Disney vs. RCCL

[gscott8075]

As you can see from my signature, we have done a number of Disney cruises. We loved them and they are a wonderful part of our family history. We also regularly visit Disney's Hilton Head and Vero resorts. My family 'grew up' Disney.

Disney cruises are magical - there is no doubt about that. Disney has continued to raise their prices to the point where it does not make sense for our family to cruise with them any longer. We have sailed with Princess, NCL, Disney, Premier (Big Red Boat - pre-kids) and RCCL. My kids are now 13 and 15. Our family's order of preference....

1. Princess (going to Alaska has something to do with this!) We were on the a new ship and it was incredible - enough for us to repeat the next year. All facets of the cruise were simply fantastic.

2. Disney. Magical all the way. My kids don't focus on the money. I do not see the bang for the buck versus other lines. My kids preferred Princess.

3. RCCL. We were on the Enchantment twice (pre-stretch and post- stretch) The ship was not close to the Magic, Wonder or Princess ships. We had great trips for 1/2 a Disney cruise.

4. NCL. We were on the Majesty - an older ship and it showed. Bermuda was great and we really liked docking at one port for a couple of days. Overall, not thrilled.

5. Premier - Our first cruise in 1992. We were young and innocent. In retrospect, it was a different era and our least favorite.

I think it really comes down to the ships. The Diamond was brand new and simply amazing. The Wonder and the Magic were also.

If Disney was within 10-15% of the others, we would probably take Disney. Their pricing has gotten ridiculous over the past couple of years. They are great - but not great enough to justify the premium they charge.

 

[tchrmom]

Does anyone know if all the pools on RC ships are salt water? I remember reading somewhere that they were.

Both the Liberty and thr Freedom have fresh water pools.............

The charge for Johnny Rockets...........I HEARD that it was free at one time.....but the line to get in was a NIGHTMARE! RCCL put on the charge to help with that issue....( and I'm sure to help make a little money too! ) But.....3.75 for all the burgers and onion rings I can eat.......YIPPEE
But I admit I only did it twice.......

Ice Rink......We actually never got to do it. It was open for free skate everyday, and the times are listed in the "compass".....but it seems like we were SO busy with other activities, we just never made it down to the rink.
(But hey.....I DID FINALLY stand up on that Flowrider!)

I can't say for any other RCCL ships...........and the Liberty is ONLY a year old.....but our room was as clean, if not cleaner than any room I have had on a Disney ship. And again......if you can, get 2 adjoining rooms! You can't beat 2 toilets, 2 sinks, 2 showers and privacy for mom and dad!

 

[slk]

Soda is not free, as it is on Disney.......we bought soda cards for the kids ($28.00, I think each). There is ice water EVERYWHERE......)

I am curious about the water. Did you/can you buy a case of water on board? I know some people carry cases of water on board, is that allowed?
Or can you take a few empties and fill them up? The ice water that is referred
to above - is this given in glasses or is there a dispenser? Just wondering -
Thanks!

 

[beachblanket]

If Disney was within 10-15% of the others, we would probably take Disney. Their pricing has gotten ridiculous over the past couple of years. They are great - but not great enough to justify the premium they charge.

 

[XLT800]

I am curious about the water. Did you/can you buy a case of water on board? I know some people carry cases of water on board, is that allowed?
Or can you take a few empties and fill them up? The ice water that is referred
to above - is this given in glasses or is there a dispenser? Just wondering -
Thanks!

I assume you can bring water on board because I brought 2 cases of Coke Zero in my carry on luggage and nothing was said.

Dave

 

[tchrmom]

The ice water that is referred
to above - is this given in glasses or is there a dispenser? Just wondering -
Thanks!

The ice water is in glasses, and available everywhere on the ship. There are dispensers, and glasses next to each....you fill your own glass.

 

[NancyIL]

NANCYIL--- Let me know how you Canada cruise goes, we are interested in doing it in 2009 or 2010.

I'll send you a PM about my Canada cruise after I return in late October.

Johnny Rockets charges a $3.95/pp cover charge. However - after you have been on one RCI cruise and you join their Crown & Anchor Society, you'll get a coupon booklet on subsequent cruises with a coupon for a free Johnny Rockets meal - excluding the drinks.

I just got off Holland America Veendam last Friday (8/1) after a northbound cruise to Alaska. (I'm now in Anchorage on the land portion of the trip with 2 friends and a rental car.) The Veendam is an older ship, and it's much smaller than many newer ships - with ~ 1300 passengers. It wasn't nearly as beautiful as the Royal Caribbean ships I've been on, but the food and service were very good, the cabin was well appointed, and the itinerary was great.

Bottom line - I would sail on any of the cruise lines I've already been on again - depending on the itinerary and price. I'll also try Celebrity in 2009.

 

[jenn&nelsonrego]

I'm not sure about salary or living conditions, but I hear that DCL's policies for crew are much more strict than RCCL's.

When I was on my RCCL cruise in 2003, we were speaking to the gentleman who was driving the boat to Stingray City on GC. We were telling him of our not-so-great experience with RCCL as opposed to DCL and he mentioned that DCL does use his company for Stingray City tours. That DCL people come and do more boat and equipment inspections than any other line and that DCL makes them wears shirts at all times, does not allow them to chew gum, smoke, swear, etc. He said it is certainly annoying but that he completely understands... DCL has a reputation as a family friendly entity and they need to maintain that...

 

[tchrmom]

That DCL people come and do more boat and equipment inspections than any other line and that DCL makes them wears shirts at all times, does not allow them to chew gum, smoke, swear, etc. He said it is certainly annoying but that he completely understands... DCL has a reputation as a family friendly entity and they need to maintain that...

I heard almost the same thing from an excursion owner. We had booked something.....(can't remember what right now).......we were on a Disney cruise, but had booked the excursion on our own.........I asked the owner, why such a great excursion was not offered through Disney, and I basicially got the same response.
I THINK it was the dune buggy tour through Cozumel...........XLT800, if you read this, help me out!

 

[DisneyDmbNut]

what?? you booked on your own???

 

[ll_california]

great info! subscribing ...

 

[Joan1]

As you can see from my signature, we have done a number of Disney cruises. We loved them and they are a wonderful part of our family history. We also regularly visit Disney's Hilton Head and Vero resorts. My family 'grew up' Disney.

Disney cruises are magical - there is no doubt about that. Disney has continued to raise their prices to the point where it does not make sense for our family to cruise with them any longer. We have sailed with Princess, NCL, Disney, Premier (Big Red Boat - pre-kids) and RCCL. My kids are now 13 and 15. Our family's order of preference....

1. Princess (going to Alaska has something to do with this!) We were on the a new ship and it was incredible - enough for us to repeat the next year. All facets of the cruise were simply fantastic.

2. Disney. Magical all the way. My kids don't focus on the money. I do not see the bang for the buck versus other lines. My kids preferred Princess.

3. RCCL. We were on the Enchantment twice (pre-stretch and post- stretch) The ship was not close to the Magic, Wonder or Princess ships. We had great trips for 1/2 a Disney cruise.

4. NCL. We were on the Majesty - an older ship and it showed. Bermuda was great and we really liked docking at one port for a couple of days. Overall, not thrilled.

5. Premier - Our first cruise in 1992. We were young and innocent. In retrospect, it was a different era and our least favorite.

I think it really comes down to the ships. The Diamond was brand new and simply amazing. The Wonder and the Magic were also.

If Disney was within 10-15% of the others, we would probably take Disney. Their pricing has gotten ridiculous over the past couple of years. They are great - but not great enough to justify the premium they charge.

Good info - I agree with you on Princess, our family really enjoys it

The Enchantment and Majesty are both older ships and really can't be compared and personally I wouldn't sail on them no matter the destination. We enjoy the newer RCCL ships, Voyager and Freedom class

To the poster that asked about the salt water vs fresh water pools on RCCL. The Freedom and newer ship all have fresh water pools, Voyager class and older ships have salt water

 

[dizzi]

I Have only taken 2 Disney Cruises........ But hen again i have only taken 2 cruises in my life. But we paid for one and used points from our DVC for one. We would love to do a cruise several more times as we really enjoyed it and so did our kids and we think it is a perfect vacation for our family in this time and ages of kids.

OF COURSE............... BUT

Disney is too expensive and even with our DVC we cannot go but every 3 years. SOO

We too are lookign for an alternate companies to sail with.

I am soo afraid we wont enjoy it like we have DISNEy CRUISE LINE.

But i am glad for this thread and i am going to go back and read the whole thread SOON.

 

[tchrmom]

I Have only taken 2 Disney Cruises........ But hen again i have only taken 2 cruises in my life. But we paid for one and used points from our DVC for one. We would love to do a cruise several more times as we really enjoyed it and so did our kids and we think it is a perfect vacation for our family in this time and ages of kids.

OF COURSE............... BUT

Disney is too expensive and even with our DVC we cannot go but every 3 years. SOO

We too are lookign for an alternate companies to sail with.

I am soo afraid we wont enjoy it like we have DISNEy CRUISE LINE.

But i am glad for this thread and i am going to go back and read the whole thread SOON.

I KNOW what you are feeling........I was almost SICK when I made our booking with the RCCL girl.......But I'm glad I did....'cause I can now afford a 7 night cruise with 2 adjoining rooms in JUNE....when my kids are out of school!

 

[DisneyDmbNut]

i can attest..she was so upset about cheating on the mouse

 

[barbmouse]

I agree with tchrmom!!

I was determined that for our family's first cruise it had to be DCL and I am so glad we did! It was awesome and we had such a great time and will forever treasure those memories. That being said, next summer we are going on RCCL's Freedom of the Seas and looking forward to it. I know it will be great! We just can not afford DCL especially since we need to cruise in the summer! Our dks are older too (ms and hs) and I really feel good about our "move". This thread has been very informative and offers a fair review of both.
I hope to sail DCL again someday but I'm not willing to pay what they are asking at this point in time.

 

[Momfromva]

The original reason that my DH and I chose Disney, was the fact that there was no casino on board and we thought that the enviorment would be more family oriented. I had never been on a cruise before but my DH had cruised on carnival. After listening to his stories of all of the drunks on board, I couldn't imagine exposing our two small kids to that.
I am interested in hearing from those of you who have sailed on other cruise lines. Is it really as bad as my DH makes it sound?
I would love to be able to cruise on a ship where I could afford a balcony (or even a window)!

 

[dbenlee]

The original reason that my DH and I chose Disney, was the fact that there was no casino on board and we thought that the enviorment would be more family oriented. I had never been on a cruise before but my DH had cruised on carnival. After listening to his stories of all of the drunks on board, I couldn't imagine exposing our two small kids to that.
I am interested in hearing from those of you who have sailed on other cruise lines. Is it really as bad as my DH makes it sound?
I would love to be able to cruise on a ship where I could afford a balcony (or even a window)!

A lot depends on the time of year you cruise. My DW and I have cruised on Carnival twice and enjoyed it both times. The first time was for our anniversary in March of 2007 and it was very much the party boat. A lot of load drunks, not many activities geared towards family and kids, but we still had fun, just stayed away from the areas where the drunks were. The second time was in November of 2007 with our DS and my parents. That time was a lot tamer. Few if any drunks. There were a lot more children and the activities were geared more for families than on the previous cruise. I feel that if you go when there is likely to be more kids you will find it a little more kid friendly, but you just have to remember, its not Disney and will not be as child and family oriented as Disney.

 

[tchrmom]

The original reason that my DH and I chose Disney, was the fact that there was no casino on board and we thought that the enviorment would be more family oriented. I had never been on a cruise before but my DH had cruised on carnival. After listening to his stories of all of the drunks on board, I couldn't imagine exposing our two small kids to that.
I am interested in hearing from those of you who have sailed on other cruise lines. Is it really as bad as my DH makes it sound?
I would love to be able to cruise on a ship where I could afford a balcony (or even a window)!
Today 05:58 PM

There is a casino....but children are not allowed in it. I did not see anyone who appeared to be "drunk" at all on our cruise. I'm sure there are some....but I thought it very much a family atmosphere....in family areas. Now, there is adult language used at the adult shows. I think once upon a time Carnival had the "party boat" atmosphere....and I don't know about them personally......but the Liberty of the Seas was VERY family friendly!

 

[brandysmommy]

For anyone who has sailed Royal Carribean - how would you compare the Kids clubs security/check in out procedures, etc with Disney? I've always been very pleased and felt safe with Disney and wondered how Royal Carribean or any other cruise line for that matter compares?