RCCL vs Disney

[Wikinger]

Hi Folks,

I'm new to these boards as after five cruises on the Disney Magic my wife and I intend to use another cruiseline for our vacation on the waves and so the Disney-boards didn't seem to be the right choice to get unbiased info.

Has anyone cruised with RCCL and DCL and would so be able to point out what they did like better in comparison?

We're thinking about going to the Caribbean and/or the Canal-area next year.

Any input is appreciated.

[Boo Boo]

Hi Folks,

I'm new to these boards as after five cruises on the Disney Magic my wife and I intend to use another cruiseline for our vacation on the waves and so the Disney-boards didn't seem to be the right choice to get unbiased info.

Has anyone cruised with RCCL and DCL and would so be able to point out what they did like better in comparison?

We're thinking about going to the Caribbean and/or the Canal-area next year.

Any input is appreciated.

 

You think that you will get an un-biased view on the RCCL board instead? ;)

 

I have cruised once with Disney (my first ever cruise, 7 night Eastern Caribbean on the Disney Magic in 2001) and twice on RCCL (a 4 night Mexico cruise on Monarch-of-the-Seas in May 2005 and a 7 night Western Caribbean on Mariner-of-the-Seas in October 2006). Have just (last week) booked a 7 night Western Caribbean on Liberty-of-the-Seas for this coming September. We have also sailed on Princess and Holland America Lines. We are a couple in our early 30s, no children at the moment. You didn't say if you had children or not (and, if so, what their ages were).

 

If I was you, I would DEFINITELY try another cruise line - just for variety and "something new" as much as anything else.

 

We really enjoyed Disney - it was our first cruise and AMAZING. The whole Disney themed thing ws cute and it was great that they had "adult only" areas (like pools and a restaurant). BUT we were left wanting something a little more "grown-up" and a little less kid-oriented. That is why we tried other cruise lines and haven't returned to Disney yet. It doesn't mean that I wont cruise Disney again, but I will probably wait until we have kids and they are old enough (5/6/7) to appreciate it.

 

If I was you, I would look at some of RCCL bigger/newer ships (i.e. Liberty/Freedom/Mariner) and you will be BLOWN AWAY if you cruise on them. They are amazingly beautiful ships (inside and out), they are huge and they have so muh to offer (dining and activity-wise).

 

If you can't live without the mouse everywhere, then stick with Disney. If you can, then try another cruise like - RCCL Mariner-of-the-Seas was our best cruise to date.

 

Have fun choosing, planning and sailing :)

 

Boo

[big al]

Hi Folks,

I'm new to these boards as after five cruises on the Disney Magic my wife and I intend to use another cruiseline for our vacation on the waves and so the Disney-boards didn't seem to be the right choice to get unbiased info.

Has anyone cruised with RCCL and DCL and would so be able to point out what they did like better in comparison?

We're thinking about going to the Caribbean and/or the Canal-area next year.

Any input is appreciated.

 

Wikinger-We are Platinum RCL cruisers(5+ cruises) and we sailed on the Disney Wonder last May and LOVED IT......

 

The biggest difference if you cruise on either the Freedom class or Voyager class ships is the size and the options.....we love options and these ships have plenty..we just cruised on the Freedom of The Seas in Nov.,and she was amazing......just the Royal Promenade and pool areas are worth it......food is not generally as good as Disney (I thought) in the main dining rooms,but if you try Chops & Portifinos ($20 pp each),you won't be dissappointed...entertainment is plentiful on RCL big ships,especially the ice-skating show(don't miss it),but we thought the Disney production shows were THE best we've ever seen at sea....

 

Of course the other big difference is that RCL has casinos....we didn't miss no casinos on Disney,because the shows kept us entertained....you will love RCL,especially if you try the Freedom ships(Freedom & Liberty in May),or the Navigator,and the Mariner of the Seas...Radiance ships are beautiful,but offer less in amenities.....Good luck....any questions,let me know....

 

Big Al

[boingy300]

It depends on who is cruising. If I had children younger than 10, I'd return to Disney. But we have 12-13 year old boys with lots of energy, so it's RCCL now . There is no competing with a rock wall,mini golf and ice skating- at sea. The other thing I was discouraged about with Disney was the way they walked around selling flashy toys ($20 a toy!) on the pool deck. I felt there was constant gouging, but can fairly say ALL cruise lines do it in one way or another. Disney was very "grand", and it was fun. But for us, the best value/activities and fun is RCCL. If someone is a big Disney fan, I'd strongly recommend Disney. The shows were fabulous, and so was their private island!

Karen

If this is a double post I'm sorry Cruise critic has been slow and I keep timing out!

[Boo Boo]

Also, I THINK that RCCL TENDS to be cheaper than Disney - so you could either save money or stay in a better category cabin for the same money or do a longer cruise for the same money.

 

The higher cagetories (outside and above?) on Disney have a "split" bathroom - i.e. bath/shower & sink seperate to WC & sink: this can be very handy (although they are small). On RCCL, you will have only one, bigger bathroom.

 

Boo

[MrPete]

Both have NICE SHIPS!

 

Although it was nice having mostly EVERYTHING DISNEY on DCL, trying RCCL will open so many more options of things to do.

 

The only thing we didn't like on DCL was the food and choices.

 

The staterooms, unfortunately, are no comparison. I love the layout of DCL, including the double baths. I was very disappointed in the cot like beds on RCCL, but I understand they are upgrading them.

 

And one drawback will be no visit to CASTAWAY CAY. :(

[dunmowin]

We did Disney 5 times before we found Royal Caribbean and have not gone back to Disney. I agree with the above post that if you have younger children then they will LOVE Disney. The only time I think of Disney while sailing on Royal Caribbean is when at the pool......The Chicken Fingers/hamburgers/pizza and hot dogs served poolside is so nice. Much more convienient than having to go to the Windjammer for lunch.

[jules815]

I agree with the other poster about whether or not you cruise with your children. I've never sailed on Disney, but hear that it's lovely. We have teenagers, and sailed on Mariner last summer, and are going back again (western route this time) in June. We really had a nice time - loved everything about it. Also, Mariner is drydocking this spring, and will be getting all new bedding, which will be nice. (We really had no complaints about the bedding though - slept like a baby every night!)

[01821]

We have cruised on both. As others have pointed out Disney is more $$$, but we did enjoy the changing of dining rooms along with the super wait staff. (Both Disney cruises it was just my sister and I, no kids. I thought we'd find it more casual.)The split bathrooms were a plus getting ready for dinner, showering, etc.

But RC is more to our taste as we had fun in the casino, loved the adult only Solarium, the promenade and our JS on deck 10 was the most convenient location ever. Just seems like more to see and do, never get to do it all.

[MargaritaPlease]

We've done both... Here are my thoughts...

• Food: In general, I thought Disney's was a bit higher quality in the main dining rooms. Both lines have comparable "Premium" restaurants. Disney's dining room rotation was a thrill the first time and still pleasant the second. Disney's free soda and pool-side snacks and ice cream were sorely missed on RC.
  
• Service: Here again, I thought the Disney folks tried a little bit harder to have a smile and a "let me help you" attitude. They made a point of emphasizing their pride in service.
  
• Kid's Camps: In this area where you might expect Disney to excel, I thought it was a pretty close call. Smaller groups on RC were nice and my kids seemed to enjoy the activities more.
  
• Activities: Disney's are, as you might expect, much more oriented toward younger cruisers. RC has more activities for adults and older kids. The Casino is fun too!
  
• Cabins: Yup, we agree Disney's was nicer.
  
• Shows: Disney's are a thrill for the kids and for the kids at heart. I thought RC's were pretty uneven - some very good, others pretty lame.
  
• Cost: You'll certainly save some $$$ on RC. Both lines seem to push the usual cost enhancements - drinks, pictures, token souvenirs, etc.
  
• Passengers: Because it's cheaper? Because they have fewer young children? Because... I don't know why, but I think the passengers on Disney were less rude than many we encountered on RC. Line jumpers, deck chair hogging, general "entitlement" attitude seemed much more prevalent on RC than on Disney.

We were moused-out after a couple of trips with Disney and decided we needed to try something new. We're getting ready for RC cruise #2 and hope it's as fun as #1!!

[Wikinger]

Thanks for all your input, Folks.

Here's some additional info about us: Couple w/o kids, ages 37 and 43, from Germany. We're non-smokers, fitness-addicts, and love to travel. This year we'll travel to Thailand for two weeks, spend a week driving our convertible through Germany and perhaps France, and in September/October we'll explore the Florida Panhandle, Lousiana, Alabama and Missisippi and perhaps Georgia for three weeks (Our long-term goal is to visit all 50 states). For 2009 we're planning on checking out Central America and so a RCCL-cruise in the Canal-area seems to be a good way to 'sample' Panama, Colombia and Costa Rica in 2008.

 

Are the RCCL-ships as smoke-free as the DCL-vessels? How's the gym?

[ps88]

Sailed Disney Wonder on her maiden voyage and twice on RCL Navigator of the Seas. Definitely more variety on RCL. Also cheaper in price. The gym is twice the size of Disney and has a great whirlpool at the entrance of the gym. You won't be disappointed with RCL Voyager or Freedom class ships.

[shorebilly]

Have never cruised on Disney, but were on RCCL Voyager of the Seas, from what I have read our experience was an exception, but, I will not cruise RCCL again and I even have a $500.00 gift certificate from them! They had a ton of ammenities, yet they were almost never open except when the ship was in port, sea days were very boring because they had no band or music on deck, pools not filled until very late in the day and rock climbing wall was never open, no ice skating either. I much prefer Princess or with the kids, Carnival.

[Boo Boo]

They had a ton of ammenities, yet they were almost never open except when the ship was in port, sea days were very boring because they had no band or music on deck, pools not filled until very late in the day and rock climbing wall was never open, no ice skating either.

 

Which ship were you on?

 

We sailed Mariner in October - the solarium (adult) pool was filled and open by 9am. On sea says we climbed, roller skated, played mini-golf, played table tennis, shot a few hoops. I am pretty sure that there were bands/music on deck, there were certainly activities (bingo, horse racing, races and competitions) near the main pool...

 

Bizzare...

 

Boo

[mercedesmom2002]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shorebilly

They had a ton of ammenities, yet they were almost never open except when the ship was in port, sea days were very boring because they had no band or music on deck, pools not filled until very late in the day and rock climbing wall was never open, no ice skating either.

 

From me:

 

I agree with Boo Boo, there were so many activities on the Navigator when we sailed in July that we had trouble picking which ones to go to. We were busy from sunup until the wee hours of the morning.

 

So I too would be curious to know what ship you were on. We've been on Enchantment, Seranade and Navigator and were busy all the time on all of them. So please tell us more!!!

 

Sue

[uncletr21]

Have never cruised on Disney, but were on RCCL Voyager of the Seas, from what I have read our experience was an exception, but, I will not cruise RCCL again and I even have a $500.00 gift certificate from them! They had a ton of ammenities, yet they were almost never open except when the ship was in port, sea days were very boring because they had no band or music on deck, pools not filled until very late in the day and rock climbing wall was never open, no ice skating either. I much prefer Princess or with the kids, Carnival.

 

That bothers me too, when promoted things are not running. I've only done the Majesty of the Seas so far but we often wondered why there were so few hours on the climbing wall and why movies weren't shown more often. I think it would be worth hiring a few more workers to keep things running and as far as the movies went, they don't even require anyone beyond turning it on. I wondered if they wanted us in the bars or casinos or at bingo spending money but that might be a little parinoid. I read a post somewhere about the Mariner, I think, where the kids would show up for some scheduled activity and it would get cancelled or start very late. That's a little disappointing as well. Maybe it depends on what time of year sail and how full of kids the ship is.