If not DCL, then who would you cruise with?

[Club Disney Chandler]

What did your teems think of vista? Would they prefer it to DCL also?

They absolutely like it more than DCL. We actually had to really talk our daughter into giving Carnival a try, she was 15 on our first CCL cruise and she is Carnivals number one fan in our family. She absolutely loved the teen club and they both think the food choices are far superior on Carnival, I have to agree on that one. They have more fun at the night time shows too. Also, bear in mind, they both love DCL and Disneyland still.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

Carnival Vista. Favorite kids club ever. Better than Disney cruise line and we are still Disney lovers, do wdw every year.

 

[Minnie368]

We have our first cruise coming up in April with DCL. I know DCL is more expensive but wanted to go at least once. Have been looking at other lines- particularly Royal- but when I look at the restaurants it seems like so many cost extra. I like knowing on DCL all the restaurants are included except Palo and Remy which we don’t care to go to at least for now. Am I reading it all wrong? Once I’m on the ship I don’t want to be worried about where o can and can’t eat.

 

[cariann77]

I was just pricing Royal Caribbean. Their newer ships are amazing! So much different stuff to do - slides, ice skating, escape room, water slides, zip line, etc. I ended up going with DCL again mostly because my tweens are really looking forward to having some freedom and being at the teen clubs. I realize that anything can happen anywhere, but I feel more comfortable with them on DCL than Royal Caribbean at their age. For our family of 5, I priced Royal Caribbean at about $6300 on their newest ship for 7-day Eastern Caribbean in June 2019. I couldn't come close to that price on DCL for June (used 2018 June prices to compare). We opted for 7-night in May on DLC and it's running us over $8,000.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

If not DCL, then who would you cruise with?

As noted in my signature, we've cruised with Princess, Holland America and Carnival. Have enjoyed every one of them. Also did a Vantage river cruise in Europe.

We're hoping to add many other lines in the future.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

We have our first cruise coming up in April with DCL. I know DCL is more expensive but wanted to go at least once. Have been looking at other lines- particularly Royal- but when I look at the restaurants it seems like so many cost extra. I like knowing on DCL all the restaurants are included except Palo and Remy which we don’t care to go to at least for now. Am I reading it all wrong? Once I’m on the ship I don’t want to be worried about where o can and can’t eat.

There is just a LOT more choice on Royal, both included and what you pay extra for. When we went on the Anthem, there was the main dining restaurants. Windjammer buffet, also open for dinner. Healthy buffet in the adults only solarium. Sorentos - 24 hr pizza. Soup and salad and panini place called Cafe@Two70. Cafe promenade that has sandwiches, sweets and coffee.
Hot dog place. These were all included. I’m probably missing something.
Then on top of this Anthem had several options that cost extra, I think 4 or 5 specialty restaurants, La Patisserie (serves Starbucks and pastries), Johnny Rockets burgers... I can’t remember all.
So when you look at their paid options you may think... wow look at all you have to pay for...
But I look at as having the choice.
That includes the complimentary. Look at all you DON’T have to pay for.

 

[Norma Cook]

I started looking into other cruise lines for our family also. Love Disney but kids getting older and of course the price. A quick google gave me list of ships that are family friendly for each carrier. I would definitely look at the family friendly ships for each carrier to avoid Booze cruises. More likely to have lots of kids on it too if it's know to be family friendly. I think Carnival has 4 ships recommended for family. RCCL have maybe 3, along with other carriers too.

 

[disneyholic family]

royal caribbean

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

When our boys are teens we would love to take them on those National Geographic ships to Alaska or the Galapagos. But while they are little DCL is the only line we are considering for Alaska 2019. We don't take cruises to the Caribbean or Europe. I did the Greek islands once when I was single but that was with a Greek cruise line.

 

[nerdboyrockstar]

NCL or Royal. Don't know how they came out ahead of DCL in this ranking by CruiseCritic but they did:

https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=2

 

[momof2n2]

We’ve done NCL Getaway (in signature) and have an NCL Breakaway booked. We almost did MSC seaside this year, but canceled because we are instead going to road trip to Disneyland. I very much want to try Freedom class of RCCI, and either Carnival Vista or Carnival Magic.

 

[momof2n2]

NCL or Royal. Don't know how they came out ahead of DCL in this ranking by CruiseCritic but they did:

https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=2

We had a wonderful time on a 4-N on DCL in 2014, but wonder if there’s really enough to do a 7-N. NCL had five waterslides, a rock climbing wall, minigolf, ropes course that was out of this world, a bungee trampoline, and this other attractions they call the spiderweb or something. That’s on top of the kids club, which my kids aged three through 12 loved; teens didn’t do club.
There is a lot to do on these other lines...

 

[FindingTheMouse]

We've done 2 cruises, one with Royal Caribben and the other with Carnival. The Royal Caribbean was a short 4 night Bahamas cruise and was fun but was on the oldest ship in the Royal fleet at that time, Majesty of the Seas. We did a 6 nighter on Carnival Breeze, which was there newest ship at that time, and it was great. Since one was the oldest at the time and the other was the newest it is hard to compare, but we preferred the Carnival cruise. Now we are going to to another Roycal Caribbean cruise this fall to Bermuda on the Serenade of the Seas. Another older ship.
We'd love to do a DCL cruise some day but at double or more the price of the other lines it will probably be a while. Royal and Carnival aren't that much different from each other. Carnival is dubbed the "Fun Ships" and we felt the staff was more lively and fun. Carnival has been trying to change their image to be more family friendly and their newer ships show that. Any cruise line will be a "booze cruise" on the 3 or 4 night stints to the Bahamas. Also depends on the time of year you go. If you go during college spring breaks you'll probably find more of a party atmosphere as well.

 

[OKW Lover]

We are Platinum Castaway Club types and we've decided that RCL is a really good choice too. Still love DCL and the whole atmosphere on board those ships. But I also appreciate a lower cost, more options cruise.

 

[cadien]

Celebrity’s teen club looks amazing. They give them GoPros to use in port and then teach them how to edit the movies.

 

[cruiser21]

Carnival would be my first choice for the Caribbean and NCL for Europe.

 

[deanimal]

We've done DCL four times with little ones (age 1-7) and had a great time but our kids favourite cruise of all time was on the Norwegian Breakaway when they were 6 and 8. Great kids club, lots of activities for my daredevil daughter like bungy trampoline, rock climbing, ropes course, mini golf, etc. The shows weren't nearly as good or family friendly, but in everything else we'd say the cruise was as good or better than DCL. We're trying RCCL this fall as well. I agree that it's hard to beat Disney for the little ones, but as we get older we just feel that the value just isn't there anymore.

One note though, if you can only do the short cruises, I get the sense that DCL is heads and shoulders above the other lines that offer 3 and 4 day cruises. It seems that the "booze cruise" stereotype is alive and well on most other lines. Not that everyone behaves perfectly on Disney either! But for 7 day and more cruises, we've moved on from Disney and are finding great value on other lines.

 

[DisneyPiPhi]

We are relatively new to cruising and have only been on DCL. (Well, does the Big Red Boat count? If so, I also cruised at ages 5 and 8!) We loved DCL and will do some more Disney cruises in the future for sure.

We are looking at Alaska in 2019 and 2020 and will likely sail Princess because of their itineraries and great Alaska programming.

 

[tlynk]

I recommend Viking Ocean or River cruises when it's adults only.

This is good to know for adult only cruises. I don't hear much about Viking Ocean or River cruises. I'll have to look into them.

 

[mevelandry]

I am looking at cruises for next year and find we are getting priced out of DCL for our family of 5. I was wondering what other cruise lines you have had good experiences with for family-friendly cruising. My kids are ages 9-14, and we have only ever been on Carnival a long time ago. Any tips on who to look at, and who to avoid would be really appreciated. We would either depart from Galveston or Port Canaveral. Thanks!

We sailed with DCL before we tried Carnival. Honestly we were not disappointed at all! Carnival really took a "family-friendly" turn in the last years... Especially on the new ships (Vista & Horizon). I would highly recommend them.

Next cruise line we're trying will be Royal Caribbean and I am shocked by what they offer compared to DCL. The Quantum and Oasis class ships look amazing. Can't wait to try them.