Disney vs. RCCL

[lovethedream]

We love socializing with family and loved the rotational dining on DCL much more than the "daily" routine at the same restaurant night after night on the freedom of the seas. We needed a change every night and therefore chose to eat at some of the other locations aboard the ship.

 

[lovethedream]

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.

I have personally experienced kids (and adults) of all ages having fun on a DCL cruise. Our youngest was 4 I think on our first DCL cruise and had a blast. I would do it all over again if given the chance. Unfortunately, they grow up way to fast so take every opportunity you can to spend time with them. Cruising would be very high on my list as it is a lot of fun for all ages on board.

 

[Angelhalo]

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.

Hmmm well we don't have any children at all of any age and we as adults always have fun on DCL. We just got off the Wonder yesterday and booked two more cruises while onboard.

 

[Kurby]

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.

hummm guess my dd (age 3) was too young then. even though she had a blast in the kids club and never wanted to leave.

we had a lot of free time to do adult stuff and dragged her out kicking and screaming sometimes to have family time.

next cruise she'll be 6 and we'll leave it up to her how much time she wants to spend in the kids club

 

[Edd]

Hmmm. There are a lot of things for adults to do on the Magic and the Wonder and they are beautiful ships. No question about it. I have found many more things to do on the other ships which include the casino and bingo. PS, bingo is gambling. Different venues and ports to get off the ship and explore. There are other lounges to enjoy. The production shows are different on every ship, I just don't enjoy watching movies over and over again, I like to see other great shows. To me the same thing over and over gets monotonous.

Even the food and dining is different is different on the other cruises. I just really enjoy variety and being able to cruise three or four different cruise lines out of Port Canaveral. I am lucky I can do that numberous times per year and so don't feel I can enjoy a one cruise line venue every year. My basic instinct is to be on the water. I do like all of them, but I also have my preferences. I am not trying to step on anyone's toes or create havoc by talking about other cruise lines. Just trying to express my opinion along with everyone else.

I usually take my grandson who is 10 now but his first cruise was DCL when he was 8. He enjoyed the three Disney cruises we did, but never was a fan of the kids club. Don't know why, tried to get him in there many times.

 

[lovethedream]

Hmmm well we don't have any children at all of any age and we as adults always have fun on DCL. We just got off the Wonder yesterday and booked two more cruises while onboard.

We thought long and hard about trying DCL kidless but figured our kids would never forgive us if they found out. We just wish we could go more often.

 

[tchrmom]

We thought long and hard about trying DCL kidless but figured our kids would never forgive us if they found out. We just wish we could go more often.

I'm the original poster.......and we LOVED Disney so much, that for our 20th anniversary in 2007....WE LEFT THE KIDS AT HOME and did a 4 day Wonder cruise.

Never felt one bit guilty. In this day and time, we felt like 20 years together was something to celebrate.....(we even splurdged for a balcony room!) I told both my kids: "Go poll all your friends....see how many of their parents have been together 20 years". That was the end of the protest. Sadly, because of the prices......that was our last Disney cruise.

I also saw someone say they thought embarking on RCCL was a nightmare. In Miami on The Liberty of the Seas.....embarking was OK.....disembarking was a NIGHTMARE! In Port Canaveral......embarking and disembaarking was every bit as smooth as Disney.

 

[Edd]

Disney has a slight edge on the RCCL disembarking because they take all your bags the night before. RCCL you have to contend with some who don't carry all their bags and that makes it a little bit harder. Everything else is just as smooth.

 

[lovethedream]

I'm the original poster.......and we LOVED Disney so much, that for our 20th anniversary in 2007....WE LEFT THE KIDS AT HOME and did a 4 day Wonder cruise.

Never felt one bit guilty. In this day and time, we felt like 20 years together was something to celebrate.....(we even splurdged for a balcony room!) I told both my kids: "Go poll all your friends....see how many of their parents have been together 20 years". That was the end of the protest. Sadly, because of the prices......that was our last Disney cruise.

I also saw someone say they thought embarking on RCCL was a nightmare. In Miami on The Liberty of the Seas.....embarking was OK.....disembarking was a NIGHTMARE! In Port Canaveral......embarking and disembaarking was every bit as smooth as Disney.

Glad you had a great time. Thanks for giving us something to try on our kids when we get to that 20 year mark. Having experienced both the DCL Wonder and RCCL Freedom of the Seas, I do not remember having any real problems getting off of either ship. On the Freedom, trying to remember exactly, but it was some sort of color coded departure (so not everybody rushed the door at the same time) and we were one of the last off the ship, it appeared we were one of the few that paid any attention to our recommended departure time as the ship was virtually deserted as we were getting off, so if the poster got off at the peak time, I could see where they could run into problems. Boarding the Freedom was disappointing for us as we missed that "magical" touch provided for by DCL when we boarded the Wonder. For us, that helped to set the tone for the cruise!

 

[lovethedream]

Disney has a slight edge on the RCCL disembarking because they take all your bags the night before. RCCL you have to contend with some who don't carry all their bags and that makes it a little bit harder. Everything else is just as smooth.

Maybe I don't remember correctly, but for us, we had to put our luggage out the night before on either cruise. DCL or RCCL, I do not remember their being a difference, at least for that!

 

[5lilfish]

Maybe I don't remember correctly, but for us, we had to put our luggage out the night before on either cruise. DCL or RCCL, I do not remember their being a difference, at least for that!

Same here....for all 3 of our RCI cruises, and our 3 Carnival cruises, we put our bags out the night before.

Jess

 

[Edd]

The RCCL you can carry your bags off and depart the ship from 0600 - 0700 in the morning. That is called express departure. That is no fallacy as I do that departure myself. The bad thing is that you and your family take care of all your bags and for those with a lot of bags it doesn't work to well. I usually have two bags. This is at Port Canaveral. I don't know about other ports.

The Monarch and the Dream work the same way. They all board and depart from the same terminal, which allows the procedure described above. The express departure is always ahead of the regular departures. The terminal from which the Sensation docks allows early departure starting 0715 to 0800.

If you are able to use this departure you would be able to get back to MCO before 0900 and catch the earlier flights back home. I have seen many families do this. It works about the same way with Disney except you turn in all your bags to the ship and they are taken to a certain location in the terminal where you pick them up.

 

[5lilfish]

The RCCL you can carry your bags off and depart the ship from 0600 - 0700 in the morning. That is called express departure. That is no fallacy as I do that departure myself. The bad thing is that you and your family take care of all your bags and for those with a lot of bags it doesn't work to well. I usually have two bags. This is at Port Canaveral. I don't know about other ports.

The Monarch and the Dream work the same way. They all board and depart from the same terminal, which allows the procedure described above. The express departure is always ahead of the regular departures. The terminal from which the Sensation docks allows early departure starting 0715 to 0800.

If you are able to use this departure you would be able to get back to MCO before 0900 and catch the earlier flights back home. I have seen many families do this. It works about the same way with Disney except you turn in all your bags to the ship and they are taken to a certain location in the terminal where you pick them up.

RCI does have this. My husband and son did this once because they had an earlier flight home. The nice thing for them, we picked up all their luggage off when we got off the ship later that day....so they did not need to carry anything off. That being said, in ft. Lauderdale, the process was still a nightmare for them. they were in an insanely long line and had a very long walk to get off the ship. It took forever and they barely made their flight. I think it has a lot to do with the port. I hear a lot of nightmare stories about Ft. Lauderdale and much more positive stories about Port Canaveral.

Jess

 

[tchrmom]

The RCCL you can carry your bags off and depart the ship from 0600 - 0700 in the morning. That is called express departure. That is no fallacy as I do that departure myself. The bad thing is that you and your family take care of all your bags and for those with a lot of bags it doesn't work to well. I usually have two bags. This is at Port Canaveral. I don't know about other ports.

I do remember that "express option" being offered......but since we drove home (both from Miami for the Liberty and Canaveral for the Freedom) we are in NO hurry.....we were one of the last off. Luggage is coded by color. My suggestion is to grab a porter. Miami was a ZOO! BUT.....I don't think it is Royal's fault. Customs there was run by sloths.

 

[nenner1]

I do remember that "express option" being offered......but since we drove home (both from Miami for the Liberty and Canaveral for the Freedom) we are in NO hurry.....we were one of the last off. Luggage is coded by color. My suggestion is to grab a porter. Miami was a ZOO! BUT.....I don't think it is Royal's fault. Customs there was run by sloths.

Port Everglades (Ft. Lauderdale) is nuts as well. Total Chaos.

My advice is, if you are not doing express, get some coffee and chill until they make the final announcement. You might be able to avoid the mile long snake line that crawls off the boat that way. And its easy to find your luggage when it is the only one left in your color. LOL.

Also: if you have kids go to the family waiting area (different on each boat but usually a lounge). Practically no one there! Cartoons playing, comfortable seating!

 

[joksten2000]

The Explorer also has it and we talked with a Rep about our Hawaii cruise and they also offer it on the Rhapsody.

 

[eskimoinparadise]

RCI does have this. My husband and son did this once because they had an earlier flight home. The nice thing for them, we picked up all their luggage off when we got off the ship later that day....so they did not need to carry anything off. That being said, in ft. Lauderdale, the process was still a nightmare for them. they were in an insanely long line and had a very long walk to get off the ship. It took forever and they barely made their flight. I think it has a lot to do with the port. I hear a lot of nightmare stories about Ft. Lauderdale and much more positive stories about Port Canaveral.

Jess

When Hurricane Fay hit Florida, the Wonder was unable to return to PC, so we were all bussed to Fort Lauderdale to board her there. The nightmare stories about FLL have nothing to do with which line you're sailing, the boarding of the Wonder was a disaster - one long line snaking all the way around the terminal - just to get through security, and the grumpiest security people I've ever encountered, then a long walk through a dismal terminal to board the ship - and I think we were at the regular Carnival or RCI terminal.

 

[NancyIL]

I returned Sunday from a great cruise on Mariner of the Seas out of San Pedro, CA. We opted for express departure, and there were a LOT of people taking their own bags off the ship. If too many people do it, getting on an elevator with luggage could be a nightmare! Fortunately, it wasn't a problem for us, and we were the first group off the ship at about 8:00.

 

[barbmouse]

I LOVE THIS THREAD!!!

There is so much great info here! I am visiting this thread again because we are booked for Freedom...... again;;; in June 2011. This ship is great for teens and my dks will be 17 and 14 next summer when we sail. We had a blast last summer on FOS and my kids liked even more than the Wonder.

Those of you with small kids trying to decide which way to go... RCCL or Disney, I say Disney IF it is in your budget. We must sail in the summer and Disney is too much for us and as mentioned before because of the ages of my dks, FOs is a better fit for us. With that being said, our very first cruise was Disney because I knew I wouldn't be satisfied until I had sailed Disney.

Some have asked about Disney without kids....that is something I want to do in the future cruise with just my dh. I have not given up DCL forever! I loved the shows and can't wait to hear about the new ships!

OP you seem really good at getting price drops! I didn't think they were available as much on summer cruises...please offer advice to help a fellow teacherand cruiser save $$$!!

 

[Jule]

I've sailed on Disney Wonder and magic and loved them both, I've also done the Carnavel Glory (which I think caters for more young adults rather than families or older people), I've also sailed on the RC Independence of the Sea and while it is a very impressive ship, I still prefer my Disney Cruises. I thought the Independence was more for the older generation, although there were quiet a few families on board.

The thing I loved about the Disney ships are that you get to rotate restaurants, were you dont on the Glory or Independence. Also on the Independence there casual dining area was small for the number of people on the ship, and you found that once you had finished eating you had to leave straight away to make room for other guests.

All the ships were amazing, but Disney was by far the best. Were going back on the Wonder in Sept for the s day cruise, I cant wait.