5 night disney vs 7 night royal Caribbean

[5lilfish]

RCCL...aka "The RCL", doesn't have too many extra charges, but a few do exist. The ones that come to mind are the charge for sodas that are included on DCL, the $5 (I think) per child per hour "Babysitting fees" that are charged after 10pm and upcharge restaurants that some parents may feel pressured into taking the kids to like Johnny Rockets.

The $20 towel rental fee is a new one on me and I think it's ridiculous, but that charge is easily avoided so doesn't really count against RCCL any more than the $250 charge for losing a Wave phone would on DCL.

I agee about the towels...to a point. The wave phones will have individual ID's. So if someone loses their phone, they cannot just grab yours and claim it as their own to avoid paying (sticking you with the fee). Plus, in general, you are going to leave your towel on a chair at the pool much more casually and more often than you would set down a phone and walk away.

Jess

 

[5lilfish]

You can spend extra on DCL for beer and wine tastings, specialty restaurants (Palo and Remy), and snacks at the theater. To clarify - RCI doesn't charge for the use of pool towels - but for the LOSS of a pool towel. If you have young kids and you want them in the kids' clubs after 10 p.m. on RCI - you will pay extra for that. (Seems to me that kids that age ought to be in bed or with their parents at that hour!)

My 11 yr old does not go to bed at 10pm on vacation (or even at home, for that matter).

Jess

 

[NancyIL]

RCCL...aka "The RCL", doesn't have too many extra charges, but a few do exist. The ones that come to mind are the charge for sodas that are included on DCL, the $5 (I think) per child per hour "Babysitting fees" that are charged after 10pm and upcharge restaurants that some parents may feel pressured into taking the kids to like Johnny Rockets.

The $20 towel rental fee is a new one on me and I think it's ridiculous, but that charge is easily avoided so doesn't really count against RCCL any more than the $250 charge for losing a Wave phone would on DCL.

It's not THE RCL or even RCCL - it's RCI - Royal Caribbean International.

There is no $20 "rental fee' for pool towels. They know who takes out pool towels because they swipe your sea pass card. If you don't return your towels, you will be charged.

 

[dursin]

It's not THE RCL or even RCCL - it's RCI - Royal Caribbean International.

RCCL is a commonly used abbreviation for Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. Enter RCCL.COM in your browser and see what comes up...then try RCI.com.

 

[NancyIL]

RCCL is a commonly used abbreviation for Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. Enter RCCL.COM in your browser and see what comes up...then try RCI.com.

DCL is the abbreviation for Disney Cruise Line, but dcl.com will get you nowhere.

 

[5lilfish]

RCCL is a commonly used abbreviation for Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. Enter RCCL.COM in your browser and see what comes up...then try RCI.com.

hey..you're right. I've always type in rccl.com when I go to their website.

I did not know that rci.com didn't work.

Jess

 

[dursin]

hey..you're right. I've always type in rccl.com when I go to their website.

I did not know that rci.com didn't work.

Jess

I never knew that someone would be confused by the RCCL abbreviation. Guess I was wrong...there's always at least one.

 

[NancyIL]

hey..you're right. I've always type in rccl.com when I go to their website.

I did not know that rci.com didn't work.

Jess

Silly me - I type www.royalcaribbean.com. No wonder I have pain in my thumbs from typing all those extra letters!

 

[5lilfish]

Silly me - I type www.royalcaribbean.com. No wonder I have pain in my thumbs from typing all those extra letters!

but you left off the "I" for International.

 

[NancyIL]

but you left off the "I" for International.

That's not part of the URL.

 

[5lilfish]

That's not part of the URL.

I know...you had said silly you for typing royalcaribbean.com, but even that leaves out international.

Basically, the point trying to be made was that RCI and RCCL seem to both be acceptable abbreviations. Royal Caribbean must feel that way since it forwards rccl.com directly to their website.

Jess

 

[NancyIL]

I know...you had said silly you for typing royalcaribbean.com, but even that leaves out international.

Basically, the point trying to be made was that RCI and RCCL seem to both be acceptable abbreviations. Royal Caribbean must feel that way since it forwards rccl.com directly to their website.

Jess

Agreed, and www.rci.com doesn't work because another company already uses it.

 

[thej]

We had a similar choice about 5 years ago for a 2nd family reunion cruise. We had done a 3 night on the Wonder several years before that and had a magical time.

7 Nights on RC's Navigator of the Seas - Eastern Caribbean
- or -
4 nights on DCL.

We chose the 7 nights, and in the end wished we had gone with DCL. It was a fun cruise for the 8 grownups, but 7 grand kids aged 4 - 14yrs would have had a better time on DCL. We also felt that RC nickel-and-dimed you to death on the trip. It seemed that EVERYTHING was extra.

If we had to do it again, it would be DCL.

 

[Edd]

Please, please, please tell me how you got nickel and dimed!!!

 

[dursin]

We had a similar choice about 5 years ago for a 2nd family reunion cruise. We had done a 3 night on the Wonder several years before that and had a magical time.

7 Nights on RC's Navigator of the Seas - Eastern Caribbean
- or -
4 nights on DCL.

We chose the 7 nights, and in the end wished we had gone with DCL. It was a fun cruise for the 8 grownups, but 7 grand kids aged 4 - 14yrs would have had a better time on DCL. We also felt that RC nickel-and-dimed you to death on the trip. It seemed that EVERYTHING was extra.

If we had to do it again, it would be DCL.

Part of what I like about cruising as that for the most part, the pain of paying for the vacation is separated from the part where you get to enjoy the vacation. With DCL, I pretty much know that everything but my gratuities and alcohol is included in what I've already paid unless I decide to do some shopping. With other cruise lines, seems like you're being hit up for something additional every time you turn around.

DCL is the Southwest of cruise lines
RCCL and Carnival are like the other airlines that constantly seem to find ways to increase their revenue with other fees.

Can't help but laugh at stories like this one!
http://www.shipcriticblog.com/royal-caribbean-first-to-charge-extra-for-cupcakes/

 

[LadyLvsTramp]

Even if we go as adult couple would do Disney no contest we love the level of service, entertainment, food and service. Been 4 times going back soon I hope....

 

[Gupsdad]

Please, please, please tell me how you got nickel and dimed!!!

My wife (5LilFish) and I have been on many DCL cruises and several RCCL cruises. We have never had a bad DCL cruise. The cast members have always make you feel at home. They are always initiated conversations and seem to enjoy your company. The RCCL staff is also very accommodating, but there have been times where they seemed put out, not wanting to chat. Granted, they do have to work, so I never feel offended.

I find the nickel and diming occurs after 10pm with the kids club. DCL does not charge but RCL does. Why do they charge? Because they can and you are a captive audience. Disney opts not to because they do "customer service" better than anyone.

With regards to towels: Those $20 towels aren't even worth $5 so RCCL is ripping you off if you towel is lost. What if I find a towel left alone and turn it in? Does RCCL randomly pick a person who did not turn a towel in and return the deposit? I doubt it. They really dont need to charge $20 for a lost towel. With the prices they charge to ride the ship, they wont lose money because of towels.

Extra $$ for food? You can simply avoid it if you choose to. It is your choice whether or not you want to pay extra for food.

What it really boils down to is this: You want to take a 5 day DCL or 7 day RCCL? You pick whichever fits your schedule the best and hope the weather cooperates, because: YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE FUN!!!!!

Tom

 

[jilljill]

What it really boils down to is this: You want to take a 5 day DCL or 7 day RCCL? You pick whichever fits your schedule the best and hope the weather cooperates, because: YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE FUN!!!!!

Tom

This is the best piece of advice that I've seen and in the end the OP is the one that has to make the choice and make the most of THEIR vacation time.

 

[thej]

Please, please, please tell me how you got nickel and dimed!!!

It's been 5.5 years, but as I recall these are the things we paid for that I didn't expect having been on DCL prior:

* You had to pay for something to drink any time you were thirsty and weren't at a meal. I also feel like they charged for soda on every occasion they possibly could. A steady stream of people were going in and out of the buffet from the pool just to avoid having to pay for drinks.

* We had to pay for Johnny Rockets. I mean really? I'm OK with upscale dining charging a small cover, but burgers-n-fries and a song was a bit too much to ask.

* Cabin service was not "free." On our cruise at least they computed a service charge on what they delivered. I recall paying almost $6 as a "gratuity" on pastries & coffee one morning. While I might have tipped the guy a $5 since it arrived indecently quickly, I would have liked the choice. I think this might have been a test though as I've never heard anybody else mention this practice.

* They were always pushing stuff on us. By the end of the trip we felt like pretty much every activity had them pushing you to buy something or had some associated cost. Even relaxing out by the pool they pushed drinks on you on a regular basis.

* There was a meet-n-greet with the Captain and one of the other officers, which was really a book signing for the Captain's biography, and they kept harping on "get your copy and have it signed."

While there are only a few extra cost items on RC, it feels like there are so many because a few (like soda) keep hitting you over and over and they pushed so many $$ related activities. If they toned down the sales pitches some (a lot!) it would go a LONG way toward easing the "nickel-and-dime to death" feeling we got.

We also had issues with the kid's programs, but that's an unrelated post for another thread/forum.

 

[Edd]

That is what I thought.