RCCL Hidden Pricing?

[TXGalAJ]

I've taken my kids on both DCL Magic and RCCL Navigator of the Seas. I was surprised that my kids preferred Navigator hands down. At 9 and 11 they loved the ice skating, flow rider, sports court and rock wall. They didn't even mind that Navigator doesn't have a water slide.

 

If your kids really like soda I would recommend the drink packages. My kids don't drink soda so that wasn't an issue. They have lemonade and flavored water in the Windjammer and my kids always drank that. We brought refillable water bottles and they filled up in the Windjammer before hitting the pool.

 

I've been on Navigator twice and the first time they just handed out towels and never scanned our cards and then second time we had to check them out and they said there would be a $25 fee if not returned. However, when we brought the towels back the attendant didn't really seem to care about scanning our cards so I have a feeling they weren't really monitoring the returns.

 

They do recommend you get tickets in advance to the ice show but they will also let you in even if you don't have them (you just wait until 5 minutes before the show and I am sure your seat choice is more limited). There wasn't even a line to get the tickets, I just walked up to the table on the promenade and told them how many I wanted.

 

My kids loved the Promenade Cafe. We would stop in there every day for a pastry and hot chocolate or lemonade.

 

My suggestion is to just go for it and try Royal!

[Merion_Mom]

By the way:

 

surf thingy = Flowrider

 

Just in case you were looking for it on the deck plans.

 

;) :D :D :D

[cruisegirl1]

I think the only items that have not been addressed is shows, all free as of now........ .

 

Care to elaborate? I had not read or heard that RCCL will begin charging for shows. Have you?

 

Thanks, M

[orville99]

I like dressing informally, not THAT informally, though :) Again, thanks for clarifying these details.

 

The biggest difference between the two is that on Freedom, a good percentage do dress up for formal nights - but you won't see 1,000 fairy princesses or pirates like on Disney;)

[xxHadleyxx]

We are platinum on DCL (the highest in DCL'S system) and Diamond on RCI.

 

I have one teen who prefers RCI to Disney hands down and one who prefers Disney'S smaller ships (well, the Magic) to RCI but neither enjoyed the Fantasy very much (largely because while the teen club had a nice space, the staff and programming were abysmal the week we sailed). However, for the cost difference and the much better itineraries /we have no interest in continuing to cruise the Caribbean) both prefer to book RCI cruises and go more often and to more interesting places.

 

I think pretty much everything has been covered, but I will run down the list again:

 

DCL includes soda, RCI does not (bartenders are fine with kids coming up for sodas--DS has never had an issue getting one easily with his card)

 

DCL includes room service 24/7, RCI has a charge for it in the wee hours

 

DCL allows you to bring on pretty much any alcohol you want. RCI allows two bottles of wine per stateroom and nothing more

 

DCL kids programming runs all day without breaks, RCI has some breaks (but kids can sty all day when the ship is in port)

 

Both charge for specialty restaurants, spa things, arcades, fitness classes (yoga, spinning, etc) and the like

 

As said previously, minigolf, skating, rock walls, flow riders, etc are included in the cruise fare. You do have to sign a waiver before your kids can do most of these and you have to be present if the kid is under 12. Ours are over 12 and we go up on the first day and sign off on everything so they are free to do whatever they want whenever they want.

[crazy4themouse]

DCL kids programming runs all day without breaks, RCI has some breaks (but kids can sty all day when the ship is in port)

 

 

 

 

To expand on that, be aware that after 10pm in Adventure Ocean is considered "group babysitting" on RCI, and is $5/hour per child. Just FYI!

 

My son has been on both lines a number of times from age 5 until now at 18, and has nothing but good to say about either program. :)

[cccory]

All I can say is you get what you pay for. While I like RCCL, for that little difference I would definitely go with Disney. You just get that extra magic with a Disney cruise.

 

 

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[coldflame]

All I can say is you get what you pay for. While I like RCCL, for that little difference I would definitely go with Disney. You just get that extra magic with a Disney cruise.

 

 

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Cindy, if $700 seems like "little difference" to you, me and you are in completely different socio-economic strata.

[coldflame]

To expand on that, be aware that after 10pm in Adventure Ocean is considered "group babysitting" on RCI, and is $5/hour per child. Just FYI!

 

My son has been on both lines a number of times from age 5 until now at 18, and has nothing but good to say about either program. :)

 

Oh we usually don't leave our kids in the OC/OL with DCL at night at all. Usually we put them there in the middle of the day when me and mrs want some time for ourselves :) Otherwise we haul our kiddos with us at all times.

Edited October 9, 2014 by coldflame

[VillaHappy]

We have done both ships. All of us prefer Royal, hands down!

[John&LaLa]

Royal does not enforce any dress suggestions. About the only thing they might (and I emphasize "might") object to is shorts and tank tops (men) during dinner.

 

No problem with wearing shorts in MDR last week. Tablemate did it twice.

 

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[Clarea]

No problem with wearing shorts in MDR last week. Tablemate did it twice.

Not surprising, I've seen it on other ships too.

[mareed]

Not sure how loose or strict DCL is about its dress code, but any review of post on here regarding RCI's suggested dress code should convince you that they are not very strict at all, even on formal nights. What you have described as your clothing choices would be perfectly acceptable on RCI.

 

I've cruised Disney 6 times and RC Navigator once. Our experience was that dinner dress regarding what people actually wore and not necessarily what was enforced was quite a bit more dressed up on RC. RC had 2 formal nights and almost all men were in dress shirt and tie and many had jackets. While they might not have kicked you out in jeans, I personally would have felt uncomfortable having my group in jeans. Even on the casual nights, RC was much more formal and I don't recall seeing any shorts there where we saw and wore shorts ourself on Disney. Nice jeans seemed fine on RC's casul nights though and fit right in.

Edited October 9, 2014 by mareed
trying to be more clear!

[OSUZorba]

I just slightly prefer DCL.

 

One thing no one has mentioned. My wife and I only drink water, and it is much easier to get water brought to you on RCL. Partly because there are just a lot more waiters and the waiters never seem to mind bringing it to you. Disney waiters always seemed annoyed at the request and never came back. Otherwise I think the service is a little better on DCL.

[mareed]

I just slightly prefer DCL.

 

One thing no one has mentioned. My wife and I only drink water, and it is much easier to get water brought to you on RCL. Partly because there are just a lot more waiters and the waiters never seem to mind bringing it to you. Disney waiters always seemed annoyed at the request and never came back. Otherwise I think the service is a little better on DCL.

 

That reminded me that one thing we found much more difficult on RCL was finding self-serve ice and water during the day. Sounds like you were talking about in the main dining room where it was better on RCL. We normally carry refillable water bottles with ice and water with us during the day on the ship and we couldn't find anywhere that we could easily get it on RC compared to the ease of the 24 hour self-serve drink station on Disney. We finally had our staterooom hostess keep 2 filled ice buckets in our fridge instead of just 1 and we'd just go back to our cabin for ice and (tap) water as needed throughout the day.

 

I thought of more comparisons so I'll share. :)

 

Ice-tea in the main dining room was another plus to Disney because theirs was brewed where RCL's was some nasty instant or reconstituted version.

 

If costs were equal for us and I'm cruising with adults only I'd choose Disney for sure. I haven't yet cruised with my teen, young-adult sons yet on RC but I have a feeling they'll prefer RC for the activities like flow-rider, rock-climbing and mini-golf. We've only cruised Disney's classic ships that don't have mini golf... And of course, most of the time when I can cruise (mostly limited to school holidays still) costs are not at all equal and RC has been 2000 to 3000 less (comparing equal cabins as much as possible) so I think we'll be on RC more going forward!

 

Lack of Casino on Disney is a plus for us though it may be a minus for others. We don't like gambling and have no interest in the casino and because they allow smoking inside there on RCL we're not even interested in walking through it. It's a strong negative when we have to go through the casino to in order to navigate to where we're going.

 

Pools on RCL are salt-water - yuck! Disney's fresh-water pools in the adult only area were so nice - especially in the evenings when they weren't very crowded and we'd frequently have them almost all to ourselves.

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

I am also a gold Castaway club member, sailing for the first time on Royal in March.

 

Here's the differences I have noticed / read about and encountered so far....

 

Drinks ( big one for us ) are not included. So for the kids, being able to use Disney' s drink station for free, whenever they wanted ( not having to wait in a line for a bartender to serve them ) will be a big adjustment. I'm trying to imagine how patient the bartenders will be with the kids ....we will see. Although the freestyle machines sound like a great idea ( just not on our ship yet)

Also being able to carry on our beer / alcohol / liquor was alway a big savings . That includes while in port as well... We could always bring our booze back to our room. So if you drink alcohol, and allow the kids to have a lot of pop, then that will be an added expense. Milk and lemonade / regular coffee and tea are apparently free at dinner.

 

There is only one full service restaurant to dine in that doesn't include an extra fee ( plus the Windjammer which sounds like the self service restaurant like Beach Blanket/ Cabanas cafeteria style ) . I really like the rotational dining on Disney and having three restaurants to dine in with the same server....but I look forward to trying the food on Royal...

Also, I have heard that some activities on board require a waiver to fill out ( which require parental signatures) . Again, I haven't cruised yet, but it can see how this might be an issue as my kids are usually in the clubs and venture out on their own.. Also not sure if there is a fee involved with some of the activities... So far I know it's free to rock climb and use the flowrider.

Also, it sounds as though some of the shows require tickets in order to attend ...

Unlike Disney where you just go to the theatre before or after dinner. Some tickets are available a day or two before the show? Is that right? Like the ice show.

I have heard that the adult entertainment is quite enjoyable and there are a lot of choices on Royal ( unlike Disney... As the Disney ships seem to shut down by midnight!)

 

Finally, the kids clubs...

I have not heard a lot about organized activities offered ( it sounds more like a hang out place for kids to meet up. Not sure what kind of supervision is available ) . I love the organized outings and activities Disney offers... FLUBBER, PIRATE PARTY etc. But , my boys are older and are really looking forward to trying out this new ship. We are on the Independence of the Sea...

That's all I have for now.

Hope that helps a bit..

 

Oh edited to add...

The bath products ( that we always received daily- shampoo, conditioner , body wash, cream) are not offered in the standard rooms on Royal. I believe they are offered in some of the suites. There is not split bathrooms either ( will really miss that! ) and I believe the staterooms , the standard ones , are a bit smaller.

 

Just to clarify, I believe the Freedom will have a shampoo/conditioner mix in a dispenser in the shower and bars of soap...in all standard rooms and suites.

[dcgrumpy]

That reminded me that one thing we found much more difficult on RCL was finding self-serve ice and water during the day. Sounds like you were talking about in the main dining room where it was better on RCL. We normally carry refillable water bottles with ice and water with us during the day on the ship and we couldn't find anywhere that we could easily get it on RC compared to the ease of the 24 hour self-serve drink station on Disney. We finally had our staterooom hostess keep 2 filled ice buckets in our fridge instead of just 1 and we'd just go back to our cabin for ice and (tap) water as needed throughout the day.

 

I thought of more comparisons so I'll share. :)

 

Ice-tea in the main dining room was another plus to Disney because theirs was brewed where RCL's was some nasty instant or reconstituted version.

 

If costs were equal for us and I'm cruising with adults only I'd choose Disney for sure. I haven't yet cruised with my teen, young-adult sons yet on RC but I have a feeling they'll prefer RC for the activities like flow-rider, rock-climbing and mini-golf. We've only cruised Disney's classic ships that don't have mini golf... And of course, most of the time when I can cruise (mostly limited to school holidays still) costs are not at all equal and RC has been 2000 to 3000 less (comparing equal cabins as much as possible) so I think we'll be on RC more going forward!

 

Lack of Casino on Disney is a plus for us though it may be a minus for others. We don't like gambling and have no interest in the casino and because they allow smoking inside there on RCL we're not even interested in walking through it. It's a strong negative when we have to go through the casino to in order to navigate to where we're going.

 

Pools on RCL are salt-water - yuck! Disney's fresh-water pools in the adult only area were so nice - especially in the evenings when they weren't very crowded and we'd frequently have them almost all to ourselves.

 

FOS has freshwater pools

[debbs0723]

Cindy, if $700 seems like "little difference" to you, me and you are in completely different socio-economic strata.

 

This was my point earlier. If the same trip on Disney was $700 more decide what it is that is important to you on DCL. If its the alcohol, get the packages for you and your wife then you can have someone make all your drinks for you rather than going back to your room to make them. Specialty coffees? Get that package. Sodas for you and the kids? Those packages are actually not expensive and will surely not use up the $700. If you took that $700 and put it on your onboard expense account up front you can live like kings doing extras that you can't get on DCL.

 

Don't worry at all about your planned attire. Even on the 2 formal nights. I did not find service any better or worse on Disney.

 

May I also make another suggestion and I know I sound like a broken record on these forums. Before you book, look at the cost difference to book 2 rooms, 2 in each. Might sound crazy but it was cheaper for us to do it this way. If not cheaper I find that the difference is sometimes very nominal. How nice would it be to have your own room? You can get connecting rooms also. That is what we are doing. If you book one adult and one child in each room then you can bring 4 bottles of wine.

 

As far as kids clubs mine were much younger on DCL so they did love them. On the Navigator last year the older one had no interest from the get go and the younger one did like it. We did not quite like the hours as much on RCL but I would say it was totally supervised. Not only that but once your kids are acclimated to the ship, you can send to hang out at the promenade to grab a slice of pizza and a snack and hang out together for a couple of hours while you get some time to yourself or they can go catch a movie or something. It doesn't always have to be actual kids clubs if you give them a strict set of rules and time to be back. This is what we did while we were showering up for dinner, etc just to get them out of our hair.

 

Sounds to me like you have done DCL enough and should give Royal a try. I'm not sure if your ship has characters or not. I forget which ones do. Someone else can probably answer this for me. However, I can't imagine they won't enjoy all the other activities RCL has to offer. After one trip on the Navigator my kids are sold on Royal. They would choose Disney World and Royal ships. I asked them this question last night after reading the thread.

 

Debbie

Edited October 10, 2014 by debbs0723