Disney Vs RCCL

Hello,

I just got off a RCCL cruise on the Liberty of the Seas today and since my past 2 cruises were on Disney, I thought I'd do a comparison. Just some background: i've been on 37 cruises on various lines, some of which don't exist any longer. I've done 8 Disney cruises. Note this is just my opinion. Your mileage may vary.

Ship: My last cruise before this was on the Magic, so I'll compare to the Liberty. Condition of the ships were about the same, however considering the Magic is 10 years older, says a lot for the Magic

Food: subjective i know but here is my opinion: Dining room food was very similar and most of the time very good on both ships. Buffet was better on the Liberty. I think Disney's buffet is about the worst of any I've experienced. One thing I will give to Disney is the availability of steamed shrimp and crab on their buffet. There is nothing like that on Royal. But the rest of the buffet on Royal was better. Royal had longer buffet hours until 4:30. That was a plus.

Service: The crew on Disney was friendlier. EVERYONE greets you on Disney. On Royal, most did but some didn't. My waiter on the Liberty was great, as was my waiter on Disney. Room steward on Disney was better, but these are the luck of the draw on all ships. One thing Royal did better is in the buffet, there were people available to bring you coffee, OJ, etc to your table. I did not experience that on Disney. However, bar service on Royal was slower thanks to all the drink packages. There were 3 occasions i could not get my drink order taken without actually going to the bar itself.

Activities: The nod goes to Disney on this. They have more.

Characters: Yep, RCCL has Dreamworks characters such as Shreck, Puss N Boots, etc. They were fine but not managed as well as on Disney.

Entertainment: A wash. Both were good, but Disney is more family oriented. I will say the commedian i saw on Royal was one of the funniest I've seen. He was original and did not do the same old cruise ship toilet jokes. His late not adult show was hillarious too and did it without lobbing a single F Bomb, which is quite an accomplishment for a comedian at an adult show. Saturday Night Fever on the Liberty was just as well done as anything on Disney, but is not a family show. They said it wasn't in advance also.

Kid's Program: can't compare. We didn't have kids on this cruise.

Other things: There is no casino on Disney, something i don't miss since i don't gamble and don't like the smoke smell. That's a plus for Disney to me, but not some others. Royal also does perpetual "flea market big sales" in the Grand Promenade which cheapens the experience in my opinion.

Comparing the cost, Disney is a lot more expensive and is a more premium product. Royal tends to be less expensive and is a more mass market product. Disney should be "better" and for the most part they are. But there are some areas they could do better.

And that is my 2 cents.

Dave

I'll add one more thing: Royal had live orchestra for its theater shows, not canned music. I find that a major plus. I wish Disney would have that.

Royal also does perpetual "flea market big sales" in the Grand Promenade which cheapens the experience in my opinion.

 

We enjoyed all of our cruises on RCCL (2 of which were on Liberty's sister ship Freedom). However, the constant hawking of merchandise in the Promenade annoyed me too. I feel the Promenade is a great design feature of RCCL ships and filling it with tables full of cheap goods and having aggressive sales people pushing the merchandise on all who walk by really diminishes the enjoyment of the area.

I'll add one more thing: Royal had live orchestra for its theater shows, not canned music. I find that a major plus. I wish Disney would have that.

I can see the good and the bad of a live orchestra. Unfortunately, Disney (not just DCL) has a long history of using tracks, and that isn't likely to change.

After our recent Disney cruise, I agree that their crew members tend to be friendlier and more eager to please than what we’ve witnessed on other cruise lines. We didn’t come across one Crew member who wouldn’t smile and greet us. I don’t think we ever heard the word “no” during our sailing. Overall, Disney does a fantastic job training their crew members.

I agree about the buffet. The layout at the Windjammer cafe on Royal as well as the variety are more to my liking but Disney’s was good too.

About the stage entertainment, I feel that what we’ve experienced on Oasis class ships is either at par or better than what Disney offers. However Disney beats stage entertainment on the other classes of Royal ships that we’ve sailed on.

We thought that the Disney Fantasy was a beautiful and classy ship, but Royal has more of a “wow” factor.

I truly enjoyed sailing on Disney and think that it provides a fantastic cruise experience, specially when traveling with small children , but I don’t consider that the experience justifies their pricing structure. I think that they are worth a premium, but not THAT much of a premium.

For people who adore anything Disney, the extra charge may be completely worth it. For example we have friends who will only sail on Disney, no matter what. They are Disney Vacation Club members and, if they are not cruising, they only take Disney land vacations. After our Disney sailing, I get the impression that a large percentage of repeat Disney cruisers may fall in the same category as our friends.

Speaking of DVC, Disney may not have the constant announcements pushing stupid inch by the gold chains, liquor, or $10 watches, but they can surely push DVC memberships!

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

We enjoyed all of our cruises on RCCL (2 of which were on Liberty's sister ship Freedom). However, the constant hawking of merchandise in the Promenade annoyed me too. I feel the Promenade is a great design feature of RCCL ships and filling it with tables full of cheap goods and having aggressive sales people pushing the merchandise on all who walk by really diminishes the enjoyment of the area.

The Royal Promenade is pretty impressive and unfortunately the sales really ruin it. On port days when there are no sales it is so much nicer. I remember thinking "imagine what Disney could do with this space"! Royal does a parade in the Promenade. I imagine Disney could do a spectacular parade!

Is Disney worth the extra money? Well, we seem to pay the extra occasionally so i guess it is.

 

Speaking of DVC, Disney may not have the constant announcements pushing stupid inch by the gold chains, liquor, or $10 watches, but they can surely push DVC memberships!

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I agree that I've seen better buffets on other lines. As to DVC--yes, they run several sales meetings while on board, but I don't find these to be intrusive at all. Each guest is free to choose to attend or not attend. It isn't like the meetings ar held in the middle of the atrium where they can't be avoided. If you choose to not attend, other than announcements in the Navigator and sometimes over the speakers, there is no reason that they interfere with the cruise at all.

In contrast, on lines like Celebrity, the markdown sales are out all over the balconies of the atrium, etc. so there is little way to avoid them short of staying in your cabin or on the pool deck.

. I remember thinking "imagine what Disney could do with this space"! Royal does a parade in the Promenade. I imagine Disney could do a spectacular parade!

.

Maybe they’ll have a promenade-style area on one of the new ships?

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I If you choose to not attend' date=' other than announcements in the Navigator and sometimes over the speakers, there is no reason that they interfere with the cruise at all.

 

 

 

In contrast, on lines like Celebrity, the markdown sales are out all over the balconies of the atrium, etc. so there is little way to avoid them short of staying in your cabin or on the pool deck.[/quote']

 

 

 

I will take DVC membership pitches over the sales and the incessant announcements that come with them which now plague, not only Celebrity (which we haven’t tried yet), but pretty much every cruise line that we’ve sailed on in recent memory. I don’t understand trampling your fellow cruisers over a $10 Bijoux Terner watch.

 

I do understand pushing DVC memberships (because that is going to keep people vacationing on Disney repeatedly as we experienced and truly bring revenue to the company). But we didn’t care for the in-person pitch every time that we walked by a DVC representative. It cheapened the Disney experience and made it feel a bit like going to a cheesy time share hotel where they are constantly pushing memberships.

 

But please know that these pitches didn’t truly affect my enjoyment of the cruise. Yes, they were momentarily intrusive but that was it. Overall, we considered DCL a truly wonderful and unique experience.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

It sounds like DVC may have become more aggressive since you noted the "in person pitch" when walking by that rep. I trust that means the desk. In the past, they would sit at the desk and not interact unless you approached them; they were good for answering questions about the ship, having a paper Navigator that you could check, or whatever. But I never had one say anything beyond "Hello" if I didn't say something to them.

There is no question that they have found cruises to be the best place to sell DVC--they wouldn't put 3 or more people on each cruise and offer various "deals" at sea only if they weren't selling!

Great comparison and well balanced!!! Having done both lines, I agree. I too like Royal's buffet better and love the ethnic food options. We have found the Windjammer to be even better for dinner!!! Love the theme nights.

I've had the best room host on Royal, but we've been blessed to always have a great host on both lines.

We somehow manage to avoid the promenade....on purpose too. Never have much need to be there, so the sales stuff doesn't affect us so much.

I think people should try it for themselves. I found I had to approach it from a new perspective and not one to compare. They are both great products and a great time can be had on both!!! Lots of people doing it every week and lots of repeat guests.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Forums mobile app

interesting comparison..

i'm surprised that the liberty had fewer activities...

on the allure there were so many activities we weren't able to do them all...

..

Thanks for the comparison. I'm still dying to try RCL. I just can't seem to make it work.

Weird about in-person pitches when walking by. DVC people have always been the least pushy time share type salespeople by far. Most don't even go so far as to say "Hi" unless I'm the one to catch their eye and walk up to them. They just smile and maybe nod if I'm just walking by (Ala Moana Center, Aulani, Orlando Disney area, DCL, etc). I think the most "aggressive" ones I've ever encountered were at Downtown Disney in Anaheim and maybe one in Disneyland itself, but I would hardly call them annoying. They just actually stepped forward and asked if I wanted a Fastpass or whatever "giveaway" they had, but a simple "No thanks" and they backed off immediately. I've even gone through the actual DVC presentation and that was by far the least "pressure" sales presentation I've ever been through. The local mall's makeup hawks are 1000x worse.

I've done both Royal and Disney multiple times. I feel that Disney does offer the better overall service with staffing. The food quality is fairly equal between both (although the one time I did specialty dining in the Dream's Remy was very memorable). Disney has a small edge when it comes to entertainment- I like their stuff better. Disney also has the better bar options (l love the Skyline on the Dream).

Royal, however, has the big advantage in pricing. I can get a balcony for a week for less than the cost of an oceanview on a 4-day Disney cruise. And the bigger Royal ships are pretty freakin' fantastic- I can't wait to try some of their megaships soon. Plus, their larger fleet provides many more options in terms of itinerary and size of ship.

Overall, I do Royal more, and it's what I recommend to other as it's the best bang for the buck. That said, I do enjoy Disney when it's in the budget.

We split time between RC and Disney. I think it all depends on what exactly you are looking for. I don't think RC compares to Disney in terms of the face to face service or activities for kids. I like RC's boats better and think there's loads more adult activities. We just came back from a cruise on the Dream and it was the first time my daughter (9) didn't do any kids club stuff. She asked if we could do Aulain next year instead of a cruise. If she stays her course we will likely be headed back to RC for the cruises we do. Disney service is great but the price is too high if my kid isn't participating in the activities.