Should I change cruise for royal ?

[LeiaOfAlderaan]

I agree with Mainsail Minnie. It sounds like you really enjoy the DCL product, and since this could be your last cruise for a while, I say stick with DCL. Many have said that your baby won’t know the difference, but at that age you’re sailing for you not the baby. If you had never sailed DCL I would say go with the cheaper cruise but you have and you know you like it. But this is coming from someone who never thought they would like cruising, loves DCL, and has no interest in trying other lines. If you can afford it I say go for it whether or not another line is cheaper.

 

[Drfate102]

yeah it’s a idea but I don’t no if we would be doing any cruises as my wife might be off work for a while. So might be a big last trip for a while

it’s a hard one as we love the Disney magic on the ships too

Before this, I would have said Disney. But with this, the Accountant in me kicks in and says save the extra money for a rainy day, go Royal.

 

[Karin1984]

If you go cheaper, what would you do with the money saved?
Maybe the question isnt if Disney Magic is worth $1,000, but what else you can do with it and how much that is worth.

 

[DCLCrazy64622]

I would do Royal. The baby is too young to enjoy the amenities of DCL.

 

[Garyjames220]

I would do Royal. The baby is too young to enjoy the amenities of DCL.

What about the adults though

 

[Garyjames220]

The more I think about it it’s $1000 plus am guessing another $600 in drinks on Disney through out the week as we do like cocktails but royal is all ins so really $1600 more

 

[anjuan]

I've been on DCL 6 times and tried the RCL Allure last September. I prefer DCL mainly because I found the level of service to be much better, even though I was in a junior suite on Royal. (For some reason the poll wouldn't let me vote so you could add another for DCL.) I'm sensitive to smoke and hated the casino area and found it smoky even outside the casino near the elevators, etc. It was a big pain to have to go down a floor and back up for activities that were on the other side of the ship on the casino floor. I like all of the free activities that they have on DCL during sea days like the anyone can cook sessions and all of the movies. The only showed movies a few times on the Allure and I found them to be pretty old. A lot of the daytime activities that I was interested in were an upcharge, such as bracelet making as an example.

With that being said there were definitely things I do think that Royal does better. They do have more adult nighttime activities. Their pool area is a lot better. Even though I was a first time booker I was able to get a cabana on Labadee which was really nice.

However, I do think you'll have a good time with either cruise line you go on. But if you choose royal I would definitely go into it with the mindset expectation that it will be different than DCL.

 

[o&smom]

I only have experience with DCL. We cruised with our daughter when she was 3 months old, 15 months old and 23 months where she spent time in the nursery. At 3 months, we used the nursery during dinner time. She loved playing in the exersaucer instead of being held by us constantly or trying to prop her up in a high chair. The sweetest thing was when we would go to pick her up we would sometimes find her in the arms of a Disney princess who had stopped by the nursery. At 15 and 23 months the nursery was mostly used for Palo reservations or nightly shows. It worked well for us as a family to have lots of time together and also have time for my husband and myself to enjoy time at Palo and enjoy the shows with our older son. Even though we are done with the nursery DCL still works well for us. Our daughter will be taking her 10th Cruise two months before she turns 10 next spring, and our son has requested a cruise the following summer to celebrate his high school graduation.

 

[pclvnmcky88]

I only have experience with DCL. We cruised with our daughter when she was 3 months old, 15 months old and 23 months where she spent time in the nursery. At 3 months, we used the nursery during dinner time. She loved playing in the exersaucer instead of being held by us constantly or trying to prop her up in a high chair. The sweetest thing was when we would go to pick her up we would sometimes find her in the arms of a Disney princess who had stopped by the nursery. At 15 and 23 months the nursery was mostly used for Palo reservations or nightly shows. It worked well for us as a family to have lots of time together and also have time for my husband and myself to enjoy time at Palo and enjoy the shows with our older son. Even though we are done with the nursery DCL still works well for us. Our daughter will be taking her 10th Cruise two months before she turns 10 next spring, and our son has requested a cruise the following summer to celebrate his high school graduation.

How did she cruise at 3 months?

 

[crazylady]

We sailed on Harmony of the Seas in June. I read so many wonderful reviews and after 6 cruises on DCL, I wanted to try a new cruise line. We were disappointed. The Harmony was beautiful but we were bored. Crazy, I know on such a big ship. The extreme heat of June in the Caribbean prevented any daytime outdoors activities. No one was zip lining or wall climbing. The only meals we enjoyed were in the specialty restaurants. CocoCay looked amazing but the heat and crowds made it miserable. The aqua theatre was spectacular and the crew was comparable to the Disney crew. If you are not sailing in the summer it may be worth it for you to try it. We tried it and it wasn’t our thing. It will only be DCL for us going forward.

Just curious, what would you have been doing on June on a Disney cruise under the same weather circumstances? Seems to me that the indoor activities are somewhat comparable between the two.

 

[Garyjames220]

Just curious, what would you have been doing on June on a Disney cruise under the same weather circumstances? Seems to me that the indoor activities are somewhat comparable between the two.

I was actually thinking that too

 

[gotomu212]

How did she cruise at 3 months?

not the OP, but until a few years ago the minimum age was 12 weeks.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Babies are expensive, and the money you save equals another holiday closer to home.

I'd switch, honestly.

 

[pclvnmcky88]

not the OP, but until a few years ago the minimum age was 12 weeks.

Seriously?! Gah... If only it was still that. But I completely understand why they raised it

 

[dyannac]

I've been doing DCL since my daughter was 6. Last year we decided to try the Oasis of the Seas because she was 14 at the time and I thought it would be more enjoyable for her now she is older. She's been begging to go back on a Disney Cruise ever since. We just booked Christmas. It really is all about your preference and what you value. I've heard people say they love RCCL. It wasn't for us. The ship was absolutely beautiful but after day 4 I was ready to go home and the days at seas were extremely boring for us. We enjoy movies and there isn't a movie theater on-board and movies in the room were $9 a pop. (The did have movies at the aqua theater outside at night) We never turned the TV on the entire 7 days. To me, the service and the food was terrible. On a DCL cruise, you feel special and I just felt like I was on a big beautiful ship with everything else lacking. If I have to pay to eat in specialty dining every night to get an enjoyable meal, pay $9 every time I want to watch a movie, pay for room service, $13 per person a day for soda unless you get a free package, charged $25 if you don't return a pool towel, my daughter had to pay for iced coffee every single day.......I'd rather pay the extra $1000 and have a magical time.

 

[jlwhitney]

I will be the odd ball out and go with put the money In a savings account and find something local and cheaper to do with a baby. Cruising with a baby is doable but also a pain. Wait till the baby is 3 and potty trained.

 

[o&smom]

How did she cruise at 3 months?

Old rules back in 2010. She made the cutoff by two weeks!

 

[Intr3pid]

For a $1,000 more, you can get to experience DCL - that's a no-brainer for us!

We were on the 10-night Baltic cruise on the Magic this summer, and we saw families after families with toddlers and younglings having the time of their lives with all things Disney.

Your 9-month old will remember this trip for a long time.

 

[mousefan73]

The more I think about it it’s $1000 plus am guessing another $600 in drinks on Disney through out the week as we do like cocktails but royal is all ins so really $1600 more

This I was going to mention. Plus your drink package should include all the bottled water, premium water yku want. So no need in buying/ carrying that on board.

DCL has that “ magic” to it. If you are into Disney and the characters then it’s worth the money. Daytime activities focus alot on “trivia” and of course its always disney trivai. A cruise is a great way to do characters. Their older kids clubs have the marvel/ starwars advantage.

Oasis class ships offer simply more in a general sense. More pools ( DCL’s are a joke, kids soup). Flow rider and harmony has slides. Many more evening/ show options.

One benefit royal had is my -time -dining for your case. With a baby you can eat when you want. DCL your stuck. Though the DCL theming and for us food ( other say royal is better) cant be beat. Honestly if money is an issue save DCL when you have kids who are older 5-10 sweet spot. Plenty of time to save for another famy cruise. Once they are teens oasis shops become more interesting ( unless you have a disney fan kid).

The comment one made on it being too hot on the harmony. It would be the same on DCL. And both offer in door activities.


Oh the pizza on royal is MUCH better. my Teensneven say this . Disney pizza is down right is horrible IMO, school cafeteria style . I don‘t even eat it and I love pizza. Now Sorenntos on Royal, that is yummy. But on DCL I have chicken tender addiction. .

 

[StarSeven7]

Whichever cruise line you pick, I would make sure that you get really good cancel for any reason insurance! It's really hard to plan that far ahead into the future for a baby that doesn't currently exist. You may think you want to be a certain type of parent, but you don't KNOW what type of parent you will be until you actually have a baby, it's impossible to fully realize that life change until you're there! You might think you'll be fine with putting a baby in the nursery, but once that baby is real, you might feel totally different. You might have a really difficult baby that makes traveling not easy at all. When my DS was 9 months old, he still didn't sleep through the night and cried ALL the time. Taking a cruise with him at that age would be been total torture and the opposite of relaxing. I would have been stressed the entire time worrying about his crying bothering other people and would never have been able to enjoy a long sit-down meal in a restaurant and I would have not been able to take him to the nursery because he really just cried all the time. We did still travel with him when he was a baby, but trips where we could cater to him a bit more. We rented condos so we had our own space and our own kitchen to prepare meals. This was a much more enjoyable way for us to travel with a baby. You may have a really easy baby and taking a cruise might be perfect for you, but I just want to caution you that that might not always be the case and to make sure you're covered if your plans need to change.