Mariner of the Seas vs. DCL

[hayesktrm]

We just went on our second DCL cruise--Mexican Riviera. We want to cruise to the Western Caribbean, but Disney is very expensive and "we've done that." We've seen the shows, the kids have done the activities there, etc. The kids LOVED Disney, will they like RCI, too? I know we will love it--it looks like RCI has a lot more adult activities than DCL did. Just concerned about the kids. They will be 9 and 13. Any pros and cons would be greatly appreciated.

[Inshape]

We are going on Mariner in Jan 06, but we have been on Explorer in Jan 04.

I have only been on Carnival and RCCL, not Disney so I can not compare. But there was so much to do on Explorer with the kids that getting them to camp was hard... which they loved also-much better than carnival. They were 7 and 9 at the time. We enjoyed the rock climbing, the ice skating, the inline skating , and the mini golf. After going on carnival Miracle in Jan 05, they begged us to return to RCCL for the abundance of activities there.

[42trvl]

We enjoyed our recent Mariner cruise more than our DCL cruise. The kids were much happier also. I was not too happy about the way RCI ran the program for 12 year olds and up - too unstructured and too much hanging out. I wish they they encouraged more organized activities for the younger teens. Under 12 though, the kids thought it was much better than Disney, and as a whole, we found more to do together as a family.

[snowmouse]

We have done 3 disney cruises, 1 princess, and last march cruised the Western itinerary on Mariner. Our children are now 9,15 and 15. We had trouble breaking away from Disney because we loved it soooo much, but it was also our first. What we have found since is that while we would still cruise Disney in the future, of the 5 RCL was the best family fit. Our kids loved all of the activities and we found so much for us to do. We like the more varied itineraries available with rcl, and are planning to do southern with them this winter. I do miss the Disney cabins though, I really think they are the best.

[hayesktrm]

Thanks everyone! I think we will be going to the travel agency today and booking a cruise!

[FunCruiser56]

The first cruise we took our kids on was a 4 day Wonder and they really loved it! last October we took them on a 7 day cruise on the Navigator of the Seas and we all agreed that we enjoyed that one better. The kids are 10 and 17 and they both felt there were more activities on the Navigator. Neither of them was interested in the structured activities offered in the 'kids clubs.

For our money we were able to get 2 cabins with the boys across the hall in a promanade room, still cheaper than DCL.

Our family is huge disney fans but we will stick to Disney World for our Disney fix and RCI for our Cruise fix!

 

Bev

[MEGADAN]

We enjoyed our recent Mariner cruise more than our DCL cruise. The kids were much happier also. I was not too happy about the way RCI ran the program for 12 year olds and up - too unstructured and too much hanging out. I wish they they encouraged more organized activities for the younger teens. Under 12 though, the kids thought it was much better than Disney, and as a whole, we found more to do together as a family.

 

We've cruised DCL 3 times and just returned from the Mariner 8/28 sailing. Our kids are 14 & 12 and really enjoyed the Mariner this year. I have to agree with 42trvl that the 12 to 14 program leaves alot to be desired. Especially for 12 year olds, there was too much unsupervised hanging out. On Disney there was something supervised going on at all times.

[hayesktrm]

Megadan and Bev--what did you 12 year old do, then? On Disney, my son would pop in and out of the club, go to the arcade, get ice cream, play basketball, etc. He had a great time. I just don't want him sitting in the room all cruise. However, we will be doing lots of excursions, so I guess it's just the days at sea I have to worry about.

[travellady]

We haven't sailed the Mariner but did sail the Voyager a year ago - the first of that series of ships. We've also sailed DCL - the Disney Wonder last Christmas. My 11 yo son absolutely loved the Voyager, he's an extremely active kid and the myriad of activities kept him busy morning, noon, and night.

 

He didn't care much for the Wonder. He felt there were just too many little kids on board, got bored at times. His biggest thrill was our letting him go to a movie at 11:30 PM by himself. (OK, I peeked in on occasion but he has the need to feel grown up).

 

My husband absolutely loved the Wonder. But I felt like the man in the theater sitting behind me who whispered to his wife "This has been fun but I am Disneyed out. I'm glad we only took the 3 day"

 

During the past year, I had a bit of time off work so we decided to sample many of the cruiselines - DCL, Royal, Carnival, Princess, and HAL.

 

For pre-teen kids, I recommend Royal, #1, and Princess #2. Carnival might be up there also but my son didn't care for it since we were on an older ship, no dedicated kids club, and they met in a bar during the day. He did have fun, did meet other kids his age, but he told me Voyager was his top cruise and the Sapphire Princess his second best (well, his best friend went with him so that helped). But, we also sailed the Diamond Princess to the Mexican Riviera last February and he enjoyed the ship a lot. None of us were big on the itinerary as we all prefer the Western Carrib. beaches but our goal was to just enjoy the ship for a week and relax.

[Candleonwater]

I've sailed on the Magic and the Mariner... and I'm looking to go back to the Mariner for my 3rd cruise on her. There are things I DEFINITELY like better on DCL, the spa, the movie theatre, etc. But the positives of the Mariner SO far outweigh the positives of the Magic. Even my 8 year old daughter thinks so... so we go to WDW for a couple of days before our cruise so that she can get her character fix.

[macbasset]

We've done 7 cruises on DCL and it was our favorite, even though we no longer have little children. We love the rotational restaurants and Palo, the adult restaurant, the adult beach on castaway cay, the free sodas at dinner and anytime on the ship now, and especially the huge movie theatre and lots of first run movies. But..... we just did our first mariner cruise and we loved it! It was less expensive and a just a huge ship! Loved the windjammer and the pool areas--- never had trouble finding a lounge or chair, even in summer. didn't find it crowded either. The few drawbacks I found included all of the smoking allowed on the ship, charging for sodas even at dinner, and the tiny theatre only open on port days. But we loved it so much that we just booked for next summer.

[AerynSun_JohnCrighton]

I havn't been on Marnier, but I was under 18 both times we did Soverign... the 'program' to me was great. They had lots of activities... and it was all supervised. I did love Disney though *I was 20 though* I agree w/ the above poster. The 'rotational' dinning was fun. Ummm... I LOVED the Animator's Palte... *I sounded like a little kid everytime something lit up* and Palo's was reasonable... oh... and they sure do know how to throw a 'P-A-R-T-Y' best on-deck parties I've seen of any cruise.

 

I'd love to do the Magic, cuz we did the Wonder... but RCCL is fun and I will do them again as well...

[fllady]

Just back from Mariner and thought their childrens programs were very good. The problem was after midnight when the parents were asleep and some of the children would be roaming the ship. Even the comedian made remarks about it. Reminds of the old advertisement, "its 11PM, do you know where your children are?" Only this was happening at 2-3AM.

[kenandlaura06]

Enjoy your RCCL cruise!

[FunCruiser56]

Hayesktrm-mine were 10 and 17 when we did the navigator- they kept themselves so busy! Rockclimbing, minigolf, ice skating, eating roomservice when ever they wanted, movies, swimming, basketball, shuffleboard, pingpong. They enjoyed all the pool games, although they just watched and did not participate. By day 4 there were getting worn out and actually were taking a nap in the afternoon! We also did alot of exporing on the islands we visited, we all loved the relaxing day at labadee! They enjoyed being treated like adults in the dining room and being able to order just what they liked. The 10 yr old took classes on towel animals and napkin folding with me. Both came to some of the shows with us- we let them choose (no quest for the 10 yr old thought)

 

On DCL the then 7 year old did spend a huge amount of time in the kids clubs, we could hardly get him out of them! On the Navigator while the activites offered looked fun he just was not interested in joining in and wanted to spend time with his brother and mom and dad. Now we could hardly argue with that...LOL Btother spent a good amount of time in the game room and playing basketball. He and Dad also compeated in the ping pong tournament- DAD won!

 

Both private islands were wonderful! But DCL gets a little bonus because of not having to tender in.

 

If your kids are younger go with DCL, older and teens will probably like RCI better.