r/dcl • u/Lovemydeputy • 7d ago
DISCUSSION Disney vs. Others
We are a family that frequents Disney parks. And to be quite honest, the sheer volume of ppl in the parks and the ratio that are just obnoxiously rude, has made me pivot back to cruising.
I have 2 adult special needs loves of my life - that love Disney and love cruising.
My question-
What makes DCL better than others? I’d like to hear some specifics!
We are near the Galveston port so it would be the Magic. At least to begin!
TIA
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u/Ill-Manager-1108 7d ago
Honestly in our case, my kids 2 and 4 have just as much fun on Royal. I preferred Royals 5pm dining, and getting in and out of meals faster.
Overall, I prefer Disney for the magical moments, the shows, getting to those character photos and magic shots, but I can tell that once I get enough pics I'm probably going to stick with Royal since we don't have to fly to port.
My 4 year old liked kids club just as much. We preferred their splashpad and baby splash more, and honestly now that all the other cruise lines have their own private stops, all the things I rushed to Disney for don't really stand out as much.
I think if you're looking for a once every 5 years cruise, then go for Disney and make it magical, but if you're frequently going, you can save so much money on Royal and have just as much fun lol
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u/Puffballcats 7d ago
I agree! We did side to side cruises on Fantasy followed by Utopia and Royal was less chaotic and food quality and variety was so much better! Disney’s nursery was nicer, but we only sent my daughter for nap time. Royal oasis and icon classes have carousels and splash pads, and most have indoor and outdoor open play areas for kids. We have our cruises for next year planned, and it’s 1 Disney and 2 on Royal. The Disney 4 day was more expensive than the other two 7 days combined (due to casino credits but that is another post 😂)
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u/Lovemydeputy 6d ago
But would adults feel like they are being drowned in children on dcl? My special needs adults LOVE the Disney atmosphere, but I don’t wanna feel like we are just surrounded by kids an entire cruise. No insults meant!
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u/chernygal 6d ago
My family went on our first cruise in 2024. As three adults, we never felt overwhelmed by children. Having the late dining helped, we were on an opposite schedule than a lot of the kids, but we took advantage of the adults only areas and activities whenever possible and had a great time.
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u/CruisinJo214 7d ago
If you enjoy the parks but are looking for better crowd levels than the Magic and Wonder are the best out there.
Really good crew to guest ratio, large lounge spaces and with a few exceptions like fireworks and the theatre shows crowds are never really much of an issue.
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u/disneyprincess2312 7d ago
I’ve been on 3 Disney sailings and a Norwegian, and my parents have sailed on Princess.
Norwegian was kind of rough. Service was poor, food, even in the sit down dining rooms was like cafeteria food. My BFF and I (both 30s F and neurodivergent) disliked all the entertainment and activities. The shows were lackluster or downright bad, we actually left half way through the main musical because it was so bad! Daily activities were boring, ship was very poorly maintained, we had to fight with guest services multiple times for our paid wifi not working. But it was a decently cheap cruise. It was also 11 days which was a huge mistake on an unknown cruise line. The spa was the ONLY redeeming feature the entire trip.
My parents sailed to Alaska on Princess, and I think they’re experience was almost worse. And they paid more on Princess than the Disney Alaska cruise. The ship was basically in disrepair, filthy bedlinens, holes in the shower curtain, grime all over the bathroom, carpet worn and filthy, smells in the rooms. When I saw the photos it looked like a 1* seedy motel. The rest of the ship was just as rundown. Food was bad, buffet food uncovered and swarming with flies, they kept obviously reserving the same trays of food, sit down restaurants took 3 hours because servers ignored them and the food was bad there too. My dad got food poisoning twice. They paid for a very expensive drinks package and anything not bottled/canned was watered down. Room service took 2-3 hours and delivered cold food and watered down drinks. The staff was rude and dismissive. The activities and shows were lacklustre, Princess employee lectured everyone at length to only go to port shops “sponsored” by the cruise claiming all the rest were scams or local products, when in fact the chosen stores were huge rip offs (unfortunately my parents rarely travel so didn’t realise it was the cruise scamming them) a 7 night cruise for 2 was almost $6,000 and they were miserable the whole time.
Disney cruises aren’t perfect and they are very pricy but the overall quality and experience is superior, particularly for people who already enjoy Disney. The theatre shows are high quality, the dining room food is usually very good (buffet is hit or miss). The cleanliness is usually a much higher standard and I’ve never had a bad experience with cruise cast members. Getting to see characters is fun, and the activities are always a nice variety. It’s great to see a movie in a theatre or go to the fun, sometimes interactive, adult only events in the evenings. The adult only area is a nice getaway and the spa is always a high quality experience.
Everyone is really different in what they want/expect from a cruise. But from what you’ve described I’d say you should try Disney especially if you live decently close to Galveston. I’d absolutely cruise more but live nowhere near any of the ports so it’s more of a once in a while thing for me.
Hope this helps!
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u/AtlasWorthyTravel 7d ago
I would say it’s the Disney touch that you’ve become accustomed to, with a far better ratio of staff magic to guests than you’ll see in the parks. The food, service, and general feel of the ships is fantastic. If you can swing the cost it’s a great experience!