DCL cruisers tried Royal...

[mjkacmom]

True, their deposits are refundable.

But the pricing games endure. "Pick 2 free", or "get all 4 free". But they aren't free, you have to add a bunch of taxes/gratuities/whatever to get the "free" drinks or dining package. And you can't get the package for just one person, it must be for all. I understand the cruise lines do that to avoid abuse, but it's still aggravating.

Right now NCL is great for drinkers, $20 a day for open bar, and you can bring on unlimited wine without corkage. Best bet is to go a side by side price comparison and do the math.

 

[jimmymc]

I've heard so many complaints about the MDR and buffet food on Royal that it's taken it off the list for me. Even other lines like NCL or Princess seem to do it much better.

Disney is also far better about not pressuring people to buy extras than other cruiselines. Between marketing emails, pushy employees, and charging for certain on-board activities, other cruises feel like they are trying to extract every penny out of your wallet, while Disney really doesn't. DCL knows Palo and Remi will be full on their own merits, so there isn't a reason to push you towards them.

And before anyone says, "What's the big deal, just don't buy the extras", this type of upselling really bothers some people and does not make for a relaxing vacation. Disney has plenty of opportunities to spend money onboard, but they aren't actively marketing it the way other cruises do.

 

[mjkacmom]

I've heard so many complaints about the MDR and buffet food on Royal that it's taken it off the list for me. Even other lines like NCL or Princess seem to do it much better.

Disney is also far better about not pressuring people to buy extras than other cruiselines. Between marketing emails, pushy employees, and charging for certain on-board activities, other cruises feel like they are trying to extract every penny out of your wallet, while Disney really doesn't. DCL knows Palo and Remi will be full on their own merits, so there isn't a reason to push you towards them.

And before anyone says, "What's the big deal, just don't buy the extras", this type of upselling really bothers some people and does not make for a relaxing vacation. Disney has plenty of opportunities to spend money onboard, but they aren't actively marketing it the way other cruises do.

I don’t know if it’s that true anymore. On NCL, specialty reservations can be hard to get, Vibe passes almost impossible, go cart reservations are full. I’ve never done a tasting on DCL, are they free? Does DCL have thermal spas? Spa services? I think there are way fewer sales pitches on cruises today. Even the things that cost extra get booked easily.

 

[jimmymc]

I don’t know if it’s that true anymore. On NCL, specialty reservations can be hard to get, Vibe passes almost impossible, go cart reservations are full. I’ve never done a tasting on DCL, are they free? Does DCL have thermal spas? Spa services? I think there are way fewer sales pitches on cruises today. Even the things that cost extra get booked easily.

Well this is MSC as soon as you walk on the ship:

NCL is kind of an exception because of the free at sea program, so most people there already have a dining and drink package before boarding. But even with that, I was still pushed to upgrade to the higher tier drink package and add more meals on to my dining plan.

 

[kiford]

I don't know about you but Disney charges some absolutely crazy high pricing for some of their specialty dining, Enchante being $80 per person just for brunch! One could say that's nickel and diming but well specialty dining for a cost is now standard on cruise lines.

The difference here is that several people have reported - and I've seen on quite a few vlogs - that they feel that they have to go to specialty/upcharge dining because the main dining room is subpar. Remy, Palo, Enchante are intended to be luxury additions where you can splurge and treat yourself rather than being a substitute for poor quality food. Obviously, one's taste in food varies widely and what one person says is subpar or tasteless is very different from another person's opinion or taste, but when I see that consistently, I have to wonder about it.

 

[tidefan]

OK good to know. If you read my (semi-)live report on Regal Princess you'll see that I hated their app, as it felt like a repository for good-but-only-partially-completed ideas. And I feel like the App is tech that the cruise lines should really be investing in, since we're in a connected world and this is an easy way to keep us connected with what's going on on board.

In the @starvenger is ahead of their time department...

Did you see that Princess completely replaced the Medallion app and rolled out a new version of their app?

 

[starvenger]

I've heard so many complaints about the MDR and buffet food on Royal that it's taken it off the list for me. Even other lines like NCL or Princess seem to do it much better.

As someone that just sailed Princess, I will tell you that the food was ok but seriously lacked salt. Proteins were cooked sous vide and finished on the line so I think that might be the issue - not seasoning when you take the food out of the bag.

Disney is also far better about not pressuring people to buy extras than other cruiselines. Between marketing emails, pushy employees, and charging for certain on-board activities, other cruises feel like they are trying to extract every penny out of your wallet, while Disney really doesn't. DCL knows Palo and Remi will be full on their own merits, so there isn't a reason to push you towards them.

Agreed. But I think Disney doesn't need to push their upcharge items because they take the extra money up front, and as you noted, people will pay upcharges of their own volition. And hey, the strategy works for DCL.

Did you see that Princess completely replaced the Medallion app and rolled out a new version of their app?

We actually had both the old app and the new app on our cruise. Both were not good. And in fact the new app was missing features that the old app had - like the chat, which was so good that we switched to sharing wifi and using WhatsApp, but it was at least there.

Also, the crew had no idea how to use the new app, which is just stellar project management by someone in corporate.

For context, I work for a SaaS company, and stuff like bad mobile apps just really bother me.

 

[tidefan]

As someone that just sailed Princess, I will tell you that the food was ok but seriously lacked salt. Proteins were cooked sous vide and finished on the line so I think that might be the issue - not seasoning when you take the food out of the bag.


Agreed. But I think Disney doesn't need to push their upcharge items because they take the extra money up front, and as you noted, people will pay upcharges of their own volition. And hey, the strategy works for DCL.


We actually had both the old app and the new app on our cruise. Both were not good. And in fact the new app was missing features that the old app had - like the chat, which was so good that we switched to sharing wifi and using WhatsApp, but it was at least there.

Also, the crew had no idea how to use the new app, which is just stellar project management by someone in corporate.

For context, I work for a SaaS company, and stuff like bad mobile apps just really bother me.

Well, I program in SAS, which is different than SaaS, but I digress...

When we were on Regal last summer, the buffet cook after a day or two recognized us and offered to cook us steaks/shrimps, etc, to order. It was fantastic. Not sure that is what always happens, could have just been this crew member (although, full disclosure, it probably had to do with my DW being GF, so they did a lot of special things for her).

All of this said, I think that the award for best included food has to go to Virgin Voyages, though that is adult only. For cruises with kids, I'd say the new Excel class Carnival ships (Mardi Gras, Celebration, and Jubilee) are amazing for included food options.

We didn't have any issues with the Medallion app, but we mainly just used it to order drinks and room service all over the ship.

 

[starvenger]

We didn't have any issues with the Medallion app, but we mainly just used it to order drinks and room service all over the ship.

I think they used our cruise to beta test the new app. Probably best that they didn't ask me for feedback

The bad app had no affect on the cruise though. I can conclude that Princess isn't the cruise line for me, but no major issues (apart from the app and the Galveston terminal) and I still enjoyed it. Still need to give Carnival a try and someday the stars will align for that.

 

[brentm77]

Once we figured out to add salt & pepper to just about everything, it wasn't as bad. But still seriously lacking.

Yes, there was an ice show. It was very good! The ice show and Aqua show were impressive. We are just a Disney family, and prefer to feel some magic every now and again.


This is good to know--thank you!

I didn't mean to spoil anybody's anticipation! While onboard my parents booked another Royal cruise for October, so they clearly like it. It just didn't fit our style.

Glad it helped!

Agreed! We were able to find some cover from the wind back at this pool. We really did like this! There was a lot to do at Coco Cay that we just didn't get to .... however, we were there long enough to get a feel/vibe for the place. And like you, we still prefer Castaway.

That's all I've heard for years: "it's worth a try." Well, I tried it, and didn't care for it that much. So I'm reporting my findings.

Sure, we're biased towards Disney. We are DVC owners after all. But as we've tried other vacations, we always seem to come back to Disney. As this is a Disney Cruise Line board, I gather most people here are biased towards Disney. So, I figured they'd be interested in my report.

Regarding all the "things to do" .... for us, they were one and done.
- The zipline is 8 seconds (I just checked the video on my phone. 8 seconds). And a considerable wait.
- The Flowrider had huge lines, followed by short times on it, the entire time. We watched, but didn't try. Largely because we didn't want to be on display for dozens of other people.
- Ice skating was fun, but seriously, you're on a cruise ship. And we only ended up with 14 minutes on the ice.
- Abyss slide was cool ... but again, long wait, short ride, then what?
- Carousel ... sure, my 6-year old loved it. It's a carousel.
- Water slides ... daughter was too short, and my son rode each one once and was finished.

On the kids waterpark, I said "not 100% operational". Those giant buckets are kind of a big deal. And once they were fixed, they abruptly closed at 5PM so we couldn't use them. So I think this is a legitimate disappointment.

The widespread assumption that "as kids get older, they don't need the Disney stuff" is an interesting one. For some this is true, for others, not so much. My wife and I are Disney adults, after all.

I'm glad you've had a good experience on Royal. Different strokes for different folks. Like I said, my parents prefer Royal to Disney. But I disagree that the larger, newer ships are "definitely" worth a try for families, especially if they are happy with Disney and hesitant to branch out. I'd encourage them to do their homework.

I hope you enjoy your cruise on the Dream.

Although we want to branch out, and are trying Celebrity this summer, the above descriptions of activities are one of the reason I have avoided Royal. If we want to ice skate, zip line, surf a fake wave, not only can I do those things near my home, but the experience will be better and have less of a wait. It makes those activities on a cruise ship feel gimmicky to me. Sure, I could avoid them, but they also make the ship look, well, ugly, and every time I see videos of those ships, they seem like they are blasting loud music everywhere and are chaotic in many areas. Somehow, Disney finds that subtle balance of having enough for us to do, while remaining calming and encouraging relaxation and enjoying the open ocean. I also love the style of their classic ships and enjoy being surrounded by a ship that I find aesthetically pleasing, even if that sounds pertinacious. All that keeps bringing us back to DCL.

Similar things could be said about the aqueduck/dunk, but they blend them well with the classic ocean liner feel and DCL uses stuff like that sparingly, always bringing the focus back to the ship and sailing. I hope/suspect the Celebrity will fit our tastes well for the above reasons too. But DCL will always have the "coming home" feeling that we love.

All that said, everyone has different vacation styles. Many are looking for go-go-go, excitement, cutting edge stuff that isn't on other ships, etc. I am glad there are options for them. Of course we all have our biases, but those are really just reflections of our subjective tastes in this case. Either an alternative cruise line clicks for us, or it doesn't. There is no right or wrong in that.

Again, I appreciate the review and even the counterpoints, but don't think we will ever venture a try at Royal.

Edit: To @soniam 's point, I love that we can book Celebrity excursions/dining the minute we book the cruise. It seems more equitable that waiting until after the paid-in-full date to know what is available and avoids the late night lottery that DCL makes us endure. I don't mind paying for the excursions up front either, since it's going to cost me now or cost me later. It's worth it to me.

 

[brentm77]

Similar sentiments for us. We've found Carnival to be a good alternative when wanting to cruise without the premium Disney expense. We have older teens who love it but not sure how Carnival would be for the younger ones.

And like you point out, you can get a balcony on another cruise line other than Disney. In fact, we often get us adults the balcony and the kids an inside room close by and its still $1,000's less than Disney.

Thanks for posting.

For Alaska, we got two balcony rooms on Celebrity for less than one inside stateroom on DCL and the itinerary is nearly identical. I don't mind paying the DCL premium when it is some reasonable percentage more, but couldn't justify it in this case.

 

[soniam]

Although we want to branch out, and are trying Celebrity this summer, the above descriptions of activities are one of the reason I have avoided Royal. If we want to ice skate, zip line, surf a fake wave, not only can I do those things near my home, but the experience will be better and have less of a wait. It makes those activities on a cruise ship feel gimmicky to me. Sure, I could avoid them, but they also make the ship look, well, ugly, and every time I see videos of those ships, they seem like they are blasting loud music everywhere and chaotic in many areas. Somehow, Disney finds that subtle balance of having enough to do for us, but being calming and encouraging relaxation and enjoying being on the open ocean. I also love the style of their classic ships and enjoy being surrounded by a ship that I find aesthetically pleasing, even if that sounds pertinacious. All that keeps bringing us back to DCL.

Similar things could be said about the aqueduck/dunk, but they blend them well with the classic ocean liner feel and DCL uses stuff like that sparingly, always bringing the focus back to the ship and sailing. I hope/suspect the Celebrity will fit our tastes well for the above reasons too. But DCL will always have the "coming home" feeling that we love.

All that said, everyone has different vacation styles. Many are looking for go-go-go, excitement, cutting edge stuff that isn't on other ships, etc. I am glad there are options for them. Of course we all have our biases, but those are really just reflections of our subjective tastes in this case. Either an alternative cruise line clicks for us, or it doesn't. There is no right or wrong in that.

Again, I appreciate the review and even the counterpoints, but don't think we will ever venture a try at Royal.

Edit: To @soniam 's point, I love that we can book Celebrity excursions/dining the minute we book the cruise. It seems more equitable that waiting until after the paid-in-full date to know what is available and avoids the late night lottery that DCL makes us endure. I don't mind paying for the excursions up front either, since it's going to cost me now or cost me later. It's worth it to me.

Warning! The Martini Bar on the Celebrity Edge class ships can get a bit much. It’s open to the atrium. It’s not terrible but is definitely the loudest, tackiest part of the ship in the evening. We enjoyed the drinks though. Sometimes they had a really good jazz band with a singer.

 

[ray3127]

they seem like they are blasting loud music everywhere and chaotic in many areas.

This is another thing I forgot to mention. Often LOUD music on the pool deck.

Your description of DCL is exactly what we like about it, too.

And I appreciate your comments about different vacations/styles/cruises clicking for folks. Could not agree more! As I've said, I can't get my parents to come back to Disney with us. Different strokes!

 

[brentm77]

Warning! The Martini Bar on the Celebrity Edge class ships can get a bit much. It’s open to the atrium. It’s not terrible but is definitely the loudest, tackiest part of the ship in the evening. We enjoyed the drinks though. Sometimes they had a really good jazz band with a singer.

Thanks! It will be on the Edge ship, so it's good to know. I don't mind that vibe sometimes, but also want plenty of places to escape it. I have to say, I don't think we will like the infinity verandahs as much as regular verandahs, but figure they might work well in Alaska, where it's all about the view. It will be interesting.

 

[starvenger]

For Alaska, we got two balcony rooms on Celebrity for less than one inside stateroom on DCL and the itinerary is nearly identical. I don't mind paying the DCL premium when it is some reasonable percentage more, but couldn't justify it in this case.

I think for destinations like Alaska and Norway or port heavy cruises like the Mediterranean the ship is secondary.

But if you're talking about sailing the Caribbean or doing a TA, I think finding the right cruise line/ship class for you is the best way to go. Floridians excepted, since they have a plethora of cruise choices.

 

[Henlady]

After 16 Disney cruises spread over all the ships we also decided to try Royal Caribbean this past October. We went with an open mind. Expected to enjoy the Independence of the Seas. The ship was nice, room was acceptable, staff was OK. However the major issue was the food. Everything was mediocre at best. Most had little flavor. There were times my husband couldn’t find food he liked. The soda pkg, as OP stated was a pain. We are also one and done with Royal, especially since I learned that all menus are the same across the entire line.

 

[DCLMP]

When there are literally dozens and infinitely better options than Royal, especially DCL, yes.

Dozens? Infinite? I can't think of dozens of mass market cruise lines. There are a lot of people that love Royal. It's probably the most popular cruise line out there. There are positive and negative reviews on every cruise line including DCL. Believe it or not some people hate DCL. It makes it easier to justify the price if you keep a closed mind. I did that for years.

When I finally tried something new I was like Wow it's pretty good and now I have a lot of different itinerary's to choose from. We still cruise DCL. We have two booked this year. We had a fantastic Greek isles cruise on Royal last year and absolutely no hesitation to cruise on them again.

 

[DCLMP]

Thanks! It will be on the Edge ship, so it's good to know. I don't mind that vibe sometimes, but also want plenty of places to escape it. I have to say, I don't think we will like the infinity verandahs as much as regular verandahs, but figure they might work well in Alaska, where it's all about the view. It will be interesting.

Most of the negative review I've read on here are from people trying older ships in the Caribbean. I loved Royal's new ship Odyssey and would expect Celebrity Edge is pretty nice.

 

[Aimeedyan]

I haven't cruised RCCL in so many years that I can't offer any educated opinion but I can offer that the last time I sailed Disney out of Miami, it was nothing short of a nightmare and your port experience is not unique to RCCL.

It was on the Dream, the transatlantic, last May. Traffic took 1+ hours just to get to the port from downtown. They kept closing the tunnel because it was gridlock. I think there were 7 ships in port that day?

The line to get to security was down the sidewalk with no signage, no CM's around to help, just hundreds of lost people standing in a line in the direct sun. Took about an hour to get inside to security than up to the small lobby with little seating. We boarded in a side door by the stairwell on deck 4, if I recall. They announced our name, but it was not the atrium entrance we had had in the past. Very ho-hum.

All that to say, ports, where you load on the ship, lines for security, etc are at the mercy of the port and not the cruise line. It was the most unmagical way to kick off a cruise. And we were SO delayed that we didn't leave the port until after first dining was halfway done, if I recall. Suitcases were still stacked up on the sidewalk during the sail-away party.

 

[DCLMP]

I haven't cruised RCCL in so many years that I can't offer any educated opinion but I can offer that the last time I sailed Disney out of Miami, it was nothing short of a nightmare and your port experience is not unique to RCCL.

It was on the Dream, the transatlantic, last May. Traffic took 1+ hours just to get to the port from downtown. They kept closing the tunnel because it was gridlock. I think there were 7 ships in port that day?

The line to get to security was down the sidewalk with no signage, no CM's around to help, just hundreds of lost people standing in a line in the direct sun. Took about an hour to get inside to security than up to the small lobby with little seating. We boarded in a side door by the stairwell on deck 4, if I recall. They announced our name, but it was not the atrium entrance we had had in the past. Very ho-hum.

All that to say, ports, where you load on the ship, lines for security, etc are at the mercy of the port and not the cruise line. It was the most unmagical way to kick off a cruise. And we were SO delayed that we didn't leave the port until after first dining was halfway done, if I recall. Suitcases were still stacked up on the sidewalk during the sail-away party.

I'm cruising DCL out of San Diego in a month and if was like last time I cruised out of San Diego it will be nothing short of a nightmare. Southhampton last year in England another DCL cruise was worse than a nightmare on debarkation. The cruise line doesn't have a lot to do with the port experience.