Help a Disney cruiser branch out??

[Hidden Minnie]

I imagine I am the first of many who will be coming from the Disney boards to CC - the 2017 prices for Spring DCL sailings came out, and not only are they painful, the itineraries are the same as the last few years. We know we want to cruise in 2016 or 17, so are starting to research other lines.

 

A bit of background - we have only done DCL to date. Bahamas, Eastern, Western and Alaska. We love the service level and size of the rooms, enjoy rotational dining but aren't wedded to it, and like the classic look and simple layout of the Disney ships. We know that Disney is not the only one providing good service, so are open minded. The giant ships worry us a bit - although there is so much to do, they are almost overwhelming. In addition, we like to see the ocean as much as possible when we sail, and the inward-looking ships kind of defeat the purpose, in our minds. We also like the ease of the inclusive nature of sailing DCL - included soda, included ice cream, etc.

 

Our main priorities are interesting itinerary, plenty for us and our teen daughter to do, price under $5000 for a 7-night balcony, and reasonable airfare from IND. DH is also worried about smaller rooms being too tight for his 6'4" size. We are looking at June 2016 to start with.

 

So, here are the sailings we are considering:

 

RCCL Eastern on the Allure or Oasis out of Ft Lauderdale - St Maarten (been there), San Juan and Labadee (we know its a huge ship, but we like the dates and the ports)

 

RCCL Freedom out of Port Canaveral - Grand Cayman (been there), Roatan, Puerta Costa Maya, Cozumel (been there)

 

Norwegian Getaway out of Miami - Roatan, Belize, Costa Maya, Cozumel

 

Norwegian Escape out of Miami - St Thomas (been there, but loved it), Tortola, Nassau

 

Any thoughts as to the best match for us? With an AARP discount (I'm old) we could save between $500 and $1000 going NCL, but the reviews seem to run more positive on Royal. Would love to hear any and all constructive thoughts. I've been on the DCL board here for years, but this is the first time I'm leaving my comfort zone. Thanks in advance!

[Jimnbigd]

I've sailed on Carnival (CCL), Norwegian (NCL), and Royal Caribbean (RCI). I like RCI for the price and the content -- more live music, better shows (IMO). Cabins are smaller, but not uncomfortable. The RCI voyager class, freedom class, and Oasis class have an ice rink with free ice show and free ice skating. We've taken my wife's son and family (3 girls) on several voyager-class ships and they love it. There are plenty of places to see the ocean on the voyager and freedom class -- Viking Crown (the semi-circle glass area above and behind the pool) and deck 4 outside are my favorites. I vote for the Freedom of the Seas. Or if you want lots of ports, try the Adventure of the Seas (voyager class) from San Juan, Puerto Rico -- does the southern Caribbean.

Edited October 8, 2015 by Jimnbigd

[cb at sea]

Try an RCI ship...but NOT Oasis/Allure...go for a Freedom or Voyager class....tons to do....but not overwheming! All balconies overlook the sea! Yes..the cabins are smaller, but well laid out for max. storage. A JS is a great space! Most like a hotel-sized room.

Edited October 9, 2015 by cb at sea

[chemmo]

We have RCCL cruised many times as our son was growing. We did enjoy all including Allure (big, yes but very manageable).

 

I think there are three things for you to consider.

 

Rooms, to enable you and your daughter a little privacy and your husband a little space I would recommend minimum junior suite on RCCL or if you can push to it a Grand Suite which has a real privacy curtain, great balcony space and quite a few additional perks.

 

I think you will find quite a lot of overlap between ports of call DCL and RCCL and as you are flying in anyway I really would look at the San Juan itineraries.

 

Final comment is re your daughters interests. Will she happily join in a teen club or is she more likely to hang around with you poolside? If she wants the high activities RCCL wil be great for her but if not you are in fact paying for activities which will not be used.

 

So now the curved ball. Look at Celebrity Summit out of San Juan. Older Celebrity ship but we found her very nice. Look at the Sky Suites, included suite speciality dining, superb choice of two itineraries. Older general clientele but still a good mix of family groups. They do have teen clubs but they tend more to be places to meet and then the groups would just enjoy 'hanging around'.

 

We stuck with RCCL for many years and no regrets. We then tried a Celebrity ship and found our son was as happy if not happier on that. On reflection I think he had found the RCCL young people numbers quite overwhelming whereas on Celebrity he would talk to similar aged teens at the pool and then, in quite small groups they would do their own thing....sometimes as simple as meeting up to dine together in the buffet on sushi!

 

As I say, a bit of a curved ball as Celebrity is not a cruise line particularly seen as child and teen friendly. You know your daughter, have a think.

 

Whatever you choose have a great family holiday

[Hidden Minnie]

Thanks everyone for the input so far!! I will take another look at sailings out of San Juan - It would be an additional $1000 or so for the three of us in airfare and a much longer flight with a layover rather than direct on Allegiant to FLL, but we would love to do one of those itineraries.

 

I am leaning toward the Freedom, but my husband really likes the Eastern ports, so we're torn still....ah, what a dilemma to have!

[dolita22]

There are lots of RCCL fans out there, but we are not one of them, at least after a couple cruises on them. Maybe we need to try one or two more. ;-)

 

Anyway, we prefer NCL. You could check out the Escape. It's a brand new ship (NCL doesn't own it yet, I don't think...the handover is in a couple weeks) and there looks to be like a lot to do for any age group! Your teen daughter may enjoy the free-fall slides, the ropes course, or the plank going off the ledge of the ship and over the water. Tamer activities are also options. I don't think she would be bored on the Escape.

 

Adults can take advantage of the Ultimate Beverage Package, if you so choose, or the Specialty Dining Plan, free WiFi or a shore excursion credit. Those promos are being offered now.

 

Since the Escape is a new ship, I'm not sure about room size...but will be able to tell you in a few weeks! We're sailing the U.S. public inaugural 3-day in a balcony.

 

We LOVE freestyle dining on NCL. Eat when you want, where you want. It's really casual, though if you want to dress up, there are Norwegian's Night Out nights (I think that's what they're called now) where you can dress to the nines. Otherwise, relaxed and casual is the theme. My DH digs not packing dress shoes and suit and tie and wears Hawaiian shirts and shorts to dinner in the MDRs.

 

NCL has some reputation about nickel and diming people, but I don't think it's any different than any of the other mainstream cruise lines...perhaps DCL aside.

 

If it saves you money and you're intrigued by what NCL has to offer, I'd say check them out.

 

Whatever you decide, enjoy your cruise!