Dreamworks vs Disney

[Jerseymomof2]

We have only taken my boys on a Disney cruise. We are booked on the Liberty of the Seas next month. Can anyone tell me how the Dreamworks Cruise is similar/different from the Disney. I didn't tell them too much about the Dreamworks characters because I wasn't sure what to expect.
Thank you

 

[Flhokie]

We sailed on Allure of the Seas. The Dreamworks Characters did a sail away party (& another show), were in the parades on the Promenade, did meet and greets and were the focus of the character breakfasts. It might be a bit different for a smaller ship (Liberty is not small by any means, but it's smaller than Allure), but I'm sure they'll have some of that. With the character breakfasts, the characters were different at each breakfast.

DD did not really know the Dreamworks characters when we sailed, but we really enjoyed the characters! On Disney we often got in line at the time the set was scheduled for only to be told the line was closed (due to people lining up so early). We never encountered any of this on RCCL. DD was a little nervous with Shrek. He had no line and took time getting her to get comfortable. One evening King Julian played hide & seek with her on the Boardwalk as he was going in from a set.

 

[bumbershoot]

We were on Freedom, sister ship to Liberty.

To us, it was as "in your face" as you wanted it to be. Except for the parade at the end, it wasn't over the top. If you wanted to meet the characters, they had schedules and you could get in line or walk on by as you wished. The character breakfast was horrible in our opinion. And at the time we sailed, it was still free. The activities were geared towards preschool, and given that we were meeting characters from Shrek and KungFu Panda, I was uncomfortable with that! Shrek especially, was NOT watched in our household when DS was itsy. But that was the majority of the kids at the breakfast we went to. The food and service were awful. (I have read that the food is the same as in rest of the main dining room, I don't know, but we had to run up to Windjammers to get some decent, FRESH, breakfast after the character meal) But just like with a WDW character meal, the food isn't the focus, right? You can meet some characters which can keep you out of the lines on the rest of the ship!

We liked having Dreamworks there just in case DS wanted it. Turned out, he didn't. The breakfast was as much as he wanted. So we were the ones walking by the characters (though meeting King Julian would have been funny).

 

[starvenger]

Not sure if it was the same on he freedom, but on the allure the character breakfasts were chocolate- themed breakfasts. Food was what it was.

Character interaction overall was fine if that's what you wanted, and it was also fine if you avoided. Allure had a Madagascar water show and a How to train your dragon ice show, so those were fun.

 

[ldo]

We went on Liberty Dec 2013. There is a character parade in the promenade, character meet/greets throughout the cruise, and at least 1 3D movie in the big theater on a sea day. There is a very fun (free) pizza parlor that my tweens liked a lot and Johnny Rockets ($5 fee). There is a good ice show and you can ice skate. The main show was Saturday Night Fever--very good, but not appropriate for tweens, IMHO. Kids 8+ (I think) can boogie board on the flo rider. My kids under 12 loved RCCL kids clubs, 12+ not so much, as there is a lot of sports/competitive stuff and my teens are shy. There is no movie theater, like on DCL, and they do not show moives by the pool during the day--screen is hard to see and they showed sports, some concerts, 2 movies at night--but one was at 10pm. TV had 2-3 Dreamworks movies on it. DCL dining is better and more fun, RCCL is good to just OK--but it's not awful. Our next cruise is RCCL and we will pay for 2-3 nights of upscale dining. If your kids are under 12, you could do upscale dining and feed the kids at the pizza parlor/buffet early and check them into the kids club at 7pm. It's a very good value for a family cruise.

 

[bumbershoot]

Not sure if it was the same on he freedom, but on the allure the character breakfasts were chocolate- themed breakfasts. Food was what it was.

Yep. Shudder. The chocolate bread tasted like chemicals to me. The eggs were unspeakable. Our server was angry with something other than us, and tried to get our orders before we had menus. It was crazy. I don't recommend them for the food!

Po was fun, though; got even this character-disliker-what's-the-point-they-are-women-in-costume person to crack up.

 

[starvenger]

Yeah, not my thing, the MDR breakfasts. Much preferred the Park or Wipeout cafes for breakfast, although I cannot complain about windjammer either.

 

[Frozen2014]

Not talking from experience as our first RCL cruise with DreamWorks is next year, but am so excited for this..for our kids. They apparently have parades, Aqua Show (maybe this is just Oasis class?), Ice Show (How to Train a Your Dragon on Allure), Character breakfast and Meet and Greets. It's an awesome addition for kids.

 

[starvenger]

Yes, Aqua Show is Oasis Class only

 

[OhThePain]

...To us, it was as "in your face" as you wanted it to be. Except for the parade at the end, it wasn't over the top. If you wanted to meet the characters, they had schedules and you could get in line or walk on by as you wished. The character breakfast was horrible in our opinion...

My sister was on the Quantum in March and her take was exactly the same about it being as "in your face" as you want it to be. That is one of the things my wife and I loved about DCL, is you really were able to control how in your face Disney is (we don't have kids yet, so escaping to the adult only areas is an easy way to take a break from Disney). I am a little sad, however, to hear that the character breakfast is that bad (not the first time I have read that). My wife and I are treating our family (6A, 2C) to the breakfast on the first morning in July on the Liberty. But as you said the food isn't the focus

 

[Frozen2014]

My sister was on the Quantum in March and her take was exactly the same about it being as "in your face" as you want it to be. That is one of the things my wife and I loved about DCL, is you really were able to control how in your face Disney is (we don't have kids yet, so escaping to the adult only areas is an easy way to take a break from Disney). I am a little sad, however, to hear that the character breakfast is that bad (not the first time I have read that). My wife and I are treating our family (6A, 2C) to the breakfast on the first morning in July on the Liberty. But as you said the food isn't the focus

I keep hearing negative posts about the character breakfast but am trying to take the comments with a grain of salt. I love how they have added this to RCL cruises (even though you now have to pay for it) and it's something specific for our kids. I think it'll be fun, regardless if the food is the same or mediocre.

 

[starvenger]

Like most character dining, it's not really about the food. Plus it's no extra charge, so it's no big deal to not eat there and get food elsewhere afterwards.

 

[OhThePain]

I keep hearing negative posts about the character breakfast but am trying to take the comments with a grain of salt. I love how they have added this to RCL cruises (even though you now have to pay for it) and it's something specific for our kids. I think it'll be fun, regardless if the food is the same or mediocre.

I agree with you. That's why we figured we'd go with it anyway. Besides, if the food is that bad: 1. There are tons of other places to eat on the ship 2. Everyone can stand to skip a meal on a cruise.

Like most character dining, it's not really about the food. Plus it's no extra charge, so it's no big deal to not eat there and get food elsewhere afterwards.

There is actually a $10 fee, per person (including children), for the character breakfast now.

 

[starvenger]

There is actually a $10 fee, per person (including children), for the character breakfast now.

What's that non-Disney saying again? Oh yeah - D'OH!

 

[mcd2745]

We did the character breakfast on Oasis back in Aug 2013. It was bad. Character interaction was rushed and not fun at all. Service was awful. two servers kept disagreeing on who was responsible for our table. Even after they got is sorted out, they weren't any good. More than anything, it was just an unorganized, poorly managed mess.

 

[eliza61]

just back from the Oasis. did the character breakfast. I didn't feel rushed at all. if any thing, the meal was slow. character interaction was great. Food was meh. I don't have high expectations for character meals. I think Cinderalla's castle is a colossal rip off with the nastiest food ever, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

 

[Frozen2014]

just back from the Oasis. did the character breakfast. I didn't feel rushed at all. if any thing, the meal was slow. character interaction was great. Food was meh. I don't have high expectations for character meals. I think Cinderalla's castle is a colossal rip off with the nastiest food ever, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

So aside from the food (which my understanding is just MDR breakfast), was it enjoyable? We are thinking of doing it on Allure as it would be fun for our kids. And yeah, the CRT is overpriced, but our DD enjoyed and it's something to do at least once for anyone with a little girl.