Trip Report – 1st Royal Caribbean on Navigator of Seas (6/21/15) compared to 4 previous Disney Cruis

[eskimoinparadise]

Sorry that your Navigator cruise didn't live up to what you've had on Disney.
One question...you mentioned a few times you went to the Windjammer for breakfast and it was busy and food wasn't great. Doesn't the Navigator have other complimentary breakfast/lunch locations (e.g. Cafe promenade)?

You can get regular coffee and Danish (maybe an egg mcMuffin type sandwich) at Café Promenade, and the main dining rooms are open for breakfast as well.

 

[Shea&Van]

OP - Thank you for posting your insights. I find it to be beneficial to hear many different opinions on the similarities/differences between cruise lines.

We have only cruised once (on the DCL's Wonder) and had an amazing time. My husband and I are going in November (sans kids) and are currently booked on the Disney Dream for a four-night jaunt over to the Bahamas with a stop on Castaway Cay. RCL has a very similar iten (leaving same day) that substitues the Castaway day with a stop on CocoCay (which I think is RCL's private island).

Now, I'm no expert in room categories, but it seems for our iten the RCL option (Enchantment of the Seas) is significantly cheaper than the Disney Dream for a similar room type. Yes, for this specific compairson, the Disney Dream is more than double the cost of the similar RCL trip. For my pals who love numbers (roughly $1450 vs. $575 for two people in an ocean view room)

Apples to apples...well very close.

We have talked about switching to RCL many, many times to save the money, but I fear our experience on RCL might make me miss all that I love about Disney. Argh...first world problems. We are constant soda drinkers and really enjoyed the food on the Wonder. We also adored the movie theater and the great Disney entertainment. Everyone we encountered on our cruise was truly fantastic. We loved it all, the Disney music, the signature customer service, the awesome character interactions, the spotless ship...all of it!

In any case, I really like the spirited discussion about the pros/cons of the experiences...your time and comments are helpful. I'm glad you had a nice vacation.

Take care everyone and have a happy day!

 

[eskimoinparadise]

OP - Thank you for posting your insights. I find it to be beneficial to hear many different opinions on the similarities/differences between cruise lines.

We have only cruised once (on the DCL's Wonder) and had an amazing time. My husband and I are going in November (sans kids) and are currently booked on the Disney Dream for a four-night jaunt over to the Bahamas with a stop on Castaway Cay. RCL has a very similar iten (leaving same day) that substitues the Castaway day with a stop on CocoCay (which I think is RCL's private island).

Now, I'm no expert in room categories, but it seems for our iten the RCL option (Enchantment of the Seas) is significantly cheaper than the Disney Dream for a similar room type. Yes, for this specific compairson, the Disney Dream is more than double the cost of the similar RCL trip. For my pals who love numbers (roughly $1450 vs. $575 for two people in an ocean view room)

Apples to apples...well very close.

We have talked about switching to RCL many, many times to save the money, but I fear our experience on RCL might make me miss all that I love about Disney. Argh...first world problems. We are constant soda drinkers and really enjoyed the food on the Wonder. We also adored the movie theater and the great Disney entertainment. Everyone we encountered on our cruise was truly fantastic. We loved it all, the Disney music, the signature customer service, the awesome character interactions, the spotless ship...all of it!

In any case, I really like the spirited discussion about the pros/cons of the experiences...your time and comments are helpful. I'm glad you had a nice vacation.

Take care everyone and have a happy day!

We've done both, and we are booked on Enchantment this October and Dream next October (the price for a Cat 7 on Dream is only about $100 more than a JS on Enchantment - but weirdly, only ~$130 more than a cat 11 interior, so for the price of a cat 11 on Disney I could get a junior suite on Enchantment for an extra $30). We're doing the Dream solely because that cruise makes us Platinum on Disney. If it was me based on the prices you quoted, I'd do Enchantment. For what you would pay to get an ocean view cabin on Dream, you could get a junior suite on Enchantment (8596 is our favorite) and have enough money left over to purchase the "Royal Refresh" soda package for ~$8 per person per day. Enchantment's pool deck is the largest in RCL's fleet (3 pools) and has an adults only solarium with its own bar and deli - Park Café.

We prefer Castaway Cay to Coco Cay, but not for an extra ~$900