5 night disney vs 7 night royal Caribbean

[lovethedream]

What some may not understand is that not all the towels on the pool deck on the RCI are towels you pay a deposit on. They have some extra big, fluffier towels that you pay the deposit on. The regular towels sit in a bin off to the side and you can use them all you want. They are just normal towels which I don't think are even as high quality as the ones in the room. Either use them or the ones from the room and you won't have to come up with a deposit. I never use the towels with the deposit on them because the ones on the pool deck are good enough.

Still ,the question remains. Why have to pay a deposit at all?

 

[5lilfish]

What some may not understand is that not all the towels on the pool deck on the RCI are towels you pay a deposit on. They have some extra big, fluffier towels that you pay the deposit on. The regular towels sit in a bin off to the side and you can use them all you want. They are just normal towels which I don't think are even as high quality as the ones in the room. Either use them or the ones from the room and you won't have to come up with a deposit. I never use the towels with the deposit on them because the ones on the pool deck are good enough.

On the 5 RCI cruises that I have been on, there have never been towels in a bin on the pool deck.

Jess

 

[Twinparents]

Wow, I was gone for a few days and there has been alot of activity on this post. I just want to add a couple of other charges that haven't been mentioned.

DCL always offers cooking classes at no cost. On RCL my recollection is that the cheapest adult class was $49 per person and the ranged up to $89 depending on the class. I did not pay for a class so I cannot tell you how they were. I am the one who told you about the $25 decorating cookies for my daughter. At Disney they bake chocolate chip cookies in the lab and it is one of my daughters favorite things. RCL offered a "baking" class for $45 for kids.

Alot of the kids crafts on RCL also came with a charge. For example you could paint a picture frame for $15. On Disney you can make a picture frame with your picture in it at the kids club for free. I don't know about the quality of the frame on RCL because it wasn't worth the money to us.

I did feel like RCL was always pushing something. Drinks were constantly pushed but in addition, they tried to sell "lottery" type tickets at the beginning of most shows, they have a mini "build a bear" that they sell for $25 without the clothes and then clothes are extra. They always had something to sell like watches or sweatshirts out in the middle of the walk ways. I realize that people spend alot of money in the DCL gift shops but I feel like the quality of those items is much better.

Another thing is Disney provides everyone with a lanyard to hold their key to the world card. On RCL you had to pay $6 if you wanted your child to have a lanyard to keep their card in.

One other thing that is extremely important to us is self serve laundry! On Disney you have access to a laundry room and yes it costs $2 to wash and $2 to dry a load but on RCL it was $3 to wash one pair of shorts. They have no self serve laundry and their laundry service was pretty expensive. We were not prepared for this so I am positive my kids wore some dirty clothes that on DCL I would have washed.

My husband said that on RCL they charged for certain exercise classes like pilates but on DCL they do not.

Those are the items that I think I take for granted on DCL that I was not prepared for when boarding RCL.

 

[kaykels]

Oasis of the Seas was the most incredible cruise experience I have ever had. I have done 7 Disney cruises and from the time I boarded Oasis until I got off I couldn't stop saying, OMG, OMG, OMG this is amazing !
They both have their charms. But I liked the rock wall, aqua theater, free face painting and balloon animals on the boardwalk, flow riders, mini golf, ice skating, etc. etc. etc. I never felt the need for xtra pay restaurants. The food was great and I was always more than full !
I'm doing Allure in May. Can't wait !

 

[Vegaslover]

My family loves DCL. We are actually considering doing a Carnival or RCCL cruise over the Fantasy for 2012. We are not crazy about the itinerary for Fantasy and personally I am over the shows on Disney. My DH and I sailed Carnival before and it was fun. I remember the food on Carnival being better than DCL. Based on reviews of the kids clubs, I think DD will really enjoy it.

but, this is about you, not me. if you have never sailed Disney, do it! I always thought I would be bombarded by too much Disney, but once I experienced it, it turns out its not gaudy or distasteful at all. Disney is very classy and honestly it will just bring out the kid in you!

 

[thej]

That is not just what I thought it is a laugh at what some people think. No, I don't agree with any of it. I certainly wouldn't base a decision to cruise on a particular cruise line on those factors.

You might not, but some of us will. The push to spend extra $$ on the ship got annoying enough to all of us that it reduced our ability to enjoy the trip. That's what bothered me the most. There are plenty of people this obviously doesn't bother since RC seems to fill ships pretty well.

To be perfectly honest, I could care less about some of the things that Disney offers on their ships (Characters, Aqua-duck, etc). We chose DCL for our next cruise simply because of 5 or so cruises DW and I have been on between us, the best total experience was on DCL.

 

[christinou]

It is fascinating, how we all have different perceptions, we started cruising on DCL and loved it, we thought that it was the best cruise experience, and that nothing would compare.
As my kids got older I started looking at other lines, and decided to try RCCL Freedom of the sea. I was so nervous on our fist cruise, as I thought that we would not like it as much. We bought the girls a soda pass as I did not want them to compare the ship, and say on Disney I could get rink for free, they loved it, as they could get drinks everywhere they wanted, and not just in the restaurants or on the pool deck, they loved having drinks in the theatre.
They do loike Ben and Jerry and have it a couple of times as a treat, but they get a free ice cream on the pool deck at leat twice a day.
They love the flow rider, and climbing wall, as well as the mini golf and ice skating.

I honestly never felt nickel and dimed on a RCL ship. You do have a give a deposti for towels, and that was not a big deal, I would check out 4 towels the first day, you could exchange them any time for clean towels, and you turn them back in the last day.

I think we all need to see what works best for your family, with the age of my children RCCL is better for us now.

 

[dursin]

It is fascinating, how we all have different perceptions, we started cruising on DCL and loved it, we thought that it was the best cruise experience, and that nothing would compare.
As my kids got older I started looking at other lines, and decided to try RCCL Freedom of the sea. I was so nervous on our fist cruise, as I thought that we would not like it as much. We bought the girls a soda pass as I did not want them to compare the ship, and say on Disney I could get rink for free, they loved it, as they could get drinks everywhere they wanted, and not just in the restaurants or on the pool deck, they loved having drinks in the theatre.
They do loike Ben and Jerry and have it a couple of times as a treat, but they get a free ice cream on the pool deck at leat twice a day.
They love the flow rider, and climbing wall, as well as the mini golf and ice skating.

I honestly never felt nickel and dimed on a RCL ship. You do have a give a deposti for towels, and that was not a big deal, I would check out 4 towels the first day, you could exchange them any time for clean towels, and you turn them back in the last day.

I think we all need to see what works best for your family, with the age of my children RCCL is better for us now.

We've been considering giving either the Freedom or the Carnival Dream a chance after our upcoming Disney Dream cruise. Youngest boy likes the idea of the water park on the Carnival ship, but our most recent non-DCL trip was on Carnival and we were very underwhelmed with the whole experience. Plus I don't like that Carnival seems to be blatantly copying the names of DCL ships. Yes, I know the Carnival Dream came first, but it was pretty much a given that would be the name of the next new DCL ship.

How were the evening shows on the Freedom? Our typical evening on a DCL ship involves having dinner together as a family, followed by a show and then the kids go off to their 'clubs' and we go find some adult entertainment to enjoy.

 

[5lilfish]

We've been considering giving either the Freedom or the Carnival Dream a chance after our upcoming Disney Dream cruise. Youngest boy likes the idea of the water park on the Carnival ship, but our most recent non-DCL trip was on Carnival and we were very underwhelmed with the whole experience. Plus I don't like that Carnival seems to be blatantly copying the names of DCL ships. Yes, I know the Carnival Dream came first, but it was pretty much a given that would be the name of the next new DCL ship.

How were the evening shows on the Freedom? Our typical evening on a DCL ship involves having dinner together as a family, followed by a show and then the kids go off to their 'clubs' and we go find some adult entertainment to enjoy.

We did not find the shows on RCI (Explorer, Independence, Liberty and Oasis) to be family friendly. The costumes were too revealing and the singing/dancing was boring for the kids. The comedy was definitely adult. The ice show was great...and the Aquatheater show on the Oasis was too.

We did love the Oasis of the Seas and the Freedom class ships were great too....especially for our oldest 3 kids (tweens/teen). The Oasis had more for our 3 yr olds, but still not nearly as nice for that age group as Disney.

Jess

 

[christinou]

How were the evening shows on the Freedom? Our typical evening on a DCL ship involves having dinner together as a family, followed by a show and then the kids go off to their 'clubs' and we go find some adult entertainment to enjoy.

We did not find the shows to always be great, the ice show was terrific, the other shows not always the best, but there was so much to do on the ship that it did not bother us.

 

[PrincessTrisha]

We've been considering giving either the Freedom or the Carnival Dream a chance after our upcoming Disney Dream cruise. Youngest boy likes the idea of the water park on the Carnival ship, but our most recent non-DCL trip was on Carnival and we were very underwhelmed with the whole experience. Plus I don't like that Carnival seems to be blatantly copying the names of DCL ships. Yes, I know the Carnival Dream came first, but it was pretty much a given that would be the name of the next new DCL ship.

How were the evening shows on the Freedom? Our typical evening on a DCL ship involves having dinner together as a family, followed by a show and then the kids go off to their 'clubs' and we go find some adult entertainment to enjoy.

Ummm, then why is DCL naming their next ship "Fantasy" when Carnival has had the Carnival Fantasy for many years now? The Carnival Dream name was decided before the Disney Dream (so who's copying who?).

After the Carnival Magic this year (the only name you could say that Carnival "took" from Disney), Carnival's next ship is the Carnival Breeze (if they were truly "copying" DCL ship names, wouldn't it be the Carnival Wonder?)

 

[dursin]

Ummm, then why is DCL naming their next ship "Fantasy" when Carnival has had the Carnival Fantasy for many years now? The Carnival Dream name was decided before the Disney Dream (so who's copying who?).

After the Carnival Magic this year (the only name you could say that Carnival "took" from Disney), Carnival's next ship is the Carnival Breeze (if they were truly "copying" DCL ship names, wouldn't it be the Carnival Wonder?)

Regardless of whether the Carnival Dream name was decided prior to the Disney Dream, it's been obvious for about a decade that that would be the #1 choice for a name for the next Disney ship.

 

[bauer2410]

This was the problem our family was having too and we decided on Disney and we don't regret it one bit! I know you have a longer crusie but the quality is what makes it. I would suggest Disney.

 

[Edd]

You wouldn't have regretted it if you chose the longer RCI cruise either. Two extra days of vacation should be the determining factor. Both are great cruises. Cruising on whatever ship you go on is just a fun, relaxing vacation. If you did cruise on an RCI ship you might have found out there is much more to do than on a "Disney" ship.

 

[lovethedream]

You wouldn't have regretted it if you chose the longer RCI cruise either. Two extra days of vacation should be the determining factor. Both are great cruises. Cruising on whatever ship you go on is just a fun, relaxing vacation. If you did cruise on an RCI ship you might have found out there is much more to do than on a "Disney" ship.

For what we like to do on a cruise, we did not find that this was the case. We felt we had more to do on DCL than on the RCCL Freedom.

 

[Edd]

That is a laugh. I am sorry you didn't enjoy the rock wall, the flow-rider, the ice skating rink, the 80's dancing party in the promenade, the circus parade in the promenade, the casino, the excellent allusionist on board the Freedom, the headliner show for that week, the well produced production shows, the excellent kids club, the full basketball court with dodge ball and soccer featured along with organized basketball games, the 1/2 mile zip line at Labadee, the childs pool area H2O and the ability for your child to walk around without bumping into other kids, the large modern work-out room, the adult pool area with whirlpools twice as big as the one on the two DCL small ships, the huge shopping area as long as a football field with free pizza, pudding, sandwiches and coffee at Sorrentos, the movie theatre, the ice skating show and of course Johnny Rockets, Portofino and Chops the three pay restaurants. That doesn't even count the different ports you can go while cruising the Freedom.

I am sure you had fun playing with the Disney characters and watching the great Micky Mouse shows in the theatre, shopping for the Disney merchandise in the two shops they have, watching the Disney movies in their beautiful movie theatre and trying to find a seat in the pool area during a sea day. I have been to Nassau many times and it is really dirty so I wonder why DCL keeps it on the agenda for its 3 and 4 day cruise of the Wonder and now their new ship the Dream?

 

[lovethedream]

That is a laugh. I am sorry you didn't enjoy the rock wall, the flow-rider, the ice skating rink, the 80's dancing party in the promenade, the circus parade in the promenade, the casino, the excellent allusionist on board the Freedom, the headliner show for that week, the well produced production shows, the excellent kids club, the full basketball court with dodge ball and soccer featured along with organized basketball games, the 1/2 mile zip line at Labadee, the childs pool area H2O and the ability for your child to walk around without bumping into other kids, the large modern work-out room, the adult pool area with whirlpools twice as big as the one on the two DCL small ships, the huge shopping area as long as a football field with free pizza, pudding, sandwiches and coffee at Sorrentos, the movie theatre, the ice skating show and of course Johnny Rockets, Portofino and Chops the three pay restaurants. That doesn't even count the different ports you can go while cruising the Freedom.

I am sure you had fun playing with the Disney characters and watching the great Micky Mouse shows in the theatre, shopping for the Disney merchandise in the two shops they have, watching the Disney movies in their beautiful movie theatre and trying to find a seat in the pool area during a sea day. I have been to Nassau many times and it is really dirty so I wonder why DCL keeps it on the agenda for its 3 and 4 day cruise of the Wonder and now their new ship the Dream?

How is this a laugh? I said for what we like to do on a cruise, we found more to do on DCL than on the Freedom. You have sailed on other ships than the Freedom and said you enjoyed those just as much, If I remember, they had far less to do too.

As a matter of fact, I am finding, from experience on three different cruise lines now, that we seem to prefer the smaller ships over the larger ships.

 

[Mickeyhugger]

That is a laugh. I am sorry you didn't enjoy the rock wall, the flow-rider, the ice skating rink, the 80's dancing party in the promenade, the circus parade in the promenade, the casino, the excellent allusionist on board the Freedom, the headliner show for that week, the well produced production shows, the excellent kids club, the full basketball court with dodge ball and soccer featured along with organized basketball games, the 1/2 mile zip line at Labadee, the childs pool area H2O and the ability for your child to walk around without bumping into other kids, the large modern work-out room, the adult pool area with whirlpools twice as big as the one on the two DCL small ships, the huge shopping area as long as a football field with free pizza, pudding, sandwiches and coffee at Sorrentos, the movie theatre, the ice skating show and of course Johnny Rockets, Portofino and Chops the three pay restaurants. That doesn't even count the different ports you can go while cruising the Freedom.

I am sure you had fun playing with the Disney characters and watching the great Micky Mouse shows in the theatre, shopping for the Disney merchandise in the two shops they have, watching the Disney movies in their beautiful movie theatre and trying to find a seat in the pool area during a sea day. I have been to Nassau many times and it is really dirty so I wonder why DCL keeps it on the agenda for its 3 and 4 day cruise of the Wonder and now their new ship the Dream?

Here you go again Edd

 

[Who's your Mickey?]

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

Freedom is due for a drydock in April. All RCI will say is it's a general maintenance and enhancement drydock. If Liberty's recent drydock is the template, they'll add a cupcake cupboard and a poolside jumbotron to go along with their "Dreamworks Experience".

I've been on several RCI cruises and there's plenty to do for all age groups.

 

[NancyIL]

Freedom is due for a drydock in April. All RCI will say is it's a general maintenance and enhancement drydock. If Liberty's recent drydock is the template, they'll add a cupcake cupboard and a poolside jumbotron to go along with their "Dreamworks Experience".

I've been on several RCI cruises and there's plenty to do for all age groups.

There is no cruise on Freedom of the Seas the week of March 20th, and I think that is the week of its dry dock. (There is a sailing every week in April.) The ship begins hosting the Dream Works characters on the March 27th cruise.