SHOCKED at how great level of service and food were above Royal C!!!

[DSLRuser]

We did a 4 night cruise on the Wonder in 2008, our kids were 1 and 7. We had a good time, but decided cruising was not for us.

In 2019 before covid, we decided to cruise again. kids were now 12 and 18 and we did a 7 nigh Royal C on the Harmony Of The Seas. The boat was way to crowded. Everything we did, we Sid the food, the service, the drinks, were not as good as Disney. BUT...the same RC cruise at $5,000 was almost $10,000 on Disney.

Well, we decided to do another cruise for my birthday last week. Just us adults, no kids. 3 nights on the Dream. We were blown away at how awesome every aspect of the cruise was. Service, food, entertainment (with was good on RC), drinks. Just that level of Disney service we expect, and then some. They turned it up to 11.

Going forward, I am fully prepared to pay extra for the Disney experience because it is noticeable and you get your monies worth.

 

[jdm_dkm]

Thanks for that. We have a similar experience and haven't cruised Disney in a while and hoped it will be as good as we remembered. We did a cheap Carnival (not of for us- never again) and a RCL. RCL was okay, but we kept thinking it's no where near Disney, but we aren't paying near Disney...we leave Saturday on the much discussed 7 day eastern turned western on Fantasy. We hope our experience is a good as yours.

 

[John VN]

We did a 4 night cruise on the Wonder in 2008, our kids were 1 and 7. We had a good time, but decided cruising was not for us.

In 2019 before covid, we decided to cruise again. kids were now 12 and 18 and we did a 7 nigh Royal C on the Harmony Of The Seas. The boat was way to crowded. Everything we did, we Sid the food, the service, the drinks, were not as good as Disney. BUT...the same RC cruise at $5,000 was almost $10,000 on Disney.

Well, we decided to do another cruise for my birthday last week. Just us adults, no kids. 3 nights on the Dream. We were blown away at how awesome every aspect of the cruise was. Service, food, entertainment (with was good on RC), drinks. Just that level of Disney service we expect, and then some. They turned it up to 11.

Going forward, I am fully prepared to pay extra for the Disney experience because it is noticeable and you get your monies worth.........................

I would imagine that for a better comparison, a 2022 Royal Cruise should be done.

 

[kps7795]

We did a 4 night cruise on the Wonder in 2008, our kids were 1 and 7. We had a good time, but decided cruising was not for us.

In 2019 before covid, we decided to cruise again. kids were now 12 and 18 and we did a 7 nigh Royal C on the Harmony Of The Seas. The boat was way to crowded. Everything we did, we Sid the food, the service, the drinks, were not as good as Disney. BUT...the same RC cruise at $5,000 was almost $10,000 on Disney.

Well, we decided to do another cruise for my birthday last week. Just us adults, no kids. 3 nights on the Dream. We were blown away at how awesome every aspect of the cruise was. Service, food, entertainment (with was good on RC), drinks. Just that level of Disney service we expect, and then some. They turned it up to 11.

Going forward, I am fully prepared to pay extra for the Disney experience because it is noticeable and you get your monies worth.

We are Platinum Castaway Club members having sailed DCL since 2008. During that time, we have also sailed on Carnival, Royal Caribbean (twice) and Celebrity. Sadly, each non-DCL cruise was an utter disappointment. There is a definite difference between sailing DCL and otherwise. In my personal opinion, anyone saying differently is fooling themselves to justify the difference in cost. Between the activities for all ages (kids clubs as well as family activities), shows and dining. With DCL, I personally feel that you're getting what you pay for.

 

[Kimpossible1]

I have done 15 cruises total with a Disney Dream cruise scheduled for Feb. We haven't been on DCL since 2015, so it will be good to compare with other lines. We just did a Norwegian in December, and we actually think the food the best on Carnival. A family friend who cruises often agreed as she has been on an RC and Carnival in the last 3 months. I can't wait to compare Disney we have taken 2 Norwegian cruises and think they are at the bottom of the list now☹

 

[jenushkask8s]

We're doing our 1st non-DCL cruise on Royal over Thanksgiving. I'm cautiously optimistic.

One thing that has bugged me so far is that we had originally booked Harmony OTS and at the beginning of December, they changed the Harmony sailings to Wonder OTS. When they switched us over to the new ship, they refunded all of the pre-cruise purchases we had made so we lost all of the great black Friday deals we had.

 

[mjr0483]

I am the reverse. I never sailed Disney as the prices always scared me away.
We did book our first DCL for MDAS for this March, so we will get our first experience.

As far as RC, we LOVE it. We sailed on Harmony and loved it.
We put the savings from DCL to Upgrade our RC cruise.
We did the unlimited dining plan ($199 PP for 7 days) and the unlimited drink plans. So we never saw the MDR or the buffet.
We dined in speciality for Dinners AND lunch. We also picked a room on the 8th floor where Central Park is and it was so quiet. And this is the same as most of the specialty resturants.
It was such a lovely walk through the park to go back and forth to dinner and not deal with the mess in the buffet or MDR.
And the service was amazing. They kept us with the same servers in each speciality and they had drinks ready for us and spoiled us.

We have Symphony of the Seas booked for this July which is twice cancelled for COVID and we can't wait to get back on an Oasis Class ship.

 

[mjr0483]

We're doing our 1st non-DCL cruise on Royal over Thanksgiving. I'm cautiously optimistic.

One thing that has bugged me so far is that we had originally booked Harmony OTS and at the beginning of December, they changed the Harmony sailings to Wonder OTS. When they switched us over to the new ship, they refunded all of the pre-cruise purchases we had made so we lost all of the great black Friday deals we had.

If you hadn't book the ulimited dining plan, look into it. Well worth the upgrade.

 

[kps7795]

I am the reverse. I never sailed Disney as the prices always scared me away.
We did book our first DCL for MDAS for this March, so we will get our first experience.

As far as RC, we LOVE it. We sailed on Harmony and loved it.
We put the savings from DCL to Upgrade our RC cruise.
We did the unlimited dining plan ($199 PP for 7 days) and the unlimited drink plans. So we never saw the MDR or the buffet.
We dined in speciality for Dinners AND lunch. We also picked a room on the 8th floor where Central Park is and it was so quiet. And this is the same as most of the specialty resturants.
It was such a lovely walk through the park to go back and forth to dinner and not deal with the mess in the buffet or MDR.
And the service was amazing. They kept us with the same servers in each speciality and they had drinks ready for us and spoiled us.

We have Symphony of the Seas booked for this July which is twice cancelled for COVID and we can't wait to get back on an Oasis Class ship.

Unfortunately, you're spoiling yourself with MDAS as your first DCL cruise. Assuming for the sake of argument that you're Marvel fans, you will LOVE this experience. My family and I have sailed to the Caribbean, Alaska (twice), British Isles, Norway and the Mediterranean. However, my favorite single day of any of our cruises was our MDAS! We're HUGE Marvel fans and it was Marvel from when we woke up until we went to sleep.

I hope that you have a Marvel-ous time!

 

[mjr0483]

Unfortunately, you're spoiling yourself with MDAS as your first DCL cruise. Assuming for the sake of argument that you're Marvel fans, you will LOVE this experience. My family and I have sailed to the Caribbean, Alaska (twice), British Isles, Norway and the Mediterranean. However, my favorite single day of any of our cruises was our MDAS! We're HUGE Marvel fans and it was Marvel from when we woke up until we went to sleep.

I hope that you have a Marvel-ous time!

MDAS is what made us spend the extra money on a Disney Cruise. We are huge Marvel fans. Othewise I don't see paying double for a disney cruise for a family of 4.
For our 7 night Sympony of the Seas cruise in July we have two connecting verrandah staterooms for $4k. I can't imagine that a Disney cruise would be worth double.
Like I said, we take the exta money and buy drink packages and dining packages and still come out way ahead.

 

[kps7795]

MDAS is what made us spend the extra money on a Disney Cruise. We are huge Marvel fans. Othewise I don't see paying double for a disney cruise for a family of 4.
For our 7 night Sympony of the Seas cruise in July we have two connecting verrandah staterooms for $4k. I can't imagine that a Disney cruise would be worth double.
Like I said, we take the exta money and buy drink packages and dining packages and still come out way ahead.

FWIW, I am extremely jealous. I would LOVE to do the MDAS again, but unfortunately it sails before my kids' spring break. It really was that much fun for a Marvel fan!

 

[tvguy]

A Disney cruise is a great experience, but let's be honest, it is NEVER going to be worth it if judged strictly on a cost basis. You are buying pixie dust.
I've cruised Paquet, NCL, RCCL, HAL, Disney and NCL America and only NCL America was a step down. But that was an entirely different cruise. Two of the ports in Hawaii we overnighted in, and the ship was not a destination unto itself, it was basically a floating hotel. And hopefully the pandemic will kill off Freestyle dining. My two previous NCL cruises were before they started Freestyle and it clearly was inferior to their old system.
I would rank NCL, RCCL, HAL and Disney pretty close overall. Paquet blew them all out of the water in dining, but that was 1980 and it was a gourmet food cruise line. Not sure many cruisers today would be attracted to that kind of cruise where there was one dining option for dinner, one seating at 6 pm, and dinner every night was a 3 1/2 hour 12 course event.

 

[CarolynU]

I’m open minded.
I’m platinum too but have taken one Princess Cruise and would do so again in a heartbeat.
Family cruises 100% Disney. Wouldn’t consider anything else.
With Princess there were differences but pluses and minuses.
I loved the quiet spa outdoor area and the multiple pools. I loved the variety of evening entertainment with singers or musicians all around the ship until much later in the evening. I’m an evening person! I I enjoyed anytime dining. The up charge steak restaurant was lovely with fabulous food. I enjoyed the more dressy aspect on the formal evenings with far more people really making an effort. Finally the debark procedure was hugely better than DCL, so much better organised with civilised lounges to wait in for different debark times. No hanging around . Each lounge had coffee, juice and water with pastries etc.
DCL
Nothing beats having the characters onboard. Or the interactions with your dining team and room host/hostess.
The main stage shows knocked Princess out of the ball park!
Pre Covid the club hosts could elevate a simple quiz to a complete entertainment event. They were skilled performers in their own right. I sorely missed them last year! The crew in general on DCL never seem to stop smiling or greeting you. You never feel like an anonymous person to them. The public areas of the ship are maintained to a very high standard.
I love DCL but I’m open minded about sailing with Princess again or Seabourn or Cunard or Celebrity, or Crystal! I wouldn’t eliminate the option and I’d give it a fair try.

 

[bbel]

After working the same position for both companies, Royal we’re far superior to work for, which means I would probably never pay the extra to sail with Disney. We did have one of the uk staycation cruises booked, but we cancelled because it just didn’t seem worth the price tag, there’s so much more included on other cruise lines for less.
I love coming on here and seeing everyone excited for Disney cruises. It lets me re-live a significant part of my life. Just, personally, I would pick other lines to cruise on for myself.

 

[DSLRuser]

RCL uncharged everything. We always felt like we were being asked for $100 for something. Disney, has Remi and Palo, but the food in the "regular" dining areas was so good you dont have to pay to dine elsewhere.

RCL had just as many pay to eat places as regular dining. And the regular dining food was not good at all. And I argue, the up charge places were not very good as well.

We bought the RCL drink package, and found they used low tier spirits and once again charged you more for the good stuff.

Disney we had a $300 bar tab for 3 nights between 2 people and it was all top shelf. No complaints.

 

[belle032]

I'm very glad DCL works so well for you and your family, OP. I've always said every family vacations differently and they need to figure out what works best for them.

We've sailed DCL twice, and have determined the overall value is really not there for us. We really cannot justify the cost. DCL prices itself like a luxury line, and I hate to break it to them-they are not luxury.

Definitely some positives-like the theater shows, dining rooms, overall theming, but we missed a better variety of adult and evening entertainment, having another option for dinner besides a sit-down, the ability to purchase a beverage package, and TBH, the itineraries overall are getting stale. Cruise ships go sooooo many places now. DCL needs to catch up and expand. (Maybe with the introduction of new ships?)

So we choose to cruise with other lines and spend our Disney dollars elsewhere. Although, WDW is slowly pricing us out too, so we'll see. In terms of cruising, hoping to get to the Mediterranean on Celebrity this September. Fingers crossed!