Disney vs all others

[wernew2cruising]

In talking about amenities, what is the Disney difference? Staterooms/cabins larger, gratutities included, sodas included? Those kind of things? Will adults without kids have just a good of a time on a disney cruise? Thanks for your answers!

 

PS I love Disney...dh and I use to work at a Disney Store before they were not disney any more.

[metrowon]

You and dh, worked for Disney's store's, then you realize how Disney does things. We have done Disney cruises, 5x's, two with children. This October we will do our 6th cruise. It's just really comfortable for us. We don't miss the Casino aspect of a cruise, nor the really HARD Partiers. We've found almost no problems with the staff, or accomodations. The food is fine, maybe not outstanding, but still very good. I have tried many differant Entree's, on board that I would not try at home, and have enjoyed many of them. On board the entertainment is outstanding, with the live shows, and movies. The adult activities, are fun and entertaining. And all of the children, just seem to dissapear, or are just generally well behaved and Happy. Over 28 day's of cruising has a child's behavior, or lack of respect upset us. I have never witnessed a Tantrum, from children, or parent. As far as the differance in price, Disney is slightly more, maybe 25%-35% more. If you decide on Disney, once aboard, you may find 60-75% of the person's on-board are repeat cruiser's with Disney. That speaks for itself and the price differance. Go and have a cruise Experiance, not just a cruise. Metrowon

[Mean Queen]

Disney is all about service, whether it's on land or sea. From the waiters that follow you each night to your stateroom host to the kids club staff, these workers get to know you and your kids (if you have some with you.) We just did the Wonder in May and have a Carnival cruise planned in July. The things I know I'll miss when on the Carnival are the free soda station, the baby sitting available all day for my 1 year old, the $10 fee vs. $30 for the adult only restaurant, and all the Disney Magic like the shows, the characters, and the Disney island. If you go without kids, there is plenty to do. They have very nice adults only night clubs, Palo's, and even an adult only beach on Castaway Cay called Serenity Bay. Like Metrowon said, you're paying for more than just a cruise, it's a Disney magic experience.

[cruiserbryce]

Disney is a great cruise line. The staterooms are a bit larger than the average size rooms on the other lines. We cruised almost 2 years ago on the wonder and the sodas were included. Gratuities are not...I think you would be hard pressed to find any line that includes tips in their base fair. Some TA's set it up so that the tips are pre paid...but still extra over your fair. Disney, at least for now, still seems to havethe best programs for kids, and without a casino, which depending on what you want could be good or bad. But in the end you get what you pay for...you pay a higher price for a premium product

[metrowon]

IT"S SPECIAL! And before you walk on, you are in their own terminal. If Disney is missing anything, I'm not awre of it, after 5 cruises. Plan on re-booking on-board. Metrowon

[cruiserbryce]

If Disney is missing anything, I'm not awre of it

 

How about a casino...or anything else that resembles late night activities. Since it is so family oriented and kid friendly you sacrifice the 2 or 3am activities you get on some other lines

[edan]

I have to admit, I am not a big gambler at all, but I missed the casino.

I found the stateroom layout to be really inconvienent, I think CCL's layout is much better. I also didn't like the separate layout of the bathrooms. Don't know why,seems really idea to have it that way, but I found myself going back and forth between the two rooms for stuff I'd left in the other room.

Hands down, DCL is great for the small children. The little magic tricks and origami the servers did each night for the kids was neat. You can't beat the shows. Talent is great. I did miss the live band as all the music is played over a track. But the shows were GREAT.

The staff was friendly, much friendlier than at the Polynesian where we stayed before out cruise. Yikes, no friendly "Ohana" there! LOL. We barely got one "Aloha" the four days were were there.

[metrowon]

How about a casino...or anything else that resembles late night activities. Since it is so family oriented and kid friendly you sacrifice the 2 or 3am activities you get on some other lines

Just tell me what I'm missing at 3:00 am. in the morning? Is it the Ice Show, or Rock Cligming Wall, or the bar's on-board. Do ther lines actually offer something to do at 3:00 am. If so, please let me know! Metrowon

[wernew2cruising]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I still don't know if the extra $$$$ are really worth it. That is what I am trying to figure out. I know Disney and the Disney experience but is the "experience" really worth approx $1500 more? That is what we are wrestling with.

[falconfan]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I still don't know if the extra $$$$ are really worth it. That is what I am trying to figure out. I know Disney and the Disney experience but is the "experience" really worth approx $1500 more? That is what we are wrestling with.

Yes! We just got back from RCCL Mariner and vowed that our next would be back on Disney. The food is better, the shows are better, the service is better. The biggest misconception is that Disney is only for families. Well we saw more kids, and unruly ones at that, onboard Mariner then we did on Disney. If we had to do it over again we would have spent the extra moeny and gone Disney.

[lagbunch8]

is the "experience" really worth approx $1500 more? That is what we are wrestling with.

 

It was for us. We were booked on the Mariner(which I have sailed and very much enjoyed--without kids) we had 2 balcony cabins on deck 9 and we went to 2 cat 9s on deck 2 to do DCL. It was $1000 more to switch to DCL. We did not regret it. We had the perfect family "experience" for us. We even booked again for next year when we thought we were just going to try DCL once. I know what Carnival and RCCL have to offer and for us it is worth the extra $ to take our kids on DCL. My kids would have no interest in the shows on the other lines. Heck-I don't even like them lol. We all enjoyed the shows on the Magic. We found the food to be good and the service even better. There were many family activities to do and we were never bored.We had no complaints --really! The one down side I could see others say is that the pool areas are pretty small and busy on DCL but, we have a pool and live in FL. We are not cruising for the pools. My kids went crazy over the water slide though.:) DH and I sat at the Mickey pool and watched our kids have fun. We were happy with that. We could hang at the adults only pool when the kids went to the clubs (we only did that for 1 hour the whole week). We were in it for a family vacation and it was fantastic.

 

Would DH and I take this cruise without kids. No. That is my .02.

 

 

Mary

[lagbunch8]

Just tell me what I'm missing at 3:00 am. in the morning? Is it the Ice Show, or Rock Cligming Wall, or the bar's on-board. Do ther lines actually offer something to do at 3:00 am. If so, please let me know! Metrowon

 

Drinking in the casino and pizza. The bars and clubs close at 2am. You can usually get served until close to 4am at the pizza place on Carnival.

[firefly333]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I still don't know if the extra $$$$ are really worth it. That is what I am trying to figure out. I know Disney and the Disney experience but is the "experience" really worth approx $1500 more? That is what we are wrestling with.

 

Im reading and everyone only says so far about if you have kids which we dont. We just booked a Disney 7 day cruise. We dont gamble or drink so the adults only they mentioned we wouldnt do anyway.

 

We just want to see what the Disney experience is. Two adults over 50 who dont drink or gamble, I hope we are ok and its fun for us too.

 

Do they have movies or something else during the day to go to like other cruises? We are both kids at heart and grew up on Disney.

 

I read a post above saying the food was not as good, how does it compare to say Princess or Carnival. I was not really impressed with RCI's so that should not be too hard to beat. So far Princess is my favorite.

[dthogue]

Im reading and everyone only says so far about if you have kids which we dont. We just booked a Disney 7 day cruise. We dont gamble or drink so the adults only they mentioned we wouldnt do anyway.

quote]

 

I'm sure you will have a great time. The nightly shows are top quality and very entertaining. They do have a very nice, large movie threatre that shows movies during the day and into the evening. They also so movies on the large screen outside on Deck 9.

 

Throughout the day they offer adults many activities liek wine tasting, napkin folding, towel animals, gallery tour, walking tours and much more.

 

The adults only pool area is also nice.

 

Tammy

[edan]

YES! The adults only area is top notch! My DH and I only went into the area once and did not stay long, as it rained every day of our trip and was very windy. I would have LOVED the adults only pool had the weather been nice. That area was so peaceful and nice and the perfect place to relax. Your in the minority as most ppl will have children on the boat and not venture into your area.

I think you'll really enjoy your cruise!

[J9sling]

We've been on the DCL Magic and the RCCI Mariner of the Seas. Both were wonderful ships with very friendly staff and equal quality food (IMO).

 

Both ships have their advantages and disadvantages. Both would be wonderful cruises for those with kids and those without.

 

Disney is definitely more dollars (when is Disney not more?) but you definitely feel the "magic" on the ship. If the Disney experience is something you would like to try and you have the budget then go for it at least once. We are glad we did. After going on the Mariner and seeing what another ship has to offer we have just decided that we like cruising on nice ships and would like to try more than one.

 

One thing you can count on is a good cruising experience with the Disney line. With the others you probably will need to read the reviews on each individual ship before you decide. If there is one thing Disney is, they are very consistent on their ships in regards to service and amenities. The same cannot be said for the other lines.

 

I know that we will probably choose either RCCL Voyager or Freedom class ships when traveling with our kids just because they had as much (if not more) fun on the Mariner than on the Disney Magic (for far fewer dollars in today's prices). Without kids the options are endless!

[J9sling]

Something else I forgot to mention. Obviously, my DH and I compared the two cruises and our conclusion was that both likely equal out as far as pros and cons (staterooms, service, kids programs, ship decor, amenities, food quality, etc.) but the big difference comes down to price. With Disney you are paying the extra money simply for the Disney experience. We loved experiencing the "magic". It is up to you if paying the extra money for that, and that alone, is worth it.

[stewieL]

We were on the Magic 2 years ago...with grandkids (6 and almost 4 at the time). Very brave...their parents were cruising the Med.

 

We were told by TA...be prepared to be surprised. We were. Absolutely a classy ship....great service.....of course kid friendly...but adult friendly too. The shows are outstanding. How can you entertain adults and kids with a comedy act? Ask Disney.

 

The real secret is the quality of the food...and the restaurant service. Think about how ingenious they are. We have cruised RC, Cunard (QM 2), Regent, Holland America, Carnival, Celebrity......so I can tell you the food is as good or better than any of them. There are 3 restaurants with 2 seatings each. That means 6 groups go to dinner. 2400 passengers divided by 6 is 400 people in the room....but half are kids...they eat pizza, chicken fingers, burgers and hot dogs, and the waiters get them their stuff quick by the second night....so...you have a restaurant with 200 adults! Only 200 dinners being made in that restaurnat's kitchen....compare that with a 1400 or 1800 or 2000 person ship with a main dining room and only 2 seatings. Never got a bad meal on the Magic.

 

So...here we go...taking all (daughters and husbands and grandkids) on the Wonder this summer.

 

Is it worth the $$$$$ Absolutely.

 

Stewart

[Steamboatin]

It is a Mickey Mouse operation with too durn many kids.

[Mean Queen]

Disney plays Disney movies in a theater next to the nursery. Call about a week before you go to see what movies are being played. They generally play what's in theaters currently or most recently. As a Disney fanatic, I would go on this cruise in a heartbeat without my kids (when they're older and wouldn't get mad at us of course.) I'd love to sit by the adult pool all day, get treatments at the spa or have a massage in the cabanas at Castaway Cay and enjoy the special buffet at Serenity Bay. The nightly shows are of such high quality, especially if you love Disney. I think the food was very good, especially at Palo's. My only complaint was no lobster on the 3 or 4 night.