Closest DCL Competitors

[disneylandlocal]

Do be aware that the water park on Coco Cay is not included and is an extra charge (like up to $99 extra pp, depending on what you want to do). That said, there is a lot of included stuff to do there if you aren’t tied to the slides…

Thanks, I didn’t know that but would gladly pay. What free stuff is available? I should watch some vlogs. I wish a few more attractions were added to castaway.

 

[tidefan]

Thanks, I didn’t know that but would gladly pay. What free stuff is available? I should watch some vlogs. I wish a few more attractions were added to castaway.

The main difference is that there is a pool. Other than that, they are more similar than not. There are 2 lunch places and a couple of snack shacks where you can get things like mozzerella sticks or funnel cakes (no extra charge). I like both Castaway and Coco Cay (though I may like Virgin’s Bimini Beach Club as well if not better…)

Of course, the water park is also a main difference…

 

[DisneyPiPhi]

Princess is great. It’s our favorite line outside DCL and Virgin. Which ship are you on? We’ll be on Crown Princess late May/early June.

We're on Royal Princess as that's what was sailing our itinerary the week we could sail!

 

[tidefan]

We're on Royal Princess as that's what was sailing our itinerary the week we could sail!

You will love it. Royal Princess has an Alfredo’s Pizzeria. That is an included restaurant, not to be confused with the pizza which is available on the pool deck (which is also pretty good, just not as good as Alfredo’s). Alfredo’s also has calzones, etc…

Also, if you have kids, they will bring an iditarod dog team onboard and you can play with the puppies…

 

[LambertLion]

This is good to hear! We've chosen Princess for an upcoming Alaska cruise because we want a one-way itinerary and a visit to Glacier Bay National Park. We are very used to DCL, though, and I'm hoping Princess will show up in the service department. And the food allergy accommodation department. (Thought I'm not expecting anything like we get at Disney.)

We did a Princess ship for our Alaska cruise in 2018 and we wanted so badly to be aboard the Disney Wonder that we saw with us at a few of the ports. There were by far mostly elderly passengers on board and a lot of the activities were geared towards them. Even trivia and such seemed to mostly focus around the age group of 60+. The service was just not as good and we didnt like the ship (Ruby Princess, i dont think they have that ship anymore) very much comparatively, tho the indoor pool was nice, but their staff didnt do a good job of cleaning the pool deck and there were at many times, lots of left behind trash and cups at many of the tables and chairs. There was also an odor…of sewage…we kept randomly encountering around the ship. Maybe a newer and better class ship of Princess might have been better.
We‘ve been on a couple of Royal Caribbean cruises too and liked them a lot. We want to try Norwegian in the future as well.

 

[tidefan]

We did a Princess ship for our Alaska cruise in 2018 and we wanted so badly to be aboard the Disney Wonder that we saw with us at a few of the ports. There were by far mostly elderly passengers on board and a lot of the activities were geared towards them. Even trivia and such seemed to mostly focus around the age group of 60+. The service was just not as good and we didnt like the ship (Ruby Princess, i dont think they have that ship anymore) very much comparatively, tho the indoor pool was nice, but their staff didnt do a good job of cleaning the pool deck and there were at many times, lots of left behind trash and cups at many of the tables and chairs. There was also an odor…of sewage…we kept randomly encountering around the ship. Maybe a newer and better class ship of Princess might have been better.
We‘ve been on a couple of Royal Caribbean cruises too and liked them a lot. We want to try Norwegian in the future as well.

Funny, we felt the exact opposite. We were very underwhelmed by Oasis of the Seas, but have very much enjoyed our Princess sailings. Royal is a new class of ship. I’m not sure that a Princess ship has an enclosed pool anymore (maybe Island or Coral Princess?)

Does bring up a great point, though. Sometimes it is more about the ship itself more so than what line you are on. Royal Princess will be very different from Coral Princess much like Quantum of the Seas will be very different than Grandeur of the Seas much like Carnival Mardi Gras will be very different than Carnival Ecstasy.

 

[hrhdhd]

We did a Princess ship for our Alaska cruise in 2018 and we wanted so badly to be aboard the Disney Wonder that we saw with us at a few of the ports. There were by far mostly elderly passengers on board and a lot of the activities were geared towards them. Even trivia and such seemed to mostly focus around the age group of 60+. The service was just not as good and we didnt like the ship (Ruby Princess, i dont think they have that ship anymore) <snip>

The Ruby Princess began sailing in 2008 and is still in the Princess fleet. We have had a cruise on her and a couple on her sister, Emerald Princess, and enjoyed them a lot. I am sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise.

 

[mousefan73]

I think Royal Caribbean comes closest, especially the Oasis class boats with things like the ice shows and the aqua theater. They also have family friendly activities such as a carousel, water slides, etc.

Norwegian also has a lot to offer, but I feel like they have more activities geared towards adults or children, but not as many family activities as RC.

IMO for my teens who have moved beyond Disney characters, Royal offers them much more and surpasses Disney on true activities and things to do

 

[cwis]

Has anyone been sailing MSC, especially Yacht Club? Considering it as an alternative to DCL, especially in the Med when the mouse is not operating.

 

[I_love_Cruising]

We loved out med cruise on NCL Getaway in 2021. DCL didn't cruise Europe last year, so we tried NCL.

The food was amazing, better quality and more variation than DCL. We also loved that we could just show up for dinner whenever we were ready.
Service was superb. Cabins were always cleaned and restocked. Drink service in the bars was fast but not obnoxious. We never had the feeling to be pressured to reorder.
Entertainment was okay, not as good as Disney, but still enjoyable.

 

[tidefan]

The Ruby Princess began sailing in 2008 and is still in the Princess fleet. We have had a cruise on her and a couple on her sister, Emerald Princess, and enjoyed them a lot. I am sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise.

We did Alaska on Emerald Princess and enjoyed it as well. That is still the only ship where we’ve had the Maitre’d cook our dinner table side. It was an amazing pasta dish he (I think his name was Fabrizio) made back home in Italy. Had never had that experience before!!

 

[hrhdhd]

We did Alaska on Emerald Princess and enjoyed it as well. That is still the only ship where we’ve had the Maitre’d cook our dinner table side. It was an amazing pasta dish he (I think his name was Fabrizio) made back home in Italy. Had never had that experience before!!

Princess also used to do Bananas Foster tableside, which was yummy. We have no negative words for Princess.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I realize we may be in the minority, but when our kids were small, all our vacations .....not just cruises........were to spent time together. During the school year, we might only see them a couple of hours a day.

We've cruised with the kids twice. Two 5-night double-dip sailings, and they've spent about 3 hours total in the kids club. Same thing at Aulani. Maybe an hour or two at Aunty's Beach House on a week long trip.

They do it to say they did it, and to hear storytime with a princess, but the rest of the time we prefer to be together.

 

[Drfate102]

Our very first cruise was a 15 nights San Francisco to Hawaii and back. It was fun, I would do it again in a hart beat(after I retire). But there are times, I felt it was a bit to stuffy and walking through casino was annoying and smoky. I have looked into Caravel and Royal as they both sail out of Tampa and I have looked at Viking as it includes a port excursion at every port. But we really love DCL as we have done three cruises with them and have three more booked.