Harmony of the Seas Vs Disney Dream

[firstwdw]

Anyone been on both ships? We did a 4night midship balcony room on Disney Dream. LOVED everything about this first cruise. We have a 13year old-did not use the kid clubs. How does Disney Dream compare with Harmony of the Seas? We aren't gamblers or drinkers. Is Harmony just as gorgeous as Disney Dream? Any chance there is less movement on these bigger ships? We did have some very noticable rocking two nights on our Dream sailing. Are formal nights and dressy clothes optional or mandatory on RCCL? How are the shows and entertainment? How is Coco Cay compared to Disney Castaway? Any input appreciated.

Debating saving for another Disney cruise or trying Harmony. Disney was about $3100 for 4nights and Harmony is $2700 for 7.

 

[richmo]

I can't specifically comment on Harmony, since I haven't been on it.

In general, the RCCL ships are quite nice. Disney nice? I wouldn't go quite that far, but, of course it depends on what you're looking for...for instance, RC has things like FlowRider on some ships that your 13 year old might go crazy for. Disney has the rotational dining that RC doesn't have.

There are formal nights on RCCL...formal dress is just "suggested". As long as you're relatively neat and don't show up with bathing suit, t-shirt or shorts, you should be fine. You'll see some very dressed up and many not. Personally, I've gone to formal night with a dress shirt and tie, no jacket and was somewhere in the middle of the pack. Didn't feel either over or underdressed.

CocoCay is very nice too. I like Castaway a little better, but CocoCay is nice. They're building a water park complex there that will probably change the dynamic. They're also building a dock at CocoCay (not sure if its open yet)...in the past you had to take tender boats from the ship to the island. That'll be a nice feature.

Personally, we've gone more to RCCL cruises because Disney has been so much more expensive lately. If cost was equal, I'd certainly pick Disney, but there can be some big cost advantages to Royal, especially since you said you're not big gamblers or drinkers.

 

[Confederate Scott]

Anyone been on both ships? We did a 4night midship balcony room on Disney Dream. LOVED everything about this first cruise. We have a 13year old-did not use the kid clubs. How does Disney Dream compare with Harmony of the Seas? We aren't gamblers or drinkers. Is Harmony just as gorgeous as Disney Dream? Any chance there is less movement on these bigger ships? We did have some very noticable rocking two nights on our Dream sailing. Are formal nights and dressy clothes optional or mandatory on RCCL? How are the shows and entertainment? How is Coco Cay compared to Disney Castaway? Any input appreciated.

Debating saving for another Disney cruise or trying Harmony. Disney was about $3100 for 4nights and Harmony is $2700 for 7.

Cannot comment specifically on the harmony vs the dream but we did three cruises on the dream and our latest was on the Oasis of The Seas and we liked it a lot. In our opinion the value of the Oasis of The Seas was better than the dream. Our son is about the same age and said he would do Royal Caribbean over disney. More activities, etc

 

[firstwdw]

Cannot comment specifically on the harmony vs the dream but we did three cruises on the dream and our latest was on the Oasis of The Seas and we liked it a lot. In our opinion the value of the Oasis of The Seas was better than the dream. Our son is about the same age and said he would do Royal Caribbean over disney. More activities, etc

Thank you! That is certainly interesting to hear! Did you feel like Oasis was HUGE and overwhelming compared to Dream?

 

[Confederate Scott]

We did not find the Oasis of The Seas to be overwhelmingly huge. We actually liked the larger ship and never felt overcrowded either. At this point we cannot going back on a Disney cruise. Give the harmony a try - I imagine you will be glad you did.

 

[starvenger]

Anyone been on both ships? We did a 4night midship balcony room on Disney Dream. LOVED everything about this first cruise. We have a 13year old-did not use the kid clubs. How does Disney Dream compare with Harmony of the Seas? We aren't gamblers or drinkers. Is Harmony just as gorgeous as Disney Dream? Any chance there is less movement on these bigger ships? We did have some very noticable rocking two nights on our Dream sailing. Are formal nights and dressy clothes optional or mandatory on RCCL? How are the shows and entertainment? How is Coco Cay compared to Disney Castaway? Any input appreciated.

Debating saving for another Disney cruise or trying Harmony. Disney was about $3100 for 4nights and Harmony is $2700 for 7.

Have been on Harmony and DCL Fantasy, not Dream, so DCL comparisons come from this.

You’re in luck as far as being non-gamblers go. The casino ventilation is quite good so if you ever need to go through the casino you won’t get hit by a giant cloud of cigarette smoke.

For looks, DCL goes for a “classic” look. Harmony definitely goes for a more modern look. I don’t think there’s as much movement on Harmony, but if you hit rough seas you’ll feel it.

The teen club is suppose to be good, but my oldest is 11 so I can’t verify this.

Formal Nights are supposed to be suit and tie or evening dress, but in truth you can do something like dark pants/oxford or summer dress and it’s perfectly fine.

Shows are excellent, But in fairness I didn’t watch Grease (not a fan). Aqua shows are an Oasis-class signature - more or less “O” on a smaller scale. The secondary theatre show “Columbus the Musical”, is honestly a better jukebox musical than the two secondary shows I saw on Fantasy. YMMV on the ice show. And the feature performer... well, it varies.

Haven’t been to Coco Cay yet. I can say that Castaway Cay is easily better than Labadee. But a free beach day is a free beach day, and I can give you some pointers on Labadee if that ends up on your itinerary.

 

[DetroitAvant]

We've done Allure and have done both Fantasy and Dream. We personally preferred Disney better, but not enough to pay for it now. Our boys also enjoy the physical activities available on Royal's ships more than what they were able to do on Disney. They also told us they liked Royal's kids clubs more. Royal does a good job with their shows and we enjoyed most of them. Again, not as good as Disney in our opinion but still good.

The Allure never felt too large or overcrowded to us and it was nice to have many different areas to visit. Each area did feel unique. I'm looking to try Harmony or Symphony in the future, but our next cruise is on the Independence which had a recent remodel. It seemed to use to have most of the features of Oasis class but smaller (and more affordable).

I'd like to get one that goes to Coco Cay but I think you need to pay for the use of a lot of the waterpark. It's under going a renovation so things may or may not be available or working over the next year.

 

[firstwdw]

We've done Allure and have done both Fantasy and Dream. We personally preferred Disney better, but not enough to pay for it now. Our boys also enjoy the physical activities available on Royal's ships more than what they were able to do on Disney. They also told us they liked Royal's kids clubs more. Royal does a good job with their shows and we enjoyed most of them. Again, not as good as Disney in our opinion but still good.

The Allure never felt too large or overcrowded to us and it was nice to have many different areas to visit. Each area did feel unique. I'm looking to try Harmony or Symphony in the future, but our next cruise is on the Independence which had a recent remodel. It seemed to use to have most of the features of Oasis class but smaller (and more affordable).

I'd like to get one that goes to Coco Cay but I think you need to pay for the use of a lot of the waterpark. It's under going a renovation so things may or may not be available or working over the next year.

thank you. I didn't realize Independence was recently redone-I'll look into that as well, sounds like it may be an option.

 

[mousefan73]

Thanks for the previous post commenting on the oasis vs Disney. We are booked on the oasis in June with also 12 and 13-year-old kids. We did the dream last year and loved it but are excited to try Oasis.

I can comment though on the dream and movement. Mainly a lot have to depend on the weather and water conditions. But we were upper balcony aft and it was noticeable on the first night and on the last night coming back to port. From what I have read and heard this has to do more with the gulf stream that the ships cross just before the bahamas. Also they speed up a bit here where it gets rougher/ vibrations and you will feel more movement.

 

[firstwdw]

Thanks for the previous post commenting on the oasis vs Disney. We are booked on the oasis in June with also 12 and 13-year-old kids. We did the dream last year and loved it but are excited to try Oasis.

I can comment though on the dream and movement. Mainly a lot have to depend on the weather and water conditions. But we were upper balcony aft and it was noticeable on the first night and on the last night coming back to port. From what I have read and heard this has to do more with the gulf stream that the ships cross just before the bahamas. Also they speed up a bit here where it gets rougher/ vibrations and you will feel more movement.

I wonder if sailing from Miami would be smoother? We were midship balcony deck 8 on the Dream and it was really rocky both the first and last night. I was not expecting that at all! Apparently there was a cold front upon our return which caused the movement and on the first night many cast members said it was the worst they had experienced. But yes, I've heard that too about the gulf stream.

 

[OKW Lover]

Did you feel like Oasis was HUGE and overwhelming compared to Dream?

I know this question was directed to a different poster, but having done both ships I'ld like to chime in. Oasis is indeed huge, but its not overwhelming. You easily get the lay of the ship after the 2nd day. Everybody is confused on boarding day - don't worry about it.

 

[kbotr]

We did the Harmony this past summer and the Dream 2 years ago. Disney is great but smaller and lot less things do. The Harmony is huge and tons of stuff to do! Our older kids prefer Royal now due to the amount of things going on. Less movement of the ship also on the bigger ships. While we love Disney and we were on the fantasy this past October- for cost and more options we now usually choose royal. In our mind, a longer or more cruises are better than a shorter and less frequent!

 

[phinz]

You’re in luck as far as being non-gamblers go. The casino ventilation is quite good so if you ever need to go through the casino you won’t get hit by a giant cloud of cigarette smoke.

Hopefully they've improved that over Oasis. We were on Oasis for NYE and chose Traditional Dining. The smoke from the casino would escape the casino and permeate the Deck 4 dining area to the point of being revolting, and I'm a former smoker who doesn't usually mind a general smell of smoking if it's not overwhelming.

We're booked for Harmony in 2020 and are considering changing our DCL cruise in 2019 to another Harmony cruise the same week.

The biggest difference between the Dream class and Oasis class is your connection to the sea. On the Oasis class you are almost completely removed from the ocean, only catching glimpses from up top or on the Boardwalk. Even their jogging track feels removed from the sea views because of the lifeboats and narrowness of the track. The promenade on the Dream class is infinitely better, and you can see the ocean from almost any of the public areas on board.

I loved both for what they are, but I missed the ocean a lot.

 

[starvenger]

It wasn’t that long ago when the Aquatheatre Suites balconies werent cabins but open to all on Allure. That was our relaxation spot since you had a view into the boardwalk plus a view of the sea. And there was no one there to bother you.

WRT smoke I was just on Allure again this past August. Ventilation is slightly better than before (or there are less smokers) but it’s still not up to where Harmony’s is.

 

[frank808]

It wasn’t that long ago when the Aquatheatre Suites balconies werent cabins but open to all on Allure. That was our relaxation spot since you had a view into the boardwalk plus a view of the sea. And there was no one there to bother you.

WRT smoke I was just on Allure again this past August. Ventilation is slightly better than before (or there are less smokers) but it’s still not up to where Harmony’s is.

You were lucky with the smoke on Allure. Was on Allure end of Oct and the smoke was pretty bad for me. We last sailed Allure in Oct of 2017 and it was worse a year later. I believe when Oasis and Allure go in for their refits the smoke scrubbers will get replaced with newer units like on the Harmony and probably what the new Symphony is using.

 

[phinz]

I think my biggest issue I had with the Oasis class that I didn't experience on Dream class because of the design differences is elevator use. The Oasis class has plenty of elevators, but the way they are positioned they are also directly in the path of major traffic. You end up with people trying to get fore to aft while wading through crowds that are trying to go up and down. It's a real pinch point of movement, especially aft on the nightclub/casino, promenade and park decks when evening dining is about to begin.

The Dream class doesn't have this problem, because there are three banks of elevators and two of those three (fore and aft) can only be entered from one end. You have to *mean* to be at the elevators to be standing in front of the elevator doors, and there is no thru-traffic trying to pass by. This makes for relatively calm elevator waits. Even the midship elevators aren't bad because there are hallways port and starboard that go around the midship bank. Much better design.