but whilst it was cheaper then there is a soda package, and you pay of Orange juice outside of breakfast and pay for in room movies and pay for satisfactory coffee and pay for better steaks at dinner etc etc
You could have gotten basic OJ, as basic boxed juices (just like on Disney) are free. If you want the fresh squeezed, yep, the machines are only running in the morning unless your ship has a Squeeze on it. Disney doesn't even HAVE fresh squeezed OJ (it's possible Palo/Remy brunch has fresh squeezed, but it sure doesn't taste like it) for free or to purchase, so you cannot use that to compare.
I know nothing of movies on the TV as the TV doesn't go on during a cruise.
You have to pay for satisfactory coffee on Disney, too. The Joffrey's in the machine is really gross (and I like Joffrey's at the parks/resorts). If you want espresso based drinks you either pay for it at Cove or Vista, OR you pay (as you do) for concierge on Dream/Fantasy. And frankly I find the espresso maker in the lounge to be pretty poor!
I don't eat steaks or ANY of the upcharge foods, so I went a whole 7 nights not even noticing those boxes with the extra fees in there. We really like the food on Royal; there is ONE dish on
DCL that I actually like at dinner.
Free coffee was Seattle's Best so actually pretty decent but if you wanted "Starbucks" there was an up charge not unlike most other ships that have "fancy" coffee.
And there's an upcharge for espresso-based drinks on DCL, too. Or did you just get brewed coffee? And you wanted fancy brewed coffee? Seattle's Best is owned by Starbucks; making sure you knew that.
Anyway, getting a brewed coffee from the espresso places onboard Royal ships gives you an Americano. They don't have normal *coffee* beans as far as I know.
OP we are equal status (low LOL) on Disney and Royal. As a family we have had 12 nights on Royal ships and 15 (wow) nights on Dream. (add 7 nights for just DH and me on Royal) We aren't show-goers (especially not me...heck, the Golden Mickeys gives me hives it's so awful to me) but loved the ice skating show on Freedom. Loved the ice skating! We have had a ton of fun on Royal (and fun on DCL too). We find the service to be better on Royal (even factoring in two concierge cruises on Dream), the food to be better on Royal. We get the "Replenish" drinks package to get our espresso drinks, which is better than a coffee punchcard at Vista on Dream. Also gives us bottled still and sparkling water, fresh squeezed OJ in the morning (can't get that on Disney), any virgin drink we want... And Royal has Ben&Jerrys onboard; yep, you pay extra for it, but their ice cream has ingredients my family can have. The ice cream on DCL is not OK for my family. The "softserve" on both lines cannot be enjoyed by my family.
For us, Royal gives us more usable options at a better price.
Don't be afraid to branch out. Research so you KNOW what to expect, so you aren't surprised, and have some fun.
