DCL again or give RCI a try

[nutshell]

Please see this thread in the RCI forum. I’d like to hear your feedback. Thanks!

https://www.disboards.com/threads/dcl-again-or-rc.3698018/#post-59570878

 

[All about me]

What did you love?

Was it the Disney-centric theming, activities and service? If so, I would stick with Disney and pay the premium for those things.

Was it cruisin' in of itself? If so, given the ages of your offspring, I would definitely look at sailing with a different, cheaper cruise line. You might also want to look at Norwegian and compare.

 

[lilsonicfan]

Symphony of the seas is a super new ship - I'd be willing to give that a try especially for a lower price.

 

[teenal100]

It depends on what you want. We tried RCI and did not like it and have gone back to Disney. I found RCI was more of a 'party" atmosphere and had more inebriated guests than what I have seen on Disney. While the initial cost of the cruise might be cheaper on RCI check the over all cost with beverages, etc. and look at the final account. If you are looking to "jump ship" remember to have an open mind, as the two cruise lines have a very different vibe.

 

[Macprincess]

We tried Royal Caribbean's Allure this past May. We're a family of five with two sons in college and a daughter who is a freshman in High School. After several Disney Cruises the opportunity presented itself to cruise with extended family on this Royal Cruise. We figured that with our kids now much older this would be a good time to try out a new line. For us we discovered we are all Disney people when it comes to cruises. While I'm grateful we tried a new line all of us are in agreement that for us it's worth the extra cost to cruise with Disney from this point forward.

Also, we live about two hours from WDW we have enjoyed both on and off site stays when at WDW. We have seen the value in both types of stays when at WDW. So we're not exclusively an all Disney all the time family but for cruising we would rather cruise with Disney then with another line despite the bigger price tag. When we go to WDW we consider the price when booking accommodations and that does factor big time into our choice of where we stay.

 

[Shanti]

What did you really love about the cruise? If you loved things unique to DCL (characters, theming, ship design & cabin layout, Castaway Cay, Disney entertainment), then I recommend sticking with DCL. If you loved things general to cruising (convenient method of travel, fun & relaxation, being on the water, an all-inclusive vacation, unlimited food), then I recommend trying RCI.

 

[cruiser21]

If I ever planned on doing another Caribbean cruise I'd go with Symphony. It's cheaper and more to do. I've been to Caribbean 4 times on the Fantasy. There's no way I'd pay DCL prices to do it again.