Should I change cruise for royal ?

Should we go with DCL or save about $1000 and go with Royal Caribbean

  • Disney Cruise Line

    Votes: 41 51.3%
  • Royal Caribbean

    Votes: 39 48.8%

  • Total voters
    80

Garyjames220

DIS Veteran
Joined
Mar 3, 2014
Hey

Me, my wife ( Young 30s) and by May 2021 a baby ( about 9 months ) have a eastern Caribbean cruise booked and we are trying to decide should we keep our booking with dcl or change to royal

In dollars it’s going to cost about $4400 for the ocean view stateroom plus flights from U.K, extras on the ship and a few nights before it at WDW so quite a lot all in

now that it’s booked am trying to decide if we have done the right thing. $4400 does seem a lot for just a week.

I have looked at royal Caribbean’s prices and I reckon it would be about $1000 cheaper for a balcony on harmony of the seas or oasis

however we both do love Disney, the shows, the service and the nursery looks good and love the magic of the ships

we have a place holder and that’s with the discount in it if we never had that there’s no way we would do it

we are saving now before the baby is here and trying to do a big first trip all together. After that any holiday will be a push as my wife will be off work

anyway let me know what you would do as we are both really stuck and need help deciding

** I also want to add in that disney is about $1000 more plus drinks

royal is $1000 less and that’s all inslusive (offer in Uk)

we do like our cocktails too
 
Last edited:
Hey

Me, my wife ( Young 30s) and by May 2021 a baby ( about 9 months ) have a eastern Caribbean cruise booked and we are trying to decide should we keep our booking with dcl or change to royal

In dollars it’s going to cost about $4400 for the ocean view stateroom plus flights from U.K, extras on the ship and a few nights before it at WDW so quite a lot all in

now that it’s booked am trying to decide if we have done the right thing. $4400 does seem a lot for just a week.

I have looked at royal Caribbean’s prices and I reckon it would be about $1000 cheaper for a balcony on harmony of the seas or oasis

however we both do love Disney, the shows, the service and the nursery looks good and love the magic of the ships

we have a place holder and that’s with the discount in it if we never had that there’s no way we would do it

we are saving now before the baby is here and trying to do a big first trip all together. After that any holiday will be a push as my wife will be off work

anyway let me know what you would do as we are both really stuck and need help deciding

I’m guessing your leaning towards Disney since you asked on the Disney board. Rccl has a board you will get a lot difference response. Whatever you decide enjoy.
 
It depends what you want.
Personally I would chose harmony or oasis over Disney anyway because there's so much more to do, I would be so bored on Disney (trivia, towel folding and bingo doesn't do it for me lol).

As for the nursery. Both lines have them. I've worked in them on both lines and they're pretty much the same, even down to the toys they have. The only difference is that royal send their nursery staff shoreside for one week to have specilized nursery training. And Oasis (and quantum) class have an really nice playroom open all day just for babies and toddlers and their parents to play and hang out in.

What are the ports like? And if you get a cruise going to coco cay, definitely. blows castaway out the water.

Just watch videos on YouTube and read reviews and decide what would work best for you.
 
It depends what you want.
Personally I would chose harmony or oasis over Disney anyway because there's so much more to do, I would be so bored on Disney (trivia, towel folding and bingo doesn't do it for me lol).

As for the nursery. Both lines have them. I've worked in them on both lines and they're pretty much the same, even down to the toys they have. The only difference is that royal send their nursery staff shoreside for one week to have specilized nursery training. And Oasis (and quantum) class have an really nice playroom open all day just for babies and toddlers and their parents to play and hang out in.

What are the ports like? And if you get a cruise going to coco cay, definitely. blows castaway out the water.

Just watch videos on YouTube and read reviews and decide what would work best for you.

thanks for your feedback

well I have been to castaway cay and really enjoyed it but never been to coco cay, seen a few videos already for it and does look good
 


** I also want to add in that disney is about $1000 more plus drinks

royal is $1000 less and that’s all inslusive (offer in Uk)

we do like our cocktails too

looking forward to seeing other reply’s Too
 
I think for kids ages 3-8, there is NO COMPARISON to Disney. That is the "sweet spot" to take a kid on a DCL cruise. Just got back from a Disney cruise; my kids are now 9 and 12 (almost 10/13). They did not use the kids' club or go to meet-and-greets or do a lot of the "Disney Premium" things that justify the price. When they were younger we were much more into the Disney "stuff" on the ship. We had an amazing time and will still continue to take DCL cruises when the price and schedule is right, but I feel as they are older, we can branch out more.

With your child's age, they won't notice the Disney stuff (or lack of). Maybe do RCL this time and then do DCL when baby is 3 or 4?
 
I think for kids ages 3-8, there is NO COMPARISON to Disney. That is the "sweet spot" to take a kid on a DCL cruise. Just got back from a Disney cruise; my kids are now 9 and 12 (almost 10/13). They did not use the kids' club or go to meet-and-greets or do a lot of the "Disney Premium" things that justify the price. When they were younger we were much more into the Disney "stuff" on the ship. We had an amazing time and will still continue to take DCL cruises when the price and schedule is right, but I feel as they are older, we can branch out more.

With your child's age, they won't notice the Disney stuff (or lack of). Maybe do RCL this time and then do DCL when baby is 3 or 4?

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
 


I'd go with RCCL. As much as I liked the cruises on DCL that I have taken in the past when using points but if I'm paying cash then I'd go with Royal. I would love to sail on the Oasis. It's on my list.
 
I love Disney, but if it was for me i'd choose the RCCL just because your stateroom has a balcony.
 
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.
 
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.

intresting to know. Because this could be our last big trip for a while I want to get it right

After I few days I’ll check back and I think we will just go with the winner of this poll 😂
 
We did a DCL with out 10 month old and 7 year old for spring break. While my 7 year old enjoyed it, the 10 month old really didn’t know the difference. If the choice is veranda or no veranda, I’d say go with veranda. You’ll have a nice space to relax while the baby naps and when the baby goes to sleep. We ended up spending a lot of time in our stateroom/veranda due to naps and baby’s early bedtime. So, regardless of the cruise line, just go with veranda.
Have you considered celebrity? We did a celebrity Cruise and really liked it if not going with our 7 year old. Their food is better than DCL, they offer unlimited drinks, and they had excellent service.
 
Why don't you make a list of things that interest you on both ships, what types of activities would you do with your wife if your baby is in the nursery and what would you do with your child with you. With a 9 mth old, the trip is more for you and your wife vs. needing lots of activities to keep your child happy. Look into the hours/costs of the nursery on both ships as well.
 
Review the activities available on each ship and identify the ones you and DW want to do on the ship while baby is in the nursery and make your selection from there. This trip is really for you, baby is tagging along. As a mom of three kids, we have done a lot of travel with our kids-here are my thoughts about traveling with a baby.
Baby will enjoy either ship. At 9 months, they pretty much just want to crawl around, pull up on furniture to practice walking, and put everything in their mouth. I believe both ships have baby/toddler water play areas which will be fun for baby. Baby will likely not be a able to sit through an entire show. Baby will either love characters or be scared of them (my DS was scared of characters and would cry when he saw them until he was 2).
 
Why don't you make a list of things that interest you on both ships, what types of activities would you do with your wife if your baby is in the nursery and what would you do with your child with you. With a 9 mth old, the trip is more for you and your wife vs. needing lots of activities to keep your child happy. Look into the hours/costs of the nursery on both ships as well.

To be honest we are easily happy. Last time me and my wife enjoyed relaxing in the adults only pool, love to have a few cocktails, enjoyed the rain Forrest room, watching films, going on AquaDuck, mini golf and eating lots lol the cocktails tastings would be fun too

we do enjoy the magic of the ship. But trying to decide if it’s worth 1000 more and not been all inslusive and have ocean view instead of a balcony is a hard one
 
We're DCL people but recently went on a Royal Caribbean cruise with our 11 month old at the time. I must say, we were QUITE annoyed with the times that the nursery was open and when you could drop your child off. 10am-12pm on sea days? Not open on port days except for people with excursions? Nope. That was very irritating. Other than that, the nursery staff was very good. We have a DCL cruise in December, and I have already booked our daughter for 10 hours over the course of the cruise. We had an oceanview room on Royal and found that even if we had a balcony, we couldn't use it because the pack n play was blocking the door. We also found that the day entertainment on the pool deck on Royal was so overpowering that we couldn't stay in the splash pad for more than 10 minutes. Way too loud.
 
We’ve recently been cruising with a baby (and later toddler) and while I enjoy DCL and cant say enough about the nursery...I do think a balcony and RCCLs open play spaces make a big difference. At 9 months you’ll have a semi-mobile one, but you’ll also be spending time in the cabin for naps and early bedtimes. Being able to sit on a balcony with a drink in hand while he baby sleeps could make it seem like you’re still getting the most out of your vacation. DCL also does have “toddler time” spaces but it’s literally a few soft toys, mats, and maybe a soft block. The RCCL play area is way better in our opinion.
 
Am shocked how many people are saying royal on a Disney board but glad everyone is been honest.... this feels like such a hard choice
 

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