Disney vs. RCCL

[Cmbar]

To all you DCL pros that also love RCCL can you please give me an assesment of how the food on RCCL compares to the DCL. We are considering the Radiance of the Seas or the Enchantment of the seas. We would like the Oasis, but I don't know if we can afford it!

My parents will be first time cruisers and my mom is a worrier. She worrys about the kids running off (they will be 11, 13 & 14) and we feel fine letting them run on the Disney ships by themselves. So my dad asked if we would do DCL just so she can relax a little. But the prices are so much better on RCCL. My Brother In law only wants to know if the food is as good as DCL!

Any opinions on the foods? Any opinions on letting the early teens go off a bit on their own on a RCCL ship? Thanks!

 

[TheWog]

To all you DCL pros that also love RCCL can you please give me an assesment of how the food on RCCL compares to the DCL. We are considering the Radiance of the Seas or the Enchantment of the seas. We would like the Oasis, but I don't know if we can afford it!

My parents will be first time cruisers and my mom is a worrier. She worrys about the kids running off (they will be 11, 13 & 14) and we feel fine letting them run on the Disney ships by themselves. So my dad asked if we would do DCL just so she can relax a little. But the prices are so much better on RCCL. My Brother In law only wants to know if the food is as good as DCL!

Any opinions on the foods? Any opinions on letting the early teens go off a bit on their own on a RCCL ship? Thanks!

WE love the Enchantment. She is beautiful and very similar in size to the Magic/Wonder. Also has some added kids stuff when they stretched here a few years ago. Food was comparable to Disney in all respects in my opinion. We didn't have a bad meal and the quick service places were also very good - except for one chicken sandwich very late at night. Not good, but other than that we enjoyed everything about it.

If you are considering booking they are offering a WOW sale beginning tomorrow. 50% deposits and onboard credit. Take a look. www.royalcaribbean.com

 

["Got Disney"]

Has anyone been on the Mariner Of The Seas We are thinking of taking that one this summer. We will be on the Wonder in 2011 but am in need of a cruise. This one sails out of LA to Mexico. We can also go on the Radiance of the Seas out of SD where we live but the Mariner seems to be a better ship.

As for the Oasis...will wait to see what the reviews are. If Disney dows not WOW us with the Dream than the Oasis it is. But my kids are also older so the Oasis will be a great change.

 

[runwad]

HOw do you all go about booking on RCCL if you need 2 rooms? From what I can see on the website if I do it myself I have to do one room from beg to end then come back in and get another. I guess that is my hang up with them I like on DCL I can book 2 rooms at the same time, pick them out and see a price. I don't feel I can do that on RCCL. I guess I could call in but I just want to get an idea on the price. Unless I'm doing something wrong???

 

[nenner1]

I would just like to pop my $0.02 on this thread for any of you DCL die-hards like us considering RCCL.

As a family of 5 now, we have found RCCL's Freedom class ships to be far more affordable than DCL. Since we love Disney so much we will be alternating years...one year on DCL then the next on RCCL, etc. (assuming we enjoy RCCL which we are sailing for the first time in January).

I just wanted to relate our recent experience with RCCL's customer service. We have all 5 of us booked in a D1 Balcony room (you can do that if the youngest is under 2). There was recently a "price drop" announced- actually it was GTY Balcony category released for our sailing. The savings was significant- hundreds per adult. When we called RCCL to change from our D1 to GTY balcony we were told we couldn't do it. Of course we inquired why since we were already in a Balcony cabin and if 5 ppl can book in any level balcony (they can as long as the youngest is under 2), then why couldn't we just switch our assigned room for GTY status? The agents and supervisors we spoke to basically said the computer wouldn't allow it. But the supervisor said she would investigate and call us back. We fully expected to not hear anything but bright and early the next morning she called and said that they have given us the GTY Balcony deal...an exception made just for us (supposedly, LOL)! While that was great in & of itself (we weren't ASKING for an exception to be made-just wondering why the "computer" wouldn't allow it if it was technically allowed.) They also decided to let us stay in the room we had already selected (which was a D1 the highest of the balcony categories and in a prime location onboard!!!) they could have given us the GTY status and then assigned us to a lower (E1, E2, or D2) baclony category in a not-as-prime area of the ship but they didn't!

I was totally not expecting to experience Disney-level customer service! We are so excited to see what other great suprises this upcoming vacation will bring!

Just thought I'd share our experience for others! We were quite impressed!

 

[scottishwee35]

Yes and no Fran.

The best categories aren't necessarily the lowest letter. Let's not forget about the Presidential Suite (Cat PS), Royal Suite (Cat RS) and Owners Suite (Cat OS)

I know, it's confusing.

There is even a Suite Guarantee that's Category W. So it's all messed up.

Oh Mari - yes, a D2 is a balcony cabin. There is one higher standard balcony category above this, the D1. Usually the only difference is location. And a D1 is usually a quad.

Deck 7 is fine. We have a tendency to stay at the highest deck possible, only because we spend most of our time at the pool and the kids at Adventure Ocean (both high decks).

We also try to grab the Aft Balconies (VERY back if the ship) because they are extended balconies that are much larger than a standard, and NO price difference from the side balconies. The AFT balconies have loungers on them. They are "coveted" so if you see one, grab it.

I grabbed another one for our next RCCL cruise on Explorer.

This was our Aft Balcony on Independence of the Seas....

that is funny because at first I booked with rcci and we got floor 8 D2 then my friend told me no change over to 1700 at Cat 10 as we booked it for April 2011 for my special birthday (I am nervous) because we always cruise with Disney which I am love it too much....

I decide to go to Freedom of the Seas which I always want go on but I know it won't be same Disney... My husband and I try rcci for my kids will be 14 and 11...

When TA changed over to 1700 and TA said it is very popular as it look like that but first corner on Cat 10...

I love sunset so I am very happy to change over to 1700...

Scottishwee35

 

[Stevegriswold]

Thanks for the review.

We have been on five RCCL cruises and love them.
We have also been on several Princess, Holland America, and Costa ships. All seven day trips and one two week cruise.

We always have wanted to book a Disney Cruise but the price difference for the same 7 days to the same ports is amazing.

We finally bit the bullet and booked a 7 day Disney Magic E Caribbean trip for Feb. 2010. Disney was offering kids free. Even with both our kids "free" it cost us $3,500 for a seven day disney cruise (ocean view cat 9 room).
That is over $1,700 per adult. That still seems very high in a bad economy when I can go on a RCCL cruise for so much less.

Our expectations have always been met or exceeded on the RCCL cruises, for about $1,800 total for a seven day cruise. So I am hopeful for almost twice the price our Disney Cruise is that much better.

We LOVE Disney and are both past Disney cast members, but I fear that our Disney cruise will be equal or less than our RCCL trips, but wanted to give it a try.

Steve

 

[tchrmom]

Thanks for the review.

We have been on five RCCL cruises and love them.
We have also been on several Princess, Holland America, and Costa ships. All seven day trips and one two week cruise.

We always have wanted to book a Disney Cruise but the price difference for the same 7 days to the same ports is amazing.

We finally bit the bullet and booked a 7 day Disney Magic E Caribbean trip for Feb. 2010. Disney was offering kids free. Even with both our kids "free" it cost us $3,500 for a seven day disney cruise (ocean view cat 9 room).
That is over $1,700 per adult. That still seems very high in a bad economy when I can go on a RCCL cruise for so much less.

Our expectations have always been met or exceeded on the RCCL cruises, for about $1,800 total for a seven day cruise. So I am hopeful for almost twice the price our Disney Cruise is that much better.

We LOVE Disney and are both past Disney cast members, but I fear that our Disney cruise will be equal or less than our RCCL trips, but wanted to give it a try.

Steve

Steve.........
Never fear.........You will LOVE Disney! I am the original poster.....and we had ONLY cruised Disney before our first RCCL cruise. The ONLY reason we even TRIED Royal was because our children got too old to take out of school during the "affordable" times. IF we were going to cruise anymore it HAD to be during school breaks........PRIME TIME, money wise. We are not wealthy people. We are your average, middle class family. We could not justify THAT much money for a vacation. Since our kids are older.....Characters are not important anymore. That forced us to look at another cruiseline. Now, I probably would not try an OLDER RCCL ship......but their newer ships are great. Keep in mind, The Magic and The Wonder are older......but Disney does a FABULOUS job at keeping them up. (But I have not been on a Disney ship since 2007) Relax.......RCCL and Disney both have great service, great food and beautiful ships.

 

[Suz D]

I think this thread has really great information (especially since we love to cruise but want to cut costs and DCL is so expensive). I'm bumping it so that others can benefit since the last posting was so long ago.

 

[TStrickland01]

Having done several cruise lines, Royal Caribbean continually rises to the top as a good balance between cost and value. Still cannot justify the cost of a Disney only cruise

 

[Bookwood]

WE had 2 sets of adjoining cabins on the Freedom in May- luckily my TA (a brillant women) took care of it for me so I don't know how to book on the phone or online. LOL She sent me an email with the available cabins and her advice (it was our first cruise ever) and we chose and sent it back. Our cabins were across the gangway from each other and the 2 balconies connected (rooms not balconies) and the 2 with Promenade view connected. We were 7 adults 2 married couples, and 2 sisters and 1 brother. (there was originally another guy for my son to hang with but he cancelled too late to get any refund so DS had his own cabin)

 

[joksten2000]

We just booked the Rhapsody of the Seas Sept 2010 to Hawaii.

I very much agree that the buffet at Windjammers is way above DCL, really no comparison.

I don't know where or why people pay so much for RCCL We sail on the Explorer of the Seas 12 day cruises and our last cruise in Nov 2009 was $2,000 total for the two of us. We really like the 12 day cruise. We were in a larger Promenade room.

Of the three RCCL cruises we've taken the first was so-so, the second was very good, and the third was superior. The same can be said for DCL of the ten cruises we've been on 3 were so-so, 3 were good, and 4 were superior.

The one thing I did like were the different shows. After seeing the DCL productions four times we stopped going to the shows. The Ice shows on the Explorer are excellent rivals anything on DCL.

I wouldn't sail on DCL anymore for the two of us. But will continue with our family cruises as we sail on points and we've hit the point that the cost is just the yearly maintenance now.

We've also never had a kids or smoking problem on the Explorer. We love the Promenade area. Just can't see spending $2,500 plus airfare on DCL 7 day cruise when for $2,000 I can get a 12 day cruise.

 

[5lilfish]

To all you DCL pros that also love RCCL can you please give me an assesment of how the food on RCCL compares to the DCL. We are considering the Radiance of the Seas or the Enchantment of the seas. We would like the Oasis, but I don't know if we can afford it!

My parents will be first time cruisers and my mom is a worrier. She worrys about the kids running off (they will be 11, 13 & 14) and we feel fine letting them run on the Disney ships by themselves. So my dad asked if we would do DCL just so she can relax a little. But the prices are so much better on RCCL. My Brother In law only wants to know if the food is as good as DCL!

Any opinions on the foods? Any opinions on letting the early teens go off a bit on their own on a RCCL ship? Thanks!

Have you looked into the Freedom Class? It's cheaper than Oasis but has some of the same fun ammenities. We've done 2 Freedom Class cruises with tweens. They really loved the Flowrider. I did too. The ship also has rock climbing, mini golf and ice skating. We loved the Royal Promenade too. Not all of the RCI ships have that (not sure about the ones you were looking into).

As for food....you'll find this to vary based on the person reviewing it. We only found the food on RCI to be so-so. The food in Windjammers (buffet) was very good. The dining room food was very hit-or-miss. some things were great. Some things were not good at all....and I'm not talking taste preference. The turkey they served us, on Thanksgiving, was a joke (like prepacked sliced turkey). The chicken breast that I ordered off the adult menu was awful. Other things were very very good. the pizza from the Royla Promenade was fantastic...as were the salads/cold food options.

Jess

 

[scottishwee35]

Have you looked into the Freedom Class? It's cheaper than Oasis but has some of the same fun ammenities. We've done 2 Freedom Class cruises with tweens. They really loved the Flowrider. I did too. The ship also has rock climbing, mini golf and ice skating. We loved the Royal Promenade too. Not all of the RCI ships have that (not sure about the ones you were looking into).

As for food....you'll find this to vary based on the person reviewing it. We only found the food on RCI to be so-so. The food in Windjammers (buffet) was very good. The dining room food was very hit-or-miss. some things were great. Some things were not good at all....and I'm not talking taste preference. The turkey they served us, on Thanksgiving, was a joke (like prepacked sliced turkey). The chicken breast that I ordered off the adult menu was awful. Other things were very very good. the pizza from the Royla Promenade was fantastic...as were the salads/cold food options.

Jess

thank for your feedback...

I am looking forward to Freedom of the Seas... as our first time with my family..

Scottishwee35

 

[NancyIL]

I very much agree that the buffet at Topsiders is way above DCL, really no comparison.

Ummm...Topsiders IS on DCL!

I like Royal Caribbean a lot, and RCI cruises #8 and #9 are in 2010.

 

[nenner1]

We sailed on Independence of the Seas in January..LOVED IT!

What a fantastic cruise, the ship was really spectacular! The kids never made it to the kids clubs, there was so much for them to do (Flowrider--->H20 zone--->Repeat)!

The Freedom class ships are really awesome...

If anyone is interested in reading more, I did a Dis-style TR on CC, you can find it HERE.

 

[5lilfish]

We sailed on Independence of the Seas in January..LOVED IT!

What a fantastic cruise, the ship was really spectacular! The kids never made it to the kids clubs, there was so much for them to do (Flowrider--->H20 zone--->Repeat)!

The Freedom class ships are really awesome...

If anyone is interested in reading more, I did a Dis-style TR on CC, you can find it HERE.

I agree! My kids (12, 11 and 9 at the time) did not think the RCI kids clubs were that great, but it didn't matter. There was so much for them to do they really only spent time in the clubs at night anyway.

Jess

 

[tchrmom]

I think this thread has really great information (especially since we love to cruise but want to cut costs and DCL is so expensive). I'm bumping it so that others can benefit since the last posting was so long ago.

Thanks sooooo much! I tried to be honest and fair. We are really excited for our June 13, 2010 Freedom of the Seas cruise! Seven day cruise, 2 rooms, 4 people.....$4100. Can't beat THAT!

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

Bye bye the Mouse, well lets just say...till we meet again.


Booked a 14 night European cruise on RCCL for summer 2011, Suite, and about 50% cheaper than DCL, (The old 11 night,Med, so 3 more days).

And no flights......

 

[joksten2000]

I thought you were hard core DCL, trust me there is life after DCL. Hopefully you'll have a wonderful cruise.