terminal - RCCL's looked like an old warehouse - very dark, dirty looking and depressing. Our welcome aboard photo was taken here. No "welcome to the Miller family", etc.
DCL wins this one hands down
ship - this was one of RCCL's older ships. It was almost the same size as the Disney ships - a little taller then Disney but not quite as long. (got to compare when they were docked side by side) Nothing special about it, a little too much turquoise - a little dated looking, but it was spanking clean and carpets were clean. We saw people working on wiping down railing, etc. a lot. no complaints about the ship. In fact I liked the extra open deck areas. this allowed for more sunning room and more deck chairs available for everyone in whatever they prefered -sun or shade. There was a neat plexiglass atrium at casual dining area where you could look up at beautiful blue sky or star lit sky.
still can't hold a candle to the beautiful lines of Disney ships, but we didn't have any complaints
ROOM - very small, but cruise was very cheap - did like the fact the ship had 2 main aisles of rooms like DCL but also side aisles running the other way. We were in one of these small side aisles and there was very little traffic. Only 4 little drawers and closet only 2/3 size of DCL's but we just left some stuff that wouldn't wrinkle much in our suitcases which slide easily under our beds. Shower was bigger then expected, but took us 24 hrs. to figure out how to get hot water in shower. BRRRR! All in all not bad for the $$, but I did miss having an ice bucket and a safe. We got a white bucket at a bar and just kept filling it at beverage station.
Disney wins this hands down, but again whole cruise cost for 2 cost less then for one person on DCL.
FOOD - RCCL had more variety and choices. several soups, several salads, several appitizers,entrees at sit down dinner. Everything was yummy. Casual dining was really good too. Disney desserts and pastries better. More people on RCCL dressed up for formal night. I'd say 95% dressed up. Disney snack food better. Also Disney room service menu better. I'd say this was a draw.
staff - just as warm and friendly and helpful as disney's. We got towel animals, waiter would bring extra entrees and desserts to try and he was funny. We did see a few sullen people but have seen it on DCL too. This was a draw. They do push drinks, but after day 1 they seemed to know who to approach and only occasionally were we bothered by someone pushing drinks.
this was a draw too
ENTERTAINMENT - missed Disney Dreams of course, but rest was much the same stuff. cooking class, belly flop contest, disco night, 50's night, match your mate, movies,etc. Of course I missed my sweetie pie, Mickey and his pals. But there were sail away parties,etc.
GUESTS- mixed bag - newlyweds, singles, everything else, older guests, kids,etc. Not as many kids as DCL but one little boy we spoke to loved the kids club and showed me a pin he'd made. His parents were pleased with club, but did say it isn't free in the evening like disney's.
NORWALK VIRUS
My daughter contacted this at the end of day 2. She spent rest of cruise confined to our room and eventually in ship hospital. I was confined to room for 24 hrs. but never got sick. There were others with virus too and 2 ship workers did nothing but roam around disinfecting. They even wiped down the slot machines. On our last day at sea, the seas were so bad even a lot of the crew was sick. They only opened one restaurant and the medical area was packed. I never got seasick thanks to Bonine. the ship's dr. told me the secret is to take it before you get sick.
we ended our cruise with dd being taken off ship in an ambulance as soon as we docked. the ships dr had misdiagnosed what was an irritated stomach from all the sickness she had with the virus. We were offered another cruise and we are going to take it. I was scared to death, but I think his misdiagnosis came because he was exhausted from treating the 100s of seasick and the ones who had virus. One person told us about 25 people had virus which is a small # out of 3,000 people.
I won $900 in casino which more then paid for this cruise. Just wish the Norwalk Virus would go away!!
Sorry this was so long, but for so long I was afraid to try one of these lower priced deals. I'd do it again in a heart beat.
DCL wins this one hands down
ship - this was one of RCCL's older ships. It was almost the same size as the Disney ships - a little taller then Disney but not quite as long. (got to compare when they were docked side by side) Nothing special about it, a little too much turquoise - a little dated looking, but it was spanking clean and carpets were clean. We saw people working on wiping down railing, etc. a lot. no complaints about the ship. In fact I liked the extra open deck areas. this allowed for more sunning room and more deck chairs available for everyone in whatever they prefered -sun or shade. There was a neat plexiglass atrium at casual dining area where you could look up at beautiful blue sky or star lit sky.
still can't hold a candle to the beautiful lines of Disney ships, but we didn't have any complaints
ROOM - very small, but cruise was very cheap - did like the fact the ship had 2 main aisles of rooms like DCL but also side aisles running the other way. We were in one of these small side aisles and there was very little traffic. Only 4 little drawers and closet only 2/3 size of DCL's but we just left some stuff that wouldn't wrinkle much in our suitcases which slide easily under our beds. Shower was bigger then expected, but took us 24 hrs. to figure out how to get hot water in shower. BRRRR! All in all not bad for the $$, but I did miss having an ice bucket and a safe. We got a white bucket at a bar and just kept filling it at beverage station.
Disney wins this hands down, but again whole cruise cost for 2 cost less then for one person on DCL.
FOOD - RCCL had more variety and choices. several soups, several salads, several appitizers,entrees at sit down dinner. Everything was yummy. Casual dining was really good too. Disney desserts and pastries better. More people on RCCL dressed up for formal night. I'd say 95% dressed up. Disney snack food better. Also Disney room service menu better. I'd say this was a draw.
staff - just as warm and friendly and helpful as disney's. We got towel animals, waiter would bring extra entrees and desserts to try and he was funny. We did see a few sullen people but have seen it on DCL too. This was a draw. They do push drinks, but after day 1 they seemed to know who to approach and only occasionally were we bothered by someone pushing drinks.
this was a draw too
ENTERTAINMENT - missed Disney Dreams of course, but rest was much the same stuff. cooking class, belly flop contest, disco night, 50's night, match your mate, movies,etc. Of course I missed my sweetie pie, Mickey and his pals. But there were sail away parties,etc.
GUESTS- mixed bag - newlyweds, singles, everything else, older guests, kids,etc. Not as many kids as DCL but one little boy we spoke to loved the kids club and showed me a pin he'd made. His parents were pleased with club, but did say it isn't free in the evening like disney's.
NORWALK VIRUS
My daughter contacted this at the end of day 2. She spent rest of cruise confined to our room and eventually in ship hospital. I was confined to room for 24 hrs. but never got sick. There were others with virus too and 2 ship workers did nothing but roam around disinfecting. They even wiped down the slot machines. On our last day at sea, the seas were so bad even a lot of the crew was sick. They only opened one restaurant and the medical area was packed. I never got seasick thanks to Bonine. the ship's dr. told me the secret is to take it before you get sick.
we ended our cruise with dd being taken off ship in an ambulance as soon as we docked. the ships dr had misdiagnosed what was an irritated stomach from all the sickness she had with the virus. We were offered another cruise and we are going to take it. I was scared to death, but I think his misdiagnosis came because he was exhausted from treating the 100s of seasick and the ones who had virus. One person told us about 25 people had virus which is a small # out of 3,000 people.
I won $900 in casino which more then paid for this cruise. Just wish the Norwalk Virus would go away!!
Sorry this was so long, but for so long I was afraid to try one of these lower priced deals. I'd do it again in a heart beat.
yes 10 years ago! My only problem is worrying whether my children will miss out on the whole DCL experience with characters, clubs, etc. I don't want them to be disappointed nor do I want to feel guilty for taking a nicer cabin on RCCL. By the way they will be 4 & 5 when we decide which cruise to take this fall. I hope I'm not changing the subject too much but I would appreciate a little insight on this since we're talking about both cruise lines. Thanks for ANY help making this decision!!
