DCL vs RCI Harmony of the Seas

[jenhelgren]

Have any DCL fans been on Harmony of the Seas that could give me an honest opinion? We became loyal to DCL after our 1st cruise with them in 2013. The cleanliness, safety, and kids clubs are huge draws for us and worth paying more for on DCL but they have outpriced us the last few years!! We are very ready to book a cruise for 2019 and I am not confident that we will be able to afford DCL even at GT rates. There are a ton of positive reviews of Harmony of the Seas online but I want to hear honest comparisons from fellow DISers who are just as obsessed with Disney as we are!! Even for less money-I don't want to find ourselves wishing we were on DCL our whole RCI cruise!

 

[jenf22]

We moved on from DCL a few years ago and haven't been on Harmony yet, so my opinion is just that, an opinion. We were on Allure in October with some families that had only ever done DCL and they loved Allure. So much so that we're all booked on Harmony for October 2019. I think a lot of it depends on what type of cruiser you are and what you're looking for in your vacation. We did spend our first non-Disney cruise (on RCL Jewel of the Seas) comparing things to DCL. I think it's only natural to compare. Some things we liked better (less in your face servers, a casino, more adult activities) and some things we liked less (I missed the characters and I thought the rooms were nicer on the Disney ships). We tend to cruise for the ports and the time together as a family. We get to see more and vacation more by not going with DCL. We see the ship as a floating hotel that feeds us Allure was the first cruise where we cruised for the ship. There was SO much to do - so many shows, ice skating, zipline, rock wall - we were never bored. So I think if you're going to try a new cruise line, you can't go wrong with Harmony. RCL has a Kids Sail Free promo right now. I think summer is excluded, but our fall break cruise has the sale.

This review is old, but it might help you (though I think the DreamWorks characters are gone now from RCL):

https://www.disboards.com/threads/s...ce-aboard-allure-of-the-seas-9-18-25.2810383/

You can also try the Royal section of this board.

https://www.disboards.com/forums/royal-caribbean.193/

Best of luck whatever you choose!

 

[ajsfamdisneyfan]

We are hard core Disney Cruise fans and have been sailing with them exclusively up until a few years ago when prices started getting into ridiculous dollar figures. That's when we began to venture off and experience other cruise lines. I think out of all the other NON-DCL cruise lines out here, RCCL is as close as you can get if you are looking for a "family" oriented cruise vacation. We have not sailed on Harmony of the Seas but have sailed onboard other RCCL ships and have found them to be just as fun. There will always be pros and cons but if DCL was never to be in the list of choices, RCCL would be our next pick.

 

[starvenger]

I’m more a Royal guy than DCL but I’ve been on both Harmony and Fantasy so I’ll try and talk about both.

The first thing is something I’ve finally figured out and I’m not sure why it took so long - DCL is more about bringing Disney to a ship than having a cruise experience with some Disney built in. Royal is much more like a traditional cruise in that respect. You’re on a boat, and you’ve got these expected cruise things, and then there’s the touches that makes Royal, Royal.

Next is ship size. When you’re talking Oasis class ships you can’t really avoid this as they do dwarf other ships. Despite this the size is good relative to the number of passengers it carries. You do notice that there are a LOT of people upon embarkation and during the muster drill but it doesn’t really feel that overwhelming otherwise.

Kids clubs are arranged differently. Oceaneers is designed as an open area and kids 3-11 can roam around and basically do what they want. Depending on the kids in the club this can get chaotic.

Adventure Ocean takes that 3-11 group and divides them further into 3 smaller groups, with themed programs that they try to get kids to participate in. Depending on the kids in the club this can get chaotic.

Pools are an easy win for Harmony, EXCEPT when it comes to the adults area, since there is no pool in the Solarium. You’ve got 3 pools, a large kids splash area with prominent deck placement, and 3 water slides (2 traditional, 1 funnel/toilet bowl style)

Dining. I think this is a spot where “bringing Disney to a ship” is noticeable, as DCL’s wait staff seems to be consistently good. Royal is hit or miss - if you get good servers, you’ll know it. Ditto for bad ones. Food in the MDR is subjective, And it’ll vary from person to person. Buffets are about equivalent. Seating feels more open in Windjammer vs Cabanas, and I attribute that to Cabanas having to accommodate the cola machines. Cabanas seems to offer more sushi,WJ has curries and Southeast Asian offerings, if that makes any difference. Harmony also offers congee for breakfast, but ymmv on that.

Royal has a $7.95 charge for all room service save for continental breakfast. I never order room service, so I’ve no first-hand experience here. I love eating at Johnny Rockets for breakfast. Not so much for the food, but eating out on the empty Boardwalk is very relaxing.

Royal has more specialty restaurants, and they allow kids. Never been to Palo and Remy, and only went to Chops on Harmony. Which was pretty good. It’s not Ruth’s Chris, but it’s better than The Keg. I’ve been to Jamie’s Italian here in Toronto, and it’s pretty good Italian fare. I would rate it slightly above most of the chain brands, but from what I’ve heard it won’t match up to Palo.

Coffee. Harmony has drip coffee, DCL has something that resembles coffee.

I think I need to do a part two.

 

[starvenger]

OK so let’s move to entertainment.

The obvious difference here is the presence of a casino on Harmony. The port side is non-smoking, and while you can smell the smoke from the starboard half of the casino it’s not too bad.

I didn’t see Grease so I don’t know how the primary show compares with Aladdin. I will say that the secondary show, Columbus: The Musical, is much better than Wishes and the other one. It’s still a jukebox musical, but it doesn’t feel like they created the plot around a few set pieces, so there’s that.

Ice show and Aqua show on Harmony are quite good. Feature act is hit or miss. Mostly miss. We got the Texas Tenors on our last cruise, and they were actually pretty good.

Comedians are also hit or miss. And they are absolutely of the NSFW variety.

On my Harmony trip we got a roving “piano guy” who, ironically, sang Disney tunes. And by roving I mean he showed up on the Boardwalk, in the Promenade, and on elevators. Kind of cool, to be honest.

With regard to things that DCL doesn’t have, the rock wall, zip line and Flow Rider are pretty cool, but you’re not going to spend your entire cruise doing those things. 1 or 2 times and that’ll likely be it for you. Ultimate Abyss, if I’m being honest, is probably one of the more disappointing rides, similar to how I felt about riding AquaDuck.

There’s probably more things, but I hope that helps.

 

[sammydent]

We sailed on HOTS last year and loved it. It was our second cruise with RCCL. We are going on our 5th DCL cruise in June. The biggest thing we miss on the RCCL ships is rotational dining/themed dining rooms. We’ve had great service on both RC cruise. We have also stayed in a suite both times and loved the perks. Oh, and RC’s WiFi is AWESOME.

 

[jenhelgren]

Thanks to all for contributing! Starvenger--your comparision is exactly what I was looking for!! Disney does "spoil" you with expectations so its helpful to have a side by side comparison of the two ships. We have only cruised Wonder and Dream and I already know what we will miss the most about DCL is the cast members and service level but we also miss cruising because we have been priced out the last few years so I think we need to try something new and I feel much better seeing fellow DISer opinions..lol

 

[starvenger]

You're quite welcome! The thing to remember is to keep an open mind about going on a different cruise line, but don't worry about comparing it to DCL - it's a common occurrence to compare one thing to something else that's similar, so why should a cruise ship be any different?

Couple of other things:
- If the private islands are your jam, Labadee is not as good as Castaway Cay. It has it's charms, and of course it's not terrible, but Castaway Cay was honestly a little more fun. Lots of excursions/experiences "for a fee", so be aware of that.
- I can't speak for Coco Cay, but the revamp looks to be pretty spectacular (if it ever gets completed), even for those that aren't upsold to the waterpark etc.
- Photos are about the same. I think DCL and Royal use the same photo company, so that shouldn't be all that surprising.
- I agree about the wifi. Voom is pretty good.
- I've read that Royal is ending it's association with Dreamworks, so there may or may not be any more ogres, trolls or pandas by the time you cruise. They had already toned down the theming on Harmony in any event.

 

[WanderingAlice]

We took a trip on the Oasis of the Seas back in 2011. Next to Disney, probably the best line of cruise ships I have been on! I have been on 4 Carnival ships, but since going on a RCCL, I probably won't travel with Carnival anymore. There were literally so many activities to do! Oasis was the biggest cruise ship at the time, but you did not feel crowded or lost at all. There were plenty of touch screen maps, with each floor telling you when, where, and the description of each activity. Our cruise ship director was absolutely hilarious!! I'll never forget an audience interaction show he did with everyone in the skating rink. He had grown men skipping with each other, grabbing for bras, putting on lipstick....etc. and had a nickname for everybody. Something I will never forget I highly recommend RCCL. Also adding to what the poster said above me, there was a Dreamworks Party Night on one night of our cruise with multiple characters, and they also did a 70s/80s themed party late at night for the adults.

 

[DynamicDisneyDuo]

I didn’t see Grease so I don’t know how the primary show compares with Aladdin.

Grease was excellent. I felt the production values were on par or better than DCL. It is a little less kid friendly but not offensive or anything

- Photos are about the same. I think DCL and Royal use the same photo company, so that shouldn't be all that surprising.

They do use the same company. I'm betting DCL's new ships will have the same digital focused photo system as the new RCCL ships.

 

[starvenger]

They do use the same company. I'm betting DCL's new ships will have the same digital focused photo system as the new RCCL ships.

I think so as well. I was kind of surprised when I was on Allure and they still had the stacks to hold printed photos. Seemed like a simple thing to take care of during the last dry dock.

 

[laceltris3]

.

 

[Garyjames220]

I won a sweepstakes for a free 2 day cruise on the Harmony of the Seas inaugural cruise. It is a bit hard to compare, because on that trip, there were no kids, lots of travel agents, and free drinks, gratuities, internet and everything else, but I agree that the water features are better, the ziplining is ok, and I enjoyed the Ultimate Abyss. Bars and clubs are also better. I used that robot bartender so many times. Some of the other things like ice skating seemed neat and the ice show and comedians were good, but other things like the carousel seemed pretty limited in appeal. I was unimpressed with the main dining room and casino, but the buffet was a lot nicer than Cabanas, IMO. Deal breakers for me right now are the limited hours on the kids clubs, and the rooms. The had open houses into all of the room categories and I saw them all and for us as a family of 5, it seemed our best option was 2 connecting rooms. The lack of spit baths for that many people is a deal-breaker.

So for me, I would go back on Harmony once the kids are older, but for now it's not for us.

What is the limited kids club hours

 

[starvenger]

The club operates in blocks or sessions. So you have something to the effect of:
9-12
2-5
7-10
After hours/babysitting for a fee past 10pm.

On some (maybe all. Don’t remember) days they will keep the kids during lunch and feed them. Sometimes it is in the kids club. Other times it’s the Windjammer but with fixed options instead of buffet.