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Cruise Question

Sep 29, 2014
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Chicago
So I need some help and you all are an informed bunch so here goes...

Over Spring Break I'll be coming down to Florida and am not sure what to do. Originally, I had planned a 7-night Royal Caribbean cruise to the West Caribbean, but then my girlfriend experienced a Disney cruise for the first time and basically refuses to do anything else. She likes the swagger of the Disney ships in port compared to the other cruise lines and, as a huge Disney fan, thinks the vacation as a whole is more well-rounded.
I'm cool with this...I've been on probably 25 Disney cruises with my family all over the years, in all types of itineraries, so I know what to expect. My friends down here all have different Spring Breaks so I know that this probably won't be a boozey party trip, so I'm down to spend SB on Disney.
So with that out of the way, here's the issue...cost. A weeklong RC cruise is on par (price-wise) with a 4-day Disney, actually a bit cheaper. I have absolutely 0 experience with any other cruise line, so I dont know what to expect aside from what I know from Disney. So what do you more seasoned cruise guys think?

Furthermore, there's the issue of which itinerary to choose. RC is set if we go that option...Disney it's between a 4-day, 5-day, or 7. The 7 to the East Caribbean is a great vacation, I've done it a few times, but without my folks it's gonna make using my credit card this semester pretty tough. The 4 and 5 night are much more reasonable. I would gravitate toward the 5 considering I was just in Nassau recently and the 5-night gives us more time and a better island (Grand Cayman), BUT its on the Wonder, the most outdated and (to me) least desirable ship in the fleet.

What do you guys think? Any advice is appreciated, but we have to book soon (oh, and I have a Disney Cruise booked from our last trip with them which gives me a 10% discount and $100-$200 on-board credit, which applies even if you change just for booking on board, so there's that). What to do?
 
About the issue that it is on an older ship, Disney updates even their ships fairly often so that shouldn't be too big of an issue. That is especially if you are going on a 4 or 5 nights because you really won't notice that big of a difference until the longer cruises.
 
So I need some help and you all are an informed bunch so here goes...

Over Spring Break I'll be coming down to Florida and am not sure what to do. Originally, I had planned a 7-night Royal Caribbean cruise to the West Caribbean, but then my girlfriend experienced a Disney cruise for the first time and basically refuses to do anything else. She likes the swagger of the Disney ships in port compared to the other cruise lines and, as a huge Disney fan, thinks the vacation as a whole is more well-rounded.
I'm cool with this...I've been on probably 25 Disney cruises with my family all over the years, in all types of itineraries, so I know what to expect. My friends down here all have different Spring Breaks so I know that this probably won't be a boozey party trip, so I'm down to spend SB on Disney.
So with that out of the way, here's the issue...cost. A weeklong RC cruise is on par (price-wise) with a 4-day Disney, actually a bit cheaper. I have absolutely 0 experience with any other cruise line, so I dont know what to expect aside from what I know from Disney. So what do you more seasoned cruise guys think?

Furthermore, there's the issue of which itinerary to choose. RC is set if we go that option...Disney it's between a 4-day, 5-day, or 7. The 7 to the East Caribbean is a great vacation, I've done it a few times, but without my folks it's gonna make using my credit card this semester pretty tough. The 4 and 5 night are much more reasonable. I would gravitate toward the 5 considering I was just in Nassau recently and the 5-night gives us more time and a better island (Grand Cayman), BUT its on the Wonder, the most outdated and (to me) least desirable ship in the fleet.

What do you guys think? Any advice is appreciated, but we have to book soon (oh, and I have a Disney Cruise booked from our last trip with them which gives me a 10% discount and $100-$200 on-board credit, which applies even if you change just for booking on board, so there's that). What to do?

As a former Cruise planner, I personally feel you can get better value on RC or Carnival (newer ships). Disney is nice, but it's priced high because Disney. I guess what it boils down to is what is the priority? The itinerary or the on-board activities?
 
So I need some help and you all are an informed bunch so here goes...

Over Spring Break I'll be coming down to Florida and am not sure what to do. Originally, I had planned a 7-night Royal Caribbean cruise to the West Caribbean, but then my girlfriend experienced a Disney cruise for the first time and basically refuses to do anything else. She likes the swagger of the Disney ships in port compared to the other cruise lines and, as a huge Disney fan, thinks the vacation as a whole is more well-rounded.
I'm cool with this...I've been on probably 25 Disney cruises with my family all over the years, in all types of itineraries, so I know what to expect. My friends down here all have different Spring Breaks so I know that this probably won't be a boozey party trip, so I'm down to spend SB on Disney.
So with that out of the way, here's the issue...cost. A weeklong RC cruise is on par (price-wise) with a 4-day Disney, actually a bit cheaper. I have absolutely 0 experience with any other cruise line, so I dont know what to expect aside from what I know from Disney. So what do you more seasoned cruise guys think?

Furthermore, there's the issue of which itinerary to choose. RC is set if we go that option...Disney it's between a 4-day, 5-day, or 7. The 7 to the East Caribbean is a great vacation, I've done it a few times, but without my folks it's gonna make using my credit card this semester pretty tough. The 4 and 5 night are much more reasonable. I would gravitate toward the 5 considering I was just in Nassau recently and the 5-night gives us more time and a better island (Grand Cayman), BUT its on the Wonder, the most outdated and (to me) least desirable ship in the fleet.

What do you guys think? Any advice is appreciated, but we have to book soon (oh, and I have a Disney Cruise booked from our last trip with them which gives me a 10% discount and $100-$200 on-board credit, which applies even if you change just for booking on board, so there's that). What to do?
As a former Cruise planner, I personally feel you can get better value on RC or Carnival (newer ships). Disney is nice, but it's priced high because Disney. I guess what it boils down to is what is the priority? The itinerary or the on-board activities?
In my experience Norwegian Cruise Line is a good option as well, Carnival <NCL<RC
 
As a former Cruise planner, I personally feel you can get better value on RC or Carnival (newer ships). Disney is nice, but it's priced high because Disney. I guess what it boils down to is what is the priority? The itinerary or the on-board activities?
You're probably just who I was looking for then lol.
The thing is, I've been there done that with the Disney on-board activities, but I know they're good/my girlfriend likes them. But are the RC ships' on-board stuff good enough to make that a legitimate attraction to the trip? Especially on the older ships (I think we'd be doing Freedom class, whichever ones opened in 2004), or are those more of a "destinations are the main thing" trip? We're honestly looking for both, which is why I have qualms about the Wonder (no Aquaduck/dunk, the old restaurants and lounges, etc.) despite it having a better itinerary than the 4-night.
 
You're probably just who I was looking for then lol.
The thing is, I've been there done that with the Disney on-board activities, but I know they're good/my girlfriend likes them. But are the RC ships' on-board stuff good enough to make that a legitimate attraction to the trip? Especially on the older ships (I think we'd be doing Freedom class, whichever ones opened in 2004), or are those more of a "destinations are the main thing" trip? We're honestly looking for both, which is why I have qualms about the Wonder (no Aquaduck/dunk, the old restaurants and lounges, etc.) despite it having a better itinerary than the 4-night.

I did the Freedom in 2007 and had a great time, and that's when I was younger and looking to mingle. :lol: Seeing as this is more of a couples vacation, I think the Freedom class would be good for you guys. As far as the ship activities, I do believe the Freedom itself just re-did their ships to include water slides and refresh some of their restaurants. Is that the ship you were looking at?
 
I think by the sounds of it, you'd enjoy the newer ships. Either Epic, Getaway, or Escape for NCL or Oasis/Allure for Royal. You can get both the new megaship feel with the Disney touch on the Dream or Fantasy, but it'll cost twice as much. I don't think you can go wrong with any of the ones listed though.
 
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