Considering Royal Carribean or Princess? Maybe?

[Ashley24]

We got prices for a cat. 6 on Disney for next Easter week. The price was almost 7,000! For two (although smaller) balcony rooms on the Mariner, we are paying 5500. These are connecting rooms so my two daughters will have one room and my dh and I will be in the other. Can't beat the price! I have heard great things about the children's program and am very excited about all the onboard activities such as roller blading, mini golf, rock climbing wall, ice skating, etc. I am sure we will have a great time!
Please disregard the countdown as it no longer applies!

 

[Nick@ VB+OKW]

Originally posted by TheWog
prymsu, better get your fire suit on ..

 

[kalama]

from Cruisemates.com

DISNEY CRUISE LINE

Youth Program Offered Year Round Fleet Wide: Yes.
Age Groups in Youth and Teen Programs: 3-4; 5-7; 8-9; 10-12; 13-17 years old; Flounder's Reef Nursery ($6 per hour per child) for ages 12 weeks to 3 years.
Must Children Be Potty Trained to Participate in Youth Program: Yes, for those over three years in youth program; counselors change diapers provided by parents in Flounder's Reef Nursery (ages 12 weeks to 3 years).
At What Age Can Children Sign Themselves Out of Program: 8 years.
Typical Youth Program Hours at Sea: 9 a.m.-1 a.m.
Typical Youth Program Hours in Port: 9 a.m.-1 a.m.
Dedicated Youth Room: Yes, fleet-wide.
Dedicated Teen Room: Yes, fleet-wide.
Year Round Lowered Rates for Children (other than standard 3rd/4th berth rates): Yes; children under age 3 at the time of sailing pay $99 to $139 for a three- and seven-night cruise respectively; children ages 3-12 years receive a discounted third, fourth, or fifth person rate which is $50 to $300 less than the adult third or fourth person rate.
Minimum Age for Infants to Sail: 12 weeks.
Private Babysitting Offered: No.
Late Night Group Babysitting Offered: No, since youth program goes until 1 a.m. Flounder's Reef Nursery is open every night from 6 p.m.-1 a.m. You must reserve the day and times that your infant/toddler will attend the nursery once you are on the ship. There are some morning and afternoon hours available at the nursery, which vary depending on the itinerary.
Do Youth Counselors Take Children to Dinner at Least Once Per Cruise: Yes, daily.
Indoor Family Friendly Facilities: (Fleet-wide) Game/video arcade; Studio Sea, reserved for family game shows, Karaoke and family dance parties..
Outdoor Family Friendly Facilities: (Fleet-wide) Children's pool; infant and toddler's splash pools; children's water slides; basketball courts; Scuttles Cove, an outdoor playground/supervised youth facility on Disney's private island, Castaway Cay; Teen Beach on Castaway Cay.
Special Programming: Storytelling visits by Disney characters; Tea Time with Wendy Darling; character breakfasts; animation workshops; wacky science adventures; build-your-own raft challenges for teens at Castaway Cay.

PRINCESS CRUISES


Youth Program Offered Year Round Fleet Wide: Yes, but not fleet-wide. Offered on all ships except Tahitian Princess, Pacific Princess and Royal Princess (youth program only offered on these ships when 20 or more children are on board).
Age Groups in Youth and Teen Programs: 3-7; 8-12; 13-17 years.
Must Children Be Potty Trained to Participate in Youth Program: Yes.
At What Age Can Children Sign Themselves Out of Program: 12 years; 8-12 years by parental consent only.
Typical Youth Program Hours at Sea: 9 a.m.-12 noon; 2-5 p.m.; 7-10 p.m. (until 1 a.m. for teens).
Typical Youth Program Hours in Port: 8 a.m.- 5 p.m.; 7-10 p.m.
Dedicated Youth Room: Yes, but not on Tahitian, Pacific and Royal Princess.
Dedicated Teen Room: Yes, but not on Tahitian, Pacific and Royal Princess.
Year Round Lowered Rates for Children (other than standard 3rd/4th berth rates): No.
Minimum Age for Infants to Sail: 6 months, except 12 months on exotic itineraries.
Private Babysitting Offered: No.
Late Night Group Babysitting Offered: Yes.
Hourly Cost: $5 per child.
Hours Group Babysitting Offered: 10 p.m.-1 a.m.
Do Youth Counselors Take Children to Dinner at Least Once Per Cruise: Yes.
Indoor Family Friendly Facilities: (Not all amenities offered fleet-wide) Game/video arcade; computer games/Sony PlayStations.
Outdoor Family Friendly Facilities: (Not all amenities offered fleet-wide) Children's splash pools; basketball court; outdoor playground at Princess' private island, Princess Cay.
Special Programming: Hands-on activities in conjunction with California Science Center and National Wildlife Federation. Junior Ranger and Teen Explorer program given by National Parks Service rangers in Alaska.


ROYAL CARIBBEAN INTERNATIONAL

Youth Program Offered Year Round Fleet Wide: Yes.
Age Groups in Youth and Teen Programs: 3-5; 6-8; 9-11; 12-14; 15-17 years.
Must Children Be Potty Trained to Participate in Youth Program: Yes.
At What Age Can Children Sign Themselves Out of Program: 6 years, with parental consent.
Typical Youth Program Hours at Sea: For 3-11 year olds: 9 a.m.-12 noon; 2-5 p.m.; 7-10 p.m.; For 12-14 year olds: same daytime hours, nighttime activities from 9 p.m.-1 a.m.; For 15-17 year olds: daytime activities vary, nighttime activities from 10 p.m.-wee hours.
Typical Youth Program Hours in Port: For 3-11 year olds: 30 minutes before the first shore excursion departs to 5 p.m.; 7-10 p.m.; For 12-14 year olds: same daytime hours, nighttime activities from 9 p.m.-1 a.m.; For 15-17 year olds: daytime activities vary, nighttime activities from 10 p.m.-wee hours.
Dedicated Youth Room: Yes, fleet-wide.
Dedicated Teen Room: Yes, fleet-wide.
Year Round Lowered Rates for Children (other than standard 3rd/4th berth rates): None.
Minimum Age for Infants to Sail: None.
Private Babysitting Offered: Yes; minimum age for babysitting is 6 months old.
Hourly Cost: $8 per hour for up to two children; $10 per hour for a maximum of three children; two hour minimum required.
Late Night Group Babysitting Offered: Yes.
Hourly Cost: $5 per hour per child.
Hours Group Babysitting Offered: 10 p.m.-1 a.m.
Do Youth Counselors Take Children to Dinner at Least Once Per Cruise: Yes.
Indoor Family Friendly Facilities: (Not all amenities are offered fleet-wide) Game/video arcade; ice skating rinks; computer games.
Outdoor Family Friendly Facilities: (Not all amenities are offered fleet-wide) Children's splash pools; children's water slides; basketball courts; miniature golf; in-line skating track; rock wall is available fleet wide.
Special Programming: Adventure Science (SM) combines hands-on science experiments with fun; Adventure Art by Crayola features crafts projects that relate to the destination and culture visited; Sail Into Story Time is for 6-8 year olds; Adventure Family activities vary per cruise.

 

[jlmarr]

Originally posted by prymsu
hope i don't get flamed for this, but in my opionion, the snorkeling on the RCCL private island Cocoa Cay is much better than at CC...

That brings up a potentially interesting question: which of the other cruise lines have private islands, and how do they rate? In understand HAL has Half Moon Cay, which I understand is quite nice. Can anybody comment on the other private islands vis-a-vis Castaway Cay?

 

[Blueeyes101817]

i went on royal caribbean twice with my family...first time we were on grandeur of the seas and in january we were on majesty of thes seas..i loved the ship and excursions..if you have any questions, just PM me

 

[bobbiwoz]

In March '03 we had the most wonderful Western Caribbean cruise on the Grand Princess. One feature we especially like is Personal Choice dining. We show up at the dining room when we want and if we want a table for 2, that's what we get. You could show up with other cruisers to get tables for other numbers, or ask to be included in a table that's looking for people. One of the dining rooms was the traditional seating, but we really enjoyed Personal Choice. We're early-ish eaters and never had to wait. They had a Mexican restaurant that we enjoyed, and perhaps that had a fee, but the price included an alcoholic drink. We are empty nesters in our 50's.

We've sailed on 15 cruises and have never had a bad one.

Bobbi

 

[MrsPete]

Thank you all for the wealth of information! I think I've eliminated Princess from the running. Royal Carribean is standing out as my favorite right now, but I think I'll also look at Celebrity before I make a final decision.

One thing I learned right away is that other lines take more effort! Disney's two ships are alike, and the choices are limited. No choosing to sail from Port Canaveral or Miami, etc. Just choose your cabin. I'm glad I have plenty of time to do some reading.

I particularly liked cruisemates.com -- it had a section for each ship that explains "this ship is good for people who want ___" and "this ship is not for people who want ____". I have not ingested all the good information from this site yet -- it's huge! -- but it's definitely helping me do my homework.

At this point, I think we're most interested in the larger Royal Carribean ships -- I believe they're the Voyagers and Radiance classes? I'd appreciate anything you might be able to add about the following specifics:

These ships are so big -- considerably bigger than Disney's ships. Will they feel crowded? I'm particularly concerned about the pools. Disney's pools are so busy at mid-day; with more passengers on RC, will it be even worse?

Speaking of pools, I wasn't able to find much info about them. How many pools would one expect on these ships? Would they have an adults only pool? I read somewhere that the pools close early in the evenings. On Disney I brought my girls out late (maybe 10:00 PM) and let them swim all alone in the pool. It was great! Is this allowed on RC?

Does RC charge for room service, pizza/burgers by the pool, ice cream cones, etc.?

I read that RC doesn't allow people to bring sodas onboard, but people put them inside their luggage without trouble. Is this really okay (assuming they're triple wrapped for water-proofness)?

When you stop for shore excursions on RC, do you have to use tenders to reach land? If so, how inconvenient is this? We only stopped in the Bahamas and CC, so we never had to use tenders.

How does Cocoa Cay compare to Castaway Cay? Activities? Quality of the beach?

Again, thanks in advance for helping me make this oh-so-difficult decision!

 

[jlmarr]

Just found this useful site...

http://www.frommers.com/activities/cruise/category.cfm?catcd=MST

 

[DopeysGal]

We were on the RCCL Explorer of the Seas in November so I can answer a few of your questions. There were 3 pools on the ship, never seemed as crowded as the Disney pools. One pool is in the Solarium, which is adults only and I only saw one child (about 3) in that area and the parents were asked to take her to the other pool area. There are glass doors that separate the Solarium from the family pool area and the lounge chairs have great, comfy pads on them. RCCL also has one pool open 24 hrs a day but we weren't out in the pool area during the evening so I'm not sure how it works.

No charge (other than tipping) for room service, there were burger bars near the adult and regular pools as well as a frozen yogurt machine with cones near the family pools.

You can bring sodas/water on board, out in the open, just no alcohol. I had some of those small airline size bottles of alcohol packed in zip lock bags in my checked bag...no problem with them (plus they come in plastic bottles so no worry about breakage). We aren't big drinkers so a couple were fine for a before dinner beverage if we wanted one.

We were on the Western and the only port we tendered was Grand Cayman (like everyone else). We walked off the ship when we were ready, no tender tickets, and it took about 5 minutes to get to shore. RCCL used to tender to their private island, Labadee, which is on a peninsula in Haiti and a beautiful place, but they are not going there currently. I haven't been to Cocoa Cay.

One thing I love about RCCL is their interactive TV. You can check your bill right from your cabin whenever you want, which is great to prevent any surprises at the end of the cruise. My son would use the internet cafe and by the time he logged off and walked back to our room, the charge was on the TV. It really helped us to keep track of our purchases. You can also order room service from the TV and it comes in about 20 minutes.

My son is 13 and he was the one who actually picked this ship over the Magic. He was a little bored on Disney (at 11) and we were always busy with the mini-golf, rock wall, tons of ping pong tables, ice skating, etc. I don't think you would go wrong with a cruise on one of the Voyager class ships. If you have any more questions, please feel free to send me a PM.

Debbie

 

[Mjasp]

Debbie...Thanks for the input on RCCL. It was very interesting reading.

Joanna

 

[NancyIL]

I went on my first cruise in March with my mom: Holland America Zandam out of Port Canaveral. She chose the cruise, but compared it to the Crystal cruises she had taken most recently, and she didn't have a good time. When our ship got back to Port Canaveral, there was the Disney Magic (I think) already docked! I enjoyed HAL, but wanted to try something else for my next cruise.

A few weeks later I was visiting my sister in AL. She will retire from teaching this year, so she'll be able to go on a cruise with me next April for my birthday! I started pricing Disney cruises as well as Royal Caribbean. Bottom line - even with my CM discount, Disney is still several hundred dollars more per person than the RC cruise I ended up booking. I'm sure DCL has extra "magic" that I won't be getting on Royal Caribbean, but then I'm perfectly happy at the Swan or Dolphin rather than a "Disney" hotel!

Out of impulse, I reserved the DCL CA-FL repositioning cruise for Aug. 2005. (What was I thinking!) It's booked as a single now, but IF I pay the deposit, I'll try to find someone to share with me.

 

[staylor]

I know the other cruise lines state that you cannot bring your own liquor on board but we always have. Just hide it, or bring a small enough amount to get you to the first port and buy some there. I usually just leave it for our cabin steward at the end of the cruise.
Staci

 

[toot2]

I've done 2 Disney cruises, the 4 day and western. I loved the ships, our rooms, the crew and the outstanding service.

The one area I wish they'd work on is the food, especially the dinner entrees. Don't get me wrong, it was good but it doesn't seem to be on the same level of excellence as everything else on board. I would be happy to pay extra and eat at Palo everyday!!! LOL!

I haven't cruised outside of Disney. I'm curious...those of you who've cruised non-DCL... how do you feel about their food and how does it compare to Disney?

Great thread!
Sue

 

[cjsmith]

We've done 4 cruises on Disney and are cheating on them with Princess in October. I was able to get the top of the line mini suite on the Golden Princess out of San Juan for my husband and I for $2048 on 10/24/04 to see the souther Carriben. Add $500 roundtrip airfare from Miami to San Juan and it's still a lot less than a verandah cabin on Disney. Plus, my kids would kill me if I did Disney without them! I'm keeping my finger crossed that I like Princess, they have a lot to live up to to compare to Disney.

 

[PatriciaH]

I really liked the choices in food on the Mariner of the Seas (RCCL.) The dining room always had several good selections in soup, apps, entrees and desserts. There were also vegetarian entrees and more standard entrees all the time (steak, chicken, pasta.) There were 2 speciality restaurants Chops Steak House and Portifinos (Italian.) They were $20pp extra. They had more gourmet food chioces. Johnny Rockets was a lot of fun. The burgers, fries, onion rings and chili were very good! The shakes were extra. The main buffet Windjammer was excellent. At the beginning was a Asian section called Jade with sushi, miso soup, noodles, etc.. There were always MANY selections. The buffet dining area was huge and very quiet and low key at night. In the morning it was crowded but moved along well. I liked how at the different ports they played different music (Jimmy Buffett, Bob Marley in Jamaica.) There was also soft serve ice cream in many areas, a sandwich/dessert/coffee bar in the Prominade/shopping area open 24 hours. Room service was very good and very fast for a ship of that size. There was also Ben and Jerrys ice cream for extra. Drinks were excellent and around $5.95 for the special of the day with a glass you could keep.

 

[toot2]

Thanks PatriciaH!

That sounds great, I like the variety.

I don't expect we'll be cruising again real soon, just got back from the Western last week. I'll have 2 in high school so we are entering the ' looking for a college/paying for the college' years!

Mariner of the Seas is Royal Caribbean right?

There was a RC ship next to us in Cozumel, can't remember which one but it looked nice. From what I've heard about RC, they are the line I'd go with if not Disney.

Oh well, I've got plenty of time to research our next cruise! LOL!

Sue

 

[mrp4352]

Just came back from the Radiance of the Seas (RCCL) and has a lovely time. The biggest difference I noticed between RCCL and DCL was the entertainment. The on-board entertainment for the Radiance was abyssmal. We watched 5 minutes of one comedian on the in-room broadcast, the magician was good (but his wife, the aerialist wasn't), and the show with the singers and dancers had very talented artists performing a Six Flags quality show. However, this was my first non-Disney cruise and I am (dare I say it) spoiled to Disney's quality of entertainment.

I felt like the Radiance had more comforatable places for us to sit and play cards during the day. On DCL, we'd usually sneak into the Cadillac Bar and have a great time, but since the doors weren't open we'd feel like we were trespassing a little.

The food was great on the Radiance - we ate at Chops the last night and wished we had eaten there a couple more times throughout the week. Chops is the upcharge steakhouse on board.

One final comment - Disney has the best bathrooms in the cabins - we had a balcony stateroom, and there was a teensy-tiny little shower, no tub.

You'll have a wonderful time, the things I listed above were just the biggest differences I noticed. Hope it helps!

 

[toot2]

I think the split bathrooms are one of the greatest features! I really appreciated having them with 2 adults and 2 teenagers in 1 stateroom!

Is this unique to DCL or do other cruise lines have them too?

 

[prymsu]

i have cruised on several different cruise lines, and so far DCL is the only one to have the split bath...

 

[sitchu2]

If your going to want the space comparable to a dcl balcony room or oceanview for that matter, you ll need to book the mini suite catagory. or junior suite they are the same. They have extra closet space and bathroom space with tub which youll need with a family of 4 in one room.

You also need to compare the itinerary. DCL docks at premium locations such as punta langosta when in cozumel. we were at a far away from everything dock on the rccl mariner. where dcl was you could walk to all the main shopping areas its right there. They stay in cozumel until 11pm long after the other ships have left. You get to see and do more on the islands.

some ships dont even dock and you have to tender in. I didnt realize that these little things greatly effect the quality of your vacation. I learned the hard way.

DCL gives you what you pay for.