DCL vs RCCL for kids?

[mulderxcoltrane]

Hi folks,

We've only ever cruised Disney with our kids (6 cruises spread over all 4 ships) and are trying to take a cruise with our extended family as grandparents are getting older. However, Disney may be too far out of our price reach. So, as we consider RCCL, can people with experience share their thoughts/opinions of the kids programming, facitilies etc?

I know most people will say "Disney wins," but I'm just wondering by how much. Are the kids areas on RCCL so much below DCL in terms of quality that it should turn us away?

TIA

 

[bumbershoot]

My son has been on Disney Dream 4 times (15 nights) and on 4 different Royal cruises (26 nights).

While the Disney kids club is visually more beautiful than what Royal has, DS prefers Royal *by far*. The counselors get to know the kids and they are *involved* in the activities. On Disney there are just so many kids that the counselors don't get to know the kids, and they are only involved in named activities. Between those, the kids just sort of roam around and do whatever they find to do.

The club is a bit more strict; DS has yet to see anyone be allowed to play videogames on Royal, for instance. And you have to be on board with the game the counselors choose, because there's not a real other option.

That said, DS loves this. He's always up for games.

 

[eskimoinparadise]

My son has been on Disney Dream 4 times (15 nights) and on 4 different Royal cruises (26 nights).

While the Disney kids club is visually more beautiful than what Royal has, DS prefers Royal *by far*. The counselors get to know the kids and they are *involved* in the activities. On Disney there are just so many kids that the counselors don't get to know the kids, and they are only involved in named activities. Between those, the kids just sort of roam around and do whatever they find to do.

The club is a bit more strict; DS has yet to see anyone be allowed to play videogames on Royal, for instance. And you have to be on board with the game the counselors choose, because there's not a real other option.

That said, DS loves this. He's always up for games.

Agree. When our grandsons were 7-8 years old, they loved Disney clubs. Now that they're a bit older, they prefer RCL's clubs.

 

[ldo]

this for my son, as well "While the Disney kids club is visually more beautiful than what Royal has, DS prefers Royal *by far*. The counselors get to know the kids and they are *involved* in the activities. On Disney there are just so many kids that the counselors don't get to know the kids, and they are only involved in named activities. Between those, the kids just sort of roam around and do whatever they find to do.
The club is a bit more strict; DS has yet to see anyone be allowed to play videogames on Royal, for instance. And you have to be on board with the game the counselors choose, because there's not a real other option. That said, DS loves this. He's always up for games."

My kids thru age 11 preferred RCCL. At 12+, they strongly prefer DCL, but they are not sports/adventure teens (which would like RCCL better). On RCCL, the teen area usually is not staffed during the day, only after dinner. RCCL does some things around the ship as organized activites, like photo (and old fashioned) scavanger hunt in groups of 4, basketball contest, etc. I cruised on RCCL at Easter and saw groups of young teens having fun. There is also more sports stuff--dedicated Bball, sports court, flow rider and ice skating(some ships), rock climbing wall. Some ships have Dreamworks characters.
As young kids (5-9), my 3 kids loved RCCL kids clubs. Even the 4 day cheapo Bahama cruise had an excellent kids club on their private island Coco Cay.
What's not as good--no Movie theater. A few movies are played outside at night, but during the day, it's sports, poker, etc. and hard to see the screen. On 5 day Liberty, we had a 3D movie in the show theater on Sea Day. On Navigator, no indoor movie on 8 day cruise. Dinner is fancy, but not themed. But, at main dining, you can get kids meals first and counselors come to the MDR and pick up the kids 45 minutes later. Kids club is open 9-12, 2-5, 7-10 on sea days, with one free PJ party and paid late night til midnight or so. Open all day on port days. Rooms are more cramped, but we paid 1/3 of what Fantasy was over Easter for family of 4. Not as many activities during the day as on DCL. Food not as good in MDR. We paid $70PP for 3 nights of speciality dining and were happy with the combo on MDR/3 nights speciality. Entertainment on DCL is better, IMHO and better for younger kids. However, RCCL upped its game on our lsat cruise. Good entertainment, all family friendly, but probably would not appeal to those under 12 (Comedian juggler, fake Bon Jovi band, really good singer, plus a few Vegas song/dance).

 

[The Grays]

How is RCCL for kids 16 to20?

 

[ldo]

sports oriented active teens will like RCCL. Teen clubs on all ships now have a strict 18 cut off, even if still in HS, same for DCL. I don't know if there is any offering for 18-20.

 

[karmacats]

royal ships usually have activities for 18-21 year olds. they are in the cruise compass. usually things like meet-ups, mini golf, etc.

 

[DnA2010]

We did a family get together on Oasis- kids were 2, 9,9, 12. DD who was 9 at the time loved the clubs and begged to stay late every night, which we let her do as long as she didn't wake up grumpy. I don't think we've watched any movies on our cruises, but the other big difference for DD was all the pools on Oasis- she loved the Aqua duct on the Fantasy, but really lacked that there were no pools she wanted to go in (the pool in front of the movie screen was always full of bobbing kids in life jackets that never seemed to leave )

Food wise we put Oasis above the Fantasy, as we found the found on the Fantasy in the Mdr bland, but enjoyed the variation in restaurants.

 

[Frozen2014]

Royal is very family friendly . How old are your kids and what ship? I would select one with DreamWorks. We were just on Allure and they had meet and greets, character breakfast for small fee, parades, Aqua show, ice shows. A lot of Royal's ships have splash area and many pools ( bigger than Disney). The Oasis class has Flowriders (min weight restriction) and zipline (also min weight) and amazing rock walls. Our kids didn't go to the kids club, but i've heard great things with organized activities.
Also Harmony and Liberty currently have waterslides. Adventure is getting it in the fall, and they will be added to other ships in time.

 

[bcwilson]

We haven't cruised Disney but we have cruised RCCL many times but this past week was our first cruise taking the kids - ages 4,6,8. The counselors on RCCL make the kids play the games and participate - no doing your own thing. My 4 and 6 year old got in "trouble" almost daily for not wanting to participate. We needed to talk to them - per the counselors requests - and get them on board with the program. My 4 and 6 year old like to do their own thing. I'm thinking they might have been better off with Disney who just watch the kids do their own thing? My 8 year old loved the games and activities but he likes group stuff. :/

 

[northshoremama]

What are the different age groups for the kids clubs?

 

[bumbershoot]

Teen starts at 12 and there are two teen groups but I can't remember where the higher age group starts.

Below that it's 9 through 11, then 6 through 8. I believe it's 3 through 5 and the little ones below that.

 

[northshoremama]

Teen starts at 12 and there are two teen groups but I can't remember where the higher age group starts.

Below that it's 9 through 11, then 6 through 8. I believe it's 3 through 5 and the little ones below that.

Thanks, bumbershoot! DO you know if they are on the same deck of the ship? Or maybe in the same location but separated by age groups?

 

[msjprincess]

Thanks, bumbershoot! DO you know if they are on the same deck of the ship? Or maybe in the same location but separated by age groups?

Adventure Ocean groups are all in the same area. On some ships the Teen area is separate from AO. On Freedom class ships they are all in the same area but separate rooms.

The teen groups are 12-14 and 15-17. But on ships with not many kids they sometimes combine the groups.

 

[northshoremama]

Adventure Ocean groups are all in the same area. On some ships the Teen area is separate from AO. On Freedom class ships they are all in the same area but separate rooms.

The teen groups are 12-14 and 15-17. But on ships with not many kids they sometimes combine the groups.

DH is really concerned about having DD4 separated from her older sisters (who will be together). I told him that we DO NOT have to put them in the kids club, but who are we kidding? DH and I would like some adult time as well...couple hours here and there. I told DH that I think Disney's kids club is all in one huge room/area ages 3-12. He liked that idea...but for $4,500 more ($7,500 for a DCL Mexican Riviera Cruise vs a $3k RCCL Western Caribbean cruise), really...how much do you really prefer RCCL kids club over DCL's kids club?

 

[DnA2010]

DH is really concerned about having DD4 separated from her older sisters (who will be together). I told him that we DO NOT have to put them in the kids club, but who are we kidding? DH and I would like some adult time as well...couple hours here and there. I told DH that I think Disney's kids club is all in one huge room/area ages 3-12. He liked that idea...but for $4,500 more ($7,500 for a DCL Mexican Riviera Cruise vs a $3k RCCL Western Caribbean cruise), really...how much do you really prefer RCCL kids club over DCL's kids club?

Our DD prefers the segregated groups of RCCL, as do we honestly...I think the 3-12 on DCL is just too big..I don't think personally I could bring myself to pay double..

 

[northshoremama]

Our DD prefers the segregated groups of RCCL, as do we honestly...I think the 3-12 on DCL is just too big..I don't think personally I could bring myself to pay double..

Thanks for the input. I guess we won't know what our DDs prefer until we try it out. I'm okay with the separation and I think my youngest DD will feel more at home with kids her age and I have a feeling that my 2 older DDs might want a break from their younger sister.

 

[jpeppers]

My 15 year old daughter was very hesitant about going on the Oasis because she had only been on the Fantasy and the Dream but she loved it. She made friends very quickly and was constantly busy. She did say that if she hadn't met such good friends she would have preferred Disney because the clubs are better. My observation is that RCCL tries to keep the kids more active, I don't think I ever saw a time where the sports court wasn't very busy along with the miniature golf. On Disney I often saw only a couple of people in the sports court and the golf was seldom used. They are both great in there own way.

 

[jahber]

DH is really concerned about having DD4 separated from her older sisters (who will be together). I told him that we DO NOT have to put them in the kids club, but who are we kidding? DH and I would like some adult time as well...couple hours here and there. I told DH that I think Disney's kids club is all in one huge room/area ages 3-12. He liked that idea...but for $4,500 more ($7,500 for a DCL Mexican Riviera Cruise vs a $3k RCCL Western Caribbean cruise), really...how much do you really prefer RCCL kids club over DCL's kids club?

We haven't sailed on Royal yet (9 days to go!!!!), but my kids were separated on Carnival after a few DCL cruises together. I was worried (we homeschool, so they are always together), but they LOVED it. My son was entertained in his age-appropriate group and my daughter had much more fun with the big kids. Now it's kind of a right of passage as they progress through the groups and I actually prefer it. I assume it's similar on Royal. They can have smaller groups with more individualized, age-appropriate attention. (On Carnival, they threw my son a birthday party--complete with a crown they made for him--in the clubs. Amazing! I wouldn't expect the same on every cruise, but it was a benefit of smaller age groups.)