Convince me to take the leap and try RCCI ( and share your advice on ships:)

[starvenger]

@Macprincess that was quite the report there. Felt quite fair and it does illustrate that sometimes you do have to try another cruise line/class to see what is “right for you”. There really is no one size fits all answer to this - you simply have to learn through experience.

Interestingly, it seems like your DCL experiences led you into some of the so-called rookie mistakes like booking specialty restaurants on board. Given the cost of specialty dining nowadays I can see how that might break the bank.

Not surprised about the drinks. Remember, your boys couldn’t purchase drinks, but I’m sure they’re resourceful and figured out a workaround. It’s kind of what kids do, right?

Anyway, since your kids are older now I’d consider giving Princess a try. I think it skews a bit more towards the adults but there’s still a family element to it.

 

[lovin'fl]

Will add that Royal does sales prior to the cruise. Like we got the 3 night specialty dining plan (3 dinners at the pay venues) for $60 per person (original cost was $75). That was not a bad price. Carnival never did that. Also the drink package was on sale for $44pp per day whereas Carnival is always like $58. Then on the cruise Royal does a lot of deals, like $2 mimosas from 10-12 on a couple days and other specialty dining deals (some lobster champagne brunch that was a great deal but we did sushi class the same time as that so we couldn't do the brunch and sushi class was like $20 per person and was a ton of sushi and adults got mimosa and we got 25% off coupon for that sushi restaurant). Carnival never has deals or sales on that stuff. They also had a draught beer card 10 beers for $48. Good deal.

 

[MissDaisyofTexas]

We are trying Anthem of the Seas 5-night cruise to Bermuda in June as our first foray into RCCL (well, I sailed on RCCL pre-marriage and pre-kids a long time ago). We picked RCCL because my mom doesn't like DCL (too many kids!). My kids will be 8, 11 and 15 so I hope they love it! We are also trying Mariner of the Seas in March 2020 because the price was great and the Perfect Day at CoCo Cay will be up and running. If for some reason we hate our cruise this summer, we will cancel our 2020 cruise on Mariner.

 

[lovin'fl]

We are trying Anthem of the Seas 5-night cruise to Bermuda in June as our first foray into RCCL (well, I sailed on RCCL pre-marriage and pre-kids a long time ago). We picked RCCL because my mom doesn't like DCL (too many kids!). My kids will be 8, 11 and 15 so I hope they love it! We are also trying Mariner of the Seas in March 2020 because the price was great and the Perfect Day at CoCo Cay will be up and running. If for some reason we hate our cruise this summer, we will cancel our 2020 cruise on Mariner.

Met some folks on my Grandeur cruise who had been on Anthem and just raved about it. They have been on a lot of Royal cruises and ships and said Anthem was their fave.

 

[mrsgthatsme]

Thanks a milllion to all for the very helpful responses! Your knowledge has really helped me think through our options and feel more confident about taking the plunge and trying something new!

At this point, after looking at dates and reading the suggestions from those on the board, we are leaning towards either the 4 day on the Mariner or the 5 day on the Independence. My main factor of consideration is the ports, as it sounds like both ships would be great (and somewhat similar). I think we would prefer CoCo Cay over Labadee, but my main concern is whether the dock will be done in early April. I would hate it if we missed that port due to weather and our only port the whole cruise was Nassau. I know the dock is scheduled to be done in March, but it sounds like the deadlines are far from set in stone. The cruise on the Independence stops at Labadee and Falmouth, and I am not super excited about Falmouth based on reviews around here! There is also another cruise during our time frame on the Navigator... is that ship less desirable than the Mariner or Independence in your opinion?

 

[starvenger]

I believe Navigator will just be out of dry dock in April. I don’t know if that’s good or bad since they’re redoing the pool deck among other things. I don’t think I’d enjoy being on a “shakedown” cruise but YMMV.

 

[mrsgthatsme]

I believe Navigator will just be out of dry dock in April. I don’t know if that’s good or bad since they’re redoing the pool deck among other things. I don’t think I’d enjoy being on a “shakedown” cruise but YMMV.

I definitely don’t want to be on the first post drydock sailing. Thanks for the heads up! That one is off the list!

 

[mevelandry]

I haven't tried RCCL yet but I am trying them in 9 months and Celebrity in 11 months.

Honestly, I have branched out to try Carnival in 2016 and I have zero regrets. It was such a great surprise for us to realize that we really liked Carnival.

Go with an open mind.

p.s.: I was told that they are building a dock for CocoCay so the cancellations should be more rare. Also, it's not super obvious but there is a fee for the Waterpark that they are building.

 

[tltay2005]

Speaking as a die hard Disney fan (been annual pass holders for 30 years) and cruised with them 4 times, price finally drove us to try another line. Princess, MSC & Celebrity and just seemed too "old" for us, as we are kids at heart and love to play mini golf and other "kid" stuff that we could not fine on any of those lines. We chose Royal's Allure and loved it. We have another on her this June and plan to book another on board, though this time with the Symphony or Harmony. We did miss the Disney touches and especially the dining experience (rotating themed restaurants), but we did have a great time and found the value was well worth it. I did a full report on here describing the differences and what we like better on each. I agree that I would stick with a 7 day on RCl, unless you are doing the Mariner which has been refurbished, because they use their older smaller ships for those short cruises.

 

[tidefan]

I haven't tried RCCL yet but I am trying them in 9 months and Celebrity in 11 months.

Honestly, I have branched out to try Carnival in 2016 and I have zero regrets. It was such a great surprise for us to realize that we really liked Carnival.

Go with an open mind.

p.s.: I was told that they are building a dock for CocoCay so the cancellations should be more rare. Also, it's not super obvious but there is a fee for the Waterpark that they are building.

Yep, they will be charging $50-$100 pp for waterpark access on Coco Cay. There are some spirited threads on CC about it.

We didn’t like RCCL when we tried it either, although we went on a ship (Serenade of the Seas) that doesn’t have any of the bells and whistles that some of the other RCCL ships have. We’d like to try an Oasis class at some time, but find that, while not quite in the DCL range, they tend to run much more than a comparable Princess or Carnival trip.

We love Princess and were very pleasantly surprised by how much we enjoyed our foray into Carnival (Sunshine). I think, though, that I would only want to stay on one of CCL’s newer builds or refits though (Breeze, Magic, Horizon, Vista, Sunshine, etc) where they’ve updated the decor. And, I have to say, when it comes to included “comfort” food, CCL may have everyone beat. We really, really enjoyed Guy’s burger and Blue Iguana, and the stir-fry stations they had...

 

[starvenger]

I just recently saw some pictures/concept designs for Carnival's Mardi Gras megaship. It looks pretty cool!

 

[tidefan]

I just recently saw some pictures/concept designs for Carnival's Mardi Gras megaship. It looks pretty cool!

It does look really fun (we’ll see how the coaster works). My only beef is that they shrunk the inside cabins a bit...

 

[tltay2005]

Yep, they will be charging $50-$100 pp for waterpark access on Coco Cay. There are some spirited threads on CC about it.

We didn’t like RCCL when we tried it either, although we went on a ship (Serenade of the Seas) that doesn’t have any of the bells and whistles that some of the other RCCL ships have. We’d like to try an Oasis class at some time, but find that, while not quite in the DCL range, they tend to run much more than a comparable Princess or Carnival trip.

We love Princess and were very pleasantly surprised by how much we enjoyed our foray into Carnival (Sunshine). I think, though, that I would only want to stay on one of CCL’s newer builds or refits though (Breeze, Magic, Horizon, Vista, Sunshine, etc) where they’ve updated the decor. And, I have to say, when it comes to included “comfort” food, CCL may have everyone beat. We really, really enjoyed Guy’s burger and Blue Iguana, and the stir-fry stations they had...

Good to hear about Carnival. With prices so high for summer 2020 on RCL, we are looking at the Horizon. Love the idea of the Havana cabins having their own private pool and hot tubs.

 

[starvenger]

The more cruising options the better!

 

[mevelandry]

Yep, they will be charging $50-$100 pp for waterpark access on Coco Cay. There are some spirited threads on CC about it.

We didn’t like RCCL when we tried it either, although we went on a ship (Serenade of the Seas) that doesn’t have any of the bells and whistles that some of the other RCCL ships have. We’d like to try an Oasis class at some time, but find that, while not quite in the DCL range, they tend to run much more than a comparable Princess or Carnival trip.

We love Princess and were very pleasantly surprised by how much we enjoyed our foray into Carnival (Sunshine). I think, though, that I would only want to stay on one of CCL’s newer builds or refits though (Breeze, Magic, Horizon, Vista, Sunshine, etc) where they’ve updated the decor. And, I have to say, when it comes to included “comfort” food, CCL may have everyone beat. We really, really enjoyed Guy’s burger and Blue Iguana, and the stir-fry stations they had...

Same for us. On Carnival we've sailed on Victory, Vista and Sensation. We had a good experience on Sensation (small ship) but it did not compare with the Victory and the Vista.

We now know what kind of ships we like better (More than 2500 passengers capacity, more "bells and whistle", more classic or modern appearance and well taken care of).

So we are going for the same on RCCL.

 

[Cackyschmackers]

We are trying Anthem of the Seas 5-night cruise to Bermuda in June as our first foray into RCCL (well, I sailed on RCCL pre-marriage and pre-kids a long time ago). We picked RCCL because my mom doesn't like DCL (too many kids!). My kids will be 8, 11 and 15 so I hope they love it! We are also trying Mariner of the Seas in March 2020 because the price was great and the Perfect Day at CoCo Cay will be up and running. If for some reason we hate our cruise this summer, we will cancel our 2020 cruise on Mariner.

We'll be on the Anthem for 5 nights to Bermuda this June, too! We've mostly only cruised on DCL and never on RCCL. So many questions!

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

We have done the 5 night Bermuda on Anthem after 5 Disney cruises. Son was nearly 9. Loved it. Not Disney but loved it and Bermuda was amazing. We are huge Disney fans but son and hubby bagging to go back on Royal.

 

[ksjayhawks]

Do they still offer the trip to climb Dunn's River Falls from Falmouth? If so, your family might enjoy that.