Royal caribean cruise line

[plutolovr]

My DH and I switch between RCCL and Disney. We just cruise Freedom for the 2nd time 2 weeks ago and it was probably the best cruise I've had in a long time. This ship class is my favorite. We've also sailed on Liberty of the Seas and last year did Allure of the Seas. I'll be on Freedom again in November.

We ate in the main dining room every night and though the food was fantastic this cruise, even the buffet food was very good this sailing.

I can't comment on the kids' clubs because we don't use them, but everything else was just great. We had a great stateroom, great stateroom host, our dining room servers were wonderful and our head waiter came around every night to see that we were well taken care of. The cruise director is one of the best in the business and we also had opportunities to meet and speak with the captain, who has a wonderful personality and seem to really enjoy his job and meeting the folks who are sailing with him.

The entertainment this time around was also great. It seems Royal is really stepping up the quality of the entertainment, both in-house and guests.

RCI has more of the vegas casino style entertainment that is just ok for us. I don't care for thongs on stage myself. Also you have to walk through the casinos on the promenade decks, and that was SO refreshing not to have to with Disney! So if you are happy with a floating hotel, you will probably be very happy. If you love the family atmosphere of Disney, you might find that some of that is lacking although there are LOTS of activities to do.

I have to comment on this, you don't have to walk through the casino if you're on the promenade, at least not on the voyager or liberty class ships or oasis class ships. The casino is usually one floor down.

 

[swedemeatball]

DCL is the best IMO. With that being said, Royal is a good cruise line too. My most recent Royal Cruise was 2 years ago on the Oasis. Huge but great ship. Even though there were a lot of people on board it never felt overly crowded. The kids enjoyed the clubs which are a bit more structured vs. free play. The character experiences were not as plentiful as Disney but are fun too. They do have character breakfasts you can book on the Oasis. The Flowrider was awesome even for an old guy like me.

 

[dpswift]

I think that our best family vacation ever was on Freedom of the Seas sister ship the Independence. It was a great time and had something for everyone. We had 3 teenagers and an eight year old. My 15 year old loved the teen club, my 8 year old loved his club. Our waiter far exceeded any server that we have ever had on Disney.

They are a great cruise line that we would travel more if they had not raised their prices. I feel that their prices are now comperable with Disney and at this time Disney wins out.

 

[waffles77]

We really really enjoy RCI. We most recently went on the Allure of the Seas and had a blast. The boat had tons of things to do - if you are an active person - rock wall, flow rider, ice skating, zip line, miniature golf. The shows were fantastic, and we stayed right outside of Central Park - which was so peaceful.

We dined a few nights out of the dining room and in the restaurants which was really yummy.

The Allure and I think the Oasis are Dreamworks cruises now, so they had shows, parades and 'character picture' time of Dreamworks characters - Shrek, Madagascar Penguins, Kung Fu Panda.

Oh, and our Cruise Director was out of this world - Allan Brooks. I highly recommend sailing with him.

 

[MeggerasMa]

We've sailed 4 different lines. Between Disney and Royal here are our thoughts: Embarkation, tour on and off-boarding, Debarkation - Disney. No line is more organized or efficient (at least of the lines we've sailed). Food - we felt RCCI had more variety and quality was better. We do not, however, frequent the extra fee dining on any line. Cleanliness - Disney, but RCCI wasn't far behind. One of the lines we sailed was horrible. Staff - both lines crew were courteous and exhibited great customer service, although they are different. Disney's adult only areas were superb. RCCI does have a casino if you like that sort of thing. The major plus of RCCI is we like not having to fly to the port and we are partial to their Canada, New England itineraries. Downside of RCCI for us was the feeling like we were being herded like cattle anytime we got on or off the ship. Disney's total cruise experience starts from the moment you sign on for your next cruise with them. FWIW, we are empty nesters and have sailed on the Wonder, Magic, Fantasy (love that ship!) with another Fantasy sailing in our future. RCCI sailed Explorer of the Seas with one pending this Fall on the Brilliance of the Seas. Hope this info helps.

 

[ThisIsBrenn]

I was on a 9 day cruise on the Explorer of the Seas in 2008 when I was 13. I enjoyed it. There was a lot of activities to do as a family. We really enjoyed ice skating and rock climbing, and we got to see some new ports. I had fun in the teen club, and my little sister loved the kids club.

There were some downsides though. The food isn't as good and I missed the rotating restaurants. You have to pay for soda, which is a downside. And I really just like the Disney feel and service.

You can't go wrong on either cruise line, I definitely like both, but I'll be honest, we're taking out 2nd RC cruise soon and I feel like I'm betraying Disney haha

 

[abdmom]

RCI has more of the vegas casino style entertainment that is just ok for us. I don't care for thongs on stage myself. Also you have to walk through the casinos on the promenade decks, and that was SO refreshing not to have to with Disney! So if you are happy with a floating hotel, you will probably be very happy. If you love the family atmosphere of Disney, you might find that some of that is lacking although there are LOTS of activities to do.

I would go over to CruiseCritic and read thru their Royal Caribbean forum. You will see lots of reports, questions, etc. just like this one, only all this RCCL and you can ask questions.

Bon Voyage!

I think you're confusing RCI with Carnival. I've been on 7 RCI cruises (and one 11 night on Magic) and have never seen a thong. The casino is not on the same deck as the promenade on RCL ships.

RCI has just as much a family atmosphere as Disney. I prefer the kids club on RCI over Disney. I also prefer RCI's Windjammer to Disney's buffet. The Windjammer is waaaay better. The food in the MDR was better on Disney though. My stateroom attendant on Magic was terrible, but the dining room servers were excellent. I see the soda card issue brought up any time someone compares DCL and another cruise line. With the soda card, you can get your soda from any of the multiple bars on the ship. I really didn't like having to hike several decks and then from one end of the ship to the other, to get my drink on DCL. I'd rather pay the $6/day and have it available at convenient locations around the ship.

 

[TARAMEOW]

We did a 7night that turned into a 9 night due to a hurricane Isacc. We thought the allure was amazing. Plenty of activities always going on. Lots of food and good service. We are booked on the Dream for our first disney cruise and we have hight expectations. For us RCI didn't disappoint!

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

We did the Freedom and yes is was a good cruise for what you pay for. We would do a RCCL cruise again.

But the bottom line is it is not the DCL quality of service and food and its just not the Disney experience and Magic.

AKK

 

[bigtony777]

We have sailed DCL, Celebrity, Holland and RCL. It will differ for each family and especially with the age of the children. We have only taken our children on Disney, but they are younger (8, 7 and 5), but we really enjoyed RCL. We will be going on a family RCL this March and I'm sure they will really enjoy it.

I think the best way I can describe my thoughts are that RCL had more things to do for adults and older children. The one major advantage of DCL is the kids club is connected for all ages up past the nursery up until the teen club.

 

[kcx2njdisney]

Went on one of the smaller class RCCL ships, 3 night to Bahamas. Caught tail end of storm and was unable to leave Nassau that evening to go to private island. Had to stayed docked in Nassau for 2 full days. Was really nothing to do except casino. Too windy to sit on deck. Ended up costing us more because nothing to do but gamble and drink. Would not go on small RCCL again