RCCL vs DCL pricing help

[tltay2005]

I keep reading where RCCL is twice as much as DCL. I am not seeing it, so if I am missing something, please let me know. I priced a 4 day Bahama cruise out of the same port (PC) with the same itinerary with the same cabin (balcony) on the same deck (8) with both lines. For RCCL I added the beverage package which would equal the free sodas & juice and being able to bring alcohol on board the Dream. The difference in price was only $280.00. $2001 DCL vs $1722 RCCL. Plus the EOS is an older and smaller ship. If someone can show me how to get RCCL for half the price, please let me know. For now, I am booked on the Dream.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

I think on routes where they are in direct competition the price will be similar ie out of port canaveral, In Europe on special DCL cruises RCCL is cheaper but they nickle and dime you.

 

[jdb in AZ]

I keep reading where RCCL is twice as much as DCL. I am not seeing it, so if I am missing something, please let me know. I priced a 4 day Bahama cruise out of the same port (PC) with the same itinerary with the same cabin (balcony) on the same deck (8) with both lines. For RCCL I added the beverage package which would equal the free sodas & juice and being able to bring alcohol on board the Dream. The difference in price was only $280.00. $2001 DCL vs $1722 RCCL. Plus the EOS is an older and smaller ship. If someone can show me how to get RCCL for half the price, please let me know. For now, I am booked on the Dream.

I think you expressed it backwards -- people generally complain that DCL is more expen$ive than RCCL, not the other way around.

Prices vary with the time of year -- DCL really jacks up the prices for holidays and spring break. New itineraries also make a difference with supply and demand.

DCL and RCCL are both great cruise lines. Just choose whichever one you want. We've been on 4 RCCL and 6 DCL cruises and have enjoyed them all. That said, we prefer smaller ships. As much as we enjoyed the Fantasy, she was just too big. We're waiting to do the Dream when she has longer cruises with more "unusual" itineraries. The Wonder used to do the shorter bread-and-butter cruises, but now that she's going places like Hawaii and through the Panama Canal, she's our favorite.

 

[PrincessTrisha]

Did you also add in for Disney the cost of bottled water, fresh squeezed juice, specialty coffees and the cost of your alcohol and mixers you're going to need to bring onboard? Plus any drinks you do order onboard?

With the Royal Caribbean drink package, you'll be fully covered. With DCL, those will all be extra expenses.

 

[tltay2005]

Yes, sorry, I meant that DCL was more that RCCL. We just got off the Dream and did not need bottle water, or any specialty juices or coffees. We used coke, sprite and lemonade for mixers, so no additional costs there. I just didn't see a big savings to switch over to RCCL. We enjoyed the Dream and there is plenty more to see and do, but if I could sail for half price on RCCL I was willing to do so. The difference I got was not enough to convince me to switch. We will be sailing on the Dream again in April.

 

[mcd2745]

For our upcoming cruise in August on RCCL's Freedom of the Seas, we (2A, 2C) are paying just under $2900. The same week on the Fantasy would be just under $6000. So basically double. That's been the case most times I do the comparison. Of course it will vary some depending on the date/ship/itinerary, but we have always founf DCL to be much higher. For our upcoming crusie, if DCL were around $4000 or so, we would probably have gone on the Fantasy. We're willing to pay a little more for DCL, but not double (or more).

 

[dmunsil]

I keep reading where RCCL is twice as much as DCL. I am not seeing it, so if I am missing something, please let me know.

Well, possibly for the specific dates you're looking at, they're very similar right now, but in general, DCL charges much more for similar routings, and never really has sales. RCI charges less as a base rate and has sales of various kinds constantly. And if they have a sale before PIF, you can usually get your fare reduced.

For example here are the base fares per person for the same dates for a 4-night Bahamian cruise out of PC on either the Enchantment of the Seas or Disney Dream.

I picked the top regular balcony cabin (D1 on Enchantment, 5A on Dream). They seem roughly similar in size and amenities. I see the family cabins on Disney (4A-4E) to be more like an RCI Junior Suite.

Dec 14, 2015: Enchantment $533, Dream $912
Dec 24, 2015: Enchantment sold out; last price was $926, Dream $1,868
Jan 18, 2016: Enchantment $484, Dream $840
Apr 4, 2016: Enchantment $561, Dream $1,160

I didn't cherry-pick these, I just clicked on some dates that were in low and high season and compared them. As to whether the experience is comparable I couldn't say; I've never been on RCI, but in general Disney is getting higher fares for similar itineraries; that seems very clear.

 

[tweis]

We currently have RCCL (Allure) booked for the last week of May in a boardwalk balcony for $3500 (2A 2C) that same cruise (which we also have booked) on DCL is $6669 for an inside room. We are idiots and booked DCL also because we aren't sure we are ready for a mega ship. I honestly can't believe I'm considering paying almost twice as much for the same cruise. I don't think it's possible to drink that much soda.

 

[3Down1Up]

We priced out Thanksgiving 2016 cruises RCCL Allure or Oasis and DCL Fantasy - all seven days out of Florida. DCL was 2k-3k more but we booked that one anyway. We liked the DCL itinerary the best.

 

[avgsuperheroine]

It also depends if you're a sale shopper. When I sale shop DCL I've gotten a price around $105/night/person. On RCL I was able to reserve a 7 night southern on a sale for $45/night/person. To be fair I ended up cancelling it. Even though that was a STEAL I really wanted at least 1-2 more disney trips. Once we add flights, hotels, insurance, gratuities---the price difference is really pretty minimal.

 

[quickcat]

I think dates have a lot to do with it as well as cabin size. When I price out RC vs Disney I find the same thing as you. To get the same size cabin on RC, its not that much cheaper. We will not be switching for the difference.

 

[verygfy]

We just got off Oasis that we cancelled our Fantasy cruise for. We had an interior 10a I believe for the same week for $5200 on Disney and got a balcony D2 for $4700 on Oasis. With drink packages which DH and I both got the premium package that included mixed drinks, soda etc and both kids got the soda package that put the Oasis cruise total at $5572. A 6B balcony on Disney was $6,000. So not double but enough to make us change. We are planning another Disney cruise soon but for this one it was enough to make us change.

 

[Ofinn]

I haven't cruised on Royal, but I have priced them out a lot. I have always found them to be significantly less. I don't know what people mean about nickel and diming. The drink packages don't add up to the difference in price, and it's not like I don't buy drinks and wine on Disney. I know you can bring your own alcohol on Disney, and we do bring some, but we still enjoy a martini in the bar or a glass of wine at dinner. We have been lucky to be able to sail in the off season, and get some good deals on Disney. I wouldn't pay thousands more to sail Disney on a European cruise or a Caribbean cruise for that matter.

 

[tidefan]

We priced out Thanksgiving 2016 cruises RCCL Allure or Oasis and DCL Fantasy - all seven days out of Florida. DCL was 2k-3k more but we booked that one anyway. We liked the DCL itinerary the best.

Try the Magic out of Miami that week. It is pricing out about $1,000 less than the Fantasy..,

 

[bumbershoot]

I added the beverage package which would equal the free sodas & juice

You're starting off wrong.

The ONLY juice that is extra on Royal is the *fresh squeezed orange juice*. And by that I mean they take the oranges, put them into a manually operated machine, and juice them into a pitcher and pour it into a glass.

You are NOT getting that on Disney.

The other juices are the exact same as Disney; same juices, and included.

So cancel the Replenish package you must be adding, and include the REFRESHMENT package that is JUST soda.

We just got off the Dream and did not need bottle water, or any specialty juices or coffees. We used coke, sprite and lemonade for mixers

So you don't need Replenish. Drop that.

http://media.royalcaribbean.com/content/shared_assets/pdf/menus/beverage_packages.pdf

Refreshment. 6.50/day/person (you don't have to order it for everyone if you have non-soda drinkers) plus auto-gratuity.

We currently have RCCL (Allure) booked for the last week of May in a boardwalk balcony for $3500 (2A 2C) that same cruise (which we also have booked) on DCL is $6669 for an inside room. We are idiots and booked DCL also because we aren't sure we are ready for a mega ship. I honestly can't believe I'm considering paying almost twice as much for the same cruise. I don't think it's possible to drink that much soda.

Have you seen if Freedom class has a similar sailing? It's much more in line with the size of Dream.

I don't know what people mean about nickel and diming.

I don't know either.

I do get bottled water so I pay for that anyway. (bringing it onboard Dream was unsuccessful...was FAR too heavy and we still had to buy the water package halfway through the FOUR night trip) I buy espresso drinks on either ship. The fresh squeezed OJ was enjoyed by my family, but not on Disney *because they don't have such a thing*. DH loves sparkling water but not so much that he orders it on Disney, but does when it's included in Replenish. We do pay extra on Royal for Ben&Jerry's, and go totally withOUT ice cream on Disney because they don't HAVE a decent, good-ingredient, that DH and DS won't react to, ice cream on Disney. If I get a drink or two on a cruise, I pay OOP for it on either line.

We are getting just what we want. We don't feel nickel and dimed at all.

 

[katiep8203]

I am interested as well, as we'd like to consider a RC cruise at some point in the future. When I was researching between the two, it was not only the price that I was concerned about, but also the safety and security of the kids. Am I correct that on RC you have to pay extra to put your kids in the "kids club" area? Also, they don't have the GPS bands like Disney does, right? I felt very secure on the Fantasy between the GPS bands that stayed on 24/7 and the password protection for taking your kids out of the club, etc.

 

[bumbershoot]

Am I correct that on RC you have to pay extra to put your kids in the "kids club" area?

No. They are not open as many hours as the Disney club; they take breaks. And at night once a certain hour hits you do pay for later hours. But you don't have to leave the kids in the club.

My son likes the clubs on Royal more than on Disney. He likes the personal interaction with the counselors on Royal.

Also, they don't have the GPS bands like Disney does, right?

The bands on Disney only track INSIDE the kid's club, so they can say if they are in the club or the lab. They do NOT track anywhere else on the ship. You had too much faith in Disney there!

Check in and out is FAR more personal in our experience on Royal. We have felt MORE secure with the situation on Royal than on Disney. (both are very secure though)

 

[katiep8203]

You had too much faith in Disney there!

LOL I guess so!
Good to know, we loved the DCL but would love to give Royal a try sometime too. I have a feeling if we did Royal though, it'd be an adults only, mom & dad trip!

My kids did not like the Disney lab/club as much as I thought they would. They were only in there twice during the 7-day cruise. My oldest, (9yo) claimed to be BORED, and I just don't get how that could happen with all that stuff to do.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

LOL I guess so!
Good to know, we loved the DCL but would love to give Royal a try sometime too. I have a feeling if we did Royal though, it'd be an adults only, mom & dad trip!

My kids did not like the Disney lab/club as much as I thought they would. They were only in there twice during the 7-day cruise. My oldest, (9yo) claimed to be BORED, and I just don't get how that could happen with all that stuff to do.

Not all kids enjoy the clubs, 3 cruises on DCL and my kids have spent less than 10 hours each in them. They're much happier roaming the ship making towel animals, playing trivia and bingo and generally just hanging out with us. It makes it a little easier to be able to jump to a different cruise line. Not easy, but a little easier.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

I am interested as well, as we'd like to consider a RC cruise at some point in the future. When I was researching between the two, it was not only the price that I was concerned about, but also the safety and security of the kids. Am I correct that on RC you have to pay extra to put your kids in the "kids club" area? Also, they don't have the GPS bands like Disney does, right? I felt very secure on the Fantasy between the GPS bands that stayed on 24/7 and the password protection for taking your kids out of the club, etc.

No on RCCL they actually supervise your kids and do activities with the in age appropriate groups instead of all kids just doing lightly supervised play often with kids 2x their age. Gee, that sounds safer LOL.

Our kids hated the DCL clubs and loved RCCL. They were much more engaged on RCCL as opposed to "find your own fun" on DCL. The crew members worked much harder at making sure shy kids got their turn doing fun stuff.