5 night disney vs 7 night royal Caribbean

[jrm11697]

So I am considering a cruise for late july/early august 2011. we are most interested in royal caribbean and disney. We would go on the Disney dream or Freedom of the Seas. They both look HUGE!!!! and they both sail out of PC. if we go with disney it would be the 5 night double dip cruise. with royal caribbean it would be eastern caribbean cruise (7 nights).



P.S. this has nothing to do with the above but with one more post, I will have 100 posts!!!!!

 

[NJBILL]

So I am considering a cruise for late july/early august 2011. we are most interested in royal caribbean and disney. We would go on the Disney dream or Freedom of the Seas. They both look HUGE!!!! and they both sail out of PC. if we go with disney it would be the 5 night double dip cruise. with royal caribbean it would be eastern caribbean cruise (7 nights).



P.S. this has nothing to do with the above but with one more post, I will have 100 posts!!!!!

I would sail on the dream. The level of service on Disney is better than royal and NCL. I have cruised them all.

 

[Mickeyhugger]

Disney. (I'd even take a 3-day Disney cruise, over a 7-day Royal Caribbean.)

 

[disfaninca]

We just cruised the Freedom and it is a beautiful ship! It all depends on your family and what they are looking for in a cruise. Both are great cruiselines. Both have great service. There are things that the Freedom has the the Dream doesn't, and vice versa. The Freedom has the rock wall, the Flowrider, ice skating. The Dream has Aquaduck, Dumbetron, and Disney Charactors.

It really depends on what you are looking for in a cruise.

 

[2taxedmom]

Without a doubt....Disney. We took 6 Disney cruises and decided to try RC's Oasis Of the Seas. My family is excited our next cruise is on the Dream.

 

[jrm11697]

What was Royal caribbean like? our kids are older so we think that they will like RC better.

 

[Disney On A Dime!]

It all depends on what you're looking for...my crew would take the Freedom of the Seas over the new Disney Dream. I have two boys 13 and 11...and my husband...who all like the FlowRider, rock-wall, ice skating, etc... that is offered on the RCI ship. I also like the pool areas on the RCI ships...and it will be definite pool/beach weather in July/August! But this is my crew...as you can see...we are cruising on the Dream in April...but I am having to pull them onto the ship! I love what DCL offers...the Disney shows...the dining rotations...but I am out numbered in the family! So we have decided to take short cruises with DCL and longer cruises with RCI...


As far as food...we like both cruiselines...
As far as service...we have had great service on both...
As far as cabin size...we really don't care...not in there much...
As far as ports...Bahamas versus Eastern Caribbean...The Caribbean would win...and two stops at CC doesn't enthuse my crew...they could take or leave CC...(We live on the coast)


This is just our opinions...you are going to get a bunch of them!


Enjoy...whatever you decide to do!
Crystal

 

[disfaninca]

What was Royal caribbean like? our kids are older so we think that they will like RC better.

We went with our grandkids ages 7,9 and 10. They loved the Freedom. They were on the Magic before and they thought the Freedom kids clubs were actually better than the Magic. I'm sure the Dream has alot more to offer the kids. My grandkids are really not into charactors so they didn't miss that when on the Freedom.

I'm assuming on the Eastern itinerary you would be stopping at their private island, Coco Cay. I personally love Castaway Cay much better than Coco Cay. My DH has a different opinion. LOL

If there is anything specific you want to know, I would be happy to answer any questions.

 

[disfaninca]

It all depends on what you're looking for...my crew would take the Freedom of the Seas over the new Disney Dream. I have two boys 13 and 11...and my husband...who all like the FlowRider, rock-wall, ice skating, etc... that is offered on the RCI ship. I also like the pool areas on the RCI ships...and it will be definite pool/beach weather in July/August! But this is my crew...as you can see...we are cruising on the Dream in April...but I am having to pull them onto the ship! I love what DCL offers...the Disney shows...the dining rotations...but I am out numbered in the family! So we have decided to take short cruises with DCL and longer cruises with RCI...


As far as food...we like both cruiselines...
As far as service...we have had great service on both...
As far as cabin size...we really don't care...not in there much...
As far as ports...Bahamas versus Eastern Caribbean...The Caribbean would win...and two stops at CC doesn't enthuse my crew...they could take or leave CC...(We live on the coast)


This is just our opinions...you are going to get a bunch of them!


Enjoy...whatever you decide to do!
Crystal

I agree about the pool areas. And the H2O Zone is fantastic!

 

[Disney On A Dime!]

What was Royal caribbean like? our kids are older so we think that they will like RC better.

Hey...you just reached post #100 with this one! Way to go!!!

Crystal

 

[Twinparents]

For what it is worth I would pick DCL. We did our first (and last) RCL cruise this past Thanksgiving. My kids were 8, 13 and 13. While they liked the flow rider every single one of them got hurt. My 8 year old was bleeding and they didn't even have a band aid for her. The rock wall was an hour wait every time we went. The ice skating was a disaster because RCL does not know how to control the crowds. This was also evident upon debarkation as it took 2 solid hours to get off the ship.

Our DCL cruises have always had amazing service and food. We were definitely spoiled by Disney. Yes RCL is cheaper but they nickel and dime you for everything on the boat. They wanted to charge us $25 to have my daughter decorate cookies.

 

[jrm11697]

Hey...you just reached post #100 with this one! Way to go!!!

Crystal

YES!!!! after reading comments I am liking disney more. but the only thing im worried about is that will kids think disney cruise is too ''kiddish''? children are in their teens. but dream looks awesome!

P.S. Its strange how it says Mouseketeer under my name but I havent been on a disney vacation in 5 years! ahahah! i guess that has something to do with the # of post u have on here

 

[Disney On A Dime!]

How old are your children? Are they active in like skiing or surfing or skate-boarding or hiking or swimming? If they are active and pretty good at those activities, then the RCI ships have a lot to offer. We have cruised twice on the Liberty of the Seas...my crew is very active...they surf and skate-board here at home (even my husband)...so using the FlowRider was a blast...and no one got hurt. But if your kids are not so agile or sports coordinated...the FlowRider would be a challenge...IMHO (I would never be able to do it!) We always went to the FlowRider at the opening times or port days...and never experienced huge wait times. As far as the rock-wall...we tried very hard to avoid the busiest times of the day...if the line was long...we would go swim...or skate...and then would come back...no worries! The ice skating was a lot of fun on our first cruise...I even did it! Then the second cruise...the boys only did it once...they were more into the other stuff.


Now as far as embarking and debarking...we have had smooth sailing through both of these on both DCL and RCI...and then we have had some hang-ups on both the cruiselines. Sometimes it just comes down to customs...


And then the extra cost issue arises...I will tell you, yes, RCI does charge for some of the items that come free on DCL. I will also tell you that my on-board account is always much...and I mean much higher on DCL...due to all the purchases in the stores...for some reason that Disney merchandise just calls my name!


To give reasons for DCL...I really like the shows (However, after you have seen them three times...they do get very old)...I like the rotational dining...I like the Disney theming...I like the movies on the top deck...I like the showing of first run movies...


I am by no means attempting to sway you one way or the other...Just attempting to give you my opinions. We cruise both lines, and like each one for different reasons. It just comes down to what experience do you want for this cruise? Do some searching on-line with your kids...watching some videos and such... That might help to make your decision...


Crystal

 

[dursin]

I'd go with the Dream. They are comparably sized ships, but the Dream is BRAND new and the Freedom is 5 years old. DCL has better food than RCCL and the shows on DCL are also amazing. The 5 day cruise includes 2 days at Castaway Cay too which is tough to beat. Perfect island, lunch is included as is transportation to the beach...which can be either your feet or a tram.

I have 3 boys who are 17, 14 and 9 now and they'll take DCL over RCCL or Carnival any day.

 

[Edd]

If your kids are older, 10 or above, I would give the Freedom a try. There is so much more for kids to do aboard the Freedom. The Dream is newer, but kids don't look at how old the ship is or how pretty. They are looking for fun and they will find that on the Freedom.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Having done both.. I would go with the ports that interest me best. I am not that big of a fan of Castaway to do it twice on one cruise. IF RCCL was going different and new places I would probably go with it.


Of course you posted this on a DISNEY cruise board? What do you really think 90% of the posters will say. Post it on a RCCL board and the results would probably be the exact opposite.

you are getting a "bias" just about anyplace.

 

[Mickeyhugger]

If your kids are older, 10 or above, I would give the Freedom a try. There is so much more for kids to do aboard the Freedom. The Dream is newer, but kids don't look at how old the ship is or how pretty. They are looking for fun and they will find that on the Freedom.

But the Dream has the Aqua Duck and that blows away any old flow rider that I can do at any of the local water parks at home.

Rob

 

[disgrajak]

I haven't been on either so my opinion is probably worth less than 2 cents!! But having said that, for me, I am all about the "experience" of the cruise. I'm really not interested in doing things that we could do at home. We have an ice skating rink 10 minutes away. The kids have a rock climbing wall at their school and we had one at our previous health club. We also live near a hotel that has a flow rider. The pool isn't a huge selling point either. For me it came down to the ports and the hope that Disney will provide me with a unique, quality experience. Hope I am right!

 

[Edd]

I wouldn't be so sure that the aquaduck can blow away any flow-rider ride. The only report I have seen on the aquaduck is that it took 45 minutes to get back on the ride. There is nothing to do on the aquaduck but ride as far as I can see. The flow-rider involves constant improvement in positioning and riding the boogie board and learning to stand up on the larger boards. The waiting time is about 10 - 20 minutes depending on the number up there to ride. There is big challenge in riding the flow-rider which kids and young adults seem to find fun in.

 

[dursin]

If your kids are older, 10 or above, I would give the Freedom a try. There is so much more for kids to do aboard the Freedom. The Dream is newer, but kids don't look at how old the ship is or how pretty. They are looking for fun and they will find that on the Freedom.

There absolutely is not "so much more to do: aboard the Freedom. The Dream offers every bit as much in activities and things to do for guests of all ages. If the kids are looking for fun, they will not only find it on the Dream, but FUN will find them. Nobody does better at entertaining kids than Disney. You'll never see a kid (of any age) on a Disney ship looking over at that other ship in port next to them wishing they were on that one instead.