Disney Cruise Line VS. OTHER Cruise Lines
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- Опубліковано 30 тра 2024
- What’s the best cruise for a first-timer? Which cruise line has the biggest rooms? And are you really making the BEST choice if you go with the Disney Cruise Line instead of a less expensive cruise line? We’ve got ALL these answers for you today - plus many, MANY more - here on DFB Guide!
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I hope Universal gets a ship! Imagine a Harry Potter cruise! The floating school of Wizardry, the Atlantis!
An entire cruise line for 1 movie franchise? Sounds fun but doesn’t sound like a wise investment.
I would give up my loyalty to royal Caribbean with that option 😮 I wish. My husband won't go though 😂
@@emilyann7503 Get a new husband then! (JK!) lol
That would be SO FUN!
I'm going! Take my money!
I've been on 20+ cruises on 5 different lines, and my first 3 cruises were on Disney. My kids were in elementary school, and I wanted them to have fun. First, Disney ships are gorgeous with teak wood, shiny brass, stained glass, and glamor of a bygone era. Service is impeccable. Entertainment is unparalleled. If your kids love characters, you'll have tons of interaction. My daughter literally played ring around the rosy with Snow White AND Peter Pan in Andy's Room kid club. I cried. Priceless. However, now that my kids are in college, I'll spend my vacation dollars on RC. We like the fast-paced activities and nonstop events on Royal. We can take 2 cruises for the price of 1 Disney trip. Is Disney better? Of course. But twice as good? No. If you're only going to take 1 cruise in your life, go with Disney. Otherwise, travel for less on RC.
I've heard similar stories from a lot of families -- about doing Disney when the kids are little, then switching when they get older. Thank you for sharing!
Exact same for us Staci! We did our first 4 cruises on Disney and they're nearly as pricey then. We had since moved on to royal as well and my 15/16 year olds love them.
This was beautifully written! Thank you!
Aw darn :(
I’ve never been on a cruise ship before because my family can’t afford the costs! And I’ve wanted to go on one forever!
Although the interactions on the Disney ships do sound way too fun!!!
I’ve always daydreamed of having the craziest things happen to me whenever I’m with one of the characters. Maybe it’s just a personal pipe dream of mine though 🤷♀️
I just went on a mom-solo cation. I went Disney. I felt safe and I don't smoke and I just wanted to relax. I'm a disney nerd at heart and enjoyed the adult only spaces but also loved the disney shows. My cousin lives and dies by Carnival. She can't understand why I pay for Disney Cruises, but when it comes down to it, its luxury, safe and clean fun and feeds my disney soul :)
I will never forget spring break a few years ago, we were on the Disney Magic parked in Cozumel next to a Carnival ship. As we were walking back to the ship two college guys started walking with our family and chatting with us asking about the Magic. They could tell we were on that ship of course - we had our Disney stuff. Their comment has always stuck with me. They said there were lots of families on their ship they knew wished they were on our ship because their ship was a total party ship and had lots of drunk college kids because it was so cheap. We did not have that experience. As adults without kids now my husband and I choose to still cruise with Disney mainly because of the atmosphere. We love the elegance of the Disney ship and we know there is a lot more included with our cruise that is not with other cruise lines.
I think even at college age I would not have enjoyed Carnival 😅
I'm a huge disney girlie (now 18) and I loved the first disney cruise I went on as a teen. Now I'm going off to college and hoping to go on my second Disney cruise as a little first year of college vacation. I'm will always be a kid at heart so Disney will always be the cruise I go with.
Top reason for me to sail dcl: no casino, no alcohol packages, no smoking, better guest to staff ratio, lifeguards at pools. But mostly… guest quality is overall better at dcl. But even with dcl there’s a difference in guest quality and behavior bc shorter sailings and longer sailings.
Was just on RC with my 7 year old. Never had any issues with rowdy guests and there were lifeguards at every pool.
@@karendeangelis1358 I'm happy to hear this. My family and I have a vacation coming with RC Freedom on the Seas.
I loved freedom. Just got off it a week ago and already planned another Freedom ship for the summer.
just got off from rc freedom , there are lifeguards in every pool & splash pad at all times even at night time. our first cruise, already planing our 2nd one.
The rotation dinning at Disney cruise is a brilliant thing. It makes sure to keep people entertained and not competing at the most time consuming activity on a cruise. Love it
One thing that I think you overlooked is allergy friendly food offerings. The friend that I usually sail with has many different allergies including 2 that could be life threatening. Disney has always gone the extra mile when dealing with these allergies whether on land or at sea. We were told by 3 different travel agents that she should NOT sail with any cruise line other than DCL because they just don’t have the safeguards in place. We were in the buffet on the Dream having her specially prepared meal delivered when a teen with a pile of shellfish (one of her major allergies) sat a a table very close to us. One of the buffet servers told us we could go and find seating ANYWHERE on the same deck and she would find us and deliver her meal to us. We ended up on the opposite end of the ship, in the adult area and the server found us, delivered the food, and even apologized for the inconvenience of having to eat away from the buffet. 20 minutes later she even came back to check on us. I’ve never been on a different cruise line, but I can’t imagine that happening anywhere other than Disney.
Disney is superior in customer service. They are unmatched, which is why I only cruise with Disney now.
my friend is allergic to beef, pork, eggs, dairy, and gluten and Carnival is always amazing with her allergies. Never a problem.
I don't think you'd often see specially prepared meals at the buffet on other ships, but the dining rooms can and will handle allergies and dietary restrictions. But I do think Disney tries to be extra careful because of the added complexity of rotational dining.
I have a sister with severe allergies in the buffets on RC we’ve never had issues the chef comes out and talks to you and is willing to get stuff that has not been put out yet to avoid cross contamination. They do an excellent job at dinner with having her order the night before to ensure that there is no cross contamination while her food is prepared. Has always worked out for my family.
I have juvenile arthritis our waiter helped cut my meat. Guest services told me how to properly dispose used medical needles in my room. I’m good with Disney
one thing to keep in mind for families with 3 kids - DCL offers standard rooms for families of 5, where RC and Carnival would require a family of 5 to have two separate standard staterooms. making them closer to the cost of a DCL cruise anyway
So true
I will be cruising with my family of 5 this summer with royal Caribbean. Our travel agent suggested an ocean view ultra large or something like that… you can’t book on their site for five, you need to call.
Thanks for the comparison! We just booked a 7 night Caribbean cruise with Royal; it cost $6000 for 9 of us in balcony rooms! We have kids from late teens to preschool age, so a ship the appeals to all ages was a must. Royal's Oasis class had everything we could dream of and more. Waterslides, kids splash park, rock climbing, surf simulators, quiet park areas, mini golf, ice skating, carousel, dry slides, parades, laser tag... And all included? We may splurge on doing the escape room, which is the only extra cost amenity we're interested in. I'm amazed at how many amenities these cruise lines can fit into so little space.
Love cruising. Love Disney. The difference extends to quieter adult areas. The overall vibe is calmer. (This refers to the older ships. The Wish is closer to RCCL than to the Disney Wonder.) Yes even with all the kids onboard. Stay in the adult areas and you’ll almost never see a child. Pool deck food is great. Buffet is far better than other lines we’ve been on. Main dining is at least comparable and often better than other lines.
As for buckle and dinning, you could literally do an entire cruise without any onboard expenses other than gratuities.
Bottom line, we do other lines to save money (take more cruise) and thoroughly enjoy them but go back to Disney for a splurge.
Very helpful take, thank you!
I like this perspective on the Wish. We took our first Royal Caribbean cruise this past month on the independence. We felt like the ship was rather disjointed and confusing which is a criticism we hear a lot about the Wish. We hope to try the wish, especially now with a better understanding of how other ships can feel.
So we are the rare case of a Disney family who hated the Disney cruise vacation. My kids hated standing on lines on the ship to get pictures with the characters and me and my husband hated having to excessively plan for all those extra meet and greets and restaurants. My kids hated how busy the kids clubs always were and we hated limited pool and water fun options that didn’t have long lines associated with it. Also we brought a toddler on board and used the splash pad area for them and yet there were 8-10yr old all over the splash area and when I talked to the lifeguard they said those kids are also allowed to use this area along with the swim diaper babies. And dinner sucked. Our waiter was very unapproachable and not very interactive with us or our kids. For the price we paid for this vacation it sucked. We spent more time in our stateroom than we did roaming the ship and if we didn’t have a meet and greet planned than there was absolutely nothing available to do that didn’t cost additional money.
We just had our first Royal Caribbean cruise on Independent of the Seas and omg my kids had so much fun. They loved the kids clubs and we were in the pools and splash zone for hours everyday. My active kids had plenty of all inclusive activities to do. They went ice skating, did rock climbing, did trampoline with VR headset. Only things we couldn’t do was flo-rider (kids not tall enough), laser tag, and escape room (which is an additional price but affordable). Our waiter at dinner went above and beyond to accommodate our picky eaters. And the only time we spent in our stateroom was for sleep. My kids still talk about that cruise almost a year later and we have our future Royal Caribbean Cruise already booked. We will never do a Disney cruise again. I can meet the characters at the parks with shorter lines and if the line is long then I can get a lightening lane for it. I truly could not stand Disney cruise. It was just so friggen boring!!!!!
Totally agree. We had the exact same experience.
It's good to see both sides of this! Thanks for sharing.
Wow completely different experience!! We just got back and it was thr best time of my life on DCL ive been on Carnival and Celebrity before. DCL was next level and I wasnt definitely not bored at allllll I was run off my feet each day and still didnt do everything we could, so I just booked my son and I to go again! The characters were amazing...the shows were amazing... thr food was okay not as good as other but you dont go on DCL for that you go for the experience... and that you cannot get anywhere else. We even did a day at magic kingdom thr day before and the ship felt even more disney to me. We rode the aquaduck 3 times and pirate night was the best night ever. Our servers were lovely, remember our preferences, played with my son, taught him magic tricks, made origami... really good... thryd bend over backwards to help you out. The adults only is so quiet and not crowded and the kids' clubs are wonderful my son trained with Thor ! Memories for a lifetime. Im sorry you didnt have the same experience but based on the fb group for my sailing Id say your experience is not typical.
I’ve been on all three of those cruise lines and Royal Carrie an is by far my favorite. They have a great balance of price to quality. Also, about the nickel and dimeing, a lot of the pay extra activities on Royal Caribbean are actually free on certain days at certain times (like the sky diving simulator and the North Star observation pod).
On of the things I like about Disney cruises is how clean and tidy their ship always look, inside and out. You were right about old cruise ships. I’ve only ever been on two carnival cruises, one a brand new ship on it sixth voyage out, the Imagination, RIP, and another ship that I can’t remember the name of, but only remembered how bad the aft casual dining room smelled when I would go there to eat breakfast. Whatever the smell was, no one could ever find it and I just stopped eating there because it smelled so bad. I’ve also looked at some of the older carnival ships at the docks, and the amount of rust that I see on some of the older ships always makes me happy that that’s not the ship I’m boarding for my vacation. Say what you want about Disney 💵💵💵but like their parks, they keep their facilities, spotless and their customer service is always top-notch, an issue we had canceling out 2020 Royal Caribbean cruise. My spouse and I took a Disney cruise last year without our children for the first time and we had a great time. There are so many places exclusively for adults on even the older ships, which we prefer. Five thousand plus people on a cruise is not this former big-city girl’s idea of a relaxing vacation. We can’t wait to take our Hawaiian cruise with Disney next year.
It's the rust on the ships that gets me, too!
Yes!! I had booked a rcl cruise for my husbands 40th birthday and when it wasn’t working out with his family I called to cancel and learned my $1,000 deposit was not refundable. Thank goodness COVID happened and it became a non issue. I love the flexibility Disney allows with canceling!
As for customer service.. I lost my sunglasses in castaway cay on the pelican slide. I completely forgot they were on top of my head until I came up.
They were rx glasses. I told the cast members. They dove for my glasses and had them on board! I went to customer service that night and they got them!
I almost had a lapse in judgment this past week because I wanted to book Alaska. I told my wife what RCL’s price was vs. Disney. She paused and then said “I think we should stick with Disney.” Sold!
i was always told they were more expensive because they had no casino's. that the casino's on the other brands were a huge source of income, and because disney didnt have them. they had to charge more. (its just what i was told by there BDM's )
Wow that makes sense didn't think of that
It’s not only because of casino. I’ve been cruising for more than 20 cruises with Disney, Royal, NCL, MSC and Carnival. I can say that Disney service is above and beyond. I travel in concierge on every cruise line. and Disney always win over me. It’s worth every penny you pay.
I absolutely recommend Royal Caribbean. There is so much to do for everyone!!! I love Royal. I went on a Disney cruise in January. My family and I were sooo bored. The ship was gorgeous but nothing special. It’s definitely not worth the price that Disney charges. We’ve decided that we aren’t ever going back on a Disney cruise. If you want a great time for your entire family definitely go on a Royal cruise.
We had the same experience. We cruised the Disney Fantasy. If you wanted to spend everyday waiting in lines for character pictures. It's a great cruise. We were bored. The only thing outside of character pictures was trivia games. The shows were overcrowded and the food wasn't delightful. I kept hearing how much fun the MDR was, but, other than changing dining rooms every night, there wasn't anything spectacular to justify the enormous price tag. We normally cruise Royal. I can book a grand suite on Royal for the price of a balcony on Disney. One and done for us.
Disney has also never failed a Vessel Sanitation Program Inspection. Something to think about when taking children on a vacation afloat. :)
I’ve been on all 3
Choosing Royal every time
What royal ship do you recommend?
Same. I love Royal.
@@larryfrank4802 for first time royal cruisers, any of the oasis class (oasis, harmony, allure, symphony or wonder) or Odyssey of the seas (which i believe is the only quantum class ship that's in the Us right now. Quantum ships are like smaller more "grown up" oasis class ships
I appreciate that your team reached out to Matt at Royal Caribbean Blog for an unbiased opinion since Matt has historically had a lot to say about DCL! 😉
Our family has cruised on both DCL and RCL and both offer amazing family experiences.
Having cruised more on DCL, I couldn’t agree more about the extra cost of Disney being attributed to brand and wanting that one of a kind Disney experience.
Really loved this unbiased and well researched video! Thanks DFB
Thank you! I've known Matt for a long LONG time and I will always trust his ability to honestly take everything into account; I'm so grateful he was willing to be interviewed!
Although I do have a tendency to have unrealistic daydreams of all these things happening to me that I think would be super cool…..
Seeing as Matt is Loyal2Royal, I wouldn't exactly call him unbiased.
With that said, I do think he can be objective when looking at things like prices, amenities etc. And a lot of the tips and suggestions that he provides regarding Royal can be applied to other cruise lines.
This is always are hard topic. We do travel Disney Cruise Line. I've watched cruise line vlogs & the ships just seem like a floating Vegas. Some even charge a $35 towel rental fee on their own island. We were at Port with CCL & NCL and remember young adults tripping over themselves already half drunk headed to Port, not the type of cruise I want to spend money on. We don't have kids, but the DCL ships are just so pretty, well kept, service is above & beyond and they make it very clear what's included
I agree. I don’t want adults tripping over my kids or starting drunk fights around my kids so for now I prefer a less drunk cruise.
My blue collar parents were able to save up to take me and my sister on the Big Red Boat when it was new in the 90s. Nowadays, they would have no chance of taking us on a Disney cruise. It would be one thing if they were truly luxurious, but like you said, it's just upcharging because of the brand name. I feel bad for young families that have to miss out on all the experiences we had the option of doing just a few decades ago.
Disney does offer IGT, OGT and VGT rates sometimes and if you book with a travel agency that offers an onboard credit you have that as well. There are ways to save on a Disney Cruise.
As a DVC member we opted to go with RC just based on the value compared to DCL. I couldn’t justify 2x the cost for what I felt was nowhere near 2x the amenities/experiences. We just got home 2 days ago from our first RC cruise that we enjoyed so much that we booked another one this morning. Now instead of a week at WDW we will go for a day or two before our RC cruise.
That's actually really smart I'm a disney girlie and love themeing and stuff. But choose what fits you best and hope you enjoy your next trip 😊
I got back 2 weeks ago from my second Disney cruise. We got a good deal which brought it down to about what Royal Caribbean would have been. We love Disney but next year we will be going on Royal Caribbean due to the price difference during my children's spring break. RC will save us several thousand dollars versus Disney at that time.
I think the comparison lies hands down in service and cleanliness. Overall experience is better on a DCL🎉
This definitely cemented Disney for me. All due respect to the other lines, I’ve grown up with Disney and they have the most of what I’m looking for without having to pay extra other than the cruise fare.
YOU ARE PAYING EXTRA! Everything that’s not included you get on Disney still costs FAR LESS than what you’re paying! But hey it’s your money and your choice! If Mickey wants to screw you and you enjoy it so much don’t let me stop you! Enjoy your cult.
I will warn you Disney’s food isn’t the best. But overall great cruise line
@Helen Guerra you must of had a bad sailing, then. The food on my trip with the Disney Dream was amazing.
I’ve been on all three and Disney’s customer service is UNMATCHED. Royal Caribbean is phenomenal as well and carnival sucks lol.
This is the video I've been waiting for!! Took my very first cruise back in May of 2022 on the Disney Dream and was hooked the minute I stepped on board the ship. Since then, I have spent every waking moment thinking of nothing but booking my next cruise.
I took a Royal Caribbean one in January and I feel the exact same. We immediately booked one this fall to include our kids. We got a Grand Suite on Freedom of the Seas (Royal Caribbean) for the four of us for $2500!
@DeeMcGee I feel the same way!
"You're not going to get to play a round of craps with Donald Duck." What a hilarious image! 🤣
When people ask me what cruise line to take, I tend to simplify along these lines:
- Carnival is good for budgets, better for adults, and if you like having a party atmosphere.
- Royal provides a good balance of things for kids and adults, and great if you're looking for an atmosphere akin to a floating resort.
- Disney is great if you love the Disney experience, or if you want a cruise that has more things that geared towards kids.
Obviously that doesn't tell the whole story, but it's a starting point. I also tell them that if you like your first cruising experience, book another one, on another cruise line. Loyalty programs are enticing, but it's good to figure out what cruise line works best for you before you get serious about cruising a single cruise line.
Oh, and I also mention that the free coffee will range from mediocre to undrinkable, no matter what cruise line you take.
I highly recommend Royal. Great food, amazing service...beautiful ships. For drinks, get the drink package. It will still be less than Disney. Absolutely correct--paying a premium for name. Thanks for a great vlog! Cruising is the best 😁
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
We cruise only on Disney ships, the luxury is out of this world, service is impeccable, it’s amazing… then however at WDW we cheap out and stay at the moderate resorts or good neighbor hotels when we visit
Here’s another price comparison:
14 night Panama Cruise (1 adult and 1 child) interior
RCL: $3000 (last min price)
Disney: $7600 (after discount and booked 1 year in advance…source is ME, I booked this through Costco).
Additionally, Disney is only visiting 5 ports during the 14 night cruise whereas RCL is visiting 8.
Because I have triplets and a 9yr old I need 2 rooms. A Disney cruise for a week was 11k not including travel and extras. Maybe next time
We took our 4 year old Granddaughter on RCCL for her first cruise. She LOVED it. From the huge kids splash pool, the Adventure Ocean kids club, their Private Island and the never ending ice cream. We go to Disney World all the time so I don't need to go on a Disney ship that will cost me a fortune and my husband can't enjoy a casino. (By the way, that cruise was a free comp from the casino )
So that means you already paid 😂😂😂😂 married to a gambler “nothing is free”
You had me at Mickey bars to my room 😂 10:32
I prefer Disney, no kids just two adults, hate the craziness of some other lines
Our first 4 cruises (adults only, a couple with teens) were with Disney. Due to cost, we tried Princess, MSC, and RC. Nowdays I'd only pay for DCL if we decide to forgo Disney parks (pretty much over the parks now). That said, the larger RC ships truly have something for everyone at a great price. I'm excited to take my grandkids on both Disney and Royal Caribbean. Just depends on finances at the time of booking. I also love Princess when I want truly pampered like Disney without the theming.
Thank you; this is so helpful!
We are taking a seven night Alaska cruise the second week of June 2023…Disney’s price for an itinerary on the Wonder was almost $8000 for an accessible Balcony room (my wife is in a wheelchair) and we would travel to Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan…Royal Caribbean’s price for an accessible Balcony cabin, the same week on the Ovation of the Seas, which is almost Twice as big as Wonder for the same kind of room and a slightly better itinerary (Juneau, Skagway, Sitka and Victoria, B.C.) was $2900!! LESS THAN HALF THE PRICE! Even if our children were young enough to care about character interactions (they’re not…they’re adults) WE WERE ABLE TO AFFORD AN ENTIRE SECOND CRUISE FROM NEW YORK TO BERMUDA AND THE CARIBBEAN FOR THE PRICE OF ONE DISNEY CRUISE!!
When you start getting into 5k and esp at 10k you could fly to almost any country in the world and stay a week or two... how is staying on a floating tourist city more appealing than that?
For people with very young children, disabled people, and older people who like security, it makes sense, I guess. Not a ton of unpacking and packing and less risk of getting lost, etc.
@@littleru7587 I’m disabled and it sounds downright miserable to me having a million children running around!
Because it’s all inclusive, your room is two minutes away from you, you don’t have to constantly pack and repack and go to several airports, and you’re still seeing other countries.
@@werewolflover8636 so stay in the adults only sections. They exist.
Cruising allows me to do three of my favorite things: read, eat and look at the ocean. I have only ever gone on Carnival midsize ships and I find these suit me perfectly. The service was outstanding and personalized (the bar waitress immediately brought me my Diet Coke the second night at dinner) and I didn't feel like I was fighting crowds or being nickel and dimed all of the time.
This was SO helpful!!! Thank you AJ & Matt!! ❤️ we are looking into our first cruise and this confirms that as always Disney is the right choice for us!!
I've been on Disney cruises as a kid, teen, and younger adult. It's still by far my favorite cruise line. I just went on a cruise without my family (meaning I was paying lol) and went with Royal Caribbean due to price. I enjoyed myself (I'm even going on a another RC cruise later this year) but I'm saving up for another Disney cruise.
We've cruised Disney with and without our son, who is now almost 10, and we just got off the RC Independence last week. In terms of cruising with the kiddo, Disney wins, hands down.
RC gave us a place to deposit our kid while we went to do things, and Disney gives a place that will entertain our kid, and we have to force him to come out 😆! I think the difference is the age grouping - which I actually thought was going to be more beneficial for our son on RC, but turned out to be a hindrance. RC's groups are more narrow, with only a few years difference, where Disney is 3-11. This allows Disney to flex around different "speeds" of mindset. Our son has the brainpower of a 12-13yo, and the maturity of a 7yo, so he doesn't really fit into the 9-11 box on RC, and only went two nights of our four-night cruise. Which was fine, he's a cool kid and fun to hang out with, and we didn't make any big plans because we weren't sure about this.
There were also some awkward moments, like the "World's Sexiest Man" contest at the main pool in the early afternoon. That was just... Weird with all the little kids around and guys grinding on girls. So if you'd rather your kids not see that stuff, maybe pay more attention to the schedule than we did! LOL! There were a lot of 20-somethings on RC that you don't see on DCL, and that's not necessarily a bad thing unless you've got a little kid with you. He saw and heard a lot of stuff on this RC trip!
100% agree, the food in main dining is better on RC (sorry Disney!). The service is impeccable on both, from dining to our room steward, and I wasn't expecting RC to rival Disney on that, but they held their own. I do like that we have the same crew in Disney dining rooms all week, and the rotational dining keeps things fun and interesting. We didn't do specialty dining on RC, but the ones on Disney ships are always worth every penny.
On Disney, there's just some kind of connection with the crew that we didn't feel on RC, and that's probably just because of the reduced number of cruisers on Disney. There's a much more personal touch on Disney, they take the time if you do. I've had some wonderful conversations about home countries, hobbies, cooking, kids, etc with Disney crew. DCL is just a quieter experience, more focused on entertainment, while RC is action-packed and active.
Lastly, for us, the difference is the "pixie dust". Just that Disney magic that you can only get on their ships. The little things that all add up, from your embarkation announcement to the thoughtfulness of crew, Pirate Night and fireworks, movies, Disney+ now in the rooms... Everyone prefers different things, but DCL does all the things WE like!
Great video - as usual. Also, nice shout out to Matt! We love Royal Caribbean Blog!
I am going on a Carnival 14 night for the price you quoted for a 7 night on Carnival. That’s in a deluxe ocean view that has a split bathroom I feel like you had a hard bias against Carnival . And the only thing I heard is included on Disney over Carnival is soda… I don’t even drink soda. So I’m guessing I’ll never cruise with Disney.
I've been on Carnival multiple times. I was literally on one in September. 1600 bucks family of 3 on a 7 day eastern Caribbean on their newest ship. Even before covid it was under 3000.
This is a GREAT video! Just cruised with my 7 year old daughter on RC Symphony of the Seas and had a blast. Didn't get the drink package and we both loved the included juice option.
I am excited to watch this! My husband and I went on our first cruise together for our Honeymoon and it was a Disney Cruise. We loved it! Since we had never been on a cruise we didn’t realize the price difference but we had an amazing time.
We sail DCL for ship safety, family friendly, split bathroom, port/excursion guides, all-inclusive, less passengers, Broadway entertainment, cast members personal attention & allergy conscious. The latter being priceless.
Thank you dfb team for this video this is exactly the analysis I have been looking for.
Glad it was helpful!
Haven’t cruised other lines, but I find the DCL service to be very good. For the cruise the wife and I took in December during all the various phone calls to DCL about booking, travel plans…. the person on the other end was always very friendly and helpful
Great video laying out the differences between the three cruise lines. Very helpful.
I'm glad you enjoyed! Thank you!
Yes! I've been benge watching cruise videos lately. DFB + cruise = instant watch
Yay! Thank you!
Our family of 5 are looking forward to our first ever cruise this year, on the Disney Dream (Med cruise). Super excited 🛳️
I’m working on saving for our FIRST EVER Disney cruiser in 2024.. we went to Disney for the first time last May and I can’t wait to have a magical experience again 😊😊😊
We really love NCL! Great food, service and entertainment and tons of ships to choose from!
This was a fantastic review. I just finished my first RCL cruise, and looked at so many videos by Matt. He is absolutely fantastic. You are right there with him with your wit and insights well done.
One downside of CCL is the potential of rowdy guests. Wife and I went on one a few years ago where a giant fight broke out due to multiple guests being over-served. We didn’t have any kids at that time but now that we do, we don’t plan to go on that cruise line especially if we bring the kids.
We love to go on cruises in November or December. It gets us out of the snow and into warm weather. We went on a 12 day cruise with royal Caribbean this past November and it was only $2600 for the two of us
DCL is great for cruising. Sometimes after looking at other lines nickel dime technique
it can be not that much more ON CERTAIN DAYS. To me where they drop the ball is the
Alaska cruises. Doesn't even go to glacier bay for the price! On top of that they only sail
the Wonder there which is an old ship. We ended up being moved cabins because handles
coming off cabinets...toilet overflowing...balcony door not working correctly.
My girlfriend and I went on the Disney dream back in January it was one of the best experiences we ever had we love Disney world but not having to wake up and walk fast everywhere was nice 😂
Had the opportunity to go on a Disney cruise with my boys and we loved it, everything was great and we had unlimited food at all times even at 3am if you wanted a snack, Can’t wait to go back. ❤
We been one to Northern European Cruise ; Have fun and the travel with the cruise happy it and really enjoy it. Look forward the second third..... continued with Disney Cruise Line.
Thanks for the plug! Hope this information helps a lot of folks out there considering a non-DCL cruise!
I’ve cruises on the DCL Fantasy and 3 RCL cruises. DCL had better food and the dining rooms were more enjoyable. RCL just has more to do overall and has the oasis class, which aside from the crowds, are the best cruise ships in my opinion. I’d definitely go back on a DCL ship but it’s hard to justify the cost, when I feel it’s not nearly 3 times better than RCL.
I Just Went On A Disney Cruise Last Month In February 2023; I Saw My Asian Wife (Maya-Minnie-Chu) At Her Job Working On Aboard.
We did our first 4 cruises with Disney when my kids were young. The prices were actually more reasonable for Disney then. We had a great time and we have very fond memories of those cruises. As my kids got older and Disney got obscenely expensive, we moved on to royal Caribbean. We are still big Disney people (just spent 9 nights at boardwalk in August) but my 15/16 love the huge royal Caribbean ships. There is so much for them to do on the huge royal ships. We are going on an 8 night Aruba royal cruise in April and 7 night Alaska royal cruise in August. Those 2 cruises are almost the cost of one Disney cruise. At this point, we would rather just go to Disney world, then a Disney cruise. That being said, if Disney offered a deal or lowered prices, we would definitely love to try one of newer ships.
Have always cruised Princess as we love the vibe and elegant ships, as well as great service and good food. However, we are cruising for first time on Disney this Fall and looking forward to a new experience. We’ll have to see if the higher price is worth it.
Don't even get me started on the Disney spa. Not only are their prices absurd ($200) for a mediocre massage, they try to upsell you on everything. It didn't feel like Disney, it felt like an MLA. That was the least Disney-like experience I had on the entire cruise. Never touching the spa again. They even upcharged me without saying so because I wanted a bit more pressure and they charged it as deep tissue over swedish.
I was NOT a fan of the upsell at the spa treatments. I've done one massage and that was it. I only do the rainforest room now.
That’s because they AREN’T Disney. The spa is run by a third party. Is the massage worth the price? Depends on your financial status. I’ve done cruises with and without a massage. I tell them upfront I’m not interested in buying anything and they’ve never tried to upsell me after telling them. The rainforest spa pass I feel is worth it, but you’re responsible for doing your own research. You can’t balk at the price of you didn’t research the price ahead of time, or you knew but went with one anyway.
I wouldn't go on a Disney cruise again. Yes the entertainment and service is amazing, but there are way too many children and there's nothing (in my opinion) that makes up for the egregious cost of them. With casino offers (just a bit of gambling per trip) on Carnival, we can get 10 day cruises for 2 for less than $1000 total. Can't beat it. I can go on a 3-day Disney cruise or book 4 10-day cruises with Carnival. It's really a no brainer.
We did the UK Disney staycation during the pandemic for our first ever cruise and loved it, so we did a RC one to Norway last summer, loved it even more... This year, we are doing our first proper Disney cruise in the Med this summer, can't wait, also hopefully planning on doing Alaska next year with Disney....... I love the parks, but now we've hit our 40s, its kinda nice getting a Disney fix, but doing some travelling. I think we're gonna be doing cruises much more than park trips from now on, but we might be throwing in some RC ones every now and again for locations Disney doesn't go
That sounds wonderful! Enjoy!
I’ve been loving the Disney cruise videos
This is a really great video. Very thoughtful and insightful.
I was literally just wondering how a Disney cruise compared to a non Disney cruise this morning! I couldn't believe this video posted right after!
Yay!
This was an excellent comparison video.
You are playing for the Disney Brand name and it's designed for little kids the most. Where Royal and Carnival is for the whole family from kids to Grandparents.
Royal have Bumper Cars, Zip lines, Shows, Parks, etc...
A fair and balanced assessment! Well done!
Cooll runings
Thank you 😺
Great video, very well done!
Hearing your voice makes me want to head to anything Disney asap 😂. Sailing on RCL next month. We were going on Disney and after comparing the two Dream & Wonders of the sea we narrowed it down and we chose RCL. We will hopefully in the future as our son gets older sail on Disney. My sister in law only sails Disney. As we have tried all the others.
Great comparison!
The Skydiving simulator (Ripcord by IFly) is actually complimentary on some of the days…Royal doesn’t nickel-and-dime you as much as Carnival does
Excellent video!!
We love Royal Caribbean cruises always had great experiences and good food
We spent 10k with disney and cruised concierge. There is no other way to do it. Concierge is SO worth the money! I thought our disney cruise was better than disney world.
Really good review.
I have sailed on both Carnival and Royal and as for a family, between those 2 Royal is the better family. I really want to do a Disney cruise but the cost is always the prohibitive part as we also have to fly into Florida. I have an upcoming cruise in a Grand suite in 12 days with Royal so will try the suite life for first time. I really would love to still do a Disney cruise but with 4 of my 6 kids still at home the cost is high if only you could find a sale...
Been on 4 Disney cruises, 2 RC, and 1 Carnival. Great comprehensive of different cruise lines, minus the qualiy of shows. I feel you get a better personal experience on Disney Cruise Line than the others (experiences may vary). RC was fantastic for scheduled events or dinner, carnival i felt as if i was passenger number 942. For example on RC the dining (specialty and primary) was great. very attentive and knowledgeable. Celebrity was, ok. Disney is in a whole new league of its own. Our server was so great our kids and I still talk about him (and the team) 8 months later. So much so we planned another cruise around his schedule he mentioned to us last cruise.
While yes this could be very much geared towards kids experiences, if you like/love disney then there is nothing else that can compare.
We found that Royal had the youth clubs closed most of the days for large portions of the day on the Wonder. My youth was never able to even use the teen hot tub or the teen bar because they were never open (7 night cruise).
We also found the food & service MUCH better on Disney. We don't plan to go back to Royal...it was essentially a more expensive Carnival cruise.
Calling other cruises "cheaper" on the main screen isn't accurate, they should be called "non-gouging" instead. As you have already covered in your video, the biggest reason why Disney is so much more expensive all comes down to branding and brand recognition. The quality of the cruise on RCL would be no lower than Disney. Luckily my kids were never sucked into the Disney branding machine to have justify the gouging of the Disney brand. The RCL cruises simply has more types of activities that are offered once kids are over 5 or 6. The skydiving simulator on Quantum class ships is free for a shorter trial session, but will cost more for the regular longer session. All it comes down to is branding. Do not be afraid of other cruise lines because they're not American household names, they have great reputations in the cruise industry. For our family of 5, the difference for the cruises is over $10k, and that is a lot of money to be spending for just familiar branding, and not for a better overall cruising experience on RCL and others. If you have money to burn, sure, go for it.
The very cool water slides at Cococay are add on… very pricey add on! Let’s mention it.
It would have been really helpful if this video mentioned the fact that you have to pay to use perfect days waterpark, which a lot of people complain is exponentially expensive.
It also appears that there’s only one sitdown restaurant on the Royal Caribbean unless you want to pay extra for dinners. Those two things could really tack on all that money that you saved by booking a royal Caribbean cruise over a Disney cruise.
My personal take based on experiences and research: Disney (Best for kids under 13 and big time Disney fans who want to experience Disney magic at sea.) Royal Carribean (Best for families with teens who don't want "little kid" focused stuff like Disney characters around. Great activities for a mix of adult ages as well from Bingo for grands to Karaoke and live bands and drinks for Mom & Dad.) Carnival (Best for budget-conscious people who want to party it up. Kids clubs have been reported to be fun.)
I’ve done 4 different cruise lines. Disney is amazing when it comes to entertainment and magic. Carnival is cheap and has good port of calls. Royal has amazing luxury and food as well as activities as well like the flow rider Norwegian has amazing food and on board activities.
Disney fell short in the food the last time I went but it was a magical three days.
Counting down for our family Disney fantasy cruise. We have looked at different cruise line and Disney fit us most. We don’t have any younger kids ours boys are teenagers,but when ask they think Disney would be best.
As far as I can tell- Disney only ever has 1 ship at Castaway cay. Rc had 3 ships at Coco Cay when we were there. I think there were probably close to 12000 passengers there. One ship had to tender in. The food area and beaches felt very crowded. With Disney- the individual ships hold less passengers and there's never a time when more than 1 cruise ship is there.
Those crowds sound like a nightmare.
When I went to coco Kay our ship was the only one there
Perhaps a comparison with our very favorite “room” at WDW…the Cascade Cabins at Copper Creek.
IMHO..having cruised Disney as well as Carnival and Celebrity and going to cruise RCI this fall, for my wife and I (HUGE Disney fans) we just cannot justify the cost increase that DCL requires. What I have told some friends who have inquired with us about doing a Disney cruise is that for the cost of what a DCL would cost a family of 4, you could take a 7 day cruise with either Carnival or RCI and then do a 7 day trip at WDW. Then you get to experience what cruising is like and also get all the best that WDW has to offer. 2 weeks of vacation versus 1. Every year I price DCL as we'd love to take another one but every single time it's at least 3x what a Carnival or RCI would cost. It's not worth it to us.
We choose Disney because of environmental ratings and it’s a nice middle ground between the party/floating amusement parks and the snooze lines. The cost difference is steep but Disney doesn’t have casino revenue. From what I understand cruise lines make up to 50% of profit from casinos.
Exactly. People say they’re saving money, but between blowing their money at those casinos and paying for a BASIC drink package, I wouldn’t doubt they’re still paying the equivalent of a Disney cruise anyway. It’s called denial.
Avid and long time Disney world fan here. I’ve been on royal Caribbeans harmony of the seas, the Disney dream and I just got off the carnival Mardi Gras a couple weeks ago. The carnival Mardi Gras blew the others out of the water in my opinion. The food was the best I’ve had at sea, and the activities were awesome. I don’t party and I don’t gamble. I cruised with 2 kids
Thank you so much for this insight into your experience!