3 times DCL..1 time RCCL...a comparison

[wild.zinnia]

Thanks for your review. The cost alone of DCL has me debating of whether or not I should also consider other cruise lines.

 

[Skatetigger]

thanks for the great and honest review, it's good to know. My folks are coming with us on our October Dream cruise and have cruised pretty much all the main lines, RCCL, Princess, Carnival and Holland, so I will be interested to hear what they ahve to say. I actually think their first cruise was on the Monarch of the Seas.

On side note I am really surprised that people would be nasty about such a comparisonwhile I love Disney it's not the be all and end all and contrary to popular belief it's not perfect.

It always bugs me when people knock people that go to Universal too as well as WDW. My DH and I like to go to both parks, and while we love WDW there's things I love at Universal.

Anyway, thanks again for the comparison, I found it to be very helpful even though this is only my first cruise.

 

[MisterOJ]

Thanks for the review. This makes me want to try RCCL now.

Our next cruise is going to be a theme cruise on Carnival - The Rock Boat if any of y'all are familiar with it. We're soooo excited about it I can't stand it. Then we have another DCL booked for later in 2012 on the Fantasy. After that... it might be time to try RCCL.

 

[HotMama]

Thanks for the review. We have done 2 cruises on other lines & are excited to see what a DCL is like.

 

[KSDisneyDad]

I think we're on the same October cruise.

From the RCCL cruises we have taken, I like that RCCL is priced approximately 1/3 to 1/2 the cost of a Disney cruise.

YMMV.

Woody

You are correct with YMMV! Our summer 2012 DCL Fantasy cruise is less expensive than comparable cruises on either RCCL or Carnival. I compared to the Oasis, FOS and Carnival Dream all doing nearly identical itineraries on the same day or within a day of our cruise. I checked prices on the first day of booking for each ship. Disney is $1,200 less than the Oasis! That's a lot of free soda--oh nevermind, I get "free" soda don't I?

I understand that I was very fortunate to get this price and since then, Disney prices have jumped to absurb amounts. Our cruise has more than doubled in price. I wouldn't pay that.

To the OP: Thanks for the reviews. It's so funny about food reviews. You'll rarely get a consensus on this. My wife went on a Princess cruise and had heard so many rave reviews about how great the food was compared to Disney. Her opinion was just the opposite. She said she rarely finished her meals and even with her sweet tooth, she found nearly all the desserts lacking. She did think the bread was a lot better though. YMMV

 

[sanjuan60]

I hope people like you continue to express their opinions on their cruising experiences (both disney and rcci and other lines)
it gives a great perspective on differences and similarities

Thanks again for your very balanced review.
I enjoyed it.

S.

 

[sssteele]

I think we're on the same October cruise.


Woody

Venice to Barcelona?

 

[Rogillio]

I think we're on the same October cruise.

From the RCCL cruises we have taken, I like that RCCL is priced approximately 1/3 to 1/2 the cost of a Disney cruise.

YMMV.

Woody

Unless one is comparing the same week, the length of cruise, the same ports of call, the room category, the same cruise departation port, time of booking, saying one cruise line is 2x or 3x as much as another cruise line is hyperbole that is over the top. Do a side-by-side comparrison of cruises and see how much cruise prices vary.

Nevertheless, prices are market driven and people vote with their wallet. Maybe there is a reason the cruise you took was 1/3 the cost of DCL.

 

[NancyIL]

Unless one is comparing the same week, the length of cruise, the same ports of call, the room category, the same cruise departation port, time of booking, saying one cruise line is 2x or 3x as much as another cruise line is hyperbole that is over the top. Do a side-by-side comparrison of cruises and see how much cruise prices vary.

Nevertheless, prices are market driven and people vote with their wallet. Maybe there is a reason the cruise you took was 1/3 the cost of DCL.

DCL has 3 ships now, and next year there will be 4. Royal Caribbean has 22 ships. The Oasis and Allure of the Seas are still charging high prices because of the newness and the wow-factor of the ships. Other RCI ships discount to fill the ships.

To the OP - thanks for your comparison of DCL vs. Monarch of the Seas. I have cruised on Monarch twice, and would do so again for the right itinerary and price. Yes, the cabins are tiny, but I knew that when I booked the cruises.

 

[Rogillio]

DCL has 3 ships now, and next year there will be 4. Royal Caribbean has 22 ships. The Oasis and Allure of the Seas are still charging high prices because of the newness and the wow-factor of the ships. Other RCI ships discount to fill the ships.

To the OP - thanks for your comparison of DCL vs. Monarch of the Seas. I have cruised on Monarch twice, and would do so again for the right itinerary and price. Yes, the cabins are tiny, but I knew that when I booked the cruises.

See, I told you there was a reason! 22 ships?! Wow. So since DCL only had 2 ships untill this year, we we assume that about 11 times more people sail with RCCL than DCL? Dang. I feel very special that I have been among the few who have been able to sail with DCL....rather than the masses who have sailed RCCL.

Maybe RCCL loses money on every cruise but makes it up in volume! ;-)

 

[Doppler]

The food is always superior I went on royal carribian once and the food was horrid but Disney has never let me down in Perfect food.

 

[jdb in AZ]

On our DCL cruise in January one of the women at our table said she'd never cruise with anyone but DCL. If she wants to be that close-minded, it's her loss.

Have I had better food on other cruises? Yes. And better variety. The DCL cruises we've been on really needed a better pastry chef. But there are worse things than eating defrosted Krispy Kreme donuts.

Entertainment? DCL is our favorite overall.

Itineraries? hmmm. Main reason we choose other cruise lines from time to time. That, and the price. Love the mouse, but as another DISer said a few months ago, you have to pay the mouse's salary.

For us, it all comes down to the magic. Just as going to another amusement park doesn't have that same Disney magic, other cruises don't give us that same feeling we get with Disney. Will that stop us from going to Harry Potter at Universal Studios, or on other cruise lines? Hardly. Is Disney perfect? nope, but they go out of their way to make us happy.

 

[dan and scott]

On our DCL cruise in January one of the women at our table said she'd never cruise with anyone but DCL. If she wants to be that close-minded, it's her loss.

Have I had better food on other cruises? Yes. And better variety. The DCL cruises we've been on really needed a better pastry chef. But there are worse things than eating defrosted Krispy Kreme donuts.

Entertainment? DCL is our favorite overall.

Itineraries? hmmm. Main reason we choose other cruise lines from time to time. That, and the price. Love the mouse, but as another DISer said a few months ago, you have to pay the mouse's salary.

For us, it all comes down to the magic. Just as going to another amusement park doesn't have that same Disney magic, other cruises don't give us that same feeling we get with Disney. Will that stop us from going to Harry Potter at Universal Studios, or on other cruise lines? Hardly. Is Disney perfect? nope, but they go out of their way to make us happy.

I agree they could use a new pastry chef as long agooooooo---DCL did make their own doughnuts and no Krappy Kremes were found on board.
DCL can do better on food quality --but we did find the food quality surprisingly good on the Dream this last February.

Scott

 

[NancyIL]

Maybe RCCL loses money on every cruise but makes it up in volume! ;-)

I think some RCI cruise prices are loss leaders, but they hope to make up the difference in alcohol sales, excursions booked, the casino, and merchandise purchased. Unfortunately for them, I don't drink alcohol or soda, usually book independent excursions, stay out of the casino/bingo, and buy very little "stuff"! I am not a money maker for cruise lines. I guess DCL is smart to get their money out of me up front!

 

[Rogillio]

I think some RCI cruise prices are loss leaders, but they hope to make up the difference in alcohol sales, excursions booked, the casino, and merchandise purchased. Unfortunately for them, I don't drink alcohol or soda, usually book independent excursions, stay out of the casino/bingo, and buy very little "stuff"! I am not a money maker for cruise lines. I guess DCL is smart to get their money out of me up front!

I'm sure DCL make some nice coin in their gift shop selling Disney clothes and memorabilia. I have a nice polo, tee-shirt and coffee mug from nearly every DCL cruise we've ever been on. I don't own any NCL or HAL merchandise...lol

 

[KikiMouse]

Thanks for the comparison!
For me, the draw is about the Disney characters and Disney entertainment. We have considered other cruise lines, but we get very limited vacation time- so we do Disney. I'm afraid if I did RCCL I would be disappointed because the Disney characters were not on board, and it does not have the Disney ambiance.
I realize that I would most likely have a great time on another ship, but given that right now, I have a limited amount of vacation time, I will always sail DCL!
But its nice to get a picture of RCCL should I ever have more than a weeks vacation! Thanks!
KikiMouse

 

[NancyIL]

I'm sure DCL make some nice coin in their gift shop selling Disney clothes and memorabilia. I have a nice polo, tee-shirt and coffee mug from nearly every DCL cruise we've ever been on. I don't own any NCL or HAL merchandise...lol

Disney "stuff" is different! I have also purchased a few items on each of my 3 Disney cruises. But then, I also have a cupboard full of Disney mugs and a closet full of Disney t-shirts from WDW and The Disney Store!

 

[narsibvl]

<< There was an Indian dish every night at dinner ...>>

Our first wonder trip, our Chief supervisor comes upto us and goes "Are you guys into Indian food", I had the look that said "No, but I will willingly die for it...we being indians, nothing whet our appetite like some good indian curry".

So the last we had a special food brought down to us, the naans, the curry and the raithas...maan...as my wife commented late, I had the look of being in heaven that day...would have went down well with some good indian beer...maybe the next trip !! Once can always hope can't we !!!

 

[woody73]

Unless one is comparing the same week, the length of cruise, the same ports of call, the room category, the same cruise departation port, time of booking, saying one cruise line is 2x or 3x as much as another cruise line is hyperbole that is over the top. Do a side-by-side comparrison of cruises and see how much cruise prices vary.

I did a side-by side comparison, and those cruise prices sure can vary!

We were interested in going on a DCL 2010 Baltics cruise. That is, until we saw the prices for a Cat. 9 the day DCL released them.

So I checked with RCCL, The price for the same room category (an oceanview), with nearly identical ports, leaving one week later, was 1/3 the cost of DCL.

The port we were most interested in was St Petersburg. We liked that RCCL had better port times than DCL: RCCL arrived at St Petersburg at 7:00 am, while DCL arrived in the afternoon.

YMMV

Woody

 

[NancyIL]

I did a side-by side comparison, and those cruise prices sure can vary!

We were interested in going on a DCL 2010 Baltics cruise. That is, until we saw the prices for a Cat. 9 the day DCL released them.

So I checked with RCCL, The price for the same room category (an oceanview), with nearly identical ports, leaving one week later, was 1/3 the cost of DCL.

The port we were most interested in was St Petersburg. We liked that RCCL had better port times than DCL: RCCL arrived at St Petersburg at 7:00 am, while DCL arrived in the afternoon.

YMMV

Woody

I thought DCL had THE most outrageous prices for their 2010 Baltic cruises - starting at $3469 (or $3649 - I don't remember now) per person for a category 11 inside! I had already been on a wonderful 12-night Baltic cruise on Jewel of the Seas in 2005, so I had no trouble dismissing those cruises. On the other hand, DCL had some excellent prices on their 2010 April Transatlantic and April and May Med cruises. Had I not already booked a British Isles cruise on Princess (which was great, by the way) - I would've been very tempted by DCL.