Leaving for 1st DCL cruise...can anyone compare the differences with RCCL?

[Frankiesmom]

Hi to all-we will be leaving on Thursday for our 1st DCL cruise with our 4 yr. old for his Bday (he wanted to go on the Mickey mouse boat;) ) We have only sailed RCL and were wondering if anyone can compare the 2 and things that will be different. Thanks in advance! In Nassau we are doing the Blackbeards stingray adventure we booked thru shoretrips.com-if anyone has done this could they comment? :)

[stillfrantic]

I'm just back form RCI Grandeur after sailing Disney. I'll hit a few things we noticed....

 

At sailaway, Disney definately has it better. Huge deck party with lots of music, dancing, fun and a big countdown with a big showy sendoff. On Grandeur we didn't actually know we had started moving. Be sure to be on deck 9 or 10. It really is memorable.

 

Cabin bathrooms on Disney were much better. Grandeur's were efficient and in fine shape....just not quite so polished looking as Disney's.

 

Embarkation on RCI was better, disembarkation better on Disney.

 

The biggest difference with the children's areas are the hours. RCI's clubs were opening and closing, and ended the free period at 10. On Disney the club will open by 9 and stay open all day, including late into the night if you chose to have a late night out with just your spouse.

 

On Disney I found a lot more playing up for tips and excellent ratings. It was non existant on RCI. A nice change!

 

Food was similar. I think RCI might have had a little more choices in courses.

 

We had a D1 on RCI and a deluxe porthole on Disney. Disney's rooms are larger.....more so than the difference of the 24 sq. feet that it actual was would seem on paper. The RCI cabin was very narrow,, but we got used to it. It just needed about an extra 8 inches in width. Disney has a thick privacy curtin which completely seperates the adult bed area from the sofa bed area. That was a nice touch that wa missing on RCI. We had 2 cabins so it didn't affect us, but if a family was in one cabin it would make a difference in ease of getting ready and going to bed.

 

If you have any questions just ask. We loved both these cruises. :)

[TEXASMUNK]

Mickey Mouse does not have a casino

[patpav]

Their private island Castaway Cay was beautiful. They have a family area and an adults only area. We took my daughter to the kid's club area and she had a blast while daddy and I went to the adults only beach. Make sure if you're going to the adult part that you try and get off the ship early because chairs and umbrellas were scarce by the time we got there. They also have a nice BBQ. Also if your child/ren are signed up in the club they have a DCC University graduation ceremony which was very cute at the end of the cruise. They wear graduation caps and get a t-shirt. Taking my 1st RCC cruise this coming weekend so can't compare the two.

 

Enjoy!

 

Patty

[Iamthesea]

We loved our two Disney Cruises - Sadly, we did not care for the Stingray excursion. If you have ever done the stingray excursion in Grand Cayman, you will be very disappointed in Blackbeards. If you have not seen them before, maybe the excursion will be alright for you. Just be prepared for lots of screaming. :eek:

 

After a very long walk to the packed ferry boats, you take a fairly long ride to Blackbeards island. You are then herded like cattle to an area where forms are handed out for you to fill out for liability concerns. You are then given a number for a turn in the "contained" area where the stingrays are held captive. We spent a little time on the packed beach before our turn came up. You walk into this small contained area from the beach and are told to wear a mask, fins and life vest because sometimes the stingrays stay near the fence in the deep end. I would advise not using those things (except for your son...he needs to use the vest) and just stay in the shallow areas until feeding time. We found it difficult to see the stingrays through the mask because the water and sand gets too stirred up by all the screaming participants. The life vest prevent you from diving under to get a better look and the fins are a hazard, considering you are standing in shallow water most of the time. After a while, the guides will have everyone line up in a double fashion and they will hand out squid to participants. The stingrays will then travel between the participants to feed (that's when the screaming and chaos begin.) Only problem is...those stingray are being fed all day long and by the time we got a turn, they were not hungry.:(

 

I hate to be so down on this excursion, but compared to GC, we were very surprised. Although my husband and I had been with stingrays before, the Blackbeards experience was our children's first time. They hated it and were frightened. The next year, we returned to GC and told the kids we were going to swim with the stingrays. They said they had no desire to do that again, but we insisted. Guess what, they had a ball and said that they could not believe the difference.

 

There may be others that loved this excursion and will set me straight, however my advice is to cancel this excursion.

[Frankiesmom]

Thank you to all who answered-I really appreciated all the information! i will talk to DH about canceling this excursion as my DS will only be turning 4 and he is a liitle fearful of the water;can't imagine this scenario when alot of people are screaming and carrying on:confused: . Thanks again for all the tips! Angel

[OPSoccermom]

Your 4 year old will love DCL! My kids are past the prime age for DCL, but loved it when they were younger. You will be impressed with the size of the Oceaneer Club compared to the kids' areas on the RCI (or any other) ships.

 

My recommendations:

 

1)Find an evening for him to dine with the kids and book dinner for you and DH at Palo. It is a nice, quiet dinner compared to the main dining rooms which are nice, but a little on the noisier side.

 

2) Try to find time for a massage on Castaway Cay. Book one of the waterfront cabana massages on the adults only beach. Completely relaxing, but you need to book as soon as you get onboard. Too bad RCI doesn't do this in Labadee. IMO, Castaway Cay is the best private island experience around. The only negative is that they sometimes cannot dock due to wind and seas.

 

3) Enjoy the shows - definitely more family oriented, but very good.

 

4) The kids program finale was great - brought tears to many moms' eyes. My kids remember it many years later.

 

5)Kick back, relax, and enjoy. We were originally concerned that because it was a it was a "mouse" cruise, it would be much noisier, crowded, and have kids running everywhere. Well, DCL does a better job of making sure that the adults only areas of the ship are kept for adults only. With other lines could handle a large number of kids on board as well as DCL.

 

Now that our kids are older, I don't know that we'll sail on DCL again, but we thought DCL does a wonderful job.

[Iamthesea]

2) Try to find time for a massage on Castaway Cay. Book one of the waterfront cabana massages on the adults only beach. Completely relaxing, but you need to book as soon as you get onboard. Too bad RCI doesn't do this in Labadee. IMO, Castaway Cay is the best private island experience around. The only negative is that they sometimes cannot dock due to wind and seas.

I agree! CC is the best. I will also add that you should be one of the first off the ship and onto the island as soon as it docks. You will have your choice of places to "beach it" ...even get a hammock (a great place for DH and son to nap.

 

If you have never snorkeled, CC is a good place to begin. Since your 4 year old will be too small, share the equipment with your DH instead of getting two sets. Only one of you will be able to go in at a time while the other watches your son. Same goes for renting rafts. You really only need one. Saves money! We also waited until we got to the island to rent the equipment, just in case the ship couldn't dock, then we didn't have to go through the hassle of getting our money back.

 

As for Nassau, take a water taxi over to Atlantis and just look around and go to the aquarium. Fantastic!

[jagsfan]

my favorite thing on DCL was the fact that it's one big galley. if the dining room you're

in doesn't have an appealing menu, your waiter can bring something from another

dining room. each dining room has the same menu each night. you change dining rooms and your last one still offers the same menu you had the previous night.

my grandchildren loved the kids camp so much we only pried them loose for meals.

even on Castaway Cay. The entertainment is pure Disney, except for a very late night

adult show. I've also sailed without kids, still enjoyed it.