Considering Royal instead of DCL - opionions?

[DizMagic]

We are gold members on DCL and never sailed another ship. We are very loyal Disney fans in all aspects, but honestly just looking for something a little different. We are currently booked on the 5 night New England / Canadian coast cruise out of NYC in October. I was playing around on Royal's site and noticed a similar cruise, with more port stops (which we like). It's not really a cost issue for us, the costs are actually similar and probably even cheaper with DCL when we do the dining and soda upgrades. However, we are really bored with DCLs dining (been cruising since 2011 and menus haven't changed) and we like the extra ports instead of sea days. Anyone have experience with Royal's Serenade of the Seas line? How does the ship itself compare to the Magic, size wise? Any other opinions you would like to share would be helpful.

 

[bumbershoot]

I have found that the wikipedia pages for each ship (I just google the shp name and go to wiki) give good info on sizes of ships. Then I can compare them. Is Serenade a Radiance class or Vision class ship? (I don't feel like looking it up right now, sorry.) We liked both Radiance and Vision, FWIW.

We love Royal.

There's a whole forum for them here: http://disboards.com/forums/royal-caribbean.193/

And cruisecritic.com has a thriving (if snarky) message board forum for Royal as well.


The only thing you'll pay extra for on Royal that you don't pay on Disney is soda.

But if you're wine drinkers and like to bring your own wine, while you're limited to bringing on two bottles per stateroom on Royal (vs 2 per person at each port on Disney), there is NO corkage fee if you wish to bring that bottle to dinner with you. DCL has a corkage fee if you bring it with you.

Everything else (spa, espresso, special dining venues) is the same. Royal does have some extras on their normal menus; if you want those, the price is *right there*.

Oh, well, if you order midnight room service on Royal you'll pay a small fee. Are there many who order things in the wee hours? I don't.


We have found that the service is better on Royal (and that includes our concierge level cruises on Dream). Food is better in our opinions (vegetarians) on Royal. I like the aesthetics of Royal's ships and their nice white lines vs the heavy ornateness of Disney's ships. and so on.


Royal is definitely worth a try, IMO. We love it.


The onnnnnly issue with Royal is that they have casinos where smoking is allowed. On Freedom that meant we couldn't enjoy the Schooner Bar and their trivia events, because the casino doors were right there. And on Vision after about 2 days of rotten weather, when all the smokers stopped going outside and only went into the casino, it became difficult for me to use the Centrum since it was funneling all the smoke into it. But on Vision the Schooner Bar was AWAY from the casino, so we escaped there, no problem.

That's my only issue, and I'm the daughter of a rabid reformed smoker AND I have asthma now almost certainly because I grew up with people smoking on me, and I cannot stand it. DH and DS do not react as vehemently (physically or emotionally) as I do.

Someday I hope Royal will be as brave as their sister line Celebrity, and put smoking outdoors only.

 

[engle]

Gold castaway here too. But....we did enjoy royal this past October. We found more activities and more to do. Food was comparable as was service but the price is right for royal. And for adult entertainment, DCL had next to nothing a few weeks ago aside from movies and bad singers. Try it.

 

[MickeyD]

Serenade is a Radiance class ship. by the way. I am following along as I am in the same boat-so to speak. Gold on DCL, but looking for something different and RCCL has some nice itineraries.

 

[maddisney]

In 2015, we cruised on the Serenade of the Seas (Northern Europe) and the Disney Magic (Caribbean & Bahamas).

The Disney Magic and the Serenade of the Seas both had proposed a cruise in Northen Europe with the same itinerary during summer 2015. But Disney was expensive, and I found a very good offer with Royal Carribean at only 40 % of the price of Disney for an Inside stateroom. With the difference, we could afford a back to back cruise on the Disney Magic from Miami in november.

My opinion, the Serenade of the Seas is a beautiful ship inside, the staff was attentive, but:
- for me the food was better on Disney: more choice and better quality
- the entertainment was not great on the Serenade of the Seas
- we find the ship Disney Magic better maintained
- we don't like our stateroom on the Serenade of the Seas (smaller than on the Disney Magic for the same category, small bathroom in plastic, basic decoration,...)
- the child club on the Disny Magic was awesome, but small and simple on the Serenade of the Seas.

But globally, we enjoyed our cruise with Royal Carribean.

In this forum, people complain of the evolution of the prices to cruise on Disney's ships. I agree with that. My advice is: at a similar price, I would choose Disney without hesitation. If Disney is too much expensive, I would search for alternative.

If you want to see pictures of our cruise on the Serenade of the Seas (with text in french sorry), you can look here:
http://www.disneycentralplaza.com/t...amille-octobre-2014-norwegian-fjords-mai-2015

 

[dclpluto]

Rccl doesn't sail out of nyc they sail out of New Jersey. I was on one cruise that went out of New Jersey it was a 12 night cruise out of the 12 nights they had one good show. I know it's a different rccl ship that sails out of New Jersey now hopefully they are better. No desire to go back on rccl after that one cruise.

 

[sarbah77]

Radiance Class is my husband's favorite class on RCI. We've taken a handful of cruises with them - 4, I think? This will be our 3rd Disney cruise, but we consider ourselves "loyal to Royal," because we generally like what they have and the prices they charge.

I think that Radiance class is probably more akin to the classic ships than the newer ones, so they're intimate without being tiny and with enough to keep you occupied. The rooms ARE smaller than DCL and so are the bathrooms but that's really never been an issue for us, especially given how much cheaper it typically is.

I have typically liked the food better on DCL than on RCI, in the main dining rooms, but I feel that RCI has more options over all and I'll never go hungry on either.

We don't have kids, so that doesn't matter to us.

And, funny, we don't typically go to shows, so that's never mattered, where it matters to a lot of people. My parents are still complaining, nearly 18 months later, about the shows on their Mediterranean Celebrity cruise. My husband and I are more likely to curl up with a book on our balcony at any hour of the day than go to a show.

After this Disney cruise, we have two more scheduled with RCI. One with his entire family over the summer (where the cost was HALF of DCL, womp womp) and one for my 40th in 2017 (I like to plan ahead!). I would never hesitate to take the pricing and itinerary that I like best, regardless of the line.

 

[eskimoinparadise]

Just got off Seranade's sister ship Brilliance this morning. This class of ship is comparable to Magic in size and passenger capacity, but the Radiance class ships have substantially more public area than Magic. If you are looking at dining options, the Radiance class beats Disney hands down. Chops is an outstanding steak house, Giovanni's is what Palo used to be like before they started tweaking and cheapening the menu, and Izumi is a great sushi restaurant. Probably the best part, however, is that you can eat in any of their specialty restaurants every night if you want to, unlike Disney which limits you to one reservation per cruise.

We've done ~10 cruises on Magic and ~ 10 cruises on Radiance class ships so if I can answer any specific questions, fire away

 

[DizMagic]

Since dcl doesn't do the New England coast cruise every year, I think we have decided to stay with them. We do want to try royal, but will probably try an itenarary that dcl doesn't offer. Even with 2 additional ports, I feel like I would be "missing" something if I jump to royal. A lot of this has to do with us just being very DIsney centric people. I appreciate e the feedback, helpful as always.

 

[GatorMomInNC]

Just got off Seranade's sister ship Brilliance this morning. This class of ship is comparable to Magic in size and passenger capacity, but the Radiance class ships have substantially more public area than Magic. If you are looking at dining options, the Radiance class beats Disney hands down. Chops is an outstanding steak house, Giovanni's is what Palo used to be like before they started tweaking and cheapening the menu, and Izumi is a great sushi restaurant. Probably the best part, however, is that you can eat in any of their specialty restaurants every night if you want to, unlike Disney which limits you to one reservation per cruise.

We've done ~10 cruises on Magic and ~ 10 cruises on Radiance class ships so if I can answer any specific questions, fire away

But they are extra, right? How is the MDR food? I'm booked on the Magic and BOS for Europe this year, trying to decide which to take.

 

[eskimoinparadise]

But they are extra, right? How is the MDR food? I'm booked on the Magic and BOS for Europe this year, trying to decide which to take.

True, the specialty restaurants are extra - Chops is $40; Giovanni's is $30; and Izumi is a la carte.
We were on Magic in May, and we found the MDR food predictably bland and uninspired. RCL does a much better job with seasoning and presentation. Disney's pool deck food is better, and Cabana's does a better breakfast buffet. RCL does a better lunch, and their evening buffet is open every night unlike Disney which closes Cabana's on the first and last nights.

 

[Lisa Lisa]

But they are extra, right? How is the MDR food? I'm booked on the Magic and BOS for Europe this year, trying to decide which to take.

Hi GatorMom. Which BOS sailing are you booked on? We'll be on the BOS 12-night Med Greek Isles cruise departing Barcelona on 6/19. Will the DCL itinerary change factor in to your decision (assuming you're booked on the 12-night sailing departing on 8/1)?

 

[Kenny1113]

In 2010 we took a weekend RCCL cruise -I hated it. I thought the service was terrible (our stateroom attend was very nice though) the food was not very good at all. I prefer DCL over this RCCL cruise we took.
That being said I am going to brave it and give RCCL another chance this spring- I got a longer cruise with a better itinerary than DCL for a MUCH better price.

 

[jdb in AZ]

Since dcl doesn't do the New England coast cruise every year, I think we have decided to stay with them. We do want to try royal, but will probably try an itenarary that dcl doesn't offer. Even with 2 additional ports, I feel like I would be "missing" something if I jump to royal. A lot of this has to do with us just being very DIsney centric people. I appreciate e the feedback, helpful as always.

Yes, to boldly go where DCL doesn't cruise, is one way to give RCCL a nice try. We stay away from the "sales" they have in their shops, which are a bunch of hype and nonsense, and the evening shows aren't the best, but we think RCCL's food in the MDR's is better than DCL's.

 

[GatorMomInNC]

Hi GatorMom. Which BOS sailing are you booked on? We'll be on the BOS 12-night Med Greek Isles cruise departing Barcelona on 6/19. Will the DCL itinerary change factor in to your decision (assuming you're booked on the 12-night sailing departing on 8/1)?

Booked on a 12night round trip from Barcelona on 9/11 that stops in Venice. Alternatively, on DCL, Ihave B2B 7 night med and 11 night WBTA. Of course, my husband hasn't signed off on either one, he is uncertain what will be happening with work then. I would love to make a decision and lock in plane fares...

 

[Rake 08]

We just came off the Fantasy New Year's cruise; our 9th with DCL. We had reservations for RCL (Allure) this June. Walking back to the boat at Castaway we agreed the cruise had been outstanding in all the areas that we value. It led us to ask why we were going elsewhere; so...we cancelled RCL and re-booked the Fantasy again.

 

[Lisa Lisa]

Booked on a 12night round trip from Barcelona on 9/11 that stops in Venice. Alternatively, on DCL, Ihave B2B 7 night med and 11 night WBTA. Of course, my husband hasn't signed off on either one, he is uncertain what will be happening with work then. I would love to make a decision and lock in plane fares...

That's a tough one! I think a 7-night Med followed by a WBTA sounds amazing! If you do end up going with RCCL, make sure you price their Choice Air. After we had already purchased our plane tickets, I read on CC that people were getting roundtrip flights between the East Coast and Barcelona for $700-800. We booked under a special business class promo that British Airways was running a few months ago, so I don't really have any regrets, but that's a really low economy fare!

 

[GatorMomInNC]

oh thanks, I will check out the choice air. I am kind of picky about my flights though and I have heard they choose them for you...

 

[NancyIL]

I was on a 14-night Canada repo cruise on Serenade in October. It had a fabulous itinerary and it was a steal - when I booked it. I like Royal Caribbean's food, shows, and staterooms just fine, and their itineraries and prices are hard to beat.

DCL's Canada itinerary does nothing for me. Saint John and Halifax are nice ports, but I wouldn't book ANY cruise with only those two ports.

 

[karmacats]

oh thanks, I will check out the choice air. I am kind of picky about my flights though and I have heard they choose them for you...

if you're talking about royal's air (previously called choice air, now called air 2 sea), you can choose your own airline and flight. in many cases you can also upgrade to economy plus or whatever your airline calls it - you just book through choice air/air 2 sea and then call the airline to upgrade.