New to RCI from Disney

[divaofdisney]

Hi again,

 

Just your humble thread starter. This has really turned into a great thread of info and idea sharing. My main reasons for switching from Disney to RCCL was my son will be 12 and the activities appeared more age appropriate and saving several thousand dollars on the cruise. We actually had booked our next cruise onboard our last but they still managed to really jack up the cruise prices in 2008.:rolleyes:

 

A few things that I'm still very curious about are Johnny Rockets, Portofino dining, and the eateries in the shopping promenade. Do you have to buy all of the food in the pub or is it included. I guess the nagging question is what do you have to pay for extra on the Mariner of the Seas that isn't included in your booking. That is besides the excursions and photos and such.

 

Oh and for the parents information, how does the arcade work, is set to using the SeaPass card?

 

As for Johnny Rockets- you just pay the cover and what you order is at no-cost. Same with the food in the Royal Promenade with the exception of specialty coffees and the Ben and Jerry's ice-cream. Just pay the cover at Portofino's also- every on menu is no-cost. It will be the best $20 meal you ever had in this world!! The sandwiches by the way are declious there and a great filler between lunch and dinner.

[Capt. Johnny]

Thanks CruisinMama!!

 

And we won't tell your husband what you spent.;)

[crusinmama06]

Thanks CruisinMama!!

 

And we won't tell your husband what you spent.;)

 

Thanks...lol. :D

 

I STILL have him convinced that the cruise in August is $1,000.

 

Shhhhhhhhh

[boingy300]

As for Johnny Rockets- you just pay the cover and what you order is at no-cost. Same with the food in the Royal Promenade with the exception of specialty coffees and the Ben and Jerry's ice-cream. Just pay the cover at Portofino's also- every on menu is no-cost. It will be the best $20 meal you ever had in this world!! The sandwiches by the way are declious there and a great filler between lunch and dinner.

 

 

The food in the Promenade is free. Croissant sandwiches, danish pastries and pizza - YUM! We love this food!

We found there was a lot to do with our (at the time 11 year olds) We did most of the activities. They really liked the kids program. They are entering the 12-14 y.o. Navigators group , which is the hardest group to entertain. I've looked over the Compasses and the activities look fun. We'll see. We didn't go to shows after the "main show", and the main show is always very tasteful, at least on our previous cruises.

Karen

[ali07]

We've been on 4 Disney Magic cruises and 3 RCL (Mariner, Brilliance, Serenade). I find there are some differences but my family like both.

Me and DH actually prefer the Disney ships, however, we haven't been for a few years and it seems to have gotten much more expensive. The Magic is lovely and we really enjoyed the piano lounge. I found the staterooms roomy and I liked having a bathtub (on RCL, you need to go up into a suite to get a bathtub). In general, we prefered the dining experience on Disney (both the food, service, and the restaurant rotations). Also we don't use a casino so don't miss not having one (Disney doesn't). I also find the entertainment better. We went to the shows every night on the Disney ship but we usually skip on the RCL ships.

 

My kids, both teens now, say they prefer the RCL ships, I think primarily because they are larger and have a few more options (climbing wall etc).

 

Disney had better movies in its cinema (and it was larger than I've had on RCL). Because Disney owns a movie studio, it shows movies that are currently running in theatres and it shows several different ones a day.

 

There have been times I wasn't too impressed with entertainment activities for the kids on RCL (memories of my pre-teen son looking for the "hottest babe" as part of scavenger type contest..)

 

Hands down my kids prefer Labadee to Castaway Cay.

 

I also found, in general, the Disney ships had less smoking on board, which is nice if you are a non-smoker, but perhaps a problem if you aren't.

 

Another note, the Disney ships are more comparable in size to the Radiance class ships...if you liked the Disney ships, you may prefer the Radiance ships to something as large as the Mariner.

 

All in all, we like both lines but it depends upon what is important to you.

[BethA]

From a few posts I've seen, it sounds like there are several beaches on Labadee. How spread out is it? Do they have any type of tram like on Castaway? My mom has trouble walking. Is there somewhere I can see a layout and what is available.

Thanks.

Beth

[Susie51]

When I was in Labadee with my mom, there was a tram for us to ride. Tendering is difficult for her. If the seas are a little bit rough, she can't keep her balance enough to use the tender.

[TampaMom2Girls]

Capt. Johnny, thanks for starting this GREAT thread! After 3 Disney cruises, we are looking to do a family reunion type cruise July 08, possibly on Explorer of the Seas. Needed something was a little bit of everything for everyone. We have some singles, a couple with no children, some grandparents going with us, and Disney (my first choice) wasn't really going to be a good fit for all of us.

 

This thread has really been answering some burning questions I've had comparing the two lines. I've been curious about the similarities/differences between them.

 

Wow, Portofino's for $20pp? Even Palo is only $10.

 

specific Q's I have:

what's the hump?

 

Where does the 4th person sleep in the cabin? for the life of me, I cannot tell from the pictures on the RC website, where the 4th bed drops from!

 

Is there a refrigerator in the rooms, like on DCL?

 

How much is the beverage card? We love the free soda on DCL.

 

Is there a charge for the rock climbing wall, ice skating, mini-golf?

 

 

Keep them coming, PLEASE!!!!!

[crusinmama06]

specific Q's I have:

what's the hump?

 

Where does the 4th person sleep in the cabin? for the life of me, I cannot tell from the pictures on the RC website, where the 4th bed drops from!

 

Is there a refrigerator in the rooms, like on DCL?

 

How much is the beverage card? We love the free soda on DCL.

 

Is there a charge for the rock climbing wall, ice skating, mini-golf?

 

 

Keep them coming, PLEASE!!!!!

 

Humps are the cabins with balconies that jet out from the rest of the ship somewhat. If you look at the deck plan of the ship, you'll be able to tell where the humps are. Some people love getting hump balconies.

 

Where the 4th person sleeps depends on your room/ship. Some have pullmans. Some have sofa beds and can bring in another cot for the the 4th to sleep on.

 

Fridge - not sure. I know the suites have them but I don't know if every cabin on every ship has them. Maybe someone esle can help me here.

 

NO charge for the rock climbing wall, ice skating and mini-golf

 

I was planning a trip on Explorer but I had to switch it at the last minute. It seems like a wonderful ship!

 

AND you have to remember, the Soda is not REALLY free on Disney. It is just built into the price ;)

[sharod]

Things we miss on RCI:

 

The "When You Wish Upon A Star" ship's horn (but I have the .wav file :D)

 

Everytime I watch our vacation video, my eyes well up at this part of the Welcome Aboard party. I must be a real softie:p ! DCL's Wonder was the best vacation I have ever been on. Hopefully here in 3 weeks I will have a new "best vacation" on board the Freedom!!!!

 

What kind of Welcome Aboard party does RCCL have?

[TampaMom2Girls]

Cruisinmama...you're awesome...great answers!

 

re: "built into the price"...agreed! although on our 2001 DCL they had a drink card you had to buy. they've since offered it for "free".

 

re: the cots for 4th sleepers...do they take them out of your cabin during the daytime? they don't take up space in the cabin when not in use, do they?

[crusinmama06]

 

re: the cots for 4th sleepers...do they take them out of your cabin during the daytime? they don't take up space in the cabin when not in use, do they?

 

I have to say that I don't know...lol. I know what happened on Carnival, they let the cots in the room.

 

And on RCCL, we are in a suite, so I haven't really inquired what happens with the cots. :confused: I don't think we are going to use one cause both of my kids will share the same bed. They are only 3 and 7.

[katiel53]

Hi again,

 

 

 

A few things that I'm still very curious about are Johnny Rockets, Portofino dining, and the eateries in the shopping promenade. Do you have to buy all of the food in the pub or is it included. I guess the nagging question is what do you have to pay for extra on the Mariner of the Seas that isn't included in your booking. That is besides the excursions and photos and such.

 

Oh and for the parents information, how does the arcade work, is set to using the SeaPass card?

 

Johnny Rockets is a pay everytime you eat there restaurant. I have seen that if kids are in the Adventure Ocean program, that they eat a couple of times at JR with no charge to the parents. I don't know how that works as my granddaughter is too young to be in the program. I'm sure other parents can give you info on that.

 

The promenade has only 1 real place for food. It is a cafe that has pizza, sandwiches, pastry, cakes etc. They also have Seattle's Best Coffee. All that is included in the price of the cruise. Should you wish to have a "fancy" coffee, there is a charge for that.

 

Portofino and Chops are restaurants with a $20 per person charge and it is for ages 13 and up only. Portofino has the best Italian food and service. If you don't want to have an Italian entree, they have wonderful filet mignon. We have had such wonderful service that we have tipped additionally.

 

Chops is a steak house, and it's another great restaurant. We have many steak houses in the Orlando area so that would be my second choice for a pay extra dinner. The service there is also excellent.

 

The buffets for breakfast and dinner are of course no extra charge. The dining room is open for breakfast and some days for lunch also. Both the buffet and dining room have dinner too.

 

The only extras that you would pay for aside from the specialty restaurants are your drinks, (soda or alcohol) spa treatments, shopping, casino and Bingo. There is even a kids play free Bingo session on Mariner. At least these are the only additional things I can think of besides what you have mentioned. Perhaps others will think of others that I can't.

 

Just as a point of info, the soda card also includes juices which would be a cost other than at breakfast.

 

The kids have many things to do as mentioned in other posts. There are get togethers in the evening for older kids. I can't give you any more info on kids programs or the kids arcade as we haven't used the programs.

 

I can't imagine that your family wouldn't enjoy Mariner. It is a fantastic ship with a lot to offer families as well as adults. I know we are looking forward to going again in May and can't wait until our granddaughter is old enough for the children's programs.

 

 

Katie

[xraygal38]

I just sailed on the mariner of the seas 3/18....loved it. it was my first cruise and i can't wait for the next one. It was a family cruise for 13 of us including my 17 month old. Every single one of us loved it. not one complaint from any of us. We missed Cococay because of high seas and went to San Juan instead. we loved all of our stops. the stateroom we had was a balcony, 7592, and we had a playyard in the room. we had plenty of room to move around. balconies were great. i was worried that we wouldn't be able to let the little one out there but it was plexiglass to about 4 1/2 ft up. AWESOME service. room was always clean when we got back and our dinner service was GREAT. loved sitting in same place every night and having same waiters. they took care of us like we were royalty. I highly recommend the mariner to anyone. it is going in to dry dock in july to be totally remodeled. new carpet, new beds, the works. it is true that toddlers in diapers did not have anywhere to swim. any questions my email is m_gawel@hotmail.com

[Capt. Johnny]

Tampa Mom, you did the Eastern Caribbean on the Magic the following one after us in 2006. We took it starting on March 4th. That was an awesome cruise. We are looking at the Mariner of the Seas on almost the same Eastern itinerary.

It looks like RCCL charges for a few more things but considering that we are saving several thousand on the booking, it may just be a drop in the bucket.

[SherriZ366]

I will be sailing on the Mariner of the Seas.

With your screen name, it would be a hoot if you sailed with RCCL's Captain Johnny -- one of the passenger's favorite captains. Use the search function or read some Mariner reviews to find out all about him. He rides a scooter around the ship, rides a motorcyle off, has words of wisdome from his "Chinese Friend" during his daily announcements and gives lots of recognition to the crew. Folks love his "Good Morning, Good Morning" and his crew loves him. He really adds enjoyment to the cruise. We have sailed on Mariner 3 times (with him as Captain) and love the ship.

[jules815]

I just sailed on the mariner of the seas 3/18....loved it. it was my first cruise and i can't wait for the next one. It was a family cruise for 13 of us including my 17 month old. Every single one of us loved it. not one complaint from any of us. We missed Cococay because of high seas and went to San Juan instead. we loved all of our stops. the stateroom we had was a balcony, 7592, and we had a playyard in the room. we had plenty of room to move around. balconies were great. i was worried that we wouldn't be able to let the little one out there but it was plexiglass to about 4 1/2 ft up. AWESOME service. room was always clean when we got back and our dinner service was GREAT. loved sitting in same place every night and having same waiters. they took care of us like we were royalty. I highly recommend the mariner to anyone. it is going in to dry dock in july to be totally remodeled. new carpet, new beds, the works. it is true that toddlers in diapers did not have anywhere to swim. any questions my email is m_gawel@hotmail.com

 

Glad to hear you enjoyed Mariner! You mentioned it was going into drydock in July? I thought it was happening end of April. Have they changed the date? I was looking forward to the new bedding on our cruise in June. :)

[TampaMom2Girls]

Capt. Johnny,

Yes, that's a great itinerary. Was our first time on the Magic, would like to possibly do the western next time. Would love to see Key West.

 

Looking forward to trying something new and am anxious to see this beautiful ship that everyone here seems to love! Sounds like the lobby/atrium area is a sight to behold. Hopefully this reunion we are trying to put together will go smoothly. I think this sounds like the perfect ship with something for everyone. But after a few DCL cruises I'm having trouble navigating around their website and the cabin categories is confusing me.

[OHCruisinDad]

Most all of your questions and many more have been answered already so I have just a couple of items to mention. The soda/juice cards are $4 per day for kids and $6 per day for adults. You can purchase them at any bar or outside of the Windjammer on the first cruise day. They give you a sticker for your Sea Pass card and you are in business. You just show it when you order and there is no charge for the soda or juice.

 

One important item about the ice skating. Be sure your kids have a pair of long pants as they are required for ice skating. Sweats, jeans, anything will work.

 

You and your family will love the Voyager class ships. Have a great cruise and tell us all about it when you return!! :):):)

[TampaMom2Girls]

Thank you, Thank you for the info about the long pants. I have not seen that anywhere else...valuable info!

[bigsky]

Glad to hear you enjoyed Mariner! You mentioned it was going into drydock in July? I thought it was happening end of April. Have they changed the date? I was looking forward to the new bedding on our cruise in June. :)

 

Jules..I think she was incorrect. Unless it's changed and I don't know. We're sailing in July on her again! I just went to their website and you'll notice they don't have any sailings after Apr 22nd..that being the last and they start back up May 6th. So that week they'll be working on her. Apr. 29-May 5th She should be all "new" for you to sail on! :D From what I've been reading, she still looks wonderful.

[crusinmama06]

Thank you, Thank you for the info about the long pants. I have not seen that anywhere else...valuable info!

 

Oh that's right AND socks! :D

 

I have to remember to take those too.

[TampaMom2Girls]

Amazing how you can get so much more info from message boards than official websites of the cruiselines themselves!

[Capt. Johnny]

I lived off of these discussion boards for our first cruise and they literally saved our hide with tips and ideas. Thanks again to everyone for all the info, keep it going.:D

[futaba951]

On RCI you'll appreciate the fact that when you step up to the urinals in the men's room, they don't break out in a round of "It's a small, small world". :p