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Our friend Matt Hochberg from RoyalCaribbeanBlog.com said it’s all about the details. Of course, you have lovely, high-quality decor on Royal Caribbean ships, but Disney offers well-known themeing. You’ll feel at home with hidden Mickeys, the characters, the Cast Members; it’s the Disney difference that you hear about. For our own personal travel style, we both feel that Disney Cruise Line is still our preferred choice.
Choose Royal Caribbean if You Want an Amusement Park or Mall on Your Ship
Other than excursions, watersports equipment rentals, and a little souvenir shopping, there aren’t really any extra charges to incur on the island. On other ships, Family Connected Junior Suites combine three cabin types to sleep ten, while the Presidential Family Suite can house 14 in four bedrooms. While it's true that both Disney and Royal Caribbean offer cruises, they’re fairly different overall. On Disney, meanwhile, a three-night cruise departing from Port Canaveral and heading to the Bahamas is a minimum of $1,993. The biggest difference when it comes to Disney versus Royal Caribbean is fleet size. Disney Cruise Line has just five ships, while Royal Caribbean boasts 26 ships in its fleet.
Disney Cruise vs Royal Caribbean Cruise
That’s why we break down park crowds, park hours of operation, ticket prices, and average temperature to help you better book your Disney Cruise Line Vacation. We also break down the best time to go on a Disney Cruise based on specific times of the year and special events. Disney Cruise Line’s Caribbean and Bahamian itineraries typically stop once at Disney’s Castaway Cay, a private island in the Bahamas. Castaway Cay is stunningly beautiful, with excursions, character interactions, beaches, a kids’ club area, and much more.
Compare Cruise Lines
Carnival is the cheapest with Royal Caribbean typically costing about twice as much and Disney cruises typically costing about four times as much. Add Star Wars and Marvel-themed play areas and you’ve got a ship kids will love to play on. The Wish continues the line’s trend of offering TONS of kids-only and adults-only activities. Disney’s staterooms are designed with families in mind — an approach that will continue on the Wish. Additionally, kids tend to resonate with the characters onboard and Disney-themed activities. Six of Royal Caribbean’s ships feature Broadway or West End musicals on every sailing.
The Disney Cruise Line ships have lots of Disney magic, as you’d expect. There are also fun deck activities, including pools, a splash area for young kids, a play area, water slides, hot tubs, a sports deck (with a basketball court), and outdoor movies. Since we already discussed the pools and water slides above, we will talk about other onboard activities in this section. Both of the cruise lines offer some similarities in regard to onboard activities like cooking classes, sports decks, youth clubs, game shows, etc. On the other hand, Royal Caribbean offers multiple ship classes that feature different levels of family friendly activities and entertainment. Most cruisers would argue that the Oasis class ships and the new Icon class are the most kid-friendly vessels.
Family attractions
But on Royal Caribbean, the specialty restaurants feel more like a common thing and you should expect to pay more for those or feel like you are missing out. The short answer is that for us personally, we found the two cruise lines to offer very different experiences. While there are similarities, each cruise line will offer something different. Or, they may even appeal to the same person at different times, depending on what you’re looking for on a particular vacation. Even though we may prefer one over the other, it doesn’t mean we wouldn’t ever sail with the other again.
Specialty Dining
Disney Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean are two well-known companies for cruises. Although they both set sail from multiple ports within the United States, that’s about where their similarities end. This may influence which products we review and write about (and where those products appear on the site), but it in no way affects our recommendations or advice, which are grounded in thousands of hours of research. Our partners cannot pay us to guarantee favorable reviews of their products or services. I hope that my breakdowns have helped you to decide which choice might be the best one for your family. Take a look at the categories above and determine which specific things are more important for your vacation.
Whether you're a parent planning to sail with kids or simply an adult who enjoys feeling like a kid again, we'll help you to navigate the nuances of both lines in areas like dining, cabins, entertainment, and, of course, price. Instead, there are three themed dining rooms, and you’ll rotate between them during your cruise so that you (and all other guests) can try them all, and experience the different entertainment during them. Both cruise lines sail to a range of destinations, although Royal Caribbean certainly has more variety – helped with the size of the fleet. Understandably, the Caribbean is the key destination for both cruise lines, though both offer a range of European cruises too.
Couples will be most comfortable in a Verandah stateroom that comes with a view of the ocean and a small balcony that’s large enough for a couple of chairs. For families traveling with kids, the Concierge Stateroom has enough space for 6 or 7 passengers and features a separate bedroom with a private balcony plus a lounge area with a minibar. Royal Caribbean has ports all around the world, but its most popular destinations are in the Caribbean and Alaska. Cruise lengths range from 2 nights to a 274-night ultimate world cruise. They have a fleet size of 24 ships, and their smallest ship can accommodate 2000 people while the largest ship can hold 5700 passengers and crew. In the works for 2024 is a brand new Bahamian private island, Disney’s Lighthouse Point.
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The specialty restaurants onboard cost extra and there are a lot to choose from. We were trying to keep costs down, so we only ate at one – Jamie’s Italian. We didn’t love that you have to pay extra for so many of the restaurants, though. Although the service and "wow" factor make them worth the price, Disney Cruise Line fares are higher than the industry average, making them cost prohibitive for many cruisers -- especially large families. As is the case at Disney parks, the ships sell tons of extra-fee items -- from candy and stuffed toys to costumes for pirates and princesses -- that will tempt your kids and strain your budget. Although soft drinks and juices are included in the cost of each sailing, Disney's alternative restaurants are some of the most expensive at sea.
The Disney Cruise Line ships feature water slides; although, they can be different depending on which ship you book. Some of the Royal Caribbean ships also offer water slides, but many do not. So, make sure you check out the options before you book if water slides are important to you. The differences in the main dining room experiences onboard Disney Cruise ships and Royal Caribbean ships are quite vast. The Royal Caribbean booking process is similar to Disney’s in that you choose your cruise cabin and dining time.
Other destinations vary year by year but have included Mexico, the Mediterranean, the Baltic, and Canada with New England. Disney is moving a second ship to Europe this summer, and have just announced Australia and New Zealand sailings. On Disney Cruise Line, alcoholic and specialty drinks (like smoothies or specialty coffees) are extra. Soda is included though, both at the 24-hour soda fountains and in the restaurants (not at bars though).
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