Coming to the dark side? RCCL->Disney

He's the skinny. I LOVE Disney. I've grown up in south Florida for a substantial amount of my life so I go to Disney ALOT. As you can see in my sig I also cruise a fair bit but have only cruised with rccl. Which I love I must say. I want to take the plunge and try Disney. So I've decided on a cruise 5night out of Miami in nov. for anyone who's sailed both lines a decent amount of times I'm curious as to what the main differences are between the two lines. Food, shows, ships. Also what exactly are the different types of balcony rooms or verandah room I guess Disney calls them? What's the different options? Are they not all balconys? I pretty sure the ship is the magic. So what are the differences between the restaurants of each ship? PLEASE let's not turn this into a why one line is better or not. I'm just asking for honest differences of each from people who actually have experience with both lines. Thanks in advance. Jonathan

I'd call it coming from the dark side into the light.

Disney has better food, better service, better cabins, better entertainment, better private island, pretty much better everything.

The food on Disney is more inspired. I know food is subjective, but my experience is that the food in the MDR on RCCL was pretty well inedible. (I think they do that to force people into spending money on the specialty restaurants.) The food in the MDR on DCL ranged from good to excellent.

Also a lot of things you have to pay extra for on RCCL are included on DCL.

You won't feel like you're being treated like a criminal or child--the pool towels are available at the pool--as many as you want. Unlike RCCL where you get one per person in your cabin and they charge you if it isn't returned the last night.

You'll get actual high quality H2O Spa soap, shampoo, etc. in the bathroom--no mystery goo in a wall dispenser.

You'll rotate with your serving team to a different restaurant every night, which is a great experience.

I'll write more late,r but right now I need to run--I'm going to Disney World. :)

He's the skinny. I LOVE Disney. I've grown up in south Florida for a substantial amount of my life so I go to Disney ALOT. As you can see in my sig I also cruise a fair bit but have only cruised with rccl. Which I love I must say. I want to take the plunge and try Disney. So I've decided on a cruise 5night out of Miami in nov. for anyone who's sailed both lines a decent amount of times I'm curious as to what the main differences are between the two lines. Food, shows, ships. Also what exactly are the different types of balcony rooms or verandah room I guess Disney calls them? What's the different options? Are they not all balconys? I pretty sure the ship is the magic. So what are the differences between the restaurants of each ship? PLEASE let's not turn this into a why one line is better or not. I'm just asking for honest differences of each from people who actually have experience with both lines. Thanks in advance. Jonathan

Heres a couple differnces that I know of that havent been mentioned.

DCL uses a rotation dining sytem where you are assigned a dinner time and table.Early dinner late show or vice versa. You will rotate from 1 rest to the next,with your wait staff, and each of the 3 mdrs are different. Parrot Cay is more tropical, Animators looks like a cartoon story board from a studio,and has a surprise ending on at least 1 night. Tritons is the more formal of the 3, though the usual dress code is cruise casual. On your Key to the World card, it will have your dining rotation. For example TPATP. Your order would be Tritons, Parrot Cay, Animators, Triptons, Parrot Cay. For breakfast and lunch, you can either go to the mdr that you ate in the night before or got to Beach Blanket Buffet deck 9 aft for the bufett.

Palos is the adult only rest and you have to make reservations for. Its 20 pp for a 4 or a 5 course meal. Palos is a Italian themed rest.

Food is a hard one to describe because what I love, you may hate. Typically though you can order as much of dinner as you want.

Shows. The DCL stage shows are broadway style shows, revolving around Disney in someway shape or form. Ive lost track of what ship has what show but they are usually spectacular.

1 night of the cruise will be a entertainer of some sort and its kind of hard to predict in advance who it may be.

Another night of the cruise, is Pirates in The Carrbean. This show is located between the funnels infront of Aeriel Vision (Might be funnel vision. I forget which ship calls the big screen what. Its between the funnels, look at the foward funnel) Look for Mickey to save the day, and the fireworks at sea.

Theres basically 6 cabin classifications. Inside cabins, oceanview(basically an inside cabin with a porthole looking out side) restriced view veranda( these are located aft where a strucural piece of steel covers a portion of the view) a Navigators verandah which is a cross between a standard verandah and a outside view cabin. (Basically a verandah that has a lot of strucural steel around it with a large round window to look out of.The inside steel also has nautical touches on it) These are all located aft. And last but not least concierge. The main difference between cabin classes such as say a 5a or 5b is location. I forget how DCL figures the ABC (the 2 classes of ships do something completely different) Typically though the letter designates where on the ship the class is located. A is midships, B is just aft of midships C is aft. The number is just the cabin class not necessarily the deck. Other then that the other difference is size. A deluxe oceanview with verandah is a little smaller then a deluxe family ocean view with verandah.(room square footage) The majority of the cabins onboard are verandah cabins.

The ships themselves are art deco and art noveau, and are more patterened after the classic liners from the 40s 50s and 60s and are really easy to get around.

Soda is free at any time by going up to Beach Blanket Buffet to the soda dispenser.

The Disney characters are out each day and night of the cruise and are attired according to that day. For example on formal night, they are in tails and gowns, on Pirate Night they are in Pirate costumes. The Personal Navigator will tell you when each character is out and where. They are out at least 2x a day if not more.

Anything else you can think of feel free to ask.

Heres a couple differnces that I know of that havent been mentioned.

DCL uses a rotation dining sytem where you are assigned a dinner time and table.Early dinner late show or vice versa. You will rotate from 1 rest to the next,with your wait staff, and each of the 3 mdrs are different. Parrot Cay is more tropical, Animators looks like a cartoon story board from a studio,and has a surprise ending on at least 1 night. Tritons is the more formal of the 3, though the usual dress code is cruise casual. On your Key to the World card, it will have your dining rotation. For example TPATP. Your order would be Tritons, Parrot Cay, Animators, Triptons, Parrot Cay. For breakfast and lunch, you can either go to the mdr that you ate in the night before or got to Beach Blanket Buffet deck 9 aft for the bufett.

 

Palos is the adult only rest and you have to make reservations for. Its 20 pp for a 4 or a 5 course meal. Palos is a Italian themed rest.

 

Food is a hard one to describe because what I love, you may hate. Typically though you can order as much of dinner as you want.

 

Shows. The DCL stage shows are broadway style shows, revolving around Disney in someway shape or form. Ive lost track of what ship has what show but they are usually spectacular.

1 night of the cruise will be a entertainer of some sort and its kind of hard to predict in advance who it may be.

Another night of the cruise, is Pirates in The Carrbean. This show is located between the funnels infront of Aeriel Vision (Might be funnel vision. I forget which ship calls the big screen what. Its between the funnels, look at the foward funnel) Look for Mickey to save the day, and the fireworks at sea.

 

Theres basically 6 cabin classifications. Inside cabins, oceanview(basically an inside cabin with a porthole looking out side) restriced view veranda( these are located aft where a strucural piece of steel covers a portion of the view) a Navigators verandah which is a cross between a standard verandah and a outside view cabin. (Basically a verandah that has a lot of strucural steel around it with a large round window to look out of.The inside steel also has nautical touches on it) These are all located aft. And last but not least concierge. The main difference between cabin classes such as say a 5a or 5b is location. I forget how DCL figures the ABC (the 2 classes of ships do something completely different) Typically though the letter designates where on the ship the class is located. A is midships, B is just aft of midships C is aft. The number is just the cabin class not necessarily the deck. Other then that the other difference is size. A deluxe oceanview with verandah is a little smaller then a deluxe family ocean view with verandah.(room square footage) The majority of the cabins onboard are verandah cabins.

 

The ships themselves are art deco and art noveau, and are more patterened after the classic liners from the 40s 50s and 60s and are really easy to get around.

 

Soda is free at any time by going up to Beach Blanket Buffet to the soda dispenser.

 

The Disney characters are out each day and night of the cruise and are attired according to that day. For example on formal night, they are in tails and gowns, on Pirate Night they are in Pirate costumes. The Personal Navigator will tell you when each character is out and where. They are out at least 2x a day if not more.

 

 

Anything else you can think of feel free to ask.

I believe you are going on the Magic, right?

A couple of notes here, Topsiders (the buffet) is a sit-down table service for dinner with selected items from the menus in the other MDRs as well as a salad bar and a carving station.

The shows on the Magic are Villians Tonight; Twice Charmed; and Disney's Dreams. I'm not sure on the 5 night whether the fifth show (the 4th show being whatever entertainer/movie they have on Pirate night) would be the Welcome Aboard or the Remember the Magic show.

The 24/7 drink station is on deck 9 portside, aft in the Mickey pool area. There is also a dispenser for sodas in the buffet. Soda, coffee, tea (hot & cold), hot chocolate, water, milk are all available at the drink station and included in your cruisefare. Sodas from poolside servers, lounges, outside the theatres, and room service have a cost.

:)

He's the skinny. I LOVE Disney. I've grown up in south Florida for a substantial amount of my life so I go to Disney ALOT. As you can see in my sig I also cruise a fair bit but have only cruised with rccl. Which I love I must say. I want to take the plunge and try Disney. So I've decided on a cruise 5night out of Miami in nov. for anyone who's sailed both lines a decent amount of times I'm curious as to what the main differences are between the two lines. Food, shows, ships. Also what exactly are the different types of balcony rooms or verandah room I guess Disney calls them? What's the different options? Are they not all balconys? I pretty sure the ship is the magic. So what are the differences between the restaurants of each ship? PLEASE let's not turn this into a why one line is better or not. I'm just asking for honest differences of each from people who actually have experience with both lines. Thanks in advance. Jonathan

I've sailed RCCL many many times and have been on cc RCCL boards for years following more than posting. The one big thing you don't have to worry about being on Dis boards is Disney people are some of the nicest, friendliest and non judgemental posters around. They are here to help not give you a bad time for questions they don't like or because you have a neg. comment about a cruise line they like. They'll give it to you straight. I'm getting ready to sail the Dis Dream and can't wait. So although I'm a fan of RCCL I can't wait to try Disney.

I'd call it coming from the dark side into the light.

 

Disney has better food, better service, better cabins, better entertainment, better private island, pretty much better everything.

 

The food on Disney is more inspired. I know food is subjective, but my experience is that the food in the MDR on RCCL was pretty well inedible. (I think they do that to force people into spending money on the specialty restaurants.) The food in the MDR on DCL ranged from good to excellent.

 

Also a lot of things you have to pay extra for on RCCL are included on DCL.

 

You won't feel like you're being treated like a criminal or child--the pool towels are available at the pool--as many as you want. Unlike RCCL where you get one per person in your cabin and they charge you if it isn't returned the last night.

 

You'll get actual high quality H2O Spa soap, shampoo, etc. in the bathroom--no mystery goo in a wall dispenser.

 

You'll rotate with your serving team to a different restaurant every night, which is a great experience.

 

I'll write more late,r but right now I need to run--I'm going to Disney World. :)

This is exactly what I said I didn't want. The so called better then the other. I just asked the differences. Everything you listed is subjective and just your opinion. Nothing more. Food is completely subjective. So to say all RCCL food sucks is well. Nothing but your opinion. I don't Aggree. Nor do I ever feel rccl is trying to force me to eat at the specialty restaurants.

As far as getting extras that rccl makes you pay for you've named nothing.

Have you ever sailed rccl? Because it sounds like you have no clue what your talking about. You don't get your towels at your room. You get them at the pool deck at the towel station.

High quality H2o products? Are you kidding me? The Disney H2o products are a joke. Have been at Disney resorts and I'm sure is no better on the ship. I bring my own products. I don't sail because of free shampoo. Rccl also gives me spa quality products because I'm diamond with them.

Again my post wasn't to hear biased opinions on what someone feels is better. Its all subjective. I'm not trying Disney because I'm unhappy with rccl. Very much the opposite. I still love and will keep sailing mostly rccl. I just wanted to try Disney now that they are sailing out of Miami. Before there was zero chance I was driving north to try Disney ships. I just go to the parks if that's the case. I'm usually there once a month anyways. And I'll be back next month for the marathon.

Now back to Disney cruises.

So besides the (nautical) balcony. The rest are normal balconys with normal views?

Yes the ship I'm looking at is the magic. 5 night Caribbean.

I do like the idea of changing food venues while keeping my same staff.

What's the main difference with boarding? You can't just show up like rccl?

Oh and it's coming to the dark side because Disney owns Star Wars now. And they've always done Star Wars weekends.

I've sailed RCCL many many times and have been on cc RCCL boards for years following more than posting. The one big thing you don't have to worry about being on Dis boards is Disney people are some of the nicest, friendliest and non judgemental posters around. They are here to help not give you a bad time for questions they don't like or because you have a neg. comment about a cruise line they like. They'll give it to you straight. I'm getting ready to sail the Dis Dream and can't wait. So although I'm a fan of RCCL I can't wait to try Disney.

A lesson some people need to pick up on.

:)

Cracking up here because we've only sailed DCL (except for one pre kids cruise) and we are sailing on Carnival in March and I feel like a traitor!

DCL has over priced themselves. I can get so much more for so much less money on other lines! By more, I mean number of days sailing, ports, and stateroom. I don't expect the service to be Disney level, but the rest will make up for it.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Cracking up here because we've only sailed DCL (except for one pre kids cruise) and we are sailing on Carnival in March and I feel like a traitor!

 

DCL has over priced themselves. I can get so much more for so much less money on other lines! By more, I mean number of days sailing, ports, and stateroom. I don't expect the service to be Disney level, but the rest will make up for it.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

I agree about the prices being so high but I look at it as a "Disney Experience" I'm sure I will be wowed by the service and everything else and in the end I can say my family enjoyedit all, but being retired I have to look at prices. .. so I will look at other options.

This is exactly what I said I didn't want. The so called better then the other. I just asked the differences. Everything you listed is subjective and just your opinion. Nothing more. Food is completely subjective. So to say all RCCL food sucks is well. Nothing but your opinion. I don't Aggree. Nor do I ever feel rccl is trying to force me to eat at the specialty restaurants.

 

As far as getting extras that rccl makes you pay for you've named nothing.

 

Have you ever sailed rccl? Because it sounds like you have no clue what your talking about. You don't get your towels at your room. You get them at the pool deck at the towel station.

 

High quality H2o products? Are you kidding me? The Disney H2o products are a joke. Have been at Disney resorts and I'm sure is no better on the ship. I bring my own products. I don't sail because of free shampoo. Rccl also gives me spa quality products because I'm diamond with them.

 

Again my post wasn't to hear biased opinions on what someone feels is better. Its all subjective. I'm not trying Disney because I'm unhappy with rccl. Very much the opposite. I still love and will keep sailing mostly rccl. I just wanted to try Disney now that they are sailing out of Miami. Before there was zero chance I was driving north to try Disney ships. I just go to the parks if that's the case. I'm usually there once a month anyways. And I'll be back next month for the marathon.

 

Now back to Disney cruises.

 

So besides the (nautical) balcony. The rest are normal balconys with normal views?

Yes the ship I'm looking at is the magic. 5 night Caribbean.

I do like the idea of changing food venues while keeping my same staff.

 

What's the main difference with boarding? You can't just show up like rccl?

If all you want is objective comparisons, cabin square feet, gross tonnage, pool temperature etc, you're going to miss what makes Disney so special. Disney has a charm that other lines just can't match. Disney is an entertainment company, they have over eighty years of entertainment experience that they draw from to build their ships and train their crews. Just look at the difference between Knotts Berry Farm and Disneyland. Disneyland is a World-class destination while Knotts is a regional amusement park. The difference isn't climate, demographics or location. The difference is all subjective, attention to detail, themeing, cast member training and building on a story.

Look at the subjective for the differences.

I wrote this a couple of years ago after I took a RCI cruise on the very similar Vision of the Seas.

I took a few notes on a recent cruise on the Vision of the Seas in response to the members who wonder why Disney is so expensive when all you get is free soda. The Vision makes a good comparison to the Disney Magic in that they are nearly identical in size and age.

Disney Magic: Free soda, coffee, tea and milk on deck

Vision of the Seas: Free coffee on deck

Disney Magic: Disney themed motor coaches

Vision of the Seas: A bus.

Disney Magic: Beautiful terminal

Vision of the Seas: Warehouse terminal

Disney Magic: Wood paneling

Vision of the Seas: Beige plastic paneling

Disney Magic: Elegant lobby

Vision of the Seas: M.C. Escher-designed centrum

Disney Magic: Cooler in the room

Vision of the Seas: Ice bucket in the room

Disney Magic: Split bathroom

Vision of the Seas: Single bathroom

Disney Magic: Regular inside cabin

Vision of the Seas: Larger inside cabin with divider

Disney Magic: Premium toiletries

Vision of the Seas: Generic toiletries

Disney Magic: Disney Dreams & Golden Mickeys

Vision of the Seas: Yet another Disco and Broadway review

Disney Magic: Three freshwater pools open in port.

Vision of the Seas: Two saltwater pools drained in port.

Disney Magic: Pinocchio’s and Pluto’s

Vision of the Seas: Snack bar closed to kids in the evening

Disney Magic: Three themed restaurants

Vision of the Seas: One restaurant, same view every night.

Disney Magic: The Stack

Vision of the Seas: Fantaseas, much smaller.

Disney Magic: The Oceaneer’s Club and Lab

Vision of the Seas: Much smaller kids area.

Disney Magic: Palo

Vision of the Seas: Nothing

Disney Magic: Nothing

Vision of the Seas: Casino

Disney Magic: Wood and nickel decor

Vision of the Seas: Lots of chrome and glass

Disney Magic: Berthing at Castaway Cay.

Vision of the Seas: Tendering at Coco Cay.

Disney Magic: Trams on Castaway Cay.

Vision of the Seas: Lots of walking on Coco Cay.

Disney Magic: Verandah massages

Vision of the Seas: Indoor massages

Disney Magic: Nothing

Vision of the Seas: Rock climbing wall

Disney Magic: Free fitness classes

Vision of the Seas: Fee-based fitness classes

Disney Magic: ArielVision (Dumbotron)

Vision of the Seas: Nothing

Disney Magic: Zero-depth water play area

Vision of the Seas: Nothing

Disney Magic: Water slide

Vision of the Seas: Nothing

Disney Magic: Rockin sailaway party

Vision of the Seas: Sedate Sailaway party

Disney Magic: Pre-recorded music

Vision of the Seas: Live band on deck

Disney Magic: Perky Cruise Director

Vision of the Seas: Obnoxious over-the-top Cruise Director

Disney Magic: Regular mixed drinks

Vision of the Seas: Weak mixed drinks

Disney Magic: Quick and easy departure

Vision of the Seas: Waiting around for 1-2 hrs for your color to be called.

Disney Magic: Character appearances

Vision of the Seas: Nothing

Disney Magic: Free ice cream

Vision of the Seas: Ice cream for a fee.

Disney Magic: First run movies

Vision of the Seas: Second-run movies

Disney Magic: Character greetings

Vision of the Seas: No characters

Disney Magic: Autographed pillowcases

Vision of the Seas: Autographed whats?

Disney Magic: All kids clubs included.

Vision of the Seas: Extra after-hour charges in kids’ clubs

Disney Magic: Continuous kids’ club activities.

Vision of the Seas: Kids’ Clubs closed at meals

Disney Magic: Flounder’s Nursery

Vision of the Seas: No toddler care.

 

Now back to Disney cruises.

 

So besides the (nautical) balcony. The rest are normal balconys with normal views?

Yes the ship I'm looking at is the magic. 5 night Caribbean.

I do like the idea of changing food venues while keeping my same staff.

 

What's the main difference with boarding? You can't just show up like rccl?

Sorry about the ship name mix up. I wasnt paying attention to the time frame. When you put the Magic and the Wonder side by side, with 1 noticable exterior difference, the ships are twins. All of the restauraunts are in the same locations, and with the difference of 2 names everything else is the same. Tritons and Lumieres are both Deck 3 midship, with Lumieres on the Magic and Tritons((themed after the little ( on the Wonder. Beach Blanket Buffet on the Wonder is the same as Topsiders on the Magic. The free drink station is in the same place. Rumor has it that during her drydock in the Barcelona area, is that Topsiders is getting redone into something similar to what the new Dream class has. Basically instead of several long buffett tables with food on each side, individual serving areas with the food duplicated in different spots.

Yes. The remaining balconies with the exception of the Navigators Verandahs are normal views. There are a handfull of verandahs that have a steel lower portion, but the rest have plexiglass. All of the verandahs come with at least 2 chairs, and a small table. The only other difference is maybe size if you go from a deluxe family verandah to say concierge thats about it.

Boarding. Heres the deal. Out of Port Canaveral since DCL made a big mistake (in my opinion) in not expanding the passenger side of the terminal (they extended the pier,the baggage handling areas and even a costume area) and with shortened boarding hours and the new ship carrying up to 4000 guests, the terminal was getting overcrowded and uncomfortable, and on occasion was over the maximum bldg capacity. To combat that, DCL started a port arrival time that was tied to your boarding time. Basically when you finished your online check in prior to your cruise, you selected an arrival time. This allowed Disney in theory to spread the passengers out a little more evenly. In theory you could get to PC early or whenever you wanted, but there was a chance that not only could you be asked to wait outside the terminal, that you would have to wait for your boarding number to be called. Basically you are given a number of 1-say 30 and you just waited for your number.

Thats Port Canaveral. Depending on the terminal that is being used (ie size) even though that you have to select a port arrival time(pat for short) youre probably not going to be held to it as long as there is enough room to accomodate everyone.

If all you want is objective comparisons, cabin square feet, gross tonnage, pool temperature etc, you're going to miss what makes Disney so special. Disney has a charm that other lines just can't match. Disney is an entertainment company, they have over eighty years of entertainment experience that they draw from to build their ships and train their crews. Just look at the difference between Knotts Berry Farm and Disneyland. Disneyland is a World-class destination while Knotts is a regional amusement park. The difference isn't climate, demographics or location. The difference is all subjective, attention to detail, themeing, cast member training and building on a story.

Look at the subjective for the differences.

Your taking this way out of context. If that's what you take my OP as then I can't help you. It seems others get what I ask. Truck1 nailed it on the head for me. Didn't think it was that complicated. If you read my OP then you would've read I go to Disney all the time because I love Disney. So of course I get the Disney experience. I've been to Disney more then most people will ever go in their entire lives and I'm only 29. The experience is why i go back. I understand what Disney as a brand offers which is why I didn't ask for how you feel on a Disney ship. I wanted to know the main differences between the two lines for the things I asked. Again I didn't ask which one people thought was better. In fact i made it clear I don't want this thread to turn into a what cruise line is better. I just wanted to know the main things that would be different so I knew what to expect.

Sorry about the ship name mix up. I wasnt paying attention to the time frame. When you put the Magic and the Wonder side by side, with 1 noticable exterior difference, the ships are twins. All of the restauraunts are in the same locations, and with the difference of 2 names everything else is the same. Tritons and Lumieres are both Deck 3 midship, with Lumieres on the Magic and Tritons((themed after the little ( on the Wonder. Beach Blanket Buffet on the Wonder is the same as Topsiders on the Magic. The free drink station is in the same place. Rumor has it that during her drydock in the Barcelona area, is that Topsiders is getting redone into something similar to what the new Dream class has. Basically instead of several long buffett tables with food on each side, individual serving areas with the food duplicated in different spots.

 

Yes. The remaining balconies with the exception of the Navigators Verandahs are normal views. There are a handfull of verandahs that have a steel lower portion, but the rest have plexiglass. All of the verandahs come with at least 2 chairs, and a small table. The only other difference is maybe size if you go from a deluxe family verandah to say concierge thats about it.

 

 

Boarding. Heres the deal. Out of Port Canaveral since DCL made a big mistake (in my opinion) in not expanding the passenger side of the terminal (they extended the pier,the baggage handling areas and even a costume area) and with shortened boarding hours and the new ship carrying up to 4000 guests, the terminal was getting overcrowded and uncomfortable, and on occasion was over the maximum bldg capacity. To combat that, DCL started a port arrival time that was tied to your boarding time. Basically when you finished your online check in prior to your cruise, you selected an arrival time. This allowed Disney in theory to spread the passengers out a little more evenly. In theory you could get to PC early or whenever you wanted, but there was a chance that not only could you be asked to wait outside the terminal, that you would have to wait for your boarding number to be called. Basically you are given a number of 1-say 30 and you just waited for your number.

Thats Port Canaveral. Depending on the terminal that is being used (ie size) even though that you have to select a port arrival time(pat for short) youre probably not going to be held to it as long as there is enough room to accomodate everyone.

Thank you truck. This is exactly the type of info I was looking for. I think I want a normal balcony room. Is there any area specifically that is worth asking for? Ill be leaving Miami so idk which pier they will be using. Either way I know my way around the Miami port so I'm ok there. I'm assuming all the Disney ships would board the same way as you describe.

 

 

 

Thank you truck. This is exactly the type of info I was looking for. I think I want a normal balcony room. Is there any area specifically that is worth asking for? Ill be leaving Miami so idk which pier they will be using. Either way I know my way around the Miami port so I'm ok there. I'm assuming all the Disney ships would board the same way as you describe.

Welcome.

As far as specific area there really is no one and its personal preference. A starboard side room will usually give you a view of Castaway Cay since the ships mainly tie up port side to the pier. Aft of the midships elevators but foward of the aft elevators will keep you in a good cabin area. About halfway between the 2. I'm trying to find a profile picture I have of the ships but photo bucket beta is not cooperating. You can see from this pics what I'm reffering to as far as limited view obstruction and the area I'm referring to as good cabin selection. I'll go thru my hard drive later to find the original. As far as boarding I can only guess. I haven't heard of any one having issues with pat at the other terminals since they are loaners. The one in Port Canaveral is purpose built for DCL.

This is exactly what I said I didn't want. The so called better then the other. I just asked the differences. Everything you listed is subjective and just your opinion. Nothing more. Food is completely subjective. So to say all RCCL food sucks is well. Nothing but your opinion. I don't Aggree. Nor do I ever feel rccl is trying to force me to eat at the specialty restaurants.

Maybe you missed where I wrote "food is subjective.: or maybe you just don't understand the meaning of the word subjective. We sailed with RCCL loyalists who said the food sucked on the cruise we were on. So yes, in my experience, the food sucked.

As far as getting extras that rccl makes you pay for you've named nothing.

Soda, juice, milk, burgers by the grill, ice cream, the list goes on.

Have you ever sailed rccl? Because it sounds like you have no clue what your talking about. You don't get your towels at your room. You get them at the pool deck at the towel station.

When we were on the Mariner they were on the bed with a sternly worded notice that if they weren't returned, we'd be charged for them. Like I would really want to bother to take a couple of ratty beach towels. :rolleyes:

By the way, the robes we had were also ratty, and we didn't get slippers--we asked and were told they had "run out." On DCL the robes were very nice and the slippers were in the room without asking.

High quality H2o products? Are you kidding me? The Disney H2o products are a joke. Have been at Disney resorts and I'm sure is no better on the ship. I bring my own products. I don't sail because of free shampoo. Rccl also gives me spa quality products because I'm diamond with them.

If you're going to start comparing upgraded amenities, I can do that too, because I sail suites on DCL and was also in a suite on the Mariner. They give suntan lotion, aloe gel, bathroom amenities like Qtips and swabs, and even toothbrush and paste. We got NONE of that in the RS on the Mariner. Additionally we got free Internet, our son got arcade cards, the list went on and on of the complimentary amenities we got from DCL that we didn't get from RCCL. By the way, I happen to love the H2O products--H2O is a world class line of spa class skin/body/hair are products, not some offbrand DCL slaps a Mickey sticker on. The products we had on RCCL were not "name brand" they were jsut some generic hotel products.

On the Newer DCL ships, suite guests get a private sun deck, a concierge lounge that is not shared with the legions of others who have gained various "statuses" and it had significantly higher quality food and alcohol than the lounge on the Mariner, including canapes with caviar.

What's the main difference with boarding? You can't just show up like rccl?

You can, however depending on how crowded it gets, if you are assigned a later boarding time you might not be able to get right one. You know in advance, and the earlier you do on-line check-in, the more likely you'll have of an early boarding time.

Getting off is very civilized. Have breakfast and walk off at your leisure. No waiting for over three hours (yes, that's how long we waited!) to have a stupid color called that you can't hear over the PA and everyone tries to leave before their color is called and blocks the halls so you can't get off even when it is your turn.

You will also tender a lot less with DCL.

I think if you enjoy RCI you will like DCL also. The verandah rooms seemed pretty similar to me. I am not a fan of the split baths, so RCI wins that or me. If you have young children with you I think they would fine DCL quite magical. When mine were older kids, Tweens/Tweens, they preferred RCI. If you are a party of just adults you will probably find the adult areas are better "patrolled" to keep children out on Disney.

I found the service to be very similar. Food on RCI maybe slightly better. Service maybe a tiny bit better on RC, but i think anyone will be pleased with both lines. I loved the quiet Disney music in the public hallways on the Magic. I would give a nod to exterior maintenance to Disney. Pools go to RCI. On the Magic they were just absolutely out of control packed (family and children's).

The verandas were just about the same. Look at the descriptions on the Magic plans to see if the room has a solid steel side or a plexiglass covered open wall. You will be able to reserve the kind you want; just check so you don't end up with something you didn't expect.

We definitely found the adult areas well patrolled to keep the kids out on DCL, not the case on RCI. Also the adult restaurants are ADULT and they don't allow kids to book, even before a certain time--huge plus on DCL.

The adult pool on DCL blows away teh adult pool area (which was full of kids) on RCCL.

You can't even begin to compare the adult beach area on Castaway with Labadee, Labadee was a hell hole on Haiti (although I understand it's improved a bit since I was there, but it's still Haiti regardless of how you spin it). Castaway was sublime, the adult beach area was amazing.

Someone mentioned robes in an earlier post. On Disney, robes are not provided to verandah staterooms, not that that would change your mind about booking or not. But it could make a difference in your packing.

I was kind of surprised at the tone this thread took. If you ask for feedback why are you so concerned about the kind of information you receive? If want you received wasn't to your liking at least they took the time to give very detailed answers, no need to be rude when someone is trying to help. If you come in the DCL area I think it's silly to expect that people would not want to point out why they love it so much. I am sure the same would happen on most other threads.

Ducklite was giving you past experiences and opinions, as pointed out you have done the same.

Totally agree Celtic Girl!

I'm frankly baffled at the hostility towards the OP.

He simply asked that this not be turned into an exercise in bashing one cruise line over another, which is an annoying feature on these boards and others, which gets really tiresome.

His request was not only ignored, but it seemed that a couple of posters in particular went out of their way to bash RCCL, with information that was largely inaccurate regarding RCCL ships. His reply seemed reasonable to me.

I can't wait for my Disney cruise, and I'm sure there will be some things that I will like better than RCCL, ( which it should better as Disney costs about 20-40% more than a comparable RCCL cruise) but that doesn't mean I will want to bash them.

He wanted information such as, "how do they schedule the dining, how do the kids programs work, etc." not a list of someone's clearly highly biased opinions of how Disney is awesome and RCCL is crap.

It seems to me that sometimes folks forget that there are differences and there are preferences. It's not exactly the same thing.

The cruise line bashing posts are all about preferences, and to be fair, Ducklite did say something to the effect of "this is subjective."

But it would be nice to see more people just remember that the rare bad experience aside, all the major cruise lines provide a fantastic product.

Peace out, y'all! :)

Hi UNV-IT,

We just sailed on the Magic out of NYC, and the ship is in great shape given her age and the amount of usage. Additionally, as the ship was transitioning from NY to FLA it was to undergo a refreshing, which I understood included paint, carpeting etc.

A couple of things I didn't see mentioned:

- there's an adults only area on the ship with an adult pool, and Disney monitors it.

- no solarium like you'd find on the Jewel, or RCL Vision class ships.

- entertainment is g-rated, so don't expect comedy shows similar to what you may have seen on Oasis

- the Magic has shuffleboard, but for some reason they took away the ping pong tables, that I really enjoyed

- my experience on Disney is that the guests take the formal night very seriously; I always wore a tux as did many of the men, and there were ladies in evening gowns

- Disney tends to make more public address announcements than RCL

Enjoy, Paul

-

Hi UNV-IT' date='

 

We just sailed on the Magic out of NYC, and the ship is in great shape given her age and the amount of usage. Additionally, as the ship was transitioning from NY to FLA it was to undergo a refreshing, which I understood included paint, carpeting etc.

 

A couple of things I didn't see mentioned:

- there's an adults only area on the ship with an adult pool, and Disney monitors it.

- no solarium like you'd find on the Jewel, or RCL Vision class ships.

- entertainment is g-rated, so don't expect comedy shows similar to what you may have seen on Oasis

- the Magic has shuffleboard, but for some reason they took away the ping pong tables, that I really enjoyed

- my experience on Disney is that the guests take the formal night very seriously; I always wore a tux as did many of the men, and there were ladies in evening gowns

- Disney tends to make more public address announcements than RCL

 

Enjoy, Paul

-[/quote']

 

Thank you very much.

 

The adult pool I don't really use much on rccl. Kids don't really bother me but good to know.

 

I figured most everything would be g rated. I really didn't expect the rccl type comedy. I will miss that

 

I do enjoy shuffle board.

 

I always dress up on formal nights so that won't be any issue for me.