RCI Navigator vs DCL

[jeanie]

Hi,


We are taking our first 7-day cruise this April, an Eastern, and was looking forward to booking a Western for next year on the Magic. We did a 4 day cruise in 2002 and it was the best vacation ever...I am hooked on cruising!

Well the prices are just too high and so I decided to check out RCCL. When I saw the prices I just had to book it. I booked for the same week in 2005 on the Navigator for 1000.00 less than what I am paying for the Magic... ( I booked this DCL cruise 2 years ago and I am saving about 2500.00 already !!)

My question is for anyone that has sailed on any of the Voyager class ships, especially the Navigator. How much smaller are the category D1's than Cat 5 and 6 on the Magic?? There will be four of us in a room (2 adults and 2 kids, 10 and 12). Will it be really tight? I will miss the second bathroom!

Also, anyone have an experience with the 12-14 kids program on RCCL???
Do they actually have any planned activities for them? I like the fact that they group this age group together instead of 13-17 but what do they have for them...

I asked these questions on the other board but they don't seem to be as friendly as this board!!

Also, Disney, please, please bring back the "really early booking savings" (i.e. 2 years out!) I would love to sail on the Magic again!


Thanks!

 

[winnyis]

I sailed on Navigator of the Seas on 11/1/03 and all I can say is WOW. We had a blast on that ship. We had 2 adults and 2 children and were originally in a category H but were able to upgrade at the pier to an E (Family Oceanview Stateroom) for $50 what a great deal and an awesome room.

As far as the kids clubs my kids were in the 3-5 and 6-8 groups and loved it. They begged us to go every day. Lots of adult entertainment and the only time it seemed crowded was embarkation and disembarkation.

I have my next cruise already booked on the Magic but I would absolutely book another Voyager class ship again. Probably adventurer of the seas to the southern caribbean.

YOU WILL LOVE THIS SHIP... WE DID.

Ginny

 

[SandraLee]

winnyis . . .

How did you like the shows? Were they appropriate for that age group of kids? I have DD5 and DS8 and they LOVE to see live show productions. We have been on the Magic 2 times and loved the shows.

Can you tell me a bit about this?

Thanks.

Sandra

 

[jeanie]

Thanks for the info Ginny!!

I am not familiar with the categories on the Navigator, is the
cat E that you stayed in a balcony room? If yes, what where the sleeping arrangments for the kids?

I have a boy and a girl and although they love each other dearly,
if they have to share a sofabed for the week they will be ready kill each other by the end!! Could we keep the sofa closed and add a rollaway? Would it fit?

I am thinking off changing to a junior suite. I can not believe the prices!! I could get a suite (a suite!!) and it would still cost less than the DCL cat 6!

 

[Mmketeer]

Hi Jeanie,

I just sailed on the new Mariner of the Seas out of Port Canaveral and I can tell you that as repeat DCL cruiser I was not dissapointed in RCCL's voyger class ships. I don't think you will be either. I like DCL for many reason's, for instance: they have the largest standard staterooms afloat, they have great ammenities, the crew is so personable and knowledgable and the ship is beautiful! I searched long and hard to find a cruiseship that I felt would be compriable for me and make feel as comfortable as I do aboard my Disney ships and I found it with the Voyager class ships. I am sure the Navigator will be same feeling for you as the Mariner was for me, however I chose the Mariner because it was the "newest" and it went out of my home port of Port Canaveral. It was very strange standing out on my balcony and watching the Wonder pull out of port. I could see in my mind and hear on board everything that was going on as it pulled away from the dock. I can't say I didn't miss it, but at the same time this was only the third time the Mariner (which is now the largest ship at that port), pulled away from it's dock also. And, it made me feel better to see all the folks on DCL also watching in awe as our ship who was is docked right in front of them geared up. Their were alot of camera flashes going off as the character's danced and they were not all pointed at them dancing on the stage (if you know what I mean.<BG>). My stateroom aboard my RCCL ship was fabulous! Besides having the split bathroom and bathtub, it was just as nice and as spacious as DCL's. Now, the layout is a bit different with the bed actually being next to the balcony instead of DCL having it's couch their instead, but other than that same feel! I am talking plenty of storage room (maybe more than DCL), glass and crome fixtures, tille bathroom floors with a real shower stall with glass encloser, nice lighting at the dressing table etc. Gorgeous and I felt the square footage was the same size as DCL's, though hubby claimed it was a bit smaller. F.Y.I we had stateroom 8526 cat. D1-3. The stateroom tv shows your location (how far you've come and have to go) the wind speeds, wave heights etc. just like DCL does, so that was really nice. They even also have a outside mounted camera as Disney does to see the bow of the ship on tv. Plus, we had the best captain I have ever had on a cruise too. He is only on the Mariner, but if you ever met him (which you would if you sailed with him as he makes it a point to meet just about everyone that cruises on his ship...I ran into and talked to him at least three times on my seven day cruise), you would agree too. I have sailed on DCL at least five times with both captain's and never felt the kind of personable treatment I got with this guy. Anyway, you'll love Johhny Rockets (we ate there everyday for lunch, except on sea days cause' it was too crowded) and I thought their buffeteria was much better than DCL's. They even have a buffet line with Japanees style cusine along with the normal buffet styles. Their main dining room is also very lovely and extremly classy...very nice, but I must admit I missed Disney's dining rotation. Eating in the same restaurant 7 nights in a row just wasn't the same for me. The entertainment on board is just as good as Disney's, but much broader in variety and scale. You won't be bored! The one really cool thing that RCCL's ship had that Disney needs to add is right over the bridge is a window where you can look down into the captain' and crew area and actually watch them perform their duties on steering and guiding the ship. Pretty cool, especailly since they all had to do away with bridge tours for security reasons.
Enclosing, I would not hesitate to tell a fellow avid DCL cruiser who is looking for a change to try RCCL's Voyager Class ships. I think you'll agree, it may not be Disney but you won't come away wishing you had gone on something different instead of these ships. Well, that's unless your more of a Celebrity or Crsytal type cruiser and I doubt their are too many of those folks that are really heads over heals in love with DCL either.
Anyway, have a great cruise no matter who you choose and I can say for a fact I would cruise the Mariner again!
Happy salings...hope this helps!

 

[Padre Disney]

Same for us. We booked our 7 day 2004 eastern cruise during spring break 2003. We thought about booking another for spring break 2005 but when we saw how much DCL is already wanting for the 2005 dates we said NO WAY. Even if we booked it right now without waiting to rebook when we sail in March the price is wayyyyy to high. SO we are looking else where for our 2005 cruise and the Navigator looks great.

 

[Bev J]

You will be very happy with Royal Caribbean, the kids activities are very good and the other things you can do with your family-rock climbing, ice skating, inline skating, mini golf are lots of fun and free. My kids are happy when they can pick up the phone and order all the pizza they can eat!
We are going on the mariner in October and looking forward to a great time.

 

[currycook]

cruisecritic.com for more information on RCI

 

[bigd332]

We sailed on The Navigator of the Seas this past October and simply loved it. We have been on two Disney cruises and the Navigator is cmparable to the Wonder in every way just about. The only thing that we missed on the Navigator was Plutos doghouse and The pizza shop right on the pool deck. On NOS you have to go down to the Royal Prommenade to get a quick snack. There is nothing out by the pool deck. Other than that the expierence was the same. We had a veranda room on deck 7 and the room was quite comfy. You won't miss the split bathroom, in fact the bathroom on NOS we thought was nicer. The shower was definitly larger, with a nice sliding glass door, no curtain. The closet in the room had much more storage space than on the Wonder. Okay I am rambling now. If you have any questions feel free to e-mail me.

Dan

 

[prymsu]

We had a category C on Soveriegn of the Seas at Christmas, and I was actually surprised at the amount of storage space. We didn't even use all the drawers! That was a first for us!

 

[jeanie]

Thank you for all your replies.... MMketeer great info! I really appreciate your time...I feel good about our NOS trip now!! I was really nervous that it would be too small but it sounds like nothing to worry about..

We had sailed on RCCL along time ago (Before Kids) and we hated it but this was before the Voyager class ships...Our room was an inside closet!

I am looking forward to our 2004 Eastern Magic cruise and I truly hope that I can sail on her again...! Hopefully once they figure out where they will move the ship or if there will be another ship, the prices will come down!!

P.S.

Bigd322 and MMketeer did you happen to have kids in your room also? Just wondering about the configurations of the beds when they are all set up....

 

[bigd332]

Kids stayed home on this trip, but I seen a room with the beds made up and it looked similar to Disney setup.

 

[smchan]

This is a great thread. My wife and I want to cruise in March. We're last minute planners and the rates on DCL for early March are outrageous vis-a-vis some of the other lines. Supply and demand, I suppose.

Anyway, my wife is a major Disney fan and really wants to go on DCL again but I'm trying to convince her to do another line and save the extra $ for a side trip to WDW. This thread will help my case most likely. Particularly since it's the 2 of us and the kids are staying home.

Sam

 

[Mmketeer]

Hi Jeanie,

Nope sorry, just two adults and your welcome!

 

[bigd332]

smchan, do the RCCL cruise. You won't be diappointed. My wife and I did a 7 day in Oct. for the price of a DCL 4 nite, with comparable rooms. Check out the Rccl message boards at cruisecritic.com.