Is Disney really the best for young kids??

[quagmire0]

Seems to me like Carnival has a better program than even Disney, but this is from browsing their website, and not actual experience. :D

[tinlizzy]

Disney Wonder and Magic. The ships are beautiful and the rooms are fantastic. Took my mother and my son. Balcony rooms with a bath and 1/2 are great! No negatives except your children will grow out of it and want to sail some other line.:( Go Disney when they are little if you can afford it.

 

Favorite memories: When You Wish Upon A Star horn

Characters just appearing when elevator doors open- Chip and Dale must have been at the pool!

Castaway Cay!!!!!

Every announcement starting with Ladies and Gentleman, Boys and Girls

Staying up "late" and going to the movie theatre in pajamas.

[crusinmama06]

Because I got curious I went and asked my 7 year old what her favorite kids club EVER was...her answer was Carnival. :eek:

 

So I said "REALLY, better than Disney?" She was 4 turning 5 on the Disney cruise...so she was really princess obsessed at the time

 

And she said "Yes, Carnival is more fun. They take you out of the club and take you to dance parties and take you to the theatre where you can see shows. And I got to eat the formal dinner with my friends at carnival"

 

So I said to her "But I thought you LOVE Disney"

 

And she said "Disney WORLD....not Disney cruise"

 

So I told her to wait till she got to Royal Carribean next month to compare.

[lostie]

I didn't go but my mom took my DS who was almost 5 at the time on the Disney Magic. He LOVED it BUT would NOT stay in the kids program! If you DS is shy like mine, he may not like it. We are going on Spirit this summer and I hope he will try club now that he is older. It may help that my other DS 2, is a ham and warms up to people very easily, so if he sees the baby having fun, he may give it a try.

 

[rebeccalouise]

My son has been on all the lines and tends to like the kids club of his most recent cruise the best. So it is hard to judge. Disney was not my favorite cruise line (that's Celebrity) but I have to admit that my son just loved everything about the Disney Wonder. He loved our cabin, the youth program, the characters, the private island with Captain Jack Sparrow, Mickey, Goofy and others. I am so glad I took him at the age of 6 because it truly was magical for him. He loved the pool and waterslide, the endless sodas- including birch beer. He loved the themed restaurants, the buffet, the movie theater. His favorite part was getting the Captains autograph. He loved the shops on board.

 

For my part, I loved how organized the operation is. The check-in was seamless- the disembarkation (no colors just get off when you want.) I highly recommend going once.

 

My next two cruises are on RCL and Celebrity but I'm glad I took my son while he was young enough to enjoy the magic of a Disney cruise.

[arenafan]

Only book disney if everyone in the party is absolutely fanatical with Disney.

[aunursa]

We have sailed on Royal Caribbean and Disney, although my DD is older -- she is now 10. She enjoyed her time in both clubs, but states that she liked the Oceaneers Lab better than Adventure Ocean.

 

ACCOMODATIONS: The DCL staterooms are more family-friendly. Almost all of the staterooms have a sofabed, and many have 4th berth -- that makes the extra berths like a bunk bed. Every stateroom has a bathtub, and most have split bathrooms, which is particularly helpful when one is taking a bath and another family member needs to use the bathroom.

 

DINING: While RCI has a single kids menu for the whole cruise, DCL has a different kids menu for each night. Disney's rotational dining system is innovative, and the kids are particularly fascinated with the Animators Palate show, in which the dining room and everything within (including the staff) gradually transform from black and white to full color as the meal progresses.

 

ACTIVITIES: RCI's Adventure Ocean has five age groups, including 3-5 and 6-8, and generally one activity for each group at a time. DCL's Oceaneer's Club has one age group for 3-7, with generally 2 or 3 activity choices at a time.

 

The Oceaneers Club (DCL) is open 9 AM-12 Midnight. There is no OC charge during this time. Kids that are left in the OC during meal times will be served lunch or dinner.

 

On sea days Adventure Ocean (RCI) is open 9 AM-12 Noon, 2-5 PM, and 7-10 PM. There are additional charges for "lunch and play" ($7.50 for 12-2 PM) on sea days and for the late-night party zone ($6/hour for 10 PM-1 AM). On port days Adventure Ocean is open during the entire time the ship is in port, and there is no "lunch and play" fee. The AO staff provide Adventure dining (they'll take your kids to dinner) on selected nights (generally 3 out of a 7-night cruise) -- this activity is free, but you must register each child on that morning.

 

FACILITIES: Disney ships have kids pools and family pools. The newest ships offer the Aquaduck water coaster, but that may be too intense for younger cruisers. Several RCI ships offer kids pools and/or water parks.

 

CHARACTERS: There are several opportunities to meet the Disney characters and princesses each day. In addition, the characters appear at various events, most notably the Pirates IN the Caribbean Deck Party.

 

Based on RCI's partnership with DreamWorks, guests on Oasis of the Seas, Allure of the Seas, Freedom of the Seas, and Liberty of the Seas can meet characters from the Shrek series (and Puss in Boots), Madagascar, and Kung Fu Panda. A new "How To Train Your Dragon on Ice" show is premiering on some of the ships. The Dreamworks experience will be rolled out to Voyager of the Seas next year.

 

I hope this helps.

[crusinmama06]

WOW talk about a thread back from the dead - when I see that MY KID answered that Carnival was "her FAVORITE" :eek: I knew it had to be years ago. :p LOL!!!!

 

Yeah, since then, she has been on 4 more RCI ships, 2 more Carnival, 1 more Disney and 1 NCL - she has changed her answer. ;)

[aunursa]

WOW talk about a thread back from the dead - when I see that MY KID answered that Carnival was "her FAVORITE" :eek: I knew it had to be years ago. :p LOL!!!!

 

Yeah, since then, she has been on 4 more RCI ships, 2 more Carnival, 1 more Disney and 1 NCL - she has changed her answer. ;)

 

Yeah, I noticed the date AFTER I had composed my reply! :mad:

[Onessa]

WOW talk about a thread back from the dead - when I see that MY KID answered that Carnival was "her FAVORITE" :eek: I knew it had to be years ago. :p LOL!!!!

 

Yeah, since then, she has been on 4 more RCI ships, 2 more Carnival, 1 more Disney and 1 NCL - she has changed her answer. ;)

 

I thought the same thing - found my reply in this thread from February of 2007 where it said my DD was 11YO -- she's now 16 and just got her driver's license! :D

[nessz79]

I must preface this by saying that I have not cruised Disney before, so I can't compare it.

 

We have cruised Carnival twice with our children (soon to be three times) and have thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The kids love Camp Carnival along with the rest of the ship. Camp Carnival will take kids to eat- it's only recommended to pick up your kids, but they will take them to eat if you don't with no problem or extra charge. They charge more after 10 but it's only like $6 an hour...really cheap compared to most babysitters. For us, it's never been a problem because we are early risers and therefore go to bed by 10 or 11, even on cruises.

 

Depending on when you go and where you are going, Disney can be up to twice as much as Carnival (I know because I've compared my current cruise to Disney- same itinerary, same day, etc). For me, it's not worth it.

 

That being said, we love Disney World and we take the kids most years. We are FL residents so if we need to get our Disney fix, we go to the source! ;)

[momof3cruisers]

WOW talk about a thread back from the dead - when I see that MY KID answered that Carnival was "her FAVORITE" :eek: I knew it had to be years ago. :p LOL!!!!

 

Yeah, since then, she has been on 4 more RCI ships, 2 more Carnival, 1 more Disney and 1 NCL - she has changed her answer. ;)

So, what is her favorite line now??

 

My boys did not like Disney cruise line. We are Disney obsessed. We have never gone moe than two years without going to WDW. As we approach the two year mark my children are convinced there is somethign drastically wrong with the world if we don't have a trip planned. :D However we won't go on another DCL cruise. Not worth the money.

 

Food was boring, service in the dining room was boring and not friendly in the least. Cabin was nice but Carnival's are just as big--plus I Can get two connecting cabins on Carnival for WAY less than all 5 of us in one cabin on DCL. Plus they couldn't take my youngest who was two and a half in the regular kids club, only in Neverland or whatever it's called. He was fully potty trained but too little. He referred to the childcare he was in as "the sad baby room." He would go but he hated it. My other son who was 3 at the time was terrified of the kids' club because he didn't want to see characters other than Mickey.

[crusinmama06]

So, what is her favorite line now??

 

I just asked her - she is 11 now, she said "Royal Caribbean because the people in the dining room are nice and the cabin attendants are nice"

 

It's funny because our suite on NCL was AMAZING- I guess the butler should have made a better impression on her because she is still saying "Royal Caribbean". :eek:

 

Oh well, the NCL Kids Crew were angels to my 7 year old so for ME, that is important. :)