Comparing apples and oranges?

[MrsPete]

I've been searching for information on Royal Caribbean cruise ships, having heard that other lines are less expensive than Disney. I found one website today that really had some surprising information: www.cruisestateroom.com.

There's a feature that allows you to compare staterooms on two different ships side by side, or you can compare two ships themselves side by side (year built, size, number of passengers, number of crew, etc). Seeing them side by side really drives home the "you get what you pay for" thing.

I compared Disney's Magic and Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas , I found that there's a 100 sf difference between a basic balcony cabin on the two ships! That's more than 1/3 the total size of the cabin! It's like comparing apples and oranges! To get a comparable Royal Carribean cabin, you'd have to move up to the Junior Suite (Disney's verandah room and RC's Junior Suite are both 268 sf, though RC's room included a very nice walk-in closet); thus, these two rooms are a fair comparison -- apples to apples.

The price difference between a Disney verandah room and a Royal Carribean Junior Suite is only $276. Admittedly, $276 is more than pocket change to me, but it is not nearly the savings I had believed I could net by changing to another cruise line! I think we'll be staying with tried-and-true Disney for now.

Disclaimer: I feel this way because we're traveling with two children -- a reasonable amount of cabin space is very important to us. In future years, when it's just me and my husband sharing the room, we will probably be willing to sacrafice space in favor of more frequent cruising.

 

[TnRobin]

I agree with you whole heartedly. I have said this for quite some time. I have a small child. If I booked an inside cabin on most other cruiselines, he would sleep in a pull-out berth above my DH and I. In order to get the sleeper couch like I have grown accustome to on DCL, you have to move up to a more expensive room, thus nullifying the savings

 

[drarill]

Hi:
If the price difference is just $276 go for Disney, but I can tell you that the price for a Junior suite in RCCL for a Western Carib. Cruise in June is over $2000 cheaper than a West. Carib in the Disney Magic in May. Also if you want more space, upgrades when you check in are really good in RCCL. We paid like $600 for an upgrade from a cat E to a C when we checked in. I'm still doing the Magic in 10 days but I'm paying a lot more. Hope this helps, I think a TA can tell you the real prices for RCCL.

 

[makaylee]

I noticed the same thing before and when I posted it I got flammed by some RCCL fans. Who still insist RCCL is way cheaper than DCL. But when I compared staterooms and cruising dates DCL was about the same as RCCL. Maybe it just depends on what sailing you take, but the one I looked at had RCCL at the same price. So I too will stick with DCL. Even if the price were quite a bit more I would still probably stick with DCL. Cruising without the Mouse just wouldnt be the same for us. Sailing without Mickey just doesn't hold alot of appeal for me, I would just rather go to Hawaii or something. But thats just me. Our favorite parts were the Disney shows and character appearances.

 

[my3kids]

I compared my Holland America room to the category 6 on the Magic....just about the same. I am paying over $1000 less for 2 people in a verandah on HAL than for 2 on the Magic in a category 12. That is a huge difference!

 

[hayesktrm]

I compared prices for RCCL to DCL. For $1000 less that what I will pay for the 7-night DCL cruise, I could get a family suite with an ocean view. We only have a cat. 11 on DCL. They have my deposit, but I really have to think hard about it.

 

[smchan]

Originally posted by my3kids
I compared my Holland America room to the category 6 on the Magic....just about the same. I am paying over $1000 less for 2 people in a verandah on HAL than for 2 on the Magic in a category 12. That is a huge difference!

I've noticed HAL has some really good rates, but they also cater to a completely different audience, IMO. I'm looking at a 7 day on HAL for just my wife and me.

Sam

 

[Ashley24]

Originally we were going to cruise on Disney next Easter but did the price comparison with RCCL and this is what we found. The price for a cat. 6 for the four of us was almost 7,000! Instead we got two connecting balcony rooms for 5400 on the Mariner for the same week. Yes, the rooms are smaller than the cat. 6 but there will only be two of us in each room...I see it more like a suite with two bedrooms. Perfect for us...2 bathrooms, 2 showers, 2 tv's, 2 closets, 2 balconies! My two daughters are very excited to try a new cruise line with their own room!

 

[zeke11]

Hey this is a very neat website -- thanks for sharing!!

Kris

 

[my3kids]

smchan: Yes, the HAL is just my husband and me.

 

[smchan]

Originally posted by my3kids
smchan: Yes, the HAL is just my husband and me.

When is your cruise? I'd like to know what you think about HAL. I'm having a difficult time convincing my wife to try a non-DCL cruise.

Sam

 

[goingbacksoon]

This may be flame worthy, but I was under the impression that the HAL audience is mostly retirees and "senior" cruisers?

True, or only urban legend? (for those who have cruised HAL)

goingbacksoon

 

[jeanie]

The main reason I booked RCCL was because it was cheaper.
I have a junior suite booked on the NOS for next Apr. For the four of us it will be 4000.00 for the Western. The Magic is sailing the Eastern that same week and for a cat 6 it was going to cost us 5200.00 at the time I booked. The difference in price will pay for our airfare...

So I think this is apples to apples but I am sure it depends on the week.

I love Disney, I love cruising.... I wan't to cruise on Disney! I just can't afford it...

 

[hayesktrm]

Jeanie, and it's getting more expensive all the time

 

[MrsPete]

See, some of you guys are listing the big savings that I was expecting to find. Perhaps it varies significantly from month to month, or from ship to ship.

Just for clarification, here's what I was comparing:

7 days in a Verandah cabin, category 6 on DCL for October 2005 (3500 for a family of four, according to my brochure) is 268 square feet

7 days in a Deluxe Ocean View Stateroom with balcony on RC's Mariner of the Seas (2434.60 for a family of four, according to RC's website) is 168 square feet

7 days in a Junior suite on RC's Mariner of the Seas for October 2005 (3224.20 for a family of four, according to RC's website) is 268 square feet

I was comparing a DCL verandah cabin to a deluxe ocean view stateroom -- after all, they SOUND the same, and the savings appear to be significant. But when you look at the square footage, you see only a very small difference -- at least for the month of October 2005.

 

[kajohn]

MrsPete

The 268 square foot listed by DCL includes the varandah. The cabin is actually the same size as the cat 8 and 9 which is 214 sq. feet. Since the DCL cabins have split baths, more square footage is taken up by the 2nd bath, so the actual living space is very comperable to RCCL cabins.

I have stayed in cat. 4 on DCL and the deluxe verandah cabins on RCCL. The actual living space is just slightly bigger on DCL than RCCL. Both cabins have a sofa (some of the RCCL cabins have a love seat), then the bed, and a dressing table/desk and cocktail table. They are very similarly laid out, with RCCL cabins having larger TV's, and the bed is by the veranda which is actually a better layout IMHO when getting ready etc. than on DCL (cat. 5 & 6).

The split bath is definetly a positive for DCL if travelling 4 in a cabin, and the layout of the 3rd and 4th passengers is better on DCL, but I still consider cat. 5 & 6 on DCL and the deluxe verandah staterooms on RCCL as pretty comperable. Maybe like comparing Johnathan apples to granny smiths instead of apples to oranages.

 

[CarolynK]

Originally posted by goingbacksoon
This may be flame worthy, but I was under the impression that the HAL audience is mostly retirees and "senior" cruisers?

True, or only urban legend? (for those who have cruised HAL)

goingbacksoon

My honeymoon was on a HAL ship, and since then we have taken
several more HAL cruises. Yes, there are lots of wheelchairs on HAL ships, but we look at it this way - more room in the pool for us. While as a rule you won't find the number of kids that you'll see on a Disney ship (that's a bad thing?), the newest HAL ships, Oosterdam and Zuiderdam, have dedicated kids areas, and they are trying to project a younger image.

Be aware, though, Club HAL doesn't take kids younger than 5 (right now ours are 8 & 6).

We did try Disney Magic once, back in 1998, and we weren't very happy with it. We have wanted to give DCL a second chance, and came close a couple of times, but the price always sends us running. We took a HAL cruise for Christmas 2002, and got two connecting cabins for less than it would have cost us to cruise DCL.
We see enough Disney shows and characters at WDW as DVC members; we cruise because we like to cruise.

 

[my3kids]

Here is the HAL blurb on children:
http://www.hollandamerica.com/onboard/kids.do

I'll do a comparison of everything except the children's program when I return.

 

[BuzzBoyMom]

Silly question, but I notice on some of the cruise lines, they separate the balcony space. Does DCL sq ft space include the balcony space?

 

[my3kids]

Yes, the DCL square footage includes the balcony space.