Loved Disney! Try Royal Carribean?

[Skybaby]

We have cruised Disney 3 times and loved it. Would like to try another cruise line and have decided if we do to try Royal Carribean - Mariner of the Seas. But I am so afraid I will be disappointed. I have been researching prices and have found that RC is not any cheaper than Disney. Is that correct? Where can I find the best prices for RC? Also for those you have cruised on both, what differences will I encounter?

Thanks in advance!

 

[DisneyMan1016]

our friends have cruised only on Mariner and they loved it!

 

[brack]

Our best friends have cruised RCCL twice on different ships. They love it and say if we were to try them we'll be hooked. Of course we say the same thing to them about DCL.

I think you will be happy with them. Our friends really like RCCL's big ships like the Voyager.

As for me and my household .... we are confirmed DCL cruisers!

 

[Luckymommyx2]

I don't know what your dates are but everytime I've compared RCI (Mariner's) prices to those of a DCL, RCI has always won. You have to compare room sizes but, as an example, we are doing a RCI cruise for 9 nights in a suite. The suite category under us, which would be the closest in size to the category 6 Wonder we had booked, would have been the same price as what we paid for a back to back (7 night) Wonder. We only upgraded to a higher category suite because we didn't have to worry about airfare this trip.

We booked through Costco but there are a lot of different, reputable travel agencies out there. You may also want to visit
cruisecritic.com to see some of the travel agency recommendations and to learn more. I've heard really great things about the Mariner. Good luck!!

 

[videoman]

cruisecompete.com is also a good site to check out for good pricing....Have a great cruise!!

 

[TheWog]

We are doing just that as well. Our first was Disney, now we are doing one with our friends in January on the Enchantment. They have casinos and a little more adult type shows, stuff like that. You will have a great time. We will be doing another DCL with our son in Jan 06 to see the Western ports. Have fun!

 

[bemily]

We liked DCL, but we loved the Adventurer and Voyager from RCCL. I am sure you wont be disappointed at all. I got both my lowest quotes for RCCL from cruisequick.com (they are email only, but very trustworthy)...

Good luck!

 

[AladdinsPrincess]

I'm glad to read all these positive replies. The Disney cruise this year was our first cruise and my DH and I figured we were spoiled now! We're going on the Alaska RCL cruise next summer. I'll sure miss Mickey on board though!

 

[goofydadeo]

We just recently cruised on the Voyager just to see how it compared to Disney.

First the Voyager is a great ship! Some things you won't find on DCL include - rock climbing, mini golf and ice skating. The shopping is not that much better even though RCCL has a huge "mall" like area in the middle of the ship.

Staterooms - On RCCL we booked a junior suite (like a cat 4 on DCL but even larger and nicer). The price was very good too! RCCL wins hands down on the stateroom - walk in closet, full tub, huge balcony with two chairs, a table and lounge chair too.

Food - It's not even close in my opinion - dining on DCL is far better than RCCL. The dining rotation is what makes DCL so much better - let's face it, its boring to eat at the same table ever night, and the food - RCCL quality is below average.

Entertainment - Even in my opinion. Both have great shows. RCL's guest performers (we had the Platters) are something unique. I don't care for casinos so I think DCL has the right idea - give that space to the kids clubs.

Kids - DCL wins here. On RCCL the clubs close twice a day for lunch and dinner. After 10pm on RCCL you have to pay extra for childcare. Don't get me wrong, our kids like RCCL but from the parents perspective RCCL is a hassle with all of the checking in and out. However RCCL is trying to catch up. In fact the kids club director (Nohair Pierre) was hired away from the DCL Magic where we knew him.

SPA - Since the Voyager has more spa their spa is more elaborate however they do not have a thermal suite (Rainforest). Spa treatments are more expensive on RCCL for the same thing. Overall Spa service is about the same.

Price - RCCL initial price is a bit cheaper than Disney and we got the best deal on RCCL at Costco. Once you are on board Disney may be a little less expensive for incidentals, alcohol, etc.

RCCL Voyager is a mega ship after all and in my opinion this made me feel my cruise experience was not as personalized as it was on DCL. You definitely feel part of a huge crowd.

So, in the end, we are still partial to Disney. It's just a more magical experience.

 

[CGC33A]

goofeydadeo: which sailing on the Voyager were you on? We were on the May 30th sailing. I like DCL, but the kids also liked RCCL for a change Mini golf in particular). We were in a cat F (larger outside) so it was comparable to DCL. Cost would have been less if we didn't have airfare (we live near Port Canaveral). It was a big decision to go on VOS instead of the Magic at that time, but we are going on the western in October.

 

[goofydadeo]

CGC33A: We were also on the May 30th cruise! I recall meeting a family from FL on the pre-cruise NYC harbor tour. Was that your family?

Anyway, by finally trying something other than DCL we learned a lot. I am sure I will try RCCL again most probably on their on one of their Radiance class ships, which are a bit smaller than the Voyager class.

 

[CGC33A]

no, we didn't do anything before the cruise but sit in the terminal!
We did attend a cruisecritic function though.

 

[georgina]

Originally posted by AladdinsPrincess
I'm glad to read all these positive replies. The Disney cruise this year was our first cruise and my DH and I figured we were spoiled now! We're going on the Alaska RCL cruise next summer. I'll sure miss Mickey on board though!

We did Alaska on the Serenade of the Seas - beautiful ship! Can't compare it to Disney since we haven't done DCL yet.

 

[BABYJOSIE98]

I do love Disney,but this is an all girl trip with no kids!! so we decided to try RCCL. Enchantment of the Seas on the 4 day cruise. I can't go on any longer with out my DD and I wanted some ports other than Nassau... Plus I would feel bad on the Wonder without my ....LOL

So this Enchantment goes to Key West and Cozumel. I am looking forward to that... Don't worry though I am booked on the MAGIC for October 15,2005 and so far we have a group of about 10 going on this one....

I am excited to try this ship out...We sail from Fort Lauderdale and we are going to get in a day early to enjoy the beach before we sail.....

 

[staylor]

Check out the boards at cruisecritic.com
There's lots of info there as well!

 

[JerseyMom]

Originally posted by Skybaby
We have cruised Disney 3 times and loved it. Would like to try another cruise line and have decided if we do to try Royal Carribean - Mariner of the Seas. But I am so afraid I will be disappointed. I have been researching prices and have found that RC is not any cheaper than Disney. Is that correct? Where can I find the best prices for RC? Also for those you have cruised on both, what differences will I encounter?

Thanks in advance!

With regard to prices, are you sure you are comparing apples to apples? All the research I've done indicates that I save at least $1,000 on RCCL over DCL. That said, I have a cruise currently booked for April on the Magic in a Category 6 and November on RCCL's AOS in a Junior Suite which is slightly larger than the category 6 - balcony will be much larger because it is an aft cabin. I know that these are 2 different times of year, but the RCCL cruise is going to be about $1,500 less.

Also, one of the previous posters had an excellent suggestion about going to cruisecritic.com - I've gotten some excellent information there.

Whatever you decide, I know you will have a wonderful time. They are both terrific cruise lines.