Tell me: Why Disney?

[parrotthead]

ok, you 'Disney People' -

(a little backgound first)

~Family= Myself, (partner) Doreen and "the Traveling GingerTot On the Go" Kinley (our 16 mo old Grandbaby who lives with us)

Me-16 cruises/Carnival/RCI

Doreen-11cruises/Carnival/RCI

Kinley-2cruises/Carnival

Question:

Now that Disney sails out of Galveston, I am *considering* that GingerTot may enjoy this (we take him everywhere with us, so he is used to being On the Go and has had fun on the other Cruises)

I have to wonder, tho,

-->Why the Big Price difference in Disney and the others?

-->(if Im not really a Disney Fanatic) What is the Big Difference?

-->What am I gaining by going Disney? (the 'baby' nursery costs $6 per hour for under 3s on Disney, and CCL has 'free play' for under 2s on seadays and available (evening) babysitting $6/hr for under 2 and free Camp for 2+)

--> Is something 'extra' included with Disney that I am missing?

--> Convience me (WithOut Bashing my beloved Carnival) so I can justify spending the extra $$. :)

:) thanks.

[DISNEY FANTASY]

ok, you 'Disney People' -

(a little backgound first)

~Family= Myself, (partner) Doreen and "the Traveling GingerTot On the Go" Kinley (our 16 mo old Grandbaby who lives with us)

Me-16 cruises/Carnival/RCI

Doreen-11cruises/Carnival/RCI

Kinley-2cruises/Carnival

 

Question:

Now that Disney sails out of Galveston, I am *considering* that GingerTot may enjoy this (we take him everywhere with us, so he is used to being On the Go and has had fun on the other Cruises)

I have to wonder, tho,

-->Why the Big Price difference in Disney and the others?

 

-->(if Im not really a Disney Fanatic) What is the Big Difference?

 

-->What am I gaining by going Disney? (the 'baby' nursery costs $6 per hour for under 3s on Disney, and CCL has 'free play' for under 2s on seadays and available (evening) babysitting $6/hr for under 2 and free Camp for 2+)

 

--> Is something 'extra' included with Disney that I am missing?

 

--> Convience me (WithOut Bashing my beloved Carnival) so I can justify spending the extra $$. :)

 

:) thanks.

 

I have been on many cruiselines including RCL and Princess..

DCL is better imho at

Kids clubs

Entertainment shows in the evening.

Food is good, on RCL it was hit and miss some good some bad.

Staterooms tend to be larger.

Most cruises have fireworks at sea

People tend to have more of a fun time than other cruise, had to define but they do, ie dress up, and have themed meals with shows, pirates night etc.

Less catch pennies, ie soda is free and you can self service it, plus

Mickey and co, who wants more?

 

 

I have two blogs you might wish to look at.-

 

Recent Fantasy cruises, might give you an idea.

 

http://fantasyfantasyholiday2012.blogspot.co.uk/

 

And

 

RCL compared to Disney

 

 

http://rciindependenceoftheseasaugust2011.blogspot.co.uk/

[parrotthead]

I did read that soda was included, but GingerTot at his age doesnt drink soda (doesnt even like juice) and we only drink Coffee, Water, Tea (and the occasional adult beverage) so thats not an issue.

Food is subjective, but I agree about RCI being Hit or Miss. (are the Kids menus the usual 'kids fare' ie, mac and cheese, hotdogs, chickennuggets?- or is it Real Food? We are not the chicken nugget type...just wondering, since DCL caters to kids wondering if GingerTot would be able to get 'real food' or if that would be an issue)

StateRooms seemed to be about comparible to Carnival (which are slightly larger then most)

 

Kids club is at an extra cost under 3? :( (am I understanding that correctly) - most of the other lines are 'included' for 2yrs+.

~right now he doesnt even know who Mickey is... (we are not 'Disney People' by nature, as I know many are) I did show him MM to see what he thought.. he said/signed "Mouse" and said/signed "funny" was about it.

FireWorks at Sea would be Cool!

[DISNEY FANTASY]

I did read that soda was included, but GingerTot at his age doesnt drink soda (doesnt even like juice) and we only drink Coffee, Water, Tea (and the occasional adult beverage) so thats not an issue.

 

Kids club is at an extra cost under 3? :( (am I understanding that correctly) - most of the other lines are 'included' for 2yrs+.

~right now he doesnt even know who Mickey is... (we are not 'Disney People' by nature, as I know many are) I did show him MM to see what he thought.. he said/signed "Mouse" and said/signed "funny" was about it.

 

Evven tea and normal coffee is included, as well as with meals with room service, I found RCL coffee rather poor, ( nice words, I felt it worse than that), and RCI baiscally force you to upgrade, on coffee, and organge juice etc.

 

I am not up on the nursery personally as my kids were a litte older when they first cruised DCL, but its very good care one a very close basis, you have to book it, I think on other lines if its included its very limited hours, DCL is far longer hours.

 

My son was 18 months when he first went to WDW and it was magical to see him with pooh bear, my Daughter first went when she was two, she loveed the princesses, the magical kis ages of say 2 > 5 are perfect for Disney and they really beleive at that age.

[Friend100]

am not disney people

 

paid difference price for a disney cruise and got a unique magical expedience.

[cruisinwithmaandpa]

In the evening if your child is in the clubs, there is little for an adult to do on Disney. We liked pirate night, but the pirate show was jazzersize in pirate costumes. The fireworks didn't start until 10:30, too late for little ones. I feel RCCL and CCL offer more. For double the price you don't get any extra value.

[MissSissy]

I did read that soda was included, but GingerTot at his age doesnt drink soda (doesnt even like juice) and we only drink Coffee, Water, Tea (and the occasional adult beverage) so thats not an issue.

Food is subjective, but I agree about RCI being Hit or Miss. (are the Kids menus the usual 'kids fare' ie, mac and cheese, hotdogs, chickennuggets?- or is it Real Food? We are not the chicken nugget type...just wondering, since DCL caters to kids wondering if GingerTot would be able to get 'real food' or if that would be an issue)

StateRooms seemed to be about comparible to Carnival (which are slightly larger then most)

 

Kids club is at an extra cost under 3? :( (am I understanding that correctly) - most of the other lines are 'included' for 2yrs+.

~right now he doesnt even know who Mickey is... (we are not 'Disney People' by nature, as I know many are) I did show him MM to see what he thought.. he said/signed "Mouse" and said/signed "funny" was about it.

FireWorks at Sea would be Cool!

I've never been on another cruise line so I cant compare any aspects. I'll just share somethings I know.

 

The kids menu on board is your typical chicken nugget, mac and cheese stuff. But you can order for him off the adult menu and order things plain, without sauce, however he needs it.

 

As for kids clubs, as you stated the nursery is $6 an hour. Kids who are not potty trained can not go in to the regular clubs. But they do have time every day designated as "Open house". Parents or guardians can bring kids in to the clubs to play at those times, so at those times your grandson could use the kids clubs with you there.

[MissSissy]

In the evening if your child is in the clubs, there is little for an adult to do on Disney. We liked pirate night, but the pirate show was jazzersize in pirate costumes. The fireworks didn't start until 10:30, too late for little ones. I feel RCCL and CCL offer more. For double the price you don't get any extra value.

 

I think it depends on the adult and what you are looking to do. My husband and I don't have kids and we loved DCL. Every night before or after dinner (some nights both) we went to Sessions to listen to the piano. We don't have anything like that where we live and love that type of lounge/bar. It is not non-stop action on DCL but there are a lot of adults without kids or grown kids that love DCL.

[Shmoo here]

I've never been on another cruise line so I cant compare any aspects. I'll just share somethings I know.

 

The kids menu on board is your typical chicken nugget, mac and cheese stuff. But you can order for him off the adult menu and order things plain, without sauce, however he needs it.

 

As for kids clubs, as you stated the nursery is $6 an hour. Kids who are not potty trained can not go in to the regular clubs. But they do have time every day designated as "Open house". Parents or guardians can bring kids in to the clubs to play at those times, so at those times your grandson could use the kids clubs with you there.

 

Here's the kids menus from our Wonder MR cruise:

 

And, as PP noted, you can always order off the adult menu for your grandson. And you can order off the kids menu, if you wish.

 

:)

[Shmoo here]

Here's the other 2

 

 

 

:)

[nana541]

IMHO do Disney when grandbaby is 6 or 7..... Little one will love it and it will then be worth the extra $$$

 

Just sayin....looking forward to our first Disney Cruise with grandkids ages 8 & 9 they are now old enough to love the whole Disney Kids experience :)

[DISNEY FANTASY]

IMHO do Disney when grandbaby is 6 or 7..... Little one will love it and it will then be worth the extra $$$

 

Just sayin....looking forward to our first Disney Cruise with grandkids ages 8 & 9 they are now old enough to love the whole Disney Kids experience :)

 

I found the golden age for kids and disney is something like 3 -potty trained> to 5 OR 6, when they ''beleive'', the kids clubs are good up to say teenagers, I found my children grew out of the clubs circa 11/12.

 

Its a blaance, and Disney realy is a younger kids cruise,

[drb116]

If you like Carnival, I would stick with that and skip the premium for Disney. Book Disney early and the premium is not as big.

 

As you said, Disney charges for 2 year olds. I think this is the industry standard, and Carnival is more of an exception allowing 2 year olds into their free club.

 

We took our family on a Carnival cruise after a Disney cruise and we said never again to Carnival. What we loved about Disney is that we could see the shows and do a lot of the ship activities with our 4 year old. Our 2 year old was a little young to participate.

 

We liked the fact that Carnival allowed our two boys to play together in Camp Carnival, but a lot of the shows were after hours and some of the activities we wanted to do we could not because Camp Carnival was closed.

 

In the end, Carnival was much, much more crowded (both boats were sold out) and there was very little to do together as a family (we were on the Carnival Pride).

 

So go on Carnival with a two year old, but book a Disney cruise for 2014 when the schedule comes out.

[FLbeachbaby]

You should look for resident discounts now that Disney is in Galveston. We only sail when there is a FL discount and when they have them they are better than just about any cruise discount around. That being said, Disney evokes an elegant spirit of cruising for me. The ships are gorgeous, the food presented with care (taste is always subjective) and the service is always top-notch. We don't go for the "Disney" we go because it is a an enjoyable experience. No disrespect to Carnival, but I believe it's not a comparable product.

[GrandmaHofmann]

Go off season if you can. The price is like 50% off.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Go off season if you can. The price is like 50% off.

 

what is considered off season?

 

Bill

[FLbeachbaby]

Not really an "off season" but when the kids go back to school until the holidays approach you will typically see cheaper prices in cruising, September-October.

[jkrislc]

I would argue that DCL is more family-friendly with most entertainment geared towards the whole family, whereas the entertainment on other cruise lines is geared towards adults. Thus, if you want to enjoy the evening together, it is easier to do so on Disney.

 

I really liked the nursery on Disney. While they allowed my son to use the free club because he was close to 3, he was much more comfortable in the nursery as there were fewer children and more adult supervision overall. The free clubs can be chaotic especially for the very young as the staff to children ratio is high.

 

Obviously, you can make any cruise work for you. We've done Holland America as many times as Disney with our nearly 6 year old largely because of price and itinerary. We also have t experienced the magical service that Disney is supposedly known for. We're mainly cruising Disney again to experience the new ship and because we got a discount by booking onboard. The plus side, though, is knowing that DS will enjoy dinners with us in the main dining room, which wasn't the case on HAL.

[Cindy2]

We just came back from our first Disney cruise a few weeks ago. It was a 3 night cruise on the Dream for our daughter's 16th birthday. I remember looking at the Disney cruises when we started taking our girls years ago. The prices were almost double at the time we wanted to go compared to Princess or Carnival so we went on those lines instead. We had a great time on both lines. Then last year I took the girls on Celebrity to Bermuda and we thought it was the best of them all. The service was amazing and we loved the idea of staying in one port for a few days.

However, my daughter has decided that Disney has raised the bar on cruising for her and has changed her for life. We found that Disney will go above and beyond to make their passengers happy. She has food allergies and even though the other lines were accomodating, Disney was even better. The ship was beautiful and had something for everyone! We found that we were busy all the time. I have always avoided ships that stop at private islands. I wanted a destination not just another beach but, Castaway Cay is a destination in itself and I could spend a week there.

As much as I loved the trip I can understand that the baby is still young and may not appreciate the characters and other Disney related games on the cruise. I watched the some of the young girls meeting the princess for the first time and I wish I had taken my daughters when they were that age. The look on their faces was priceless!

So I guess I would wait a few years and then take the Disney cruise, you won't regret it.

[awaywego0000]

If it were just my husband and I we could not justify the cost. But the look on my daughters face and knowing she will never forget that vacation makes it worth the money.

[Host Mick]

ok, you 'Disney People' -

(a little backgound first)

~Family= Myself, (partner) Doreen and "the Traveling GingerTot On the Go" Kinley (our 16 mo old Grandbaby who lives with us)

Me-16 cruises/Carnival/RCI

Doreen-11cruises/Carnival/RCI

Kinley-2cruises/Carnival

 

Question:

Now that Disney sails out of Galveston, I am *considering* that GingerTot may enjoy this (we take him everywhere with us, so he is used to being On the Go and has had fun on the other Cruises)

I have to wonder, tho,

-->Why the Big Price difference in Disney and the others?

 

-->(if Im not really a Disney Fanatic) What is the Big Difference?

 

-->What am I gaining by going Disney? (the 'baby' nursery costs $6 per hour for under 3s on Disney, and CCL has 'free play' for under 2s on seadays and available (evening) babysitting $6/hr for under 2 and free Camp for 2+)

 

--> Is something 'extra' included with Disney that I am missing?

 

--> Convience me (WithOut Bashing my beloved Carnival) so I can justify spending the extra $$. :)

 

:) thanks.

 

Carnival is a cruise company with entertainers.

Disney is an entertainment company with ships.

[mdvlprof]

We love DCL, but sail on other lines, too. We never sail when school is out because price goes way up.

 

Kid-friendly shows.

Soda included.

NO CASINO. Sometimes on other lines, we have no choice but to wheel DS thru a smoke-filled casino. Yuck.

Kids are grown, so have nothing to say abou kids clubs.

[MellowMel]

You can bring your own alcohol on board in your carry on with Disney.

 

Disney is offering kids sailing free with two adults in one stateroom on cruises beginning in January and ending early March.

 

If none of you are Disney fans, then I'd stick with the line you already love. Disney can offer you magical experiences though.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

You can bring your own alcohol on board in your carry on with Disney.

 

Disney is offering kids sailing free with two adults in one stateroom on cruises beginning in January and ending early March.

 

If none of you are Disney fans, then I'd stick with the line you already love. Disney can offer you magical experiences though.

 

Is the kids cruise free for sailings during those months or just the Galveston sailings?

 

Bill

[darwinsrule]

Carnival is a cruise company with entertainers.

Disney is an entertainment company with ships.

 

Pretty good summary. We have three DCL cruises in with two more booked. We did our first non-disney cruise this summer (NCL Dawn to Bermuda). Kids loved the Dawn. Loved the kids club. Loved the shows. Loved the buffet (they had a kids area). Strangely it was my wife and I who had more issues and kept comparing it back to DCL. We do plan on going back to Bermuda, however we want to give RCI a try as well and find a non-Disney option to get to all those places Disney doesn't go.