My Thoughts: Liberty vs Disney Dream

Hello everyone!

My girlfriend and I returned from our 5-night Western Caribbean cruise on Liberty of the Seas. It was our 1st Royal Caribbean cruise, and we have done 7 Disney cruises, the last three being on the Disney Dream. I thought I would leave my thoughts here about differences and similarities I noticed between each ship.

Embarkation: After reading reviews of Port Everglades, I was not expecting much. It was a little confusing trying to find the parking garage but once we did we were on our way fine. We were traveling in a Grand Suite so we were directed to the "Suite Guest" security line, but after standing in that line (which only had 1 metal detector) for about 5 minutes, with about 30 people still in front of us, and seeing that there was NO ONE waiting in the regular line (with 6 metal detectors) we just decided to go into that line instead. After that, check-in was quick. We were called to the first available desk and the woman checking us in was nice enough. The port though, was sort of a dump, with areas blocked off and it was really dark and uninviting. This is a far cry from our Disney experiences, but I guess that can be expected when the cruise line itself (Disney) built their own terminal. I was also a little surprised that on the Liberty, the gangway took us to the Deck 4 Promenade, whereas on the Disney ships, the gangway deposits you directly into the BEAUTIFUL main atrium, for a definite "WOW" moment right away.

Cabin: We had Grand Suite 1260 on LoS. It was our first time in a suite on a ship, and we LOVED the extra space and big bathroom, and also having the bigger balcony. 1260 is just forward of the starboard side cantilevered hot tub, with one pane of the balcony glass being that funky reflective kind, and the forward pane is clear. The balcony was sort of a "half-hump" and the aft end stuck out a couple feet. I liked how 1264, the cabin to the aft of us, had a bigger balcony with solid white walls, if I were to chose again I would go with that one I think. We had NO issues with noise from chairs on Deck 11. The deck chairs that are up there are very solid wooden ones that I doubt get moved around much.

Our suite had a couple of issues, mostly with small pieces of the light controls being broken off. They were replaced on our last night, go figure. I can't really compare our room on RC to our room on DCL, because they were in two different classes really. I will say that generally I prefer the look and color of the DCL rooms more, as they look a bit more modern and have some darker finish than the blue carpet/yellow couch look of our suite. Also the beds on the Dream are more comfortable in my opinion.

Concierge Service: Our Concierge, Oana, was great. Very friendly and always remembered us around the ship, even pulled us out of line at Guest Relations when she saw us, to help us personally. Apart from that though, I sadly did not see much other value in having the coveted "Gold Card" vs. a less expensive room. The only place that it really showed its worth, to us at least, was in Labadee, being able to access Barefoot Beach. Other than that though, we didn't really use the reserved chairs on Deck 13 above Sky Bar as it was very windy up there.

(Warning: mini-rant ahead....)

The seating for the shows was nice, but we noticed that about 5 minutes before the show started, the crew stopped enforcing that rule and the areas filled up with other Guests. So basically if you just know where to stand when the "rope drops", you can show up 5 minutes before the show and get the same seating area that a Gold Card guest gets. It was slightly annoying because we would be sitting there and then get mobbed from both sides by other families who spotted seats next to us when the rope dropped and they'd be fighting right at our seat. This happened at Saturday Night Fever, In the Air, and Encore. It got to the point where we could pick out the people who were standing at the entrance point to the seating area, waiting for the crew member to say "Go ahead" so they could snatch up the remaining seats. I understand that it doesn't make sense to have seats open while other Guests stand, but it was just something that made us think "why would we pay extra for this when we could just show up late and get it too."

We visited the Concierge Lounge each night before dinner, but always felt a bit out of place sadly. We are in our mid-twenties, and always usually the youngest people there. We NEVER went into the Lounge in less than a suit/dress, but always seemed to be looked at strangely when we were in there, and it seemed everyone already knew each other from some previous cruise so no one sat with us and chatted. The appetizers were great though, but since neither of us drink, again it was a perk we didn't make much use of.

I think the best part of the Concierge service was being able to see the Bridge on the last day of the cruise. We were all invited up for snacks and drinks, and able to talk to the Captain about the bridge. Very cool, and something Disney does not do generally.

Crew: In general the crew were very polite and friendly. Our stateroom attendant was super friendly, although it was a little strange because we were to our Stateroom at about 1:15, and arrived to find our door propped open and our room still being cleaned. There was a nice plate of fruit waiting for us, which we both loved, but we started to not love it when the same plate, with the same mushy fruit and shriveled grapes was there on the last day of the cruise. It was never taken away or replaced with anything else! I was really surprised by that.

Our dining room crew was very friendly, although the assistant waiter never really "took" our drink orders on the first night so we were just served water the rest of the nights automatically. No big deal as I needed water from sitting out in the sun all day!

I will say I noticed a few less "Hellos" from random crew on Liberty than I have on Disney.

Food: I missed the concept of rotational dining on the Disney ships, where you visit a new restaurant every night, but keep the same tablemates and servers. However, the MDR on the Liberty was very pretty and the food was quite good. I would say that in general, I enjoyed the entrees on RCL more than DCL, but DCL wins in the desert and soup area.

We ate at Chops one night and our server was great, steak was perfectly cooked and I ate very bite, as were the sides. That being said though, feel that Palo ($20 on Disney ships) is a far greater value than the $30 for Chops. Palo feels like a true fine dining experience, and, while Chops has very good steak, it didn't feel any more...."fancy" I suppose, than the MDR.

The Windjammer has AWESOME views, and we could usually snag a table for two at the very aft section. The food was generally good, but the variety day-to-day was lacking in my opinion. I missed on Disney being able to dispense your own drink, as you could get it with/without ice and know that it hadn't sat there for who knows how long. I felt that the crew members who's job was to fill the drinks at the drink stations could be better used clearing tables, as I often saw empty tables with dishes on them for up to 10 minutes at busy times.

Johnny Rockets was great, definitely will miss having that on our next Disney cruise.

The chocolate chip cookies at the cafe in the Promenade were addicting.

Sprinkles pales in comparison to the ice-cream served on the Dream however. Fro-yo is not my thing, but if it is, you will like Sprinkles.

I did LOVE the availability of foods however. On the Dream, there is about 1.5 hour gap between Cabanas (their "Windjammer") closing for breakfast and opening for lunch. On Liberty it was about 30 minutes. And on Disney cruises, I always seem to get the hungriest JUST as breakfast is closing :P.

It was nice to have food options at almost any time throughout the day, including Johnny Rockets til well past midnight. Point to Disney, though, for not charging for Room Service late-night. (And also not charging for pop/soda, which I stopped drinking a few weeks before this cruise so was a moot point for me.)

Activities: For us, Royal Caribbean wins on this one. The crowd on our ship was very good, much more lively than what we tend to find on Disney ships. James, our cruise director, was hilarious, although we didn't see him out and about as much as we would see Clayton (our cruise director on our last 4 DCL cruises.)

The Flowrider became our favorite place to hang out. We loved just sitting next to it and watching people succeed, and also wipe out :). It was like a little community back there. When someone did well, everyone would clap for them. And when someone wiped out, we would all laugh, and so would the person who fell. We did the boogie boarding and it was SO much fun. Neither of us had the courage to rock climb.

Entertainment: I thought no one could trump DCL entertainment, but Royal Caribbean made me wonder! Their shows were truly great. I was a bit confused by the theme of "in the air" but the performers themselves were fantastic! I almost couldn't watch some parts because I was afraid they would fall! Saturday Night Fever had such amazing dancing. I had never seen the movie but this performance was great. And Encore! Oh my gosh, the girl with the hula hoops are you kidding me?! I can't even do ONE hula hoop at a time, she had a dozen! Don't get me wrong, I am a Disney boy at heart and always like the songs and shows on DCL, but after seeing the same ones for our past 3 cruises, I was definitely ready for a change, and Liberty came through.

The farewell show had a juggler named Paul, I forget his last name, he was hilarious. I have not laughed that hard in a while. If you were at the show, you remember the audience participant Ron, an attorney from Chicago. It was classic.

Ship Venues: Catacombs was SO cool, but we didn't spend much time in there. The "broken glass" stairs are awesome. The ships "screening room" was a joke compared to the Dreams, nothing more than you might find in a high-end home in my opinion. We skipped it.

The Viking Crown Lounge has amazing views and the band "Suave" was very good.

We spent a few hours in the Casino, ended up losing about $40 but oh well. The smoke smell was a bit overwhelming at times and we had to move machines a couple times to get away from some particularly bad areas.

The Promenade was a very cool place, but a bit crazy on Formal Night. I did like, however, how so many people got dressed up on Formal night. I saw quite a few tuxedos, which made me regret not renting one. Formal Night on Disney cruises, you still see people dressed up, but usually not as many and not as dressy. Definitely liked that about Royal, because I use cruises to bust out my suits and nice clothes.

There were really so many areas of the ship, I wish we had more time to explore them. The areas on the Dream are a bit...."classier" I guess? But sometimes you just want to see a crazy area like Catacombs and let loose in there!

I am sorry but I think the Disney ships, particularly Dream and Fantasy, are THE most beautiful ships afloat, especially when viewed from the outside. Their black hulls with yellow trim and red funnels are just so classic. The Liberty holds its own, however, and is really a beautiful ship from the outside. I wasn't a fan of the blue astro-turf type carpeting surrounding much of the pool deck, it looked and felt cheap and felt sort of gross when it was really wet. Small complaint really, but something I noticed.

LOVED the interactive touch-screen maps throughout the ship!

Liberty owns Disney when it comes to pool areas though. The adult area on the Dream is never really "adults" as kids constantly cross through that area. I didn't notice this nearly as much on Liberty, and Liberty's pools were much larger and more numerous. The cantilevered hot tubs were great, but I do miss how the (smaller) hot tubs on the Dream have clear bottoms and sides so truly feel like you're out over the ship. (There were so many things that my girlfriend and I said "If we took X from the Dream and Y from the Liberty, it'd be perfect!" Case in point, the large hot tubs from Liberty that stick out farther than the Dreams, but the clear bottoms and sides from the Dream.)

MAJOR points to Liberty for opening up the very tip of the bow to Guests. Our muster station was just steps from the stairs to the bow, and we ran up there right when we were dismissed and were in the "Jack and Rose" from Titanic pose for sail away. PERFECT! I will DEFINITELY miss that area on our Disney ships.

(Speaking of Titanic, I thought it was strange that one of the photo backgrounds on Formal night was clearly of the Grand Staircase from the Titanic....and they also played "My Heart will Go On" in the MDR one night....? Slightly odd.)

Re-reading what I have just written, I realize I sound like I am whining about a lot of stuff and being a "Disney fanboy" but I really loved our Royal Caribbean cruise. There was stuff I like about Disney more, and stuff I like about Royal Caribbean more. If I could combine Royal's entertainment and venues with Disney's ship design and crew, that'd be a perfect world. But since that won't happen, we have just decided to sail both!

We booked a November Allure of the Seas Eastern Caribbean cruise while onboard the Liberty :) I always go into vacations WANTING to enjoy them, as opposed to some who seem to seek out the negatives. I didn't seek them out, but noticed a few (which happens everywhere, including on DCL) and wanted to share them here.

While I don't see us becoming "Pinnacle" anytime soon, I can definitely see us having many happy sailings aboard Royal Caribbean ships, as well as onboard Disney's ships.

My girlfriend and I both work at Walt Disney World, so we are in the rare situation where a DCL cruise actually costs quite a bit LESS than a comparable RCL cruise!

I thought your review was awesome. It compared the 2 cruise lines very well. I have not had the pleasure of sailing a Disney ship and when I was financially able to afford to cruise, my kids were already a bit older and didn't want to do a disney cruise so we discovered RCCL and have been hooked ever since. Glad you enjoyed your experience on RCCL!

Great review :) thanks for sharing.

I have also seen Titanic played on the TV's in the staterooms too! :eek: Now that, to me, IS ODD!

Did they stop putting the magazines with Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio on the coffee tables in the rooms, then? Or is that only on the Navigator (that's the only ship I've sailed on... 3 times...)

And I love this review. I'd love to try a Disney cruise sometime too!

Thanks for a great review. By the way, the hulls on Disney ships are blue - not black.

Thanks for a great review. By the way, the hulls on Disney ships are blue - not black.

Yeah but when I say blue people never believe me :p

We learned on the ship tour that the color is actually called "Monica Blue" because a woman named Monica was wearing a dress one day (not THAT Monica) that was the exact color that the designers wanted the hull to be! Interesting

Yeah but when I say blue people never believe me :p

 

We learned on the ship tour that the color is actually called "Monica Blue" because a woman named Monica was wearing a dress one day (not THAT Monica) that was the exact color that the designers wanted the hull to be! Interesting

And not THAT dress! ;) Was that "The Art of the Ship" tour?

And not THAT dress! ;) Was that "The Art of the Ship" tour?

LOL exactly! I bet they were wishing she had ANY other name but Monica when they tell that story!

And yes, we took that tour on the Dream! It was a nice way to spend 45 minutes.

Oh and one more thing to add, I really hated having to stress about the towel return. Even though we had read on these boards that Gold Card members just get to grab towels when they please, the person at the towel desk always scanned ours in and out with no mention of any Gold Card perks so we figured that was the rule, although there were usually two in the room each day for us to use. On Disney there are bins FULL of towels all around the ship that you grab and dispose of as you please, although they are a bit thinner than the towels found on RCCL.

LOL exactly! I bet they were wishing she had ANY other name but Monica when they tell that story!

 

And yes, we took that tour on the Dream! It was a nice way to spend 45 minutes.

I enjoyed that tour on the Dream in Feb. 2011. :) I agree that the Dream is a really beautiful ship, and I'm looking forward to sailing on the Fantasy this December. However, I'll be at WDW three more times (in April, July, and early December - until my AP expires ) before that cruise.

Where at WDW are you and your girlfriend cast members?

I enjoyed that tour on the Dream in Feb. 2011. :) I agree that the Dream is a really beautiful ship, and I'm looking forward to sailing on the Fantasy this December. However, I'll be at WDW three more times (in April, July, and early December - until my AP expires ) before that cruise.

 

Where at WDW are you and your girlfriend cast members?

I am MK Guest Relations, she is a manager for Custodial in the same park :)

I am MK Guest Relations, she is a manager for Custodial in the same park :)

Excellent! Do you work out of City Hall? I'll try to remember to ask about "board57796" next time I'm there! :D

Just came of the same Liberty cruise with you. I was the guy that wore all orange and surfed the Flowrider from 8 to 10:30 am every morning.

Great review!!! And just what I needed! We have sailed on the Disney Magic once (and getting ready to hop on that beautiful ship again in 24 days! and then the Dream in May!) and have our first RCI cruise booked on Freedom OTS for next spring break. Your review is exactly what I'm expecting. We are Disney fans, through and through, but we have very high hopes for RCI and are really quite excited to experience Freedom!

Great review and comparison! We have sailed on the Dream and the Freedom. They are both great ships. We are also booked on the Allure, but in October. Looking very forward to sailing her. I completely agree about the towels. I feel so nervous when I check them out. Especially when you leave them on a chair to go swimming. :rolleyes:

We had a situation on the Dream where we were linked with some friends that were in concierge. We were supposed to sit at the same table for dinner with them and their parents. It ended up being us with the parents, and them sitting by themselves, with a different server. They tried to get it fixed and nothing happened. They ended up sitting by themselves the whole cruise, and rarely used concierge. The husband said that he would not spend the extra money to do concierge an the Dream again. They also didn't like the gate that was there. Other than that, we had a fantastic cruise.

My family agrees that the activities onboard the newer RCL ships + the service and "awe" factor on the Disney ships would be an unbeatable combination.

We were to sail on the Fantasy in December but we are now looking at the Freedom instead... the kids like the activities on RCL better. **shrug**

The farewell show had a juggler named Paul, I forget his last name, he was hilarious. I have not laughed that hard in a while. If you were at the show, you remember the audience participant Ron, an attorney from Chicago. It was classic.

*Spoiler Alert* A sorta disadvantage to being a regular is seeing some performers repeatedly. The "lawyer" bit is part of the act. He tells him to say that.

Great review! I'm just off Liberty as well and agree with alot you said.

*Spoiler Alert* A sorta disadvantage to being a regular is seeing some performers repeatedly. The "lawyer" bit is part of the act. He tells him to say that.

 

Great review! I'm just off Liberty as well and agree with alot you said.

I KNEW it! Dang, I even said that to my gf but she convinced me it was legit. It was TOO perfect.

I completely agree with your review!!

Though I haven't sailed on the Liberty I am a platinum member and have sailed on several RCCL Ships and all Disney ships (except the new Fantasy). Hubby and I are in our 40's no kids and given the opportunity would sail Disney in a heartbeat. I matter of fact had a really hard time trying to decide between sailing the Fantasy or the Allure. In the end I decided on the Allure just because I need to be able to see her and I sailed the Dream when it first came out last April. :)

Thanks for the review. Very nice and balanced.

You will love the Allure. We will be back on in November for our fifth week. :)

Thanks for your input. I always love to read other peoples comparisons to other ships.

Oh and one more thing to add, I really hated having to stress about the towel return. Even though we had read on these boards that Gold Card members just get to grab towels when they please, the person at the towel desk always scanned ours in and out with no mention of any Gold Card perks so we figured that was the rule, although there were usually two in the room each day for us to use. On Disney there are bins FULL of towels all around the ship that you grab and dispose of as you please, although they are a bit thinner than the towels found on RCCL.

Funny you mention this. My very first cruise was on Liberty of the Seas, then a few months after that we cruised Disney Wonder and I was looking for the towel return desk there but nowhere could be found and I thought DCL was trying to confuse me :o

Thanks for the review.

Thanks for all the compliments everyone! I can't believe over 700 people have read this I thought itd just be a few!

Great comparison! Thanks for taking the time to post. I'd like to go on a Disney cruise with my family of 5, but haven't committed to spending the money yet. We like WDW and we like RCCL ships, so that's kind of where we are right now. If I find a good deal on Disney though, watch out! LOL

I think you'll love the Allure, from what you've posted about Disney. The ship is beautiful. You'll find a lot of familiarity with Allure, but a lot of new too. You'll understand when you experience her. :)

BTW, I didn't realize the Disney ship hulls were BLUE! THANKS for that lesson. :D

Thanks again... and try reading one (or both) of my Allure reviews in my signature... they'll help pass the time. But be warned, they are LONG... you may not finish before your cruise! LOL

Thank you for the review. We are on Liberty next January and we can't wait. A terrible side effect of booking so early is you have to wait all that time. :p

We sailed on Monarch a couple months ago, and even though MOS is a much smaller ship, we fell in love with the atmosphere.

To say we're both giddy as a kid on Christmas morning in anticipation of the larger ship would be an understatement.

Not a day goes by that we don't discuss it to some degree.

Excellent review. Thanks again.