Disney Vs. Royal Carribean...what are your oppinions?

[herrmfam24]

We are thinking about sailing with our friends later this year (only if we get the money..haha) and we both sailed on Disney (July 2001) but they are thinking that even though Disney was fantastic they might want to see what else is out there and they are leaning torwards RC. Does anyone have any opinions on which one? Thank you so much!

 

[DVC California]

We sailed on the Monarch of the Sea about 4 years ago. Unless RCL has changed alot since, I can not recommend them. It may have been this one ship, but the quaility of the food and the shows were not as good as other lines we've cruised on.

Believe it or not, our best cruise experience was with Carnival. We sailed on the Paradise during Easter 2000 and had a blast! The ship is totally non-smoking, there is a fantastic children's program, and the shows were very glitzy, Vegas quality. The food was not as good as on Disney but still very good.

Of course there will be many who swear by RCL. I'm intrigued by their new ship, Voyager of the Seas, that has onboard Ice Skating and Rock Climbing! But not enough to spend several thousand dollars to check out.

My two cents, Steve

 

[wovenwonder]

For a great message board for RCL and other major cruise lines check out:

www.cruisecritic.com

 

[tyusik]

Will be going out on the magic in two weeks.

Went out on RCL Sovereign of the seas a few years ago. The three most annoying items were:
1. Kid's programs - They did not offer the kids programs at either one of the dinner seatings, so it is impossible to have dinner alone with the spouse unless you get a private sitter (assuming that one is available).
2. At their private island, the ship docks in deep water and they use ferry boats to get you to the island. Not only does it take quite a while, but it is the "cattle herd" treatment that I despise.
3. I feel the crew and ship don't really care about the passengers, this is from an experience with my 5 year old. They had started to drain on of the pools to play volleyball down in it and the crew/lifeguards that were doing it were too busy hitting on female passengers to let anyone know about it. When my son ran into the shallow end and slipped because there was only a few inches instead of two feet of water is when I realized they were draining the pool. He got a pretty good size knot/egg on his head and the crew/lifeguards were totally unconcerned as long as their was no blood. When I complained to the ships officer's their solution was to offer a 4 year old boy some chocolate covered strawberries.

Hoping that DCL and the magic will be much better. When I get back at end of January can let you know if you would like.


B

 

[Disney Dreamer]

DH & I sailed on the RCCI Soverign of the Seas with another couple in March of 2001. Embarkation and debarkation is not as smooth as Disney and I didn't think the staff was as friendly. Soverign does have great entertainment, the food was EXCELLENT and the nightlife was fun. The ship itself however is old. The rooms are TINY, we had a CAT D room and the beds are an old style L shape couch that they convert into a bed (it was made up into a bed the whole time). The towels were worn and the bedding was thin. A small desk and no chair. The walls were very thin as the man next to us either was seasick or had too much to drink! We could hear him tossing his cookies all .. night .. long! The bathroom was kindof scary too, it was very old and looked dirty. The pink (yes, pink - toilet and all) tiles were cracked and stained in the grout. There was a horrid smell throughout the ship. I know it was just refurbed a couple months ago so maybe its better now. If those things don't bother you then you should have a good time because they do have excellent programing and food. We had bad weather and did not get to dock at Cocoa Cay - 2 days at sea. It was windy and cold on deck also so we were inside most of the time. We were very close to the Wonder the whole trip and I kept wishing I was on that ship instead! Overall, we had a good time, but I am very picky about my surroundings and since we had to spend so much time inside, it really bothered me. I hope I've helped you. This is just my opinion and besides I LOVE DISNEY!!

Good luck!

 

[dbcruise]

This really just depends on you and your likes and dislikes .I have been on 4 cruises all different lines and I have enjoyed them all but I did research before I booked so i knew what to expect about the ship before I arrived.I have been on old ships Commadore Bermuda star and Troipical on Carnival and on Carasal on Sun lines and I enjoyed those just as much as the year old Explorer in Nov2001 It had the rock climbing, Ice rink .mini golf . I tend to pick a ship for the ports of call and for price . I will be on Disney in Jan only because we got inside cat11 for $593.00 will all fees and taxes . Do your research try cruise critic also try cruisemates . If you do your research and know what to expect before hand chances are you won't be disappointed .Very few people can say their cruise was a disaster . Enjoy what ever ship you choose .

 

[herrmfam24]

Thank's to everybody for your oppinions! Dbcruise- You said that you went on the Explorer and that is the ship our friends are interested in...did you have any more pros/cons about that? Thank you soo much for all of your help!!

 

[atigeg]

While I can't speak for Explorer, I can share my experiences on its sister ship, Voyager. It was a very impressive ship in many ways. The ice show was FANTASTIC!!! Next to Disney Dreams, it was the best show I have ever seen on a ship. We also did skating ourselves at the public session and tried our hands at the rock climbing and mini-golf. The spa was beautiful, but I hated the fact that they didn't enforce the no-kids policy in there. There is a giant indoor whirlpool, and the kids would run from that to the exercise machines, soaking wet. I was waiting for someone to get electrocuted. We loved the "street" and the parades that were held on it several nights, and the quick-service food outlet was excellent. The food is the other restaurants was mediocre at best...I don't think they were able to keep up the quality on such a large ship. The lunches were better than the dinners. Staterooms were not as large as Disney's.
All in all, we enjoyed it, but Disney is still my favorite due to the adults-only areas, the friendly crew, the big staterooms, and of course the Disney pixie dust. But it was cool to do Voyager because it is such an amazingly huge ship.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[herrmfam24]

Atigeg-Thank you so much for all of that info. on the voyager!

 

[dbcruise]

The Explorer is a Triplet to Voyager and the Brand new Adventurer. The ship is hugh Well over 3000 passengers so at times it can seem crowded like when a show lets out or when you want to be the first to go ashore .And it seems like at time you walk and walk to get where you are going because the ship is so big (But with 24 hour food avail walking is good for you ). The Ice skakeing show is amazing. the 14 story glass elevators with the day of the week in the floor are fun even when the ship is rollin. I was alone so i missed my daughter alot and what i saw of the kids club she would have loved that . The kids club staff even gave me a stuffed animal for her .RCI wavied the single suppliment for a few months so i got a inside cabin $724.00 to myself with a tax and fees .And Delta let me use a air ticket I had that was for 9-11 we were to have flown to NCY it was red eye we were to spend Wed to Sun in Nyc then go on RCI ship to Bermuda . So my trip was very cheap .Here are some links .
http://qwikfyx.com/explorer2/
http://www.cruisemates.com/articles/cruiseguide/ship-features/kuki-explorer-2.cfm
http://www.cruisemates.com/
http://www.cruisecritic.com/
Here are the sites I did research on they have great people devoted to RCI just like Dave and Barb are here .THank you to all the wonderful people who share so much information with the rest of us . I have not been on Disney yet so i cannot compare to RCI .I can say I have heard 100 good things to 1 bad thing on both Disney Magic and the RcI explorer . Good luck If I can answer more let me know . Good Luck If you have enough money and vacation do both so you won't have to make a choice (I wish we could all do this ) Isn't Disney for Dreams ????

 

[herrmfam24]

Dbcruise-Thank you sooo much for all of that information. It helps a lot and we will defenitely take all those links and commments into consideration. Again, I just wanted to thank you and everyone else on these boards for helping me out!!

 

[KendraS]

We loved RCCL...Sovereign in '92 (newer ship at the time) and Voyager in '00. Both were great. Unlike the other posts that had food/children issues on RCCL...I never saw a problem. I thought the food was fantastic! I never saw kids in the spa (we were there 5 times on a 7 night cruise). We had fantastic entertainment, a great cruise director...I could go on & on.

I agree w/ the others...check out some other boards and decide what is important to you. The only reason we are doing a Disney cruise (in a few days!) is because we are taking my in-laws who are VERY conservative and wouldn't like the casino, adult entertainment, etc. If it was just us & our 2 kids...we would go to RCCL. Taking a Disney cruise assures me that most things will be "G" rated and my kids will have a fun time as well. (I believe they would enjoy RCCL just as much as Disney.)

If you have any concerns re: RCCL, I agree w/ the above post...the cruise critic board will be a good source of info from people who have been on the ships a lot!

But remember...if you go on ANY ship that is older (no matter what cruise line) and hasn't been refurbished lately...I wouldn't be surprised to find cracked tile, etc...that's usually why the prices are so good.