RCI cruiser considering Magic

[southt00]

Hi:

 

We have sailed RCI's Liberty and Independence of the Seas with our 4 year old this year. For January, we are considering a 7 day Magic cruise.

 

(We are booked for the Dream in April).

 

For those who have cruised both, Disney theming aside, how will we feel about the ship? My husband and I sailed on the Magic in her maiden year. Will it feel old? I have heard rumours about the bathrooms feeling really old.

 

Will the pool area be overly crowded?

 

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks...T.

[100viper]

Hi:

 

We have sailed RCI's Liberty and Independence of the Seas with our 4 year old this year. For January, we are considering a 7 day Magic cruise.

 

(We are booked for the Dream in April).

 

For those who have cruised both, Disney theming aside, how will we feel about the ship? My husband and I sailed on the Magic in her maiden year. Will it feel old? I have heard rumours about the bathrooms feeling really old.

 

Will the pool area be overly crowded?

 

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks...T.

 

Hello!

 

First off, Congratulations on booking a Disney Magic cruise!

 

You are really lucky to have sailed on Magic during her maiden year. :)

 

To your question about it feeling old:: NO it does not. In my honest opinion, it does not feel old at all. And the bathrooms look 3-4 years old when I sailed. So whoever told you that about the bathrooms must have just gotten a bad stateroom. My last Disney cruise had very nice bathrooms.

[Captiva]

Sailed on the Magic during her Maiden year also !!!! This past May we sailed again on the Med. Cruise and loved being back on the Magic !!!! No feeling of oldness or tired----just lots of Fun and Memories ! Pools were not crowded since it was a port intensive cruise so your pool usage experience may be different than ours.

You will have a Fabulous time and so will your Family----get a group together and sign up for the FE --- every day will bring surprises ! !!!

 

 

Captiva

[southt00]

We haven't decided to book but will keep researching and reading the boards. I need to be 100% sure before booking or I'll ruin my vacation with worries. Cabins are limited so I better make up my mind soon!

 

T.

[Cheryl H]

Do you mind if I ask a question since you have sailed on RCCL and on Disney?

 

We usually book direct with RCCL. But I'm not sure how Disney pricing is. Is the pricing for Disney "brochure rates", in that a travel agent would get us a better rate? Does this question make sense? I can usually trust that RCCL prices are the prices everyone gets so to me there's no (financial) reason to include a travel agent. I simply book it myself. But I have no idea about Disney pricing.

 

Thanks!

 

Cheryl

[jmorgania]

We haven't decided to book but will keep researching and reading the boards. I need to be 100% sure before booking or I'll ruin my vacation with worries. Cabins are limited so I better make up my mind soon!

 

T.

 

I sailed on her sister the Wonder last year. Nothing about her felt old and she has been maintained wonderfully. Being as they are only a year apart I can't imagine that the Magic would be in any worse condition. We don't take our first RCI cruise till January so I can't compare between the two. But we loved the Wonder and would have no hesitation to sail on her or the Magic if the opportunity and itinerary suited our needs.

[seadancer]

we just returned this morning from the Magic and she is spotless after her drydock. No worries there.

[MelissaE1]

Do you mind if I ask a question since you have sailed on RCCL and on Disney?

 

We usually book direct with RCCL. But I'm not sure how Disney pricing is. Is the pricing for Disney "brochure rates", in that a travel agent would get us a better rate? Does this question make sense? I can usually trust that RCCL prices are the prices everyone gets so to me there's no (financial) reason to include a travel agent. I simply book it myself. But I have no idea about Disney pricing.

 

Thanks!

 

Cheryl

 

It works pretty much the same as RCCL. The rates you find on the DCL website are the same rates you will get from a travel agent for the most part; Disney does not allow them to be discounted. Agents will offer you OBC, etc. as an incentive to book with them. One difference would be that DCL rates rarely go backwards, so early booking is usually the best price unless you are a FL resident or military, and that is very much a gamble as those rates are only available sporadically. Some agents that specialize in Disney Cruise Line will book a block of rooms early on, and that is where you might occasionally find a price lower than DCL, because the rates have gone up and the travel agency has locked some in at the lower rate.

 

HTH! :)

[Cheryl H]

Thank you!!!

[lsmommy]

I am the opposite I want to try the Liberty so I made a list of things I thing my kids will miss from the Magic.

The characters, my youngest loves them, my oldest not so much but she does love the random run ins like strolling on deck 4 and finding Mickey all by himself or stepping in a elevator with Stitch.

The shows, they love them all. I sailed once on RCI and they are just not the same kids friendly but also adult suitable.

The big thing I noticed on RCI was the lack of suitable family activities from painting mosaic tiles to Who wants to be a mousketeer.

The big screen over the pool with Disney movies, they love sitting in the hot tub at night and watching a movie.

Once I made my list I realized we are not ready to switch to RCI but soon.

Was on the Magic in July and she was in good shape, and the pool does get crowded but we found if you go after dinner the pool was empty.

[seadancer]

and on the flip side. we just returned as an adult trio that went on the magic and will never go back. The shows were mediocre at best and the food was just ok. The only magical part of the cruise was the characters for us. We have never seen such a dedicated cast of characters in our lives. If you take that away and compare the normal activities offered on the ship they failed for us. Now before the flaming starts realize we have had our annual Passes for over 2 decades but we dont drink from the if Disney did it then it must be fantastic cup. We are comparing this to the service we have recieved on other lines in over 20yrs of cruising. I think for some people Disney is the right thing to do but for us it was a bad fit.

[Host Mick]

and on the flip side. we just returned as an adult trio that went on the magic and will never go back. The shows were mediocre at best and the food was just ok. The only magical part of the cruise was the characters for us. We have never seen such a dedicated cast of characters in our lives. If you take that away and compare the normal activities offered on the ship they failed for us. Now before the flaming starts realize we have had our annual Passes for over 2 decades but we dont drink from the if Disney did it then it must be fantastic cup. We are comparing this to the service we have recieved on other lines in over 20yrs of cruising. I think for some people Disney is the right thing to do but for us it was a bad fit.

 

What shows did you consider superior to Disney's? I've seen a bunch of cruise ship shows and other than the Disney shows, they seem low-budget. Among the worst were the RCI shows such as 50's review and Disco night that were simply playing medleys of various songs from the era strategically cut-off to avoid royalties. Of course there were the numerous Salute to Broadway type shows that were pretty much the same. A band, a singer or two, some costumes and a sign hanging over the stage.

What did you see that I missed?

[seadancer]

I dont know if i've ever seen anything better . Except for maybe Guys and Dolls perfomed on the Norway . What i was getting at is the premium they charge over everyone else cost. Yes there costumes were elaborate but in our minds they didnt really make up for the price difference. I will say there seemed to be a lacking of adult activities on sea days. You could either watch Disney movies in your room/ariel view/or the buena vista theatre on sea days or perhaps take up the art auction.

As far as service goes our last few cruises on Carnival/Holland and RCI have been better. I will assume you know what correct serving is in the dining room. On this cruise we were reached across numerous times to another patron. Once i was even handed a menu across the table. I've never had that done before. I guess our expectations were way to high on this one.