoiding subliminal messages.