What else dies RCI not have.

[verandalover]

I went on my 1st cruise last summer with my 2 daughters and grandkids. Honestly I wasn't impressed with them. Maybe I was expecting too much. My one daughter, however, is a "disney snob". We are going on Royal this summer and for A LOT less money we're going for 2 more days and staying in a suite. Plus we don't have airfare and hotel the night before. I am going with an open mind and my one daughter is going with the attitude she won't like it. I'll report back and give you both of our opinions. One thing Disney has that we'll both miss is Serentity Baythat is a beach just for adults and the kids go to the kids club on another beach.

[north29]

Maybe it's just me, but I have no problem with not being able to do laundy. it's vacation!

 

WHY do laundry on Vacation. Or IRON something.

Having said that, we are fortunate, that we have traveled much of this planet, and have bought TRAVEL clothes to make life easier on the road. Most are light weight, wash out in sink, hang dry in at most 3 hours and LOOK GOOD, even for formal night wear(no tux here LOL) I have special hangers bought from Amazon that hang easily any where. On a cruise ship, the room steward sometimes must crawl under our so called "Asian" laundry in our room. That might not be a politically correct name.

However if on a cruise ship, we will use the ships laundry at times, but sometimes we need things in a hurry not 2 days or more.

[S.A.M.J.R.]

There's no water slides.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

There's no water slides.

 

On Disney? Only the Wonder doesn't have an adult slide. (Yey. Sadly that may change when it goes into drydock and they will probably make it a mini-me of the big sisters like they did to the Magic.)

 

They all have a kid slide. The Dream and the Fantasy have the AquaDuck and the Magic has the AquaDunk.

 

Is it a water park? No. But not everyone needs to feel like they're on a land resort when they're on a cruise.

Edited July 15, 2015 by WrittenOnYourHeart

[sunseeker2014]

ThAnkyou so much for all your replies. Sorry for the error in my post about sinning. I was using a cell phone and no glasses.

 

 

 

I do realize that Disney cost more normally because they add in those cost. But my point of jumping ship was the cost. So if I am going to have to pay for those things that I like and i do like to iron my clothes and wash my panties. Then I may as well stay with disney. ?!?

 

 

 

I also like to mix drinks in my room and sit and relax on my Balcony. Maybe I am a Disney snob. Maybe I will give RCI a try. But will prob not be the 2 week cruise first go around with them.

 

 

 

I don't gamble either.

 

 

We just got back from an Allure cruise after having done only Disney cruises.

 

The problem with the laundry for us was the convenience factor of doing it ourselves. We had our formalwear pressed on the Allure which got returned to us the next day. The laundry price list seemed pretty high for us so we only did the wash and fold special. $30 for a tiny bag and we didn't get it back until 2 days later. We had vacation days before the cruise and after so we were really bothered that we couldn't just do all of our laundry ourselves. They didn't do a great job on the stuff we sent either.

 

The shows were great so this is a plus. It wouldn't be worth switching over again for just this reason for us.

 

We were able to carry on a lot of water. I wish we'd taken soda on as well, instead of paying extra for the soda package. I accidentally carried on Limoncello from one of our excursions and it wasn't confiscated but I think it was overlooked because it was such a small bottle.

 

We like Disney's dining set-up much better. The food seemed about the same quality to us. We ended up eating at the windjammer several times just because the main dining room seemed like too much trouble. There was always a line and we had different servers every night.

 

There was no bathtub and no split bathroom arrangement.

 

We did have characters on our cruise and the lines for them were always short.

 

The thing aside from the laundry issue that bothered us had to do with an excursion. We asked the excursion desk for the name of the tour provider so that we could leave a review on trip advisor and they said that they don't give out that information. My guess is that they don't want people booking through companies independently. But I think Disney would have at least wanted to know our opinion of the tour and resolve any issues. RCI didn't care.

 

There's a huge difference in customer service.

 

Sorry to write an essay and it was still a great cruise for us but if we have a choice in the future we'll choose Disney. The exception might be if we need an itinerary not provided by DCL at the time we need. This is why we went on RCI for this cruise. It was more like a floating hotel.

[yukongold]

Huh??

 

Most people have no problem bringing on water and soda even though it's technically not allowed.

 

Yes, I have never had trouble bringing soda aboard!

[yukongold]

I'm a bit saddened. I had planned to jump the Disney Ship and swim to RCI. But after doing little homework so far I see that

 

1. They do not offer a place to iron of do laundry.

 

2. They do not allow you to bring bottles of water or soda.

 

3. You can only bring one bottle of wine per person.

 

4. And it seems getting anything to drink even a coke might cost be a bit for the 2 week cruise j was sinning on doing. ANYThiNG. else I CANT do on RCI? Ugh.

 

Well, at this point in our life we are probably not thinking of doing any sinning on either Disney or RCL..

[Paul65]

The thing aside from the laundry issue that bothered us had to do with an excursion. We asked the excursion desk for the name of the tour provider so that we could leave a review on trip advisor and they said that they don't give out that information. My guess is that they don't want people booking through companies independently. But I think Disney would have at least wanted to know our opinion of the tour and resolve any issues. RCI didn't care.

 

Seems like a jump in logic there to go from saying they don't give out the names of their tour operators to concluding they don't care about getting feedback or resolving issues. Those are not necessarily related. In my experience, the excursion desk is pretty good about trying to resolve issues you may have had with an excursion.

[Guest maddycat]

Maybe it's just me, but I have no problem with not being able to do laundy. it's vacation!

 

I feel the same way. The last thing that I want to do on vacation is laundry.

[Scotchick]

No, I really miss not having a self serve laundrette. If you have been travelling around for a few weeks before your cruise, it is real nice to be able to do your own laundry. I have had my clothes washed and dried on the ship before and they just ruined them. I also find it very expensive.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

The thing aside from the laundry issue that bothered us had to do with an excursion. We asked the excursion desk for the name of the tour provider so that we could leave a review on trip advisor and they said that they don't give out that information. My guess is that they don't want people booking through companies independently. But I think Disney would have at least wanted to know our opinion of the tour and resolve any issues. RCI didn't care.

 

I'm curious how you were on an excursion and never knew the name of the tour provider. I've done several ship-based excursions and the name of the company was always visible on the transportation and/or the guide's clothing. I could understand not releasing it prior to the ship's departure for the reason you listed (in fact there are many that will NOT book you if you admit you are on a cruise ship - and if you don't you risk them not keeping as close an eye on the time and possibly missing the ship), but I've never had to ask the shore excursions desk for the name of the company after the fact because it was so obvious while I was on the excursion. And if I had a question about what it was, I asked the guide specifically before leaving for the ship.

[Sitzmark]

On our last Disney cruise (May of this year) Mickey and Goofy invaded the Quiet Cove pool area every afternoon, which made it neither quiet, nor adults-only until they left.:(

 

On our Disney cruise I only saw characters on stage during shows.

[sunseeker2014]

I'm curious how you were on an excursion and never knew the name of the tour provider. I've done several ship-based excursions and the name of the company was always visible on the transportation and/or the guide's clothing. I could understand not releasing it prior to the ship's departure for the reason you listed (in fact there are many that will NOT book you if you admit you are on a cruise ship - and if you don't you risk them not keeping as close an eye on the time and possibly missing the ship), but I've never had to ask the shore excursions desk for the name of the company after the fact because it was so obvious while I was on the excursion. And if I had a question about what it was, I asked the guide specifically before leaving for the ship.

 

 

The guide on the tour handed out maps with the name of a company on them that appeared to be the tour company, to us and others on the tour. This company turned out to be the boat ferry company which had no connection with the tour guide. We should have known the maps weren't hers as she was stingy with them and some of them looked pretty chewed up, but we didn't and other people assumed it was the tour company name on the maps as well and had planned to post reviews under their name.

 

This was the Cinque Terre excursion and there were many complaints during and after the tour among the people in our group.

[sunseeker2014]

Seems like a jump in logic there to go from saying they don't give out the names of their tour operators to concluding they don't care about getting feedback or resolving issues. Those are not necessarily related. In my experience, the excursion desk is pretty good about trying to resolve issues you may have had with an excursion.

 

 

My statement that they don't care is really based on the whole experience rather than just the excursion issue. Rather than go into examples I'll just say that I'm comparing them to my experiences on DCL which is really what this thread is about. The customer service is inferior on RCI, IMO.

Edited July 16, 2015 by sunseeker2014

[Grandma Dazzles]

No, I really miss not having a self serve laundrette. If you have been travelling around for a few weeks before your cruise, it is real nice to be able to do your own laundry. I have had my clothes washed and dried on the ship before and they just ruined them. I also find it very expensive.

 

 

Another cruiser who doesn't want to do laundry on vacation.

 

Have used the "wash and stuff" and found it to be fine for T-shirts, underwear, socks, etc. Had no problems. It is not intended for "dressy" clothes. Delicate items and thinner shirts etc. I just wash in the cabin sink and hang in the bathroom.

 

Dry cleaning on board is excellent - also men's dress shirts. Prices are much cheaper than I pay at home. Often take along and have cleaned immediately - left with steward on first night.

[Sitzmark]

Another cruiser who doesn't want to do laundry on vacation.

 

Have used the "wash and stuff" and found it to be fine for T-shirts, underwear, socks, etc. Had no problems. It is not intended for "dressy" clothes. Delicate items and thinner shirts etc. I just wash in the cabin sink and hang in the bathroom.

 

Dry cleaning on board is excellent - also men's dress shirts. Prices are much cheaper than I pay at home. Often take along and have cleaned immediately - left with steward on first night.

 

I don't understand how a desire to not do laundry equals a desire to have the option removed. Do you really not see the value of having a laundry room available. We had pressing available on our Disney cruise, but even expedited took a long time and had to be sent in by a deadline. If you didn't make it, no worries go iron it, on RCI, forget it. Just making it available, doesn't mean you must use it, it simply gives you the freedom to choose.

[tserface]

There are lots of times we would like to iron something before wearing it. Even if we didn't mind paying the extortion prices, we often can't wait until the next day. We used to be able to bring a small steamer, but no longer. On Princess we can just quickly go do it ourselves.

 

I wouldn't not go on RCI because of it, but I wouldn't mind if the option was available.

 

Tom

 

I don't understand how a desire to not do laundry equals a desire to have the option removed. Do you really not see the value of having a laundry room available. We had pressing available on our Disney cruise, but even expedited took a long time and had to be sent in by a deadline. If you didn't make it, no worries go iron it, on RCI, forget it. Just making it available, doesn't mean you must use it, it simply gives you the freedom to choose.

[ccletzgo]

a simple price comparison Royal vs. Disney is all I would need to jump ship:eek:

[Cindy]

I'm a bit saddened. I had planned to jump the Disney Ship and swim to RCI. But after doing little homework so far I see that...

 

ANYThiNG. else I CANT do on RCI? Ugh.

 

 

It's too bad you approached it from the standpoint of what Royal Caribbean DOESN'T have instead of looking at the differences and trying to appreciate each cruise line for what they DO offer at their very different price points.:( Are there things that RCI doesn't include that Disney does? Yes, absolutely! However, it's a two way street, and on RCI you'll pay a much lower base price for a beautifully designed, decorated, and maintained ship with decent food and wonderful activities and entertainment. They even have some things Disney doesn't!

 

I've cruised on five different lines, and all of them have some things I think they do well and some areas where I think they could improve. If you decide to take a Royal Caribbean cruise and approach it with a negative mindset before you even sail, you're going to have a miserable time. If you board with the knowledge that some things will be different or missing but are open to what Royal Caribbean does have to offer, you might just find you can add another line to your list of possibilities when you're vacation planning!

Edited July 16, 2015 by Cindy

[tlatrice]

Seems like a jump in logic there to go from saying they don't give out the names of their tour operators to concluding they don't care about getting feedback or resolving issues. Those are not necessarily related. In my experience, the excursion desk is pretty good about trying to resolve issues you may have had with an excursion.

 

Right. Had has there actually BEEN an issue, they would have worked to resolve it. But there wasn't. And even if there had been, I doubt they would have given you the name of the company. They would have worked directly with the company themselves as they are the ones who has the contract with them.

[nelblu]

it's too bad you approached it from the standpoint of what royal caribbean doesn't have instead of looking at the differences and trying to appreciate each cruise line for what they do offer at their very different price points.:( are there things that rci doesn't include that disney does? Yes, absolutely! However, it's a two way street, and on rci you'll pay a much lower base price for a beautifully designed, decorated, and maintained ship with decent food and wonderful activities and entertainment. They even have some things disney doesn't!

 

I've cruised on five different lines, and all of them have some things i think they do well and some areas where i think they could improve. If you decide to take a royal caribbean cruise and approach it with a negative mindset before you even sail, you're going to have a miserable time. If you board with the knowledge that some things will be different or missing but are open to what royal caribbean does have to offer, you might just find you can add another line to your list of possibilities when you're vacation planning!

 

like!

[davekathy]

It's too bad you approached it from the standpoint of what Royal Caribbean DOESN'T have instead of looking at the differences and trying to appreciate each cruise line for what they DO offer at their very different price points.:( Are there things that RCI doesn't include that Disney does? Yes, absolutely! However, it's a two way street, and on RCI you'll pay a much lower base price for a beautifully designed, decorated, and maintained ship with decent food and wonderful activities and entertainment. They even have some things Disney doesn't!

 

I've cruised on five different lines, and all of them have some things I think they do well and some areas where I think they could improve. If you decide to take a Royal Caribbean cruise and approach it with a negative mindset before you even sail, you're going to have a miserable time. If you board with the knowledge that some things will be different or missing but are open to what Royal Caribbean does have to offer, you might just find you can add another line to your list of possibilities when you're vacation planning!

 

Right on!

[orville99]

I don't understand how a desire to not do laundry equals a desire to have the option removed. Do you really not see the value of having a laundry room available. We had pressing available on our Disney cruise, but even expedited took a long time and had to be sent in by a deadline. If you didn't make it, no worries go iron it, on RCI, forget it. Just making it available, doesn't mean you must use it, it simply gives you the freedom to choose.

 

When we cruise on Disney, I try to get a cabin as far away from the laundry room as possible. The last thing I want is to have my cabin constantly smell like the exhaust port from the dryers, or suffer the eye irritation from the laundry detergent that some people use.

 

Much happier, and healthier not to have that toxic amenity available.

Edited July 16, 2015 by orville99

[Paul65]

I don't understand how a desire to not do laundry equals a desire to have the option removed.

 

Who said they wanted the option removed? It doesn't exist on Royal Caribbean now, so there's nothing to remove. Of course, if they were to add the option, it would have to take up space somewhere - there's always a trade-off.

 

So, I would have to say that it's not something I would want them to add. And if it were something already on the ships, I'd be fine with them removing it, if it were to make room for something more desirable than a laundromat.

[sunseeker2014]

Right. Had has there actually BEEN an issue, they would have worked to resolve it. But there wasn't. And even if there had been, I doubt they would have given you the name of the company. They would have worked directly with the company themselves as they are the ones who has the contract with them.

 

 

Were you on our excursion? Right. I didn't think so.