If you couldn't afford a Disney cruise....

[kalc12345]

We took a 4 day Disney cruise 3 weeks ago. It was our first family cruise and we LOVED it!!! We loved it so much we wanted to do another cruise, but a longer one...like a 7 night.

While on the cruise we checked into booking another Disney one but the prices were way more than we wanted to spend..even with the on board booking discount.

After we got home I started looking at different cruise lines and I think we are going to try Royal Caribbean. They seem to be very family friendly. They even have Dreamworks characters on the ships and do character breakfasts and such.

They do have family suites but I called this morning to get prices and found that it will be cheaper to get two connecting rooms. As soon as my husband gets home and I confirm it with him I am booking us Royal Caribbean cruise for next year

 

[luv2sleep]

I just talked to someone from RC and she said that the newer ships, Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas are the best. There are family/kid activities on board. Those are the ships with the carousels. I am in the process of potentially holding a reservation for an NCL trip in Hawaii for next Christmas. I checked out the NCL website and there are lots of family activities. Looks like lots of fun. There are no sea days on this trip so we won't probably even need them to be that entertained anyway. What hooked me is seeing Kauai's Napali coast from the ship! Talk about breath taking and no need to book a rocky snorkel cruise to see it! The price plus airfare is similar to Disney. No long sea days though so that's missing. However, this cruise is offered pretty much year round unlike DCL's Hawaii trip so we can go during the summer or winter breaks! Big plus.

 

[PrincessTrisha]

I have a question for those who have sailed with Carnival.. is it a "party" ship? I have heard so many things about all the party goers, drinkers, people just wanting to hook up, etc. that it turned me away and I decided I would never sail with them.. and then we booked our 1st Disney cruise (4 months to go!) Do you all feel the same way? Is it just full of these type of people or is it a more family friendly "vibe" like Disney puts off?

I've sailed 3 times with Carnival (including spring break and end of summer) and didn't get that vibe AT ALL.

I saw more families, more seniors, and more people having plain, ordinary FUN than drinking or bad behaviour.

They do have a great dance club on each ship though which stays open till 2 or 3 in the morning, kareoke, superstar live kareoke (where you sing with a live band), comedy clubs, live "vegas style" shows, and a piano bar so you can have fun in the evenings and things don't shut down after 10pm.....

 

[MarcyIn Florida]

Which cruise line offers a similar amount (or close to) of family activities outside of the kids clubs similar to how DCL does. I tried to ask this question on cruise critic but have not received the answer to this specific question. I just keep hearing that the kids like the clubs on the other lines. I don't plan to use them much. I am considering cruises with several sea days but want to pick a ship that offers lots for my son and I to do together on those days. So far that only seems to exist on Disney.

I think your question is a great one, and it's a question that most people don't ask.

My opinion is that the answer is none. We've cruised Carnical, RCCL, DCL, HAL, and Norweigan, and DCL hands down kills the competition in terms of activities on the ship.

We cruised RCCL to Alaska last year and it was amazing -- we were in a concierge-level suite that was bigger than most apartments I've lived in, and it cost about the same as a non-sale DCL Caribbean cruise. I would cruise RCCL again in a heartbeat, especially because we received such spectacular treatment in the suite.

That being said, we were kind of bored on sea days on RCCL. There were a few fantastic activities, but they were few and far between (for my family's tastes, anyway). On the contrary, when we're on DCL, we have to miss activities because we simply can't be in two (or three) places at once.

We're going on another DCL cruise in 2 days because I want my kids to experience the magic again before they outgrow it. I suspect I'll feel more crowded, less pampered, and not eat as well as we did on our last (RCCL) cruise, but I think the entertainment and the activities on DCL will trump some of the things we loved on RCCL.

 

[luv2sleep]

I think your question is a great one, and it's a question that most people don't ask.

My opinion is that the answer is none. We've cruised Carnical, RCCL, DCL, HAL, and Norweigan, and DCL hands down kills the competition in terms of activities on the ship.

We cruised RCCL to Alaska last year and it was amazing -- we were in a concierge-level suite that was bigger than most apartments I've lived in, and it cost about the same as a non-sale DCL Caribbean cruise. I would cruise RCCL again in a heartbeat, especially because we received such spectacular treatment in the suite.

That being said, we were kind of bored on sea days on RCCL. There were a few fantastic activities, but they were few and far between (for my family's tastes, anyway). On the contrary, when we're on DCL, we have to miss activities because we simply can't be in two (or three) places at once.

We're going on another DCL cruise in 2 days because I want my kids to experience the magic again before they outgrow it. I suspect I'll feel more crowded, less pampered, and not eat as well as we did on our last (RCCL) cruise, but I think the entertainment and the activities on DCL will trump some of the things we loved on RCCL.

That's what I figured. From their website, NCL looks like it has a lot of family activities but there are no sea days on this trip anyway (the one I referred to earlier). If I were to take a cruise with sea days though I'd rather be on DCL. I have reviewed the Navigators and when I did I realized also that there would be so many things to do that I wouldn't be able to do them all. That's the kind of thing I want on a cruise if I am going to be stuck on a ship all day. I did a 14 day cruise through the Panama Canal as a teenager and was so bored on sea days. By day 10 I was ready to get off and go home. So, I know what it's like and don't want to experience that again.

 

[AGMOM]

Luv2Sleep,

My husband & I took the 7 night NCL Hawaiian Cruise with our 9 year old daughter summer 2010. We have been wanting to go to Hawaii for years. We love cruising and hoped Disney would offer a cruise there one day. We've been on 3 Disney cruises, 2 Princess, SS Independence (no longer sailing) & now 1 NCL. We got tired if waiting, so decided to plan a Hawaiian cruise. Of course, now Disney offers one. We live in Florida, so it was a long trip there for us. We decided to stay 5 extra nights there since we were going so far. With that being said, we had to go in the summer because my daughter couldn't miss 2 weeks of school. So we started searching. The ONLY cruise offered during the summer months was NCL Pride of America. So if we wanted a summer Hawaiian cruise....that was it. I read terrible reviews forvthis company, especially for this ship. We really debated just flying to one island or doing the cruise. But we just love cruising so much & wanted to see several islands during our trip. So we went for the cruise....not expecting it to be comparable to Disney. Well, it was as we thought....a let down. The boat is a smaller, older ship. Not really much to do. There are pools & shows (which were ok), but that was it. They did have a kid's club my daughter went to, but it didn't seem that exciting compared to Disney. The food and especially SERVICE was terrible from the very 1st day. Disney treats their cruisers like royalty. The employees on this ship could care less. From the 1st time we went to go eat I felt like I was bothering the employees when asking a question or interrupting their inappropriate conversation in the middle of the dining area. It didn't seen like they have a whole lot of fun activities on the boat to do. I mean, there wetware couple things we found that were neat...made a lei. The food was just ok, but of course they had a few things that we liked...chocolate fondu. You have to buy a soda package...I like that Disney offers free soda/coffee stations. All in all, the ship was what we had expected. Now Hawaii was beautiful! We loved visiting all if the islands, experiencing what they had to offer through the shore excursions. We loved the hotels we stayed in and enjoyed the extra time we had there on the Waikiki beaches. I absolutely LOVED Hawaii & plan to return again...just not on NCL.

 

[luv2sleep]

Luv2Sleep,

My husband & I took the 7 night NCL Hawaiian Cruise with our 9 year old daughter summer 2010. We have been wanting to go to Hawaii for years. We love cruising and hoped Disney would offer a cruise there one day. We've been on 3 Disney cruises, 2 Princess, SS Independence (no longer sailing) & now 1 NCL. We got tired if waiting, so decided to plan a Hawaiian cruise. Of course, now Disney offers one. We live in Florida, so it was a long trip there for us. We decided to stay 5 extra nights there since we were going so far. With that being said, we had to go in the summer because my daughter couldn't miss 2 weeks of school. So we started searching. The ONLY cruise offered during the summer months was NCL Pride of America. So if we wanted a summer Hawaiian cruise....that was it. I read terrible reviews forvthis company, especially for this ship. We really debated just flying to one island or doing the cruise. But we just love cruising so much & wanted to see several islands during our trip. So we went for the cruise....not expecting it to be comparable to Disney. Well, it was as we thought....a let down. The boat is a smaller, older ship. Not really much to do. There are pools & shows (which were ok), but that was it. They did have a kid's club my daughter went to, but it didn't seem that exciting compared to Disney. The food and especially SERVICE was terrible from the very 1st day. Disney treats their cruisers like royalty. The employees on this ship could care less. From the 1st time we went to go eat I felt like I was bothering the employees when asking a question or interrupting their inappropriate conversation in the middle of the dining area. It didn't seen like they have a whole lot of fun activities on the boat to do. I mean, there wetware couple things we found that were neat...made a lei. The food was just ok, but of course they had a few things that we liked...chocolate fondu. You have to buy a soda package...I like that Disney offers free soda/coffee stations. All in all, the ship was what we had expected. Now Hawaii was beautiful! We loved visiting all if the islands, experiencing what they had to offer through the shore excursions. We loved the hotels we stayed in and enjoyed the extra time we had there on the Waikiki beaches. I absolutely LOVED Hawaii & plan to return again...just not on NCL.

Wow! How disappointing! Thank you for the great review! I wish Disney would sail to Hawaii during a school break.

I looked at NCL Epic and almost booked it but them realized they don't offer real bathrooms unless you are staying in a suite. Also every room does not have a bathtub. My son is afraid of showers. They really seemed to skimp on the rooms. I know you aren't in them much but for all that money I'd expect it to have the basic necessities. I decided not to book it.

 

[AGMOM]

Luv2Sleep,

My husband & I took the 7 night NCL Hawaiian Cruise with our 9 year old daughter summer 2010. We have been wanting to go to Hawaii for years. We love cruising and hoped Disney would offer a cruise there one day. We've been on 3 Disney cruises, 2 Princess, SS Independence (no longer sailing) & now 1 NCL. We got tired if waiting, so decided to plan a Hawaiian cruise. Of course, now Disney offers one. We live in Florida, so it was a long trip there for us. We decided to stay 5 extra nights there since we were going so far. With that being said, we had to go in the summer because my daughter couldn't miss 2 weeks of school. So we started searching. The ONLY cruise offered during the summer months was NCL Pride of America. So if we wanted a summer Hawaiian cruise....that was it. I read terrible reviews forvthis company, especially for this ship. We really debated just flying to one island or doing the cruise. But we just love cruising so much & wanted to see several islands during our trip. So we went for the cruise....not expecting it to be comparable to Disney. Well, it was as we thought....a let down. The boat is a smaller, older ship. Not really much to do. There are pools & shows (which were ok), but that was it. They did have a kid's club my daughter went to, but it didn't seem that exciting compared to Disney. The food and especially SERVICE was terrible from the very 1st day. Disney treats their cruisers like royalty. The employees on this ship could care less. From the 1st time we went to go eat I felt like I was bothering the employees when asking a question or interrupting their inappropriate conversation in the middle of the dining area. It didn't seen like they have a whole lot of fun activities on the boat to do. I mean, there wetware couple things we found that were neat...made a lei. The food was just ok, but of course they had a few things that we liked...chocolate fondu. You have to buy a soda package...I like that Disney offers free soda/coffee stations. All in all, the ship was what we had expected. Now Hawaii was beautiful! We loved visiting all if the islands, experiencing what they had to offer through the shore excursions. We loved the hotels we stayed in and enjoyed the extra time we had there on the Waikiki beaches. I absolutely LOVED Hawaii & plan to return again...just not on NCL.

 

[TheWog]

I have a question for those who have sailed with Carnival.. is it a "party" ship? I have heard so many things about all the party goers, drinkers, people just wanting to hook up, etc. that it turned me away and I decided I would never sail with them.. and then we booked our 1st Disney cruise (4 months to go!) Do you all feel the same way? Is it just full of these type of people or is it a more family friendly "vibe" like Disney puts off?

You might get that on shorter cruises to the Bahamas during Spring Break. The larger, newer ships for longer durations are geared a lot towards families and that atmoshphere has really gone away on those.

 

[spacecanada]

I have a question for those who have sailed with Carnival.. is it a "party" ship? I have heard so many things about all the party goers, drinkers, people just wanting to hook up, etc. that it turned me away and I decided I would never sail with them.. and then we booked our 1st Disney cruise (4 months to go!) Do you all feel the same way? Is it just full of these type of people or is it a more family friendly "vibe" like Disney puts off?

As someone who has cruised with RCCL (6 times), Disney (2 times), Princess (2 times), and Carnival (once) - We despised the Carnival cruise because it was very much a 'party' ship, even on our 7-day cruise. We were in our early 20s at the time, don't drink, don't go clubbing, and are very conservative. We felt bombarded by inappropriate language, drinking, smoking in the atrium, and activities that were suited for (wild) college parties (wet t-shirt contests, austin powers stuff, foul mouthed comedians, etc.). It was sad. We found very few activities suited to our personality (scavenger hunts, pictionary, family events, etc.) and when we showed up for those events they were often cancelled due to lack of other participants or staff members. (Mini golf was our refuge, but it was often closed.) The food was okay, at best. The server often got our order wrong and brought out food I was allergic to twice, which made me very ill. Overall, we had such a bad experience we won't go on Carnival again.

That being said, lots of people here seem to have had good experiences and I think that needs to be considered as well. Perhaps our experience was exceptionally bad. Or perhaps our personalities, standards, and expectations are different. I wouldn't recommend Carnival; Princess and Royal Caribbean are much better in my eye, and nothing quite compares to Disney.

Edited to add: This was on an older Carnival ship in April, so the newer ships may be better for families... can't provide any experience there. Just had to chime in and say that 'yes', the partying vibe still existed a few years ago when we sailed with them.

 

[Disney52303]

May i ask which ship you were on and how last minute was your deal?

We paid just under $1,700 for an inside, about 2.5 weeks before sail date (though we did have a it of a tab at the end lol). I did try to upgrade to an ocean view but was out of luck. We sailed on the Gem. The Jewel had the same itinerary, we just chose to leave on a Sunday rather than Saturday.

 

[loveysbydesign]

We paid just under $1,700 for an inside, about 2.5 weeks before sail date (though we did have a it of a tab at the end lol). I did try to upgrade to an ocean view but was out of luck. We sailed on the Gem. The Jewel had the same itinerary, we just chose to leave on a Sunday rather than Saturday.

Thanks May I also ask how much it costs to park at the NYC port and was the weather warm enough to swim in the ocean in the Bahamas in Feb?

 

[Disney52303]

It's $210 to park for the week and yes, the water/weather was great - about 80 and beautiful. We left on a Sunday and by Monday morning we were around VA/NC. Still a bit chilly for me but the kids were swimming!

 

[scrapbookmomma74]

I wouldn't take my kids on any other cruise line right now. There is no guarantee that there won't be a "singles cruise" going on at the time with lots of college age and early 20s people there to get drunk. I don't want my children exposed to that. I've done Princess and its way more geared for the senior citizen crowd, not families with small children.
If I couldn't cruise Disney, I'd save for another year and do it right.

 

[spacecanada]

I've done Princess and its way more geared for the senior citizen crowd, not families with small children.

I have to agree with this as well. As a couple in our early 20s, we felt extremely out of place in that regard on Princess. granted, the experience was a lot better than Carnival. My aunt, uncle, and young cousin went on Princess recently and enjoyed it a lot. They have good children's programming in the summer when more kids are onboard.

In my experience, Royal Caribbean is the best non-Disney line for families. I love the climbing walls!! They have some good mini golf, family activities, children's centres, cinema, etc. The new ships have rollerblading, ice rinks, surfing, zip lines, DreamWorks characters, and water theatres.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

I have a question for those who have sailed with Carnival.. is it a "party" ship? I have heard so many things about all the party goers, drinkers, people just wanting to hook up, etc. that it turned me away and I decided I would never sail with them.. and then we booked our 1st Disney cruise (4 months to go!) Do you all feel the same way? Is it just full of these type of people or is it a more family friendly "vibe" like Disney puts off?

We have cruised Carnival twice (one just me and DH, and Easter week last year with the kids). The first cruise was definitely a party cruise - it was college spring break, and it took us a long time to sail Carnival again.

We cruised the Carnival Dream in April for Easter week. It was slammed full of families and didn't have a party atmosphere at all. There were definitely a couple of people who overindulged during the sail away party, but travelling with kids, we didn't hang out in clubs or the casino in the late evening and didn't see too many instances of people being out of control. I thought the food was better than Disney, and I loved that we could book two balcony cabins for $400 more than one balcony cabin (Disney's first and second guests are way more expensive than the third and fourth, while Carnival's third and fourth are more similar in price to the first and second, so it is not that much more to book two cabins). Booking two balcony cabins on DCL would have never happened.

My kids didn't do the kids' clubs on Carnival, but I saw the biggest difference in the shows. Even the Carnival shows in the early evening (that were called family-friendly) were not really for the whole group - magicians made sexual innuendos, dancers twirled to show thongs under their skirts, etc. They were more PG-13 rated than I would have liked. I'd cruise Carnival again, but we'd probably skip the shows and let the kids hang out in the pool or on the water slides.

We have also cruised HAL to Alaska with our kids. The ship was very nice, the itinerary was great, and the excursions were very fun. There was not much for kids to do onboard. The pool was a small basic rectangle - no slides, no mini golf, etc (we knew this going in). We went to the kids' club open house and one of the counselors told a group of preschoolers that they would be locked in the room alone if their parents didn't pick them up in time for lunch. She was clearly kidding, but DD8 was 4 and burst into tears. None of the counselors came over to her to say they were teasing (although I did tell her they were), and she refused to set foot in the kids' club during the whole trip. We still had a great time, but it was more because of being with family and being in an awesome place than anything the staff did. We basically mirrored the itinerary (most days) of a Carnival ship with a water slide, and the kids kept asking if we could move to that ship.

We'll cruise again in a couple of years, and it will either be DCL, Carnival or RCCL (we have cruised RCCL, but not with the kids). My kids didn't spend much time in the kids' club when we cruised DCL (twice), so for us, it is more about the itinerary and about activities and shows on board that we can do as a family.

 

[luv2sleep]

We have cruised Carnival twice (one just me and DH, and Easter week last year with the kids). The first cruise was definitely a party cruise - it was college spring break, and it took us a long time to sail Carnival again.

We cruised the Carnival Dream in April for Easter week. It was slammed full of families and didn't have a party atmosphere at all. There were definitely a couple of people who overindulged during the sail away party, but travelling with kids, we didn't hang out in clubs or the casino in the late evening and didn't see too many instances of people being out of control. I thought the food was better than Disney, and I loved that we could book two balcony cabins for $400 more than one balcony cabin (Disney's first and second guests are way more expensive than the third and fourth, while Carnival's third and fourth are more similar in price to the first and second, so it is not that much more to book two cabins). Booking two balcony cabins on DCL would have never happened.

My kids didn't do the kids' clubs on Carnival, but I saw the biggest difference in the shows. Even the Carnival shows in the early evening (that were called family-friendly) were not really for the whole group - magicians made sexual innuendos, dancers twirled to show thongs under their skirts, etc. They were more PG-13 rated than I would have liked. I'd cruise Carnival again, but we'd probably skip the shows and let the kids hang out in the pool or on the water slides.

We have also cruised HAL to Alaska with our kids. The ship was very nice, the itinerary was great, and the excursions were very fun. There was not much for kids to do onboard. The pool was a small basic rectangle - no slides, no mini golf, etc (we knew this going in). We went to the kids' club open house and one of the counselors told a group of preschoolers that they would be locked in the room alone if their parents didn't pick them up in time for lunch. She was clearly kidding, but DD8 was 4 and burst into tears. None of the counselors came over to her to say they were teasing (although I did tell her they were), and she refused to set foot in the kids' club during the whole trip. We still had a great time, but it was more because of being with family and being in an awesome place than anything the staff did. We basically mirrored the itinerary (most days) of a Carnival ship with a water slide, and the kids kept asking if we could move to that ship.

We'll cruise again in a couple of years, and it will either be DCL, Carnival or RCCL (we have cruised RCCL, but not with the kids). My kids didn't spend much time in the kids' club when we cruised DCL (twice), so for us, it is more about the itinerary and about activities and shows on board that we can do as a family.

How are Royal Caribbean shows when it comes to kids?

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

How are Royal Caribbean shows when it comes to kids?

We've only been on RCCL as adults, so I don't know. Things that wouldn't bother me at all or I would even find funny are now cringe-inducing with kids around. The Carnival shows (even the bad magician) would have been more entertaining (or at least harmless) if my kids weren't watching them, so it is hard to think back to RCCL and think of how I would have felt if the kids were there.

Cruise Critic is a good resource for reviews of non-Disney cruises.

 

[bunnyman]

I have a question for those who have sailed with Carnival.. is it a "party" ship? I have heard so many things about all the party goers, drinkers, people just wanting to hook up, etc. that it turned me away and I decided I would never sail with them.. and then we booked our 1st Disney cruise (4 months to go!) Do you all feel the same way? Is it just full of these type of people or is it a more family friendly "vibe" like Disney puts off?

We have sailed on Carnival 4 times, twice without kids (including '92 honeymoon) and twice with kids. The two times with kids were out of NYC, and we had no problems whatsoever. In fact, they had a fine time. We found that especially with sailing out of NYC you get a lot of families, older couples, etc., as opposed to maybe singles sailing out of say Miami.

 

[bunnyman]

what's another cruise line you would consider? We would like to cruise possibly in September 2012 out of NYC (or around there). we priced Disney cruise and feel its more than we can afford. We have 3 kids 8, 6 and 4 and would love lots of kids activities, good food, etc.

We never cruised before!

Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks!

Out of NYC we've done 3 Carnival cruises, 1 RCL, and 1 Celebrity (we have our first ever DCL cruise coming up this summer out of NYC). By far to date the best cruise we've had was several years ago on Celebrity to Bermuda, but it was also more expensive than say Carnival and they've stopped using the smaller ships (it was the Zenith). Carnival is usually the cheapest of the bunch, as they push the upselling with spas, drinks, and the casino, and as we tend to avoid spending much in these categories we usually come out ahead.

You're usually limited by where you can go from NYC, so we started out on a 4 day Carnival cruise to Canada, and eventually moved on to Bermuda (5 days on RCL and 7 days on Celebrity), and the Caribbean (8 days on Carnival).