Princess vs. Disney Magic

[littlemuffin]

Hi

 

My son and I did the Grand Princess about 5 years ago. At that time, I felt that the cruise was a step about RCCL. Last year we did the Disney Magic with some friends and I felt like it wasn't quite as good as our previous Princess cruise. This year I convinced them to do a Sapphire Princess cruise in April.

 

Are we going to be disappointed in areas such as food, public area size, etc when compared to Princess 5 years ago and to Disney??

 

Thanks so much for your opinion.

[Druke I]

That is really a hard call - the two ships (and companies) are so different.

 

My wife and I did Disney Magic back in 12-98, and enjoyed it very much.

 

We've got some 18 or so Princess cruises under our belts, with a couple more booked, so obviously we think Princess has something going for it.

 

I just don't think the two can be compared fairly.

[littlemuffin]

I agree that it is a different product but food and service should be pretty easy to compare for someone who has done both.

 

Disney is great for the little ones and I'm sure Princess doesn't compare in those areas but I was just curious about the basics.

 

Thanks again.

[Host CJSKIDS]

We've done 4 Disney cruises and we're about to take our 3rd Princess cruise in March, having done one on 10/24/04 and 7/11/05 on board the Golden Princess. We LOVED our cruises on Disney as did our children but felt we needed to branch out and I'm glad we did. I don't think you're going to be disappointed.

Honestly, both cruise lines have their strengths and their weaknesses and both are great. I have 3 teens, almost 14, just about 16, and almost 17 and at this point they enjoy Princess more than Disney.

I will say that no one does service like Disney and their staff is friendlier, but the service on Princess is also great. The staterooms are larger on Disney but there are more options in staterooms on Princess and their balconies are larger. I do prefer the anytime dining choice on Princess, it's a huge winner in my mind. The buffets are open 24 hours per day and they're not on Disney. My kids miss the real movie theater that they have on Disney and the free ice cream but the teens club on Princess wins hands down in their eyes.

As far as the food goes, I do prefer the food on Disney and don't think too much of the food on Princess, but that's just my opinion. We've had some nice meals on princess and thoroughly enjoy Sabitinis and lobster, but I just find the food to be okay, nothing special. We really think Disney has a leg up with the quality of the food. Then again, we've only been on the Golden and maybe once we're on the Star we will have a different opinioin.

We found as adults that there were more things geared towards us in the evengings, something missing on Disney.

I think you'll be very happy with your choice. I would cruise Disney again in a heartbeat and love them, but Princess is truly wonderful.

[SusieS]

Hi- We just came off the Sapphire with our 7 & 11 yr. old, & had the vacation of our lives. We just loved the Sapphire! Never been on Disney....

[kenspen]

We are trying Princess for the first time in April, however having been on 2 Disney cruises and 5 RCCL with 2 children, I am anxious to try Princess. I think Disney is great for shows and staterooms, however my children did not enjoy the sheer volume of kids in the children's programs. There were just too many kids and not enought personal interaction with the counselors. My kids prefer RCCL over Disney, and we are hoping they have a good experience on the Grand. Any input?

[GottoCruise]

I guess we are the oddity - we cruise Disney even without kids...........

 

Ports notwithstanding, (because Disney does not cruise anywhere)

 

Disney cabins are larger and the separate 'commode' area is a big plus -

 

Food ? again Disney wins hands down (Try beating Palo's for a $5 premimum???)

 

Staff & Service can't be beat! Never ran into a disgruntled Staff person in Disney - can't say that about Princess :rolleyes:

 

We have been on 30 Princess cruises.......and also cruise other lines.

 

Love the Disney Movie Theatre - (too bad the Disney Shows are geared only to kids) - but Princess Shows get old very fast when you cruise often and they are all repeated .....

 

Princess is better for Adult At SEA activities - Trivia, Dance Lessons, Lecrures etc. etc. needed if you have many Sea Days........

 

IMO Princess Cay is the best 'private island' product of any of the cruiselines

 

We don't gamble - so don't miss a Casino.........

 

We like the size of the Disney Ships better than the new HUGE Princess ships.

[skybuffalo]

We just got back from the Magic a couple of weeks ago. I would agree pretty much with cjskids. The cruise was exciting but not one that I would say was relaxing.

 

You can not beat the Disney shows. We had a fantastic time with the grandkids and have a ton of memories. The wife and grandaughter even got addicted to collecting pins.

 

While we did enjoy the Magic's larger rooms (and did not miss the Princess wrap-around shower curtain) we have already booked another Princess cruise. For the kids it was great and I can understand GottoCruise sailing Disney many times. It is just that we prefer Princess. While the service was very good, it was not at the same level that we had experienced on previous cruises. Food would be pretty much a personal opinion. Our son and his family loved the food while the DW and I were disappointed.

 

Would I recommend Disney? Sure. Just keep in mind that the noise level will be much higher then you may have experienced in the past.

 

You can not loose in either case. Enjoy. Ron

[Tak8]

I've done the Disney Magic and Golden Princess with my son. You lose the Disney "magic" but overall I feel Princess is the better cruiseline.

Cabin: Disney. It's hard to beat the split bathroom unless you get a suite on Princess.

Kids program: Disney. I don't know if children as involved but obvously Disney has more invested in this area. Having said that my son liked the activities on the Golden.

Service: Tie. Both have very friendly, attentive staff.

Food: Princess. You have a greater variety on Princess. Disney 3 course versus Princess 5 course. I also enjoyed the dishes more on Princess. Both have very good alternative restaurant. Palo is a wonderful place, but Sabatini's was also very good and kids are allowed. I liked being able to take my son.

Pools: Princess. Having 4 pools and larger pools is a plus. That is one area Disney has to work on with their next ship. The pools were really overcrowded with the number of kids on board.

Shows: Princess. More variety and options. Disney does Disney stuff well, but when you want something else you have to go somewhere else.

Price: Disney is an expensive cruise. They only have 2 ships and they fill them up. They can charge more and do. I can get a bigger cabin at a cheaper price on princess and until I win the lottery, I have to think about money.

Overall: Princess. Even discarding price, I feel Princess does the little cruise things well. I like being on their ships.

[newkim]

First cruise with our son was 5 years ago on Disney and it was our worst cruise for sure. I am lucky that my husband even agreed to cruise again with our Magic experience. We tried Princess and love it. We are going on the Sapphire in 2 weeks and have been on Golden and Caribbean previously.

 

Food - we all got food poisoning on Disney and they did nothing for us. Princess we love anytime dining it works great for us and is truly one of the reasons that we cruise Princess

Kids club - our son hated the kids area on Disney and would page us to pick him up just after dropping him off. Nothing more than glorified babysitting. He was bored and never wanted to go. On Princess, he enjoys the Kids area and goes for the things that interest him. He says the best kids program is on RCCL.

Pools - Disney pools are a joke, Mickey pool is gross too many kids in it and babies with diapers, family pool is so crowded you stand in it and don't swim and the adult pool never has anyone in it. On Princess, there is are enough pools to satisfy everyone.

Entertainment on Disney is good but we were "Mickey'd" out by the end of the week.

 

I could go on but I won't. I tell everyone I know that I wouldn't cruise again it Disney was my only choice and I love to cruise......

[sunline2000]

Did Disney Magic Thanksgiving 04....I enjoy the Mouse....but was suprised on the cruise that it was not like their parks at all.We all found something we liked with a nd without the Mouse....We also cruised a holiday week and the it was sold out.Spend the $$$ get more.Ds 14 found teen area catered to the clich group.So spent time their and movie theater and activities up at b-ball court area.Ds12 lived for the club area and participated alot.Adult pool is me and thedh spent time and at night their were 3-4 club adult only areas to go.Disney cateres to all except that 2 and undergroup.My next cruise is Star Princess 07 and I look forward to it...But keep in mind cruisers the more you pay the more you get so be happy and cruise.:) :) :) :)

[Host CJSKIDS]

I've done the Disney Magic and Golden Princess with my son. You lose the Disney "magic" but overall I feel Princess is the better cruiseline.

Cabin: Disney. It's hard to beat the split bathroom unless you get a suite on Princess.

Kids program: Disney. I don't know if children as involved but obvously Disney has more invested in this area. Having said that my son liked the activities on the Golden.

Service: Tie. Both have very friendly, attentive staff.

Food: Princess. You have a greater variety on Princess. Disney 3 course versus Princess 5 course. I also enjoyed the dishes more on Princess. Both have very good alternative restaurant. Palo is a wonderful place, but Sabatini's was also very good and kids are allowed. I liked being able to take my son.

Pools: Princess. Having 4 pools and larger pools is a plus. That is one area Disney has to work on with their next ship. The pools were really overcrowded with the number of kids on board.

Shows: Princess. More variety and options. Disney does Disney stuff well, but when you want something else you have to go somewhere else.

Price: Disney is an expensive cruise. They only have 2 ships and they fill them up. They can charge more and do. I can get a bigger cabin at a cheaper price on princess and until I win the lottery, I have to think about money.

Overall: Princess. Even discarding price, I feel Princess does the little cruise things well. I like being on their ships.

 

 

You are so right about the prices on Disney, they are amazing. When I booked our spring break cruise for this March I priced both Disney and Princess. Disney wanted $9400 for an inside triple and balcony Cat 6 double! I'm sailing on The Star with an inside Cat JJ triple and Penthouse Suite double for $6400, big difference!