Spoiled by Disney....

[anewmac]

and I havent even cruised (nor booked for that matter yet) on Disney yet.

DH and I just got back this past weekend from doing a 3day Ensenada Mexico cruise on RCCL. I have to say I wasnt all that impressed. The whole time I kept compairing and telling DH.. on the Disney its like this bla bla bla LOL. By the end of the cruise he was telling out table mates what Disney is like that they had thought a DCruise would be cool to do LOL. (and to know him any time I have learned anything on this website and shared with him he would just

The food just didnt wow me. I mean the pics alone on the DIS board makes everything look so delisous and just "picture" perfect LOL. RCCL looked BLAH.

Soda's even though we bought a soda package it still cost us (and that was just for DH I knew I would be fine with ice tea and then I could just have him keep getting soda's if I wanted some LOL) vs. :::FREE ON DISNEY:::

ALCOHOL on board. Stock your suitcase and bring it on the Disney. RCCL... you could try to sneak it on but we were too chicken LOL (we heard our table mates did and so next time, if there is one we will do that too)

Pictures.. We spent almost $100 for 5pics. Im sure I have read enough about the packages on Disney that we could have made out better for what we paid/got. Plus how can you not like pics with Mickey LOL

Ice Cream, Ben & Jerry's on RCCL but again you have to pay almost 2x's what it would be out in town.. DIsney free as much as you want

Multiple snack foods/resturaunts on Disney... 1 pizza place on RCCL.

I will say our waite staff was AWESOME along with our cabin attendent but the bathroom sucked. It was so small. Not the double bathroom like you could get on Disney.

also rooms are smaller on RCCL. (which is ok when we eventually go on Dcruise we will feel like we are in a suite then with all the extra room from it being larger LOL.

Dont get me wrong we had a nice time just compaired to all I have read and seen on the DIS boards ... I wasnt wowed. Seems our table mates whom all were on there 1st cruise also thought the same thing.

 

[Mickee]

We've been on 2 DCL cruises, We have booked on RCCL for the next family vaca and we can not wait to try a new line...It is not about money, it is about trying new things...
Mariner Eastern.


We would not even begin to compare as there is no comparison, they are 2 seperate companies structured in there business ways...

I just can't understand how you could compare if your were not on a DCL
I was taught don't believe everything you read!

I just looked at RCCL web for the cruise you were on....
This is an older ship...and for $259.00PP for an ocean view room I guess you get what you pay for???? Still no comparison...

It is what you make it and like I said, we are as excited to try something new (RCCL Mariner) as we were excited to try DCL.....

We Love DCL and they do hold a deposit that we booked on board and will let them hold it for a few year until there new ships come out.....

In the meantime it's to the Mariner then to Freedom or Liberty, then off to NCL and then one of the new ships from DCL....then off to college they go!!!!

I will come back and give a trip report but it won't be a comparison.....

 

[kaseyC]

We would not even begin to compare as there is no comparison, they are 2 seperate companies structured in there business ways...

I just can't understand how you could compare if your were not on a DCL
I was taught don't believe everything you read!

I just looked at RCCL web for the cruise you were on....
This is an older ship...and for $259.00PP for an ocean view room I guess you get what you pay for???? Still no comparison...

I have to agree. How can you possibly compare the two when you haven't set foot on DCL? The posts one reads on the boards are the individual experiences and perceptions of the person posting - your experience could be totally different.

We have cruised most of the major mainstream cruiselines and each ship has its positive and negatives. We have enjoyed all of our cruises. Hopefully, you will not completely write of RCCL because your experience on one of their oldest ships on a 3 night party cruise.

 

[mmouse37]

Sounds like you set yourself up for disappointment by comparing to DCL. I know you must want to cruise DCL and maybe by noticing all the bad on RCCL you can justify booking the DCL cruise!!!). Nothing wrong in that.... DCL is wonderful and I hope you cruise DCL soon....DCL is my favorite cruise line but I also have cruised other lines and learned not to compare...take each cruiseline as a new experience and enjoy. You could go crazy if you tried to compare every cruise line to DCL.

Plus, as mentioned the itinerary you were on was a short one on an older ship. My 21 year old son took that cruise and loved the nightlife compared to DCL but he did admit overall it was not like DCL...but for a 21 year old that cruise was great and he and his frat buddies have a fantastic time and it fit their budget!!!

 

[inkkognito]

We have been on 58 Disney cruises and 4 RCCL cruises, so I think you can guess our preference! We've done everything from the Voyager mega-ship to the teeny-tiny Viking Serenade (not even owned by RCCL anymore). RCCL did have some high points (EXCELLENT soups, really cool snack bar on Voyager, ice show was so dazzling that we had to see it twice), but DCL is the winner hands-down.

 

[Sandaneli]

We're going on RCCL for the 1st time next Feb. We've only cruised DCL up to now. But we've decided to try not to compare but to look for the positive differences between the two. We don't expect the same rooms or service etc.. as mentioned before they are different companies with different goals, directions, business practices etc...

I know there will naturally be some comparisons but we are looking forward to our new adventure in a positive way. If we didn't think we could separate the two we wouldn't have booked RCCL. It wouldn't be fair to either the cruise line or us.

 

[Ears]

I agree that you really can't compare an older budget cruise ship to DCL's ships, which are less than 10 years old especially if you haven't been on DCL yet.

Yes DCL is very nice, and can cost considerably more, which is also hard to make a fair comparison with. DCl food is good, I prefer RCCLs. You can't compare Ben and Jerry's to DCLs free ice cream. Your RCCL ship had only 1 pizza place, most newer ones have several places, including a coffee shop w/related snacks and the solarium area. A "double" bathroom on disney is really just moving the sink outside so it can be used separately. The bathrooms are still small. The extra room in a disney cabin is noticeable, but I don't think I could use spacious as a good term.

I like both lines for different reasons, which I think most people can agree to. Disney and RCCL have different ideas on the specifics of cruising. DCL orients thier cruises to be more parent w/smaller kid passengers, while RCCL is directed more towards couples, groups, and families w/tween type ages. You'll see all kinds on both ships, though.

I have been on both Disney and The Serenade of the Seas shortly after they were first built, and I would compare the actual ship very closely in quality. Time can take it's toll on a ship and it's crew too.

 

[NancyIL]

One should not compare RCI to DCL (or any other cruiseline) based on one cruise on a Sovereign-class ship! My daughter and I were on a 4-day Monarch of the Seas cruise out of LA last year, and we had a great time. The itinerary on the 4-day is better (IMO) than the 3-day, as it goes to San Diego and Catalina Island, in addition to Ensenada. The ship is one of the oldest in RCI's fleet, and the inside cabins measure 119 sq. ft. It isn't even fair to compare the Monarch/Sovereign/Majesty to RCI's newer and bigger ships!

I'll finally go on my first DCL cruise in January. After reading ad nauseam about how DCL is SO much better than the competition, the Wonder had better be practically perfect in every way...considering what it costs!

P.S. My very first cruise was in 2004 on Holland America with my mom. Her favorite cruiseline is Crystal -and she constantly commented on how HAL wasn't as good as Crystal. She'd better not pull that crap when we cruise on DCL in January!

 

[Mickee]

She'd better not pull that crap when we cruise on DCL in January!

 

[Mike Wolfe]

We Just did a RCI Alaska cruise with extended Family and had only sailed DCL till now.. (Hmmm not including the Big Red Boat)..

Now the Worst day Cruising the SS Minnow is better then my best day at home

Where as The RCI cruise was very nice and there were a few things on the RCI ship that beat Disney hands down ... RCI did lack a certain "magic" that Disney does have... and Disney did come out the winner in a side by side..

Each cruise ship has pluses... Heck even the Minnow with all its problems had Mary Ann on board

Mike

 

[BethA]

We just came back from our 2nd cruise on RC-both on Voyager class ships. We have done 7 cruises with DCL. For me DCL has something extra in the atmosphere--I guess it's the Disney "magic".

We found the food comparable in quality. RC has more food available late night, and 24 hours, than DCL. DCL has the fast food available near the pool, which we missed. On RC lunch menu in the buffet never changed--UGH. ALso hated having to buy the soda card on RC.

RC had a nicer pool area than Disney. They also seemed to have more activities geared for families with older kids--DCL is great for the younger kids wanting the characters, etc.
Of course the minigolf and rock climbing were nice. They had a lot of volleyball and dodgeball tournaments for adults, also line dancing, etc for adults--not just little kids.

DCL has more movies and a better theater, if you care about that.

The cabins on RC are small and the shower is VERY small--they do have a lot of storage space built in however. I loved the new bedding they had as well.

Changing dining rooms on DCL is a plus--on RC we had an awful table, stuck way back in a corner and you couldn't look forward to a change each night.
The availability on the photo packages on DCL saves money--RC offers a cruise in review DVD--nice to have.
My family likes the casino--I don't, and don't miss it on DCL--but I do miss the money my husband lost!!
Each had it's positive points, but we foound the crew more engaging on DCL. Not that they were bad on RC, just not the same. Our servers were nice, but didn't really interact with us. On DCL, we seem to get to know a lot of the CMs each cruise--not the same with RC. Just for us that something extra was missing, but we will do RC again because the older teens like it better. Of course I must mention we are cruiseing on the Wonder in Dec and the Magic next June, and looking forward to the new ships.

 

[autodoc]

We did the 4 nighter out of LA last March (after lurking here for awhile) and had a fantastic time.

We know that our next cruise (DCL may 08 -- PC ReLo) will be a BLAST , but as someone else said -- any day on the SS Minnow ....

 

[robsmom]

and I havent even cruised (nor booked for that matter yet) on Disney yet.

Soda's even though we bought a soda package it still cost us (and that was just for DH I knew I would be fine with ice tea and then I could just have him keep getting soda's if I wanted some LOL) vs. :::FREE ON DISNEY:::

Pictures.. We spent almost $100 for 5pics. Im sure I have read enough about the packages on Disney that we could have made out better for what we paid/got. Plus how can you not like pics with Mickey LOL

Ice Cream, Ben & Jerry's on RCCL but again you have to pay almost 2x's what it would be out in town.. DIsney free as much as you want

also rooms are smaller on RCCL. (which is ok when we eventually go on Dcruise we will feel like we are in a suite then with all the extra room from it being larger LOL.

I have not done our Disney cruise yet and can't make comparisons but I find it funny when people talk about free soda, free ice cream, free child care etc. Yes this is all included in the price but it is not free nor is the extra cabin space. A comparison of prices easily shows that you are paying for all of this on DCL just paying up front. I think it is going to be worth they money!!

 

[Colorado DISers]

We did our one and only cruise to date on the Wonder in June 2006. It seems like so long ago. We had a great time. The 4 days went by so fast that it is just a blur now. We are doing the Mariner Western followed by a Wonder 4 night in June 2008. As we step off the Mariner and walk over to the Wonder I know that I'll start comparing the two as soon as I hand our luggage over to the porters. I'm going to try not to, but it's just human nature to compare. I know we'll have a great time on both ships. I will write a report when we return. It will probably be a comparison, so bear with me.

 

[mike2beach]

I have to agree with robsmom....The premium you pay to sail on DCL covers the "FREE" soda and mickey bars. RCCL and DCL both offer all the soft serve ice cream you want.