Just off Royal - A Quick Comparison

[tinkerone]

Disney did offer this option before the pandemic shutdowns. Well, Cabanas had seated dining with servers, but it was still available for dinner on your time schedule. Once the staffing situation is resolved, I'm sure that Disney will bring back Cabanas for dinner. The website for Marceline Market on the Wish says that it will be used for dinner, too.

And Disney doesn't have a dress code in any of their restaurants, except for the added-cost adult-only restaurants (Palo, Remy, Enchante).

Yes, however I talked about a buffet, not sit down dinning. I know DCL offered sit down, we have used this before, but big difference to what I enjoy doing. Royal offers buffet, Disney does not. With a buffet I can choose to mix my plate the way I prefer as opposed to having a plate sat in front of me with items they put together. Not everyone likes this but we find it suits us better. The RCL evening buffet is amazing.
I also know that DCL does not have a dress code however I also don't feel comfortable going to the dining rooms in shorts where as I feel right at home if it's buffet.

ETA - We also don't have to wait for our courses to come or a waiter busy with other tables, so that saves a ton of time. We're not stuck there for 90 minutes, we can be out and about in less than an hour. Again, not for everyone but this alone is a bonus.

 

[GatorMomInNC]

Thanks for this post. I am going on this ship (Quantum) next year in Australia. I have been on RCCL once before, a LOOOONG time ago, but my main concern is the SIZE, especially since we will be tendering at all of our ports. Good to hear that it did not feel crowded.

 

[starvenger]

And Disney doesn't have a dress code in any of their restaurants, except for the added-cost adult-only restaurants (Palo, Remy, Enchante).

The Royal dress code is more of a dress suggestion than a rule. The only thing that I think is firmly enforced is wearing bathing suits in the MDR. Seems fair - no one wants to sit on a wet seat.

Thanks for this post. I am going on this ship (Quantum) next year in Australia. I have been on RCCL once before, a LOOOONG time ago, but my main concern is the SIZE, especially since we will be tendering at all of our ports. Good to hear that it did not feel crowded.

There really is more space to move around than you'd think apart from the Promenade/Esplanade at night, but the size of the ship means that you will be moving around a lot to get from place to place.

 

[SnowWhite2]

What time was the buffet open for dinner? When Cabanas was open, it was only from 6:30 to 8:30pm.

 

[starvenger]

What time was the buffet open for dinner? When Cabanas was open, it was only from 6:30 to 8:30pm.

I'm going to point you over to Royal Caribbean Blog where Matt (who does not work for Royal, even if it seems like it a lot of the time) has a whole bunch of cruise compasses that you can look through. Exact hours seem to vary but it does look like there's a 3 hour window to eat (or get the food to go).

 

[tinkerone]

What time was the buffet open for dinner? When Cabanas was open, it was only from 6:30 to 8:30pm.

We have sailed the Oasis and Symphony so I can answer for these two ships. The buffet opens at 5:30 and starts to close down at 9. We have been there at open and they are completely ready. We once went at 8:45 and had no issues. It's part of the reason we enjoy it so much.

 

[nancipants]

That is one negative for Disney Cruise Line, especially for port-intensive cruises. After a long day of touring, sometimes you just want to grab something quick and not sit through a meal that's a production. Of course, you can get food from the pool deck or room service, but it's nice having more options.

 

[disneyholic family]

Good to hear the ship didn't feel crazy crowded with all those people. I'm trying to convince my family to try a quick RCL cruise out of Florida. We don't qualify to sail under Disney's protocols but we could with RCL. So far, they're not wanting to switch; and my husband's main concern is the number of people and crowds on the larger ships.

we tried the allure of the seas a few years ago (before covid). That ship holds over 6,000 passengers and we were on a full sailing.
You would think we would have encountered crowds, but you would be wrong.
I kept saying to my husband, "where is everyone!!"
we really enjoyed that cruise.
Everyone had a great time!!!

 

[tidefan]

The RCL evening buffet is amazing.

Glad that you enjoyed it. We have done 2 RCCL cruises this year (Oasis and Independence) and found that the buffet on either ship wasn't great, especially on Independence. Seemed like 75% of the dishes were Indian. May need to give a different RCCL ship a try.

We enjoyed the buffet on our Alaska trip on Crown Princess better, and that buffet doesn't hold a candle to the ones on the newer Princess Royal class ships (We think that Pizza is MUCH better on Princess as well). Though not specifically buffet, the quick service on Carnival Mardi Gras was amazing (especially the Shaq's Big Chicken). We did a Greek Isles on the Magic and yes, Cabanas was still closed for dinner, however, they did have a post pirate-night party buffet whereas the MV of the Wish did not.

Now, after all that, we just got off our 2nd Virgin Voyages cruise and none of these are even close to the same league as Virgin where food is concerned...