That said - if you have a recommendation for a smaller ship with a less party like atmosphere and preferably no casino let me know for sure!
On DCL, we've spent 21 days on the Wonder. We also prefer small ships. I LOVE Celebrity's ships. Even their biggest ships are comparable in size to the Magic/Wonder. We find the service, amenities, and atmosphere on Celebrity to very comparable to Disney. DD does not love the kids club on Celebrity, but that could also just be her aging out. Celebrity does have casinos but our experience has been that they're pretty small and not smoky. There's nothing specific she doesn't like so you can make your own conclusions on that, lol. The price is delightful in comparison and generally is an all inclusive rate.
For example,
Celebrity is only sailing with 2 in a room right now and we're a family of 3. We have to get two rooms - 2 in a veranda and 1 in an inside.
For an end of August 7 night cruise:
Veranda: 3895
Inside: 1777
Total: $5672
This fare includes premium alcoholic drink package for all 3, streaming wifi for all 3, all gratuities PLUS $900 OBC as well as their limited Concierge class benefits (nothing like on Disney, but does include premium locations on the ship).
If I wanted to do the same on Disney:
We could all stay in the same cabin (and choose the same cabin for both legs) - so I chose a 5A which is most similar to our veranda on Celebrity
3 Night: $2799
4 Night: $3075
Total: $5874
This fare includes nothing extra (well, soda is included
).
AND the is the Dream which is larger than we like. So, for us, the value proposition is very clear!
I know most everyone is wondering about the vaccination requirement right now, but I'm not worried about that so much since everyone in my family is over 18 and is already vaccinated. What I'm more concerned about is the part of the mandate that says everyone (vaccinated or not) needs a negative test within 5 days of arriving in the Bahamas. Not sure how that'll work. Even on shorter cruises, you probably won't be getting to Castaway until your third or fourth day. And there is travel time to get to Florida. So when/where are we supposed to get tests that won't have already expired? Anyone know how other cruise lines are handling that?
I don't think the Bahamas is requiring additional testing now that they're requiring vaccines, but for St Maarten, Celebrity will be supplying us with a test to comply with their requirements if we decide to go ashore.