This was our first cruise with Disney and we were SO excited. We've always cruised with Royal Caribbean and had very good experiences with them. So, when moving to Disney, the clear "premier" cruise line for families, we thought our experience would blow us away. Unfortunately, we were left a bit disappointed. Why?

1. Kids Programs

The facilities for kids on the Disney Dream are amazing. As a parent, looking at the facilities, you would think you would never see your kid again. However, it was quite the opposite. Our 7 year old daughter, who spent all of her time on our last RCI cruise in the kids club was so excited to spend time in the Disney club. But, after the first night when she had them page us to come get her, I knew something was wrong. After much discussion throughout the week and after the cruise, I've come to the conclusion that there are simply too many kids on the Disney cruise to provide the same personal attention that our kids received on RCI at their kids clubs. Our daughter complained that she was bored on Disney. She went to the club, tried to meet friends, and came home each night disappointed. On RCI, the staff knew her name and face on the second day, even greeting her outside of the kids club on other areas of the boat. Same thing with the nursery staff and our baby. On Disney, that just wasn't true. The nursery staff was much better than the Oceaneer staff, but there were much less babies than 3-12 year olds. Another thing that RCI does better than Disney is breaking up the age groups. Disney has four groups - babies, kids, tweens, and toddlers. That "kids" group ranges from 3 to 12 - which is huge. RCI breaks that age group up into at least two, if not three separate groups. That really helps focus the activities and attention. 2. Pool Facilities Read more