How does Royal Caribbean compare to Disney Cruiseline for families?

[OneParticularHarbour 71]

Hi everyone,

I am new to the boards and had posted this under the Disney Cruiseline forum but have not had any response & just found this family section- hoping someone here may be able to help, so here goes...

 

 

We have family cruising on Royal Caribbean that have asked if we wanted to cruise with them. We have done DCL several times and Carnival once. We are a family of 5 - kids would be 4, 7, 10 at time of sailing. Cruise would be on their newest family of ships- I think the Liberty.

 

1. How are RC's kids clubs? Are their a lot of kids in them? (when we were on Carnival there were very few kids & kids club was very small) We would be traveling end of Jan/beginning of Feb.

 

2. What is the overall feeling of the ship? DCL is so family oriented I don't worry that the kids will be exposed to anything inappropriate (are the shows family friendly, are there kids at the main dinners, etc).

 

3. What are you charged extra for (besides alcohol & excursions)?

 

4. How much smoking will we be exposed to?

 

5. How is their private beach in Haiti? Someone had told me there were armed guards at the perimeter- is this really true or an exaggeration?

 

Sorry for all the questions, just trying to get a feel for the ship before we make a decision. Any overall thoughts would be appreciated!

 

Thanks for any help! :)

[fendere]

We've traveled DCL, Carnival and Royal Caribbean with our two children, now 6 and 8. We were on Mariner of the Seas. WE love all three!! Pros and cons of Royal Caribbean- Pros- love the rock climbing wall (climbed three times on our week cruise), ice rink and rollerblade loop. We used these a bunch! The ice show is incredible, if like you said you will be, you are on a newer ship and it has the ice rink. There is also a basketball court which we did not use, but it was always going with activities. Pro- LOVED the grand promenade! This was a great place to hang out before/after dinner with our other adult friends while the kids were in the kid's programs. Cons- we are all about the kids programs!!!! The programs were good, but in our opinion, 3rd to Disney and Carnival. Carnival and RC are similar, but we LOVE Camp Carnival. I feel there was more structured activity for the kids in Carnival's camp. However, if you asked our kids, they would say they LOVED it, which they did. There still were tons of great activities, but it seemed more "free time". Many people on the boards give higher ratings to RC's program over Carnival's. ALso, huge for us, our kids eat with the kids group every night on Carnival. ON RC, it was I believe 3 nights and you must sign up since they only take a limited number (It is in their Johnny Rockets). This was a huge downer for us because the kids LOVE to eat with the kids and we LOVE to have adult dinners for a change! We thoroughly enjoyed our RC cruise though, and have booked another RC for next year because of the itinerary. I didn't notice any more smoke and smoke really bothers me, so I'd remember. Oh- loved that RC had a cool snack bar/coffee bar with pastries, hotdogs, drinks etc with a cafe feel to it. That was great.

 

We were on RC on spring break- many children due to the week we sailed, but then we always travel at vacation time so we are used to it. There were no more than on Carnival it seemed at the same time of year. I LOVED the two main shows- a Beatles tribute and I can't remember the other, but seriously, the ice show was phenomenal!!!! It was a nice change from the other ships to have something new like that.

 

I honestly can't remember any additional charges being any more or less than the other cruises.

 

We went to their private beach Coco Cay. I don't think this is their Haiti one, but I seriously don't remember. Coco Cay was AWESOME!!!!!! Wish Carnival still did the private beach like DCL and RC do. Great day. Didn't care too much for the kid's program on Coco Cay, though. Disney's was leaps better on their island. Coco Cay was more of a free play in the sand. We only let them stay for a couple of hours and then headed to the beach for our own play time.

 

Let me know if you have any other questions.

[OneParticularHarbour 71]

Thanks so much for your answer- it is helpful hearing the pros & cons of each line.

 

I'm sure we'll have a great time whatever we chose- I just wish we didn't have to wait until next year!:(

[Marie51]

I have been on Disney and RC and prefer RC. Both trips were with kids. I don't see how you can go wrong, especially with a new ship. By the way, I have been to the private beach in Haiti twice........it is Labadee.........and have not seen armed guards either time. I think it is a very enjoyable beach day.

[ChBoxers800]

Another thing to consider is adult entertainment. Don't know if it interests you or not, but RCL ships have casino's, Disney's do not. Most cruise lines also offer some comedy shows that are not G rated. Since you are paying for the cruise, and since RCL has excellent programs for the kids, you may enjoy what RCL offers for adults.

[crusinmama06]

 

1. How are RC's kids clubs? Are their a lot of kids in them? (when we were on Carnival there were very few kids & kids club was very small) We would be traveling end of Jan/beginning of Feb.

 

2. What is the overall feeling of the ship? DCL is so family oriented I don't worry that the kids will be exposed to anything inappropriate (are the shows family friendly, are there kids at the main dinners, etc).

 

3. What are you charged extra for (besides alcohol & excursions)?

 

4. How much smoking will we be exposed to?

 

5. How is their private beach in Haiti? Someone had told me there were armed guards at the perimeter- is this really true or an exaggeration?

 

Sorry for all the questions, just trying to get a feel for the ship before we make a decision. Any overall thoughts would be appreciated!

 

Thanks for any help! :)

 

1. End of Jan/beginning of Feb is not a HUGE time for kids on cruises. Unless it's presidents day weekend in Feb. But the Freedom ships seem to have kids on them year round.

 

2. I wouldn't say that the shows are very "family friendly". But when there is something that is not appropriate for the children, it will be listed in the daily compass as "Not appropriate for children". I don't know since I couldn't get my kids out of Adventure Ocean at night to want to go to any shows.

 

3. Extra charges - $3.95 cover charge for Johnny Rockets. There is free soft serve ice cream on the pool deck but Ben & Jerry's in the Promenade has a small charge. Any specialty coffee in Cafe Promenade is a charge. Any specialty juice drink at the Juice bar is a charge. And Adventure Ocean Late Night Party Zone AFTER 10pm is a charge. AND soda is a charge. The specialty restaurants (Adult only) have a charge.

--Some of the special exercise classes have a charge. And things like the golf simulator and boxing ring lessons have a charge.

 

What's free

--All pizza, salads, specialty breads and desserts at Sorrento Pizza

--All sandwiches, pasta salads and bakery items at Cafe Promenade is free

--All buffet food at the Windjammer AND Jade Asian style buffet - free

--Milk, Choc Milk, Ice Tea, Some fruit juices and Fruit punch in both Windjammer and the dining room is free (we never buy soda cards). And you can ask for milk at the Cafe Promenade - free

--Dining room food, free

--Ice Skating, Rock Climbing, Flowrider Surfing - Free

 

4. Smoking - Starting Jan 1, there is NO smoking IN any cabins on RCCL ships. Guests can only smoke on a balcony or in certain designated areas. So if the kids stay out of the casino (which may also have a smoke free night) and stay out of the bars...they'll be ok...lol.

 

5. I had read the same think about Labadee before we left. I KNEW there was a fence there. I swear I never saw it although I looked for it. I was all over that place...up and down the beach. We even rode the tram up to dragon's Breath (You can hear the dragon breathing in the rocks...lol). I swear, I saw nada as far as guards and fences. But yes, they are there.

 

You said Liberty is their newest ship, actually it will be Independence set to sail this May. :D Then next up is Genesis in Fall 09.

[morganboys]

The Biggest question I have is, is Disney worth the price difference?

[crusinmama06]

The Biggest question I have is, is Disney worth the price difference?

 

No...lol. (sorry Disney Lovers don't kill me)

 

The reason I say this is because for the price of our Cat 6 Verandah on Disney which included no extra perks, we got a larger Grand Suite on the Freedom of the Seas which included a whole bunch of perks (concierge service/lounge, priority boarding, free gifts delivered to the cabin, all appts scheduled 2 weeks before we boarded, etc)

 

I can say that Disney was cute to see. But my kids really prefer going to Walt Disney World over doing the Disney cruise. So many times we will do Disney World pre-cruise and then cruise on another line. Or we'll just do 8 days at Disney World.

 

I wasn't impressed with the service. I'm sure we can have bad servers/cabin attendants on any cruiseline. But I just wasn't overwhelmingly impressed with the service on Disney as compared with other cruises.

[MrsPete]

1. How are RC's kids clubs? Are their a lot of kids in them? (when we were on Carnival there were very few kids & kids club was very small) We would be traveling end of Jan/beginning of Feb.

I've been on both RC and Disney. Overall, we preferred RC, and it is a little over half the price of Disney -- that, in itself, is enough to sway my opinion. We don't take our kids out of school, so we always find plenty of kids on the weeks we travel.

2. What is the overall feeling of the ship? DCL is so family oriented I don't worry that the kids will be exposed to anything inappropriate (are the shows family friendly, are there kids at the main dinners, etc).

I found DC to be child-oriented, not family-oriented. Characters come around every so often, the pools and restaurants are Disney-themed, etc. We saw more obnoxious "my kid first" parents on Disney. We found the RC crowd to be more laid-back; kids were certainly welcome everywhere, and we didn't see anything in public that we wouldn't want our kids to see (and we're good Southern Baptists).

 

The RC pools were less crowded overall. My girls did LOVE the slides on the Disney ship; RC ships have none. I have the same two complaints about the family pools on the two cruise lines: They do not enforce the rules about keeping kids out of the hot tubs, and they allow blatant chair-hogging to go on. I didn't see kids in the adult-pool area on either ship; RC's adult-pool is so far above Disney's adult-pool that they don't even belong in the same category; I LOVED the Solarium! Disney puts towels out by the pool, and you just help yourself. On RC, you get two types of towels in your room: White bath towels, which cannot leave the room, and yellow beach towels, which you can take to the pool or ashore; on RC you can "trade in" for a clean beach towel as often as you like, but on the last day of the cruise, you must have X number of beach towels left in your cabin, or you'll be charged.

 

All shows we saw on both ships were child-friendly; however, we didn't go to the late-night shows. For example, one comedian joked about how silly it is to climb up a waterfall in Jamaica, how the signs in the bathrooms say nothing but tissue should be flushed (what're we to do with the rest of it? Put it out for room service? Oh, my 10-year old laughed about that for days), etc. Funny, but not sexually-oriented or too old for my 10 and 13 year olds. RC has one adults-only thing called Quest, but they clearly label it as adult-only. RC's ice show is incredible; my 13-year old and I went -- well, I dragged her there -- and she BEGGED to go back and get her dad and sister so we could all go see the late-skate show together. She loved it that much!

 

Disney has a much better movie theater, and it was packed most afternoons; after all, they were showing first-run Disney movies -- you know, the same things we could pay $8 to see at home. RC, however, has a much smaller theater (comfortable, but holds 35-40 people), and they showed the kind of thing you'd see in Blockbuster Video's just-released section. All their movies were adult-oriented the week we sailed; since I"ve only been on RC once, I cannot say whether they've shown cartoons or kid-movies on other weeks. Neither one serves popcorn; next time I'm going to bring some of that really good Dave & Thomas (?) stuff.

 

Disney's kids' clubs are much better decorated, but I think their activiites were equal in quality. On Disney my younger daughter LOVED the kids' club, but what she really loved were the outstanding counselors in the kids' clubs; my older daughter didn't care for the Disney kids' club -- the week we traveled, her group was mainly boys, and the counselors sort of catered to them as the largest group. She felt left out. On RC, my younger daughter found the kids' club counselors rather dull, and she rarely went. My older daughter, however, met a bunch of kids her own age and LOVED the teen club -- they had great activiites like Guitar Hero showdowns, and she spent a good bit of time in the club. Disney's kids' clubs take the kids to meals; RC's close down so families can eat together. One exception: RC kids' clubs take the kids to dinner (sign up ahead of time) on both formal nights -- once they took the kids to Johnny Rockets, the other time they took them to the buffet. I think the kids' clubs are something like luck of the draw: who are the counselors? who else shows up that week?

 

RC has a library, which actually was a highlight for my 10-year old. She went down there every day to pick up the family trivia sheets, and she went back to check the answers the next day. She checked out a joke book, which she loved, and several other books.

 

RC has "family hours" -- actually, they have a cute name, but I can't remember what it was -- on the various parts of the ship: family dance time in one of the clubs, family skate time, family rock wall time, etc. There's something every day; maybe twice a day. Of course, families can take part in these activities any time, but during those scheduled times, you know you'll be surrounded by other families, not teens or couples.

 

RC has a game room (filled with board games) and a card room, which were pretty busy in the afternoons.

 

RC has a much superior sports deck with great family stuff: mini-golf, ping-pong, basketball, roller-blading track -- and the ice skating track in the middle of the ship. We spent a good bit of time our there.

3. What are you charged extra for (besides alcohol & excursions)?

We're talking kid-things, right? Disney gives soda for free (but remember, they're charging a whole lot more for the cruise ticket), while RC charges for it. Milkshakes and premium ice cream cost extra. On both ships, frozen yogurt was available near the pool in the afternoon; Disney had lots of fancy toppings for theirs, RC's was just self-serve choc/vanilla.

 

Both ships offer LOTS of "spontaneous purchase opportunities" all around the ship. RC, though, orients these towards adults (i.e, silver jewelry for sale just outside the buffet as you're going in for lunch, logo tees and sweats by the pool on the last day of the cruise, temporary tatoos in the promenade), while Disney offers more kid-stuff here and there (hair braiding, character necklaces, etc.)

 

Disney's kids' clubs run 'til the wee hours of the morning without charge. RC is free most of the day, but charges after a certain time in the evening(10:00? Midnight? I didn't pay it, so I don't remember).

4. How much smoking will we be exposed to?

RC's casino is bad. Other than that, not too much -- unless, of course, you have the bad fortune to have a balcony beside a heavy smoker.

5. How is their private beach in Haiti? Someone had told me there were armed guards at the perimeter- is this really true or an exaggeration?

I heard that ahead of time, but I never saw them. I loved Castaway Cay so much that I was prepared to find Labadee pale in comparison -- it didn't. In fact, they're equal. Both have great kids' play areas. Castaway Cay had more stuff for sale, and they had a post office. On either island, the best thing to do is to get off the ship and walk a long way -- otherwise, you'll be crowded by mid-morning.

[MrsPete]

The Biggest question I have is, is Disney worth the price difference?

I'm glad we went once, but I can say with confidence NO. Since we could almost have two RC cruises for the price of one Disney cruise, there's simply no discussion about it.

 

We liked our stateroom better on RC. Maybe we're in the minority, but we didn't like the two tiny, tiny bathrooms in the Disney cabin; it would've been better to give one decent-sized bathroom. Loved the showers on RC. Beds were equal.

 

My kids even say they enjoyed RC more. We were on Mariner, which offered them more options -- they're 10 and 13.

[OneParticularHarbour 71]

Thanks to everyone for all your great info! It has been very helpful :)