Can someone compare Royal Caribbean and DCL please?

[SSSneezy]

My husband is not as Disney as the rest of us and I am wondering if it is worth the grumbling I would have to put up with. He likes RCL and thinks that there would be "too many kids and too much Mouse" on Disney. We are thinking about a 3-day in November with our l7 and l4-year old sons. Any of you who have done both I would love your opinions.

Thanks!

 

[kjcolv]

I'm sure it depends on which RCL ship you are on. I've done both DCL and RCL Soverign of the Sea I think. I much prefer Disney..I thought the food was better, I thought the shows were better, I thought the selection of activites was 10 times better. There were times on RCL where we were wandering around with nothing to do, we ended up watching movies in our cabin. I NEVER had a problem finding something to do on Disney. Perhaps on one of the megaships it would be better. The big difference is the gambling, or lack thereof. I'm not a gambler so I never missed not having a casino on board the Disney ships. I find the other ships rely heavily on the "casino"being the big entertainment draw, especially at night. I didn't feel overmoused on DCL, I think you can avoid it for the most part if that is what you want. The decor is subtle and you don't feel like you are in a floatng Magic Kingdom, while it is magical it is not overdone.

 

[MandM]

We've been on both, only difference is we went with another couple on RCL. we were on Explorer of the Seas. Fantastic ship. Rock climbing, miniature golf, ice shows, casino, promenade and excellent shows. The shows on DCL are very much kid oriented. especially on the 3 night (we've been on the 3,4 and 7 night). You definately get your money's worth with the characters. Castaway Cay is a wonderful island. The spot for RCL was Labadee, it was nice but not like Castaway Cay. I found the spa and gym area on the Explorer of the Seas nicer than DCL as well. Good luck i nyour decision.

 

[joyful1nh]

I've been going through the same decision making process. We cruised RCL "Majesty of the Seas" in its inagural year and I'd love to see the megaliners with the ice skating, etc. We did a 3 night DCL last year. I personally preferred the Disney entertainment and spa. The food was better on RCL. Activities hard to judge because 3 night versus 7. I don't particularly care for Labadee (RCL private island) and much prefer Castaway Cay.
Either way, I hope you have a wonderful time. My DH graciously said that he would do DCL again because DD & I want to.

 

[callahanjulie10]

We have cruised DCL 5 times with DD who is now 11. She has slowly outgrown (even though I haven't!) the lab and characters. We will be sailing Mariner next year. It is the newest of the RCCL mega ships. I know that she will enjoy the rock wall, ice rink, putt putt, etc. She will have more options for more active kids than just the childrens programs.
But I can tell you that when DCL gets a new ship- we will return to DCL. I just love everything Disney and I know that they will do something comparable to RCCLs megaliners!

 

[kjcolv]

I forgot about the private island differences. Nothing makes you appreciate the beauty of DCL being able to pull right up to the dock at Castaway Cay like standing on a tender squahed up against strangers bobbing up and down on a choppy sea!! Gave me a whole new appreciation for CC!!

The great thing is as long as you enjoy cruising, you can't go wrong either way, just personal preference and ours is DCL!!

 

[debkay]

Like callahanjulie, we are going on our 5th DCL cruise July 19th. This will be our first 7 day Western with DCL, having done 2-7day Eastern and a 4day cruise prior. Next summer we will also be trying the Mariner. Waiting for the summer 2004 dates to open to book it!

 

[MFan]

With your teenage DSs and a biased DH, I think your family will have a much better time on one of the new RCCL mega-ships. They are not MAGICal nor WONDERful like Disney ships, but they offer more activities oriented toward older kids, or kid-at-hearts. To top it off, you'll probably pay less by going with RCCL...

 

[MFan]

Oh, I forgot to include this comparison review of DCL and RCCL. Someone posted in another thread a while back. I think it's updated every so often. It's pretty fair IMHO.

DCL vs. RCCL

You can't lose either way you go...

 

[dzneprincess]

What are the names of te RCCL megaliners? Everytime I go to their website, I just get overwhelmed. The web site doesn't seem very user friendly.

 

[SSSneezy]

Thanks for your help. I'm calling a family meeting tonight and hopefully we will able to decide!

 

[Bev J]

the mega liners are
Navigator of the Seas
Voyager of the Seas
Explorer of the Seas
Adventurer of the Seas
Mariner of the Seas


We have sailed on RCL many times and enjoyed every one of them. We sailed with our kids on the Wonder and we all had a great time also. For our family we prefer RCL, better food, more activities. For the ages of your sons you would probably be better off with RCL. Our 15 year old did not find much to do on DCL. Basketball and pingpong and of course the game room. But he was happy. But is dying to go on one of the big ships.
RCL is putting climbing walls on all the ships so if that is an interest for you it will not matter which ship you choose.
Go to www.mytravelco.com and you can look at 360 degree video of the various ships and maybe navigate through the pricing better. Pick up a RCI brochure from your local travel agent, but ignore the prices in it.
You can also go to www.cruisecritic.com and read the Royal Caribbean boards for lots of information.

 

[mac_tlc]

MFan already listed the link to my comparison of the Disney ships and the Voyager-class ships. We have sailed Disney twice (3rd coming in November) and the Voyager class ships twice (third coming in August, 4th next October from NYC). It will be updated as we sail those ships, and in the interim as we get more first-hand info.

It really depends on what you want. I agree with the other posters.. an older child or teen will fing more to do on RCCL. Especially the NOS and MOS, which have expanded the area for teens to include the entire aft portion of deck 12.

To me, the other difference can be $$$. More cabins to fill on RCCL, so the prices are usually lower.

Can't make a wrong decision though...


mac_tlc

 

[cathyrob]

With the ages of your sons, I think they would enjoy RCCL megaships much better. We sailed Voyager and loved it. There is sooooo much to do when YOU want to do it. I am excited for Voyager to move to NYC. We will be booking.

 

[tezb]

DebKay...why the Mariner? We had thought we would book the Voyager next summer but now see that the Voyager has changed their itinerary. They are leaving out of New York for a 9 day. Do you know if this is new? Is that why you are choosing the Mariner? Just wondering as we want to also try one of these ships instead of DCL since we have older teens now and have only used DCL. Would appreciate any info you know about the Mariner...

thanks....

 

[SSSneezy]

Believe it or not we voted last night 4-0 for Disney. We are going on Explorer next month for our anniversary and the November cruise has to be a short one because of the kid's school schedule. Thanks for all your advice!

 

[debkay]

tezb-
My husband has picked the Mariner for our cruise next summer because it will be a new ship leaving from Port Canveral. Feb., 2002 we cruised on Carnivals new ship, the Carnival Pride, so we want to try another line besides Carnival and Disney. Add to that the fact the girls want to go on the rock climbing wall that also has a skating rink and mini golf course. Hey...we can dicsuu this when we are on the Magic July 19th!

 

[PiperG]

We are planning to cruise this ship to Alaska next year. Because DCL does not go there, our TA thought this was the next best choice.

I am always looking for input on that particular ship. I have received feedback from a couple of dissers, but am always looking for more since RCCL does not have a board like this.

Thanks for sharing if you can!

 

[tezb]

Debkay, sounds good. We only thought of the Voyager because of what everyone else was saying about it and we have teens who would probably enjoy it. The Voyager and Mariner sound very similar w/ regards to what they have on the ship. It just seems now from the website that the Voyager will not be going out of Miami anymore.....In that case, will choose the Mariner also!

 

[kjcolv]

After reading the posts I would have bet you were going to pick RCCL!! So what was the deciding factor? And as we said before, either choice was a good one!