Royal Caribbean v. Disney

[CaptainJack]

We have only done Disney Cruises since my daughters (twins) were 7 years old. They are now 22 years old and want to try a Royal Caribbean cruise on the Oasis of the Seas. Can anyone who has cruised on both Disney and Royal Caribbean give me some advice on the comparison of the two cruise lines. (My wife is insistent that we stay with Disney). Thanks for any advice that you might have to offer.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We have only done Disney Cruises since my daughters (twins) were 7 years old. They are now 22 years old and want to try a Royal Caribbean cruise on the Oasis of the Seas. Can anyone who has cruised on both Disney and Royal Caribbean give me some advice on the comparison of the two cruise lines. (My wife is insistent that we stay with Disney). Thanks for any advice that you might have to offer.

Don't know if you're aware, but there's a Royal Caribbean board here on DISboards:
http://www.disboards.com/forums/royal-caribbean.193/

 

[Bear3412]

Given the ages of your DDs, ..... sail Oasis.

JMO

Good luck



http://www.cruisewithgambee.com/

 

[Sanchez]

Having done both in the last few years I would recommend Oasis in your situation. Unless your daughters are still heavily into Disney (and you state that they want to try RCCL) then there is likely much more for them on the Oasis.

Food: Roughly the same. Neither is spectacular. Disney has the dining rotation which is nice but probably more impressive for children. Oasis has a better variety of fee-based options.

Service: Difficult because it truly depends on the individual room host and servers. Again, Disney does better with children but if you do not require magic tricks and general doting then my experience is that service is fairly similar.

Entertainment: Another personal choice. Oasis has more adult options (I don't care for Cats but you may) including the diving show and comedians. Disney further limits adult options with no casino.

Cleanliness: No difference noted.

Ship: This somewhat depends on what Disney ship you select. Fantasy is newer and likely and in slightly better condition. Otherwise, Oasis likely has much more for young adults. Activities, sports, clubs, spa are all likely better for them on Oasis. The adult area on Oasis is superior. I know that some people do not like the mega-ships, but Oasis is impressive and despite the number of passengers I never felt crowded.

Rooms: Disney slightly better with the split bathrooms and comparable rooms likely a bit larger. I know it is a personal preference, but I have no idea why some choose the interior verandahs on Oasis.

Private Beach: This will depend on your Oasis itinerary. We visited Labadee in January and it is every bit as good as Castaway Cay (for adults). Like Castaway, the ship docks so need for tender. Labadee has a number of choices depending on what atmosphere you prefer. One complaint I have about Castaway is that it is too far north and both air temperature and water temperature are sometimes too cold. We generally cruise in January and even if the weather is nice on Castaway the water temperature is not. At one point I checked the average temperatures for both and the difference is notable.

Cost: Oasis is not cheap but compared to Disney's ridiculous price jump it is a good deal. For January 2016 the cost for Disney would have been two times the cost of Oasis.

Based on your post it appears that your wife may be unwilling to compromise. Sometimes people like that are determined to validate their uninformed opinion. Only you can decide whether trying something new is worth the cost.

 

[Weedy]

We're about to try Royal after 15 Disney cruises.
So far the things I've found different:
We are going on a 8 day cruise over Christmas for a little less than than the cost of a 4 day last Christmas.

you can be assigned a dining time or choose "my time dining" with this you can show up any time or go online and choose a dining time for each evening. It doesn't have to be the same time.
You book the shows ahead of time. This took a little organization. Each show is only on one or two nights. So we had to make a "grid" to figure out what show was on what night. So we had time for all the shows. Not hard once we figured it out.
That's all for now. I'll update as time goes on.

 

[FigmentSpark]

We're about to try Royal after 15 Disney cruises.
So far the things I've found different:
We are going on a 8 day cruise over Christmas for a little less than than the cost of a 4 day last Christmas.

you can be assigned a dining time or choose "my time dining" with this you can show up any time or go online and choose a dining time for each evening. It doesn't have to be the same time.
You book the shows ahead of time. This took a little organization. Each show is only on one or two nights. So we had to make a "grid" to figure out what show was on what night. So we had time for all the shows. Not hard once we figured it out.
That's all for now. I'll update as time goes on.

Were you able to make those plans before your trip or did you just look at a navigator and figure out what was available each night?

 

[Raptor83]

With my wife being a Disney fanatic and us having a soon to be 3 y/o, we've done two with DCL, have two more booked, and plan to book a fifth once 2018 itineraries are released.

With that said, I sailed with my parents on Royal Caribbean about 10 years ago (so it's been a while), but was around the age of your daughters and had a great time! There was certainly plenty to entertain me at that age. The only thing I didn't care for was that every night in the MDR was essentially a formal night, and I hated that. I still don't like it honestly - I have to wear business attire to work all week, I don't like having to pack it and change into it on vacation (and only for dinner) - to me it's a PITA. I understand everyone is different; my wife enjoys the opportunity to dress nicely. I prefer to cruise in shorts/jeans and a t-shirt. My parents were the same way, honestly, so we ate in the MDR one night and ended up in their version of Cabanas every night for dinner (it was buffet even at dinner, which I actually liked).

 

[Bree]

With my wife being a Disney fanatic and us having a soon to be 3 y/o, we've done two with DCL, have two more booked, and plan to book a fifth once 2018 itineraries are released.

With that said, I sailed with my parents on Royal Caribbean about 10 years ago (so it's been a while), but was around the age of your daughters and had a great time! There was certainly plenty to entertain me at that age. The only thing I didn't care for was that every night in the MDR was essentially a formal night, and I hated that. I still don't like it honestly - I have to wear business attire to work all week, I don't like having to pack it and change into it on vacation (and only for dinner) - to me it's a PITA. I understand everyone is different; my wife enjoys the opportunity to dress nicely. I prefer to cruise in shorts/jeans and a t-shirt. My parents were the same way, honestly, so we ate in the MDR one night and ended up in their version of Cabanas every night for dinner (it was buffet even at dinner, which I actually liked).

It's no longer like that anymore. I wore shorts to dinner twice April 2015.

 

[Prose]

We sailed Allure this summer after doing 4 Disney Cruises. Our teen daughter declared it her best vacation ever, so Royal does do older teens and young adults very well.

Some other differences you'll notice on the Oasis/Allure...
- You can make reservations at certain dining locations (Like Chops, Izumi, Sabor) ahead of time online
- You can and should make reservations for certain shows ahead of time online. This includes the main theatrical show, the diving show, and especially the comedy show
- Consider purchasing the soda package. If you don't, your drink options are water, tea, lemonade and coffee. Some locations will also have flavored water, and there is juice at breakfast. Allure and Oasis have the Coke Freestyle machines. The drink packages also work on the private islands
- Go to a website like the Royal Caribbean Blog - you'll find Cruise Compasses there for similar sailings and you can scope out activities. Don't overlook the smaller ones like cupcake decorating!
- Plan to go to The Quest! It's usually on the last night. Wear underwear.
- There are no Wave phones, so decide whether or not you want to use cell phones on the Wifi plan to contact each other.
- There are many more pools on the Oasis class ships. The sports pool will host a water volleyball tournament that is very popular.
- The clubs go much later at night on Royal, and there is a lage variety - salsa, jazz, acoustic, dance, etc.
- There is lots of trivia. The more people you have on a team, the better
- There is free ice cream like on DCL - it is located in the cafe by the Flowriders
- There is a lot of live music around the ship - poolside, in Central Park, etc.
- The buffet closes mid-afternoon and re-opens for dinner - unlike DCL, I believe it is an actual buffet at dinnertime
- There are lots and lots of photo opportunities throughout the cruise - more so than on DCL
- The shopping is totally different. Think high-end bags, jewelry and clothes, as well as popup sales on gold chains, jewelry, watches, etc. Avoid the tshirt sale - it is like Black Friday at Walmart.
- Starbucks!

 

[Weedy]

Were you able to make those plans before your trip or did you just look at a navigator and figure out what was available each night?

We were able to do it when we booked out cruise 100+ days out.

 

[Neptune's Fork]

A coworker that has cruised Disney and RCL said there's a lot more drinking happening on board Royal. He even said it was quite common to see drunken men over 50 stumbling around on deck at night like they were coming from a frat party. Don't know if that was an exaggeration or not, I've never cruised Royal.

 

[Bree]

A coworker that has cruised Disney and RCL said there's a lot more drinking happening on board Royal. He even said it was quite common to see drunken men over 50 stumbling around on deck at night like they were coming from a frat party. Don't know if that was an exaggeration or not, I've never cruised Royal.

I've seen plenty of that on the short cruises I have taken with RCCL during Spring Break time. There are actually companies out there that cater to college students calling these things booze cruises. They purchase a block of rooms from RCCL then resell them cheap. On our 5 night in April on the Independence some very intoxicated girl decided we all needed to see her assets (top & bottom) on multiple occasions. I'll never take another short trip during spring break with RCCL again. The rest of my cruises with RCCL (including a 7 night Spring Break), were no different than DCL.

 

[Weedy]

Three more "Different Things"
The prices for excursions and dinners can go on sale. We booked Jet Skis a few weeks ago and this weekend they went o sale for $10 less per person. You do have to pay for the excursion when you book it. So we re booked at $90pp and will get a refund for the $99.99. They don't tell you whne things go on sale you have to keep checking the website.

The beds are two twins put together. So they will split. We always book two cabins so my collage age children will be happy that one of them doesn't have to sleep on the pull out couch.

 

[KashasMom]

We're about to try Royal after 15 Disney cruises.
So far the things I've found different:
We are going on a 8 day cruise over Christmas for a little less than than the cost of a 4 day last Christmas.

you can be assigned a dining time or choose "my time dining" with this you can show up any time or go online and choose a dining time for each evening. It doesn't have to be the same time.
You book the shows ahead of time. This took a little organization. Each show is only on one or two nights. So we had to make a "grid" to figure out what show was on what night. So we had time for all the shows. Not hard once we figured it out.
That's all for now. I'll update as time goes on.

We've done the Oasis and are doing the Allure in Feb. We were able to book everything 120+ days out. The shows were all playing multiple nights (3+) and some more than once a day. We did the same as you - coordinating with ports/port excursion times, dinner time, and shows. I even went back and made a couple of changes - none of it as bad as people worry about. I booked our My Time Dining just so we'd have it booked but I'll be changing to some of the specialty restaurants once on board. (You can't book the a child and get the child rate before the cruise.)

 

[KashasMom]

We sailed Allure this summer after doing 4 Disney Cruises. Our teen daughter declared it her best vacation ever, so Royal does do older teens and young adults very well.

Some other differences you'll notice on the Oasis/Allure...
- You can make reservations at certain dining locations (Like Chops, Izumi, Sabor) ahead of time online
- You can and should make reservations for certain shows ahead of time online. This includes the main theatrical show, the diving show, and especially the comedy show
- Consider purchasing the soda package. If you don't, your drink options are water, tea, lemonade and coffee. Some locations will also have flavored water, and there is juice at breakfast. Allure and Oasis have the Coke Freestyle machines. The drink packages also work on the private islands
- Go to a website like the Royal Caribbean Blog - you'll find Cruise Compasses there for similar sailings and you can scope out activities. Don't overlook the smaller ones like cupcake decorating!
- Plan to go to The Quest! It's usually on the last night. Wear underwear.
- There are no Wave phones, so decide whether or not you want to use cell phones on the Wifi plan to contact each other.
- There are many more pools on the Oasis class ships. The sports pool will host a water volleyball tournament that is very popular.
- The clubs go much later at night on Royal, and there is a lage variety - salsa, jazz, acoustic, dance, etc.
- There is lots of trivia. The more people you have on a team, the better
- There is free ice cream like on DCL - it is located in the cafe by the Flowriders
- There is a lot of live music around the ship - poolside, in Central Park, etc.
- The buffet closes mid-afternoon and re-opens for dinner - unlike DCL, I believe it is an actual buffet at dinnertime
- There are lots and lots of photo opportunities throughout the cruise - more so than on DCL
- The shopping is totally different. Think high-end bags, jewelry and clothes, as well as popup sales on gold chains, jewelry, watches, etc. Avoid the tshirt sale - it is like Black Friday at Walmart.
- Starbucks!

EXCELLENT summary! My then 6 year old LOVED the Oasis and she (now 7)and I will be doing the Allure alone in February.The pools are SO much better than on DCL. She loved the rock climbing wall. She loves the shows (Ice, Aqua, Cats, etc.). We love that they have a dinner buffet (and we did the character breakfast). There was so much going on for kids and I think RCI is the best option for teens and older.

To the OP - there IS life after after Disney! You will never know if you don't try - and 22 year olds will have a blast on RCI!

 

[xiphoid76]

I think all cruises are awesome. I liked some aspect of Oasis better:
- split twin beds is preferable to us
- shower instead of tub much nicer and easier to use
- dinner buffet nice
Disney has many advantages as well:
- much better staff - would say 2 staff for every one in RCL
- much cleaner, probably due to staff
- I prefer the timed dinner and restaurants on DCL
- shows better and if higher quality
- cabins bigger
- soda free

Negatives: on Oasis:
- lots of drinking and drunk people
- have to make reservations for everything including shows, difficult to relax and improvise
- we had a very dirty cabin with a dirty tampon left in our bathroom on embarkation. Granted this could happen on DCL, but when we complained they did not care on RCL
- Dreamworks parade was terrible and disorganized -again not enough staff

DCL:
- not much activity late at night
- food not as good overall

I prefer DCL because I don't drink too much and enjoy the staff and cleanliness if he ships, but I would have fun on any cruise and would do any if given the chance . We are a couple with no kids. For us the family centered quieter DCL cruises are where we are at now.
If we had teenage daughters, would definitely try RCL for a go and have fun!!

 

[ldo]

Re RCCL: He even said it was quite common to see drunken men over 50 stumbling around on deck at night like they were coming from a frat party.
Negatives: on Oasis:
- lots of drinking and drunk people

Wow. I have been on RCCL 5X. I have never seen anything like this. The closest I saw was 2 mid-20s guys in the hot tub in the adult area at around 11pm telling another guest in the hot tub that they were wasted b/c the bartender at a Carib. port bar kept giving them free shots. They were actually rather polite and not bothering anyone. We had 3 children with us and did not ever find anything offensive, bad behavior, etc.

 

[Ofinn]

Re RCCL: He even said it was quite common to see drunken men over 50 stumbling around on deck at night like they were coming from a frat party.
Negatives: on Oasis:
- lots of drinking and drunk people

Wow. I have been on RCCL 5X. I have never seen anything like this. The closest I saw was 2 mid-20s guys in the hot tub in the adult area at around 11pm telling another guest in the hot tub that they were wasted b/c the bartender at a Carib. port bar kept giving them free shots. They were actually rather polite and not bothering anyone. We had 3 children with us and did not ever find anything offensive, bad behavior, etc.

I was confused by the single couple comment???
I have a coworker who has been on over 50 cruises and Oasis is his favorite ship. You'll find wasted people on any ship. I've seen my share on the Dream and Fantasy. Other peoples drinking habits would not be a factor in which cruise I chose. That is something that I don't have control over.

 

[xiphoid76]

Re RCCL: He even said it was quite common to see drunken men over 50 stumbling around on deck at night like they were coming from a frat party.
Negatives: on Oasis:
- lots of drinking and drunk people

Wow. I have been on RCCL 5X. I have never seen anything like this. The closest I saw was 2 mid-20s guys in the hot tub in the adult area at around 11pm telling another guest in the hot tub that they were wasted b/c the bartender at a Carib. port bar kept giving them free shots. They were actually rather polite and not bothering anyone. We had 3 children with us and did not ever find anything offensive, bad behavior, etc.

There could be drunk people on any cruise - including DCL. We hadlots of them on our Oasis cruise, and many on our Carnival cruises,

I was confused by the single couple comment???
I have a coworker who has been on over 50 cruises and Oasis is his favorite ship. You'll find wasted people on any ship. I've seen my share on the Dream and Fantasy. Other peoples drinking habits would not be a factor in which cruise I chose. That is something that I don't have control over.

Edited my mistake . Meant couple with no kids. You are right drinking can occur on any ship, but I would say definitely occurs more on RCL than Disney. No matter what, bad things can occur on any cruise and great things will occur on any as well. Cruises are great!

 

[SDJEL]

We've done 4 Disney cruises and one RCCL cruise. I felt like they were constantly nickel and dining me on the RC cruise. It felt like most of the activities were things you had to pay extra for. There were art auctions and watch sales and a casino. I've seen the jewelry stuff in the Disney cruises, but it is much more in the background. Also, just give me the Diet Coke! If you buy the drink package, you have to carry a cup around to refill the soda. I wash dishes at home and I don't want to do it in my vacation. Also, the movie selection was not as diverse. They showed the same few movies over and over. My husband really likes to sit in the theater and he was bored. The pools on the RCCL boats are saltwater. My kids hated them and wouldn't get in the pool. I personally thought the shows were not nearly as good on Royal Carribean. The Disney shows really are Broadway quality.

Last complaint. You can only eat dinner in one dining room on RC. You have to pay an up charge to eat in any of the others. Just charge me more for my cruise up front. I don't want to pay $100 more to get food I already paid for. (We only did Palo once in 5 cruises and have never been to Remy) It got really boring eating in the same dining room every night.

No more RC cruises for us. I'll pay more up front for the more entertaining experience.