How does Royal compare with Disney

Having done both, I enjoyed both of them equally. I don't really think that one stood out over the other. The kids loved the kids club on both them. Maybe I liked Disney's food a little more that Royal. But each of the ships were beautiful and offered a wonderful experience. In saying that, I have booked Royal for my next cruise because the price is so different. On Royal we have two rooms for 1/2 the price of one on Disney.
 
My mom booked a cruise on the Fantasy for her 70th and my Great Aunts 90th. Was trying to talk to her into an Oasis class but she thought Fantasy would be better for my Great Aunt and herself. All the grandkids are between ages 14-17 and thought more action would be on the Oasis (flow rider, ice skating etc). My BF is suppose to go however I don’t think DCL is for him 1. Not a big Disney fan 2. Likes live and late night entertainment and action packed activities. Isn’t most of Disney’s adult entertainment pg13? Been almost 6 years since of the Fantasy
 
I have to say I've never cruised Disney, but have done Royal, Carnival and Norwegian. I loved them all. There are some minor differences between them but they are mainly all the same regarding "Plenty to Do!" Carnival is very reasonably priced and I've been on 3 or their ships. I love the movies at night and the dance parties, which all the cruiseships usually have, unless they are the older ones. They all stop at the best Islands, no matter where you go. I hold my breath walking through the Casino's and try to avoid having to that if I can. I just love cruising!
 
My general impression has been that Royal has a lot more to offer adults, but at the end of the day, it's a cruise, so I don't think your BF will outright hate anything.

The entertainment is indeed PG13, but I would take Disney's secondary originals/revues over Royal's secondary originals/revues/featured performer any day of the week.

Not really sure how the late night entertainment is. Our kids were a little younger when we went on Fantasy in 2015, and we kind of skipped out on all of that.
 


I have to say I've never cruised Disney, but have done Royal, Carnival and Norwegian. I loved them all. There are some minor differences between them but they are mainly all the same regarding "Plenty to Do!" Carnival is very reasonably priced and I've been on 3 or their ships. I love the movies at night and the dance parties, which all the cruiseships usually have, unless they are the older ones. They all stop at the best Islands, no matter where you go. I hold my breath walking through the Casino's and try to avoid having to that if I can. I just love cruising!


I am a little confused that you say you 'hold your breath' when walking through the Casino. We often walked through the Casino on the Independence of the Seas and never saw anyone smoking or could smell any smoke.
 


Were you on Independence out of the UK or US? It's non-smoking out of the UK, smoking out of the US.


Oh ok, yes we sailed out of the UK. Must remember that if we sail with them again. Plus we also had kettles in the room and proper English sausages for breakfast. We also loved the English puddings at the buffet which i presume you wouldn't get if sailing from the US?
 
I haven't read all the previous replies, so I apologize if this is repetitive. We have been on one Disney and many RCL - including the most recent one being on Oasis of the Seas. The entire time we were on the DCL I kept thinking - this is nice and all, but really I don't think it was really worth all the extra money. My kids (age 9,7, and 5) LOVED it though. We loved the rotational dining, loved the service, loved the extra touches - but I was having a hard time stomaching the price. The next year we did Oasis - b/c my older child saw all the commericials on tv and wanted the rock wall, flo rider, etc. I have to admit - I really was excited to do the RCL too since I missed the casino on the DCL cruise. However - after a week on the Oasis, I walked away thinking that even though it was nice - it still was missing something. It just didn't feel as clean to me, or as personalized of service. I liked the activities - but I also found that there was a different "feel". For me - we each individually found things we liked on the Oasis - but we didn't really have as much "family" time together. In the evenings we would leave the kids in the kids club and spend some time in the casino - but they HATED the kids club. This year, we are doing another cruise and I asked the kids which cruise line they wanted to go - since there were iteneraies that would work for us on both DCL and RCL. Suprisingly, they ALL said they wanted to go back to Disney. I was shocked - since they all liked all the extra things like rock wall, ice skating, etc - but they said that it just didn't feel as special. I am sure we will one day go back to RCL as well (especially because of $$$) but for us now - DCL is our preference.
 
I haven't read all the previous replies, so I apologize if this is repetitive. We have been on one Disney and many RCL - including the most recent one being on Oasis of the Seas. The entire time we were on the DCL I kept thinking - this is nice and all, but really I don't think it was really worth all the extra money. My kids (age 9,7, and 5) LOVED it though. We loved the rotational dining, loved the service, loved the extra touches - but I was having a hard time stomaching the price. The next year we did Oasis - b/c my older child saw all the commericials on tv and wanted the rock wall, flo rider, etc. I have to admit - I really was excited to do the RCL too since I missed the casino on the DCL cruise. However - after a week on the Oasis, I walked away thinking that even though it was nice - it still was missing something. It just didn't feel as clean to me, or as personalized of service. I liked the activities - but I also found that there was a different "feel". For me - we each individually found things we liked on the Oasis - but we didn't really have as much "family" time together. In the evenings we would leave the kids in the kids club and spend some time in the casino - but they HATED the kids club. This year, we are doing another cruise and I asked the kids which cruise line they wanted to go - since there were iteneraies that would work for us on both DCL and RCL. Suprisingly, they ALL said they wanted to go back to Disney. I was shocked - since they all liked all the extra things like rock wall, ice skating, etc - but they said that it just didn't feel as special. I am sure we will one day go back to RCL as well (especially because of $$$) but for us now - DCL is our preference.

Thank you for this, We just got off of our second DCL cruise and I worry about the loss of “special touches” on other cruise lines. Disney character meet and greets and random character appearances (Goofy walking around the deck in his golf outfit, Donald showing up to dance the Salsa in D lounge) make the whole thing so much more...well....magical! I want to book a cheaper cruise but I feel lije the whole time I’d be thinking “this isn’t Disney”. We went to Universal this week and had a similar experience..it was nice, and they did the Harry Potter thing very well, but it just wasn’t Disney. I guess I’m a Disney addict.
 
I think you will go “this isn’t Disney”. I found myself doing something similar on Fantasy (in reverse) after going on Allure a couple of times. Comparison is inevitable, so why fight it?

And at the end of the day, the worst that will (probably) happen is that you had a nice cruise, but you liked DCL better. Not the worst problem to have, I think.
 
Thank you for this, We just got off of our second DCL cruise and I worry about the loss of “special touches” on other cruise lines. Disney character meet and greets and random character appearances (Goofy walking around the deck in his golf outfit, Donald showing up to dance the Salsa in D lounge) make the whole thing so much more...well....magical! I want to book a cheaper cruise but I feel lije the whole time I’d be thinking “this isn’t Disney”. We went to Universal this week and had a similar experience..it was nice, and they did the Harry Potter thing very well, but it just wasn’t Disney. I guess I’m a Disney addict.


Royal Carribean is just better. My kids prefer it. My wife prefers it. I prefer it. It's just better. We are Disney junkies but RCL is just better.
 
I prefer Royal.
After 11 DCL cruises, I'd seen all of the shows and nothing was fresh; villains tonight, golden mickeys, wishes, twice charmed, toy story... Same old shows with nothing new for frequent cruisers. I just got off Oasis last week and saw Cats, a phenomenal aerial show, 2 different aqua shows, an ice skating show, plus the headliner comedians.

I don't care about rotational dining and I don't need a big show by the waiters interrupting conversation at most of the dinners. Food is good on both. Both have pay-extra dining options. Both cruise lines are clean with good cabin stewards. The pool situation was better on the Royal ships I've sailed than any of the DCL ships (I've been on all 4.)

Both have good kid / teen clubs. To me, this is what your kid makes of it and whether or not they're shy or outgoing. My kid played an awful lot of computer games - video games and computer animation stuff in Disney. Royal has the edge on the other active / sport choices on board. Flowrider, rock wall, mini golf, zip line, ice skating, plus the standard sports court stuff. Disney's pools are too small so Royal wins that one,too.

I like the "free" cokes and all-you-can-take towels on DCL. But not enough to tip the balance for me. We cruise in verandah suites on DCL and suites on Royal. There are a lot more concierge-level options on Royal and the perks are outstanding. I get double points toward Crown and Anchor, free voom internet access, designated concierge(s), private dining room, lounge with complimentary cocktails, specialty coffee, and hors d'oeuvres. Both cruise lines give a welcome fruit / dessert plate. DCL gives a gift (backpack, umbrella, game set... are some of the things I've received.) The price is what initially prodded us to jump to Royal. We saved half.

I've been to Castaway Cay, Coco Cay, and Labadee. I liked them all. They're all nice. Castaway is probably the cutest and has impeccable theming. I think the experience on all of the 'private islands' is highly dependent on how full your ship is. (And these days, they all seem full.)

I apologize if my post seems scattered, I've been writing in bits and pieces with multiple interruptions. :)
 
I have sailed RC, DCL, and Norwegian. I enjoyed all three cruises. I liked the crew on Norwegian very much, they were personable and the cruise director was awesome.

I loved our Disney cruise but due to price, it isn’t something I’d do all of the time. I’m more likely to sail RC because it’s more affordable. My first cruise was Independence of the Seas and I enjoyed that immensely. They all have their benefits but it comes down to cost for me.
 
We're Crown and Anchor and we just sailed with friends that have recently done multiple DCCL cruises. I can't speak for them but what I gathered from asking is..

It's a theme park vs. beach resort analogy. They're both good in their own way. Are you more comfortable being 'bored' by reading a book in the Solarium, staring out into the horizon on your balcony, people-watching strolls down the promenade, longer formal dinners? Then RCCL is the more laid-back cruise for you. Do you need suggestions for how to fill every minute of your day? Do you need popcorn and a movie available 24-7? Then DCCL's floating theme park is for you.

And I don't mean to say RCCL doesn't have activities constantly going. You just have to take on more initiative to find them. I think on RCCL your average cruiser is just 'taking it easy'. I'm loving the water-slide and splash park renovations. That's one thing Disney has improved for everyone.
 
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I wouldn't go so far as to call DCL a "Theme Park" because while there are meet and greets, the only real ride is the AquaDuck on Dream and Fantasy. Better to describe it as a more "exclusive" (relative to the parks), immersive Disney experience that happens to be on a pretty nice cruise ship.
 
I wouldn't go so far as to call DCL a "Theme Park" because while there are meet and greets, the only real ride is the AquaDuck on Dream and Fantasy. Better to describe it as a more "exclusive" (relative to the parks), immersive Disney experience that happens to be on a pretty nice cruise ship.

Exactly. And if you pick certain ships (on other lines not just rcl) they are way more 'theme park' than dcl.

I find dcl the tame, sit back and chill option.

In my experience there's more going on, multiple options at the same time, without having to hunt it out on rcl than dcl. I found with dcl, while theres always something going on, when you look at the navigator very little over laps, so if you dont want to do towel folding and you dont want to spend your cruise watching movies, theres not much else to do....
 
Exactly. And if you pick certain ships (on other lines not just rcl) they are way more 'theme park' than dcl.

I find dcl the tame, sit back and chill option.

In my experience there's more going on, multiple options at the same time, without having to hunt it out on rcl than dcl. I found with dcl, while theres always something going on, when you look at the navigator very little over laps, so if you dont want to do towel folding and you dont want to spend your cruise watching movies, theres not much else to do....

Completely agree. I'm looking at the compass for our upcoming cruise on Symphony (in 3 days!), which can be viewed now on the Royal App, and wow...there is so much going on, I don't know how we'll pick...and that is the listed activities, shows, games, live music....never mind about all the ongoing stuff such as zipline, Abyss, waterslides, mini golf, rock wall, etc etc etc

From the comment above...sure a Royal cruise can be laid back with resting by the pool if that's what you want. But it can also be completely active with things constantly going on with multiple things to select from.
 
I don't know how we'll pick...and that is the listed activities, shows, games, live music....never mind about all the ongoing stuff such as zipline, Abyss, waterslides, mini golf, rock wall, etc etc etc
Pick 1-3 (non-meal related) things in the Cruise Compass that you really want to do on any given day. Shows, activities, whatever. For everything else, play it by ear.
 

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