Dream vs Enchantment

[Dismama2]

I do NOT want to start a huge RCL vs DCL debate. I have cruised both, I LOVE DCL, but also would love to try the larger/newer RCL ships. We have small children, and DCL is perfect for us right now. We have family considering a cruise with us, so we are looking at all of our options. Obviously we would pay a premium for DCL, but the trouble I am having from the research we have done, comparing Dream with Enchantment isn't really comparing apples to apples....

I know what DCL offers- how is food/entertainment (specifically stage shows)/ ship decor, etc on the Enchantment.

 

[bumbershoot]

Ship decor...Royal and Disney are VERY different. Personally, DCL's color and decorating schemes feel old and outdated to me, like being on the Titanic (just in the decor and colors way). I like Royal's bright and cheery decorating schemes.

I don't go to the shows on DCL (tried two of them, hated one and was neutral on the other, I'm done) or on Royal (just don't have the interest), but we've gone to comedians and magicians, and have liked them. I know there have been magicians on both...it's possible the comedian was just on Royal, but I'm not sure.

Seems to be a Vision class ship; we were on Vision last year just before going on Dream, and we liked Vision. (I did have some issues b/c the weather was bad for 1.5 days and the smokers stayed inside, going to the casino for their nicotine breaks, and the casino is off the Centrum which is a gathering place, and our rooms were the Panoramic OV rooms just off the Centrum, and it was getting a bit overwhelmingly smoky in the Centrum...but that was a pretty specific set of circumstances and should NOT be expected on other cruises...just wanted to be really clear) When we could use the Centrum for things it was a lot of fun.

Dream is bigger, and can hold far more passengers. Compared to Dream and Royal's Freedom, Vision felt really easy to get around, and impossible to feel lost on. The more intimate feel of the smaller ship was really nice.

Some decent info here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Enchantment_of_the_Seas



OK I just reread.

I LOVE DCL, but also would love to try the larger/newer RCL ships.

That's not Enchantment. Vision class is "old", and Vision isn't a large class on Royal. Have you looked at the Freedom class? I see you've cruised royal before, but I'm a little confused b/c of what I quoted above.


Oh, and we like the menus on Royal better than on Dream...we're vegetarian and they are just more palatable on Royal. But both have servers that want to make people happy, and both lines have been happy to help us out to find food that is better. Though I must say our Royal servers have been a bit quicker to offer help; the Dream servers have waited for us to specifically ask for help.

 

[Dismama2]

Ship decor...Royal and Disney are VERY different. Personally, DCL's color and decorating schemes feel old and outdated to me, like being on the Titanic (just in the decor and colors way). I like Royal's bright and cheery decorating schemes.

I don't go to the shows on DCL (tried two of them, hated one and was neutral on the other, I'm done) or on Royal (just don't have the interest), but we've gone to comedians and magicians, and have liked them. I know there have been magicians on both...it's possible the comedian was just on Royal, but I'm not sure.

Seems to be a Vision class ship; we were on Vision last year just before going on Dream, and we liked Vision. (I did have some issues b/c the weather was bad for 1.5 days and the smokers stayed inside, going to the casino for their nicotine breaks, and the casino is off the Centrum which is a gathering place, and our rooms were the Panoramic OV rooms just off the Centrum, and it was getting a bit overwhelmingly smoky in the Centrum...but that was a pretty specific set of circumstances and should NOT be expected on other cruises...just wanted to be really clear) When we could use the Centrum for things it was a lot of fun.

Dream is bigger, and can hold far more passengers. Compared to Dream and Royal's Freedom, Vision felt really easy to get around, and impossible to feel lost on. The more intimate feel of the smaller ship was really nice.

Some decent info here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Enchantment_of_the_Seas



OK I just reread.



That's not Enchantment. Vision class is "old", and Vision isn't a large class on Royal. Have you looked at the Freedom class? I see you've cruised royal before, but I'm a little confused b/c of what I quoted above.


Oh, and we like the menus on Royal better than on Dream...we're vegetarian and they are just more palatable on Royal. But both have servers that want to make people happy, and both lines have been happy to help us out to find food that is better. Though I must say our Royal servers have been a bit quicker to offer help; the Dream servers have waited for us to specifically ask for help.

 

[Dismama2]

Sorry- that was a bit confusing. I guess what I meant is that we love Disney, and have enjoyed RCL as well. I do know that Enchantment is NOT a new/big ship- because family wants to go on a shorter cruise, the mega ships are out of the equation, and I am trying to decide if we would enjoy the Enchantment

 

[bumbershoot]

Like I said, we liked Vision apart from that one issue (may you not have bad weather! or maybe you're just not as sensitive as I am to smoke). There were all sorts of little events in the Centrum, which were fun. It was all so easily walkable; I think there were only two banks of elevators, not 3 like Freedom and Dream. I liked it.

So if Enchantment is what's getting you out on the seas in the timeframe you want, go for it! That said, since we don't partake in a lot of the Disney-ness of the Disney cruises, maybe I'm not the perfect person to answer you.

I will say that my son loved the Adventure Ocean on both Freedom and Vision. It's not as pretty as Disney's club/lab, not visually stunning...but the counselors have been top notch and really get to know the kids while playing WITH them. In 4 cruises on Dream DS has actually spoken with two counselors (and he's not an adult-avoider at all, he quite likes adults) and only one has ever remembered him...but the counselors on Freedom and Vision have known him by name, and have greeted him outside the club, by his second day visiting the club. He really likes that.

And since going on Freedom, he tells me that Disney "plays ga-ga ball wrong". Our YMCA and Royal play with the same rules apparently, and DCL does it differently.

Just trying to give all the comparisons I can here!

 

[haj697]

We sailed on Enchantment last year. We have done 11 cruises on DCL (all 4 ships), but wanted to try Royal because of the price. Overall, we enjoyed our cruise. We are the opposite of the above poster in regards to decor. We prefer the decor on DCL as opposed to Royal. DCL is classic and we thought it was dated/Vegas tacky on Enchantment. We also missed the split bath that is found on DCL. We thought the food in the main dining room was better on Royal than DCL. For us, the entertainment on DCL is far superior. Stage shows just do not compare. Royal did have a marriage/love game show that was fun to watch. We did find ourselves comparing experiences frequently during the cruise, but we are glad that we gave Royal a try. Since we are about priced out of DCL, we are going to try a larger class ship on Royal next time.