Am I going to miss Disney? Nervous.

[Dug720]

Glad to hear you enjoyed it!! I'm on the southbound Radiance route 7/31 and have been a mix of excited and nervous (was on HAL in Alaska last year and it was NOT a good experience outside most of the of the group of people I was with), but am really hoping for the best!

I'm really hoping I like it, because I have found THE CRUISE I want to do in 2016 for a birthday celebration...and it's on Brilliance. At this point, I'm so excited about that itinerary, unless things are 100% awful I'll likely book it on board anyway - probably just do a verandah stateroom as I'll want to see out while in Europe and the difference between an ocean view and a balcony is really pretty nominal but to jump up to a junior suite is a difference of about $3000 - which is a LOT and can pay for some nice excursions or souvenirs!

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

I missed RCCL after going on the Disney 'Dream" (Potentially the most misnamed ship outthere, there was nothing "dream" like about the service on that trip LOL!) I felt the RCCL adult areas were dramatically better and the service beat that on the Dream! Not to mention I missed a lot less $$ on RCCL. (Yes, I know I had to pay for soda LOL! Exactly how much soda do you folks drink who view this as the "tipping" point? I would have had to drink gallons of the stuff daily!)

 

[Grumpy92]

We are doing an RCL next year and loved DCL. But we are taking the mindset that this is much cheaper, we can get a better stateroom and look on it as a new adventure not a comparison. I know they will both have their pros and cons.

 

[butsy113]

I'm so glad I found this thread! We are doing our first cruise in September, a 4 day Disney. We are planning to do Alaska in 2017, and I've been debating what line to cruise on. We will have a 13 & 15 year old. We had planned to use our OBB to book again with Disney, but I would really prefer the one way all the way to Anchorage and to use the non-Disney savings to book some great excursions. Isn't that what Alaska is all about! RCCL is on our list. My main worry is about the kids. Does RCCL do good with the kids? Are there any other lines I should add to my list as I begin to research??

 

[DannyDisneyFreak]

We feel the opposite! Cabanas = patooie! For us. Windjammer, especially breakfast, is yummo. For us.



Yay!


I'm sorry they made you get off the ship. I hate when they do that. It's like they want you pay again or something.


FWIW my son likes Royal's kid's program more than Disney's. On Disney he's one of many, there's no personal interaction, they are just let loose. On Royal the counselors know the kids by name, they play WITH them (and not just for special things like "Get The Hook"), it's more like a summer camp with lots of activities vs Disney's free-floating daycare.

Oh wow, see on Disney they knew my kids by name. One of them was so excited when my son showed up.

 

[Ofinn]

Thanks for reporting back. So many people start threads or ask questions, and we never here the outcome. It's great you followed up, and I'm glad you enjoyed your cruise.

 

[eskimoinparadise]

Glad to hear you enjoyed it!! I'm on the southbound Radiance route 7/31 and have been a mix of excited and nervous (was on HAL in Alaska last year and it was NOT a good experience outside most of the of the group of people I was with), but am really hoping for the best!

I'm really hoping I like it, because I have found THE CRUISE I want to do in 2016 for a birthday celebration...and it's on Brilliance. At this point, I'm so excited about that itinerary, unless things are 100% awful I'll likely book it on board anyway - probably just do a verandah stateroom as I'll want to see out while in Europe and the difference between an ocean view and a balcony is really pretty nominal but to jump up to a junior suite is a difference of about $3000 - which is a LOT and can pay for some nice excursions or souvenirs!

If you don't want to jump to a JS, some balcony cabins you should try to snag if you can (all have oversized balconies) 7094, 7108,8088, 8102, 9078, 9092, or 9256 (corner aft - biggest non-suite balcony on the ship)

 

[DCDisney]

For Alaska you really should consider Princess so that you get to go through Glacier Bay. We are scheduled to cruise with them next month and my roll call group has about 20 teens and almost no little kids which is pretty ideal for us cruising with teens. We considered RC too but felt like we didn't like all the upcharge dining options and worriedd the main dining room must not be good if they have so many other places. DCL was off the table for us entirely because the shore excursions are so important for Alaska and other lines let you book excursions as soon as they open not by rewards level like DCL. I also liked that Princess doesn't make you pre-pay for the shore excursions and they are relatively easy to cancel even a few days out.

 

[eskimoinparadise]

For Alaska you really should consider Princess so that you get to go through Glacier Bay. We are scheduled to cruise with them next month and my roll call group has about 20 teens and almost no little kids which is pretty ideal for us cruising with teens. We considered RC too but felt like we didn't like all the upcharge dining options and worriedd the main dining room must not be good if they have so many other places. DCL was off the table for us entirely because the shore excursions are so important for Alaska and other lines let you book excursions as soon as they open not by rewards level like DCL. I also liked that Princess doesn't make you pre-pay for the shore excursions and they are relatively easy to cancel even a few days out.

Princess was our favorite for Alaska as well. I think they still have the best itineraries (Glacier Bay is a must see)

 

[ksjayhawks]

My grandkids prefer the RCCL kids clubs to the Disney ones. They were disappointed that so many of the activities were not available except at certain times. They were bored and didn't stay in there long. On RCCL, they would go in and it was tough to get them out.