It's not DCL-but...We're going on our 1st cruise!!

[goofyfordisney]

Well, I finally did it!! We are booked for our 1st cruise for April 11, '04 on the RCCL-Mariner of the Seas--Eastern Caribean!!

I was really hoping to do the DCL cruise, but I really needed to stay within my budget. We ended up saving over $2000 by booking with RCCL.

I know this is a DCL cruise board, but I just had to share my excitement with someone!

Now the fun of planning our excursions begins! Any suggestions would be appreciated!

I am so excited!

 

[SeaSpray]

Go check out this web site, it's a message board similar to the DIS, except its for all cruise lines, and this link will take you directly to the Royal Caribbean boards. I got a lot of great info there while planning the RCI cruise we just took last month!

http://messages.cruisecritic.com/2/OpenTopic?q=Y&s=927093444&a=corfrm&cf=408097554

 

[Hygiene99]

cool the ship will only be like 6 months old, and have a great time on your cruise try cruisecritic.com and u will find
boards there ... same as here


peter

 

[my3kids]

I just tried to book that same ship today! The Western route in March. They didn't really have the cabins we needed...no more family staterooms, no connectors to hold 3 in a room. NO line offers the choices that Disney does for larger families. I thought DCL was limited in that they didn't have a lower category to hold 5 people...but from every cruise I've priced this week, that third child really kills us. I feel like Mary....there is no room for us at the inn.....Pricing has also been a great surprise and a great disappointment. HAL, Celebrity, RCCL, Princess...they end up all costing much more than Disney, believe it or not. Everyone but me can get a good deal on other lines.

 

[dis4me]

My3kids I feel the same way. We have three also and I feel like every vacation is outrageous now. Everyone always talks about how cheap othr cruise lines are. When I priced RCL for us I really thought it would be much lower than Disney, butit was actually $100 more and I would have to fly to Miami which was more than Orlando. The only way I could get a cheaper cruise was to fly into San Juan.
UGH
Goofyfor Disney Have a great Cruise. I am very excited for you but once you cruise it is hard to take other vacations.

 

[tezb]

We too just recently booked w/ RCCL on the mariner for June 2004. This will be our 4th cruise but first w/out DCL. We also saved approx 2000.00 and we are a family of 5 and got 2 rooms. One w/ balcony for 3 and a Promenade for my 2 older teens. I'm going thru a group cruise so the prices are much cheaper than booking thru RCCL..saved 560.00 by booking this way! The RCCL site offers all sorts of group bookings for various cruise dates. Am looking forward to trying out a different cruise line and bigger ship w/ many activities. Now I'll also be able to compare to DCL.

 

[Favorite Auntie]

I am sure you will have a great time! I have read some wonderful things on this board about RCCL. I am trying to talk my family into trying a cruise on that line. Let us know about your experience w/out the mouse!!!

 

[KimDisFan]

We did RCL's Navigator of the Seas this past June, and had previously done 3 DCL cruises. The NOS is a nice ship, and we had a great time, and will definately cruise RCL again, but I really missed the "magic" that DCL provides.

Goofyfordisney - you will enjoy the Voyager class ship, and I am sure the $2000 you are saving will pay for alot of excursion

And try the Cruisecritic boards there is some good info there.