Disney dominates top cruise ship rankings

[Jason]

Disney's newest cruise ship, Disney Fantasy has nabbed five of the top awards in the 2013 x Cruisers' Choice Awards.

Fantasy won in the Best Large Ship, Large Best Ship Cabins, Best Entertainment, Best Public Rooms and Best Service categories--awards that are based on reviews from people who took cruises in 2012.

"What’s really exciting about Disney Fantasy is that with the addition of this new class of ship, Disney is really starting to reach out and appeal to a broader base of travelers," says Carolyn Spencer Brown. "Disney’s gone from being a niche line to one that’s comparable to something like Celebrity or Princess. The high scores that we are seeing almost across the board are a testament to how well-run and well-designed the ship is.”

The Cruisers’ Choice Awards rates cruise ships based on value, shore excursions, service, public rooms, entertainment, fitness, embarkation, dining, cabins and best overall in three classes: large ships (2,000 or more passengers), mid-sized (between 1,200 and 1,900 passengers) and small (less than 1,900).

Other winners this year include Holland America's Noordam for Best Midsized Ship, Azamara Club Cruises' Azamara Quest for Best Small Ship and Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas for Best Large Ship for Fitness, Best Large Ship for Embarkation.

Awards in the mid-size and small ships classes:

Best Mid-Sized Ships:

-Noordam (Holland America): Best Overall Mid-Sized Ship

-Marina (Oceania): Best Cabins, Best Dining, Best Public Rooms

-Thomson Dream: Best Entertainment, Best Service

-Westerdam (Holland America): Best for Fitness, Best Shore Excursions

-Norwegian Spirit: Best Value for Money

-Celebrity Summit: Best for Embarkation

Best Small Ships:

-Azamara Quest: Best Overall Small Ship, Best for Fitness, Best for Service

-Azamara Journey: Best Value for Money

-Crystal Serenity: Best Dining, Best Entertainment

-Crystal Symphony: Best Public Rooms

-Seabourn Odyssey: Best Cabins

-Seven Seas Navigator (Regent): Best Shore Excursions

-Wind Surf (Windstar): Best for Embarkation

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By Travel Agent Central

Re-posted on CruiseCrazies.com - Cruise News, Articles, Forums, Packing List, Ship Tracker, and more

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[WeCruiseToo]

We really want to cruise with Disney one day, but we haven’t been able to justify the premium price yet. Of course fans of Disney Cruise Line insist it’s well worth the cost, so we’ll have to break down and try it soon!

[DebbieandJerry]

Not a Disney fan, so we really have no desire to be on their ship. I know that sounds harsh. Just not something that we have ever expressed an interest in.

[Jan115]

For diehard Disney fans, they offer a great cruise experience. But if you can live without Mickey and friends, then there are definitely more affordable options.

[DebbieandJerry]

Thanks Jan. Your words are much more gentle than mine.

[CenShip]

Celebrity! Everything they like about Disney without the high cost and the incesent Disney everything.

[WeCruiseToo]

You’re right Greg – without taking anything away from Disney, that’s really not a bad way to describe Celebrity. The high quality and attention to detail that Disney is famous for are abundantly visible on Celebrity! If someone forced us to pick, Celebrity would be our favorite cruise line right now! (Fortunately we don’t have to pick though, because we really do love them all!)

[coloradocruisers]

We had two really enjoyable Disney cruises when we first started. But I think the prices have gone up since then. The interior of the ship and staterooms were very classy, with wood paneling, brass, etched glass, books on the shelf, etc. They also had the best kids program we've seen. But for the price, we're just as happy on Royal Caribbean.

[WeCruiseToo]

You are so right about the kids’ club Kevin! Our friends with kids can’t say enough good things about it and Disney really works hard to make sure it stays outstanding. We had some friends who wanted to book a Disney cruise (a couple with two kids, age 6 and 12) but Disney wouldn’t let them bring the 6 year old because the kids’ club had reached capacity for that age-group even though there was plenty of room on the ship overall! (They ended up going a different date and were perfectly happy.)

I think every other cruise line just counts the total number of passengers, not how old they are. It’s interesting that Disney would “turn away” passengers rather than potentially sacrifice the quality of the experience for the 6 year old. Of course, if the kids are happy the parents are happy, and they’ll come back for more! (Plus I’m sure Disney ends up filling their ships just fine, even with the age-group capacity restrictions.)