For those who have done RCCL (Mariner)

[4eeyore]

I'm looking into a DCL cruise next November and got a good group rate from AAA (better than any other TA). However, I also got quotes for the same week for Mariner and the cost is over $1000.00 less (we are a family of five and for DCL we have two cat 10 connecting rooms on hold and on Mariner I am looking at the oceanview family stateroom). Since we have never cruised before and the fact that my husband isn't crazy about crowds on vacations (he really doensn't want to cruise) which line would be a better low-key experience? And is DCL worth the price difference? By the way the kids will be 15, 13 and 10 (turning 11 on the cruise).

 

[CurtS]

We are also new to DCL cruising and looked into both DCL and RCCL. I suspect we drove our TA crazy with questions, but it really came down to what was best for the size and age of my family. Our children will be 12, 10, 9, 8, 4 and 3 by cruise time. She said DCL is hard to beat as far as children's entertainment value, particularly for the younger children (Disney characters on board, child-centered activities on Castaway Cay, Mickey shaped pool, etc.), but that for the older children, RCCL had a lot to offer with its own children's activities and clubs as well as minature golf and other on-deck activities that they would enjoy. While cost was a factor, it came down to whether the cost was worth having the children entertained for a few hours while we enjoyed some time to ourselves--DCL won out. We figured a lower category stateroom was worth the peaceful on-deck time (and we're only probably going to sleep in the staterooms anyway).

 

[DisneyJam]

I think you will find on this board that most are DCL fanatics and say it is well worth the $1000 extra. Look at some of the sig lines and you will see many have cruise DCL multiple times.

I have cruise DCL twice and I really like DCL it has a lot to offer and just seems to add a little something extra to the trip. Disney Magic I guess.

The first was a three night and we found that it was way to short, so we decided we needed to try out the 7 night and get the full experience. We weren't disappointed. Excellent cruise.

On the other hand, I have also crusied several other lines including RCCL (3 times). I found that for adults and probably older children (10+) there is more on board to do on RCCL. They also have a great kids program for all kids. We are actually looking to crusie RCCL in 2006.

If you have never cruised DCL, it is an incredible experience, but I don't think you would be disappointed at all on RCCL.

 

[LisaGoeke]

Haven't done the Mariner yet (see my countdown) but looking forward to the replies. Our children will be 10, 6, 4, and 4 when we cruise the Mariner.

 

[RellingTwin]

Hi Lisa! You are not going to belive this but we are thinking of booking the same RCCL as you. I am in the process of talking my in laws and a few of my sisters and brothers into joining us. We will make the final decision before the end of the year. The kids REALLY want to do the "Rock Wall"
Wish you were joining us for Cruistoberfest this year

 

[rhw]

We have done both DCL Magic and RCCL Navigator of the Seas. Did DCL when boys were 8 & 10. Did RCCL when boys were 10 & 12. DCL was great. The youngest was in the clubs all day and night until 1am when he was forced to come back to the room for bed. The oldest spent a good amount of time in the clubs and was back by 10pm. The clubs are better for the younger kids. Switching dining rooms each night was a plus. There was a lot of things for myself and my senior mother to do. Brunch, tea, Newlywed game and more. We all enjoyed all of the ports on the eastern cruise. It was fantastic and left us wanting more. The rooms, however were smaller and not as clean as they could have been.
Now, the next year I had booked the Wonder because it was such a great memory. We did cancel for other reasons. When I began booking for the next year, had already got a secret porthole room on the Magic, the kids said they would like to try a different cruise line because they were to old for most of the kids club activities. I booked RCCL for Jan 2003. This was the best thing we could have ever done. The rooms are bigger, more colorful and clean. The kids clubs however didn't have much to offer the then 12 year old because there were very few kids aboard. He spent most of the time with me. The 10 year old was at the clubs maybe 40 percent of the time, also because of a lack of kids. The activities continued to be cancelled because of participation. The thing that was great about this club is that the kids don't have to keep track of time to sign out before "the group" goes to lunch or get stuck having to go. If a family went during a school break, there would be more young teens and there would be more activities. Anyway, having the kids with me more, was great. Miniature golf was a favorite activity with hardly anyone ever playing. The western ports were fantastic and far outdid the eastern. The ship itself is unbelievable. Extrememly easy to get from place to place and it has many more elevators. We would go on RCCL again in a heartbeat, but would also do DCL again.
Just an extra note, went on Carnival Glory Jan 2004 and I don't want to say "never", but it is not on my list to do again. The teen(the one and only teen counselor) counselor never showed up around the ship for the activities, or was always late and had to be called to make an appearance. Ship was still nice, large room and more elevators than needed.
This was just a quick overview. If you have specific questions, I would be glad to answer them.

 

[tezb]

After 3 DCL cruises since 2000, we just cruised RCCL this last June for the first time. We sailed on the Mariner. Family of 5 and RCCL was about 1500.00 cheaper than DCL. We had 2 rooms, one w/ verandah and 2nd was a Promenade room, which faces the Promenade..pretty cool to see. Anyway, my kids are 18, 16 and 12 1/2. They enjoyed RCCL more..mainly because of their ages and much more to do. We as adults liked it better too because there was more night life and more options of entertainment. The entertainment was also great...great comediennes too! Would definitely do RCCL again...had a great time on the Mariner!

 

[TiggerKing]

I have a question for those talking about the "adult" activities on RCCL. I may be seen as a prude with these questions, but this is just something I would like to know in case I ever decide to try RCCL.

1. Did you run into a problem with it being a "spring-break" type party atmosphere with people stumbling around the bars?

2. Were the shows "too" adult focused, i.e. containing a lot of cursing?

3. Outside of the casino and shows, what other type of adult activities were on board?

Thanks in advance for the answers.

 

[kristen821]

i am just jumping on because i am carious too and after our first disney cruise i may want to cruise again.

 

[alexandrew]

Mariner of the Seas would be our hands down second choice of ships besides the Magic -

But, IMO nothing beats DCL....well worth the extra $

 

[tstobb]

We have sailed DCL - both the Magic and the Wonder - and will be on the Mariner in 2 weeks for the 1st time. Our kids are 6, 9, and turning 11 on the cruise.
We chose RCCL for the price and after hearing about RCCL from a friend who has cruised the Voyager class ships several times. We are booked in 2 connecting category D-1 rooms which is equivalent to a Cat 5 on DCL and the price, even with our FL resident discount on DCL was about $1200 less.
I will post a comparison when we return so if there are any specific questions, please post them here and I'll look for the answers when we cruise.

 

[Mjasp]

Originally posted by tstobb
We have sailed DCL - both the Magic and the Wonder - and will be on the Mariner in 2 weeks for the 1st time. Our kids are 6, 9, and turning 11 on the cruise.
We chose RCCL for the price and after hearing about RCCL from a friend who has cruised the Voyager class ships several times. We are booked in 2 connecting category D-1 rooms which is equivalent to a Cat 5 on DCL and the price, even with our FL resident discount on DCL was about $1200 less.
I will post a comparison when we return so if there are any specific questions, please post them here and I'll look for the answers when we cruise.

Please post a trip report upon your return, our kids will be 13 and 9 next year and DCL is on the West coast, so we are looking for something else.

 

[Mjasp]

I just looked on All Seas site for RCCL Mariner prices for next August and they were more money than I paid for our August sailing on DL, so on which sailings are you finding the prices less expensive?

 

[westjones]

Originally posted by Mjasp
I just looked on All Seas site for RCCL Mariner prices for next August and they were more money than I paid for our August sailing on DL, so on which sailings are you finding the prices less expensive?

I looked on All Seasons Travel's site too at those prices, and they didn't seem like that we less than DCL to me either. I would also like to know where you can get a good price on RCCL during peak season.

Also, can their rooms hold 4 people like the DCL does?

Thanks,
DJ

 

[tstobb]

RCCL very recently changed their pricing - they will no longer allow TA's to advertise or sell cruises at a rate lower that RCCL themselves.

 

[MouseFan45]

After three Wonder 3-night cruises, our kids (13-21) wanted a longer cruise experience, so we compared the prices on the Magic and Mariner. The Mariner was a bunch less $$$ and seemed to offer more activities for the older kids.

We went on the Mariner Western cruise the first part of August. We just missed the big storms. The Ship is sparkling new and big, Big, BIG. It was never a problem with crowds as there are many areas and places to be - even with 3600 guests on board.

We had very smooth oceans, sunny days, clear nights except for leaving PC and returning to PC. Great excursions in ports of call.

We had 38 friends and friends of friends at 4 dinning tables. We made our wait staff crazy by shifting around the tables. Kids mainly hung out in the teen areas and only attended dinner with the old folks when asked to attend a birthday or other "special" night. The Windjammer buffet was where they ate all meals.

The kids didn't even take the time to do the ice skating, rock wall, in line skating. They did do the miniture-golf several times. The basketball court was almost always in use by someone. The arcade was also well used. They spent $20-50+ each.

We all did wave runners at Labadee, RCCLs private island. What a blast on the warm ocean to scream over the water trying to keep up with the person in front. It was really no Castaway Cay but it make the day memorable. Motorized water craft would add additional thrills to CC.

I didn't care for the Casino and the smoking one had to walk through to get to the shows. I missed the Buena-Vista theatre and the first run shows. I felt that the stage shows were not up to Disney standards. Some of the comedians, and their routines, were just worn out and we did not play Bingo. The Ice show was the best show of the cruise, especially sitting so close to all the action.

All in all, we really enjoyed the 7 days on the Mariner and were reluctant to get off the ship after the cruise was over and come back to real life.

In ballance however; we somehow missed feeling the Disney "magic" that flows aboard the DCL ships. We are now looking forward to a future 7 Day Magic or b2b 3/7 Wonder cruise.

 

[tezb]

As I posted in an earlier comparison thread...we enjoyed the RCCL shows much better than DCL. However, we are not disney fanatics and so that may be the reason...to each is own. We thought the comediennes were great and my teens enjoyed them as well. While we enjoyed our Disney cruises, we did not miss the "magical" feeling while on the Mariner. Our kids are older and actually were getting bored w/ Disney so we probably will not cruise DCL again. DCL was our first cruise experience and they left such a lasting impression that we are now hooked on cruising as our family vacation......only we are now starting to venture out and try other cruise lines like RCCL...testing the waters so to speak....LOL

 

[tstobb]

Originally posted by Mjasp
Please post a trip report upon your return, our kids will be 13 and 9 next year and DCL is on the West coast, so we are looking for something else.

Due to the Hurricane, we are not going to be on the Mariner this week - they're sailing a 5 day out of Miami so we took the refund at this time. Family joke is that they great Mouse God was angry with us for even making the attempt to cruise on another line and the storm is our fault!

 

[goin2disneyagain]

tstobb, I was so looking forward to reading your trip report on the Mariner. We are looking at trying this ship out. As to another posters question, I found that RCCL ships have more cabins/categories that hold families of 5. I also found their prices to be cheaper than DCL. We cruised DCL this past May and while we had a great time we would like to try some other ships out.

 

[briternik]

We have cruised both on DCL and the Mariner. We did the Disney when our kids were 14 and 9. We all loved it. The teenager never attended any of the shows. She was too busy with the Teen club. The shows were the drawback to me. They are just too "kiddie" oriented. I love Disney, but would have enjoyed some shows that didn't always tie in with a Disney movie.
We just did the Mariner this past June. The kids are 16 and 11 now. We enjoyed it even more. The whole family climbed the rock wall and played minature golf. The ice show was not to be missed and was one of the highlights of the cruise. The main shows were for the entire family. However, they did have some adult-only comedy shows late at night.
All-in-all, I loved them both. However, I find Disney to be a ship for very young kids. Since mine are older and don't care about characters anymore, I'll be cruising other lines.