Last May, my family went on the west bound Panama Canal trip on DCL. It was an amazing trip, 14 days from Miami to LA on the Wonder. We had a standard outside cabin. The boat was about 2/3 full (all cabins were all full but most only had 2 per) and there were 180 kids on board. I mention this because it might skew my impression of DLC.
Over presidents day the boys and I did a weekend trip from Port Canaveral on Enchantment of the Seas in an inside cabin. The boat was full and there were about 300 kids.
Direct Comparisons:
Kid clubs: What the RCI kids lacked in space and physical stuff they more than made up for in programing and staff. The staff was fantastic and my kids didn't want to miss a thing.
Cabin size: I will say that I was glad that DH didn't travel with us on this trip. The inside cabin on RCI was SMALL. It worked for me, and my boys (ages 4 and 7) but another adult would have been too much. Given the dimensions I don't think the ocean view cabins are much better. The extra space (especially in the bathroom) on DCL was a big plus. If we had been in the RCI cabin for 14 days, I might have missed the ship on purpose about day 5.
General atmosphere: Given that we were on completely different sailings that attract a really different passengers this might not hold for all sailings. There were several times at the pool that I was slightly uncomfortable with what my kids were seeing. We are pretty easy going parents and we don't offend easily. That said, the music selection was not exactly kid friendly and the line dancing in bikinis was a little much. Also, rated PG13 and R movies were played after dark on the pool deck. One night the content was graphic enough I chose to walk across the ship through the cabin lined halls instead of across the pool deck. This was a little sad for me as outside at night is one of my favorite things to do on cruise.
RCI also use the centrum for parties at night and they are LOUD. Our cabin was about 10 down the hall on deck 8, and we were too close. It didn't keep the kids up but I heard it until 12 am.
Generally, I would say the atmosphere was LOUDER on the RCI boat, However the alcohol was not as free flowing as the one carnival trip we took.
Activities: My oldest really had a good time on the bungee trampoline and the rock wall, but because I had to be there to sign him in to both activities my youngest spent a lot of time racing around one end of the boat or the other which suited him fine. For us, the lines were never long for either one.
With no specific area designed for just kids, it did mean that the adult pool activities took place right there for all to see. Fortunately the sexiest man contest did not have enough contestants to take place. Also the RCI pool was COLD. So cold my kids only jumped in once, and there was NEVER and adult in the pool. The weather was great so it wasn't a nature issue. I missed the Mickey pool several times during the trip.
Food: The windjammer was a total disaster for us. Many times there wasn't anything my kids would eat. I admit they are picky, but I wouldn't have thought cheese slices on a hotdog bun would have been the best option. There was also the "pod" system where I never knew where to find things and I had to stand in line multiple times to get what we needed.
I would say our MDR food was as good on RCI some things better.
Overall: I think the DCL product is better for families but not 2X better which was the difference in cost between our weekend on Enchantment and the same sailing on the Magic. With soda cards, and tips we paid a little over $800. When I priced the DLC version it was close to $1700. For our vacation dollar, I think RCI fit the bill nicely.
Over presidents day the boys and I did a weekend trip from Port Canaveral on Enchantment of the Seas in an inside cabin. The boat was full and there were about 300 kids.
Direct Comparisons:
Kid clubs: What the RCI kids lacked in space and physical stuff they more than made up for in programing and staff. The staff was fantastic and my kids didn't want to miss a thing.
Cabin size: I will say that I was glad that DH didn't travel with us on this trip. The inside cabin on RCI was SMALL. It worked for me, and my boys (ages 4 and 7) but another adult would have been too much. Given the dimensions I don't think the ocean view cabins are much better. The extra space (especially in the bathroom) on DCL was a big plus. If we had been in the RCI cabin for 14 days, I might have missed the ship on purpose about day 5.
General atmosphere: Given that we were on completely different sailings that attract a really different passengers this might not hold for all sailings. There were several times at the pool that I was slightly uncomfortable with what my kids were seeing. We are pretty easy going parents and we don't offend easily. That said, the music selection was not exactly kid friendly and the line dancing in bikinis was a little much. Also, rated PG13 and R movies were played after dark on the pool deck. One night the content was graphic enough I chose to walk across the ship through the cabin lined halls instead of across the pool deck. This was a little sad for me as outside at night is one of my favorite things to do on cruise.
RCI also use the centrum for parties at night and they are LOUD. Our cabin was about 10 down the hall on deck 8, and we were too close. It didn't keep the kids up but I heard it until 12 am.
Generally, I would say the atmosphere was LOUDER on the RCI boat, However the alcohol was not as free flowing as the one carnival trip we took.
Activities: My oldest really had a good time on the bungee trampoline and the rock wall, but because I had to be there to sign him in to both activities my youngest spent a lot of time racing around one end of the boat or the other which suited him fine. For us, the lines were never long for either one.
With no specific area designed for just kids, it did mean that the adult pool activities took place right there for all to see. Fortunately the sexiest man contest did not have enough contestants to take place. Also the RCI pool was COLD. So cold my kids only jumped in once, and there was NEVER and adult in the pool. The weather was great so it wasn't a nature issue. I missed the Mickey pool several times during the trip.
Food: The windjammer was a total disaster for us. Many times there wasn't anything my kids would eat. I admit they are picky, but I wouldn't have thought cheese slices on a hotdog bun would have been the best option. There was also the "pod" system where I never knew where to find things and I had to stand in line multiple times to get what we needed.
I would say our MDR food was as good on RCI some things better.
Overall: I think the DCL product is better for families but not 2X better which was the difference in cost between our weekend on Enchantment and the same sailing on the Magic. With soda cards, and tips we paid a little over $800. When I priced the DLC version it was close to $1700. For our vacation dollar, I think RCI fit the bill nicely.
