Disney vs. RCCL

[woody73]

Had a very nice time. Snorkeled and saw the sunken plane. Would definitely go again!

Woody

 

[gouodux]

Thank you - this thread has been reassuring.

We have been on 7 DCL cruises ourselves, unfortunately had to cancel #8 that leaves in a few weeks (very sad).

During our last cruise the two "Holiday" Southern Caribbean cruises were released. Having been on the 12 night SC cruise in 06 we were SOOO excited to book again. We rushed out of our stateroom to deck 5 and then . . . . . saw the cost!! For the category we normally purchase, it would have cost our family of four $9,000 if memory serves me right - this was within an hour of it being available to book. We reluctantly walked away with heavy hearts.

About two months ago we found a 12 night Southern Caribbean cruise through RCCL (has 6 ports on the itinerary) that we booked for half the price of DCL in a similar stateroom!! This is also during Spring Break.

Anyway we are a little nervous after leaving Disney once before for a Princess cruise (not good!!) - however we are also EXTREMELY excited.

 

[VLee]

Glad to hear the good reviews of RCCL. We have them booked for the Northern Europe (Baltic) cruise instead of Disney--figured we would save the extra money for excursions and the two weeks we plan to spend touring Europe by train between the RCCL Cruise and the DCL Cruise back home from Barcelona.

However, the "formal" nights are of some concern. Since we will have a total of 6 weeks (26 nights of cruise, plus the rest touring Europe), I really don't want to have to pack a dress jacket for him since we are going to try to stick with two carry-ons each for the whole trip. (I would rather not have to fool with a lot of luggage between trains, rental cars, etc.) Are there jackets available for rent onboard RCCL if we want them?

I figured the Transatlantic Disney will be a little more casual--do they have a formal night as well?

 

[TheWog]

Question regarding dress attire on the Freedom of the Seas:

We have cruise DCL many times, and are cruising FOS in about a month. I get the impression from the Cruise Critic boards that the dinner attire may be a little dressier than what we are used to on DCL. Has anyone found that to be the case?

Usually on DCL, DH will wear dress pants, dress shirt, and tie on formal and semiformal nights, and I wear a dressy skirt (knee length) and top. On the other nights, DH wears a polo shirt and khaki pants, and I wear capri pants and a nice top and sandals. DD (now 11) usually wears "casual" skirts or capris, and a sundress or church style dress on the formal/semi formal nights.

Will we fit in on the FOS?

Yes, you will fit in just fine.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Had a very nice time. Snorkeled and saw the sunken plane. Would definitely go again!

Woody

Great! We just booked the RCCL's 3 night cruise over next Memorial Day. It fit with our plans better than March, and we're looking forward to seeing what their private island looks like. I didn't know they had a snorkeling area!

Bobbi

 

[OhMari]

Glad to hear the good reviews of RCCL. We have them booked for the Northern Europe (Baltic) cruise instead of Disney--figured we would save the extra money for excursions and the two weeks we plan to spend touring Europe by train between the RCCL Cruise and the DCL Cruise back home from Barcelona.

However, the "formal" nights are of some concern. Since we will have a total of 6 weeks (26 nights of cruise, plus the rest touring Europe), I really don't want to have to pack a dress jacket for him since we are going to try to stick with two carry-ons each for the whole trip. (I would rather not have to fool with a lot of luggage between trains, rental cars, etc.) Are there jackets available for rent onboard RCCL if we want them?

I figured the Transatlantic Disney will be a little more casual--do they have a formal night as well?

I know you can rent a tux.
I wouldn't worry so much about Formal nite,
We missed one formal nite, because we went to Chops, but we all dressed up anyway.
On the 2nd formal nite, a 2 guys next to us had on nice shirts and pants, no jackets. We all came to the conclusion, people that had on really nice Formal wear, took the time to get Formal pictures taken. Otherwise, it sure was a mixture of clothing for Formal nite, and no one is at the entrance turning any one away.
I also met a family that did not bring formal wear along, and they went to the windjammer for supper those evenings. She told me she refused to bring nice clothes along.

 

[tchrmom]

Ohmari!

I was wondering how your FOS cruise went! Hope you had fun!

 

[tchrmom]

NEW UPDATE: We rebooked while on our 6/09 Freedom cruise. Origianlly, we booked The Oasis. But.....after thinking it over......we decided that we needed to wait for those prices to come down. We switched to The Freedom (coming out of drydock 4/10). We got 2 connecting interior rooms.....each room with $100.00 OBC.....total price for the 4 of us for 7 days.....$4,125.00. AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For those who didn't see my newest addition to my original post........

I'm VERY pleased with my new price!!!!!!!!

OR......according to DCL website......I could do a 5 night cruise (2 stops at Castaway) with all 4 of us in one Cat. 10...on that same sail date....for $5,371.68. WOW! I can buy a lot of soda and Ben and Jerry's and Johnny Rockets on The Freedom for THAT!

 

[CruiserMom]

We just returned, and we are SOLD on RCCL and the FOS! We had a blast! Mind you, we have done 6 DCL cruises, and loved all but the last one (we were a little bored because we had seen all the shows, and DD was in the same kid's group for 3 years). We were very worried that we would spend the week on the Freedom thinking "yeah, this is OK, but it's not DISNEY!". Well, we stopped feeling sorry for ourselves about 5 minutes after we got on board the ship! The ship did not feel too big at all, felt just right in fact. We never felt crowded (except at the buffet restaurant, where you sometimes had to search for a table). Even the pools, even on sea days, did not feel overcrowded.

DD11 had a blast in the kids club, even though it seemed a little scaled down from what we were used to on DCL (fewer kids). They often put the 9-11's with the 6-8's, but they did fun activities that DD really enjoyed, and she got to know the counselors on a first name basis.

We had a blast shopping on the Promenade, watching DH tackle the Flowrider, playing putt putt, and trying out the rock wall. Some of the shows left a little to be desired, but we were tired of the same old ones on Disney anyway.

All in all, we are very happy we sailed RCCL this time. We are sailing next September on the Oasis, and I can't wait.

 

[Mjasp]

For those who didn't see my newest addition to my original post........

I'm VERY pleased with my new price!!!!!!!!

OR......according to DCL website......I could do a 5 night cruise (2 stops at Castaway) with all 4 of us in one Cat. 10...on that same sail date....for $5,371.68. WOW! I can buy a lot of soda and Ben and Jerry's and Johnny Rockets on The Freedom for THAT!

WOW That is a big difference since you will have 2 bathrooms and that is a big plus and the extra room. ENJOY! We did 2 connecting promenades when we went on the Explorer of the seas

 

[runwad]

Do any of you RCCL cruisers know when the date for new bookings open up? I thought I read somewhere that it's in October but I don't remember what day? Wonder if it works like disney when you book on the first day you get a cheaper price?

 

[TheWog]

Do any of you RCCL cruisers know when the date for new bookings open up? I thought I read somewhere that it's in October but I don't remember what day? Wonder if it works like disney when you book on the first day you get a cheaper price?

My TA told me they are going to open up a promotion of 50% discount deposit and either discount on cruise fare or OBC and that would probably be October 6. I will know more in a few days. I will probably take advantage of the 50% discount deposit and book my Feb 2011 Freedom cruise (or maybe Oasis).

 

[TheWog]

Do any of you RCCL cruisers know when the date for new bookings open up? I thought I read somewhere that it's in October but I don't remember what day? Wonder if it works like disney when you book on the first day you get a cheaper price?

Yes, you can get a cheaper fare when it first opens up they will also offer specials depending on when your sailing is and how the ship is selling. These are usually closer to the actual sail date. You can usually get a credit to reduce your cruise cost from RCI.

It was announced that Tuesday and Wednesday (6th and 7th) will be the WOW sale. 50% reduced deposits and up to $200 onboard credit. 6-9 night cruises get $100 onboard credit.

 

[tchrmom]

We just returned, and we are SOLD on RCCL and the FOS! We had a blast! Mind you, we have done 6 DCL cruises, and loved all but the last one (we were a little bored because we had seen all the shows, and DD was in the same kid's group for 3 years). We were very worried that we would spend the week on the Freedom thinking "yeah, this is OK, but it's not DISNEY!". Well, we stopped feeling sorry for ourselves about 5 minutes after we got on board the ship! The ship did not feel too big at all, felt just right in fact. We never felt crowded (except at the buffet restaurant, where you sometimes had to search for a table). Even the pools, even on sea days, did not feel overcrowded.

DD11 had a blast in the kids club, even though it seemed a little scaled down from what we were used to on DCL (fewer kids). They often put the 9-11's with the 6-8's, but they did fun activities that DD really enjoyed, and she got to know the counselors on a first name basis.

We had a blast shopping on the Promenade, watching DH tackle the Flowrider, playing putt putt, and trying out the rock wall. Some of the shows left a little to be desired, but we were tired of the same old ones on Disney anyway.

All in all, we are very happy we sailed RCCL this time. We are sailing next September on the Oasis, and I can't wait.

YEAH!!!!!!! I'm sooooooo happy for you! We are SO sold on them too. However.......if I had very young kids......I would have to save my money and let them enjoy the experience of Disney. I have a friend who left yesterday on the Magic.....and I am surprised that I am not at all jealous. I was not even a little sad when she texted me at sailaway.......I was happy for her and her family with 2 young kids......but excited about my Freedom cruise in 251 days!
Enjoy the Oasis....Let me know what you think!!!!!!!

 

["Got Disney"]

I to have teen kids that are 13 and 16 (soon to be) we have been on DCL 7 times and have booked our 8th for Alaska. We are also tiring of the same ole same old shows and stuff on it. Nothing changes. They know that most of there cruisers are repeat cruisers, so why not a few changes

We have been on other cruises and are also looking at the Oasis and the Allure. Wow talk about a ship/ships

Great for our kids getting older. The price on the Oaisis is pretty much the same as DCL....even a little more. But look what you are getting compared to Disney. No doubt that when the Allure comes out the Oasis will drop some in prices.

We have decided that if the new ships...Dream and Freedom are not as grand as what other Cruise lines are coming out with than they will loose our business.

I can say that we will be on the Oasis or Allure for 2012. Unless the DCL Wows us.

Will find out soon wont we

 

[CruiserMom]

However.......if I had very young kids......I would have to save my money and let them enjoy the experience of Disney. !!!!!!

I'm in total agreement with you there. We have wonderful memories of our DCL cruises. We still get that little pang in the heart when we hear the recording of the ship's horn. I am so glad we did them when DD was younger.

But now, we can get our Disney fix at WDW beforehand, then sail on RCCL and still have a blast!

 

[tchrmom]

. We still get that little pang in the heart when we hear the recording of the ship's horn.
But now, we can get our Disney fix at WDW beforehand, then sail on RCCL and still have a blast!

I LOVE the sound of that horn.....to help me with that, my son made that my "ring tone" whenever I get a text on my cell! (I woke up on my birthday to all kinds of cool ring tones added to my cell, as his gift to me!)

 

[Va-bear]

Yes and no Fran.

The best categories aren't necessarily the lowest letter. Let's not forget about the Presidential Suite (Cat PS), Royal Suite (Cat RS) and Owners Suite (Cat OS)

I know, it's confusing.

There is even a Suite Guarantee that's Category W. So it's all messed up.

Oh Mari - yes, a D2 is a balcony cabin. There is one higher standard balcony category above this, the D1. Usually the only difference is location. And a D1 is usually a quad.

Deck 7 is fine. We have a tendency to stay at the highest deck possible, only because we spend most of our time at the pool and the kids at Adventure Ocean (both high decks).

We also try to grab the Aft Balconies (VERY back if the ship) because they are extended balconies that are much larger than a standard, and NO price difference from the side balconies. The AFT balconies have loungers on them. They are "coveted" so if you see one, grab it.

I grabbed another one for our next RCCL cruise on Explorer.

This was our Aft Balcony on Independence of the Seas....

Wow - this picture makes me go NUTS!!!!! Its like a dream........ Do you, by any chance know the exact room number?

Well, either way, thanks for giving me sweet dreams!

 

[Tneah]

My family will be able to compare if DCL or RCCL is the ship for them. We are on both back to back. We are leaving in about 16 days. We have been on Disney before and are taking the bounceback offer this month and tying the two cruises together.

I've been on RCCL Liberty of the seas (sister ship to Freedom) and I was wowed just walking onto the ship. I know deep down that RCCL is more age appropiate for my 10 and 13 year old kids as well as the their parents. I can't wait until I see their faces light up when they walk onto the Freedom.

 

[Tneah]

Question regarding dress attire on the Freedom of the Seas:

We have cruise DCL many times, and are cruising FOS in about a month. I get the impression from the Cruise Critic boards that the dinner attire may be a little dressier than what we are used to on DCL. Has anyone found that to be the case?

Usually on DCL, DH will wear dress pants, dress shirt, and tie on formal and semiformal nights, and I wear a dressy skirt (knee length) and top. On the other nights, DH wears a polo shirt and khaki pants, and I wear capri pants and a nice top and sandals. DD (now 11) usually wears "casual" skirts or capris, and a sundress or church style dress on the formal/semi formal nights.

Will we fit in on the FOS?

Yes, you will completely fit in.