Rccl Vs Disney Magic?? Please Help

[jabraun]

:) :) Hello Everyone, Just Had A Question About A Different Line. We Sailed On The Explorer Of The Seas In March 2006, And Loved It. I Have 3 Kids 16.9 And 2. We Are Hoping To Go On The Freedom In June 2007.

I Booked A Cruise On The Disney Magic. 7 Day Western In June 2006. Has Anyone Been On A Disney Cruise? Can You Tell Me Any Good Or Bad About The Line. I Know The Ship Is Smaller Than The Explorer. (83,000 Tons) Not Sure If That Will Make A Difference In Sea Sickness. I Have Only Been On The Explorer, So I Thought It Would Be Better To Ask On This Board Vs The Disney Critic Boards. Hope You Can Help With Some 411. Thanks

[Minybear]

I havent been on RCL yet (coming up in Oct) but have been on DCL a couple of times. I thought I would give you another link to the DIS: http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&forumid=9&x=7&y=10 that has lots of info on DCL.

 

I know we really loved DCL and we would love to sail on them again.

[GMoney]

Hi - I have mostly sailed RCI, but Disney is by far my favorite cruise line, that from someone who does not have kids and is not really fan of the mouse. The Magic and Wonder are beautiful ships, the entertainment is the best at sea, Castaway Cay is the best private island by far, the cabins are slightly larger and nicely appointed, and Disney does a nice job of enforcing adult only areas. Plus I LOVE the Disney horn! :D

 

The only things I really miss from RCI are the mini golf course and the perks I get as D+ on RCI.

 

I'm neutral on Disney's rotating dining rooms (some folks really love it), and I think the food is about even.

 

As far as seasickness, you generally do better on smaller ships, but the key is your location on the ship - midship and lower being the most stable places. The Caribbean is pretty calm to begin with, and you can control seasickness through meds. I'm not prone to it, so it doesn't factor into my cruising.

 

I will be on the inaugural Freedom cruise, and that will be fun, but I'd pick Disney any day. Have a great time!

[Baseballkurt]

I'm sorry but the family went on a Disney cruise (4 day) 2 years ago and the kids did not like it much. They were at the time DS 12 and DD 9. They liked the cruising but not the Disney theme. Son also got GI (Norovirus) and had to stay in the room for half the cruise(we had ins. got 1600 back). They just felt that it was for younger kids. I devorced now and going on the EOS with new girlfriend in December. I will book a cruise for them to go on in a few years when they are older.

[YANKEE914]

We will be sailing on our first RCCL ship, the Explorer next summer. We have been on three Disney cruises and have sailed the Western itinerary twice. I can't say enough great things about that ship. We loved it every time and believed it was worth the price. Especially with the ages of your kids, they will not be bored. The children's programs were terrific and Palo is not to be missed. The entertainment was first rate and there were activities for all age groups. My husband and I enjoyed the beer and wine tasting and I went to some presentations where they showed you how to cook a dish or make towel animals. Again, something for everyone, you won't be disappointed. Go on to disboards.com and you can get a ton of information. Good luck.

[bigsky]

Been on Carnival, Royal and Disney..

Personally for us and our teens, we won't do Disney again. The Voyager class, (we went on the Mariner) I think is great for kids too.

We did a pkg of WDW/ and the cruise. We were so sick of Disney before we got off. Toooooooo many kids...the buffet area to me was so congested all the time. The shows of course r all Disney. To me the cruise is of course dedicated to Disney which is fine...but I would have enjoyed some diff. shows. With non meal times, I didn't care for the selection of food on Disney...hot dogs, hamb, fries...(kiddie food)

I'm sure your 2 yr. old would enjoy it.

This is so subjective...what one would like, another may not. I can only really say the difference. The teen club at the time on Disney, they didn't like. We went on the Wonder...which is the 4 day since we also did WDW...but it's the exact same layout/ship...just diff. themes I guess.

For us, we'd never do a Disney cruise again. We didnt' take our kids on the Mariner, but saw that many things they would have enjoyed. Teen's having a ball...ice skating, rock climbing, golfing....

If everyone LOVES Disney, maybe you'll like it....to me, it was a "kiddie" cruise. And you're going to pay a heavy price for the Disney name. :rolleyes:

When we were booking ours and planning of it all, I also went on the Disboards......they're die hard Disney fans. You know what they'll say about going..But if you decide to do a Disney cruise, it's a wonderful site and they're full of info.

The best part for us was Palo's! Adult only dining..

[Huntermedal]

Hi,

we did Disney in it's first year & then 2 7 day eastern, we have done Mariner & Grandeur both western & we are going Mariner next month. Both lines are different as our DD got older Royal had more to offer, she was 9,11 & 12 when we went Disney.

Disney famous for service & no exception, 3 resturants are wonderful as is the adults only pool. We didn't feel that the kids were in the way, actually it's fun watching them. Your oldest may get a little boarded.

Royal has more to offer your oldest, don't know about the younger ones. Both lines have the areas they do better in, but it's a cruise so have fun & enjoy the experience.

KC

[joannetk]

We were on Disney Magic when DS was 7 and on the Navigator when he was 9. We loved Disney, great food, Palo is wonderful, Castaway Cay is amazing, loved the shows, and the Disney service can't be beat. My son preferred Adventure Ocean over Disney kids club. He might have liked Disney better if he was in the older group, he was actually in a room with 3 - 7 year olds. He spent most of the time with us, which was fine. On Navigator, we could not keep him out of Adventure Ocean. He would rush through dinner so he could be there when they opened at 7 pm. That might have to do with his age at the time. The Adventure Ocean staff (all or most) had degrees in education and were better able to deal with children's issues. They were wonderful with the kids!

 

The Navigator had a lot more to do for older kids and adults (ice skating, mini golf, rock climbing, etc) and the ship is much bigger. The Navigator is absolutely beautiful and we loved the promenade and the cafe. Chops was not as good as Palo and after being to Castaway Cay, Labadee was a disappointment. I thought Disney had better food and better service. The cabin was a little bigger on Disney and the split bathroom was great. Disney was more $$, but it was worth it. All things considered, we would choose Royal Caribbean next time and we are already booked for the AOS. We enjoyed Disney and would like to go again, but right now Royal Caribbean is better for us. If you have very young children (under 5), Disney might be better for you as it is geared toward younger children (character breakfast, character appearances, nice childrens pool and slide). Good Luck, you will enjoy whichever one you choose.

[Merion_Mom]

Casino :D

[awatt]

We liked DCL- best private island, Palo is wonderful,best meal we've had at sea. Very cheerful staff all around.

 

But we prefer RC for several reasons. Food similar but dining room service much better in our experience on RC. More adult evening entertainment. Kids were better controlled- there were 1000 kids on the Magic and you felt it, plenty of them not too well-behaved, And finally, price. DCL was sigificantly more expensive, and I don't think it was any better for the premium we paid.

 

Kids liked Adventure Ocean better. Also the rock-climning was a big hit with my oldest daughter. Newer ships have the ice-skating and more.

 

We liked both, and would cruise either again, but given a choice would choode RC. And I love Disney world, so you'd think I'd prefer DCL. Good luck and have a great time.

[johnjen]

Ugh! RCL all the way for me! I have heard way too many stories about too many little kids running around, eating breakfast and then Mickey pops in WAY too many times, soggy diapers and the odors in the dining areas....let the Disney gang keep their boats, goofy, Mickey, and good luck to all of them! The main reason we'd never do a Disney cruise is because our kids are in their teens, and we've been to Disneyworld more times than we can sing "it's a small world" over and over and over again....

but if you have little kids, OP, bring them! Not sure how you're 16yo would appreciate it though, but mine wouldn't be too happy!

[luv2travel29]

Julie: I just got off explorer on april 23 and am now booking DCL magic for next year. i loved explorer and hope DCL is just as good.... if not, i will be back to RCCL. i have heard people rave about it, so i am sure it is really nice. good luck !

[rsinj]

We've been on both Disney and RCL.

 

The first time on Disney was wonderful. Our daughter was young enough to really enjoy it thoroughly, and it was an experience for us as parents. Mind you, we visit Disney in FL twice a year aside from that.

 

However, the second time, when we went on the 7 day cruise, it was a bit much for me. By about the 5th day, I had enough and was ready to go home. Don't get me wrong, the service on DCL is wonderful, but, I'd just gotten to the point of seeing enough mob scenes around characters and needing a bit of something else/more.

 

We went on the Voyager August last year and we all had an amazing trip. For the price of the Category 7 on DCL, we were able to get an Owners Suite. With RCL, it is geared more towards the entire family - both young and old. Our daughter went ice skating and we couldn't get her off the ice! We did the rock wall together and had a great time. The mini golf - no big deal - but, it was outdoors, we could all do it as a family, and it was interesting doing it while looking out over the seas.

 

Again, I have nothing against Disney, the service is first class, and they do things the Disney way - however, for the same price, I can get a better cabin on just about any other cruise line. We're still "new" to cruising, but, I know what I like.

 

No matter which way you go, you'll have a wonderful time.

 

Enjoy!

 

Howard

[42trvl]

Our Disney cruise was very nice (we have two kids). Nice cabins - we had a suite, great service, good food, etc. BUT, even being fans of Disney, I will readily pick RCI after our Mariner experience over Disney. I guess you really need to try for yourself, but we found the whole thing a bit much and that was only after one of their shorter cruises. I really don't like the fact on Disney that you either have to be with the kids or adults only. Some of us have kids who enjoy the quiet and more peaceful settings, and we like spending time with them in those environments. Disney does not give you that option. By day three we had enough of the constant noise and "kid activity" level. When we're in the mood for Disney we just take a land based trip to Orlando. If you're curious to try, however, I don't think you'll be disappointed - it's still a very nice cruise. Just think about what you're looking for in your cruise vacation experience...

[travellady]

We sailed Voyager before DCL with my then 10 year old son. He was 11 when we sailed DCL and honestly, he didn't care much for it. Felt it was too kiddish and had way more fun in Voyager's Adventure Ocean club.

 

My husband loved DCL but then again, he really admires Walt and the mouse :-). We felt food on DCL was equal to not as good as RCCL. But, we loved rotating through different dining rooms on DCL.

 

Bottom line, for us, we have no plans to sail DCL again. The cost is much higher than a comparable cabin on RCCL, and we find more to do on RCCL, including the Casino.

 

Our next family cruise is RCCL's Explorer the week before Christmas. Total for an E1 balcony, 7 day cruise, is $2900.00 for the 3 of us. The Magic, a 10 day cruise leaving a day earlier, equitable balcony (Navigators is the lowest of the balcony cabins) is $8697.00 for the 3 of us. So, can't really compare a 10 day to a 7 day but, if you break it down to a per day cost, the Magic is 869.00 per day for 3 compared to Explorer's 421.00 per day.

 

Wow, I personally don't feel the Disney Magic is worth double the cost over the Explorer. That's my take anyway.

[Tys Mom]

We took a 7 day cruise on the Magic last year during spring break. We loved it and hope to be able to take another some day. Although it was during spring break and the ship was full of kids, we did not experience any unsupervised unruly child episodes, & no excessive noise in the hallways. My son, 10 years old at the time, loved it. He did not spend time in the childrens club, but played at the pool. We loved seeing first-run Disney movies in the theater. And as far as I am concerned, a casino on a ship is wasted space. We were happy to see that Disney left this feature of cruising out. The main resturant was pretty busy at lunch, but there is also at least one of the other resturants open which we found not very crowded. And then there is the grill for burgers, fries and dogs, and the pizzeria open on the pool deck. There is plenty of selection, not just burgers as previously mentioned. We can't complain about characters everywhere, either. There were times and places where the characters would be to sign autographs and for pictures that was listed in the evening newsletter. If you don't go to these places, you don't see the characters. They don't "mingle" except at the sail away party, The ship was in tip-top shape and exceptionally clean. The service was outstanding and the food was incredible. The ship's staff is attentive to every detail, right down to the "Welcome Home" banner hanging on the side of the ship that greets you when you return to the ship when in port. Admittedly, I am not a seasoned cruiser, but I do know quality when I see it. Disney is more expensive, but worth every penny. We are cruising on the Enchantment this summer and I hope we won't be too hard to please after being spoiled by Disney.;) I did read in the Disney Cruise boards that most loyal Disney cruisers would pick Royal Caribbean as their second choice, so I am looking forward to our up coming cruise.:) Bottom line is that you probably can't go wrong with either one.

[Disneycruisers]

You'll receive (already have, actually, LOL) many varying opinions on this.

 

Our family loves both cruise lines. My OWN preference is DCL. I thought Palo was much better than Portofino's, and the whole family preferred the rotational dining. We all thought the dining room food better was better on DCL. (Even the breakfast buffet. I love the Mickey Mouse waffles!) There is also a brunch at Palo available on the sea days that does not compare to ANY cruise line food (IMHO.) We also thought DCL's 'Pirate Night' (this is newer than the old DCL 'tropicali and mexicali' nights folks) blows the competition out of the water. (pun intended.) Pirates actually appear out of nowhere (don't want to spoil too much) on night of the deck party, which ends in a FIREWORKS show. (DCL is the only cruiseline licensed to do this.) I can't say enough.

 

Yes, DCL does have more kids than other cruise lines, but it never was an issue for us. Each time we sail, we have a better time than our previous DCL trip. I would give it one try before your younger kids get too much older (though some teens love it.) I haven't been through the teen years yet with our DD, but I'm sure that RCCL appeals more to teens.

 

DH and 11 year-old DD loved RCCL too. There are so many activities which cater to the tweens and teens. We had a fabulous time on the Explorer over spring break, and look forward to RCCL next spring break. (And DCL next Thanksgiving.) Good luck deciding. They're BOTH great!

[cmich068]

It depends on your kids.

 

your 2 year old would probably enjoy the disney characters and stuff.

For your 16 year old, i'd personally recommend that you take either Freedom ots, Navigator ots, or Mariner ots. These ships have the best teen facilities in RCCL's fleet, and they may even be better than Disney's (i havn't been on a DCL ship, but based on pictures i've seen, i much prefer the RCCL facilities)

 

-your neighbourhood teenage cruiser.

[logan1_2000]

Which do you prefer? Steak or Lobster? Did you choose Steak? If so, does that mean Lobster sucks?

 

I've been on 4 Disney Cruises, 2 were 4 niters, 2 were 7 niters. Have another one booked Xmas 2007. Have been on 3 RCI Cruises, with 2 more booked, including Voyager class booked and have been on the Radiance. Loved all of these cruises.

 

Here's our experiences--we loved the entertainment on Disney much more than the musical revue type of show on RCI. Its DW and myself and DS, whose age at the times of the Disney cruises were 6, 6, 8 and 9, and he was cruised on the Radiance when he was 9. His preference for future cruises is "either" with a request to try the voyager class when cruising RCI.

 

Our subjective opinion is that dining room food in the rotational restaurants on Disney was better than the RCI dining rooms, Windjammer marketplaces on Radiance and Enchantment surpassed the Disney buffet restaurants. The specialty restaurants were all enjoyable on both lines. Standard oversized rooms on Disney very comfortable, though we've been crowded really only as the two of us on the Empress (tiny!).

 

Disney does a great job enforcing the adult only areas. The characters really were not rampant--they were in defined, scheduled areas for the most part, and since DS did not care about autographs or meeting princesses, we never got stuck on a long line waiting to meet cinderella or any of the others (we have waited on lines for formal pics, though, on both ships).

 

We've only done room service on Disney and in very limited fashion, it was fine.

 

The Radiance and Enchantment and the Disney ships were all magnficent. DS never liked the Disney clubs much, the programming was a bit sedate for him, he has always been sports minded, and he preferred to hang out at the basketball court of whatever ship he was on--but at night he did play PS2 on the big screen in the oceaneers lab until closing time as an 8 year old with the kids up to age 11 or 12.

 

We've enjoyed Coco Cay, but Castaway Cay we enjoyed more. Disney service tends to be more customer pleasing in our experience than RCI.

 

We have done wine tasting and towel animal classes on DS and kitchen tours, too. I dont care for Disney World much, but the cruise line is a very happy family friendly place. And we loved our Royal Caribbean cruises. Is the mouse a bit much? It wasn't for me, and I'm not a Disney freak--to me there was nothing wrong with a single character breakfast, a handful of disney themed shows with happy endings and very high level talent, and okay, so once in a while you walk down a pbulic area hallways and you pass goofy--so smile, wave, and say "hi goofy" and enjoy. I dont like when folks trash things because things are not their favorite. If you dont like seafood, enjoy the steak, but dont say lobster sucks. And if lobster is your favorite dish, dont say steak is not good. Lots of kids on Disney, yes, but we saw more unsupervised youths on RCI on the Radiance than on the Disney Magic or Wonder.

 

Both RCI and DCL are wonderful cruise experiences. I have a sports minded boy who is now 10 and he is looking forward to taking his next Disney cruise when he will be 11, and his next two RCI cruises at 10 and 12. I endorse both cruise lines, they are different but both very high quality vacations.

[jdmaillet]

We've done two Disney cruises, Wonder (4 day) and Magic (7 day). We absolutely loved both. I was shocked to read a few posts about stinky diapers, rampant children, characters everywhere. This was absolutely not our experience.

 

My DH was a little leary before going worrying about just those things. He enjoyed our 4 day cruise so much he was happy to do a 7 day a couple of years later. Disney is a class act. Quality ship, service, shows etc. I didn't feel overwhelmed by the Mouse at all. Just the opposite. We found it very relaxing. It was fun for us to see an occassional character popping around a corner or strolling down the hall.

 

Having said that, we are trying the Navigator in Feb. DD is going to be 14 and we want to try something with more activities for her. Also, the $$$ Disney is charging is getting too steep for us. And, last- we just want to try something new!! I have to say though DD had a hard time making a choice because at any age she knows she enjoys the Disney cruise!! We are hoping RCL will be as much fun for us. I'm sure with either line, you'll enjoy!!

 

Jenn

[cruz1234]

We have also done both lines. Did DCL when DD was 6 and 8. both times were great. Loved the cabins, they are just set up so nicely and the split bathrooms can't be beat! DD loved the kids club and wanted to spend most of her time there :) They were open until about 1 am! No extra charges after 10 on DCL, but RCI charges for kids in Adv. Ocean after 10 pm. At age 8 my DD was wanting to stay until midnight. Castaway Cay is great, docks right at the island, no tender, that is really nice. The teen club on DCL had shore excursions, for the teens only and I have heard that their teen programs are really good. We have done RCI lately and DD really likes it too. I think that the teens have ALOT of Freedom on RCI and they seem to roam about more, maybe that is ture on DCL too, but they don't really seem to have any kind of organized activites, or maybe it's just that the teens are not interested. But I did not see the teens roaming on Disney. DCL does enforce adult only areas, whereas RCI doesn't seem to enforce anything. I really like RCI but I think they are way more lax than DCL. If you are going at a time when kids are on vacation RCI will have alot of older teens and young adults, they take over the pool areas and at night seem to be in all the hot tubs and all seem to be drinking. We did not find that on DCL. My DD still loves DCL theme, not the charaters but just the overall Disney feel, so she would enjoy it. If your teen likes Disney they should enjoy the DCL.

[42trvl]

While I earlier stated that as a family, we preferred RCI to DCL, the one thing that really bothers me about RCI (and is bugging me more and more as we have a cruise coming up on NOS soon) is the lack of anything structured for teens, especially the younger end - 12-14. As the parent of a 13 year old, who is at a "trying" stage with us in terms of asserting herself and her independence it was last year, and I expect will be again this year, quite a struggle to stay on top of her and what she did. While we were quite strict with our rules and supervision of her (much to her discontent), there were always large groups of unsupervised teens roaming around, playing with elevators, and hanging in places that were not the best, among other things. While a supervised program will not stop this completely as kids are not required to participate, if they offered something at least it would be an alternative for some and take away the temptation for kids like ours to do what "everyone else is doing," since they would have some other options. While RCI did list a schedule of activities for that age group, it really ended up being just a loose idea of when the kids could go up there to find each other, then they'd take off to do their own thing. Rarely did we see any of the activites actually being held. Our upcoming cruise is more of an extended family type trip, so our kids will be busy with relatives. However, this reason alone may be incentive enough to try DCL again in the future...:rolleyes:

[XxCrazee4CruisinxX]

DISNEY IS AMAZING! i absolutely loved it. i think i am going to try RCI next, thats why i am here, but really its so magical.

[RobInMN]

We did Disney last October (Magic - 7 Day Eastern) and just returned from Mariner Western.

 

Here is how we would compare the 2:

 

Advantage DCL:

1) Operation of the kids programs. Computerized check in/out, pagers. Late night not extra $$, continuous hours.

2) The snack bar at the pool (food, hours & location)

3) Food in general

4) The Spa setup with the lockerrooms & lounge (plus I thought my hot stone massage was better).

5) Handling of my DD's Dairy Allergy (I will have anoth post on this later this week)

6) Room size a little larger.

7) Enforcing adult only areas.

8) Fresh water pool

9) Free soft drinks.

10) quality of the stage shows.

11) Shows always opposite other seating time (ie, 6:30 dinner/8:00 show or 6:30 show/8:00 dinner). Late seating never had a 10:30 show.

 

Advantage RCCL (Voyager class):

1) SIZE! So much more to do & wander & hang out.

2) Mini-golf, rockwall, ice rink, etc.

3) Better Arcade (it's huge!)

4) Excursions (more? better - Dolphin SWIM, PADI certification).

5) Solarium (nicer than DCL's Adult Area)

6) Ice Show

7) Promanade

8) Better and more bars.

9) Cigar room

10) computer room better.

11) Size & Variety on buffet.

12) Stuff for Teens - Teen only areas.

13) Possibly the actual activities in the kid's programs.

 

-- Rob