Disney Fantasy vs Oasis of the Seas?

[GonnaSailtoo]

Castaway Cay is a paradise. RCI's private islands just DO NOT compare. The food aboard RCI doesn't compare to the food on the Disney ships either. I just got off the Disney Wonder three weeks ago and was amazed at how perfect everything was! I LOVED the AquaDuck too :) I'd go Disney if I could afford it. ;)

[kwazi07]

Castaway Cay is a paradise. RCI's private islands just DO NOT compare. The food aboard RCI doesn't compare to the food on the Disney ships either. I just got off the Disney Wonder three weeks ago and was amazed at how perfect everything was! I LOVED the AquaDuck too :) I'd go Disney if I could afford it. ;)

Just wondering buy how did you go on Wonder and ride the Aquaduck...that is only in Dream or Fantasy.

[Cruise a holic]

Right now I'm still in the midst of planning my 7 Day cruise. I've basically decided that my vacation will be a Caribbean cruise. I've looked at all the itineraries for both Disney and Royal Caribbean in the area I want and I am satisfied with either one.

 

These are probably my top picks thus far for each:

 

Fantasy: Port Canaveral, Key West, Grand Cayman, Cazumel, Castaway Cay, Port Canaveral

 

Oasis: Fort Lauderdale, Nassau, St. Thomas, St. Marteen, Fort Lauderdale

 

(Again, not 100%, but maybe 75% sure on both)

 

As far as ships go, for Disney it's the Fantasy, and for Royal Caribbean it's Oasis of the Seas. So if the itinerary isn't an issue, what would you guys recommend as far as Ship vs Ship?

 

It will be just me and my significant other, no kids, not worried about alcohol or casino. But we certainly love a ship with plenty of fun things to offer. Both ship choices look good. As far as rooms go I plan on spending as little time in the room as possible, so I'll probably go with a more basic room. No real need for a balcony or window.

 

Which ship is better, nicer, has more to offer, more fun things to do, and more things for free? In other words, if you had to make an argument for which one overall made for the best experience, what would you choose?

 

(We love Disney, but we also love things that aren't Disney, so that argument is basically a stalemate)

 

Haven't sailed on the Fantasy-but relatives had-and we have sailed on other Disney Ships. I must say-hands down-the Allure and Oasis win. In fact if you can wait- I will also bet that the Quantum of the Seas is a great choice. Disney is really loaded with kids- too much whinning and carrying on to make it a restful vacation. I even brought kids and they complained! The dining rooms are like a school lunch room. While RC has kids- it has so many different restaurants and areas on the ship that will satisfy all "from the crib to the grave". Disney lacks adult activities and venues. The Allure/Oasis have: ice skating rink, rock climbing walls, surfing pools, a water park, zip line and many other fabulous options! Labdee and the other RC and Celebrity private Islands are as good-perhaps better then the Disney's island.

 

 

Enjoy your cruise.

Edited September 4, 2014 by Cruise a holic

[karmacats]

A little background - DH and I are early 40s, no kids, been on Disney Magic and Dream (Fantasy's sister ship) and Oasis and Allure. We also don't drink or gamble much (DH will maybe do a poker tournament), so casino and alcohol isn't a big consideration for us, either. We've had disney world annual passes the last 2 years, and are big disney fans.

 

We enjoy the Dream, but Oasis and Allure win hands-down.

 

First, I don't know if this applies to you, but DH and I are night people, and the Disney ships are just dead at night. Dream and Fantasy have an adult club and bar area, but most of it closes at midnight; there is one nightclub that's open until 2 a.m., but it plays super-loud disco-type music, not our scene at all, and is often pretty empty. It's also difficult to find food in the evenings, if you like a midnight snack like we often do. One of the reasons we've stuck with shorter cruises on Dream rather than doing longer cruises on Fantasy is because we are bored every night.

 

I found food in the MDR pretty much the same on Oasis and Dream. I think Oasis wins slightly in food quality/taste, but not enough to be significant. On Disney you rotate through dining rooms, which is fun (you keep the same waitstaff and tablemates). Palo, the disney specialty restaurant, is hands down better than any royal specialty i've been to (chops, portofino, giovanni's - they were all good, but not palo good).

 

Many people talk up disney's entertainment, but I found the shows pretty amateurish - if you've seen "beauty and the beast" at hollywood studios, they are a little better than that, but not much. in contrast, hairspray on oasis was just as good as when i saw it at the kennedy center in DC (though to be fair, i also saw chicago on allure, and saturday night fever on liberty, and they were just ok - still better than the disney shows i think, though). Fantasy will have more shows because it's a longer cruise, so I can't speak to all of them. Oasis also has the water show (kind of like "O" in vegas) and a cirque du soleil style show which are really good.

 

Service is great on both ships, but I think disney gets the edge. we had the best stateroom attendant we've ever had on the Dream. There always seems to be a little service hiccup or two on royal; had nothing go wrong on the dream.

 

The split-bath design in the Disney rooms is handy, and the rooms are a little larger. We felt so squeezed in our Oasis room that when we went on Allure we upgraded to a JS (and then eventually to a CLS, but that's a whole other story :D ).

 

Oh, and I forgot to mention, I know people rave about Castaway Cay, but I actually like Labadee more. But it's hard to go wrong with any tropical island. :)

 

Obviously, this is all just my opinion, so take it with a grain of salt (and as you can see from the above posts, many people disagree with me). But I'd say Oasis gets the edge as far as entertainment, MDR food, and nighttime activities, and Disney gets the win as far as service, specialty restaurants, and rooms.

 

For just me and DH, I'd pick Oasis or Allure every time. We do have another disney planned because we wanted a short cruise at the end of a long road trip. but for a 7-nighter, it'd be oasis or allure all the way.

Edited September 5, 2014 by karmacats
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