Disney vs. RCCL

[RJAYL]

Bye bye the Mouse, well lets just say...till we meet again.


Booked a 14 night European cruise on RCCL for summer 2011, Suite, and about 50% cheaper than DCL, (The old 11 night,Med, so 3 more days).

And no flights......

Just remember the pools though Huge are not heated!

One of my wife's pet peaves about not cruising RCCL again however tha being said I am looking into the Allure or Oasis for Feb 2012 especially if the DCL Dream or Fantasy are not doing 7 day's at that time!

 

[abdmom]

Just remember the pools though Huge are not heated!

One of my wife's pet peaves about not cruising RCCL again however tha being said I am looking into the Allure or Oasis for Feb 2012 especially if the DCL Dream or Fantasy are not doing 7 day's at that time!

Actually the pools on Independence of the Seas ARE heated.

 

[NancyIL]

Bye bye the Mouse, well lets just say...till we meet again.


Booked a 14 night European cruise on RCCL for summer 2011, Suite, and about 50% cheaper than DCL, (The old 11 night,Med, so 3 more days).

And no flights......

Good for you, Andrew, although I thought you were holding out for Princess to Alaska! Are you going to be on Independence out of Southampton?

 

[RJAYL]

Actually the pools on Independence of the Seas ARE heated.

We were on the Liberty (Independence's Sister Ship) last April & they were stone cold, I just picked up my Daughter & Her friend from Lacross practice tonight & we were talking about cruises & she mentioned about RCCL pools being cold Most people have agreed!

 

[RJAYL]

Good for you, Andrew, although I thought you were holding out for Princess to Alaska! Are you going to be on Independence out of Southampton?

I got a late night phone call from RCCL last night 10PM & my guy said that the Freedom & Liberty would be in europe over the summer of 2011 as well, though when I went to the RCCL website I could not confirm!

I was originally booked on the NCL Jade for Summer of 2011 but have since switched to a Carnival 12 Night out of Barcelona that Hits Venice, Dubrovnik, Messina, Naples, Livorno, Civitivechia & Monaco for half the price of the NCL Cruise 14 days.

It will be on there 4 month old (New) ship the Magic!

 

[NancyIL]

I got a late night phone call from RCCL last night 10PM & my guy said that the Freedom & Liberty would be in europe over the summer of 2011 as well, though when I went to the RCCL website I could not confirm!

I was originally booked on the NCL Jade for Summer of 2011 but have since switched to a Carnival 12 Night out of Barcelona that Hits Venice, Dubrovnik, Messina, Naples, Livorno, Civitivechia & Monaco for half the price of the NCL Cruise 14 days.

It will be on there 4 month old (New) ship the Magic!

I think Freedom will stay in Port Canaveral year 'round. RCI ships in Europe in 2011 are:

Adventure
Brilliance
Grandeur
Independence
Jewel
Liberty
Navigator
Splendour
Vision
Voyager (though not listed yet for 2011)

 

[RJAYL]

I think Freedom will stay in Port Canaveral year 'round. RCI ships in Europe in 2011 are:

Adventure
Brilliance
Grandeur
Independence
Jewel
Liberty
Navigator
Splendour
Vision
Voyager (though not listed yet for 2011)

I might be in error as it was late!

 

[nenner1]

We were on the Liberty (Independence's Sister Ship) last April & they were stone cold, I just picked up my Daughter & Her friend from Lacross practice tonight & we were talking about cruises & she mentioned about RCCL pools being cold Most people have agreed!

Yep, only Independence has the heated pools- none of the other Freedom class ships do. And they do not usually heat them when Indy is on this side of the pond. and...after this spring she won't be coming back )

In January when we cruised Indy the Solarium pool and the H20 zone were heated which was nice. The main pool and sports pools were not and it was pretty darn cold.

 

[RJAYL]

Yep, only Independence has the heated pools- none of the other Freedom class ships do. And they do not usually heat them when Indy is on this side of the pond. and...after this spring she won't be coming back )

In January when we cruised Indy the Solarium pool and the H20 zone were heated which was nice. The main pool and sports pools were not and it was pretty darn cold.

A Heated H20 Zone would have been nice as they have alot of options, but why would they not heat the main pools? Duh? still better than the liberty & the freedom with no heated pools!

Do you know about the Oasis & the Allure are their pools heated it would make my DW very happy!

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

Just remember the pools though Huge are not heated!

One of my wife's pet peaves about not cruising RCCL again however tha being said I am looking into the Allure or Oasis for Feb 2012 especially if the DCL Dream or Fantasy are not doing 7 day's at that time!

Well we do not spend long in the pools but with 14 days in the Med i am sure they will be warm some of the time.

Good for you, Andrew, although I thought you were holding out for Princess to Alaska! Are you going to be on Independence out of Southampton?

We have had to consider a number of options since DCL cancelled the 11 night Med cruise. Alaska on Princess was high up on our list, as we have cruised Princess many times, but the long flights was the issue.

I got a late night phone call from RCCL last night 10PM & my guy said that the Freedom & Liberty would be in europe over the summer of 2011 as well, though when I went to the RCCL website I could not confirm!

I was originally booked on the NCL Jade for Summer of 2011 but have since switched to a Carnival 12 Night out of Barcelona that Hits Venice, Dubrovnik, Messina, Naples, Livorno, Civitivechia & Monaco for half the price of the NCL Cruise 14 days.

It will be on there 4 month old (New) ship the Magic!

I am sailing out of Southampton, it as one port I have been to before, but many we want to do, have a nice suite, in discussions for the top one.

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

Yep, only Independence has the heated pools- none of the other Freedom class ships do. And they do not usually heat them when Indy is on this side of the pond. and...after this spring she won't be coming back )

In January when we cruised Indy the Solarium pool and the H20 zone were heated which was nice. The main pool and sports pools were not and it was pretty darn cold.

I am booked on the Independence......

This year, no flights for DCL Baltic, I think after that, no flights for our 2011, cruise, was tooo tempting...

 

[RJAYL]

Well we do not spend long in the pools but with 14 days in the Med i am sure they will be warm some of the time.

We have had to consider a number of options since DCL cancelled the 11 night Med cruise. Alaska on Princess was high up on our list, as we have cruised Princess many times, but the long flights was the issue.


I am sailing out of Southampton, it as one port I have been to before, but many we want to do, have a nice suite, in discussions for the top one.

When we were on the Liberty we had the Royal Presidential (4 Bedrooms) Long Walk to elevators Noisy crew cafateria right below Master Bedroom However the regular Royal Suite @ midship would be nice! And your family of 4 would fit fine!

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

When we were on the Liberty we had the Royal Presidential (4 Bedrooms) Long Walk to elevators Noisy crew cafateria right below Master Bedroom However the regular Royal Suite @ midship would be nice! And your family of 4 would fit fine!

Yes, some are not online RCCL Relased yesterday for 2011, so have a delay..

Helpful...

 

[nenner1]

A Heated H20 Zone would have been nice as they have alot of options, but why would they not heat the main pools? Duh? still better than the liberty & the freedom with no heated pools!

Yes! ITA!

Do you know about the Oasis & the Allure are their pools heated it would make my DW very happy!

Actually I don't believe they are. I have read the Solarium pool on Oasis is the only one that is, but I have heard mixed reports on that so I would not be comfortable saying for sure.

We are booked on Allure for 9/2011...can't wait!

I am booked on the Independence......

This year, no flights for DCL Baltic, I think after that, no flights for our 2011, cruise, was tooo tempting...

Oh Andrew I think you will LOVE Indy!! The ship is fabulous! It is set up very similar to DCL so we were always familiar with where we were and where we were going. In all honesty once we got acclimated to the ship it did not seem that much larger. The staff was great too! Really just as good as what we were used to on Disney. The only spotty service we encountered was occasionally in My Time Dining (which we expected) and in the photo gallery on the last day. It really is a great value for the money, we LOVE that ship!

 

[Silver Queen]

I was very happy to find this thread. We just booked the May 22 RCCL 5 night cruise to Bermuda. When we sailed on the Wonder this forum was such a great resource. I was really disappointed that there wasn't much for RCCL. I looked into Cruise Critic but it wasn't anywhere near as helpful as the Dis Boards.
We're sailing on the Explorer of the Seas from Cape Liberty,NJ. We would rather be sailing with DCL, but the length of this cruise and the port of embarkation worked well for our schedule right now. Does anyone have any tips about the Bermuda cruise or the Explorer. We're curious about recommendations for shopping, beaches, transportation, etc. Thanks for any help that you can give.

 

[woody73]

Booked a 14 night European cruise on RCCL for summer 2011, Suite, and about 50% cheaper than DCL, (The old 11 night,Med, so 3 more days).

I like the way one earns cruise credits under RCI's loyalty program, the Crown & Anchor Society.

For this sailing, you'll get three cruise credits: one for the sailing, one for being in a suite, and one for a 12-night or longer sailing.

I think DCL missed a golden opportunity to do something similar. Under the Castway Club, a 3-night cruise in an inside cabin counts the same as a 14-night in a suite.

Woody

 

[RJAYL]

I like the way one earns cruise credits under RCI's loyalty program, the Crown & Anchor Society.

For this sailing, you'll get three cruise credits: one for the sailing, one for being in a suite, and one for a 12-night or longer sailing.

I think DCL missed a golden opportunity to do something similar. Under the Castway Club, a 3-night cruise in an inside cabin counts the same as a 14-night in a suite.

Woody

Yup totally agree

 

[alyssasmommy]

Hi I just tried to make my dinning reservations and they said I could only reserve once Im onboard for my sailing date Sept 12. I was surprised..... Is this how it works? Also they told me that boarding starts at 1.30pm. Im usually at the port when we go with DCL at 10 am. Can those that have sailed with Royal C give me some advise?

 

[Kurby]

yes that's how it works. you are able to book 1 dinner and 1 brunch (4 or more nights)

once you get on board go to Route 66 (i forget just which club) to have another reservation.

it pays to be early if you need to make changes or additions

 

[aurorafan65]

Hi I just tried to make my dinning reservations and they said I could only reserve once Im onboard for my sailing date Sept 12. I was surprised..... Is this how it works? Also they told me that boarding starts at 1.30pm. Im usually at the port when we go with DCL at 10 am. Can those that have sailed with Royal C give me some advise?

I'm pretty sure I was able to make a reservation for the adult restaurant before boarding - like you can with Disney - we were gold on their club scale so I don't know if it was because of that so since you've never sailed with them you might not be able to - I really don't know. If you booked with a travel agent they might be able to help you. (or since it was 2 years ago I might not remember correctly)

Depending on where you are sailing from (Miami, PC, etc) and when the ship gets in, will dictate boarding. When we did Freedom from Miami we really couldn't get on-board till 1:30, when we did Explorer from NJ we got on earlier.