Disney vs. Royal

[Markw]

I've had a unique cruise summer having sailed both RCCL and Disney on 7 night Caribbean Cruises in the past 2 months. We are a family of 4 with 2 young sons ages 9 & 6. We have sailed 8 RCCL cruises and are 1 away from Diamond. I am a big supporter of Royal and was skeptical and attentive to every difference I could think of. After a week on Disney Fantasy I have to say that the quality is a bit better on Disney and it's worth paying a little more for. I'll be back to post some of what I thought were the main differences. Obviously having kids plays a big factor in my point of view but I feel Disney just does it a little better even If traveling without children.

[maureencruiser]

When you say paying a little more, could you be more specific? I travel solo and when I have looked at Disney, they've always been at least twice as much. Thanks for the info.

[Duke Mazer]

A little more...... Not sure what kind of deal you got, but it is significantly more. Would love to do Disney and I think my Daughter would love it. I'm not paying almost double. I can't see the food, shows and service being twice as good.

[jticarruthers]

I would concur with OP that the Disney product is worth paying a little more for, however, Disney usually charges a lot more so we have historically done mostly Royal with a couple of Disney "deals" where we got a good price thrown in the mix.

[Sharon Sails]

If you're a Floridian, and you're lucky, you CAN get a decent deal on Disney - but it seems a rare occurrence to me. Last year I took my two daughters and their boys on a three day cruise for $1800 per cabin with balcony. That was cheap - this year in July it would be more like $3,000. We loved Disney, but it is definitely a lot more expensive than RCI.

[BonTexasNY]

I would concur with OP that the Disney product is worth paying a little more for, however, Disney usually charges a lot more so we have historically done mostly Royal with a couple of Disney "deals" where we got a good price thrown in the mix.

 

I would love to try Disney even with our daughter grown, out of the house with children of her own. Rates are always prohibitive, for us anyway, when compared to RCI.

[LuCruise]

Am always interested in Disney vs Royal posts since I've travelled both and so can relate. I think both are excellent cruises but they are different. We are going on the Allure next year and I have to agree with the other comments that the cost different isn't just a "little" more....and this is extra true if you are Canadian and have to convert the Disney cost to Canadian dollars. When we compared the Allure RCL with Disney Fantasy it was $3000 more to go on Disney. Both look like amazing cruises for our kids and so we went with Allure.

I do think that Disney cruise is great to do at least once if you can with kids. But I know others don't agree, but I surely don't think that the cost is worth it for adults as the ship is so kid centered.

[karen&roy]

I've had a unique cruise summer having sailed both RCCL and Disney on 7 night Caribbean Cruises in the past 2 months. We are a family of 4 with 2 young sons ages 9 & 6. We have sailed 8 RCCL cruises and are 1 away from Diamond. I am a big supporter of Royal and was skeptical and attentive to every difference I could think of. After a week on Disney Fantasy I have to say that the quality is a bit better on Disney and it's worth paying a little more for. I'll be back to post some of what I thought were the main differences. Obviously having kids plays a big factor in my point of view but I feel Disney just does it a little better even If traveling without children.

 

Maybe but I would miss not having a casino on Disney :eek:

[grest]

We've just booked a Disney cruise for us and DD and family....the cost is crazy, but this is a once in a lifetime experience with the 4 and 7 year old grandkids.

[dixielady]

I have sailed 4 Disney and this will be my first Royal cruise next year. I am looking forward to trying Royal and am sure I will have a fabulous cruise however, hubby and I already are talking about planning our next Disney cruise after this. We Just love our Disney experience when we go and that is what keeps us going back to cruise with them.

[orville99]

When we started cruising again in 2006 we cruised exclusively on Disney. On our budget we could afford 2 cruises a year. When we switched to RCL in 2010 we had 8 Disney cruises (5 Magic/3 Wonder) In the past five years (same budget) We've averaged 5 RCL cruises/year. It all adds up over time. We just got off of our 9th Disney cruise, and quite honestly it was disappointing. We willl sail them again next fall, but prefer the way that RCL ships are designed to maximize public areas and spread out the passengers. WE never feel crowded on RCL. We never felt alone on Disney.

[John&LaLa]

Maybe but I would miss not having a casino on Disney :eek:

 

Deal killer for Laura as well. The fireworks are a big plus, though

[yj2cute]

I recently went on my first Disney cruise, sans kid. While the quality is evident, I don't recommend for those without kids. I felt bored a lot of the time as the evening adult activities are sparse and poorly attended. Bars empty in the evening and "adult" comedy PG 13 at best. I can see how those with kids would love it but since I'm past that stage of my life, RCCL is definitely a better fit.

[swales]

When it comes to service there's no comparison, Disney is far superior to RCCL. I've done numerous cruises on both and just did 14 days on RCCL and the employees on RCCL just seem miserable. I know they don't have dream jobs but you're in a customer service industry so just try smiling for once. The customer service desk were the worst for not smiling and not helping...lol Of course there are exceptions and some RCCL staff go out of their way for you but there were far more that won't. On Disney I've never encountered one employee that I seemed to be bothering if I had a question or request (maybe I've just been lucky). Yes the cost is more but my family just prefers the Disney quality and service over RCCL.

[TomAceEsq]

Went on a Disney cruise when I was 19, and on my first RC cruise this past March at 31. I'm sure things have changed in 11 years, but I still prefer Disney.

 

I agree with everyone. The jump in fare is quite more than a little.

[FloatMe]

Looking forward to the rest of your experience, because we will eventually do a Disney cruise (no kids). But I do have to agree almost every time I look at a Disney cruise it is 150% to 200% the cost of a comparable (cabin type, ship, itinerary) as RC. I would expect the service to be considerably better. Just as I would expect service to be considerably better on celebrity which cost wise is a much better comparison.

[orville99]

When it comes to service there's no comparison, Disney is far superior to RCCL. I've done numerous cruises on both and just did 14 days on RCCL and the employees on RCCL just seem miserable. I know they don't have dream jobs but you're in a customer service industry so just try smiling for once. The customer service desk were the worst for not smiling and not helping...lol Of course there are exceptions and some RCCL staff go out of their way for you but there were far more that won't. On Disney I've never encountered one employee that I seemed to be bothering if I had a question or request (maybe I've just been lucky). Yes the cost is more but my family just prefers the Disney quality and service over RCCL.

 

If your Disney experience was from 2007 or 2008, I would agree with this. Unfortunately, the worst customer service we've ever experienced in more than 50 cruises was on the Disney Magic this May. Orders of magnitude below what we were used to in our previous eight Disney cruises. Other than Guest Services, everyone else seemed to be in a deep funk all week. On the promenade deck, there were only 8 deck chairs and 5 of them were broken, and when we pointed that out at GS, the five broken chairs were just moved from the port side of the ship to the starboard side of the ship. I guess they figured we wouldn't find them over there:confused:

[FloatMe]

Maybe but I would miss not having a casino on Disney :eek:

No casino? My interest was just cut in half, kind of like the fare if you sail RC instead. [emoji5]

[rudeney]

I just priced out two cruses for October 2016, both out of Port Canaveral, Western Caribbean routes. An OS on RCCL Freedom is about $6500, where a 1BR Suite on DCL is about $10K. So DCL is about 50% higher than RCCL. That seems to be in line with what we found in the past. We took DCL 4-night I a 1BR in Sept. 2006 for just over $4K, then a year later, a 7-night on RCCL GS was just over $5K.

 

In terms of staterooms, having enjoyed both, I would say the closest match to a DCL 1BR is an RCCL OS, but even then, there are a lot of trade-offs on the RCCL room. The DCL 1BR has a totally separate bedroom with it's own bathroom (tub + shower) and walk-in closet. The living area is totally separate with both a Murphy bed and queen sleeper soda. Plus a separate closet (as large as the only closet in the RCCL OS) AND a 2nd bathroom (small, with shower only). Overall, the interior room square footage of the DCL 1BR is smaller, but the space is utilized much better. As for other staterooms categories, most on DCL offer split bathrooms where the tub/shower and commode are in separate rooms, each with a sink. For staterooms, I'd choose DCL.

 

As for onboard I actually found that RCCL wins there with things like the rock wall, Flowrider, casino and promenade. I prefer the décor of DCL, but RCCL is nice, too, just different styles. DCL seems to keep up with popular decorating trends a little better. I thought the food on DCL was much better - both in the MDR and premium restaurants. The crew on DCL might have been slightly better, but we really had great experiences with the crew on RCCL, too. The check-in and boarding experiences were much better with DCL. From the moment we stepped into the port, we were treated like royalty. With RCCL, even being suite guests, it was just not as magical. Not having young children (gosh, the granddaughter is turning 21 for our upcoming October cruise!) I'd choose RCCL. With young children who might enjoy the Disney touch more, then DCL probably wins by a hair, but if you are on a budget, I'm not sure it's worth to 50% premium.

[swales]

If your Disney experience was from 2007 or 2008, I would agree with this. Unfortunately, the worst customer service we've ever experienced in more than 50 cruises was on the Disney Magic this May. Orders of magnitude below what we were used to in our previous eight Disney cruises. Other than Guest Services, everyone else seemed to be in a deep funk all week. On the promenade deck, there were only 8 deck chairs and 5 of them were broken, and when we pointed that out at GS, the five broken chairs were just moved from the port side of the ship to the starboard side of the ship. I guess they figured we wouldn't find them over there:confused:

 

Nope, last Disney Cruise was last summer on the Magic and not a single problem, unlike the last 2 cruises on RCCL

[orville99]

Nope, last Disney Cruise was last summer on the Magic and not a single problem, unlike the last 2 cruises on RCCL

 

Presumably one of those was the quinceanaera cruise on Adventure out of San Juan;) Just goes to show that service can go up and down like the humidity on any line. As I stated, we were accustomed to good service on Disney, because when we stopped sailing them in 2010, it was consistently exceptional. The service on our May 2015 Magic cruise flat out sucked by comparison.

[coldflame]

After a week on Disney Fantasy I have to say that the quality is a bit better on Disney and it's worth paying a little more for.

 

I think you misspelled 'a lot'. The difference between DCL and RCCL can be in the thousands of dollars. If your income is such that couple of thousand dollars doesn't make a difference, then you probably fall in their demographic. Their prices have increased pretty dramatically in the last 3 years and now you can't find a 7-nighter in balcony rooms for less than $6000 (and in October/low season).

[orville99]

I think you misspelled 'a lot'. The difference between DCL and RCCL can be in the thousands of dollars. If your income is such that couple of thousand dollars doesn't make a difference, then you probably fall in their demographic. Their prices have increased pretty dramatically in the last 3 years and now you can't find a 7-nighter in balcony rooms for less than $6000 (and in October/low season).

 

Give them a few hours, and the prices will go up. Their booking engine is currently "undergoing maintenance" which usually means they shut it down while they raise all of their prices. What I find fascinating is that we did a mock booking on Disney Fantasy for next May, and the difference between a cat 11c interior and a cat 7a balcony was only $140, and for what we would have paid for a cat 7a would have gotten us a JS on Freedom:eek:

 

Sail Disney in their lowest category interior or sail FOS in a Suite for an extra $140...HMMM...what to choose...Oh the dilemma;)

[board57796]

I enjoy reading RCCL vs Disney, and have written one myself. As you can see from my signature I've done many DCL. However, thanks to previous employment by Disney (Parks), I enjoy rates significantly LOWER than Royal Caribbean.

Edited July 23, 2015 by board57796

[Sandy Sails]

DH and I did a Disney cruise in 2010 (we don't have kids) with his brother and his wife. DH and BIL are avid Disney fans. SIL and I tolerate.

We could only afford an inside cabin - my first and last. However, the entertainment was amazing on Disney! And there's an adult cabaret section for late night entertainment that was so much fun. The only time we noticed alot of kids was during dinner. Otherwise, they seem to keep the kids and adults separated pretty well.

Was it worth the extra money? Eh, maybe. Glad we did it, probably won't do it again. Gotta have my balcony!