DCL vs. Royal Caribbean

[Raya]

Friends are trying to convince us to go on Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas, but we've only ever been on a Disney Cruise. So far the cost looks around the same for Royal Caribbean but there seem to be a lot of extras - drink packages, soda packages, internet packages - that we've never worried about when we cruise with Disney. Can anyone compare the two from a cost/experience stand point?

Our last DCL experience was on the Wish and the food was terrible. I have allergies that they kept getting wrong, so despite ordering a day in advance for every meal I had an hour to 90 minute wait for food only to get served something I was allergic to about 1/3 of the time. I have zero clue how RC will handle an allergy though, I doubt it'll be better than Disney... (Because I doubt anything can be better than Disney but here we are.)

 

[plutolovr]

Not sure about the cost being the same. You may want to double-check that and that you are comparing apples to apples in regards to room type, etc.

Disney also charges for Internet and alcoholic beverages. You need to do the math as to whether a drink package is a good value for you. It may or may not be, depending on how much you plan to drink. Soda packages are available to purchase if you drink soda. There is also a refreshment package that will also include specialty coffees, bottled water, etc.

From my understanding, the cruise lines do their best to work with food allergies. Does this mean you may wait longer for your meal? Yes, if it has to be made to order.

 

[RedHead0186]

Our last DCL experience was on the Wish and the food was terrible. I have allergies that they kept getting wrong, so despite ordering a day in advance for every meal I had an hour to 90 minute wait for food only to get served something I was allergic to about 1/3 of the time. I have zero clue how RC will handle an allergy though, I doubt it'll be better than Disney... (Because I doubt anything can be better than Disney but here we are.)

I'm sorry you had a bad experience here; that is not the norm for DCL (at least as far as I've heard). DCL is usually exceptionally good about allergies, very attentive. Something was clearly off on your sailing, but I would chalk that up to a rare miss, as I think (hope!) if you sailed with DCL again you'd find it to be very different.

 

[Kwami]

Not sure about the cost being the same. You may want to double-check that and that you are comparing apples to apples in regards to room type, etc.

I wouldn't be surprised if the cost was about the same. I have a cruise booked with NCL for next April and the cost difference vs. DCL was small, especially when you consider that the NCL room is smaller and that pretty much everything costs extra (soda, coffee, steak, access to the adults-only quiet area) or more (excursions).

DCL sometimes charges a lot more than other lines (e.g. Alaskan cruises, Wish cruises), but sometimes, they're not too far off the others (e.g. winter cruises).

 

[iloveeeyore]

I'm surprised Mariner would be the same cost, as it is one of Royal's older-ish ships, and you can usually find great deals. That said, I'd give it a try! We love DCL, but also really like Royal. Food quality is slipping a bit on pretty much all the lines. The food situation on Royal will probably not be better than what you experienced, unless you go specialty, which is an upcharge and also hit or miss. In fact, the Royal experience varies so widely, depending upon the ship, port and length of the cruise! Mariner is a good choice overall and in terms of ship experience, probably most similar of Royal's to say Fantasy and Dream.

Not sure what happened with the allergy situation? Haven't heard anything like that in any Disney venue, land or sea. So sorry that happened. I have a family full of celiac, and I'd be so mad if that happened, it would ruin our vacation.

 

[WildernessMickey]

My DH has celiac disease. He had no problems on either the Disney Wish or on Royal Caribbean Harmony of the Seas. The food was definitely better on the Wish though. His best experience with gluten free was on Celebrity Beyond and he also did very well on Norwegian Prima. All the cruise lines have been very accommodating and careful. I hope you have a better experience next time.
We like Royal (but prefer Disney) so maybe you should try it and see what you think.

 

[LETSGOFAM]

We did 1 Royal. We won’t go again. The employees that we encountered all seemed very cranky. We had several rude servers and one of them would complain about working on the Royal. It made it a little difficult to get in a vacation vibe. At least on all the Disney cruises we’ve been on, the staff has always been polite and helpful.

 

[rinse82]

There's no way a cruise on Mariner is the same price as any DCL cruise

Must be a difference in cabins being compared.

If somehow it is however, DCL all the way.

 

[DCLMP]

You might get more objective responses over on the Royal forum. I’ve loved my Royal cruises. That being said mariner is a very old ship and the prices are usually super cheap. I’m not sure how it’s pricing out the same as DCl. I’ve cruised on Royals newer ships and they have been 1/2-1/3 the price of DCL

 

[DCLMP]

I wouldn't be surprised if the cost was about the same. I have a cruise booked with NCL for next April and the cost difference vs. DCL was small, especially when you consider that the NCL room is smaller and that pretty much everything costs extra (soda, coffee, steak, access to the adults-only quiet area) or more (excursions).

DCL sometimes charges a lot more than other lines (e.g. Alaskan cruises, Wish cruises), but sometimes, they're not too far off the others (e.g. winter cruises).

No cruise line charges for regular bad coffee or a regular steak in the MDR. Nor do they charge more for excursions. I can’t speak for NCL, but Royal has a very nice covered adult area called the solarium that doesn’t cost anything. Please try to be accurate If you are going to give advice.

 

[Kwami]

No cruise line charges for regular bad coffee or a regular steak in the MDR. Nor do they charge more for excursions. I can’t speak for NCL, but Royal has a very nice covered adult area called the solarium that doesn’t cost anything. Please try to be accurate If you are going to give advice.

I am being accurate. The NCL ship that I'm sailing on next spring has two adults-only areas. One is loud and has music and videos playing all the time, plus some vents. The other one is quiet and requires you to purchase access. So, it's as I said. The adults-only quiet area costs extra.

I don't know about the regular bad coffee, but I know that other soft drinks aren't free on NCL. They charge more than $3 for a single soda, plus a mandatory gratuity. It's absurd.

I can't find where I saw the extra charge for steak and certain other entrees in the NCL MDRs, so maybe I misremember. Carnival definitely charges more for streak and some other entrees at the MDRs. I don't know what you mean by "regular steak", though.

 

[Memepoppy]

I am being accurate. The NCL ship that I'm sailing on next spring has two adults-only areas. One is loud and has music and videos playing all the time, plus some vents. The other one is quiet and requires you to purchase access. So, it's as I said. The adults-only quiet area costs extra.

I don't know about the regular bad coffee, but I know that other soft drinks aren't free on NCL. They charge more than $3 for a single soda, plus a mandatory gratuity. It's absurd.

I can't find where I saw the extra charge for steak and certain other entrees in the NCL MDRs, so maybe I misremember. Carnival definitely charges more for streak and some other entrees at the MDRs. I don't know what you mean by "regular steak", though.

While that may be true for NCL, the OP was questioning Royal vs Disney, in which case you are not accurate. Royal doesn't charge extra for coffee, steak, the adult area, etc. As the other poster stated, you need to be accurate and not misleading.

 

[Memepoppy]

Friends are trying to convince us to go on Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas, but we've only ever been on a Disney Cruise. So far the cost looks around the same for Royal Caribbean but there seem to be a lot of extras - drink packages, soda packages, internet packages - that we've never worried about when we cruise with Disney. Can anyone compare the two from a cost/experience stand point?

Our last DCL experience was on the Wish and the food was terrible. I have allergies that they kept getting wrong, so despite ordering a day in advance for every meal I had an hour to 90 minute wait for food only to get served something I was allergic to about 1/3 of the time. I have zero clue how RC will handle an allergy though, I doubt it'll be better than Disney... (Because I doubt anything can be better than Disney but here we are.)

We're doing a 7 night Western Caribbean in January on Harmony of the Seas (newer than the Mariner) from Galveston, Central Park Balcony, for close to $1500 less than Disney in the same timeframe from Orlando. We have additional savings as we can drive to Galveston and not have to fly to Orlando. As others have posted, comparing apples to apples there is no way the Mariner should even be close to Disney. If it truly is, then I'd do Disney. We have never had food issues on Disney, but to be fair we've not required any special meals.

 

[julesthecircusfreak]

The one thing I tell people that I never forget about the one Royal cruise I've been on is the smell of constant vomit near the elevators. It seemed there was a new vomiting incident on the carpeting every night, and every morning, they would have fans placed in the area. It was gross. I have never had that experience on a Disney cruise.

 

[Kwami]

While that may be true for NCL, the OP was questioning Royal vs Disney, in which case you are not accurate. Royal doesn't charge extra for coffee, steak, the adult area, etc. As the other poster stated, you need to be accurate and not misleading.

I was specifically talking about NCL in my previous post and I made that clear. My comment was with regards to other lines sometimes pricing their cruises close to DCL prices. There was absolutely nothing misleading about my post.

 

[Kwami]

As an example of what I wrote previously, I looked up the 7-night "Western Caribbean" RCL cruise from Galveston in January. I chose the January 28 - February 4 cruise because RCL's website showed the cheapest rates for that one. An ocean view balcony for two people is $4,525.66. In comparison, a deluxe verandah on the Fantasy for the January 28 - February 5 cruise is $4,820.64. So, the price difference is just under $300, the DCL cruise has an additional stop (Castaway Cay), the DCL cruise actually goes to some Caribbean islands, and the DCL room is slightly larger.

I don't know enough about RCL's extra charges to compare them with Disney's.

(The other poster might still be saving $1500. RCL has balcony rooms that face inward for much less than the ocean-facing rooms. They also don't charge much for kids, unlike DCL.)

 

[Raya]

Thanks everyone! To fill in some gaps:

Our trip with the terrible allergy food service was on the Wish, so it's possible it was just new staff not understanding. Our previous trips (both Wonder) were much better. If it helps, the biggest problem with the food was the staff assuming I was allergic to everything, for example corn, gluten, eggs, etc. when I'm allergic to a specific plant family. So I would order chicken with brussels sprouts, and get chicken with no veggies because the sprouts had gluten in them but my bread was served with a spread I was allergic to. I spoke to dinner host and to customer service, which improved the speed with which I got my meals but not the quality of the food or the chances of getting what I actually ordered.

The RCL is a themed cruise, it would be $6880 for an ocean view balcony. A 7 night on the Disney Fantasy, Verandah room is $4,653. I'm sure the themed part of the RCL trip is what's making it so expensive. I'm also sure that they put the themed trips on the older ships so I know the interior will be dated. Just not sure if the extra expense and non-Disney experience is worth geeking out with friends.

 

[jimmymc]

Regarding allergies, Royal does gluten-free pretty well, but I can't comment on more complicated ones. They do have options in the buffet and at dinner to talk to a chef and have them cook something you can have, theoretically the same way Disney does. I'm curious to know the details of how Disney kept getting it wrong multiple nights, even after ordering beforehand. I've only heard of ordering the day before for complicated combinations of food restrictions.

For the price, Royal is usually cheaper even after adding on things like drinks packages, dining packages, and some of the paid activities on-board. I'm surprised they are coming in around the same price as Disney for the same room. If that's the case, I'd definitely go with Disney, but maybe the people you're traveling with aren't as big of fans.

Edit: so I just saw it's a themed cruise, so throw the pricing info out the window. Themed cruises are totally different than your average royal cruise, since almost all the activities will be tailored to the theme. For that price, though, I'd have to really love the theme to pay that much more than a Disney cruise.

 

[jimmymc]

No cruise line charges for regular bad coffee or a regular steak in the MDR. Nor do they charge more for excursions. I can’t speak for NCL, but Royal has a very nice covered adult area called the solarium that doesn’t cost anything. Please try to be accurate If you are going to give advice.

NCL does charge more for excursions than Disney. I've done the comparison, and the same exact excursions with the same tour operators cost more when booked directly through NCL than when booked directly through Disney. It makes sense, because NCL needs to make up the price difference somewhere, and excursion markup is one place to do that.

I've never been charged for standard coffee or hot cocoa on a cruise. I've been on some where they tried to charge me for hot tea in the main dining room, but it was included at the buffet.

 

[Raya]

Regarding allergies, Royal does gluten-free pretty well, but I can't comment on more complicated ones. They do have options in the buffet and at dinner to talk to a chef and have them cook something you can have, theoretically the same way Disney does. I'm curious to know the details of how Disney kept getting it wrong multiple nights, even after ordering beforehand. I've only heard of ordering the day before for complicated combinations of food restrictions.

I'm allergic to squash. I have no other allergy. No other concerns. I ordered in advance each time, picking meals that did not involve squash. I regularly didn't get what I ordered and I was served bread with pumpkin seeds (a squash) on it twice (both times at Arendelle).

For one lunch I order a burger and fries with ice cream sundae for dessert (no chance of squash!). I got a burger on a glutenfree bun, and burnt shoe string potatoes. It took 90 minutes. Every one else got thick steak fries. I asked for steak fries and was told they would be out soon. The rest of the table got and ate dessert. I asked for my dessert. 30 minutes went by, I flagged down the waiter who told me they couldn't make the fries and that there was no dessert available for me because the caramel on the ice cream sundae had corn syrup in it. (I'm not allergic to corn or gluten.)

For dinner at 1923 I ordered the Riverside Roasted Green Circle Chicken - Chicken with Brussels Sprouts, Yukon Potato Fondant, Honeycrisp Apple Chutney, and Cabernet Sauvignon Reduction. Again, no squash! I got a plain grilled chicken breast and mashed potatoes. There was no explanation as to why apple chutney or a wine reduction sauce would have squash in them.

And so on. The most annoying part was that I was told I could *not* eat at any other restaurant, as someone with allergies my only option was sit down meals ordered in advance. We wasted 3 hours a day getting bad food when there's almost no chance that a hot dog by the pool has come in contact with squash (which wasn't served at any of the by the pool food stations).