Line most similar to DCL

[dreamer17555]

I’m curious what other cruise line do you feel like is the most similar to DCL?

Things I particularly like about DCL, and would love to find in another line-
Turn down service
Good theater shows
Amazing service
Limited up charges

My son will be 18 in a year and it might be time then to branch out. So what line do you feel is the most similar to DCL?

 

[Mags2002]

I know a lot of people who always cruised DCL and now love Royal

 

[dreamer17555]

I know a lot of people who always cruised DCL and now love Royal

I thought Royal no longer did turn down services and had quite a few upcharges?

 

[Mags2002]

I thought Royal no longer did turn down services and had quite a few upcharges?

I have never cruised on Royal so don’t know much about it. I just know that they went from DCL to Royal and never looked back

 

[atoz786]

I thought Royal no longer did turn down services and had quite a few upcharges?

They do in JR suite and above. Upcharges really depends on how you look at it, where as Disney is inclusive but higher fare, Royal doesn't include it. For example i get the soda package for about $8/day which is included in Disney. However a JR suite is often less than a comparable Balcony room on Disney.

 

[dreamer17555]

They do in JR suite and above. Upcharges really depends on how you look at it, where as Disney is inclusive but higher fare, Royal doesn't include it. For example i get the soda package for about $8/day which is included in Disney. However a JR suite is often less than a comparable Balcony room on Disney.

Are there certain royal ships you can suggest? Or ones to avoid? If it helps my favorite DCL ships are the Dream class

 

[Mags2002]

Are there certain royal ships you can suggest? Or ones to avoid? If it helps my favorite DCL ships are the Dream class

I would say anything from the quantum or oasis classes

 

[atoz786]

Are there certain royal ships you can suggest? Or ones to avoid? If it helps my favorite DCL ships are the Dream class

We have a 2 and 5 year old so the ships that we love are any of the Oasis Class ships. I have only sailed Disney twice (fantasy, 2021 and magic 2009) so i am no expert on Disney ships, but I would say that you may enjoy any of the Freedom Class Ships (Freedom, Liberty, Independence) or Quantum Class (quantum, anthem, ovation). They won't have as many passengers as the Oasis Class.

If you don't have kids and are older I would suggest Celebrity.

 

[auntlynne]

I have done one cruise on Royal’s Allure of the Seas.

Never would I have I thought to describe that cruise or ship as similar to DCL other than it was a ship with cruise food, traveling from port to port. And it left from Florida.

 

[auntlynne]

Royal is famously described as “nickel and diming” and having MDR food that necessitates your paying for specialty dining. Norwegian and Carnival have similar reputations.

Currently, Royal seems to have these shows still showing:

 

[auntlynne]

I actually would point you to Royal’s Symphony of the Seas, an Oasis class ship if you are looking to move away from Disney. Or one of Carnival’s Excel class ships - like the Mardi Gras reviewed in this forum (sister ships: Jubilee and Celebration).

No other cruise line is “like” Disney. Just take a leap and see if other options are something you enjoy.

And know that you will have the opportunity to pay for extras and be offered these on boarding day.

But entertainment remains an included option. Many Royal ships have ice skating and water theater shows.

The included food options - mainly quick service - on those new Carnival ships are reported by many of being excellent. Burgers by Guy Fieri, chicken sandwiches by Shaq.

There has to be a reason there are so many “Royal Loyal.”

 

[tidefan]

Royal is famously described as “nickel and diming” and having MDR food that necessitates your paying for specialty dining. Norwegian and Carnival have similar reputations.

Currently, Royal seems to have these shows still showing:

View attachment 843320

View attachment 843321

I would rather have four root canals, then have to sit through Cats again on Oasis of the seas…

I really don’t care for Royal Caribbean that much. My problem with them is that they’re really aren’t a lot of great included food options. Mainly it’s that they don’t really have anywhere on deck like you would have on Disney or Princess or carnival.

It’s the buffet, or the MDR or the pizza place. If you are on Oasis, then, you also get the park café and Loco fresh. However, I feel that the included food on other lines is much better, but that’s just my opinion. Now, if you want to pay for Royal’s unlimited dining package, then you can probably get good food, but it’s a sizable up charge per person.

If you are all 18+, and you want good food on the cruise, then I would highly suggest Virgin Voyages.

 

[auntlynne]

I would rather have four root canals, then have to sit through Cats again on Oasis of the seas…

I really don’t care for Royal Caribbean that much. My problem with them is that they’re really aren’t a lot of great included food options. Mainly it’s that they don’t really have anywhere on deck like you would have on Disney or Princess or carnival.

It’s the buffet, or the MDR or the pizza place. If you are on Oasis, then, you also get the park café and Loco fresh. However, I feel that the included food on other lines is much better, but that’s just my opinion. Now, if you want to pay for Royal’s unlimited dining package, then you can probably get good food, but it’s a sizable up charge per person.

If you are all 18+, and you want good food on the cruise, then I would highly suggest Virgin Voyages.

I wanted to suggest Virgin to her, but didn’t know how that would go over for a Disney mom. It was the idea of entertainment on V V.

And do they do evening turndown?

I was thinking a more gradual move from Disney to adulthood.

I also considered the suggestion of Celebrity, but I don’t research it as much (but watch Captain Kate’s videos daily).

 

[tidefan]

I wanted to suggest Virgin to her, but didn’t know how that would go over for a Disney mom. It was the idea of entertainment on V V.

And do they do evening turndown?

I was thinking a more gradual move from Disney to adulthood.

I also considered the suggestion of Celebrity, but I don’t research it as much (but watch Captain Kate’s videos daily).

The funny thing is that Virgin, I would say, is, perhaps the experience that I would say, is most like Disney, however, there are two major caveats…

First, the ship is all 18 and older, so that makes a difference. Second, let’s just say that the IP is quite different…

So, example. Their ice cream place is all gelato, with quite a suggestive name, and we will just leave it at that. However, the ice cream/gelato is amazing. They change out the flavors all the time. One day I went, and in one container they had rum and raisin, and in next container, they had rum, rum, rum, rum, and raisin…

 

[LAS2AMS]

They do in JR suite and above. Upcharges really depends on how you look at it, where as Disney is inclusive but higher fare, Royal doesn't include it. For example i get the soda package for about $8/day which is included in Disney. However a JR suite is often less than a comparable Balcony room on Disney.

The only items inclusive on Disney but not on other mainstream lines are soda and room service. Unless you drink unusually large quantities of soda, you can avoid the charges if you bring your own soda on board or buy it at a port. All lines include a continental breakfast (same as Disney), with additional items available for a flat or per item fee. Note that Disney's menu is far more limited. Anything else that's an upcharge... is either an uncharge on Disney as well, or doesn't exist as an option. Other lines also offer packages Disney does not... if you book through a travel agent, you can often get Princess Plus for $300pp for a week -- that includes unlimited drinks (up to $15), including canned soda, gratuities, wifi, and a limited number of premium desserts and upcharge restaurants.

Note that experience will differ more among ships than cruise lines. For example, on some Carnival ships, gelato is available in the buffet for no additional charge, there are options like Shaq's Big Chicken and a complimentary BBQ buffet on sea days (that few people know about). Most other lines, unlike Disney, include lunch in the main dining room -- typically on sea days only -- and some do tea time as well.

Princess and Celebrity are the only two mainstream lines doing room service twice daily. I've always thought this was overkill and usually ask my room to be serviced once in the evenings only. I'm certain if you tip well, any room attendant would be happy to do room service twice daily.

 

[auntlynne]

The only items inclusive on Disney but not on other mainstream lines are soda and room service. Unless you drink unusually large quantities of soda, you can avoid the charges if you bring your own soda on board or buy it at a port. All lines include a continental breakfast (same as Disney), with additional items available for a flat or per item fee. Note that Disney's menu is far more limited. Anything else that's an upcharge... is either an uncharge on Disney as well, or doesn't exist as an option. Other lines also offer packages Disney does not... if you book through a travel agent, you can often get Princess Plus for $300pp for a week -- that includes unlimited drinks (up to $15), including canned soda, gratuities, wifi, and a limited number of premium desserts and upcharge restaurants.

Note that experience will differ more among ships than cruise lines. For example, on some Carnival ships, gelato is available in the buffet for no additional charge, there are options like Shaq's Big Chicken and a complimentary BBQ buffet on sea days (that few people know about). Most other lines, unlike Disney, include lunch in the main dining room -- typically on sea days only -- and some do tea time as well.

Princess and Celebrity are the only two mainstream lines doing room service twice daily. I've always thought this was overkill and usually ask my room to be serviced once in the evenings only. I'm certain if you tip well, any room attendant would be happy to do room service twice daily.

“or doesn’t exist as an option.” That is a big part of the equation. Royal, Carnival, and Norwegian have more options for extra-fee dinner. And often lauded by cruisers as being good food. People don’t want to miss out.

 

[lklgoodman]

We did a 7 night NCL cruise on the Encore. I was very excited to try another line and had planned on booking 2 more NCL cruises before we went on it. I also have a teenager and had been on 8 DCL cruises previously. We ate dinner in 2 upcharge resaurants and the food was good. It was also good in the regular sit down restaurants, but the service was consistently bad. Never got drink refills and every meal one of us would get something different than what we had ordered. Only a family of 3 and we always ordered straight off the menu and it was never right. The servers always were running around like chickens with their heads cut off and dinner felt hectic. Overall the workers weren't as pleasant as those on DCL. We never met our cabin host. Anytime we needed our trash empty or more towels or toilet paper I had to call to ask. They don't do turndown service and only "clean" your cabin once a day. Very minimal at best for what is done. We only had 1 Broadway style show in the theater. If you didn't reserve seats beforehand then you miss out because they only do the show on 2 nights. They did a Beatles show one other night. No entertainment in the theater on the other nights. They had other Beatles show on the other nights, but only for 21 and older. Daytime activisits were geared to those who want to sit in a bar and drink. Very little to do. I talked to others in my fb cruise group who had also done DCL cruises and they had the same complaints. We won't sail on NCL again and now have 2 DCL cruises booked.

 

[tvguy]

We did our Disney cruise sandwiched between two HAL cruises. Found the service similar, and the same with the kids clubs. But the HAL cruises were in June, to Alaska and were PACKED with kids so the HAL stereotype of older cruisers did not apply.

 

[Majide]

I've really enjoyed my Celebrity Cruises. I grew up going only on Disney, and then after I turned 18, we started going on Celebrity. We've been on 3 cruises now, and the new ships in particular are very nice. Shows are good and the service is great. The buffet is a step above Disney and we love that they are also open for dinner and late night snacks.

The main thing we have noticed is there are less planned activities. On a Disney cruise there are always multiple trivia's and things happening at the same time that we have to pick which to do. On Celebrity they still have trivia's and game shows and stuff, but there is definitely less of them. Depending on what your son likes to do on cruises, he could get a little bored at times.

 

[Mango7100]

We did our Disney cruise sandwiched between two HAL cruises. Found the service similar, and the same with the kids clubs. But the HAL cruises were in June, to Alaska and were PACKED with kids so the HAL stereotype of older cruisers did not apply.

We are doing a HAL cruise in June to Norwegian Fjords on the Rotterdam. We are going with my parents and each have a Pinnacle Suite. Hopefully they will be lots of kids for DD11. That is my only concern about doing a different cruise line.