Disney Cruise Line VS. OTHER Cruise Lines

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 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 hope Universal gets a ship! Imagine a Harry Potter cruise! The floating school of Wizardry, the Atlantis!

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.

Disney has also never failed a Vessel Sanitation Program Inspection. Something to think about when taking children on a vacation afloat. :)

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.

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 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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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

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

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.

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.