Disney Announces Two New Cruise Ships Coming 2021,2022, and 2023

I myself have never been on a cruise. My uncle is an avid RCCL cruiser. I also have some friends that have done Disney Cruises. I haven't heard a bad review of either. The Disunplugged team travels often on both DCL and RCCL and say that DCL is first in their opinion with RCCL at a close second. I think the overwhelming thing people say is Disney is better for families than Royal but service is very close between the two. Disney is expensive to begin with and I see why they go to the Caribbean so much, because they have Castaway Cay there and its the cheapest option really. We have looked into a Disney Cruise but for a family of five its about double what it is to go to WDW for a week and stay at a moderate.
True, it's more expensive but all your food (except for Palo and Remy), non alcoholic beverages and most shipboard activities are included in the price. Also it's much less crowded and you don't need to make ADRs. And regardless of whether you have an inside cabin or the 2 bedroom suite, you get the same treatment and level of service.
 
Spirit says the ships were originally supposed to come 2018 and 2019 but that changed and they likely will play the 2021 one off as part of the WDW 50th. He also still says the names will be Spirit and Imagination.
 
Spirit says the ships were originally supposed to come 2018 and 2019 but that changed and they likely will play the 2021 one off as part of the WDW 50th. He also still says the names will be Spirit and Imagination.

There is absolutely no possible way Disney could have had a ship completed for 2018 with the orders and options from Royal Caribbean et al, Norwegian and Carnival et al. I mean Viking alone has the Italian yard at Fincantieri booked pretty solid until 2021. Meyer is Royal Caribbean's preferred yard.
 


I think it's good. I think they are actually running out of capacity. Having been on both DCL and RCCL, I like them both for different reasons. DCL is way more expensive and offers very little in terms of repeat customer appreciation. However, generally, DCL far exceeds RCCL for kids activities. I actually liked the shows better on DCL too. I am not a big musical fan, but they feel higher quality than RCCL. I do sometimes like the comedians on RCCL. I like that there is no casino, mainly because the cigarette smoke seems to invade every part of the ship:rolleyes: The itineraries on DCL are a little blah, but the Western Caribbean is pretty much what families want to do anyway. I thought the service was better on DCL too. I have not eaten at the signature restaurants on RCCL, but I can't imagine most of the other cruise lines beating Remy. If it's just DH and I, I would probably do RCCL due to cost, and plus, a bunch of kids running around isn't exactly very romantic. I dislike the adult area on DCL very much, because kids are always in it. I also felt the pools were small and that they don't have enough hot tubs. However, DS loved the pools on DCL. Love the movie theater on DCL. I like the way that DCL does the shore excursion by leaving as a group from the ship. It felt much more organized, and I didn't feel as stressed about missing our excursion. The Pirate Buffet was disappointing compared to the midnight buffet on RCCL. Main dining room food is similar, but DCL MDRs are more entertaining.
 
There is absolutely no possible way Disney could have had a ship completed for 2018 .
I think the 2018 date was when Spirit first telling us DCL was adding two ships and not the recent announcement. I know he was saying this in June of 2013. Not sure if any earlier.
 
There is absolutely no possible way Disney could have had a ship completed for 2018 with the orders and options from Royal Caribbean et al, Norwegian and Carnival et al. I mean Viking alone has the Italian yard at Fincantieri booked pretty solid until 2021. Meyer is Royal Caribbean's preferred yard.
Yes, that is true that is why Disney had to push it back to 2021. They would've wanted ships sooner but the yard was booked.
 


Can you experienced cruises give me some advice? I keep reading how much more Disney is and think I am doing something wrong with my calculations.

Honestly I have cruised Disney 4 times already and am probably ok with paying a bit more because we really enjoy ourselves but that nagging feeling that you are getting ripped off is always in the back of your mind. The entertainment is great. The ship is super clean. The people are the best. The food is good. It's my daughter and I, she is getting older now so we are almost kid adverse and like getting a balcony cabin to "escape"... probably not ideal Disney candidates but we love their "entertainment" and culture so much.

So we are going on a Disney cruise this May - only a quick 3 night trip. Total cost with insurance, transfers and tax was $1,830 for two... with a 5E cabin - bed, couch and balcony.... I am on the RCCL site now and cruising the exact same nights.... basically the same ports of call (Nassau & a private island) and what they call a Jr suite (bed, couch and balcony) is $2,011 - that includes fare, tax, and insurance - no transfers....

I was on a Norwegian cruise this past summer with my sister and her family and felt we were getting nickeled and dimed... paying extra for 'signature' dining.... then an add on for soft drinks.... She was in charge of the affair but it scared the crap out of me... I was afraid to order anything.

Am I comparing dissimilar cabins??? Are there other tricks to saving money??? What are some of the "hidden" charges other cruise lines would charge for that may not be know to an inexperienced cruiser?
 
I wasn't happy with the dream...so these will be Interesting to see from a design standpoint.

They can go ahead and skip the aquaduck

LOL. OF COURSE you don't like DCL. How predictable.

We cruised on the Dream about 10 months ago. It was awesome! Yes, it was expensive, but I got the trip as a perk. Was it a "value" as compared to other cruise lines? I don't know - but it is different. Value is something for an individual to decide. ...but the AquaDuck was GREAT! :)
 
LOL. OF COURSE you don't like DCL. How predictable.

We cruised on the Dream about 10 months ago. It was awesome! Yes, it was expensive, but I got the trip as a perk. Was it a "value" as compared to other cruise lines? I don't know - but it is different. Value is something for an individual to decide. ...but the AquaDuck was GREAT! :)

You're being ridiculously dismissive...

And you covered most of the reason why I was "unimpressed". The cost difference didn't come close to the service or experience difference it should have.

I'm definitely going to try it again. But there's obvious groupthink when it comes to this because of the label on the bucket.

And the aquaduck was about as quick paced as small world...
...which is a criticism of wdw travelers: nothing is objectively judged on its merits, it's "great" just because it's there
 
You're being ridiculously dismissive...

And you covered most of the reason why I was "unimpressed". The cost difference didn't come close to the service or experience difference it should have.

I'm definitely going to try it again. But there's obvious groupthink when it comes to this because of the label on the bucket.

And the aquaduck was about as quick paced as small world...
...which is a criticism of wdw travelers: nothing is objectively judged on its merits, it's "great" just because it's there
Question

What were you expecting from the aquaduck? I would imagine it wasn't fast because they want you to enjoy the ride and the views because it's a water slide on a cruise ship not a slide at typhoon lagoon.
 
We cruised on the Disney Magic in '99 and last July on the Carnival Sensation.
Having enjoyed both, it's hard for us to justify paying the huge difference in price for similar itineraries.

While Disney does have their own island and the shows are better, we didn't notice a big discrepancy in other areas like food, service, activities or even stateroom accommodations.

If Disney was just a little bit higher in cost, it might be worth it to choose them for our next cruise, but there's not enough difference and value to do it with the pricing as it is.
 
Question

What were you expecting from the aquaduck? I would imagine it wasn't fast because they want you to enjoy the ride and the views because it's a water slide on a cruise ship not a slide at typhoon lagoon.

I certainly wasn't expecting thrills...

But this was basically flat and as always...kinda ruined by attempts to be "all inclusive"

Actually the aquaduck wasn't my biggest complaint on deck...I think the pools were of smaller size - at least perceived - than those on most celebrity and Royal Caribbean ships. Not well designed to meet their target demographic.

I liked the ship and its features...it was a quality cruiseline. Food was not very good frankly - and that is a big part of any ship.

For the price...it wasn't the best. And while "value" may be relative...DCL is approximately a 100% upcharge in many cases. At somepoint the numbers win out over opinion.
 
Spirit says the ships were originally supposed to come 2018 and 2019 but that changed and they likely will play the 2021 one off as part of the WDW 50th. He also still says the names will be Spirit and Imagination.

I'm just curious has Spirit ever reported a positive rumor? :D
 
What do you mean by positive?

Call me cynical but it seems like any time he (it's possible it's a woman but based on some of the misogynistic language I've seen I'd say HE is a safe bet) reports rumors everything has a negative spin to it. His hatred (there's really no other word for it) of Disney management is obvious and I don't trust rumors that come from such a biased source. Seems like details might just be omitted to fit the argument.
 
Call me cynical but it seems like any time he (it's possible it's a woman but based on some of the misogynistic language I've seen I'd say HE is a safe bet) reports rumors everything has a negative spin to it. His hatred (there's really no other word for it) of Disney management is obvious and I don't trust rumors that come from such a biased source. Seems like details might just be omitted to fit the argument.
Yeah that is true he is typically very negative. I think it's because he has a strong dislike for Iger because he's kind of neglected WDW in many ways.
 
Nice that they're building two more cruise ships, but I would rather have heard about two new parks opening.
 
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Yeah that is true he is typically very negative. I think it's because he has a strong dislike for Iger because he's kind of neglected WDW in many ways.

If I had to describe a burnout Disney employee who has been around too long...this description above would hit the bullseye
 

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