Does RCL compare to Disney?

[g8rmomx2]

We've sailed Disney 7 times, and are Diamond on Royal Caribbean, and absolutely love them both. Disney is expensive, but we've always gotten what we paid for. The experience has been excellent, the island is incredible, and the service has always been amazing. The sail away party on the Disney ship is superior to most staged shows on the ships we've sailed with Royal Caribbean. To us, the main difference between the two lines are the Freedom and Voyager class ships. They are more like wonderful resorts that take us from port to port. Disney has resorts on land. Their ships are ships. It'll be interesting to see if their new, bigger ships are more like Royal Caribbean's. We really enjoy the Royal Promenade, but unless the ship is really rocking, you wouldn't know that you're on a ship. That's why I think it really is "apples and oranges." We like both.

[MrsPete]

Actually for us, Royal Caribbean is BETTER. ;) We've been on Disney Magic and Disney Wonder. The service that our kids received on Royal Caribbean Freedom and Independence was worlds above Disney.

 

My own personal opinion is that because there are always a thousand kids onboard Disney, they aren't really special. But when the kids sail on RCCL, the crew go out of their way to interact with the kids. For instance, we can't walk past a RCCL crew member without him/her getting down on the kid's level and greeting them or trying to give them a high 5.

 

Now, my experience on RCCL with kids are on the NEW ships. So the Freedom class has so many ammenities that there is just no comparison to the 1998/2000 Disney ships.

 

You are talking about Adventure. Some differences that you are going to run into on Adventure verses Disney, the Disney ships are fresh water (as are the Freedom class) BUT Adventure is not.

 

The pools won't be as over-run as they are on the Disney ships. Both have adult only solariums (pools).

 

Adventure will have parades through the promenade, not fireworks off the top deck. ;)

 

Adventure will have the rock climbing wall, mini golf and ice skating rink (my kids LOVE those).

 

The kids can have kid dinners at Johnny Rockets (no added charge) with the Adventure Ocean staff (usually 2-3 days per cruise).

 

Royal Caribbean has My Time Dining and now My Time FAMILY Dining. So if you have younger kids, they can be served in the dining room and be finished within 45 minutes. Then the Adventure Ocean staff comes and picks them up in the dining room and allows the adults to continue their meals without the kids. :D

 

We have many people on the Family Board here at Cruise Critic that were die hard Disney cruisers who went on Royal Caribbean and were pleasantly surprised. ;) So feel free to come on over and check out that board.

 

Have a great cruise!

I think I could've written every word here. We did enjoy Disney on our first cruise, but after sailing on Royal's mega-ships (and I'm very open to sailing on other lines in the future -- so long as the ships are the newer, most up-to-date choices), I don't think we'd want to go back to the smaller ship with fewer activities. In addition to the expanded offerings, I found that the people on Royal were much nicer. It seemed that many Disney passengers had a "this is for my kid, so move over and let him through" attitude -- lots of entitlement. The one place where Disney does have a leg-up is their private island; Castaway Cay is superlative. And, of course, this must end with a mention of price: At the right time of year, you could literally take two cruises on Royal for the price of one Disney cruise. Disney is in no way, shape, or form twice as good as another line.

[tip]

We have sailed RCCL several times and have yet to see a cartoon character dressed in costume, although formal nights can be interesting!;)

[bajathree]

It is funny how people keep saying rooms on DCL are much bigger than on RCCL....while that may be true if you compare room for room ....if you compare price for price I can guaranty that is not the case....you can get yourself a JS or better most any day on a Freedom class ship for the same cost of a standard balcony on DCL, and their ain't no way the standard balcony on DCL is bigger than a JS on RCCL.

[PEGLEG]

Stick with what you know works. The kids sure will miss Mickey and the gang.

[cruzincurt]

The rooms have to be bigger to accommodate the kiddos and strollers.

[hoop4321]

We did RCCL first, then Disney a few months later. We were on Navigator which I believe is comparable to Adventure. At the time, we had a 12 yr old. We found the age for a kid to be a little wonky for royal....they were lumped in with the rest of the teens...up to 17 yrs:eek: He did not have a good time in the kids clubs. As yours is 7, I don't think you will have any problems. I think for the family, Disney was a lot better. Better service, food, shows, and crew for our family. Our son was continually singled out, fussed over. I can't say how many crew members just talked to our son. They did not treat him as a little kid, or a full blown teen, but they got his age perfectly. There was more to do in the teen center, more activities that they encouraged the group to be in other than the just hanging out on RCCL that they said all the kids wanted to do. There was NO ONE in the teen areas on the Navigator.

RCCL however was better for the grown ups. Disney ships go to bed at 10pm. I wanted to go to bed on the Navigator, but there was so much left to do. The adult comedians, Quest ( You must make time to go) Love and Marriage show is hilarious. The drinks are better. I felt like I had a place to be an adult rather than just Mom. It was so very nice as our schedules here are quite packed. It was wonderful to know that at the end of the day, I would get some time alone with my husband.

We are leaving for the Liberty in September, and was quite tempted to switch to Disney. We stayed knowing despite our son not having a great time in the kids club, he had a great time with us. What my husband and I are looking forward to is having that alone time again, that you just can't get one night out for each month. Both lines have different things to offer our family. I think that we will continue to bounce back between the two.

 

I hope that you have a wonderful cruise. You will have fun. :D

[ByeBye1]

RCL is more like Disney then any other line. RCL has reinvented itself to become a family cruise with too many kids activities. I feel the need to look for more adult lines especially when school is out.

[grand isle joe]

We've sailed Disney 7 times, and are Diamond on Royal Caribbean, and absolutely love them both. Disney is expensive, but we've always gotten what we paid for. The experience has been excellent, the island is incredible, and the service has always been amazing. The sail away party on the Disney ship is superior to most staged shows on the ships we've sailed with Royal Caribbean. To us, the main difference between the two lines are the Freedom and Voyager class ships. They are more like wonderful resorts that take us from port to port. Disney has resorts on land. Their ships are ships. It'll be interesting to see if their new, bigger ships are more like Royal Caribbean's. We really enjoy the Royal Promenade, but unless the ship is really rocking, you wouldn't know that you're on a ship. That's why I think it really is "apples and oranges." We like both.

 

 

We agree. Perfect description and comparison. I'm sure you'll appreciate the best of both lines. My daughter (a BIG Princess fan ) does at 8yrs. old:)

[crusinmama06]

It is funny how people keep saying rooms on DCL are much bigger than on RCCL....while that may be true if you compare room for room ....if you compare price for price I can guaranty that is not the case....you can get yourself a JS or better most any day on a Freedom class ship for the same cost of a standard balcony on DCL, and their ain't no way the standard balcony on DCL is bigger than a JS on RCCL.

 

You are 100% correct.

 

Cat 6 standard balcony cabin on Disney Magic for 7 days - Eastern Caribbean cost $5,800 for the 4 of us.

 

Grand Suite on Freedom of the Seas for 7 days - Eastern Carib, cost $5,800 for the 4 of us.

 

Yes, I'll take the new ship with the suite perks and expanded onboard ammenities any day over mouse shaped butter. ;)

[unklez]

....Yes, I'll take the new ship with the suite perks and expanded onboard ammenities any day over mouse shaped butter. ;)

 

Me too :D

[bajathree]

You are 100% correct.

 

Cat 6 standard balcony cabin on Disney Magic for 7 days - Eastern Caribbean cost $5,800 for the 4 of us.

 

Grand Suite on Freedom of the Seas for 7 days - Eastern Carib, cost $5,800 for the 4 of us.

 

Yes, I'll take the new ship with the suite perks and expanded onboard ammenities any day over mouse shaped butter. ;)

 

I am so right there with you:)

[ImNewTooCruising]

Hello to all. Just a question or two from a newbie. We have 2 children 10 and 12 and are trying to plan our first cruise. Are the Disney Cruises like going to Disney on land? Does everything have a theme? I would assume that their is plenty for the kids to do on board. I guess what I am trying to ask about Disney is if it is too over the top with Disney themes. We aren't really looking for Disney World on water. Is their enough for the kids to do on Royal?

 

How is the adult nightlife? Do the ships have casino's?

 

Thanks. I think that I have a lot of reading to do. :)

[crusinmama06]

Hello to all. Just a question or two from a newbie. We have 2 children 10 and 12 and are trying to plan our first cruise. Are the Disney Cruises like going to Disney on land? Does everything have a theme? I would assume that their is plenty for the kids to do on board. I guess what I am trying to ask about Disney is if it is too over the top with Disney themes. We aren't really looking for Disney World on water. Is their enough for the kids to do on Royal?

 

How is the adult nightlife? Do the ships have casino's?

 

Thanks. I think that I have a lot of reading to do. :)

 

Disney cruises are sort of like going to Walt Disney World. Like on their private island, you will see characters roaming around for pictures. On the ship, they schedule character meetings (with photos). In the kids clubs, they have character meetings too. Some of the food is Mickey shaped. They even pour the ketchup into a Mickey shape on a plate.

 

Instead of having 1 main dining room like on Royal Caribbean - you have 3 main dining rooms that you rotate through and your wait staff moves with you.

 

On Disney - no casino.

 

On Disney - the main goofy pool is just overflowing with kids, to the point of being ridiculous (and this comes from someone with 2 kids...lol). My kids couldn't swim in the "floating lobster tank" called the Goofy Pool...but they did like the slide at the Mickey Pool.

 

On Royal Caribbean - yes there is MORE than enough for the kids to do...ice skating, rock wall climbing, mini golf, surfing (FlowRider), parades through the promenade, H20 zone (squirting water park on 3 of their ships)...the new Oasis of the Seas will have a zipline and a carousel onboard. :eek:

 

At the link in my signature are the kids club schedules for both Royal and Disney. Feel free to take a look. Just make sure you click on display "ALL" to see all of the pages for each cruise line.

[ImNewTooCruising]

Thanks for the info. No casino........well that could be a good thing. One thing you didn't touch on. What about adult night life?

[crusinmama06]

Thanks for the info. No casino........well that could be a good thing. One thing you didn't touch on. What about adult night life?

 

They have a bar area that kids are not allowed in. When you go down to the deck, you see the cigarette and alcohol store...then they have the night clubs tucked around the corner from there. I was always looking for something to do at night on Disney...but that's just me. I like having a casino on a ship when there is nothing else going on. ;)

 

The night life on Disney, seemed, once again, geared toward the kids. The big event one night was the Pirates of the Caribbean party. So even the adults dress as pirates. Some just wear bandanas. But they had music and sent fireworks off the top deck when Mickey came in to fight Captain hook. It is all very theatrical. Disney does that WELL. :D

[toonjie]

Thanks for the info. No casino........well that could be a good thing. One thing you didn't touch on. What about adult night life?

 

Adult night life I would give the hands down nod to RCI. They have the Love and Marriage show, Quest, at least one or two adult comedy shows that start at 12:15am. There's the casino, on ships with a Royal Promenade, you have sports and wine bars as well as the bars up in the Viking Crown Lounge area. The discos are also wonderfully themed and dancing goes well into the night. BTW, I'm a big Disney fan, with over 20 trips to the World and one to the Land in CA. We often do combination trips, like this year we are doing 2 days in Port Canaveral pre-cruise and we'll do some stuff at Disney while there, then a 5 day on the Monarch and then we are off for 2 nights post-cruise at Animal Kingdom Lodge. So we love Disney, but their ships are so expensive that we've stuck with RCI, hopefully when the next Disney ships come out, the prices will go down as supply goes up.

[cruzincurt]

As we sat on our Liberty balcony we watched couple after couple getting off the Magic with babes in arms or strollers. Is this Disney experience really memorable for the little tots? Or are the parents looking for a floating daycare so they can also do their thing? Just curious what the motivation is to take such little ones on Disney.

[crusinmama06]

As we sat on our Liberty balcony we watched couple after couple getting off the Magic with babes in arms or strollers. Is this Disney experience really memorable for the little tots? Or are the parents looking for a floating daycare so they can also do their thing? Just curious what the motivation is to take such little ones on Disney.

 

Everyone's motivation is different. But in my family if we are going to take a vacation, one on a ship where the food is there, the entertainment is there and you wake up in a new country every day...then the easy choice is a cruise. ;)

[Rudi610]

We were just on the Liberty of the Seas as we pulled into St. Maarten next to the Disney Magic. Size does matter. The Liberty dwarfed the Magic in sheer size.

 

Taken from the top deck of the Magic in April while docked in St. Maarten. The Liberty is huge and I was looking up at her (at least another 4 or 5 decks). Also in port that day: Vision of the Seas and MSC Orchestra.

[lsmommy]

Taken from the top deck of the Magic in April while docked in St. Maarten. The Liberty is huge and I was looking up at her (at least another 4 or 5 decks). Also in port that day: Vision of the Seas and MSC Orchestra.

 

I have only been on the Magic and the Liberty does look beautiful, but in March the Magic was docked beside the Liberty in St Martin also, I was up on deck 10 and it was empty except for us and Stitch, he was entertaining a large crowd on the pool deck of the Liberty accross the pier, which kind of gave me the impression that all those people wished they were on the Magic.

[Kristi Williamson]

We love RC and have never sailed Disney for a number of reasons.

 

1. Why would I spend extra money when I don't need to? Seems silly to me, because we've been blessed financially to spend it just so we can.

 

2. Disney doesn't go anywhere other ships don't go and they have no casino. We enjoy those couple of nights there. We don't have any casinos near where we live and that's fun for us.

 

3. If I want a Disney experience, it seems the parks are the place to get that. That's something they DO have that no one else has, so paying for that makes sense. Paying WAY more for something when I can get the exact same product for less....well, again, just seems silly to me.

 

4. Mickey would drive me CRAZY after a day or two. Our kids don't enjoy that part of Disney World, so I don't have any reason to think they'd like it on a ship. They know someone's burning up in that costume and it mostly just irritates our kids. :rolleyes:

 

5. RCCL has a great product for adults AND kids. More than Disney offers, in our opinion. While seeing a good production show is lots of fun, I'm not about to pay 1000's more just for that and a "better" room. I think a "better" room is subjective. As pointed out in earlier posts, for what Disney charges, their rooms don't even come close to the same priced rooms on RCCL.

 

Again, we've intentionally avoided Disney because Mickey just isn't worth 1000's more in price to us. But, I also believe...to each his/her own. If that's your thing, then have a great time. But, I wouldn't be worried at ALL about your RCL cruise. You may be quite surprised and you may actually enjoy their product more.

[crusinmama06]

he was entertaining a large crowd on the pool deck of the Liberty accross the pier, which kind of gave me the impression that all those people wished they were on the Magic.

 

I wouldn't say that...the only Star I wish upon when I am on Disney ships is the one that brings me back to Royal Caribbean. :D

 

When we were on Wonder in September, my hubby says "Wanna book this ship again, the agent is right there?" - I looked at him as if he had grown two heads. :p

 

I'll wait until they come out with the new ships before we try them again.

[Kristi Williamson]

I wouldn't say that...the only Star I wish upon when I am on Disney ships is the one that brings me back to Royal Caribbean. :D

 

 

 

:D LOL That's pretty funny, Michelle.

 

I've seen a few of your reviews and you have GREAT pics! I hope the OP checks them out so they'll have a good idea of what they're really in for with RC. I think they'll be very pleasantly surprised!

[mex25]

Ive heard many a mixed review on Disny Cruises-even with the on board credits they semed expensive to me-by the way Lakerliner are you on the 6/21 saling out of San Juan?