Need some RCL vs. DCL advice ...

[DisneyPoly]

We have the opportunity to take the 9 night RCL (Grandeur of the Sea) cruise out of Baltimore (very close to our home) in June. It's a Western cruise. We have sailed on the 4 night Disney Wonder, loved it and are huge Disney fans.

My question is: will we be disappointed in the RCL cruise, having already sailed Disney? The price difference between the 9 night RCL and a 7 night DCL is about $2,000 (plus the cost of not having to travel to Florida).

We are a family of 6 (2 adults, 4 children 6,10,11 and 14).

I realize that a lot of questions may be personal likes and dislikes, but any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thank you!

 

[taylorsmom]

I went on the same ship 3 yrs ago. I was 21 at the time and I went with just my boyfriend at the time. We had a great time the only complaint was i thought that it was a bit to old of a cruise for us. Everyone was in bed by the time we got out of dinner and the nightly entertainment wasn't that good. This is just my opinion and I am sure it would be alot different for a family since the kids programs are really good.(not as good as DCL) Enjoy if you choose to go.

 

[DisneyPoly]

Thanks for the info. Age is definitely a concern. I don't want the kids to feel "out of place." I don't know how many children cruise on Royal Caribbean.

 

[prymsu]

I have an eleven year old, and he actually preferred the kids club on RCCL rather than DCL.

We enjoyed both cruises, and for the price difference you are quoting, and figuring it is a nine day rather than seven, I say go for it!

 

[hopelea]

hhmmm.........not having to cook and clean for 9 days & saving $2,000.....or not having to cook for 7 days.......tough question.......


TAKE THE 9 DAY!!

 

[4nana]

We did an older ship of RCCL and had a wonderful time. Saw all ages...old, young, kiddos, all having the time of their lives!! Price was very reasonable ~ food, service, entertainment, were excellent. I would not hesitate and can only imagine the newer ships are even better. You might also try a comparison on the Cruise Critic board. Gotta love those home port cruises!!

~ Sandie

 

[DisneyPoly]

Thanks for the input! That's the way I'm leaning!!!

 

[bkline]

We did the Monarch of the Seas about 2 year before we did the Magic. My DS enjoyed the Monarch kids program. He got to know the other children better because there were fewer kids. Disney had more varied activities and of course the characters.
The food was about equal except Disney lunch buffets and Palo's are hard to beat. There were a few more rude people on Royal. Those that weren't fond of seeing kids on board. With the extra days, I would probably give Royal a try amd use the 2,000 as a down payment for a nice WDW trip.

 

[GenieDana]

3 more days plus a $2000 savings (and saving airfare (and don't think about an extra day in the hote in PC))?

That one is a no brainer! Go RCCL.

A cruise is what you make of it. Sure there are differences, but look at what you are saving!

RCCL would be my 2nd choice behind Disney. It may be my first choice in the future because of cost. I'd rather sail my 2nd choice than not at all.

 

[GenieDana]

3 more days plus a $2000 savings (and saving airfare (and don't think about an extra day in the hote in PC))?

That one is a no brainer! Go RCCL.

A cruise is what you make of it. Sure there are differences, but look at what you are saving!

RCCL would be my 2nd choice behind Disney. It may be my first choice in the future because of cost. I'd rather sail my 2nd choice than not at all.


Here's a Cruise Critic link I found about the Granduer:

http://messages.cruisecritic.com/2/...f=408097554&m=390109511&r=374105521#374105521

 

[lori saxman]

We sailed on RCCL 2 years ago (Monarch of the Seas) and booked a suite. It was also the Western cruise. I was not impressed with a few things: The children's programs were just ok. For my 3 yr old DD, they mearly had a room about the size of 12x15 It was stuck off to the side of a noisy adult club. Almost felt like it was an after thought by RCCL. We met a couple that also had young children and they had sailed with DCL in the past and told us that there was no comparison regarding the kid's programs DCL was by far the best. I felt the ship was somewhat old and not as clean as I would have liked (but I am very particular) for a suite the cabin again was not up to my standard and it was incredibly noisy at night. The cabin steward was not very friendly and the same feeling applies to our servers at dinner. On the plus side, I thought that Grand Caymen was nice Cozumel "ok" we did a shore excursion that I would not do again with children. (Passion Island) And we still had a great time even though there were some problems. I too feel DCL is more costly, but I am willing to pay for better service. I have not been on DCL our trip is set for July and my feeling is already that DCL will be much better.

 

[DisneyPoly]

OOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! I am sooooooo confused. I guess it comes down to "am I willing to pay $2,000 because it is Disney?" I think my answer would be sure, but not so sure about DH!

Keep your thoughts coming! I certainly do appreciate both sides of the story!

 

[bigd332]

Don't even think twice about it, book the RCL cruise. We did a 7 day on RCL out of Miami last Oct. and loved it.

 

[jds]

DisneyPoly--

So what did you decide? Your post got me thinking about the convenience of a cruise out of Baltimore, and now WE are on the verge of making reservations for the June 27 Grandeur of the Seas cruise to the Bahamas...

I know it probably won't be the same quality as Disney, but for the price difference and the convenience of not having to get on an airplane (a big factor, since we want to take my soon to be 80-year-old MIL along), we'll probably go for it... My reasoning is that as long as we don't expect too much, we won't be disappointed--I hope that works!