kathleendsm
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2009
I know this is probably overdone here, but I'm going to do another DCL vs. RCCL post. We've sailed twice on Disney: once on the Dream and once on the Fantasy, and had a great cruise both times. However, we decided to branch out and try Royal. We were curious to see whether as a family we liked cruising in general or just Disney, and wanted to try a cruise line that was a little bit more economical and offered more variety in ships and destinations.
We sailed out of Galveston on the Liberty of the Seas (which is a Freedom class ship) on March 13 for a 7 day Western Caribbean. I think Liberty is a good comparison to the Disney Dream class ships: a bit larger, but it has significant amenities. We hit Roatan, Belize City and Cozumel. I won't talk much about the ports because honestly, most Caribbean ports feel pretty similar to me, and Disney and Royal seem to hit most of the same ports. We had our 2 children with us, our 11 year old daughter and our 7 year old son (who turned 8 on the cruise!). On Disney we have always sailed in a deluxe family stateroom with verandah, but on Royal we sailed in a grand suite.
First: what does Disney do better?
There are a few items that my husband and I both agreed that Disney gives you a better experience. First, the kids clubs. I have heard nothing but great things about the RCCL kids clubs, so perhaps it was just this ship, but they were overall a letdown. The registration process on embarkation day was a nightmare. There were no signs showing you where to go on the ship (all kids needed to register in the 6-8 age Voyager club), and there was one single crew member doing the registration, so the line was huge. There were also just papers strewn around the club with no indication about what to do (you needed to fill out the paper for each kid and give it to the crew member). We waited for about 45 minutes in a very hot, stuffy room, which had us pretty irritated by the end. We much prefer Disney's process of allowing you to register in Port Canaveral before you board.
Another kids club issue was that there was one evening (formal night) when they actually filled up and our son wans't able to get in at all. Combined with the limited hours (closing from 12-2 and 5-7 on sea days) and there tended to be a big backup of parents either dropping off or picking up during crucial hours. I never saw that happen on either the Fantasy or the Dream.
Now I will say that in general, our son liked going in once he warmed up to it. They were also very accommodating with his special needs, issuing us a DECT phone (like the wave phones on Disney) so that they could get in touch with us while he was in the club. I definitely appreciated that, although I needed to know to ask for it initially. They also had some really fun games in the after hours in particular that our 11 year old daughter enjoyed attending, although that was $7/hour extra.
The other major item that Disney did better was control smokers. I assume the casino on Liberty is a big part of the issue, but the smoke pervaded frequently on the Promenade as it drifted up from the casino (it was seriously annoying to be doing a cupcake decorating class and smelling smoke!). They also had a big enclosed part of the pool deck where they allowed smoking, and it always drifted over to the hot tubs. I think it would be better if they had an open deck area where they allow smoking so that it doesn't hang over the area quite so much.
What was a draw between the two?
Food. We honestly didn't eat in the MDR on Royal, as we ended up losing out on My Time Dining and didn't feel like doing the early/late seating. We were happy with the specialty restaurants for the most part (Sabor was absolutely outstanding, though we didn't think Johnny Rocket's was as good as it should have been), and the Windjammer had a very good dinner buffet that included sushi and an awesome, huge baked warm apple pie that the crew members would put ice cream and vanilla sauce on. For breakfast and lunch I might give a slight edge to Cabanas just on variety, but we really have no issues with Windjammer. Sorrento's Pizza was decent and had good sandwiches. I thought Royal's free coffee was MUCH better than Disney's.
Stateroom. It's probably unfair to compare a regular stateroom to a suite. We were happy with our stateroom on DCL and our daughter particularly enjoyed having a top bunk. I suspect that we would have felt a bit more cramped in a regular verandah room on Royal, since they looked quite a bit smaller. We did get a rollaway bed in the suite so each kid could have their own space, and there was plenty of room for that. The beds were comfortable on both ships. But of course, the key is that for the same week, we paid $1000 less for the suite on Liberty than we were going to pay for a regular room on the Fantasy.
Service. I found the service outstanding on both ships. My husband would say that he preferred the Royal service as he felt that they were a bit less obtrusive: neither one of us enjoys the way that the waiters in the MDRs on DCL grovel (although if we'd done traditional MDR dining on Royal, we might have found the same thing). All of the people we dealt with on Royal were as enthusiastic and friendly as those on Disney.
Ship styling. The Disney ships are a bit more classic looking, and the Liberty was beautiful in more of a Vegas shiny chrome way. Liberty was fresh out of drydock and looked as perfectly maintained as any Disney ship, and I saw the same pride in the crew in taking care of her.
Where did Royal win?
First and foremost, PRICE. Again, we initially booked the Fantasy for spring break week, and were going to pay about $1000 more than we ended up paying for our grand suite on Liberty. Combine that with the fact that we were able to drive to Galveston rather than fly to Port Canaveral, and we saved a LOT. None of the issues where Disney won above are enough to make up for that price differential: we had outstanding vacations on both lines, but got a higher level of service for less money on Royal.
Second, we liked the way that the promenade was set up with shops, restaurants and bars all intermingling. It was nice to sit and have a drink at R-bar and watch people go by. On Disney it feels like all the bars are in their own little area, all the shops in another area, and everything is a bit more compartmentalized. The promenade felt like a real central area for the ship that was always buzzing with fun activity.
Third, the pool deck on Royal was much better. The splash zone is huge, the pools were much bigger than those on the Fantasy, and there were more hot tubs. I do wish they showed more movies on their big screen (they tended to show cricket matches during a lot of the day, which I can't imagine entertained their mostly Texas audience), but they did have movies each evening, sometimes with fun themed treats.
Fourth, the other activities that Royal has like the FlowRider and the rock wall. I hope Disney will add things like that into their new ships, as they were great fun and also tended to draw some of the crowds away from the pool decks and slides during busy sea days. There was also the ice rink, which we didn't visit but is generally popular.
In conclusion
We like both lines, and had equally exceptional vacations on both. However, none of the items that Disney has an advantage on could sway us to pay over $1000 more for a less upgraded room though. With a great ship and a great crew, Liberty made us realize that it was the cruise that was important, not so much the characters that appeared. I hope we have the opportunity to sail Disney again, but if we decide to get our Disney fix by visiting the parks and do our cruising with Royal or another line, I know we'll have just as a great an experience.
Let me know if you have any questions about Liberty!
We sailed out of Galveston on the Liberty of the Seas (which is a Freedom class ship) on March 13 for a 7 day Western Caribbean. I think Liberty is a good comparison to the Disney Dream class ships: a bit larger, but it has significant amenities. We hit Roatan, Belize City and Cozumel. I won't talk much about the ports because honestly, most Caribbean ports feel pretty similar to me, and Disney and Royal seem to hit most of the same ports. We had our 2 children with us, our 11 year old daughter and our 7 year old son (who turned 8 on the cruise!). On Disney we have always sailed in a deluxe family stateroom with verandah, but on Royal we sailed in a grand suite.
First: what does Disney do better?
There are a few items that my husband and I both agreed that Disney gives you a better experience. First, the kids clubs. I have heard nothing but great things about the RCCL kids clubs, so perhaps it was just this ship, but they were overall a letdown. The registration process on embarkation day was a nightmare. There were no signs showing you where to go on the ship (all kids needed to register in the 6-8 age Voyager club), and there was one single crew member doing the registration, so the line was huge. There were also just papers strewn around the club with no indication about what to do (you needed to fill out the paper for each kid and give it to the crew member). We waited for about 45 minutes in a very hot, stuffy room, which had us pretty irritated by the end. We much prefer Disney's process of allowing you to register in Port Canaveral before you board.
Another kids club issue was that there was one evening (formal night) when they actually filled up and our son wans't able to get in at all. Combined with the limited hours (closing from 12-2 and 5-7 on sea days) and there tended to be a big backup of parents either dropping off or picking up during crucial hours. I never saw that happen on either the Fantasy or the Dream.
Now I will say that in general, our son liked going in once he warmed up to it. They were also very accommodating with his special needs, issuing us a DECT phone (like the wave phones on Disney) so that they could get in touch with us while he was in the club. I definitely appreciated that, although I needed to know to ask for it initially. They also had some really fun games in the after hours in particular that our 11 year old daughter enjoyed attending, although that was $7/hour extra.
The other major item that Disney did better was control smokers. I assume the casino on Liberty is a big part of the issue, but the smoke pervaded frequently on the Promenade as it drifted up from the casino (it was seriously annoying to be doing a cupcake decorating class and smelling smoke!). They also had a big enclosed part of the pool deck where they allowed smoking, and it always drifted over to the hot tubs. I think it would be better if they had an open deck area where they allow smoking so that it doesn't hang over the area quite so much.
What was a draw between the two?
Food. We honestly didn't eat in the MDR on Royal, as we ended up losing out on My Time Dining and didn't feel like doing the early/late seating. We were happy with the specialty restaurants for the most part (Sabor was absolutely outstanding, though we didn't think Johnny Rocket's was as good as it should have been), and the Windjammer had a very good dinner buffet that included sushi and an awesome, huge baked warm apple pie that the crew members would put ice cream and vanilla sauce on. For breakfast and lunch I might give a slight edge to Cabanas just on variety, but we really have no issues with Windjammer. Sorrento's Pizza was decent and had good sandwiches. I thought Royal's free coffee was MUCH better than Disney's.
Stateroom. It's probably unfair to compare a regular stateroom to a suite. We were happy with our stateroom on DCL and our daughter particularly enjoyed having a top bunk. I suspect that we would have felt a bit more cramped in a regular verandah room on Royal, since they looked quite a bit smaller. We did get a rollaway bed in the suite so each kid could have their own space, and there was plenty of room for that. The beds were comfortable on both ships. But of course, the key is that for the same week, we paid $1000 less for the suite on Liberty than we were going to pay for a regular room on the Fantasy.
Service. I found the service outstanding on both ships. My husband would say that he preferred the Royal service as he felt that they were a bit less obtrusive: neither one of us enjoys the way that the waiters in the MDRs on DCL grovel (although if we'd done traditional MDR dining on Royal, we might have found the same thing). All of the people we dealt with on Royal were as enthusiastic and friendly as those on Disney.
Ship styling. The Disney ships are a bit more classic looking, and the Liberty was beautiful in more of a Vegas shiny chrome way. Liberty was fresh out of drydock and looked as perfectly maintained as any Disney ship, and I saw the same pride in the crew in taking care of her.
Where did Royal win?
First and foremost, PRICE. Again, we initially booked the Fantasy for spring break week, and were going to pay about $1000 more than we ended up paying for our grand suite on Liberty. Combine that with the fact that we were able to drive to Galveston rather than fly to Port Canaveral, and we saved a LOT. None of the issues where Disney won above are enough to make up for that price differential: we had outstanding vacations on both lines, but got a higher level of service for less money on Royal.
Second, we liked the way that the promenade was set up with shops, restaurants and bars all intermingling. It was nice to sit and have a drink at R-bar and watch people go by. On Disney it feels like all the bars are in their own little area, all the shops in another area, and everything is a bit more compartmentalized. The promenade felt like a real central area for the ship that was always buzzing with fun activity.
Third, the pool deck on Royal was much better. The splash zone is huge, the pools were much bigger than those on the Fantasy, and there were more hot tubs. I do wish they showed more movies on their big screen (they tended to show cricket matches during a lot of the day, which I can't imagine entertained their mostly Texas audience), but they did have movies each evening, sometimes with fun themed treats.
Fourth, the other activities that Royal has like the FlowRider and the rock wall. I hope Disney will add things like that into their new ships, as they were great fun and also tended to draw some of the crowds away from the pool decks and slides during busy sea days. There was also the ice rink, which we didn't visit but is generally popular.
In conclusion
We like both lines, and had equally exceptional vacations on both. However, none of the items that Disney has an advantage on could sway us to pay over $1000 more for a less upgraded room though. With a great ship and a great crew, Liberty made us realize that it was the cruise that was important, not so much the characters that appeared. I hope we have the opportunity to sail Disney again, but if we decide to get our Disney fix by visiting the parks and do our cruising with Royal or another line, I know we'll have just as a great an experience.
Let me know if you have any questions about Liberty!
