I thought I'd share a few thoughts as this topic seems to be common on the internet.
A few disclaimers as I compare and contrast things -
We cruised Disney twice, both pre-Covid, so can't compare both post-Covid.
We cruised on Mariner of the Seas, an older ship for RC, and knew that going in. We also paid roughly the same money for a 6 night cruise on this ship with a 2 Bedroom suite as what a single family balcony room cost us on Disney. We did lower our expectations a bit given how much cheaper this sailing was than a comparable Disney trip.
Pros -
The 2 bedroom suite was very large. Tons of storage, probably more than even 8 people would need if we had filled the suite to capacity (we had 5 in ours).
Boarding process was very smooth and like Disney, our non-suite guests were allowed to board with us even though not technically allowed by policy.
The day of leaving was maybe even smoother, as we got off and escorted all the way to our luggage by the suite concierge.
The common areas of the ship overall were clean and well maintained, I'd say similar to Disney.
All the staff we ran across were very friendly and helpful, again similar to Disney.
We didn't find staff lacking (except for the kitchen, more on that later), which was a concern I had since Disney may "overstaff" and run a higher staff to guest ratio.
Coco Cay and Labadee - our entire family agreed, these have Castaway beat. So many beaches, so much seating, on par with the number of free activities, and many more extra cost activity things to do. The food was great on each with more variety than Castaway, especially on Coco Cay. These were both big highlights of the trip.
Ice show - It was a great show they put on and while not Disney storytelling, RC did a nice job on this production.
We got an afternoon treat delivered to the suite for 3 straigth days, then they quite. It seemed odd - just about the time we expected it and looked forward to it, it stopped.
Suite lounge - Certainly it isn't a big reason to pay for a suite, but they had food and drinks between 5-8. Drinks were made from the bar and very good and the appetizer food was probably better than what we were getting in the MDR. Now, we also had 5:30 dining, and with the 90 plus minutes dinner service took, it didn't give us much time to enjoy the lounge.
Cons
The food overall was a major disappointment. Especially the Main Dining Room. Many meals there I wouldn't even consider average. Now, there were some good dished, like Caribbean night was a hit, but overall it fell below our expectations. We heard other complaints as well. (We did not try any of the specialty dining restaurants). The Strip steaks were probably the worst quality and cooked meat I ever recall having for a Strip, and we had them on multiple nights with similar results. The buffet was pretty similar to Disney in both selection and quality as I recall.
Allergy Menus - My wife has a dairy allergy. She got a quick explanation of what she could have at the windjammer, but in the MDR they just didn't seem like they could create tasty menu options for her like we are accustomed to on Disney, on the ships or at the parks.
Menu confusion - again, staff was very friendly, but when my wife ordered a vegan friendly option, the waiter advised her it wasn't diary friendly (how could it be vegan then?). The kids ordered a rainbow salad (made with fresh fruit) - a veggie salad come out instead with carrots, etc. When I inquired, they even stated all the veggies were fruit. My kids even chuckled and they ultimately did bring out the as-advertised fruit salad that had been ordered.
MDR kitchen - Our servers overall were great, but dining service took more than 90 minutes every night for 3 courses. It just seemed long and drawn out, with fairly small portions so many times there was just dead time waiting on the next course. I don't know if this is an RC thing or post-covid they are a bit short staffed like other businesses. The servers were running the whole time and very busy. We rarely felt their attention to us was lacking, but they certainly never got a moment to sit still.
Kids Clubs - we toured them and they all just looked like big rooms - very little theming, labeled drawers with different craft, etc. stuff presumably inside. I couldn't even talk our kids into going back to at least give us a review. Now, perhaps they were awesome once activities got going, but for our kids, they had no desire to even go try them out.
Rooms - they were certainly dated, which we expected going in. But, some items were actually in disrepair - like a ripped cushion on our balcony furniture. Wear and tear was to be expected, but some items seemed a bit beyond that.
Smoke - This is kind of neutral I guess, but their was a staff smoking area a few floors below our aft balcony and when they were out, smoke would find us, even when the ship was underway. Smoke also wafts out of the casino - not far, but there are some lounges just outside where we went for family trivia (name that Michael Jackson tune) and the smoke could be smelled. Now, that being said, the casino was not a smoke filled haze so it was also somewhat controlled.
Overall, we had fun and although I prefer Disney, when looking at pricing, I'll give RC a look in the future (and hope the food was just an anomaly, as that really was the largest detractor of our trip).
A few disclaimers as I compare and contrast things -
We cruised Disney twice, both pre-Covid, so can't compare both post-Covid.
We cruised on Mariner of the Seas, an older ship for RC, and knew that going in. We also paid roughly the same money for a 6 night cruise on this ship with a 2 Bedroom suite as what a single family balcony room cost us on Disney. We did lower our expectations a bit given how much cheaper this sailing was than a comparable Disney trip.
Pros -
The 2 bedroom suite was very large. Tons of storage, probably more than even 8 people would need if we had filled the suite to capacity (we had 5 in ours).
Boarding process was very smooth and like Disney, our non-suite guests were allowed to board with us even though not technically allowed by policy.
The day of leaving was maybe even smoother, as we got off and escorted all the way to our luggage by the suite concierge.
The common areas of the ship overall were clean and well maintained, I'd say similar to Disney.
All the staff we ran across were very friendly and helpful, again similar to Disney.
We didn't find staff lacking (except for the kitchen, more on that later), which was a concern I had since Disney may "overstaff" and run a higher staff to guest ratio.
Coco Cay and Labadee - our entire family agreed, these have Castaway beat. So many beaches, so much seating, on par with the number of free activities, and many more extra cost activity things to do. The food was great on each with more variety than Castaway, especially on Coco Cay. These were both big highlights of the trip.
Ice show - It was a great show they put on and while not Disney storytelling, RC did a nice job on this production.
We got an afternoon treat delivered to the suite for 3 straigth days, then they quite. It seemed odd - just about the time we expected it and looked forward to it, it stopped.
Suite lounge - Certainly it isn't a big reason to pay for a suite, but they had food and drinks between 5-8. Drinks were made from the bar and very good and the appetizer food was probably better than what we were getting in the MDR. Now, we also had 5:30 dining, and with the 90 plus minutes dinner service took, it didn't give us much time to enjoy the lounge.
Cons
The food overall was a major disappointment. Especially the Main Dining Room. Many meals there I wouldn't even consider average. Now, there were some good dished, like Caribbean night was a hit, but overall it fell below our expectations. We heard other complaints as well. (We did not try any of the specialty dining restaurants). The Strip steaks were probably the worst quality and cooked meat I ever recall having for a Strip, and we had them on multiple nights with similar results. The buffet was pretty similar to Disney in both selection and quality as I recall.
Allergy Menus - My wife has a dairy allergy. She got a quick explanation of what she could have at the windjammer, but in the MDR they just didn't seem like they could create tasty menu options for her like we are accustomed to on Disney, on the ships or at the parks.
Menu confusion - again, staff was very friendly, but when my wife ordered a vegan friendly option, the waiter advised her it wasn't diary friendly (how could it be vegan then?). The kids ordered a rainbow salad (made with fresh fruit) - a veggie salad come out instead with carrots, etc. When I inquired, they even stated all the veggies were fruit. My kids even chuckled and they ultimately did bring out the as-advertised fruit salad that had been ordered.
MDR kitchen - Our servers overall were great, but dining service took more than 90 minutes every night for 3 courses. It just seemed long and drawn out, with fairly small portions so many times there was just dead time waiting on the next course. I don't know if this is an RC thing or post-covid they are a bit short staffed like other businesses. The servers were running the whole time and very busy. We rarely felt their attention to us was lacking, but they certainly never got a moment to sit still.
Kids Clubs - we toured them and they all just looked like big rooms - very little theming, labeled drawers with different craft, etc. stuff presumably inside. I couldn't even talk our kids into going back to at least give us a review. Now, perhaps they were awesome once activities got going, but for our kids, they had no desire to even go try them out.
Rooms - they were certainly dated, which we expected going in. But, some items were actually in disrepair - like a ripped cushion on our balcony furniture. Wear and tear was to be expected, but some items seemed a bit beyond that.
Smoke - This is kind of neutral I guess, but their was a staff smoking area a few floors below our aft balcony and when they were out, smoke would find us, even when the ship was underway. Smoke also wafts out of the casino - not far, but there are some lounges just outside where we went for family trivia (name that Michael Jackson tune) and the smoke could be smelled. Now, that being said, the casino was not a smoke filled haze so it was also somewhat controlled.
Overall, we had fun and although I prefer Disney, when looking at pricing, I'll give RC a look in the future (and hope the food was just an anomaly, as that really was the largest detractor of our trip).
