Post-Thanksgiving Cruise: 3 Night Wish or 3 Night RC Utopia of the Seas?

[tgarre06]

Hi! I am trying to decide between a post- Thanksgiving 3 night cruise on the Wish or RC Utopia of the Seas. My husband wants Utopia because of the casino and my son likes the arcade in Utopia but not deal breakers for them. We only went on an older RC ship during Hurricane Katrina, so I cannot base my RC cruise experience on that. We went on a 3 night Dream 6 years ago and enjoyed that. The Wish is about $600 more than Utopia for the balcony stateroom. We are DVC and go to Disney a lot. I appreciate Disney’s service and cleanliness, and I am not sure I will receive the same on RC. I also want to make sure the cruise is family friendly. Anyone want to weigh in on this? TIA!

 

[Retiredcruiser]

Hi! I am trying to decide between a post- Thanksgiving 3 night cruise on the Wish or RC Utopia of the Seas. My husband wants Utopia because of the casino and my son likes the arcade in Utopia but not deal breakers for them. We only went on an older RC ship during Hurricane Katrina, so I cannot base my RC cruise experience on that. We went on a 3 night Dream 6 years ago and enjoyed that. The Wish is about $600 more than Utopia for the balcony stateroom. We are DVC and go to Disney a lot. I appreciate Disney’s service and cleanliness, and I am not sure I will receive the same on RC. I also want to make sure the cruise is family friendly. Anyone want to weigh in on this? TIA!

Weighing in from direct experience. The clear winner is DCL. You will not come close to receiving the same level of service DCL provides on RCL. What appears you are "saving" up front on a price difference for the room pales in comparison to the service, cleanliness, food, ambience and overall family friendly experience differences DCL provides.

 

[auntlynne]

You have one DCL and one RC cruise as basis?

My reaction was pick Utopia.

The prices have been high on that ship. If Wish is more expensive for those dates, go with lower price on Utopia.

You have a teenager - is he going to age out of kids clubs on Disney? Does he even care? Two of three have an interest. It’s a new, big ship. Three nights. Why not try it? And a visit to Coco Cay? Something new.

Family friendly? That depends on your family. I live a G/PG life. That’s a major reason I cruised Disney in the first place. But Royal is marketed to families. Nothing offended nor shocked me on the Allure OTS. Any ship that has a comedian in an adults only show - avoid that if you don’t want R+ stories. But you are warned ahead of time.

The style of stage shows may not interest young viewers, as they are not based on a story the way Disney’s are. They are typically just song and dance.

I have seen as much flesh on a Disney pool deck (and buffet) as other cruise lines. (I have been on Disney, Princess, NCL, MSC and Carnival). The choice of movies in public areas at night may also be what some may not choose. But again, they are avoidable.

Any given ship in any given week can have excellent service. I have not been disappointed on any cruise. It can be different styles, though. Disney wants you to think about the service you are getting. Other lines just deliver.

And you have your DVC to meet your Mouse needs.

Either can be great. I have enjoyed venturing out and trying new ships and places.

It’s only 3 nights.

 

[CamColt]

I'll start by saying, I have not sailed RCCL (29 DCL, 3 NCL, and once on Premier). We have sailed on the Wish once.

Next summer we are booked on a 5 night on the Magic. Wanting something a bit longer we added on a 3 night on Utopia, sailing the day we disembark the Magic. The Wish is sailing the same day, but based on what I've seen from Utopia we went with that. I wouldn't sail on the Wish again unless I had a reason to, like if family were going I'd go along.