We made the switch...

[rickyshell]

This month I did a Disney Dream 4 night, and then immediately a RCL Grandeur of the Seas 5 night. We are Platinum on both cruise lines. I had the BEST time on both of these ships. They are simply different. On Disney we buzz around the ship trying to do everything in the Navigator and don't want to miss a thing. We dress up and get pictures with the characters and enjoy the Disney experience. On RCL we sit by the pool and relax, casually walk around, never dress up, never take pictures, always buy the drink package and always buy specialty dining. It is just a different mindset and we love them both for different reasons. Our first RCL cruise was Oasis in its inaugural season. 2020 I am going to try Norwegian..it has the perfect itinerary I want that no other cruise line offers and the price is right with all of their offers. Don't go on another line thinking it will be Disney, cause it won't be, but it can still be a highly enjoyable time at much less cost.

 

[dhardawa]

I traveled NCL many times and also Carnival before cruising Disney and I didn’t find Disney to be any better. I think you’ll have a blast!

 

[BensDaddy]

After several Disney cruises (two Dreams and a Wonder) we took our first RCCL cruise last November. We were able to sail in a Grand Suite for less $$ than a balcony on Disney. I liked being able to pre-plan on the Cruise Planner and spread out the cost.

There were a few things I didn’t care for though, so I’ll share those in the interest of full disclosure.

1. Aside from late evening movies, the poolside screen pretty much just played RedBull commercials/extreme sports all day long. I missed family friendly movies.

2. Food was close to equivalent except we found the desserts on RCCL to be underwhelming and in some cases odd. Almost as if they didn’t know how to make common “American” desserts.

3. Freestyle machines were frequently out of ice and there were often long lines.

4. Kid and teen clubs seemed a little disappointing and underused. My son tried a few times to go but there were never other kids in there and nothing to do, so he gave up on it.

5. The Johnny Rockets milkshakes were good, but the burgers tasted ... well, weird... didn’t taste like Johnny Rocket burgers on shore. We couldn’t put our fingers on what it was,but the meat tasted funny.

That said, the Grand Suite was great for our little family. We enjoyed the suite lounge and the concierge moved heaven and earth for us. Specialty dining was excellent. Our son, who was 12 when we last sailed, had outgrown Disney he felt the water slides, laser tag, etc on Royal were more geared towards teenagers.

Sooo... our next one is in 75 days or so, and we are already planning a RCCL cruise to Alaska in 2021 to celebrate our 20th.

 

[starvenger]

Thanks for the report. Which ship were you on?

 

[BensDaddy]

Sorry, I should have mentioned that. We were on the newly refurbished Independence of the Seas. She was stunning and the new stuff they added during the refurb was awesome! Virtual reality trampoline, laser tag, a couple of slides, the escape room! We loved it!

Looking forward to Navigator in a couple of months.

Thanks for the report. Which ship were you on?

 

[starvenger]

Nice. We're in Indy in Jan. I'm curious to see how the kids club shakes out then, but I'm sure we can find other things for the kids to do.

 

[BensDaddy]

I’m sure the kids activities were great. Our son was highly motivated by the theming and the video game consoles on the Disney Dream. He particularly enjoyed the Star Wars area on Dream. After that, there wasn’t much RCCL could do to compare. I’m hoping this trip he will want to be more social with kids his own age, and that lead him to spend more time in the teen club.

 

[msjprincess]

Nice. We're in Indy in Jan. I'm curious to see how the kids club shakes out then, but I'm sure we can find other things for the kids to do.

We've sailed on Indy twice. My kids enjoyed the kids and teen club. My 10yo begged to stay at night. I didn't plan on paying for after hours but she was having so much fun I let her stay a few nights.

 

[mevelandry]

1. Aside from late evening movies, the poolside screen pretty much just played RedBull commercials/extreme sports all day long. I missed family friendly movies.

2. Food was close to equivalent except we found the desserts on RCCL to be underwhelming and in some cases odd. Almost as if they didn’t know how to make common “American” desserts.

1. What kind of extreme sports?

2. What kind of desserts were there/what were you expecting to find and did not?

Thanks in advance!

 

[BensDaddy]

1. What kind of extreme sports?

2. What kind of desserts were there/what were you expecting to find and did not?!

Snowboarding, skiing, paddling. Basically things that had nothing to do with the Caribbean... which felt odd and out of place.

As far as desserts, I think I was hoping for more typical treats like apple pie, cherry pie, brownies, and gourmet cookies and cakes. Instead the desserts seemed more like a dessert you might find at iKea... weird berry pies where the filling didn’t seem fresh, but was more of a gelatin and didn’t seem freshly baked. Odd flavor profiles for an American palate. Felt very “cafeteria style” and mass produced.

Please don’t take this as me being disappointed or overly critical. We loved Independence, so much so that we immediately booked Navigator and now are looking at Ovation. These were just minor disappointments when compared with Disney Cruise Lines, which we felt gets a gold star for dining in all of their venues.

 

[mevelandry]

Snowboarding, skiing, paddling. Basically things that had nothing to do with the Caribbean... which felt odd and out of place.

As far as desserts, I think I was hoping for more typical treats like apple pie, cherry pie, brownies, and gourmet cookies and cakes. Instead the desserts seemed more like a dessert you might find at iKea... weird berry pies where the filling didn’t seem fresh, but was more of a gelatin and didn’t seem freshly baked. Odd flavor profiles for an American palate. Felt very “cafeteria style” and mass produced.

Please don’t take this as me being disappointed or overly critical. We loved Independence, so much so that we immediately booked Navigator and now are looking at Ovation. These were just minor disappointments when compared with Disney Cruise Lines, which we felt gets a gold star for dining in all of their venues.

With the exception of specialty dining, I've never been a big fan of the food on DCL...

I have to say that I don't eat much dessert to begin with and I'm extremely picky... This should keep my expectations low. Thank you!

 

[starvenger]

Desserts probably vary based on the pastry chefs. Back when I did (the previous) Regal Princess they had a chef that specialized in soufflés. 13 years on and we still talk about those soufflés.