Royal Caribbean - please explain it to me (any kids advice also appreciated)

[miked1e]

I posted on here a while back asking about DCL v RCL, especially for kids.

Can someone please explain in a little more detail the ins and outs of the RCL ships / packages... I have so many questions:

1. What are the drinks packages and price of these pppn? We would likely want soft drinks for all and alcohol during evening meals for the adults (2 adults and 2 children)/

2. What is there for children in the evening? Expect all the day time activities are open all of the time, but thinking more shows, bowling? , movies etc. Note we will not be separating as a family so won't but the eldest into a kids club day or night, unless we can join him there?

3. What is dining experience like on RCL? I expect the kids would prefer DCL dining. Is the dining very formal? Will we been in the same big room every night on big tables? Are there more child friendly options which are included?

4. Coastal Kitchen - has anyone had access to this on the Oasis ships?

5. Cancellation - is this similar to DCL where you can move / get back your deposit if cancelling 120 days before?

Think that is all my questions for now... sure there are plenty to come. Looking at the sale on right now for '23 sailings so may risk putting a deposit down.

I feel comfortable with DCL as I believe the kids will enjoy and we have done 1 before albeit 10 years ago. Just also think the outdoor onboard activities are somewhat lacking compared with RCL.

Thanks for any advice.

[YorkshireT]

How old are your kids? Likely teenagers will prefer RCI. We didn’t take ours on the DCL but for teenagers it is lacking whereas RCI has lots more (climbing, Wave machine, sports courts, ice skating etc).
RCI is much cheaper.
Yes I was a fan of the DCL, was it worth the huge premium over RCI? Not for us.
At Xmas we are going on the Nassau CocoCay trip again. Same trip with Disney was twice the price, and for that you got one room, we have got two adjoining balcony rooms for literally half the cost. CocoCay is fantastic.
Surprisingly DCL is very good for couples without kids I found with the good adult only section of the ship. People are surprised when I say that but it’s true. It’s also good for younger kids, but it’s definitely in my opinion not as good for the older ones.
Standard food is better at DCL. But hugely better? Probably not. Formal dining with the different restaurants is better at DCL for everyone I’d say, albeit much older people may prefer RCI. You can ignore the formal dining of course and eat in the buffet or the speciality restaurants or the quick serve. Formal dining for all kids including teenagers I would say is better at DCL given the themes. This is really the only area DCL would outshine RCI for teenagers I would say.
Back in 2018 when we went on RCI the drinks package was worth it, think I paid about $45 a day but recently prices have been too high on the ‘deals’ so unless it comes down I’ll pay OOP. The soft drinks packages may be better value.
Internet is substantially better and cheaper on RCI. It is extremely fast and not too expensive- essential for my teenagers. DCL is bringing out a new one, but that’s still much more expensive than RCI.

[miked1e]

Originally Posted by YorkshireT

How old are your kids? Likely teenagers will prefer RCI. We didn’t take ours on the DCL but for teenagers it is lacking whereas RCI has lots more (climbing, Wave machine, sports courts, ice skating etc).
RCI is much cheaper.
Yes I was a fan of the DCL, was it worth the huge premium over RCI? Not for us.
At Xmas we are going on the Nassau CocoCay trip again. Same trip with Disney was twice the price, and for that you got one room, we have got two adjoining balcony rooms for literally half the cost. CocoCay is fantastic.
Surprisingly DCL is very good for couples without kids I found with the good adult only section of the ship. People are surprised when I say that but it’s true. It’s also good for younger kids, but it’s definitely in my opinion not as good for the older ones.
Standard food is better at DCL. But hugely better? Probably not. Formal dining with the different restaurants is better at DCL for everyone I’d say, albeit much older people may prefer RCI. You can ignore the formal dining of course and eat in the buffet or the speciality restaurants or the quick serve. Formal dining for all kids including teenagers I would say is better at DCL given the themes. This is really the only area DCL would outshine RCI for teenagers I would say.
Back in 2018 when we went on RCI the drinks package was worth it, think I paid about $45 a day but recently prices have been too high on the ‘deals’ so unless it comes down I’ll pay OOP. The soft drinks packages may be better value.
Internet is substantially better and cheaper on RCI. It is extremely fast and not too expensive- essential for my teenagers. DCL is bringing out a new one, but that’s still much more expensive than RCI.

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Thank you YT. Kids are only young so 6 and 1... but the splash / pool areas seem to be much better on RCI... or at least videos seem that way.

We went on DCL on our honeymoon, so know the adult areas... which were fantastic. Very quiet too... probably not surprising for a family cruise.

Would be nice to take the kids on the Disney Dream (ship we went on on honeymoon) and also to the Fjords!

Do not like the look of the main dining room on RCI and that is just me. Do like the options including the specialty restaurants but guess that then bumps up the cruise price to DCL?

Expect we will also look at a DCL cruise for my 40th in 2024 combined with a WDW trip.

Also have to factor in the flying to Rome/Barcelona for a European RCI West Med cruise and hotels either side. Whereas would be looking at sailing ex Southampton for DCL.

Looking at the drinks package, we would definitely get the standard drinks one... Not overly sure about the Ultimate drinks package.

[YorkshireT]

Originally Posted by miked1e

Thank you YT. Kids are only young so 6 and 1... but the splash / pool areas seem to be much better on RCI... or at least videos seem that way.

We went on DCL on our honeymoon, so know the adult areas... which were fantastic. Very quiet too... probably not surprising for a family cruise.

Would be nice to take the kids on the Disney Dream (ship we went on on honeymoon) and also to the Fjords!

Do not like the look of the main dining room on RCI and that is just me. Do like the options including the specialty restaurants but guess that then bumps up the cruise price to DCL?

Expect we will also look at a DCL cruise for my 40th in 2024 combined with a WDW trip.

Also have to factor in the flying to Rome/Barcelona for a European RCI West Med cruise and hotels either side. Whereas would be looking at sailing ex Southampton for DCL.

Looking at the drinks package, we would definitely get the standard drinks one... Not overly sure about the Ultimate drinks package.

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For kids the age of yours DCL would be ‘better’ I imagine, but would they realise/ appreciate the difference? It would be an easy choice if DCL was maybe 20% higher but you may find it 80-100% higher, then it comes down to a cost benefit analysis.
The other downside to DCL to consider even for younger kids is there are likely more of them on board, placing greater stress and waits on the activities for them.
DCL is fantastic for families with younger kids or even adults only, but the premium is it worth it? Will your 6 year old and 1 year old for example remember the excellent Disney shows (the 1 year old May have little interest and the 6 year old May still get bored, particularly if a boy!) or will they really like the extra splash pad?

[jas72]

For me they are not comparable. One is a theme cruise for Disney fans the other is a regular cruise line.

For dining Royal has quite slow main dining room which a 6 year old could find quite tedious with 3 courses and coffee etc. There isn't much to do or see either.

However there is a huge buffet and café and pizza joint on nearly all ships with other offerings on larger ships. (bar food, Mexican, hotdogs etc.)

If the price was similar and you are clearly a Disney fan then I would choose Disney over RCI.

Is your 6 year old a huge Disney fan?

By 7 my son was already saying men in costumes, no thanks

I would never normally consider them as I'm not at all a disney fan, but this year 4th September on the Magic is just £1211 for 7 nights to Norway.

That's a price point I might consider.

[Lizzim]

We did a Disney cruise and a Royal Carribean cruise last year (UK based). I did a comparison post in my trip report (link in signature).

We don’t have kids but I think the difference in cost is hard to justify, not sure the kids will know the difference if you go with RCL.

[miked1e]

Thank you all... Gives me some food for thought and will definitely check out the trip report comparisons.

I have priced both up... so 7 night DCL cruise to Norwegian Fjords and also a 7 night West Med cruise on RCI. This includes the top drinks packages for DS (6) and DW and I.

Price wise once we factor everything in, there isn't much between the 2.

The eldest loves Disney and really enjoyed his 2nd trip to WDW end of May.

What are peoples experiences of the port calls at the Fjords? We wouldn't get of at Amsterdam (been there, didn't like it), but what about the likes of Skjolden, Nordfjoreid and Sandnes? How would these compare with the RCI ports including, Naples, Pisa, Rome, Barcelona, Palma... Only ever been to Barcelona.

Also, what do people generally do of an evening?

Finally, are adults allowed to join the kids in the kids club areas? Or is this more of a creche ie drop your kid off for the day?

[YorkshireT]

Originally Posted by miked1e

Thank you all... Gives me some food for thought and will definitely check out the trip report comparisons.

I have priced both up... so 7 night DCL cruise to Norwegian Fjords and also a 7 night West Med cruise on RCI. This includes the top drinks packages for DS (6) and DW and I.

Price wise once we factor everything in, there isn't much between the 2.

The eldest loves Disney and really enjoyed his 2nd trip to WDW end of May.

What are peoples experiences of the port calls at the Fjords? We wouldn't get of at Amsterdam (been there, didn't like it), but what about the likes of Skjolden, Nordfjoreid and Sandnes? How would these compare with the RCI ports including, Naples, Pisa, Rome, Barcelona, Palma... Only ever been to Barcelona.

Also, what do people generally do of an evening?

Finally, are adults allowed to join the kids in the kids club areas? Or is this more of a creche ie drop your kid off for the day?

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If they are the same price with younger kids I would probably go Disney. I know the two cruises are not the same itineraries but Disney is usually a lot more expensive. As I say, exactly the same days, Nassau and private island for us Disney was twice the price for just one cabin. So either Disney is cheap here or the RCI one is very expensive! If the former that helps.
On an evening we would have dinner and see a show, with the young ones I think probably at best you will maybe have early seating or dinner, do some activities (they have crazy golf etc on RCI and both have kids clubs) maybe watch a show although may be challenging with 1 year old, your older one may like the cinema and early retirement to room and have a drink on the balcony so I would definitely get a balcony.
Fortunately my two are now 18 and 15 and we left them to get on with it or at least my daughter! On the RCI my daughter hung around with a large group of American girls, some of whom she kept contact with and a girl from Wales who she has met since. My son didn’t really make friends with anyone (unusual for him he usually does at all inclusives etc as he plays sports and meets other lads) so felt a little out of it and hung around with his dad more. I’m hoping next Xmas he meets some lads playing football etc.

[miked1e]

For RCI can you move the deposit over to another sailing if you change 90+ days in advance?

[BevS97]

Disney - you can visit the kids clubs on day 1 but after that you would have to drop the kids off as a crèche.

We love the Disney cruises but if I’m honest there isn’t loads for kids too do out od the kids club.

There are characters everywhere.

Splash pad / swimming pool.

Some shops have crazy golf but not all.

Cinema

Theatre show

Larger ships have an interactive quiz / trail on screens around the ship.

Most of the evening meals have some sort of entertainment during the meal which the kids may enjoy.