Royal Caribbean 4 nights and then Disney 7 nights (consecutive cruise in December)

[Thuy Phan]

Good afternoon cruisers,

We have a dilemma and we need your help.

We have booked the 7 nights Disney Fantasy Western Caribbean Cruise. We were planning on spending a week at Disney World and Universal Orlando before the cruise, but we're now having second thoughts.

We spent a week at Disney World last year before a 4 nights Eastern Caribbean Disney Cruise and we had recently spent a week at SeaWorld this summer. We are a family of three with a toddler that just turn 4 yos. We are somewhat tired of the theme parks for the time being and are thinking about doing a back to back cruise.

We have been on the RC Allure of Sea several years back and my husband would like to go on a Royal Caribbean Cruise again. Disney Cruise back to back is not financially ideal for us and we also want to experience other itinerary and activities. I have two options and I would greatly appreciate your thoughts my plans.

Option #1: Keep the Disney 7 nights Western Caribbean cruise (Dec 7-14th), and book the 4 nights RC cruise (Dec 2-6th) on the Mariner of the Seas. Port Canaveral has limited options for 4 nights RC cruises.

Option #2: Change the Disney 7 nights to 5 nights, but will have to sail out from Miami. RC has a lot more options sailing from Miami. If we were to sail from Miami, I would love to go on the Symphony of the Sea ship, but it will be 7 nights. So more nights on RC and less on Disney.

For experienced cruisers, would you recommend that we keep option #1, or should we pursue option #2? Also, are there challenges with cruising back to back on different cruise line?

Thank you so much for your thoughts. I've searched the forum and it seems that most folks did back to back on Disney, and not so much on a different cruise line.

 

[bumbershoot]

Also, are there challenges with cruising back to back on different cruise line?

Nope. Especially since you’re going out of the same port. When we did it (called it a side to side cruise) we did a 5 night on Vision out of Fort Lauderdale then a 4 night on Dream out of Canaveral. Disembarking and embarking the same day. So it was an exciting drive up the coast. That was the only challenge, to not worry about accidents slowing us down.

I would do option two because I like Royal more than Disney. And because it’s more time cruising, and over any one cruiseline, I like being at sea more than anything.

 

[lilsonicfan]

Tough one - I can see real advantages to both. I'm ever so slightly leaning toward the second option b/c the Symphony is newer, but it's also tough b/c I think Disney offers so much for a family with a 4yo. What do you like about RCCL and what do you like about Disney? Knowing that might help a bit.

 

[Chrissy-Mickey]

I would go with option 1, because:
- I prefer to sail out of Port Canaveral.
- I prefer the size of Mariner of the Seas (3,100) vs. Symphony of the Seas (5,500)
- Last I looked, Mariner of the Seas got good reviews.

 

[Thuy Phan]

Nope. Especially since you’re going out of the same port. When we did it (called it a side to side cruise) we did a 5 night on Vision out of Fort Lauderdale then a 4 night on Dream out of Canaveral. Disembarking and embarking the same day. So it was an exciting drive up the coast. That was the only challenge, to not worry about accidents slowing us down.

I would do option two because I like Royal more than Disney. And because it’s more time cruising, and over any one cruiseline, I like being at sea more than anything.

Thank you for your thoughts. We love being at sea also; total relaxing .

 

[Thuy Phan]

Tough one - I can see real advantages to both. I'm ever so slightly leaning toward the second option b/c the Symphony is newer, but it's also tough b/c I think Disney offers so much for a family with a 4yo. What do you like about RCCL and what do you like about Disney? Knowing that might help a bit.

We (the adults) want a small break from "everything Disney" for a bit before the 7 nights Disney cruise. RC has other characters and my daughter loves them also. She is not into princes; she loves everything/characters but not princes .

 

[Marc D]

We (the adults) want a small break from "everything Disney" for a bit before the 7 nights Disney cruise. RC has other characters and my daughter loves them also. She is not into princes; she loves everything/characters but not princes .

Are you talking about Dreamworks characters ? I recall reading that RCCL ended that partnership a few months ago, or maybe it hasn’t come into effect yet ?

 

[Thuy Phan]

Are you talking about Dreamworks characters ? I recall reading that RCCL ended that partnership a few months ago, or maybe it hasn’t come into effect yet ?

Yes and I didn't know about the ended partnership. I will have to look into that. We want to try new "sea" things since we do plan on having one Disney cruise every year until my daughter has enough.

 

[KashasMom]

Definitely option 2. We LOVE Oasis class ships and Symphony is the only one we haven't been on. They have more pools (yay!) and a fantastic splash zone. Multiple ice skating and diving/aqua shows as well as other family friendly shows. Dinner buffet for any nights where you don't feel like dressing and/or having a drawn out dinner. Lots of places to see and explore, and so many food options. They have family activities as well in case your daughter doesn't want to go in the kids club. And there's a carousel.

BTW, we have done a B2B different cruise lines out of Miami. Off one ship, walked a bit and got on the next ship. Pretty easy to do.

 

[lilsonicfan]

I would lean toward option 2 then. I think your 5 day would be on the Magic, which is a great classic ship that is easy to navigate yet still feels up to date.

 

[ScooterScott44]

Im guessing the actual itinerary are likely similar but specific ports might matter. Personally I like the eastern Caribbean more than the western. But the ship is more of the focus here.

I would vote for option 2.

We haven’t been on Symphony but the reviews have been very good.

Here is a pretty thorough review -
https://www.disboards.com/threads/the-symphony-the-key-two-teens-and-me-a-march-2019-review.3741659/

 

[mevelandry]

What would be the prices attached to 1 and 2?

 

[DisneyPiPhi]

You might consider a Florida beach trip for several nights prior to cruising as another option.

 

[isabellea]

Option 2 would be my choice.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

I’d go with option 2, based on more days on a ship and SotS is more appealing to me than MofS. We haven’t done a side by side yet but are planning on it for June 2021. We’ll be doing Harmony of the Seas out of PC, followed by the new Carnival Gras. We always do laundry on ships and neither of those ships have guest laundry rooms so we’re planning on taking an Uber to a nearby laundromat, doing our laundry, then heading back to port to do second leg of vacation. From what I’ve read, doing sine by side cruises are pretty easy. We regularly cruise Carnival and Disney both and are really looking forward to adding RCCL to the mix.