Royal vs Disney January

[firstwdw]

family trip with college age kids- unable to decide.......I thought I was set on Freedom of the Seas. But junior suite is $1K more than a spacious balcony room for a 5 night cruise. The rooms look old and tacky and I've heard beds on Royal are so firm and not comfy(I can't do firm). The public areas of the ship look nice.

With a placeholder, a 4 night on Disney Wish in an ocean view on deck 2 is still $1400 more than 5 nights on Freedom midship balcony. Wish goes to the Bahamas obviously.....which we wanted a change from and Freedom goes to Mexico and Cayman Islands.

Disney Destiny is $$$ and nearly sold out so I'm not sure I want to get involved with that chaos. And we've done the Dream so many times so even though that's a better price we really wanted something new. Magic from Texas is also $$$ for the 5 night with 2 ports and the 4 night only goes to Progreso.

So all you Disney Cruise Line fans.....am I going to HATE Royal? Do I give it a try? Teens would love Flowrider, Perfect Storm slides, ice rink, rock wall, big sports court etc. The price is right for Royal.

Another thought is Utopia but that's the Bahamas and we wanted to try something new (and warmer in winter). THANKS!

 

[tidefan]

family trip with college age kids- unable to decide.......I thought I was set on Freedom of the Seas. But junior suite is $1K more than a spacious balcony room for a 5 night cruise. The rooms look old and tacky and I've heard beds on Royal are so firm and not comfy(I can't do firm). The public areas of the ship look nice.

With a placeholder, a 4 night on Disney Wish in an ocean view on deck 2 is still $1400 more than 5 nights on Freedom midship balcony. Wish goes to the Bahamas obviously.....which we wanted a change from and Freedom goes to Mexico and Cayman Islands.

Disney Destiny is $$$ and nearly sold out so I'm not sure I want to get involved with that chaos. And we've done the Dream so many times so even though that's a better price we really wanted something new. Magic from Texas is also $$$ for the 5 night with 2 ports and the 4 night only goes to Progreso.

So all you Disney Cruise Line fans.....am I going to HATE Royal? Do I give it a try? Teens would love Flowrider, Perfect Storm slides, ice rink, rock wall, big sports court etc. The price is right for Royal.

Another thought is Utopia but that's the Bahamas and we wanted to try something new (and warmer in winter). THANKS!

Don't limit yourself to just Royal. I would also consider the 3 new Carnival ships (Mardi Gras, Celebration, Jubilee).

 

[plutolovr]

family trip with college age kids- unable to decide.......I thought I was set on Freedom of the Seas. But junior suite is $1K more than a spacious balcony room for a 5 night cruise. The rooms look old and tacky and I've heard beds on Royal are so firm and not comfy(I can't do firm). The public areas of the ship look nice.

With a placeholder, a 4 night on Disney Wish in an ocean view on deck 2 is still $1400 more than 5 nights on Freedom midship balcony. Wish goes to the Bahamas obviously.....which we wanted a change from and Freedom goes to Mexico and Cayman Islands.

Disney Destiny is $$$ and nearly sold out so I'm not sure I want to get involved with that chaos. And we've done the Dream so many times so even though that's a better price we really wanted something new. Magic from Texas is also $$$ for the 5 night with 2 ports and the 4 night only goes to Progreso.

So all you Disney Cruise Line fans.....am I going to HATE Royal? Do I give it a try? Teens would love Flowrider, Perfect Storm slides, ice rink, rock wall, big sports court etc. The price is right for Royal.

Another thought is Utopia but that's the Bahamas and we wanted to try something new (and warmer in winter). THANKS!

Since everyone is over 18 I assume, have you considered Virgin Voyages? I often see families with adult children on the sailings, and you can get 2 staterooms for probably the same cost as one stateroom on other ships.

 

[Disnsyncey]

Unless the most important thing is having entertainment in different MDRs throughout the cruise and meeting characters, I think you will enjoy yourself on Freedom, they have some top notch activities.

I know my rooms on Radiance were, generic cruise ship rooms? I mean, I haven't been on DCL yet (yay September!) but in the videos I have seen, the cabinets and such on the Magic seem....generic cruise ship rooms but with a Disney flair? So I don't think there's enough in the "decor" to put me off of a room. I slept in the drop down from the ceiling bunk last time on Royal, but I didn't feel like the beds were too firm when I was on Radiance and I was sleeping on the real beds.

If you like cruising, I would go for it. (I haven't decided if I like cruising yet, we shall see haha)

 

[dreamer17555]

So unfortunately, some of the specifications you put in are going to clash with each other a little bit.

First off, have you discussed which sailing your college kids prefer? Because neither of my almost grown children want to be on the top bunk of a Disney cruise set up.

Truthfully, the beds at Royal kind of suck. Beds on virgin also are on the harder side. Most cruise lines do not have beds as comfy as Disney.

If the bed thing is going to have you tired and angry and frustrated throughout the trip, you might want to stick with Disney, assuming your kids are fine with the bunk situation.

If you can make do with knowing the bed situation is going to be not ideal I would stick with royal. The water in the Bahamas is rather chilly in January.

 

[firstwdw]

Thanks everyone-this is giving us a lot to think about! I wish Disney wasn't so much money and I wish they went to different ports beyond the Bahamas (without having to do a 7night cruise). We are also considering Utopia but again, that is the Bahamas. Kids don't care about the bed set-up on Disney and those split bathrooms sure are nice-but I think everyone is wanting to try something different. So I guess we are now between repeating Disney for 4 nights, Utopia for 4 nights or Freedom for 5 nights

 

[firstwdw]

So unfortunately, some of the specifications you put in are going to clash with each other a little bit.

First off, have you discussed which sailing your college kids prefer? Because neither of my almost grown children want to be on the top bunk of a Disney cruise set up.

Truthfully, the beds at Royal kind of suck. Beds on virgin also are on the harder side. Most cruise lines do not have beds as comfy as Disney.

If the bed thing is going to have you tired and angry and frustrated throughout the trip, you might want to stick with Disney, assuming your kids are fine with the bunk situation.

If you can make do with knowing the bed situation is going to be not ideal I would stick with royal. The water in the Bahamas is rather chilly in January.

I wonder if we could somehow bring a mattress topper-crazy as it sounds I have seen others mention this

 

[tidefan]

Since everyone is over 18 I assume, have you considered Virgin Voyages? I often see families with adult children on the sailings, and you can get 2 staterooms for probably the same cost as one stateroom on other ships.

Somehow I missed that OP stated that the kids were college aged. I agree with this, 100% Virgin Voyages.

 

[Disnsyncey]

I'm dying for friends to go on a VV so I can live vicariously through them hahaha

 

[firstwdw]

Somehow I missed that OP stated that the kids were college aged. I agree with this, 100% Virgin Voyages.

Virgin Voyages isn't really our vibe.....but thank you for the suggestion!

 

[Disnsyncey]

Then I vote go with Royal and ask for a mattress topper! Or at least a few extra blankets layered on your bed!

 

[dreamer17555]

I wonder if we could somehow bring a mattress topper-crazy as it sounds I have seen others mention this

I will say I requested and was given a mattress topper on Royal and it still was not a great bed for me... But maybe if you bring one from home? I would wonder about luggage space if you are flying in but if driving it might be a good option.

 

[allashore]

We tried Royal in Jan '23 with two of our college age boys then 19 & 23 on Symphony of the Seas 7 nights. They loved it! Since then we have gone on 2 more, another Symphony & Odyssey. In fact when we were on the first one they asked if our summer cruise could be switched to Royal, we did not b/c of discounts we were using with a cruise that was cxled. For differnt reasons we like both Royal & DCL and will continue to sail both. Of course that summer we had an awesome 10 night cruise on DCL. It reassured us why we still sail both.
On Royal they enjoy the sports bar, all the activites, slides, trivia & shows, casino, etc. Lots more options for food, especially if you don't want a sitdown dinner every night. We did stay in the Sky Suites, and in my opinion the suites lounges are better then DCL. We do like both cruise lines private islands, again for differnt reasons. DCL is calm & relaxing. On Royal that Jan, we had a beautiful day, we all had fun on water park slides, next trip we did the adult only Hideway and luved it, third cruise did not go to Cococay.
I am not familar with the two Royal ships you mentioned, so can't help with that. My husband & I normally travel with our 4 young adult kids, one SIL, & elderly aunt. We do have a great time, on either cruiseline
On DCL we have stayed in all cabin catogories from inside & oceanview when kids were little, since teenagers concierge, on Royal we have only stayed in suites, I can't help with the two Royal ships, the Utopia is new, matress should be better? not familiar with Freedom. maybe give Royal a try? and hopefully find another cruiseline you like.

 

[lilsonicfan]

Have you priced out two rooms with Royal? We routinely book two rooms on any cruise, which is sometimes necessary anyway for the 5 of us, and I don't think I could cruise in one room again (unless it's some sort of huge family suite!)

 

[tidefan]

Virgin Voyages isn't really our vibe.....but thank you for the suggestion!

No problem. I will say, that if you haven't been on VV, the vibe is probably very different than what you think it would be (from the marketing). It is much more "relaxed yacht" than "party boat".

Also, you may consider Celebrity, Princess, or HAL as well. There are lots of options...

 

[emilymad]

I have a bad back so beds are super important to me. I always travel with a twin size mattress toper even on DCL. I put it in a compression bag but it still takes up an entire checked duffel bag. We just got off a Celebrity cruise last month. Both DH and I were majorly missing the bed on DCL. Our backs and hurt the entire time from how hard the bed was. Obviously this is completely subjective but it is a factor for us.

 

[ilovebassets]

I've cruised three times with Royal Caribbean three times (and DCL 8 times) and really enjoyed it. I've never noticed uncomfortable beds on Royal, so YMMV. I just cannot imagine sailing with college aged kids in one regular-sized cabin. Maybe if you have petite daughters...but I have three sons. No way that any of them would have slept well on that top bunk after age 14 or so.

In January, the Bahamas can still be reasonably chilly. Mexico and Grand Cayman will by MUCH warmer.

I'd try Royal.

 

[firstwdw]

I have a bad back so beds are super important to me. I always travel with a twin size mattress toper even on DCL. I put it in a compression bag but it still takes up an entire checked duffel bag. We just got off a Celebrity cruise last month. Both DH and I were majorly missing the bed on DCL. Our backs and hurt the entire time from how hard the bed was. Obviously this is completely subjective but it is a factor for us.

Thank you! and ugh....this makes me nervous to try Royal! But I appreciate the info.

 

[Drfate102]

We tried our first Royal ship late last year, it was the Grandeur of the Seas, their smallest and oldest ship. And the bed was definitely too firm for my taste. But we did enjoy ourselves and have another one booked and looking at a third, but we have three Disney Cruises in-between them. From our experiences, we prefer Disney for the lack of a casino and a lot less upselling. Seriously, we have done more Disney cruises than any other to the point that I am surprised that there are casinos on ships. But the cost are cheaper and they go to different ports. Give it a try, worst case you will miss Disney but still have a good time.

 

[FastPasser.]

At this point, the mattress, food and destinations are of zero importance to me, it’s all about the ship.

We are DCL Platinum and are at various levels on several other cruise lines, but my favorite cruise was on the RCCL Wonder of the Seas. For me, bigger is better.