Calling all cruising experts...

[MinnesotaChill]

I just got off the Magic. I was my first DCL cruise and only my second overall.

Both very last minute. I booked DCL four days before we sailed. I've never researched cruises.

I LOVED DCL. It was my teenage daughter and I and we went last minute when someone else in an extended families trip couldn't go. We didn't actually get that room, but the fact we might have was what made me look into sailing at the last minute. We joined my sister and her husband with two little boys, 3 & 4, another sister and her husband (no kids) and my parents. My daughter is 16.

The Magic was the perfect ship for us. Plenty for me to do without anyone else (movies, shows, sitting in the adult area where my nephews couldn't get to me, a few trips off the boat and into port, and spending time with the little guys when I wanted to).

Being on the cruise made me remember how much I love cruising and to start dreaming about the next cruise I want to take with my husband. We'd like to do a Mediterranean in 2-3 years when our last kid is in college. Since I've never gotten to do research on ships before, I thought I'd start now. January in MN seems like the perfect time to dream.

When I went on the RCL site I was completely overwhelmed. I love that Disney is simple.

Here's what we're looking for:
Smallish ship. Wonder or Fantasy would be perfect, but I'm wondering if there's a better choice for a empty nest couple.
Great service.
Adult things to do on board while at sea.
Great food.
Neat adult areas.

The RCL ships concern me because they look like an amusement park on top and I feel like they will have a ton of kids, be loud and have some of the nicest spaces full of slides, rock walls, etc.. Since our kids will have newly left the house and we won't yet have grandkids (we'd better not have grandkids), this would be one of our opportunities to sail without those features. They also seem huge.

I realize that the ships could move around, change ports, be in dry dock, etc., but what should I be looking for? A certain class of ship? Should I stay with Disney? I am a former Disney cast member, own DVC and love Disney at heart so I won't be overwhelmed by the theming, I'm just wondering if there's something else we should try before we have grandkids to consider. I also like the idea of less expensive stateroom on another ship.

So what say you, oh cruising experts? Where should I start?

PS: Just to give you full info, our first cruise was Holland America to Alaska. We were in our early thirties and the youngest on board by about 20 years. There was one other couple our age and we wound up playing cards with them all day at sea because there wasn't another blessed thing to do. Great service, okay food, but the "activities" spaces were things like a library and puzzle room. We didn't care much at the time, we were just happy my parents were watching the kids, but I definitely need more to do on future cruises! LOVED Alaska, though!

 

[sam_gordon]

I just got off the Magic. I was my first DCL cruise and only my second overall.

Both very last minute. I booked DCL four days before we sailed. I've never researched cruises.

I LOVED DCL. It was my teenage daughter and I and we went last minute when someone else in an extended families trip couldn't go. We didn't actually get that room, but the fact we might have was what made me look into sailing at the last minute. We joined my sister and her husband with two little boys, 3 & 4, another sister and her husband (no kids) and my parents. My daughter is 16.

The Magic was the perfect ship for us. Plenty for me to do without anyone else (movies, shows, sitting in the adult area where my nephews couldn't get to me, a few trips off the boat and into port, and spending time with the little guys when I wanted to).

Being on the cruise made me remember how much I love cruising and to start dreaming about the next cruise I want to take with my husband. We'd like to do a Mediterranean in 2-3 years when our last kid is in college. Since I've never gotten to do research on ships before, I thought I'd start now. January in MN seems like the perfect time to dream.

When I went on the RCL site I was completely overwhelmed. I love that Disney is simple.

Here's what we're looking for:
Smallish ship. Wonder or Fantasy would be perfect, but I'm wondering if there's a better choice for a empty nest couple.
Great service.
Adult things to do on board while at sea.
Great food.
Neat adult areas.

The RCL ships concern me because they look like an amusement park on top and I feel like they will have a ton of kids, be loud and have some of the nicest spaces full of slides, rock walls, etc.. Since our kids will have newly left the house and we won't yet have grandkids (we'd better not have grandkids), this would be one of our opportunities to sail without those features. They also seem huge.

I realize that the ships could move around, change ports, be in dry dock, etc., but what should I be looking for? A certain class of ship? Should I stay with Disney? I am a former Disney cast member, own DVC and love Disney at heart so I won't be overwhelmed by the theming, I'm just wondering if there's something else we should try before we have grandkids to consider. I also like the idea of less expensive stateroom on another ship.

So what say you, oh cruising experts? Where should I start?

PS: Just to give you full info, our first cruise was Holland America to Alaska. We were in our early thirties and the youngest on board by about 20 years. There was one other couple our age and we wound up playing cards with them all day at sea because there wasn't another blessed thing to do. Great service, okay food, but the "activities" spaces were things like a library and puzzle room. We didn't care much at the time, we were just happy my parents were watching the kids, but I definitely need more to do on future cruises! LOVED Alaska, though!

I am by no means an "expert" (I don't play one on TV and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn last night). I've been on two RCI cruises... one on Oasis just with DW, and we took the kids on Freedom last year. Both were on the Western Caribbean Itinerary.

In your shoes, what I would do is look at what RCI has listed (their listing only go through April of 2016 currently) for Mediterranean sailings. Granted, ships and ports can and probably will change in 2-3 years, but it gives you an idea. I don't see the "mega" ships (Oasis, Allure, Quantum, Anthem) calling the Med home, but I could be wrong. Once you see what ships are in the med at the time of year you're talking about, you can start more research on the ships.

Regarding the bolded, don't the Disney ships have slides, pools, etc on the upper deck? I don't think any RCI ship has water slides. Also, if you're talking about going during the school year, that should cut down the number of kids (doesn't Disney have a bunch of kids sailing ).

You can also look at Celebrity (also owned by RCI, but "a step up" from Royal Caribbean).

 

[MinnesotaChill]

Oh yes, the Magic did have slides, etc., and they were fine, but when looking at the RCI site, it looks like there is a lot more packed up there with rock walls, surfing, etc.. That being said, I know that the "brochure" shots on the website probably make it look much busier and more crazy than it actually is.

My childless sister said she saw less kids on the DCL line than any other she's traveled on because the kids seemed to be in the clubs.

That being said, I don't mind kids at all, I'm just wondering if there are better options we should try for a cruise where kids aren't a consideration for us.

I'd completely forgotten about Celebrity, thanks!

I also remember Kevin and John have a ship they really like. I think it's a newer ship that feels like it has a city or neighborhoods or something. Does anyone know which ship that is? I'm guessing it's one of the huge ones...

 

[holula]

We sailed on Freedom of the Seas recently and I LOVED it. (We are also childless and I found there were far fewer visible kids on other lines than on DCL. There are a lot of kids on Disney.) The Flowrider and rock climbing were way at the back of the ship so they didn't "disjoint" the pool area at all. Because the other lines don't dedicate as much of their space to kids they seem to have more adult things to do and also more pool and deck space.

I also loved NCL Epic. That also had water slides (also fun!) and a rock climbing wall. Epic will be in Europe permanently from April 2015. She is a great ship with tons to do.

I also really enjoyed my cruise on Princess, so either I'm very easy to please or the other lines put out a good product too

That said, if you want to do Europe the itinerary should be your biggest consideration. Figure out which ports you want to visit and THEN look at ships. I believe there is a way on Royal's site to find all cruises that go to a certain port.

The ships that have themed areas are most likely Oasis and Allure as they have a Central Park section and a Boardwalk section.

 

[drb116]

I am not an expert, but I have been on several different ships on 3 different cruise lines. We recently just got off a NYE cruise on Oasis and loved it. Of course there were a lot of kids since it was winter break, but it was no where close to as crowded as Disney.

For adults, the things we loved were all the spaces in the boat, especially places like Central Park. It was so relaxing going down in the morning, getting a bite to eat, and sitting in the park.

Osis was in the Mediterranean last summer and Allure will be there this summer. Speculation is that at least one of the new Oasis class boats will be there (at least in the summers) because right now there is no room in Florida for a third boat at this time.

 

[Laz]

Take a look at the ship reviews over on cruisecritic.com. Also do some research on their forums. I have been on a lot of ships from a lot of lines (RC, Disney, Carnival, NCL, Celebrity), and it sounds to me like Royal or it's sister line, Celebrity would be enjoyable for you. Try looking into the Radiance class of Royal ships.

 

[dunnhorn]

We love DCL... However my parents are planning a family cruise for their 75th birthdays and wanted to save a bit of $ so we were looking at other options. For the timeframe we were traveling, we came down to RCCL Brilliance of the Seas and Celebrity Constellation. Evidently they are owned by the same company.

I did a hard comparison between the two... we liked the itinerary of the Celebrity better, but the RCCL ship just had more for kids. That said, I read a review of Celebrity that there were something like 18 kids (out of 2000) on someone's sailing in May. Another TA told me that the Celebrity ships were incredibly elegant, similar to Holland America.

As far as RCCL goes, we are going on the Brilliance and it looks good. I have also heard of fantastic things about the Jewel and the Vision. HTH

We went on the Oasis a few years ago, and honestly I wasn't crazy about it. Just too big, too much - everything was inward facing and you didn't see the ocean unless you were on the very top deck or in the back.

 

[IamTinkerbell]

I am not a cruise expert although I am booked on 2 one on the Oasis of theSeas and on DCL Wonder.
First the Wonder and the Magic are the smaller ships. The Dream and Fantasy are the larger ships. I love cruising the above mentioned cruises are number 11 & 12. Pros and cons RCCL vs DCL.
Both have adult only areas. Both allow you to bring on some alcohol. DCL whatever you can carry on, RCCL 2 bottles of wine per person checked bag. Cost DCL more expensive ticket less pressure to buy drinks at lounges. RCCL less out of pocket to board more encouragement to buy drinks. Both cruise lines have areas for children.
I am traveling with my husband, no children will love both. I am in the unusual situation of having toured Alaska 2 years in a row with RCCL in 2013 and DCL in 2014. Ok Food goes to RCCL just better sauces. Service DCL by a very slim margin. Fun DCL but I like my Princesses. Loved the sharing table with new friends and the Rotational dining. Both cruise lines know how to handle children in public areas.. RCCL inside pool was nice. Spa operated by same company. If soda is an issue included in DCL price you need a soda card on RCCL.
You can and will have a good time either way. Relax and enjoy! I spread it out my goal cruise all cruise lines.

 

[bumbershoot]

We loved Freedom. It feels about the same size as Dream.

Flow rider and the rock wall aren't just for kids by any means.

We went on a eastern itinerary January of 2014 and there were fewer than 200 kids altogether on the whole ship. Less than that on our October Vision cruise (I believe Vision is the second smallest class). And alaska on a Radiance class ship is incredible.

We find the food to be better on royal.

 

[Frozen2014]

RCL Ships are amazing. One thing with the line is that there are over 20 ships. It sounds like you would want to avoid ones in Oasis and Quantum class but take a look at the other ships. They are a lot smaller (not amusement parks, etc) but still have tons to do. DH and I have been on Disney Magic and were bored when our kids were occupied. We've also been on Voyager and I've been on Grandeur. Excellent service, beautiful ships and great entertainment. And if you don't want the rock wall, etc, then just skip it.

 

[MinnesotaChill]

Frozen2014 - I think you came closest to answering the question I never quite put my finger on...

Is there a place that lists the different types of ships and different lines with y/n columns on them? For example, I am completely overwhelmed by the RCL site since it lists all the ships by class, but I cannot find a good resource for determining the differences between classes let alone ships. Add to that the different cruise lines...

I'd love a good spreadsheet or something that gives the differences without the marketing hype of the cruise line sites.

I guess I'm imagining the ship listed with size and then things like free beverages, adult pool, amusements with rock wall, water slide, etc., ports all listed out... that type of thing.

 

[Frozen2014]

Frozen2014 - I think you came closest to answering the question I never quite put my finger on...

Is there a place that lists the different types of ships and different lines with y/n columns on them? For example, I am completely overwhelmed by the RCL site since it lists all the ships by class, but I cannot find a good resource for determining the differences between classes let alone ships. Add to that the different cruise lines...

I'd love a good spreadsheet or something that gives the differences without the marketing hype of the cruise line sites.

I guess I'm imagining the ship listed with size and then things like free beverages, adult pool, amusements with rock wall, water slide, etc., ports all listed out... that type of thing.

I know how you feel. It's quite overwhelming with so many ships.

There is the main 'Ships' page and you can drill down to each one to see what is listed. (But not sure they list everything). My understanding too, is that ships in the same class will have similar features.

Other thing you can do is do an 'Advanced Search' on RCLs website. On the right hand side you'll see a section for 'Onboard Activities'. If there is something specific you want - or don't want - you can select it and then see what ships are crossed off. For example, if you want Seaplex, then select it, and only Quantum class ships are enabled. Of course this doesn't have all features but it has some. As a tip, I'd select one activity at a time as it combines the two. E.g if you select Seaplex and DreamWorks, it will show you ships that have at least one of those...not both. Or...even easier, select a single ship to see what it offers.

The dining style may influence your decision too. Quantum has Dynamic Dining with soon the introduction or Classic Dynamic Dining (i.e. rotational)
Oasis class has Traditional & My Time....with possibly switching to Dyamic Dining sometime this year. Not sure offhand about other ships but if you only want traditional, then I'd be sure to search for a ship on that. You can always post on cruise critic...very helpful site.

Btw...RCL doesn't include drinks like Disney...except for a few at breakfast or lunch (check thread on this topic)