Disney Cruise Line v. Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas comparison

[TestingH2O]

Instead of being in a narrow hallway by the door like on DCL there were 2 closets on either side of the bed. There was also overhead storage

I love this idea! Maybe DCL will use it on the new builds.

Can you clarify overhead storage? Also, are the beds raised so you can put luggage underneath?

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

I hear child c

I have read child care is very good. I don't think you have anything to worry about there. Poolside food is nowhere near as good on DCL as it it is on Carnival. Imho DCL it's downright awful. The buffet is very good on DCL and the MDR is also good. Dcl's MDR food is pretty rich, with lots of sauces. You won't find things like fried chicken and mashed potatoes on the menu like you will on carnival.
The shows on Disney are good, but they are geared to family's and kids. If your an adult that likes G rated movies and Disney you' ll like it. If not you may find the shows boring. As far as night life...It's pretty non existsnt. The will have some adult entertainment at 1030. Sometimes a lot of people show, but when that's over the ships pretty quite. I find the shows boring and Im not a huge fan of Disney movies. That stuffs not important to me though. I like cruising for the ports, relaxing and sleeping. I think everyone should try a Disney cruise once, but I would wait until your child is old enough to enjoy the shows, pools and clubs. The main reason we've stuck with Disney is because my kids really like the clubs. Even now as teens they still like it. Disney does a great job with kids. Other then that I don't think they are better then anyone else.

I will do a little write-up and comparison of the kid clubs soon. Yes they were very good on RCL, but if you were not planning to have your toddler in the nursery, then DCL was a bit more "baby-friendly" in my opinion. Starting from the baby splash area (on the Dream class anyway) I think it's called Nemo's Reef and all the shows on DCL the baby/toddler would enjoy looking at. Having said I did see a few babies on the Anthem and I'm sure it was fine too.
I will post more about the kids' clubs on Anthem either today or tomorrow

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

I love this idea! Maybe DCL will use it on the new builds.

Can you clarify overhead storage? Also, are the beds raised so you can put luggage underneath?

In the cabin review section, photo # 4 shows the overhead storage, well closed anyway... It's more over-the-bed storage. You lifted the door to open it and there were 2 sides to it. One side we didn't even use, and the stateroom attendant stored extra blankets and pillows in it, but we were told he can remove them if we need the storage. On the other side I stored the things I didn't need on a daily basis, my carry-on bag, medications, different handouts and my kid's crafts from the kids clubs.
Yes the beds are raised and we stored our luggage underneath it, just like on DCL. Thanks for reminding me about this

 

[mevelandry]

Immediately I noticed a couple of hairs on the bathroom floor and being the OCD nerd I am, I wiped down all surfaces with disinfectant wipes. They were still clean after so our stateroom was clean, but like I said.. couple hairs.. some dust on the glasses by the fridge. It was little things like this that told me.. ok this is NOT DCL.

Obviously my last DCL cabin... wasn't DCL (It wasn't spotless. Also, I don't like the smell/perfume they put in it.)

Thanks for the pictures of the room. I'm obsessed with the Anthem cabins: they look amazing.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

Vista looks so cool, I wouldn't mind trying that one as well Is Horizon Carnival's brand new ship?
We are also considering Harmony or Symphony at some point.

Yes, Horizon sets sail next March or April, will be ported in NYC for the summer then heads down to Miami in the fall.

 

[hanscarlet]

Thanks for this review, really appreciate all your detail so far, including the cleanliness factor of the staterooms.... it skeeves me out that there was sushi left in your fridge... sounds like that would be a no brainer on the clean up room protocol... I understand this isn't a deal breaker but interesting fact none the less

We are very close to trying out Norwegian or RCCL for 2019 and I look forward to your kid club comparison, thanks again for this thread OP!

 

[cmph]

I'm enjoying your comparison!

One quick question - you mentioned the couch was a double bed, so that's how 4 person rooms were set-up in your room category, then? You may not know, in which case no worries! I have priced out I don't know how many cruises on various lines, and the most frustrating part is the lack of description of the beds on so many web-sites. It may seem like a small issue, but when you have kids - 2 separate beds vs cramming them together into a double sofabed makes a huge difference in our family's happiness! I can't for the life of me understand why it's not a standard part of the room description for every cruise line, esp when the photos are almost always day time ones that don't show the couch opened into a bed, etc.

 

[KashasMom]

I used the toiletry items in our room and I actually kind of liked them better than DCL (I know, gasp!) but I LOVED the storage our room hand. RCL has DCL beat on that for sure. BUT as my DH kept saying, this is just one class. Not all the RCL ships would be set up like that so I would love to know how the Oasis class has as far as storage because like you, I'd love to try that class next. After I take a few more DCL because I did miss the mouse on this cruise.

We had plenty of space on the Allure - more than we used! Plenty of drawers, cubbies, closet space, etc. Our room was always tidy!

 

[KashasMom]

I will do a little write-up and comparison of the kid clubs soon. Yes they were very good on RCL, but if you were not planning to have your toddler in the nursery, then DCL was a bit more "baby-friendly" in my opinion. Starting from the baby splash area (on the Dream class anyway) I think it's called Nemo's Reef and all the shows on DCL the baby/toddler would enjoy looking at. Having said I did see a few babies on the Anthem and I'm sure it was fine too.
I will post more about the kids' clubs on Anthem either today or tomorrow

Splash area on Oasis class is fantastic!! SO much better than Disney's!

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

Thanks for this review, really appreciate all your detail so far, including the cleanliness factor of the staterooms.... it skeeves me out that there was sushi left in your fridge... sounds like that would be a no brainer on the clean up room protocol... I understand this isn't a deal breaker but interesting fact none the less

We are very close to trying out Norwegian or RCCL for 2019 and I look forward to your kid club comparison, thanks again for this thread OP!

I know I was a bit grossed out for a minute.. I mean it's not like it was rotten sushi or anything, but still. It told me that our stateroom attendant was not super detailed and it made me wonder if he cut corners anywhere else.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

I'm enjoying your comparison!

One quick question - you mentioned the couch was a double bed, so that's how 4 person rooms were set-up in your room category, then? You may not know, in which case no worries! I have priced out I don't know how many cruises on various lines, and the most frustrating part is the lack of description of the beds on so many web-sites. It may seem like a small issue, but when you have kids - 2 separate beds vs cramming them together into a double sofabed makes a huge difference in our family's happiness! I can't for the life of me understand why it's not a standard part of the room description for every cruise line, esp when the photos are almost always day time ones that don't show the couch opened into a bed, etc.

I don't think Anthem has any staterooms with bunk beds, but I could be wrong. Maybe the junior suites do. If you go on Royal's website under "Plan a cruise" you can pick staterooms and review the options available across the fleet.
I do know that Harmony and few other Royal ships have them.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

Splash area on Oasis class is fantastic!! SO much better than Disney's!

Yes! I have seen photos/videos of it! Anthem wasn't like this, although there was a small area with very shallow water for the wee ones.

 

[KashasMom]

Yes! I have seen photos/videos of it! Anthem wasn't like this, although there was a small area with very shallow water for the wee ones.

Thanks for your review! Would love to try Anthem (easier than flying to FL!) but there are so many things that I really, really love about Oasis class for our family. I'll eventually give in and go.

 

[jujubiee4]

Yes! I have seen photos/videos of it! Anthem wasn't like this, although there was a small area with very shallow water for the wee ones.

Thanks for posting I can't wait to read the rest. A friend just got off another
RCL ship and was put off by the constant selling/upselling. I will be curious
if you had this experience. We are considering RCL in the future but once
I'm on the ship I do not want people bothering me to buy something. AT ALL.

 

[olookasquirrel]

BOARDING -

Royal Caribbean encourages guest to complete an online check-in, same as Disney. All you do is print your SeaPass and also print the luggage tags. There are no fancy cruise documents sent by Royal like Disney does. Overall online check-in was fairly straightforward, you can even upload your own photos to expedite the check-in at the pier. I forgot to do the photo part and honestly it only took a few seconds more for the staff at the port to take the photos themselves.
We arrived at the Bayonne, NJ cruise port a bit later than we were planning due to some traffic, I think it was about 1:30 pm. Lots of people still arriving. We pulled over to the curb to drop our luggage off with the porters, took maybe 30 seconds. They directed us to the covered parking. There was a parking attendant directing you to your parking spot, we quickly parked and walked over to the terminal, it's very very close - comparable to port parking at Port Canaveral. Once inside the terminal we saw Royal Caribbean staff behind ipad posts. There must have been 8 of them, each checking guests in. We chose a line with one family in front of us. Once they were done, it was our turn. The staff member asked us the health questions, nothing to fill out. Then took our photos and told us we can head on to the ship. No room key was given at this time. SeaPass card is the Disney cruise equivalent to Key to the World Card. We were advised our SeaPass cards will be waiting in our room for us, one outside the door and the rest inside. From there we proceeded through security and were shown to head up the escalator to board the ship. The entire check-in process took maybe 10 minutes. My husband looked at me and said: "That's it?" Everyone we encountered at this point was very friendly, hi-fiving our son, wishing us a wonderful cruise and welcoming aboard. When we walked up the escalator there was the ship! On the way we were stopped by an Adventure Ocean (kids club) staff member who put on a security wrist band on our DS. We were told that in case of emergency the Youth staff will bring the children to the muster station which is printed on the wrist band. This band was nothing like one given on DCL. We think that putting those bands on the kids before you enter the ship was great, but in our opinion they should have also had the option to register your kid in Adventure Ocean at this time. More on this later. Overall, we found the boarding process faster and easier on Anthem than Disney but... it could be when we arrived there was a lot less people than at 10 or 11 am.
Although Anthem of the Seas says they "guarantee" from curb to ship in 10 minutes, and in our case this was true.
Once on the ship our sea pass cards we printed at home were scanned again and we were on our own....not really knowing where to go next. There is no announcing families which is fine but less personal. It would have been nice if there was someone like on Disney telling you where you can go to eat, etc. Instead after the easy check-in process, once we boarded we found the area chaotic.

SHIP DECOR and APPEARANCE - Anthem of the Seas is a beautiful ship. Modern and elegant, definitely not gaudy-looking. We loved it, but also realize that it didn't have a lot of kid appeal. At least not initially. My kid didn't care, he loved the glass elevators, huge chandelier that flickered to the beat of your heart, Disney or not he was pretty excited.

Here are some pics of the Royal Esplanade deck 4 which is where we boarded. This area had all sorts of bars, pub, shops and cafes. It actually spans over 2 decks, 4 & 5.



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It's funny, because we did this same cruise (Bermuda 4EVA!!) and I found the boarding process AWFUL! We meant to arrive right at open, but got about an hour behind due to traffic and my husband's inability to get out of bed on time. Mostly the latter but I digress. So we hit at the absolute peak, and I found it very disorganized - they checked us in, that was fine, but then we eventually figured out we had to sit in chairs. They were letting 2 rows of chairs go at a time, but people were sitting down randomly and sneaking past the chairs to board with the group that was currently boarding. No communication, no signage, nothing. We sat for quite a while because DH is a boy scout and wouldn't let me sneak, but of course the sneakers were delaying everyone who did wait .

And then we got onboard and found everyone camping out in the buffet waiting for their rooms to open. Fortunately we had gone to sign up for the iFly before eating as we'd booked late, and by the time we got our food the clock struck 1 and all the campers cleared out. But the waiters were just wandering around, not saying anything to anyone, not helping find tables, nothing. Made me miss my DCL waitstaff!!

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

It's funny, because we did this same cruise (Bermuda 4EVA!!) and I found the boarding process AWFUL! We meant to arrive right at open, but got about an hour behind due to traffic and my husband's inability to get out of bed on time. Mostly the latter but I digress. So we hit at the absolute peak, and I found it very disorganized - they checked us in, that was fine, but then we eventually figured out we had to sit in chairs. They were letting 2 rows of chairs go at a time, but people were sitting down randomly and sneaking past the chairs to board with the group that was currently boarding. No communication, no signage, nothing. We sat for quite a while because DH is a boy scout and wouldn't let me sneak, but of course the sneakers were delaying everyone who did wait .

And then we got onboard and found everyone camping out in the buffet waiting for their rooms to open. Fortunately we had gone to sign up for the iFly before eating as we'd booked late, and by the time we got our food the clock struck 1 and all the campers cleared out. But the waiters were just wandering around, not saying anything to anyone, not helping find tables, nothing. Made me miss my DCL waitstaff!!

A fellow passenger (just did a review over on the RC forum here) had a similar experience to you. It must depend what time you arrive. We arrived at 1:30 so there was no waiting, once we were through security we didn't sit anywhere (nobody was sitting) and we were directed to head up the escalator to board the ship.
Staterooms were open when we boarded so we dropped off our carry-on bags right away.
Windjammer I have to say was a madhouse though even after 2 pm, but more on that later

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

Thanks for posting I can't wait to read the rest. A friend just got off another
RCL ship and was put off by the constant selling/upselling. I will be curious
if you had this experience. We are considering RCL in the future but once
I'm on the ship I do not want people bothering me to buy something. AT ALL.

We didn't really have the same experience, no. Not constant anyway.
When we boarded they had a drink package table set up, same for internet. Nobody stopped us when we walked by. We did get stopped by a girl trying to enroll guests in sushi making class. And once also first day when we were making a reservation at one of the specialty restaurants they asked if we wanted to buy a specialty dining package. That was the extent of upselling that we experienced.
I found a bit of this on DCL too though, when sitting down for embarkation lunch a cast member selling wine or water package must have stopped by our table 4 times.
With Royal there are more options for specialty dining and drink packages and most can be pre-ordered prior to the cruise. We didn't find we were harassed though. But clearly they may be more pushy on other ships, maybe even on this one I don't know. We lucked out I guess.

 

[tnshsms]

It's funny, because we did this same cruise (Bermuda 4EVA!!) and I found the boarding process AWFUL! We meant to arrive right at open, but got about an hour behind due to traffic and my husband's inability to get out of bed on time. Mostly the latter but I digress. So we hit at the absolute peak, and I found it very disorganized - they checked us in, that was fine, but then we eventually figured out we had to sit in chairs. They were letting 2 rows of chairs go at a time, but people were sitting down randomly and sneaking past the chairs to board with the group that was currently boarding. No communication, no signage, nothing. We sat for quite a while because DH is a boy scout and wouldn't let me sneak, but of course the sneakers were delaying everyone who did wait .

And then we got onboard and found everyone camping out in the buffet waiting for their rooms to open. Fortunately we had gone to sign up for the iFly before eating as we'd booked late, and by the time we got our food the clock struck 1 and all the campers cleared out. But the waiters were just wandering around, not saying anything to anyone, not helping find tables, nothing. Made me miss my DCL waitstaff!!

I was that other passenger she was talking about and we had the same experience. We were there at 10ish or so if that helps ease your mind that getting there any earlier would have been better.

My review is in my signature if you care to read it.

 

[Missypyxi]

I'm curious to read your take on the food. We have cruised DCL twice and sailed on the Oasis last year. We were all disappointed in the dining. In the main dining rooms, we were scoffed at when asking about plain dining options for my DH, and all of the menus seemed to be trying too hard to be extra fancy, but failing. The buffet was equally disappointing compared to DCL, but st least DH could get a burger and fries there. Looking forward to the rest of your comparisons!

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

I'm enjoying your comparison!

One quick question - you mentioned the couch was a double bed, so that's how 4 person rooms were set-up in your room category, then? You may not know, in which case no worries! I have priced out I don't know how many cruises on various lines, and the most frustrating part is the lack of description of the beds on so many web-sites. It may seem like a small issue, but when you have kids - 2 separate beds vs cramming them together into a double sofabed makes a huge difference in our family's happiness! I can't for the life of me understand why it's not a standard part of the room description for every cruise line, esp when the photos are almost always day time ones that don't show the couch opened into a bed, etc.

One thing to think about regarding the beds is fir the price of one stateroom on DCL, you can usually get 2 connecting on RCCL, NCL and CCL. We have 2 teens so always get 2 rooms on the other cruise lines.