NCL (newer ships) vs. DCL with older teens/YA?

[TanaL]

Thank you for this. The size of the ship makes me nervous. Funny I never mind them wandering DCL
ships but looking at the Oasis size...yikes. Im glad you said it is well laid out. I'm not going to lie we
are Platinum and I sometimes still get lost on the fantasy lol.

I just took a look at Coco Cay video on youtube. That will be a huge hit! Just curious how you found
the price comparisons? I remember someone posting here that went on both and said when all was
said and done Royal was cheaper but not by much. Maybe I should look on Costco.

Seriously Coco Cay was just absolutely fantastic. Something for all ages.

Oh we got lost on the Oasis! Or at least we were checking maps regularly the first few days. But other than the muster/safety presentation, we never felt like we were stuck in a huge crowd. I don't mind a little walking, but i hate feeling like cattle or walking through crowded areas.

My (hazy) impression is that our 2 bedroom concierge suite for 5 people on Oasis was similar to a previous trip which was 6 people in 2 category 6 verandah rooms the Magic. We've been on DCL many times and only did concierge once as we didn't find it worthwhile for our needs, we've been very happy with regular DCL dining and service. On RCCL the driving factor in going concierge was that my recently widowed MIL liked the 2 bedroom suite, she didn't want to be on her own.

However I don't remember the pricing specifics and honestly they may be totally different now.

 

[DCLMP]

I'm Platinum on DCL. I have not seen on DCL what I've seen on NCL and Carnival. Could it happen? Of course. It's the very reason I don't go to EP F&W on weekends. Been there, done that, not our scene.



See above. We don't go to EP on F&W weekends.



I'm glad you had a good experience on Carnival. We did not like Carnival when we sailed. I've sailed on 8 cruise lines, both big and small. Some of our NCL cruises were fine, but the drinking on top of the fairly poor service on our last cruise with them made us stop going on that line. Carnival wasn't our thing. Obviously many people like NCL and Carnival or they wouldn't remain in business. I also don't like Six Flags or Ft. Lauderdale during spring break. Some people do, some people don't. I will avoid those places and others who enjoy those experiences can continue going. Why does my preference regarding cruise line atmosphere matter to anyone on this thread? Every cruise line is selling a different type of product. After many cruises, we found we, generally, do not like large ships or bigger cruise lines. I also prefer the Magic and Wonder to the Dream and Fantasy. I certainly believe the stories I've read about drunk people on DCL on this thread, it's just nothing we've encountered, personally. I think everyone should do their research to see if the cruise line and ship they are thinking of booking is a good match for the type of vacation they are looking for. Someone asked for our opinions on NCL and I gave mine after having sailed with them four times. I'll give my opinion and you can give yours. I believe that's how it works on these boards.

The comment about the shirts would cause would cause me to not to take your review seriously. When I’m looking at reviews I’m looking for things a little more tangible. Hopefully it was helpful to the op.

 

[starvenger]

I just took a look at Coco Cay video on youtube. That will be a huge hit! Just curious how you found
the price comparisons? I remember someone posting here that went on both and said when all was
said and done Royal was cheaper but not by much. Maybe I should look on Costco.

It can be. I did a quick check for 7 night, 2 adult cruises sailing on Aug 27, 2022. DCL Fantasy out of Port Canaveral, and Symphony OTS out of Miami. Both hit Cozumel and the private island.

For DCL I chose the Deluxe Oceanview with Undersized Verandah, which was the cheapest option. The Stateroom was way in the aft of the ship:


For RCL I chose an Oceanview with a large balcony, in the middle of the ship, with the refundable deposit:

When you convert CAD to USD, it's about $3325. Cost of 2 soda packages is around $160USD. So it's about $500USD difference. Not an insignificant sum, but also not so much that you would dismiss cruising DCL outright.

Of course, there's a sacrifice in the smaller balcony and worse location on DCL, and I am choosing a more expensive option for Royal. If we go to a standard Verandah and midship location, DCL's price jumps to $4409. And if I change Royal to an Oceanview balcony (still midship), the price drops to $3734CDN or $2980USD. And now your difference (after adding in the soda package) is about $1250USD.

So it's all a matter of perspective. Royal is cheaper - I don't think there's much argument here. Is it a lot cheaper? If you're willing to make a couple of sacrifices on DCL... no, it's not. If you're unwilling to compromise, you might be looking at a 4-digit difference in price.

 

[jujubiee4]

It can be. I did a quick check for 7 night, 2 adult cruises sailing on Aug 27, 2022. DCL Fantasy out of Port Canaveral, and Symphony OTS out of Miami. Both hit Cozumel and the private island.

For DCL I chose the Deluxe Oceanview with Undersized Verandah, which was the cheapest option. The Stateroom was way in the aft of the ship:
View attachment 587893

For RCL I chose an Oceanview with a large balcony, in the middle of the ship, with the refundable deposit:
View attachment 587894
When you convert CAD to USD, it's about $3325. Cost of 2 soda packages is around $160USD. So it's about $500USD difference. Not an insignificant sum, but also not so much that you would dismiss cruising DCL outright.

Of course, there's a sacrifice in the smaller balcony and worse location on DCL, and I am choosing a more expensive option for Royal. If we go to a standard Verandah and midship location, DCL's price jumps to $4409. And if I change Royal to an Oceanview balcony (still midship), the price drops to $3734CDN or $2980USD. And now your difference (after adding in the soda package) is about $1250USD.

So it's all a matter of perspective. Royal is cheaper - I don't think there's much argument here. Is it a lot cheaper? If you're willing to make a couple of sacrifices on DCL... no, it's not. If you're unwilling to compromise, you might be looking at a 4-digit difference in price.

Thanks for the breakdown . I wish DCL would give that 60 percent off 2nd guest. lol

 

[starvenger]

Additional, not quite apples-to-apples comparisions

- a Western Caribbean July 2022 cruise on the Caribbean Princess is about $3877CDN/$3093USD.
- Norwegian Breakaway Eastern Caribbean in early August 2022 is $4810CDN/$3839USD

 

[starvenger]

Thanks for the breakdown . I wish DCL would give that 60 percent off 2nd guest. lol

I would say that the 60% off is standard for Royal, so that "discount" is misleading.

 

[ldo]

our NCL Escape 7 day Eastern Carib. family Oceanview for 5 was $3500, DCL similar cabin for the same week in Jan was $8500 (booked on opening day). Given that it's Jan, and weather could be dicey, we'll probably try NCL for that price difference.

 

[jujubiee4]

I would say that the 60% off is standard for Royal, so that "discount" is misleading.

So if you bring 2 teens is 1 pay full fare and a percentage off the other?

 

[jujubiee4]

our NCL Escape 7 day Eastern Carib. family Oceanview for 5 was $3500, DCL similar cabin for the same week in Jan was $8500 (booked on opening day). Given that it's Jan, and weather could be dicey, we'll probably try NCL for that price difference.

You fit 5 ok? and it wasn't a junior suite?

 

[Lorana]

We have sailed on Disney (all 4 ships), NCL (Spirit, Gem, Getaway, Bliss), RCCL (Freedom, Liberty, Oasis), and Costa once a long time ago. Disney is admittedly, by far, our favorite cruise, but we've really enjoyed both NCL and RCCL.

NCL were the two most recent non-Disney cruises we've done, with the NCL Bliss to Alaska in 2019 and NCL Getaway to the Caribbean in 2017 (and we did the Getaway partly because we saw it while sailing Disney, and my oldest asked if we could go on that one next). The kids were 13 and 9 on the Getaway, and then 15 and 12 when on the Bliss. We really liked the Getaway, but we were not as found of the Bliss - we didn't enjoy the entertainment as much, and the kids didn't find the kids club as riveting as Disney (but they did enjoy it and go there often). The food was great in the specialty restaurants, but so-so in the main dining. It was impossible to get passes to Laser Tag, which is what my kids wanted to do most, and we did not enjoy the racing cars, partly due to obnoxious kids using them as bumper cars and attendees who refused to police the obnoxious kids who rammed repeatedly into my 12 year old so often and so hard he hurt his neck, bruised his shoulders, and ended up crying. It put a bit of a sour taste at the end of it.

I think what Bliss also taught us is that we just need to not have recently sailed on Disney and then sail on another cruise line, lol -- we generally enjoy NCL and RCCL but one thing to keep in mind is that EVERYTHING IS EXTRA, and when you just come from a Disney cruise where your kids can get a cup of soda for free from the fountain machine and then it costs extra on NCL, it just burns us a little. It doesn't help that when we sailed in 2017, the 3rd and 4th guests also got the free drinks and dining package; when we sailed in 2019, the free packages only applied to guests 1 and 2. Which meant if we wanted specialty dining, we needed to buy it for the kids, and we bought them the soda package. After a while, we realized when we added up a lot of the extras, NCL wasn't as less expensive as the Disney Cruise as we had thought. It was less expensive even still, but there you go. And the service is definitely NOT the same.

That said, we will definitely sail on non-Disney cruises again. For example, I priced out the Mediterranean on Disney for next summer and... no way. The prices are getting way beyond our means. We love Disney and want to keep sailing on them, but we can literally sail on NCL for half the cost, and so we definitely will look at NCL, RCCL, Celebrity and other cruise lines in the future, especially once the kids are grown and its just us. (I have adult friends who swear by Celebrity, so we definitely want to give them a try).

This said, we ARE booked on a 3-night Disney Wish cruise next summer, and we do have a 3-night Disney Dream cruise planned for this Thanksgiving, so we will definitely keep sailing Disney, just likely smaller cruises to balance cost.

 

[starvenger]

So if you bring 2 teens is 1 pay full fare and a percentage off the other?

I'm not entirely sure how it would work for the 3rd traveller - didn't price it out that way. But what I meant was that the 60% off is basically a standing offer, so it's a bit disingenuous to list that as some sort of savings.

 

[ldo]

You fit 5 ok? and it wasn't a junior suite?

We've done the family oceanview on the Fantasy/Dream before (fold out sofa for girls, bunk above for son). I just asked them if they think they can do that again (college kids), or do we need to get a 2nd cabin on NCL? They said they could make it work. But, still debating whether we get another room. If kids were younger, I'd still definitely do the FOV on NCL/DCL.

 

[nerdboyrockstar]

We've done the family oceanview on the Fantasy/Dream before (fold out sofa for girls, bunk above for son). I just asked them if they think they can do that again (college kids), or do we need to get a 2nd cabin on NCL? They said they could make it work. But, still debating whether we get another room. If kids were younger, I'd still definitely do the FOV on NCL/DCL.

Looks like the Family Oceanview on both of those ships are both 240sq ft so should be comparable in size.

 

[Marthasor]

The comment about the shirts would cause would cause me to not to take your review seriously. When I’m looking at reviews I’m looking for things a little more tangible. Hopefully it was helpful to the op.

I really don't care what you think about my comment. There are many people who don't want to sail with those whose primary objective on vacation is to get completely drunk. That's the atmosphere I witnessed on NCL. Spring break in Ft. Lauderdale-type atmosphere. That type of information is certainly helpful to me when I'm looking for the right vacation fit for my family. If it's not helpful to you, you can certainly ignore my comments and move along.

 

[BlueBayou]

We are booked on our first DCL cruise, so I can't compare. But I've had 2 recent RCL (and 9 NCL cruises from 1978-1991).

Crazy drunks can happen anywhere.

Our 7 night RCL was very tame. Our table mates were Carnival loyalists and were not very happy with the RCL dining. They felt Carnival was better. About drunks, they can happen anywhere. The Liberty of the Seas was very chill. My husband and I were at the adult pool and a husband and wife about 5 loungers down started to argue. I didn't think anything of it, but security was there quickly. Like I didn't think they were making that much of a fuss. I suspect she was probably refused service at a bar. Next thing I knew the woman, who was extremely intoxicated, puked on the deck. That was the only overserved person I saw on the whole cruise - but it was a doozy.

On our 5 night Enchantment of the Seas - we were in Cozumel at Paradise Beach. It was us and an older, smaller carnival ship docked that day. It came from Mobile, Alabama. We had lounger neighbors that started out okay. A large, multi generational family. Small kids, to probably great grandparents. My dad's kin is all from Alabama, so we started out very friendly with this group. A couple hours in - we notice they are buying whole bottles of booze. They are climbing a tree to get coconuts. One of the men is passed out. So they decide to drag his lounger into the water. It was like an episode of "Cruise guests gone wild." And separately, a couple of women from the Carnival ship got into a bit of a physical altercation over one woman taking the other woman's little son in the water. A man traveling with them broke it up. They were sisters or cousins and they hugged it out afterward. My husband and I were super glad we not going home on that ship.

My college aged kids are totally into Disney. So DCL is something we want to try. But I do think RCL on the Freedom class and larger ships really have a lot of fun things for young adults/late teens.

 

[auntlynne]

I’m getting a little worried about my choice of NCL encore for our Alaska cruise. I have ONLY sailed DCL. We are booked in the Haven and not big drinkers, glass of wine with dinner type folks.

I’m a month behind you on NCL Encore.

I am expecting this cruise to be about as mild as DCL or Princess - simply with Alaska as it’s destination.

The apparent add-on upcharges are a known entity and I have decided what I want to pay additional for. I will miss Coke onboard, but appreciate their efforts to keep smoking very limited - having the casino open floor non-smoking was a major selling point.

Let’s hope we can come home with great reports.

 

[DCLMP]

We have sailed on Disney (all 4 ships), NCL (Spirit, Gem, Getaway, Bliss), RCCL (Freedom, Liberty, Oasis), and Costa once a long time ago. Disney is admittedly, by far, our favorite cruise, but we've really enjoyed both NCL and RCCL.

NCL were the two most recent non-Disney cruises we've done, with the NCL Bliss to Alaska in 2019 and NCL Getaway to the Caribbean in 2017 (and we did the Getaway partly because we saw it while sailing Disney, and my oldest asked if we could go on that one next). The kids were 13 and 9 on the Getaway, and then 15 and 12 when on the Bliss. We really liked the Getaway, but we were not as found of the Bliss - we didn't enjoy the entertainment as much, and the kids didn't find the kids club as riveting as Disney (but they did enjoy it and go there often). The food was great in the specialty restaurants, but so-so in the main dining. It was impossible to get passes to Laser Tag, which is what my kids wanted to do most, and we did not enjoy the racing cars, partly due to obnoxious kids using them as bumper cars and attendees who refused to police the obnoxious kids who rammed repeatedly into my 12 year old so often and so hard he hurt his neck, bruised his shoulders, and ended up crying. It put a bit of a sour taste at the end of it.

I think what Bliss also taught us is that we just need to not have recently sailed on Disney and then sail on another cruise line, lol -- we generally enjoy NCL and RCCL but one thing to keep in mind is that EVERYTHING IS EXTRA, and when you just come from a Disney cruise where your kids can get a cup of soda for free from the fountain machine and then it costs extra on NCL, it just burns us a little. It doesn't help that when we sailed in 2017, the 3rd and 4th guests also got the free drinks and dining package; when we sailed in 2019, the free packages only applied to guests 1 and 2. Which meant if we wanted specialty dining, we needed to buy it for the kids, and we bought them the soda package. After a while, we realized when we added up a lot of the extras, NCL wasn't as less expensive as the Disney Cruise as we had thought. It was less expensive even still, but there you go. And the service is definitely NOT the same.

That said, we will definitely sail on non-Disney cruises again. For example, I priced out the Mediterranean on Disney for next summer and... no way. The prices are getting way beyond our means. We love Disney and want to keep sailing on them, but we can literally sail on NCL for half the cost, and so we definitely will look at NCL, RCCL, Celebrity and other cruise lines in the future, especially once the kids are grown and its just us. (I have adult friends who swear by Celebrity, so we definitely want to give them a try).

This said, we ARE booked on a 3-night Disney Wish cruise next summer, and we do have a 3-night Disney Dream cruise planned for this Thanksgiving, so we will definitely keep sailing Disney, just likely smaller cruises to balance cost.

I agree with you about the prices. I'm looking for a European cruise next Summer. I would love to do Disney, but there are far better itineraries on Carnival, Royal, Princess and NCL for 1\3 the price. I see people complaining about the upcharges and extra costs on other cruise lines, but in fairness Disney doesn't have extra things to do like rope courses, laser tag, bowling, ice skating or wave runners. You can't charge for what you don't have.

In my opinion, Disney does have the best service out of all of them, but I'm not sure it's 7k greater which is about the price difference I'm looking at.

 

[DCLMP]

We are booked on our first DCL cruise, so I can't compare. But I've had 2 recent RCL (and 9 NCL cruises from 1978-1991).

Crazy drunks can happen anywhere.

Our 7 night RCL was very tame. Our table mates were Carnival loyalists and were not very happy with the RCL dining. They felt Carnival was better. About drunks, they can happen anywhere. The Liberty of the Seas was very chill. My husband and I were at the adult pool and a husband and wife about 5 loungers down started to argue. I didn't think anything of it, but security was there quickly. Like I didn't think they were making that much of a fuss. I suspect she was probably refused service at a bar. Next thing I knew the woman, who was extremely intoxicated, puked on the deck. That was the only overserved person I saw on the whole cruise - but it was a doozy.

On our 5 night Enchantment of the Seas - we were in Cozumel at Paradise Beach. It was us and an older, smaller carnival ship docked that day. It came from Mobile, Alabama. We had lounger neighbors that started out okay. A large, multi generational family. Small kids, to probably great grandparents. My dad's kin is all from Alabama, so we started out very friendly with this group. A couple hours in - we notice they are buying whole bottles of booze. They are climbing a tree to get coconuts. One of the men is passed out. So they decide to drag his lounger into the water. It was like an episode of "Cruise guests gone wild." And separately, a couple of women from the Carnival ship got into a bit of a physical altercation over one woman taking the other woman's little son in the water. A man traveling with them broke it up. They were sisters or cousins and they hugged it out afterward. My husband and I were super glad we not going home on that ship.

My college aged kids are totally into Disney. So DCL is something we want to try. But I do think RCL on the Freedom class and larger ships really have a lot of fun things for young adults/late teens.

Our last cruise before the pandemic was on Royal and there was a large group I would say about 1\4 the ship was Mennonites, and then another convention type group I won't go into detail, but let's just say they liked to party. It was an interesting cruise, to say the least. I didn't know at the time it would possibly be our last cruise as a family.

 

[starvenger]

Our last cruise before the pandemic was on Royal and there was a large group I would say about 1\4 the ship was Mennonites, and then another convention type group I won't go into detail, but let's just say they liked to party. It was an interesting cruise, to say the least. I didn't know at the time it would possibly be our last cruise as a family.

Definitely a strange mix. But that's cruising for you. My last cruise, our sailing had a Metal-themed charter right after ours. I never would've thought that there would be a lot of crossover between metalheads and the cruise life, but there it was.

 

[ldo]

I'm looking for a European cruise next Summer. I would love to do Disney, but there are far better itineraries on Carnival, Royal, Princess and NCL for 1\3 the price. I see people complaining about the upcharges and extra costs on other cruise lines....

We've cruised all of above in Europe. As it tends to be very port intensive, we found that activities didn't matter as much as we were very tired and just wanted to swim and chill. We did some upcharge places, but were usually fine with MDR and even the buffet some nights. We literally had almost zero extra charges.