I did a cruise on Disney Magic in May of 2000, then on the Wonder in May of 2001, and now I just returned from RCCLs Voyager of the Seas which sailed May 4th, 2003.
I loved both my Disney cruises, but found the cruise on Voyager of the Seas to be even better than my two Disney cruises. Below are the comparisons I have drawn between the different ships.
Disney Magic/Wonder vs. Voyager of the Seas
Embarkation
The embarkation for Disney was great. The one for Voyager was awful. With Disney we were inside the air conditioned terminal the entire time. When we were boarding Voyager we had to wait outside in the Miami heat for 45 minutes before we even got into the terminal. With Disney we could let the kids sit and watch cartoons while waiting. With RCCL we had to stay together in long lines for almost an hour. With Disney, we were announced, We Welcome the Parker family from Utah onboard
With Voyager, a generic Welcome Omboard. With Disney the characters entertained the kids while waiting. If my cruise had ended here, Disney would have been the better cruise.
Stateroom
On both ships we had a balcony cabin. I found both Disney and Voyager had comparable staterooms. The things I liked better on Voyager were, NO SHOWER CURTAIN, they had wonderful shower doors, more closet space, my big suitcase fit under the bed., Voyager has a 19 tv, Disney had a smaller one. The balcony appeared bigger to me on Voyager than on the Magic and the Wonder. What I liked better with Disney was the 2 bathrooms. I also did like the privacy curtain better with Disney since it covered the whole room. The one on Voyager was a very small privacy curtain.
Stateroom Attendant
What can I say. These people are the friendliest, hardest working people we have the pleasure to meet. They go out of their way and are wonderful. On Voyager we had Leonardo, and he was great.
MY opinion, not necessarily yours, of the ships beauty
I think the Disney Magic is the most beautiful ship I have ever been on. Voyager comes in 2nd, and Disney Wonder third. I just love the décor on the Magic. Voyagers promenade is wonderful too, but the Magic is outstanding.
Kids Pool
This is where I decided I wont go back to Disney. I dont do well sitting in the hot sun, and was only able to stand 1 hour a day at the Mickey pool. My daughter would have loved to stay longer, but it got to hot in the burning sun for me. I liked the fresh water pool, but the Mickey pool was also very crowded. On the Voyager, the kids pool was in the shade. I sat for hours every day watching my daughter swim. I could have sat there all day, it was very pleasant. There were plenty of chairs, lots of shade, a slide for little kids, and a slide for bigger kids. The only drawback is the saltwater, but my daughter didnt care. The kids pools on Voyager were also less crowded than the Mickey pool. I was comfortable, my daughter was happy, it was a win win.
Buffets
I thought the food on Disney and RCCL was comparable. I thought the buffet on Disney had more selections than on RCCL. The exception was a night when they had the same food as in the dining rooms, which was nice if you wanted to dine casually.
RoomService
On the Disney ships, the food never changed, always the same items. On the Voyager they offered a different menu every night. The service was comparable, quick and friendly, but the variation in food on the Voyager really sold me.
Dining Rooms
This is MY OPINION, not necessarily yours. I loved the gorgeous 3 story dining room on Voyager. I liked being at the same table every night. Our servers, Robert and Maria were exceptional. I had much better service than on Disney. Our head waiter, Ashton, was fantastic. On Disney I spent a lot of time waiting for my Diet Coke refill, on Voyager I hadnt even finished my glass before the next one arrived. Robert served my kids at a faster pace than the adults, so they were never just sitting there waiting. Robert and Maria and Ashton were friendly, wonderful, just the best.
Service at Lunch and Breakfast
The servers that handed out the utensils at the Windjammer learned my daughters name the first day. After that, she was always greeted by name by 5 or 6 staff as we headed into the buffet, and this is on a ship with 3000+ passengers. Drinks were brought to our table constantly. The servers stopped and chatted, and taught my daughter a ton of magic tricks. I really appreciated the service we got at the Windjammer knowing the servers were not getting a tip from us. They were wonderful. On Disney I never had this service at the buffet.
The Spa
I had a massage onboard Magic and also on the Wonder. They were great, and did not push products on me. I had a pedicure onboard the Voyager, again they were great and did not push products on me. I think the spas were comparable. Unfortunately on Disney the spa is below the basketball court, so it was noisier on Disney.
Food availability
I really appreciated the Voyager having the Promenade Café. I could always get something to snack on whenever I was hungry. On Disney there were times Room Service was the only option.
Kids Clubs
My 5 year old daughter, 12 year old son, and 13 year old son, all said they preferred Voyagers kids program. If an activity was in the compass, the activity was done. Quite often on Disney we would see an activity listed, and it ended up not happening. There was more individual attention given to the kids, since there were less kids than on Disney. My daughter loved the pirate parade, the space aliens, the pillowcase makings etc. She did not miss the Disney characters at all. I thought the kids clubs on Disney looked better than on Voyager, but my kids didnt care about how things looked, they cared about the activities, and they loved it.
Johnny Rocket
Johnny Rocket was great. My teens loved it and spent a lot of time there. This was not an option on Disney.
Tendering
I loved Disneys ships because we never had to tender. I hated having to tender at Labadee and Cayman Islands on the Voyager.
Adults Only Areas
I loved the hot tubs in the solarium on the Voyager. They could easily seat 20 people each. They were never full, and I really enjoyed them. Also enjoyed the padded lounge chairs in this area. The solarium area is very pretty, and has a great pool. The Disney adult area was ok.
Casino
I enjoyed waisting $20 on the video poker machines. I usually gamble in Vegas, so I thought the payout schedule on the Voyager was pretty bad. Disney does not have a casino, so I did enjoy having one on Voyager.
Bingo
Ok, tell me why Joey Fontaine from the group NSync should win the jackpot? Can you believe he won it on our cruise. He was really excited about winning though. I didnt win anything on bingo either on Disney or Voyager. It was fun participating though.
Private Island
I enjoyed both Castaway Cay with Disney, as well as Labadee with Voyager. The best part about Castaway Cay was no tendering. There were also nice showers right at the dock to get the sand off your feet. On Labadee I enjoyed shopping and barganing. If I had my choice though, I prefer Castaway Cay.
Shows
The ice show on Voyager was fantastic. I also loved Dreamscapes, which reminded me of Circque De Soleil (excuse my spelling). The shows on the Voyager was not really for kids though, so Disney did better with Kids shows. I also loved the show on Disney done by the kids at the end of the cruise. The Love and Marriage show on Voyager was hilarious though. It was one of the funniest things I ever saw.
Debarkation
RCCL, please learn from Disney. Disney is much quicker and better organized.
Conclusion
I dont think you can go wrong cruising on either one of these ships. I give the edge to RCCL because my kids preferred it, and because of the shaded kids pool area. People who love the sun may prefer Disney. All 3 of my cruises were fantastic, and I would not hesitate to go on either one of them again.
I loved both my Disney cruises, but found the cruise on Voyager of the Seas to be even better than my two Disney cruises. Below are the comparisons I have drawn between the different ships.
Disney Magic/Wonder vs. Voyager of the Seas
Embarkation
The embarkation for Disney was great. The one for Voyager was awful. With Disney we were inside the air conditioned terminal the entire time. When we were boarding Voyager we had to wait outside in the Miami heat for 45 minutes before we even got into the terminal. With Disney we could let the kids sit and watch cartoons while waiting. With RCCL we had to stay together in long lines for almost an hour. With Disney, we were announced, We Welcome the Parker family from Utah onboard
With Voyager, a generic Welcome Omboard. With Disney the characters entertained the kids while waiting. If my cruise had ended here, Disney would have been the better cruise.
Stateroom
On both ships we had a balcony cabin. I found both Disney and Voyager had comparable staterooms. The things I liked better on Voyager were, NO SHOWER CURTAIN, they had wonderful shower doors, more closet space, my big suitcase fit under the bed., Voyager has a 19 tv, Disney had a smaller one. The balcony appeared bigger to me on Voyager than on the Magic and the Wonder. What I liked better with Disney was the 2 bathrooms. I also did like the privacy curtain better with Disney since it covered the whole room. The one on Voyager was a very small privacy curtain.
Stateroom Attendant
What can I say. These people are the friendliest, hardest working people we have the pleasure to meet. They go out of their way and are wonderful. On Voyager we had Leonardo, and he was great.
MY opinion, not necessarily yours, of the ships beauty
I think the Disney Magic is the most beautiful ship I have ever been on. Voyager comes in 2nd, and Disney Wonder third. I just love the décor on the Magic. Voyagers promenade is wonderful too, but the Magic is outstanding.
Kids Pool
This is where I decided I wont go back to Disney. I dont do well sitting in the hot sun, and was only able to stand 1 hour a day at the Mickey pool. My daughter would have loved to stay longer, but it got to hot in the burning sun for me. I liked the fresh water pool, but the Mickey pool was also very crowded. On the Voyager, the kids pool was in the shade. I sat for hours every day watching my daughter swim. I could have sat there all day, it was very pleasant. There were plenty of chairs, lots of shade, a slide for little kids, and a slide for bigger kids. The only drawback is the saltwater, but my daughter didnt care. The kids pools on Voyager were also less crowded than the Mickey pool. I was comfortable, my daughter was happy, it was a win win.
Buffets
I thought the food on Disney and RCCL was comparable. I thought the buffet on Disney had more selections than on RCCL. The exception was a night when they had the same food as in the dining rooms, which was nice if you wanted to dine casually.
RoomService
On the Disney ships, the food never changed, always the same items. On the Voyager they offered a different menu every night. The service was comparable, quick and friendly, but the variation in food on the Voyager really sold me.
Dining Rooms
This is MY OPINION, not necessarily yours. I loved the gorgeous 3 story dining room on Voyager. I liked being at the same table every night. Our servers, Robert and Maria were exceptional. I had much better service than on Disney. Our head waiter, Ashton, was fantastic. On Disney I spent a lot of time waiting for my Diet Coke refill, on Voyager I hadnt even finished my glass before the next one arrived. Robert served my kids at a faster pace than the adults, so they were never just sitting there waiting. Robert and Maria and Ashton were friendly, wonderful, just the best.
Service at Lunch and Breakfast
The servers that handed out the utensils at the Windjammer learned my daughters name the first day. After that, she was always greeted by name by 5 or 6 staff as we headed into the buffet, and this is on a ship with 3000+ passengers. Drinks were brought to our table constantly. The servers stopped and chatted, and taught my daughter a ton of magic tricks. I really appreciated the service we got at the Windjammer knowing the servers were not getting a tip from us. They were wonderful. On Disney I never had this service at the buffet.
The Spa
I had a massage onboard Magic and also on the Wonder. They were great, and did not push products on me. I had a pedicure onboard the Voyager, again they were great and did not push products on me. I think the spas were comparable. Unfortunately on Disney the spa is below the basketball court, so it was noisier on Disney.
Food availability
I really appreciated the Voyager having the Promenade Café. I could always get something to snack on whenever I was hungry. On Disney there were times Room Service was the only option.
Kids Clubs
My 5 year old daughter, 12 year old son, and 13 year old son, all said they preferred Voyagers kids program. If an activity was in the compass, the activity was done. Quite often on Disney we would see an activity listed, and it ended up not happening. There was more individual attention given to the kids, since there were less kids than on Disney. My daughter loved the pirate parade, the space aliens, the pillowcase makings etc. She did not miss the Disney characters at all. I thought the kids clubs on Disney looked better than on Voyager, but my kids didnt care about how things looked, they cared about the activities, and they loved it.
Johnny Rocket
Johnny Rocket was great. My teens loved it and spent a lot of time there. This was not an option on Disney.
Tendering
I loved Disneys ships because we never had to tender. I hated having to tender at Labadee and Cayman Islands on the Voyager.
Adults Only Areas
I loved the hot tubs in the solarium on the Voyager. They could easily seat 20 people each. They were never full, and I really enjoyed them. Also enjoyed the padded lounge chairs in this area. The solarium area is very pretty, and has a great pool. The Disney adult area was ok.
Casino
I enjoyed waisting $20 on the video poker machines. I usually gamble in Vegas, so I thought the payout schedule on the Voyager was pretty bad. Disney does not have a casino, so I did enjoy having one on Voyager.
Bingo
Ok, tell me why Joey Fontaine from the group NSync should win the jackpot? Can you believe he won it on our cruise. He was really excited about winning though. I didnt win anything on bingo either on Disney or Voyager. It was fun participating though.
Private Island
I enjoyed both Castaway Cay with Disney, as well as Labadee with Voyager. The best part about Castaway Cay was no tendering. There were also nice showers right at the dock to get the sand off your feet. On Labadee I enjoyed shopping and barganing. If I had my choice though, I prefer Castaway Cay.
Shows
The ice show on Voyager was fantastic. I also loved Dreamscapes, which reminded me of Circque De Soleil (excuse my spelling). The shows on the Voyager was not really for kids though, so Disney did better with Kids shows. I also loved the show on Disney done by the kids at the end of the cruise. The Love and Marriage show on Voyager was hilarious though. It was one of the funniest things I ever saw.
Debarkation
RCCL, please learn from Disney. Disney is much quicker and better organized.
Conclusion
I dont think you can go wrong cruising on either one of these ships. I give the edge to RCCL because my kids preferred it, and because of the shaded kids pool area. People who love the sun may prefer Disney. All 3 of my cruises were fantastic, and I would not hesitate to go on either one of them again.
)
