Disney Cruise Line vs. Royal Caribbean: Which family-friendly cruise line is for you?

For those who’re planning a cruise trip with youngsters, you are possible centered on two manufacturers: Disney Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean.

Whereas different cruise traces cater to households, these two traces prime the charts. Royal Caribbean is understood for its humongous ships which might be chock-full of family-friendly sights, from waterslides and ice skating reveals to large youngsters golf equipment and adults-only solariums and solar decks. Disney is all the time prime of thoughts for a household getaway, and the characters, high quality of leisure and family-focused service you are used to in its parks and motels carry over onto its cruise ships.

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How do you decide when your trip selection falls to Disney Cruise Line versus Royal Caribbean? The cruise traces are totally different in some ways — uncover what units the traces aside to find out which is the most effective for you.

Dimension of ships

Royal Caribbean is understood for having among the largest cruise ships in the world, together with the 250,800-ton, 7,600-passenger titleholder, Icon of the Seas. Its Freedom, Quantum and Oasis Class ships are not any joke both. Freedom Class ships measure roughly 156,000 tons and carry upward of 4,500 passengers at most capability, Quantum Class ships measure 169,000 tons and accommodate 5,000 passengers, and Oasis Class ships measure a bit greater than 225,000 tons and carry between 6,600 and seven,000 passengers.

As befitting their measurement, these ships are filled with sights and leisure choices, a spread of cabins and suites at various worth factors and a number of eating and consuming institutions.

The fleet does embrace smaller ships amongst its 28 vessels. The Imaginative and prescient and Radiance Class ships carry round 2,500 passengers when full. Nevertheless, these ships lack most of the family-friendly sights that Royal Caribbean is understood for, and are additionally the vessels the road sends on longer voyages or primarily based in secondary residence ports, similar to San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Baltimore. On many of those smaller ships, you will discover extra adults, although all may have youngsters golf equipment and welcome households.

Associated: The 7 classes of Royal Caribbean cruise ships, explained

Disney Cruise Line has a a lot smaller fleet with solely 5 ships (quickly to be six by late 2024). These ships are available in three sizes: the 83,000-ton Disney Magic and Disney Wonder carry 2,713 passengers at most capability; the 130,000-ton Disney Dream and Fantasy carry 4,000; and the 144,000-ton Disney Wish (and its soon-to-debut sister, Disney Treasure) may also accommodate 4,000. That places its bigger ships on par with Royal Caribbean’s Freedom Class.

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Not like Royal Caribbean, Disney’s smaller ships nonetheless deliver all of the Disney magic, together with waterslides, family-friendly eating choices and all of the Disney character and princess encounters you may want for.

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Cabins and suites

Each Royal Caribbean and Disney Cruise Line ships provide a spread of cabin and suite classes, so vacationers can select the quantity of area, format and worth level that works for them.

Each cruise traces divide cabins typically into windowless inside cabins (on each traces, sure ships have digital screens that simulate home windows, displaying video from exterior the ship), ocean-view rooms with porthole or image home windows that don’t open, balcony cabins with non-public verandas and suites with additional area and VIP facilities.

Each traces provide top-level cabins and suites with entry to unique lounges and deck area and the companies of a concierge. You could find these Concierge-level rooms on all Disney cruise ships, however Royal Caribbean’s Suite Class is just provided on its latest courses of ships (Icon, Oasis and Quantum).

All of Disney Cruise Line’s cabins have been designed with households in thoughts. Most have a break up bathtub design, with a sink and bathroom in a single room and a tub-shower combo and sink in one other. They’ve room-dividing curtains and loads of additional berths, with sofabeds and pulldown bunks. Royal Caribbean does have some household cabins fleetwide, particularly on Icon of the Seas, however the majority of its rooms weren’t created with households of three and 4 in thoughts.

Royal Caribbean is your line for those who’re on the lookout for over-the-top suites on the most important ships. The gathering contains beautiful two-floor suites, together with the Final Household Townhouse and Final Household Suite on Icon and Oasis Class ships that are a child’s dream lodging.

Royal Caribbean additionally has some quirky cabins you would possibly discover enjoyable, together with ocean-view and balcony rooms that look onto the open-air, inside “neighborhoods” on Oasis and Icon Class ships, such because the fun-loving Boardwalk, leafy Central Park and kid-friendly Surfside. Icon of the Seas has new Infinite Balcony cabins, which have additional inside area and a glass wall that rolls down midway (like a automobile window) to deliver recent air into the room.

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Food and drinks

Neither Royal Caribbean nor Disney Cruise Line is understood for wonderful meals throughout the board; nonetheless, each have eating places that can wow you.

When evaluating Disney Cruise Line versus Royal Caribbean on eating, Royal Caribbean is your finest wager, particularly on its bigger ships, if you would like a whole lot of eating selection and do not thoughts paying additional for sure meals. Disney Cruise Line is the winner for family-focused eating places and a few wonderful adults-only eating places.

All Royal Caribbean ships embrace three meals a day in its multideck, banquet-style major eating rooms and Windjammer Market buffets. Ships will even have a few extra included venues for snacks and fast-casual meals, similar to cafes (with extra-fee espresso), Sorrento’s pizza and El Loco Contemporary for Mexican fare.

For those who’re prepared to pay, you will discover practically the whole lot you may want for: sushi and hibachi, steak, seafood, Italian, Southern, Johnny Rockets, pub fare and ingenious dishes created utilizing molecular gastronomy. Suite Class company have entry to an elevated, intimate eating room referred to as Coastal Kitchen.

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Disney Cruise Line takes a totally totally different method to eating. Every of its ships options three included sit-down eating places, and passengers are given a schedule of which venue to go to on which night time. Your waiters rotate by way of the eating rooms with you, to allow them to get to know your preferences. The eateries are sometimes themed to Disney motion pictures or characters and might need a stage present or different leisure as a part of the enjoyable.

As well as, a buffet is open for breakfast and lunch, together with all-day eating at poolside, grab-n-go venues for issues like pizza, burgers and sandwiches.

Adults can search a quieter, extra romantic meal in Disney’s numerous adults-only, extra-fee eating places, together with the Italian Palo and the French Remy or Enchante. At $50 per individual, Palo is a superb worth for brunch and dinner with all-you-can-eat choices from an in depth menu, all of very top quality. On the flip aspect, Remy and Enchante are among the many most costly specialty eating places at sea.

Each cruise traces provide room service, however Disney’s is included within the fare, whereas you must pay additional on Royal Caribbean.

Youngsters actions

Each cruise traces excel at entertaining youngsters (particularly on Royal Caribbean’s larger and newer ships), however the traces take totally different approaches right here as effectively. To begin, each Disney Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean have giant youngsters golf equipment on their ships, with separate areas for teenagers and teenagers, in addition to extra-fee nurseries for the littlest cruisers.

Disney’s Oceaneer Club and Lab are expansive play areas themed to Disney, Pixar and “Star Wars” characters. You possibly can play in Andy’s Room from “Toy Story” or fly the Millennium Falcon in a “Star Wars” simulation. Actions vary from arts and crafts and science experiments (like making goop) to enjoying video video games or digital leisure on the Magic Play Flooring. Tweens and teenagers every have separate hangouts with numerous video games and hangout area.

On Royal Caribbean ships, teenagers and tweens share a hangout, and the cruise line is experimenting with new programming to host actions across the ship for this choosy age group. Youngsters nonetheless congregate in Adventure Ocean with multipurpose areas for sports activities, video games and crafts and loads of high-tech leisure. Newer ships have separate artist’s studios, theaters, science labs and sport area.

And, after all, each cruise traces plan child and household actions across the ship, exterior of the drop-off youngsters programming within the golf equipment. On Disney Cruise Line, households can take images with their favourite characters and princesses, get pleasure from household trivia and karaoke, and attend occasions like a Pirate Night time deck present or dance events in the primary atrium. Royal Caribbean would possibly provide a household pageant with video games and face portray or subject day-style competitions.

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Onboard sights

Disney could be a wiz at theme parks, however no cruise line does onboard sights higher than Royal Caribbean. Look to its largest, latest ships for wow-factor sights, together with a FlowRider surf simulator, waterslides (together with a six-slide water park on Icon of the Seas) and big dry slides, escape room, ice skating rinks, laser tag pop-ups, bumper automobiles (on Quantum Class ships), zip traces, mountain climbing partitions and sky diving simulators.

Nevertheless, its Imaginative and prescient and Radiance Class ships take a extra conventional, pared-down method to onboard sights, specializing in swimming pools and sizzling tubs, the on line casino and the spa. Select your ship fastidiously when you’ve got sure whiz-bang sights in your to-do record.

Disney Cruise Line ships may have a water journey or slide or two, indoor and poolside film theaters and a spa, however do not anticipate the over-the-top sights of a Royal Caribbean ship. The road focuses extra on actions than sights and lazy days by the pool.

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Leisure

Once you examine the leisure of Royal Caribbean vs. Disney Cruise Line, you are not going to get a transparent winner. Each traces excel at leisure however — this would possibly not shock you — the 2 traces have totally different strengths on the subject of onboard reveals.

Disney Cruise Line is aware of tips on how to prove high-quality reveals, and every ship will provide three unique Broadway-style musicals in its onboard theater. A few of them are musical variations of favourite animated classics, similar to “Magnificence and the Beast” and “Tangled.” Different reveals mix characters and songs from the Disney playbook to create unique reveals, like “The Golden Mickeys.”

Disney can also be identified for charming top-deck occasions, similar to its Pirate Night time reveals, full with fireworks, rappelling pirates and Mickey and pals dressed of their pirate finest. Its ships run traditional Disney motion pictures on its poolside display screen and first-run reveals from the complete Disney portfolio within the indoor film theaters. Grownup leisure within the lounges at night time would possibly embrace interactive sport reveals, karaoke, dwell music or perhaps a solo present from a forged member.

Royal Caribbean additionally will get excessive marks for its stage reveals, which vary from shortened variations of Broadway musicals to unique song-and-dance revues. Some ships have separate golf equipment the place visitor comedians carry out, ice rinks for unique Ice Capades-style reveals and AquaTheaters for revolutionary acrobatic-diving-dancing performances. Count on high-tech results, together with the usage of robotics, to boost the leisure.

The cruise line employs quite a few musicians, together with pianists who carry out on the Schooner Bar, Dueling Pianos bar and even within the elevator and different surprising places (you by no means know the place the Stowaway Pianist will seem). Ships with Royal Promenades host festive parades, dance events and midnight balloon drops.

Who’s on board?

Disney Cruise Line unsurprisingly attracts a whole lot of households, particularly households with little youngsters in that princess-worshipping candy spot, in addition to multigenerational households. Nevertheless, the road additionally attracts its fair proportion of grownup {couples}, pals and households with grown kids. It isn’t unusual to search out {couples} celebrating an onboard marriage ceremony or their honeymoon.

What most of those Disney passengers share is a love of the model, whether or not that is the characters and flicks or Disney’s obsession with high-quality leisure. Additionally, Disney cruises do not come low-cost, so households are usually effectively off, or they’ve saved for years for a particular journey.

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Royal Caribbean sees a bigger number of passengers throughout its fleet as a consequence of multifaceted ships and a variety of cruise fares. You will discover households with youngsters of all ages (together with grownup ones), {couples} celebrating milestones from weddings to retirements, and many bachelor and bachelorette events, spring breakers and girlfriend getaway teams. Who’s on board will differ relying on the ship, the time of yr and the size and vacation spot of the cruise.

If you would like a extra grownup atmosphere, search for smaller or older ships, longer itineraries and off-peak journey occasions. If you wish to discover households, search for weeklong cruises crusing throughout college breaks. The get together crowd and youthful buddy teams gravitate towards the super-short three- or four-night or weekend itineraries.

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Itineraries and pricing

Disney Cruise Line ships primarily sail to the Caribbean and Bahamas on weeklong or shorter sailings. Three- and four-night cruises from Florida residence ports, particularly Port Canaveral, are perfect for tacking onto quick visits to Disney World in Orlando.

Disney Marvel is the cruise line’s Pacific-based ship. It sails to Mexico, Alaska, Australia and New Zealand, the South Pacific and Hawaii (the latter as repositioning cruises). Disney Dream is the road’s transatlantic ship. It sails to the Caribbean and Bahamas from Florida, but in addition crosses the ocean to supply European cruises (Mediterranean, Norwegian fjords, Western Europe).

Disney has beforehand provided Bermuda and Canada/New England cruises from northeastern U.S. residence ports however doesn’t at present have any on its schedule.

Associated: The ultimate guide to Disney Cruise Line ships and itineraries

With a a lot bigger fleet, Royal Caribbean has a way more various itinerary roster, however its focus is principally the Caribbean, the Bahamas and Europe. In the summertime, the road would possibly base a dozen ships within the islands, half as many in Europe and 4 in Alaska, with the remainder crusing to locations like Bermuda, Canada and New England, Mexico and Asia. It might provide ship and itinerary choices inside one cruise area on the identical time, whereas Disney would possibly solely have one ship crusing one route.

Royal Caribbean additionally presents cruises to the South Pacific, Pacific Northwest, Australia and New Zealand, Hawaii and Panama Canal, in addition to transatlantic and transpacific crossings to maneuver ships to new residence ports.

You will even have a wider number of departure ports within the U.S. with Royal Caribbean. Its ships sail from secondary residence ports, similar to Baltimore, Boston, Cape Liberty (Bayonne, New Jersey), Galveston, New Orleans and Tampa, in addition to the foremost Florida ports, Los Angeles, Seattle and Vancouver.

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Maybe as a result of Disney Cruise Line has far fewer ships to fill than Royal Caribbean, its costs are typically a lot greater on related itineraries. For instance, at press time, the most cost effective seven-night Caribbean cruise you possibly can guide on Disney Cruise Line begins at $1,449 per individual, primarily based on double occupancy and never together with taxes and charges. Royal Caribbean’s most cost-effective weeklong cruise begins at $377 per individual.

Nevertheless, Royal Caribbean’s latest ships are very a lot in demand, and pricing can rival Disney’s. The most cost effective seven-night cruise on the road’s just lately debuted Icon of the Seas begins at $1,723 per individual; its 2025-arriving sister Star of the Seas is not far more inexpensive, with charges beginning at $1,677.