Once you go Disney, can you go back?

[NoMadSean]

Serious question. I am going on my second cruise this June. My first was a Carnival. It will be the first for my wife daughter. We went big this year - combining a trip to Disney with 4 nights on Disney Wish. 

Royal Caribbean has great looking itinerary for 7 nights for next April out of Tampa to the Mexico and Honduras. Disney also has a great looking 5 night Mexico cruise out of Galveston. Obviously, there is a MASSIVE price difference, even with 2 fewer nights. Personally, I am fine adjusting my expectations, but I'm a little afraid that my wife would be really let down after having her first experience on the Wish. The upside is that the itinerary are so good.

So, people who have cruised Disney, have you been able to back to a cruise like RC and really enjoy yourself? Bonus points if you can comment on dining options for vegans on RC. Disney's legendary customer service is part of the reason we decided to do the Wish.

[1025cruise]

1 DCL cruise = 2 on RCL.

That's enough for me 🙂

[DarrenM]

Running the risk of upsetting parents here, but I would rather give up cruising than go on a cruise with hundreds of those little creatures.

 

And I am not talking about mice, dogs, cats and ducks.

 

It is my idea of hell.

 

 

[mom says]

Did one Disney cruise. One. Out of 20+ years of cruising. It was fine, but for the money I can get just as good or better on many other lines. And I don't hate kids. One thing the Disney ships do well is having plenty of adults only areas on board.

[NoMadSean]

14 minutes ago, mom says said:

Did one Disney cruise. One. Out of 20+ years of cruising. It was fine, but for the money I can get just as good or better on many other lines. And I don't hate kids. One thing the Disney ships do well is having plenty of adults only areas on board.

Do you have kids? The child experience is critical here. If you don't mind me asking, what lines have you enjoyed the most?

[mjkacmom]

Our second cruise was DCL, 3 nights after 6 nights at the BC villas, it was fine, my kids didn’t like the kids clubs, after that we stuck to NCL which worked much better for our family, especially no set dining times, which was difficult with 5 young kids on DCL.

[DarrenM]

16 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

Our second cruise was DCL, 3 nights after 6 nights at the BC villas, it was fine, my kids didn’t like the kids clubs, after that we stuck to NCL which worked much better for our family, especially no set dining times, which was difficult with 5 young kids on DCL.

My two lads had no intention of going in a kids club. Even though they were 7 & 3.

 

I spent most of my time in the pool and slides with them.

[NoMadSean]

29 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

Our second cruise was DCL, 3 nights after 6 nights at the BC villas, it was fine, my kids didn’t like the kids clubs, after that we stuck to NCL which worked much better for our family, especially no set dining times, which was difficult with 5 young kids on DCL.

I can see how that would be a problem with 5. 

[dolittle]

We love Disney World have been over 25 times (I know that this crazy) been on two Disney Cruises and even if you take the price out of it ,it is not as good for a family as Royal Caribbean .The new mega ships offer  much more WOW and better food .

[NoMadSean]

13 hours ago, dolittle said:

We love Disney World have been over 25 times (I know that this crazy) been on two Disney Cruises and even if you take the price out of it ,it is not as good for a family as Royal Caribbean .The new mega ships offer  much more WOW and better food .

I suspect Wish will have a lot of WOW compared to the other Disney Ships. That good feedback, though, especially if I'm looking at one of the older Disney Ships vs the newer RC ships. 

[wcook]

I’m a big Disney fan. Own the timeshare to prove it. Had a great DCL cruise, but didn’t find it any more special than RCI and other mainstream lines. Certainly nothing that justifies the price difference. 

[wcook]

20 hours ago, DarrenM said:

Running the risk of upsetting parents here, but I would rather give up cruising than go on a cruise with hundreds of those little creatures.

 

19 hours ago, mom says said:

One thing the Disney ships do well is having plenty of adults only areas on board.

This may sound crazy, but DCL can be a good option for people who don’t necessarily want to be around kids. They go out of their way to have kid free spaces and activities, and they enforce the rules. 

[Mum2Mercury]

Yes, you can "go back" after Disney.  

 

We loved our Disney cruise, but it's just so, so much more expensive, and -- honestly -- aside from the stupendously good kids' clubs, we prefer Royal Caribbean.  

[Joebucks]

I actually thought it was pretty much the opposite. It seemed to me like for the average person, it was a great one-time experience. After that, the luster, and the price tag wore off.

[Aquahound]

What RCI ship are you looking at out of Tampa?  RCI's sailings out of Tampa are on their older ships without all the bells and whistles due to the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.  

[Tapi]

 

On 3/28/2023 at 12:14 PM, NoMadSean said:

So, people who have cruised Disney, have you been able to back to a cruise like RC and really enjoy yourself?

Yes, we have, and more than once. 😀

 

Disney was an outstanding cruise, and they do excel in customer service and entertainment, but we quickly realized that other cruise lines offer an equally outstanding (and sometimes better) product at a fraction of the price. 
 

Since sailing on Disney, we’ve not only done Royal Caribbean, but we’ve also done MSC, Holland America, Celebrity, and Carnival. Our previous experience on Disney hasn’t affected one bit our enjoyment of subsequent cruises. 
 

In my very humble opinion, you need to be a BIG Disney fan to justify the difference in price. You’re paying extra for a LOT of pixie dust, and not necessarily for a product which is that much better. 

 

Since you were asking specifically about Royal Caribbean, not all of their ships are the same. You’re looking at cruises out of Tampa, which means that you’re looking at one of their oldest, smallest ships. I do recommend that you look instead at their larger and newer ships, usually departing from Port Canaveral or Miami/Ft Lauderdale.
 

Since you mentioned Galveston, Royal will have one of their largest Oasis class ships sailing from there (Allure of the Seas). That may be worth looking into. 
 

 

Edited March 31, 2023 by Tapi

[Cruzaholic41]

I’ve cruised Disney a few times and I agree with the overwhelming sentiment here. It’s not worth the money and I don’t think they’re any better than RCI. In fact, I prefer RCI between the two. 
 

I think Tapi said it best. 

 

I recommend a big RCI ship like Icon, Oasis Class, or Quantum Class and as mentioned, you can’t get those out of Tampa. That said, Radiance Class ships are very pretty. 

[donaldsc]

I am a big time Disney hater so my reply would be why would anyone go on a line that is more expensive than other lines and it overrun with children.  A fate worse than death!

 

DON

[sunflower girl]

Disney was a one-and-done for me too. My daughter was young and we went with a girlfriend and her son - so we spilt the cabin cost. Nothing was that much better than other lines (not even the entertainment) to warrant the price difference. Would much rather go on two or three cruises on other lines. 

[Pyrate13]

We've been on 4 Disney cruises but will not do them again. Just not worth the price difference in our opinion.

[shorne]

On 3/29/2023 at 7:42 AM, wcook said:

 

This may sound crazy, but DCL can be a good option for people who don’t necessarily want to be around kids. They go out of their way to have kid free spaces and activities, and they enforce the rules. 

 

What about those adults among us who don't want to be segregated into «kid-free» ghettos in what is otherwise a juvenile dictatorship?

 

[GrannyJ]

I went on one Disney cruise.  I went for free, even.  They'd have to pay me to go on another one.  

[mom says]

On 4/4/2023 at 12:02 AM, shorne said:

 

What about those adults among us who don't want to be segregated into «kid-free» ghettos in what is otherwise a juvenile dictatorship?

 

What????? Look up hyperbole in the dictionary, and ^^^^^^ is their example.

[Cruisercl]

One and done for us. Adults only, no kids but huge Disney and cruising fans.

When we did the adult only areas they were lacking in quality entertainment and DCL did not enforce the rules unless something was said.

 

Children running around everywhere, during shows, in the dining room arr exam0les of how unruly it was at times. I felt bad for the waiters in the dining room when children were laying on the floor having a temper tantrum and the parents did nothing. We were surpised the waiters we able ot keep from dumping trays of food. Saw thia every evening at dinner. I am thinking lots of bad parents on that cruise.

 

Lots of screaming too, not screams of joy and excitement, the other kind....

Have never seen such behaviors on any other cruiseline.

YMMV.😎

 

Edited April 6, 2023 by Cruisercl

[shorne]

I'd recommend a policy of putting life jackets on the unruly children/parents and making them walk the plank.