Disney vs. RCCL

[NancyIL]

Just finding out they do not have laundry facilities on RCCL . I do not know what I am going to do???? I always iron before dinner and always wash all of our clothes night 5. I just do not like taking dirty clothes home. They have told me you can send your laundry to service, but I do not want someone else washing our undies.... So I am learning as I research.... So I will have to pay for the clubs after dinner and can not wash or iron my laundry... Anything else I need to know guys?

On my RCI cruise last week, they charged $25 to wash and fold a plastic bag full of underwear, T-shirts, and pj's. I decided I'd rather buy a few new shirts for $25 and take home my dirty clothes!

Iron clothes??? I've heard some people do that! If something I want to wear is too wrinkled, I hang it in the bathroom while I take my shower.

 

[Tia]

that Downy Wrinkle Release spray does a pretty good job, I was amazed!

 

[xangav]

I can't wait! We sail from Port Canaveral in 47 days!!!!!!!

We'll be on the one before you. We can't wait either, it looks like a beautiful ship.

 

[Kurby]

thanks for posting your review - we just came home from the may 10-14 wonder cruise and dh was wanted to compare to the freedom - we loved the wonder but the cost to go again is so high

it's great to know there is an option for a great cruise when dd is older and we want/need a change from the mouse

 

[tchrmom]

we loved the wonder but the cost to go again is so high

it's great to know there is an option for a great cruise when dd is older and we want/need a change from the mouse

I think I saw that your daughter is 3 and 1/2...........perfect age for Disney. Also, you can go during the "value season" and not worry wbout missing a week of school. Stick with Disney for a while...........the memories are priceless!

 

[Kurby]

At least our next 2 will be dcl. Hopefully January 2010 and January 2014 ape our 10th anniversary but after that we may yet another line to mix it up

 

[Kurby]

At least our next 2 will be dcl. Hopefully January 2010 and January 2014 ape our 10th anniversary but after that we may yet another line to mix it up

 

[Disneydreamer5]

Dh and I have been wanting to take the 5 kiddies on a cruise every since we cruised alone in 2003. My ulimate dream is to take them on the DCL but the prices for our family in a inside cabin cat 11 are so high...
Unless we settle for a 4 night cruise 3532 in Nov or win the lottery the chance of a 7 night Eastern on the Magic is way out of our comfort zone.
I have seen many great rates for the Liberty and was thinking of doing it this Nov and now with this report I am seriously thinking about it again. I kept coming back to DCL because like I mentioned it is just something we have always dreamed and talked about doing but...........
Thanks for this post

 

[Hobbitmomma]

Thanks so much for that. We are planning on Freedom for my husband's 50th birthday. (It's going to be a big family and friends gathering.) We absolutely loved the Wonder when we took the kids in 2006, but unfortunately haven't been able to do it again. We were hoping to surprise the kids this year with a DCL cruise, but it just isn't working financially for us. I'm glad that we won't be disappointed or feel like we're missing something on RCCL.

 

[calmpets]

Wow, in 25 pages of this thread, my question never came up! The main thing my family loves about DCL is the "magical moments" factor, like the ship's horn, the way they make a big deal of pulling out of Port Canaveral, etc. Anyone have "wow" moments on RCCL?

 

[NancyIL]

Wow, in 25 pages of this thread, my question never came up! The main thing my family loves about DCL is the "magical moments" factor, like the ship's horn, the way they make a big deal of pulling out of Port Canaveral, etc. Anyone have "wow" moments on RCCL?

Frankly - there were no "magical moments" on DCL for me. I don't recall ever hearing the Wonder's horn. Nor do I recall a big deal being made about sailaway - perhaps because the weather was pretty crappy and everyone was glad to go inside the ship.

 

[DMMarla07860]

Frankly - there were no "magical moments" on DCL for me. I don't recall ever hearing the Wonder's horn. Nor do I recall a big deal being made about sailaway - perhaps because the weather was pretty crappy and everyone was glad to go inside the ship.

how could you have not heard the Wonders horn, it's not all the great to me better then most ships horns I've heard, but I think Freedoms is kind of cool. But I think on each of my cruises I've seemed to hear the horn like 10 times a day, prob not that many times in one day, but I heard it a lot on on my cruises

 

[NancyIL]

how could you have not heard the Wonders horn, it's not all the great to me better then most ships horns I've heard, but I think Freedoms is kind of cool. But I think on each of my cruises I've seemed to hear the horn like 10 times a day, prob not that many times in one day, but I heard it a lot on on my cruises

I've been on only one Disney cruise, and it was a 4-day in January. I don't know how I didn't hear the horn, but I wasn't outside the ship very much. I certainly wouldn't base a cruise ship choice on the sound of the ship's horn. Nor would I pay a premium price for DCL because the horn plays "When you wish upon a star."

 

[DMMarla07860]

I've been on only one Disney cruise, and it was a 4-day in January. I don't know how I didn't hear the horn, but I wasn't outside the ship very much. I certainly wouldn't base a cruise ship choice on the sound of the ship's horn. Nor would I pay a premium price for DCL because the horn plays "When you wish upon a star."

I wouldn't base a cruise ship on a horn either, I base it on the service and great crew and passengers I've met, and met some great ones that I am still friends with today on DCL that is why I pay the premium, just like how my grandparents use to love celebrity cruise line because of people they met

 

[NancyIL]

I wouldn't base a cruise ship on a horn either, I base it on the service and great crew and passengers I've met, and met some great ones that I am still friends with today on DCL that is why I pay the premium, just like how my grandparents use to love celebrity cruise line because of people they met

I've met great crew and passengers on each of my cruises. DCL doesn't have a monopoly on them.

 

[PizzieDuster]

It's awesome to hear the DCL horn for the first time. I have never sailed DCL just for that. However, I do like to read trip reports that state how excited new cruisers and returners are to hear the horn.

We miss our RCCL Liberty of the Seas babysitter (Camilla!). My daughter (10) still tries to copy her Austrialian accent

I went to Las Vegas and apparently LOST my camera! Well, I think my husband lost it, but I can't remember so, I'm believing him that maybe I did. If I find it, I will post pictures. Stupid me.

 

[calmpets]

Um...the horn was just an example. I love it, but I wasn't implying that I spend thousands of dollars just for the joy of hearing it. It was one of the most recognizable example of Disney Magic onboard the Magic that I could come up with quickly. To clarify, I also find the end of Disney Dreams magical. When we took my stepkids and Goofy played foozball with them. When the room steward surprised the kids with arcade cards, and made a towel elephant especially for my stepdaughter because she likes them. When one of the bartenders in Diversions made a special drink just for me, and made me another one whenever I went back to Diversions (I still have NO idea what was in it ). When I sprained my ankle in St Maarten and the room steward tracked my family down for me without my asking. Magical moments on RCCL? Anybody?

 

[pamrob]

I can't say I have had any "magical" moments on RCCI but I can say we had a fabulous family cruise. My kids loved the kid programming and would beg to stay longer when we would go to pick them up. We had many conversations with our servers and our room stewart. We learned alot about all of them, their families, etc. We enjoyed towel animals everynight. I really can't find fault in the service or amenities of that cruise.

We have stayed both on and off property at WCW. Again, had good experiences each time.

Yes, I love Disney. I believe Disney has the best customer service of any other brands. I can't really come up with any "magical moments" from our stays on property at WDW either; just a good, solid, enjoyable vacation.

We will be cruising on DCL for the first time this coming December. I am excited to see how that experience compares with ours on other lines. There are many things we are looking forward to esp. the family themed shows. However, we will miss the rock climbing wall and the ice skating rink; both fun activities we enjoyed on our last cruise.

We tend to gravitate toward family friendly even on other ships. We don't frequent the casino; rarely order a drink; and have yet to visit one of the nightclubs. There are so many great experiences to be had on many ships. If a family can't afford DCL I know that they can find a very enjoyable cruise on other lines. Just do some research. Cruise critic has several articles on family friendly cruising. That would be better than over stretching your budget for a DCL cruise.

 

[NancyIL]

Um...the horn was just an example. I love it, but I wasn't implying that I spend thousands of dollars just for the joy of hearing it. It was one of the most recognizable example of Disney Magic onboard the Magic that I could come up with quickly. To clarify, I also find the end of Disney Dreams magical. When we took my stepkids and Goofy played foozball with them. When the room steward surprised the kids with arcade cards, and made a towel elephant especially for my stepdaughter because she likes them. When one of the bartenders in Diversions made a special drink just for me, and made me another one whenever I went back to Diversions (I still have NO idea what was in it ). When I sprained my ankle in St Maarten and the room steward tracked my family down for me without my asking. Magical moments on RCCL? Anybody?

I don't recall "magical moments" from my one Disney cruise, but I didn't subtract points for that. Nor do I consider my 11 non-Disney cruises to be sub-par because they lacked the kind of "pixie dust experiences" you see on TV commercials for WDW! All of my cruises were enjoyable...some more so than others. If you go on another cruise line expecting the same intangible touches that you get on DCL (like the sound of DCL's horn) - you will be disappointed. Accept the fact that only Disney can do Disney, but Universal and Sea World can be great too! Royal Caribbean isn't DCL - but it has some great ships that go to exciting places.

 

[TheWog]

Um...the horn was just an example. I love it, but I wasn't implying that I spend thousands of dollars just for the joy of hearing it. It was one of the most recognizable example of Disney Magic onboard the Magic that I could come up with quickly. To clarify, I also find the end of Disney Dreams magical. When we took my stepkids and Goofy played foozball with them. When the room steward surprised the kids with arcade cards, and made a towel elephant especially for my stepdaughter because she likes them. When one of the bartenders in Diversions made a special drink just for me, and made me another one whenever I went back to Diversions (I still have NO idea what was in it ). When I sprained my ankle in St Maarten and the room steward tracked my family down for me without my asking. Magical moments on RCCL? Anybody?

We talked about the Royal Caribbean robes when we boarded our ship with our friends and were checking out our rooms. We had verandah rooms, but not suites, so they weren't included as part of the fare. Our cabins were side by side and we had the same steward. We went to dinner that night and there were robes for each us in both our rooms for the week. We also mentioned stingrays among ourselves one morning as Grand Cayman was a port we were going to..... that night each room had stingray towel animals on the bed. We had the same waitress in one of the bars and she learned what we liked. We tipped her well and a couple of times "we had already paid" for that round of drinks. If we were on Disney I think these would count as magic... but we weren't so we just thought it was great service.