Reasons to cruise with Royal Caribbean

[mevelandry]

Hi!

I have cruised two times with Disney Cruise Line... We fell in love with DCL but mainly, we fell in love with cruises/the sea. Unfortunately the recent increase in pricing has been so important that our family cruise planned in April 2017 will most likely be our last cruise with DCL (unless they start having interesting promotions or unless we win the lottery).

We are going to try Carnival in 5 months (the ship we picked sounds nice and the reviews I read so far were pretty good). I strongly believe that I don't need the mouse to enjoy a cruise...

But since I like to plan trips a long time in advance, I started looking for Fall 2017/Winter 2018 and I'm starting to have a crush on RCCL... Especially on a 4 nights Key West-Cozumel cruise! (I've been dying to visit those two ports).

I would be interested to know your pros and cons of cruising with RCCL and if you could compare with Disney, what would be the differences between the two experiences? Do they offer shuttle services from airport/hotels to port? Feel free to feed me as many info as you want. I am dying to know!

Thanks in advance!

Update: I decided to go all in... and booked a 5 nights cruise for the Fall of 2017 (Key West -Cozumel) on the Brilliance of the seas.

p.s.: It's just DH and I. No kids. We are big fans of adult oriented activities.

 

[Allison]

Did you see this thread? I hope it helps. I'm currently reading it myself.

http://www.disboards.com/threads/comparison-disney-cruise-line-and-royal-caribbean.3472216/

 

[mevelandry]

Did you see this thread? I hope it helps. I'm currently reading it myself.

http://www.disboards.com/threads/comparison-disney-cruise-line-and-royal-caribbean.3472216/

No I don't remember seing it. Thanks!

 

[ldo]

IMHO, a longer RCCL cruise (6+ days) will compare better with DCL than a 4 day on RCCL. The entertainment and food was not nearly as good on our 4 day as our 8 day RCCL cruise. We still had a great cruise and a fun time and it was a great price, but not on the level of DCL. Our 8 day on the Navigator was "almost" as good as DCL. If it had themed pool food, like Flos, DCL Broadway style shows, movie theater and a bit better MDR food and larger cabin, it would have been very similar. I would give our 8 day cruise a solid B/B+, while, thinking back, the 4 day was more of a C (except for kids club on Coco Cay, which I give an A). Both RCCL cruises get an A+ for price.

 

[Frozen2014]

I've been on Disney Magic and Royal Caribbean's Grandeur, Voyager and Allure. All were great experiences but when it comes to cruising, I am biased to Royal. (But I LOVED Disney World).

Disney is very cute with theming and great for kids (although you say you love it too without kids). Dinners are nice with rotational dining. And their private island is great.

I love Royal...their shows are excellent and appeal to all ages (Allure is the best with broadway and Aqua shows), they have bigger pools, and more of them, many activities going on during the day, many complimentary food options, fun activities (Allure has zipline and Flowrider), rock walls, etc. I also love the decor of Royal...so beautiful.

As for hotels/airport...Port Caravel is far from the airport, but on the good side, they have the shuttle. For Royal, it depends where you fly out of. For Allure, it's out of Fort Lauderdale. We booked a hotel in the port area that included airport shuttle...which is 10 minutes away (so then also very easy to grab a taxi to get to the port the morning of).

If you have a specific Royal cruise, that may help answer your question better as each has different features.

 

[mevelandry]

I've been on Disney Magic and Royal Caribbean's Grandeur, Voyager and Allure. All were great experiences but when it comes to cruising, I am biased to Royal. (But I LOVED Disney World).

Disney is very cute with theming and great for kids (although you say you love it too without kids). Dinners are nice with rotational dining. And their private island is great.

I love Royal...their shows are excellent and appeal to all ages (Allure is the best with broadway and Aqua shows), they have bigger pools, and more of them, many activities going on during the day, many complimentary food options, fun activities (Allure has zipline and Flowrider), rock walls, etc. I also love the decor of Royal...so beautiful.

As for hotels/airport...Port Caravel is far from the airport, but on the good side, they have the shuttle. For Royal, it depends where you fly out of. For Allure, it's out of Fort Lauderdale. We booked a hotel in the port area that included airport shuttle...which is 10 minutes away (so then also very easy to grab a taxi to get to the port the morning of).

If you have a specific Royal cruise, that may help answer your question better as each has different features.

Hi!

EDIT: I have just booked the Brilliance of the seas, departing from Tampa - 5 nights Western Carribean (Key West, Cozumel) actually better than that. After conversion, we paid 1550$ CND for 5 nights RCCL vs 2000$ CND for 3 nights DCL.

I've always been interested in Key West and Cozumel.

And I don't know much about this cruiseship and Royal Caribbean LOL

 

[JessM]

I really liked both Belize and Costa Maya. Belize has some fabulous snorkeling opportunities.

Costa Maya has a nice pool right in the port area. They also have a beach but its rocky. We went zip lining there and it was fabulous (booked through Royal Caribbean). The last zip line ended right near this beautiful lake.

 

[bumbershoot]

cruisecritic message boards have a great Ports of Call forum, FYI.

 

[disneybass]

Hi!

I have cruised two times with Disney Cruise Line... We fell in love with DCL but mainly, we fell in love with cruises/the sea. Unfortunately the recent increase in pricing has been so important that our family cruise planned in April 2017 will most likely be our last cruise with DCL (unless they start having interesting promotions or unless we win the lottery).

We are going to try Carnival in 5 months (the ship we picked sounds nice and the reviews I read so far were pretty good). I strongly believe that I don't need the mouse to enjoy a cruise...

But since I like to plan trips a long time in advance, I started looking for Fall 2017/Winter 2018 and I'm starting to have a crush on RCCL... Especially on a 4 nights Key West-Cozumel cruise! (I've been dying to visit those two ports).

I would be interested to know your pros and cons of cruising with RCCL and if you could compare with Disney, what would be the differences between the two experiences? Do they offer shuttle services from airport/hotels to port? Feel free to feed me as many info as you want. I am dying to know!

Thanks in advance!

Update: I decided to go all in... and booked a 7 nights cruise for the Fall of 2017 (Key West, Cozumel, Belize and Costa Maya)

p.s.: It's just DH and I. No kids. We are big fans of adult oriented activities.

We did the Key West-Cozumel last year on the Brilliance out of Tampa and loved it. Going back to Cozumel this year on Freedom. Both of those ports are fun and after 6 cruises on DCL we have found a new home on RCCL

 

[mevelandry]

After doing researches on Belize and Costa Maya, I realized that I wasn't into it at all so I switched to the 5 nights on the Brilliance doing Key West and Cozumel only.

Soooo excited!

 

[mevelandry]

Questions:

1) Where do I get to select the way we want our beds done (king please)
2) So far, only 2-3 excursions appear for Cozumel... I'm sure there are more possibilities... When will they appear? Do you pay in advance?
3) When am I going to be able to add stuff like drinks or soda packages? (Once again nothing appears)
4) No airport/hotel shuttles for Tampa???
5) Is it possible to book pre-cruise hotel stay through RCCL?
6) Where and when can I book specialty dining and where can I find the prices (extra) for those restaurants?
7) Do they have self-serve ice cream or free ice cream somewhere?
8) Which restaurants/counters/buffets are included?
9) I don't know where to select "My time" dining.

Love the fact that everything is in canadian currency!

Thanks in advance!

 

[eskimoinparadise]

Questions:

1) Where do I get to select the way we want our beds done (king please)
2) So far, only 2-3 excursions appear for Cozumel... I'm sure there are more possibilities... When will they appear? Do you pay in advance?
3) When am I going to be able to add stuff like drinks or soda packages? (Once again nothing appears)
4) No airport/hotel shuttles for Tampa???
5) Is it possible to book pre-cruise hotel stay through RCCL?
6) Where and when can I book specialty dining and where can I find the prices (extra) for those restaurants?
7) Do they have self-serve ice cream or free ice cream somewhere?
8) Which restaurants/counters/buffets are included?
9) I don't know where to select "My time" dining.

Love the fact that everything is in canadian currency!

Thanks in advance!

1) They are pre-set as a king, but the room steward will separate them for you if you ask
2) They usually release their excursion list closer to the sail date - if you go out to RCL's main page, there's a drop down for shore excursions and you can see what ones are currently offered at your ports of call - and, yes, you pay when you make the reservation for the excursions.
3) Usually 90-120 days out
4) Airport is only about 15-20 minutes from the port, so its a quick taxi ride, and there are several hotels right by the port
5) We've never seen this option.
6) Brilliance has three specialty restaurants - Portofino IMO better than Palo; Chops Grille; and Izumi. You should be able to pre-book ~90 days out. Portofino was $25; Chops was $30; and Izumi was a la carte the last time we were on Brilliance for NYE
7) free soft serve ice cream up on the pool deck in their Buffet
8) Other than the three specialty restaurants, every other food venue is included
9) If you did your own booking there should be a "modify" button on the reservation screen where you can select your dining preference. If you booked through a TA, they may have to do that for you.

Booking prices are quoted in $CN, but on board charges are in $US. You can specify how you want conversion handled when you check in for the cruise.

 

[mevelandry]

Wow!!! Thank you for your patience and thanks for all the answers.

I chose Tampa because the plane tickets from Montreal to Tampa are more affordable than Miami (+ Miami hotels are soooo expensive!) Now that I know that it is so close from the airport I feel like I made the right choice.

 

[eskimoinparadise]

Wow!!! Thank you for your patience and thanks for all the answers.

I chose Tampa because the plane tickets from Montreal to Tampa are more affordable than Miami (+ Miami hotels are soooo expensive!) Now that I know that it is so close from the airport I feel like I made the right choice.

Any time. We cruise on Brilliance at least twice a year, so if there's anything else you'd like to know, just ask away

I forgot that they also have a Rita's Cantina (specialty), but the food choices and hours of operation for that venue are so limited that I've never seen anyone actually there.

One other thing you will enjoy about Brilliance is the outdoor seating in the Windjammer (buffet).

 

[disneybass]

I love the size of Brilliance and all the glass and water views. My wife thinks that the larger, newer Freedom is better so we booked it this year. After seeing the pictures I think we will be back to the Brilliance next year. Plus, I really like the port at Tampa.

 

[mevelandry]

Brilliance sounds wonderful.

Are there any Adult Only sections on it?

I thinkI read that the Solarium pool was adult only?

 

[eskimoinparadise]

Brilliance sounds wonderful.

Are there any Adult Only sections on it?

I thinkI read that the Solarium pool was adult only?

The solarium pool area is adults only, but there is a café on one side that is available to everyone.

 

[LemonNeko]

Depending on the exchange rate it may be advantageous to pay for whatever you can before you sail. I sailed last October and it was cheaper to pay the tips ahead in CAN $ than do the US conversion on board..

 

[mevelandry]

Exactly my plan, that's what I always do anyway... I pay everthing I can (packages, etc.) in advance so I have very little to pay once I'm there.

 

[Laz]

The solarium pool area is adults only, but there is a café on one side that is available to everyone.

The last two Royal sailings we were on (Jewel and Serenade), The solarium was open to those 16 and over.