DCL or another line?

[MHP]

Trying to decide on our next cruise. This would be with girls 16, 14, 11 and 7 in October ‘24. Prior to having kids we did multiple cruise lines. Since we’ve had kids we’ve done exclusively DCL. We’ve been on Magic, Wonder, Dream and most recently Wish. Pretty limited in terms of destinations in October but honestly go for the ship and not the ports.

I know the 7 year old would love doing Disney again. The other kids had a great time but didn’t really do any of the formal activities.

Does anyone have an opinion on branching out to one of the bigger ships (?Royal Carribean oasis class) with activities like: Ultimate Abyss dry slide and Perfect Storm water slides, FlowRiders, rock climbing walls, zipline, water park, mini-golf and laser tag, ice rink etc?

Thanks for any insights/opinions.

 

[FastPasser.]

Disney caters to the younger families and is good at it but IMO falls short after that. I think you’re right in considering moving on.

We’ve taken teens on Disney cruises and both times they skipped all the teen activities.

We recently did RCCL’s super ship, Wonder of the Seas, and enjoyed it. Lots of people but lots of space and as you said, things to do as well. We’re planning to try the even bigger newest RCCL ship.

 

[Cruisinonlydisney]

Platinum cruiser here on DCL. My son has cruised every year since he was one. He’s now 15 and we are doing a summer 2024 cruise on the Fantasy. I gave him an option. Try RCCL this year for something different, or do DCL again. He said there was no way he would consider doing any other line. On our Wish cruise last July, he fully immersed himself in all of the teen activities and had an absolute blast. Best cruise ever for him. He is still FaceTiming this year with about 10 of those kids. Made some great friends and didn’t want the week to end. Kudos to the Wish Vibe counselors for making it an unforgettable week! At the same time, we wanted it to be a family vacation and we rarely saw him. So yes, even though DCL does cater to the younger set, I think they have figured out what high schoolers love, too….you just have to be a willing participant and not be afraid to meet new people. I truly believe he made some forever friends on our trip! ”Where Magic Meets the Sea” is the perfect new slogan for DCL. They really do create magic for ANY age.

 

[tvguy]

Well, we cruised HAL with our kids before, and after Disney. Our kids loved it. But they hated the kids clubs across the board. They much preferred doing the general activities. But we found cruises to be a great vacation as a family to do everything together. We check our mom and dad roles at the gangway and just hang with our kids for a week.
During the school year, we spent so little time with our kids during the week, it was a nice change to hang with them.

 

[kteach]

RCCL is great for kids that age! So much to do. We did Symphony last year, was great!

 

[DisneyPiPhi]

If your main criteria is having a lot for the kids to do, it's definitely worth looking at RCCL. If other more "Disney"elements (such as the Disney characters, Disney's stage shows, Disney's specific brand of service, etc.) are more important, then stick with DCL.

 

[mjkacmom]

Platinum cruiser here on DCL. My son has cruised every year since he was one. He’s now 15 and we are doing a summer 2024 cruise on the Fantasy. I gave him an option. Try RCCL this year for something different, or do DCL again. He said there was no way he would consider doing any other line. On our Wish cruise last July, he fully immersed himself in all of the teen activities and had an absolute blast. Best cruise ever for him. He is still FaceTiming this year with about 10 of those kids. Made some great friends and didn’t want the week to end. Kudos to the Wish Vibe counselors for making it an unforgettable week! At the same time, we wanted it to be a family vacation and we rarely saw him. So yes, even though DCL does cater to the younger set, I think they have figured out what high schoolers love, too….you just have to be a willing participant and not be afraid to meet new people. I truly believe he made some forever friends on our trip! ”Where Magic Meets the Sea” is the perfect new slogan for DCL. They really do create magic for ANY age.

We only took one DCL cruise (9 and 11 year olds didn’t like the club, younger kids did), but took several NCL cruises with teens, and they always went to the clubs, loved meeting new friends, and kept in touch after the cruises, even some meet ups. I think teens can find fast friends on any cruise teen club.

 

[TXDCLfan]

To NCL newer ships

 

[o&smom]

Platinum cruiser here on DCL. My son has cruised every year since he was one. He’s now 15 and we are doing a summer 2024 cruise on the Fantasy. I gave him an option. Try RCCL this year for something different, or do DCL again. He said there was no way he would consider doing any other line. On our Wish cruise last July, he fully immersed himself in all of the teen activities and had an absolute blast. Best cruise ever for him. He is still FaceTiming this year with about 10 of those kids. Made some great friends and didn’t want the week to end. Kudos to the Wish Vibe counselors for making it an unforgettable week! At the same time, we wanted it to be a family vacation and we rarely saw him. So yes, even though DCL does cater to the younger set, I think they have figured out what high schoolers love, too….you just have to be a willing participant and not be afraid to meet new people. I truly believe he made some forever friends on our trip! ”Where Magic Meets the Sea” is the perfect new slogan for DCL. They really do create magic for ANY age.

We started cruising with DCL when DS had just turned 7 and DD was 3 months old. We just had our most recent cruise in October when DS was 20 and DD was 13. Our kids have loved DCL at every age. They still request Disney.

 

[randumb0]

I'm really considering booking an Icon of the seas sailing after seeing some of the videos of people on board

 

[lilmc]

We just had our most recent cruise in October when DS was 20 and DD was 13

How was the 1820 Society for your son? My daughter has loved Edge/Vibe, but alas they grow up! This upcoming one is her first one outside the clubs and I’m concerned if she’ll enjoy it. (For points of reference, she’s outgoing, makes friends easily, and it’s during a school break)

 

[o&smom]

How was the 1820 Society for your son? My daughter has loved Edge/Vibe, but alas they grow up! This upcoming one is her first one outside the clubs and I’m concerned if she’ll enjoy it. (For points of reference, she’s outgoing, makes friends easily, and it’s during a school break)

It ended up being amazing for him. We had a cruise in Europe in June with over 60 kids in 1820 Society. We knew there were usually quite a few in the summer, but we were concerned about our Panama Canal cruise in October. There were a few actually in 1820, but they ended up mixing with kids from the Vibe who were almost 18. It was the best group of kids! I was sad to not be able to see them every day when the cruise was over. He said it was his favorite cruise because of the group of people that he got to hang out with. She’ll have a great time! Just like with Edge or Vibe, make sure she goes to the mixer the first night. If not many kids show up the first night, make sure she goes to the next activity. Some were not aware of the meeting the first night with all of the craziness of embarkation day. Enjoy!

 

[tidefan]

Also, don’t discount the newer Carnival ships (Mardi Gras, Celebration, Jubilee). They are very different than prior CCL ships. We preferred it to Oasis (especially in terms of food).

Lots to do, and heck, there is a roller coaster on the ship!

 

[brentm77]

How was the 1820 Society for your son? My daughter has loved Edge/Vibe, but alas they grow up! This upcoming one is her first one outside the clubs and I’m concerned if she’ll enjoy it. (For points of reference, she’s outgoing, makes friends easily, and it’s during a school break)

If you can, find the FB group and see if you can get a group chat going among the member's children in the 18-20 age range. We did this for our last cruise and my daughter was able to make some friends before the cruise. It was a huge group on the first day and naturally split into two different groups, which worked out well. She says it was the best cruise she has taken to date. They had so much fun doing trivia, listening to live music, swimming, and roaming the ship. They were begging her to get permission to stay out past curfew. It was such a good group of young adults too. I had no worries about her being with them the entire cruise. It really worked out well.

 

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

The icon of the seas looks incredible to be honest. Check out the new videos.

 

[tidefan]

The icon of the seas looks incredible to be honest. Check out the new videos.

It does until you price it out.. But, I'll try it when the price comes down a bit.

Until then, we'll stick with the new Carnival ships, Princess, and especially Virgin Voyages.

(ETA: Man, I wish Virgin Voyages would come to Port Canaveral! - FYI, fully understand that doesn't help those with kids under 18...)

 

[starvenger]

You know, I'd normally say "Do Royal"... but you're one DCL Fantasy away from sailing every ship in the fleet, and the completist nerd in me says you should sail the Fantasy.

That aside, I would definitely look into what NCL, Carnival and Royal's newer ships have to offer. The teens should love any of those ships.

 

[lilmc]

They were begging her to get permission to stay out past curfew.

??

 

[brentm77]

??

We had a midnight curfew for her so we could get some sleep. But they were having so much fun, they all wanted to stay up into the morning hours.

 

[lilmc]

We had a midnight curfew for her so we could get some sleep. But they were having so much fun, they all wanted to stay up into the morning hours.

That’s one of the reasons we sometimes prefer an interior cabin: we’re in the back of the room so they disturb us less in the wee hours of the morning. Although the ship rocks me like a baby so I actually rarely notice when they come in.