1st RCL after DCL - coming July

[starvenger]

No problem. It's actually quite a good blog and podcast.

Agreed. There are some things that read a bit too press release-ish, but I've learned to skip those posts. It's generally a nice site to look at if you're not down with visiting the CC forums.

I agree...the other thing is (unpopular opinion)...is the food on dcl isn't that good.

I found it to be about what I expect on a cruise. Interesting tidbit: my mother actually got a plastic pouch in her food on two separate occasions. Outside of that there wasn't anything outright terrible about the food, but nothing that completely stood out either. I could say the same about the MDR on my Royal cruises, so there's that.

 

[DVC_Dad_Canada]

I found it to be about what I expect on a cruise. Interesting tidbit: my mother actually got a plastic pouch in her food on two separate occasions. Outside of that there wasn't anything outright terrible about the food, but nothing that completely stood out either. I could say the same about the MDR on my Royal cruises, so there's that.

Quality of food is extremely subjective. What RCL has over DCL is choice. DCL has the buffet, your designated main dining room of the night included and Palo (plus Remy on larger ships) as extra. Even when I went on Brilliance in January there were many more choices , both included and extra.

 

[starvenger]

Agreed there. I was thinking of MDR food to be honest.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Quality of food is extremely subjective. What RCL has over DCL is choice. DCL has the buffet, your designated main dining room of the night included and Palo (plus Remy on larger ships) as extra. Even when I went on Brilliance in January there were many more choices , both included and extra.

Agree completely...

The comparison between a smaller (cheaper) celebrity ship and the larger (ridiculous) disney dream as far as choices is staggering...

Disney ships - while nice in other areas - as far a dining venues is woefully inadequate. Disney ships are of 90's designs...

Still deciding on one...but even cheaper than royal carib, norwegian, has an astounding 28 choices on one of their newer ships at 35% the price of the fantasy on the Same dates.

It's just hard to come up with justifications on thr boats.

 

[Lita]

I knew about the drink package cost before boarding RCL so it wasn't a surprise to me. It was just several things I didn't like that I was used to after having sailing on 8 consecutive Disney cruises in the last four years. I too went on the cruise with an open mind and had a great time and wouldn't mind sailing again on Royal but given a choice I would choose Disney.

We just sailed on the Oasis this past February and we still will cruise Disney over RCCL. We weren't that impressed.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

We just sailed on the Oasis this past February and we still will cruise Disney over RCCL. We weren't that impressed.

Nothing special on dcl...just isn't.

And I forgot where dcl gives you free drinks? That's often used as a detraction from the competitors...

 

[starvenger]

We just sailed on the Oasis this past February and we still will cruise Disney over RCCL. We weren't that impressed.

I think the key thing here is that you were willing to try it out. I'm sure no harm befell you in seeing what it was like on the "other side", so to speak.

 

[KashasMom]

Honestly, I also felt like a little too much of New York's curt personality rubbed off on Anthem of the Seas when we cruised earlier this year. I'm too used to it living close to a big city myself to say it was negative. But their was a slightly different environment from your typical laid back Florida-based cruise.

I feel this way about DCL's Magic when she sails from NYC.

P.S. I never see NYC as curt. They just get things done!

 

[KashasMom]

We put up magnets on our RCI cruises. No FE. (During our last FE on the Magic, items were stolen! Not nice!)

We've sailed RCI about 5-6 times. We did an amazing Ultimate Scandinavia/Russia last year on the Serenade. It's a smaller ship (we love the big ships) but for that port-intensive cruise, it was perfect (13 nights, 1 sea day). A similar Disney cruise with less days/ports was THREE TIMES the price. WHY? I just can't justify it. We literally ate breakfast and slept on the ship.

Our preference on RCI are the Oasis ships. There are many things that are better on them than of DCL - at least for us. The food is good and there are SO many choices. On the Allure in February I sailed with my 7 year old. She was welcome in all of the specialty restaurants, unlike on Disney. We usually don't do the specialty restaurants but got a super deal and enjoyed them all. We also love a dinner buffet, not an option on Disney. Sometimes you just don't feel like sitting through a dinner production! And truthfully I only like AP on DCL (for the show). I can pass on the other restaurants.

The pool deck on Oasis/Allure put Disney's puny people-soup pools to shame. This is a big deal for us. My daughter will swim for hours!

We've seen enough Disney shows on Broadway to confidently say that the shows on the ship are not Broadway quality (and truly there are only a couple that are good/very good). We love the variety of the shows on Oasis class - the ice shows, aqua shows, one play such as Cats/Mamma Mia/Grease, etc. My daughter loved Cats.

We find the service to be comparable and our rooms on RCI were great. No issues at all. Someone above mentioned comparing all the things on other lines that you're used to getting on Disney while sailing on another line. I find that while on Disney I wonder what all the hype is about.

We're winding down our Disney cruises - my daughter is pretty much done with the princesses, etc. and would prefer rock climbing walls, ropes courses, and roller coasters, which is why we'll have no problem getting our Disney fix at the parks and sailing the lines that fill our needs.

There are enough choices for all of us to find something we like! Happy Cruising!

 

[angelinaxox]

I agree...the other thing is (unpopular opinion)...is the food on dcl isn't that good.

I'm sorry, less than wdw caliber, and that's a problem on a cruise ship.

Most of people that I've seen/heard say the food was "amazing" on dcl have a common trait:
They've never been on another cruise line...or it's been many years.

The last dcl on the Dream was just not good. Not the service or the decor, the actual oversalted mess or lack of quality options.

Food is subjective and that is in regards to all ships. There are people who post on all the cruise boards who aren't too thrilled with the food on other lines either.

I find all my dining experiences in the main dining rooms have been about equal amongst all the cruises I have done. Maybe I like one thing better here and another thing better there. Even going back on a ship I have previously done, the staff making the food may have changed and the menus may have changed, but overall I am still pleased. The only key differences in the food I see are in the main dining rooms of other lines from what they used to offer to what they offer now. There are some things I really miss that they used to have. Things that have been cut back because of the move to so many specialty restaurants that you pay for. Yet, I still love my dining experiences in the main dining room including DCL.

Not everyone who likes DCL food has never been on another cruise line or it's been many years.

 

[angelinaxox]

we are doing our first RCL cruise this July. there will be 11 of us, and I am afraid that DCL has priced us out. I f I have to cruise RCL in order to cruise, I'll take it. its a shame that DCL is pricing them out for so many of us!

I was wondering about the door decorating. Do people decorate the door with RCL? Or is it just a DCL thing? If so, are there any good forums where I can find RCL magnets?

Also, does RCL do anything that is similar to FE?

I don't usually decorate my door as much on RCCL, but will be decorating my door on my Anthem cruise this summer. Try looking at Etsy. There are some nice non cruise line specific magnets on there. I have also found some that you can change the cruise ship/line. I have done magnets on Zazzle.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Food is subjective and that is in regards to all ships. There are people who post on all the cruise boards who aren't too thrilled with the food on other lines either.

I find all my dining experiences in the main dining rooms have been about equal amongst all the cruises I have done. Maybe I like one thing better here and another thing better there. Even going back on a ship I have previously done, the staff making the food may have changed and the menus may have changed, but overall I am still pleased. The only key differences in the food I see are in the main dining rooms of other lines from what they used to offer to what they offer now. There are some things I really miss that they used to have. Things that have been cut back because of the move to so many specialty restaurants that you pay for. Yet, I still love my dining experiences in the main dining room including DCL.

Not everyone who likes DCL food has never been on another cruise line or it's been many years.

I agree that food is largley subjective...

But for the price, disney should be "better" in that regard...not the same.

That's my stance and ima sticking to it