Disney vs. RCCL

[LadyZolt]

Hi I just tried to make my dinning reservations and they said I could only reserve once Im onboard for my sailing date Sept 12. I was surprised..... Is this how it works? Also they told me that boarding starts at 1.30pm. Im usually at the port when we go with DCL at 10 am. Can those that have sailed with Royal C give me some advise?

If you mean like for Royal Caribbean's Chops or Portofinos, yes you can book those before you board. Go online to the website and sign into your reservation. I'm not sure how far out you can book, but it should tell you. You can book the specialty restaurants and you can also book your excursions. Unlike Disney, you have to pay for these things when you book them, so be prepared for that when you're signing up for things. Have a great time!

-Dorothy (LadyZolt)

 

[abdmom]

Hi I just tried to make my dinning reservations and they said I could only reserve once Im onboard for my sailing date Sept 12. I was surprised..... Is this how it works? Also they told me that boarding starts at 1.30pm. Im usually at the port when we go with DCL at 10 am. Can those that have sailed with Royal C give me some advise?

I usually arrive for RCCL ships around 11:30- noon and get on right away.

 

[uncw89]

I'm glad to have found this thread. I just booked a 7/18/10 cruise on the Freedom of the Seas and was looking for info on RCCL. I haven't read through the whole thread yet, but if anyone has any advice on the Freedom, feel free to post! Thanks! I love DCL and am booked on the Dream next year, but wanted to do a cruise this summer and the prices on the Wonder were way to high for me and it's pretty much the same itinerary as my Dream cruise.

 

[LOVETHATMOUSE]

I was very happy to find this thread. We just booked the May 22 RCCL 5 night cruise to Bermuda. When we sailed on the Wonder this forum was such a great resource. I was really disappointed that there wasn't much for RCCL. I looked into Cruise Critic but it wasn't anywhere near as helpful as the Dis Boards.
We're sailing on the Explorer of the Seas from Cape Liberty,NJ. We would rather be sailing with DCL, but the length of this cruise and the port of embarkation worked well for our schedule right now. Does anyone have any tips about the Bermuda cruise or the Explorer. We're curious about recommendations for shopping, beaches, transportation, etc. Thanks for any help that you can give.

We too are sailing for the first time on the Explorer of the Seas (NJ)..Feb 2011 9 day caribbean cruise. We have done 3 DCL's and LOVE THEM, but my mom is booking this trip for my dad's 70th(instead of a party) for the 7 ove us ( Mom and day, our family and my sister/nephew). I tried hard to convince them to do to a DCL, but my mom loves gambling, and since she is footing the bill, she picks the cruise. I am very excited to go, but feel like I'm cheating on DCL LOLOLOL!!! I am also curious about everything, so would love to hear any tips, recommendations as well. We will be staying in a deluxe ocean stateroom w/balcony, and my parents in a Jr. Suite. The thing I am looking forward to is leaving from NJ and having 4 days at sea!

 

[interested]

I never dreamt that I would be able to share an opinion about another cruise line but when DGD had break, nothing was available on the Magic.....

Our grand daughter has been on several cruises with us, and since she is now 7 we asked her what her preference was with Disney not available. Freedom of the Seas! She didn't even hesitate. What an amazing ship BUT what a learning experience.
Embarkation:: For us Disney has this mastered. We were not impressed with FoS's method. It felt like you were in line for a ride. Kept winding and turning in a long line. Also no great AHA! when you board. Kind of just entering a side door. No one to greet you but a kid's club cast member.
Topsiders/Windjammers: One of the very few things that I have to give it to RCCL on. Windjammers had it all over Topsiders. Food variety and selection was amazing. (and good)
Wait staff: No way, no how did RCCL even come close. Service is what we felt lacked the most.
Food:: We prefer the selections available on DCL over RCCL. In our opinion the quality wasn't there on RCCL for what they did serve. Even the lobster was real light and wet. Very different for us.
Cruise directors We really enjoyed the RCCL cruise director. No complaints here at all. He could definitely hold his own against Rachel, Jackie, Brent and Christian. Who we think are top notch. The major difference was the cruise director staff. Here it is Disney hands down. Definitely did not come across any Pikeys!
Private Island: Castaway Cay ALL OF THE WAY!
Rooms: Disney's are larger and we always have a split bathroom The main bed on RCCL is SO MUCH nicer though! Seemed bigger too. Maybe it was just so comfy that I remember it bigger than it was...
Entertainment: We like both.
Kid's clubs: While our DGD did not attend the club (our choice, she lives far away and we look forward to our time together) we traveled with friends that did. Disney, hands down.
Disembarking was AWFUL! We half expected it though having done the Mexican Riviera on Disney out of L.A. That was an awful experience also.
Cost: Definitely RCCL. Having said that we will pay the extra for the service and stick with Disney.

 

[mommykds]

I am confused...I keep reading that RCCL is cheaper than DCL. Could comeone please help me out here?

I found prices for both RCCL & DCL 7 night med cruise (one leave 7/30 & the other leave 8/6. Both have similiar ports (Rome, Piza, ports in Spain, ports in France) RCCL was $6500 & DCL was $7000. Is $500 less enough for this dedicated Disney family to switch to RCCL?

 

[Edd]

I have cruised the Freedom and find it to be a great ship for cruising with a lot of things to do. I cruised out of Port Canaveral, the Freedom is ported at Port Canaveral now, not Miami, so find some statements to be misleading concerning Disembarking; I am told by other cruisers the easiest departure from the ships came at Port Canaveral and the Freedom, Disney and the Carnival Dream. The Disney termininal is definitely an easy departure and the departure from the terminal where the RC's and the Dream dock a close second. I have disembarked from all the terminals and agree Disney is the best, but the Freedom and the Dream are a close second.

The Wait service is definitely good on all ships. Neither one can take second to the others. I have no complaints of any of the cruise ship waiters, assistant waiters and the room attendants.

My 10 year old grandson definitely does not like the DCL kids club. He does participate in activities in the kids clubs on the other two cruise lines. I have no opinion in this because he seems perfectly honest in his opinion.

DCL's private beach is nice, but the Lababdee beach of RCCL is really beautiful. While the DCL island is flat, the Labadee beach is nestled at the bottom of some real beautiful hills. It is my favorite beach. The activiites at both of the beaches was great. The Cocoa Cay beach of RCCL is comparable to the DCL beach, but not as commercial, just beach and shops renting out different types of beach apparatus you might need.

The Freedom does have one huge advantage over many other ships. That is the water areas for the kids and the adults. The areas are really great including the flow-rider which provides a great experiences for kids of all ages.Here is a link to some pictures taken while aboard the Freedom and at the Labadee beach:

http://ekorgan2.com/freedom_of_the_seas.htm


The DCL rooms seemed and were much bigger. However I only had two persons in the room and don't generally hang around in the room much. The DCL is tops in the room department.

Embarking on the Freedom I don't find it so cold as some suggest. There is definitely no announcement that you are boarding when you board the Carnivals or the RCCLs. However the main entrance room is lined with employees ready to help you out. I am usually interested in the buffet so pay very little attention to what is happening and head towards the food. The lines do form between 1130 and 1330 because of all the busses arriving at that hour. If you are a C&R member you get in much faster during those hours.

The one thing I liked about the RCCL was the cruise directors were always out in front. It seemed like they ran the ship. They even ate at the windjammer with everyone else and talked to passengers all day long. On the Freedom, our cruise director was the Indian in YMCA and the 80's dance party on the Royal Promenade. All I have sailed with are very personable. I did speak with a DCL cruise director on one of the cruises but don't think they were so friendly.

My preference in food is the Carnivals with the RCCL being a close second and DCL last. I couldn't figure out what some of the DCL plates were as they were confusing and sometimes not to tasty with the portions being somewhat small. The other cruise lines were a little bit less fancy and seems to offer more on the menus. The Carnivals have the best steaks and desserts.

 

[Rland8228]

I am so happy I found this, I still have to read through all of this but am having the same thoughts as most on here. My husband and I went on our honeymoon in Aug 2008 when the Mariner of the seas was still in Port Canaveral and we loved it. I think part of it was because we were alone without my almost two year old and my parents(whom we are living with so that i can care for my grandfather.) Now that I saw the Oasis come out I was really excited about possibly trying to take my now three year old on next year. I really can not decide what to do. I love Disney and would love to go on one of there ships but cant really justify spending that much. I'm really not sure we are even going to go on Oasis probably just go Freedom due to all the extra fees i am hearing about, plus i really don't know if I should even try with my three year old. That's why i though Disney might be better. Any thoughts?.

 

[aurorafan65]

I'm glad to have found this thread. I just booked a 7/18/10 cruise on the Freedom of the Seas and was looking for info on RCCL. I haven't read through the whole thread yet, but if anyone has any advice on the Freedom, feel free to post! Thanks! I love DCL and am booked on the Dream next year, but wanted to do a cruise this summer and the prices on the Wonder were way to high for me and it's pretty much the same itinerary as my Dream cruise.

here's my biggest advice if you're traveling with kids - for the rock climbing wall, the wave rider, ice skating they need to have waivers signed. I don't remember what or if there's a cut-off age (my boys were 10 & 12 when we sailed) so we had to sign the waivers at the venue then they get their key card punched so they can go back anytime by themselves & do the activity. On the first day there's usually not as many people at the wave rider so it's a good time to try it. It's really a fun ship - we had a blast, although it seems HUGE after being on a dcl ship

 

[aurorafan65]

I was very happy to find this thread. We just booked the May 22 RCCL 5 night cruise to Bermuda. When we sailed on the Wonder this forum was such a great resource. I was really disappointed that there wasn't much for RCCL. I looked into Cruise Critic but it wasn't anywhere near as helpful as the Dis Boards.
We're sailing on the Explorer of the Seas from Cape Liberty,NJ. We would rather be sailing with DCL, but the length of this cruise and the port of embarkation worked well for our schedule right now. Does anyone have any tips about the Bermuda cruise or the Explorer. We're curious about recommendations for shopping, beaches, transportation, etc. Thanks for any help that you can give.

Explorer is a nice ship - we did Bermuda (2 years ago in Oct) We did the segway tour - it was very informational! We got the transportation cards (I think we bought them on the ship - or there's a booth right where you dock) we did the 2 day passes & rode the buses & boat into Hamilton, we had lunch & walked around the shops there. If they're still docking in the dockyards there's an old fort there which was converted into a shopping center, there's a glass blower there too. It's really a nice area to walk around. There's also the naval museum - dh wanted to go & we did see part of it on the segway tour. There's a beach right by the dock too that a lot of people go to

 

[Edd]

I think the biggest question you need to ask yourself is. Is the cruise so the three year old can have fun or do you, as adults, want to have some fun? The 3 year old would definitely enjoy the Disney ship because of the characters. Personally I think he is to young to be cruising and would rather have a good time at Disney World or Grandma's. You probably have a year or two left before every minute of your off-time has to be devoted to the youngster for about 10 - 16 years.

 

[uncw89]

here's my biggest advice if you're traveling with kids - for the rock climbing wall, the wave rider, ice skating they need to have waivers signed. I don't remember what or if there's a cut-off age (my boys were 10 & 12 when we sailed) so we had to sign the waivers at the venue then they get their key card punched so they can go back anytime by themselves & do the activity. On the first day there's usually not as many people at the wave rider so it's a good time to try it. It's really a fun ship - we had a blast, although it seems HUGE after being on a dcl ship

It looks like there is a height requirement for the flow rider which my son (9) does meet,which is good since he's really looking forward to doing it.
How does dining work? Is it like DCL? I see ther's my time dining and family time dining??? How formal are the formal nights? We are doing Eastern and CocoCay...what are good excursions?
Thanks for all the info, everyone1

 

[Rland8228]

I think the biggest question you need to ask yourself is. Is the cruise so the three year old can have fun or do you, as adults, want to have some fun? The 3 year old would definitely enjoy the Disney ship because of the characters. Personally I think he is to young to be cruising and would rather have a good time at Disney World or Grandma's. You probably have a year or two left before every minute of your off-time has to be devoted to the youngster for about 10 - 16 years.

Not to put my entire life story out because no one cares lol.. I had my son at a very young age and his father is returning to college for his senior year, so I cant really ask him to take him for the week and let my husband and I have time. And since I am living with grandma to help support my parents and take care of my grandfather full time and my brother and sister its kinda hard to ask my mother. I also feel so guilty leaving him at home. This will sound crazy but i really don't know what else to do with him. I feel like there is either cruising or going to Disney. My husband and I are going to get into camping and taking him to Ft. Wilderness this year if we can. So I guess I really am not sure what to do. Thanks for your help!? If any of this makes sense.

 

[Edd]

You can do the MY Time dining if you want. I prefer the regular dining at 8:30. With my time you just go when you want to go. The regular dining is great just it takes place in one dining room the whole trip. You can dress up extreme for formal night or go in your regular clothes. I don't enjoy the formal night so I just go the way I usually go. I haven't done the excusions on the eastern crusie. Not much for excursions as they are usually full and that is not my style.

I would let Dad take him for the week and you go cruising with your husband. Nothing wrong with that.

 

[5lilfish]

I think the biggest question you need to ask yourself is. Is the cruise so the three year old can have fun or do you, as adults, want to have some fun? The 3 year old would definitely enjoy the Disney ship because of the characters. Personally I think he is to young to be cruising and would rather have a good time at Disney World or Grandma's. You probably have a year or two left before every minute of your off-time has to be devoted to the youngster for about 10 - 16 years.

We just returned from WDW with twins that are just shy of 3 and having just done a Disney Cruise with them 2 months ago. We love WDW and we love cruising. We've taken our 5 kids (12, 11, 10, and the almost 3 yr old twins) on many cruises and on many WDW trips. We've cruised with kids ages 8 months and upward to almost 13. We've done the parks with the kids spanning that age group too. On day 2 of this WDW trip, I said to my DH, "Why didn't we do a cruise?" The parks can be exhausting with a small child. We had fun. We always do, but for now I prefer cruises. I think our 3 yr old twins enjoyed our Feb Disney Cruise much more than touring the theme parks. We have never had a bad experience cruising DCL with the kids and we would much rather have our kids with us on vacation than leave them home (which really isn't an option for us).

Jess

 

[Rland8228]

We just returned from WDW with twins that are just shy of 3 and having just done a Disney Cruise with them 2 months ago. We love WDW and we love cruising. We've taken our 5 kids (12, 11, 10, and the almost 3 yr old twins) on many cruises and on many WDW trips. We've cruised with kids ages 8 months and upward to almost 13. We've done the parks with the kids spanning that age group too. On day 2 of this WDW trip, I said to my DH, "Why didn't we do a cruise?" The parks can be exhausting with a small child. We had fun. We always do, but for now I prefer cruises. I think our 3 yr old twins enjoyed our Feb Disney Cruise much more than touring the theme parks. We have never had a bad experience cruising DCL with the kids and we would much rather have our kids with us on vacation than leave them home (which really isn't an option for us).

Jess

Thank you so much. As much as I love my everyother weekend of quite time (like now) I miss him a ton and with my husband working nights Its so hard for us to have any family time together. So to me leaving him at home really isn't what I want I don't know what we will decide. When my husband gets home were gonna figure it out.

 

[aurorafan65]

It looks like there is a height requirement for the flow rider which my son (9) does meet,which is good since he's really looking forward to doing it.
How does dining work? Is it like DCL? I see ther's my time dining and family time dining??? How formal are the formal nights? We are doing Eastern and CocoCay...what are good excursions?
Thanks for all the info, everyone1

On the flow rider they are very strict with the height requirement - the guy has a measuring stick he brings out if he thinks it's questionable. He also doesn't take hair into account, I saw some kid try to get by since his hair was poofed up & he didn't pass. But I'll tell you that thing is fun to ride on!

Dining is pretty much much the same as DCL except they only have 1 dining room. They have some tables of 4, but alot of them are 6-10 people so you may have to sit with others. We haven't tried my-time dining so I can't comments on that one.

Excursions - Cozumel the jeep or dune buggy ones were fun, the helmet dive - my son still talks about that one, there's also an underwater scooter which dh & my other ds did & really liked
GC - we always pick bad excursions here - we did the sea spy, the tour was running late & he had problems with some of the 'boats'. Another time we did an island tour with the turtle farm (which was great), hell & something else but the driver we had was terrible, she couldn't answer basic questions about the island.
Coco cay - I like so much more than Labadee. We did the water park - there's inflatables in the water, a trampoline & some other stuff. I'll warn you though you need to be a fairly decent swimmer to be able to climb up the rides & use them. I think you get 30min & I remember thinking that's not a lot of time, but it's plenty.

 

[joksten2000]

We have sailed on the Explorer three times on 12 day cruises and love it.

Do make sure you keep booking another cruise to check the pricing. Our first cruise we paid $3200 for and while on the ship I heard people talking about what a great price they got, when I asked they told me to keep on top of the cruise by checking the price as they discount often to fill the ship. The last two cruises I got several discounts and paid $2,200 for the second and just under $2,000 for the 3rd.

We were use to DCL where you paid the price and that was it. We love the size of the Explorer, the huge adult area outside the gym and the 24 hours cafe on the Promenade, I'm an early riser (4:30am) and it's great to have a place to drink coffee and read. The only time we even noticed any large amounts of people was at meal time in the evening when we left the dinning room and the late dinners were leaving the show.

You'll have a great cruise and we loved no plane fare!

 

[nenner1]

It looks like there is a height requirement for the flow rider which my son (9) does meet,which is good since he's really looking forward to doing it.

Yep, 52" to boogie board and 58" to stand up surf.

As the above mentioned poster stated these are very strictly followed.

Here is a picture with my son up against the measuring stick. As you can see, he appears to be tall enough (but he was not). His head did come in contact with the bottom of the sign, but it swivels and if there is not enough obstruction to prevent the swiveling, it's a no-go.

How does dining work? Is it like DCL? I see ther's my time dining and family time dining???

There is a traditional dining option, like DCL but there is only one restaurant. So same place, same table entire cruise. It is also pretty hard to get a table to yourself on Traditional dining (if you prefer that). Most tables seat 8 or 10, or more.

My FAMILY time is where they come to take your kids to the clubs after they eat an expedited dinner so the adults can linger over/enjoy dinner longer.

We did the regular MYTIME dining. Totally recommend it, although the dinner process is still very long. You can wait quite a while for a table unless you make a "reservation" in advance. Even still you can wait a while, especially if you choose to arrive in the 7 PM hour. (That's the rush hour of MTD). Formal nights had the longest waits.

How formal are the formal nights? We are doing Eastern and CocoCay...what are good excursions?
Thanks for all the info, everyone1

Formal night on RCCL is really formal. Way moreso than DCL. In fact the prevailing dress onboard as a whole was much dressier than on DCL. on a regular night ("casual") for example you will find most men in sports jackets and most ladies in cocktail dresses or pantsuits. On formal night most are in suits and very dressy cocktail dresses (think sequins/prom/bridesmaid) or long gowns. I'd say about 20% of men in tuxes.

HTH a bit! Enjoy!!!

 

[Edd]

I never take a coat or a tie on a cruise with me. Slacks, button down shirt are good enough for any night on board the Freedom. They will serve you in the dining room with slacks and a button down shirt. They don't expect anything more on formal night.

They do have three seat round dinner tables and we were assigned to one, but I immediately changed it in favor of an 8 seat table. They also have four seat tables off to the side of the dining area. For me part of cruising is socializing, not sitting with my son and grandson for dinner each night. You can go to the Head Waiter and request a change and they will change you. It is easier to change up than change down.

There is actually three restaurants on three different floors. The menu is always changed and a variety enough for three different restaurants.