RCCL vs DCL : Getting to know RCCL (information and review thread)

[mevelandry]

This info applies to the Oasis & Allure:

Check-in & Boarding out of FLL:
Check in goes very smoothly and quickly. After check-in you go upstairs and all kids must check-in and get a wrist band (whether or not they plan to go to the clubs) to ID their muster station. You then find a seat in a section based on your RCI status. Once boarding starts, section by section is called. It's all very organized (and civil)!

Excursions:
We usually book our own excursions but have done a few through RCI. We booked a Sea Turtle Release in Cozumel with RCI because at the time I only found it through them. Last year when my daughter and I cruised alone we booked tubing on the Rio Bueno in Falmouth, a dolphin excursion at Chankanaab in Cozumel, and an excursion to Paradise Cove in Labadee. All of the excursions were excellent. We waited to book until RCI offered discounts on excursions, which they do several times during the course of a year.

Complimentary Activities:
My daughter (she doesn't do kids' clubs on any cruise line) loved the carousel and rock climbing wall. She wasn't tall enough to do the flow rider without the boogie board so didn't want to do that but she's looking forward to doing it standing up in November. She hasn't gone ice skating yet but will likely do that in November as well. We really liked the shows, played some trivia, enjoyed the Madagascar greets/shows and enjoyed the Mardi Gras type parade around the promenade but we spent most of our time in the pool (love that they have so many on each ship). I also love that they have live music on the pool deck. Looking forward to the 3D theater on the Harmony too.

Shows:
We love the ice skating shows and the aqua/diving shows. There were 2 of each on our Allure cruise including an aqua show with the Madagascar characters. We also enjoy the musicals - very good productions. There is usually another main production show as well.

Pools:
This is a BIGGIE for us (as you might know from reading some of my posts complaining about the Disney pool). There are 3 family pools plus a good sized-kids' pool as well as a cool splash zone and a wave pool (think that's what it's called). We spent most of our time in
what is considered the sports pool. There was enough space to swim and it was never crowded. They offered water aerobics and volley ball
each day. They also had (for fee) scuba lessons there.

Complimentary dining:
On our last cruise we ate at the specialty restaurants 4 nights out of 7. The other 3 nights we ate at the buffet. It's easy and there are a lot of choices - some good, some okay. We had lunch at the buffet, Wipe Out Cafe, or Park Cafe. Park Cafe has a lot of options - salads, sandwiches, etc. and is good. Breakfast we ate in the buffet, Park Cafe, or Johnny Rockets. For snacks we ate at Cafe Promendade, Boardwalk Dog House, or Sorrento's. Food was usually good to very good and even if we had't gone to the specialty restaurants, we would have been satisfied.

Specialty Dining:
We never did specialty dining before but on our Allure cruise they offered a great deal the day we boarded. We took the 3 restaurant
package. My daughter (then 8) would either be free or small charge depending on what she ate. I loved that she could go to the specialty
restaurants with me and since it was just the two of us traveling it really was a special time for us. We selected Chops, Izumi (hibachi) and Giovanni's Table. We found out after we booked those that our TA had gifted us with a specialty restaurant so we choose 150 Central Park. We had a lot of fun at Izumi's and I loved the food at Chops. But 150 Central Park? Wow! It was such a great experience. We were seated in very high back chairs at a table for two. They had a sampler of 6 salts from around the world that you added to your unsalted butter for your bread. We had fun comparing all the salts and choosing our favorites. The service there was excellent. And the warm donuts for dessert? Who knew they could make donuts so delicious? In the end they charged very little for my daughter - nothing in Giovanni's, and little in the others, even though she always ate off the adult menu. It was definitely worth it for us. One other meal we enjoyed was the Madagascar character chocolate breakfast ($10 each). We'll be doing it again!

Shops:
Lots of shops and sales. We're not big shoppers so we didn't buy much although they did have a few nice things. The sales are one of the things that Disney people complain about but honestly it's easy to avoid (as are the smoke and the casino).

Staff:
We found everyone to be nice and helpful. We didn't have the same dining team each night but that's never been very important to us. If it is, I believe you can ask for the same team (in the same dining room).

Booking Dining/Entertainment:
If you go on an Oasis class ship it's recommended that you reserve at least your shows in advance (and you should!). It can be daunting the first time especially when you don't know what else might be going on at that time. What I do is look at the most recent Cruise Compass of our itinerary and compare that to sea/port days. If you don't reserve specialty dining in advance it's usually easy enough to reserve around
your show times as soon as you board. You can make changes to reservations if you need to either before you cruise or once on board. There are stand-by lines for each show but I'm more comfortable booking and getting a good seat!

Roll Call:
2018 - November 3rd - 7 night Western Caribbean - Harmony of the Seas

I added your date to the Roll Call.

I also read your review and cherry-picked infos here and there that I added to the original post.

 

[KashasMom]

This is such a nice thread!! Thanks OP!

Lanyards - I bought a cute Coach lanyard for myself on sale and DH says he doesn't need one.

Roll call - We are sailing on the Oasis of the Seas on November 25, 2018 Western itinerary for 7 nights to celebrate our 25th anniversary.

Happy Anniversary!

 

[starvenger]

I’m on Allure Aug 26. If anyone has something specific they want me to find out let me know and I’ll do my best to get that info to you.

 

[ZerasPride]

Happy Anniversary!

Thanks!

 

[ZerasPride]

Done!

And Happy Anniversary!

Thanks for adding us to the roll call and for the happy anniversary wishes! So excited about this trip!

 

[starvenger]

Coffee
The free stuff is real drip coffee, as opposed to whatever they’ve got on DCL. It’s still not great coffee, but it’s drinkable. But if you like coffee and don’t want to pay premium prices, buy some Starbucks Via or bring a French Press.

On my last cruise on Harmony, they gave out paper cups by request only. If you like walking around with coffee, consider bringing a travellers mug.

The upcharge stuff is at cafe promenade (and other locations?) They serve Starbucks unless there is a Starbucks kiosk on board - they serve Seattle’s Best if this is the case. They serve the usual. I think you can make your coffee “Irish”, but I can’t remember for certain.

 

[mevelandry]

I’m on Allure Aug 26. If anyone has something specific they want me to find out let me know and I’ll do my best to get that info to you.

Added!

 

[mevelandry]

As you may have noticed, I added credits to the information received on the thread. If many people give info regarding a subject, I will add more names without being too specific on who said what, though.

I'm tempted to add infos that sound more like reviews with credit as well.

 

[DaddysPrincess]

Aw this is making me miss cruising right now. I've never done a Disney cruise; however, I've been on 2 royal carribean, 2 carnival, and 1 celebrity (which is technically also royal caribbean).
Royal is definitely my favorite. Has a good balance between young/fun and older/relaxed vibes. Ngl tho, I think carnival actually has better food -- pizza pirate is my jam
Fyi stingray season is may-Sept (although I'm sure you Floridians know this). My bf had to go to the ER in cozumel on his birthday last year thanks to one of those suckers! Terrifying then, great story now.

 

[Frozen2014]

You can add us..
August 2018 - 4 night Bahamas on Mariner of the Seas
Mar 2019 - 7 night Western Caribbean on Symphony of the Seas
Mar 2020 - 7 night Bahamas on Anthem of the Seas

Thanks.

 

[mevelandry]

Aw this is making me miss cruising right now. I've never done a Disney cruise; however, I've been on 2 royal carribean, 2 carnival, and 1 celebrity (which is technically also royal caribbean).
Royal is definitely my favorite. Has a good balance between young/fun and older/relaxed vibes. Ngl tho, I think carnival actually has better food -- pizza pirate is my jam
Fyi stingray season is may-Sept (although I'm sure you Floridians know this). My bf had to go to the ER in cozumel on his birthday last year thanks to one of those suckers! Terrifying then, great story now.

Please tell me what happened!

 

[mevelandry]

You can add us..
August 2018 - 4 night Bahamas on Mariner of the Seas
Mar 2019 - 7 night Western Caribbean on Symphony of the Seas
Mar 2020 - 7 night Bahamas on Anthem of the Seas

Thanks.

Done!

 

[DaddysPrincess]

Please tell me what happened!

I'll try to keep it short but it's crazy so...

We booked a snorkeling excursion with Fury Catamarans (can't remember if it was thru RC or not) that included a private-ish beach break w/ those giant inflatable "parks" to play on. The snorkeling was amazing, we were having a wonderful morning. After snorkeling, we are taken to the beach park. I lounge in a hammock, bf enjoys a burger, and we decide to go play on the inflatables. Mind you, there is already quite a few people who are playing out there, enjoying the "park" & swimming about. No joke, we chose the closest slide and bf went down first. I was at the top of the slide when bf resurfaced and yelled "don't come down the slide! Something just cut me!" I meet him on the shore, by that time it was bleeding like crazy & people started crowding. So bf is looking for a cut and starts saying it hurts bad (he's a tough guy so if he's hurting, I believe him). He notices a tiny dot on the top of his "index" toe .. looks at the bottom and says "something's punctured my toe! It went thru my toe!" I immediately knew it was a stingray but we couldn't be sure since it obviously swam off. By this time, poor bf is in excruciating pain and threw up right there on the beach. He said he could feel the venom coursing thru him. So our catamaran director said he'd either take us to the ship or the hospital. I decided the hospital since they probably see this kind of thing more often.
We get in some dude's old Mazda pickup, no muffler and start hauling a$$. THEN he says, we have to switch vehicles! He slams to a stop behind a tiny white car with no license plate and beeps his horn. The driver of the white car ushers us in but first clears out the backseat of all the beercans so my giant bf had more room. We take off again, by now I'm praying we're actually going to a hospital because it was getting sketchy. We arrive at the hospital, they put his foot in the hottest water bf could stand & he immediately got relief. Apparently hot water is the treatment for stingrays so this is how we officially knew what it was. We were there for a few hours, until he could keep his foot out of the hot water for 20 minutes without the pain returning. The most amazing part was Fury Catamaran. The driver stayed at the hospital til we were discharged and they even paid his hospital bill!! We still had a few hours of port time left so he took us to a place with strong, cheap drinks.
Needless to say, bf instantly became a celebrity on the ship. Everyone called him stingray or Steve irwin lol whew that was long, sorry

 

[angelinaxox]

I can add a couple of pay activities that can be booked. Some activities that were bookable for the cruise I am on currently and have a charge are cupcake or sushi making class, galley tour and brunch, and wines around the world activity (which I hadn’t seen before).

I did the sushi class last summer on the Anthem and did it again today on the Rhapsody. I enjoyed it both times I have done this activity.

 

[starvenger]

Specialty Restaurants:
Johnny Rockets - at sea branch of the American burger chain. Depending on the ship, you either pay a la carte or a fixed fee. Burgers are cooked on a flattop. Per the RC Blog, shakes are rumoured to be included in the beverage package. On Oasis class ships, JR offers breakfast for free.

Izumi - Japanese food. Hibachi grill is a fixed fee, the regular restaurant is (I believe) a la carte on all ships.

Samba Grill - Brazilian steakhouse on Allure. Fixed fee, located at the Solarium Bistro.

Giovanni’s - Italian food, fixed fee

Jamie’s Italian - at sea branch of the Jamie Oliver chain. Fixed fee.

Chops - Steakhouse. Fixed fee. More the Keg than Ruth’s Chris.

Wonderland - Molecular Gastronomy. Fixed fee. On the newer ships

Sabor - Mexican/Tex-Mex. Can be a la carte or fixed fee, depending on the ship.

150 Park Fare - ??? Fixed Fee.

Chef’s Table - Tasting menu (?). Fixed fee

 

[mevelandry]

Specialty Restaurants:
Johnny Rockets - at sea branch of the American burger chain. Depending on the ship, you either pay a la carte or a fixed fee. Burgers are cooked on a flattop. Per the RC Blog, shakes are rumoured to be included in the beverage package. On Oasis class ships, JR offers breakfast for free.

Izumi - Japanese food. Hibachi grill is a fixed fee, the regular restaurant is (I believe) a la carte on all ships.

Samba Grill - Brazilian steakhouse on Allure. Fixed fee, located at the Solarium Bistro.

Giovanni’s - Italian food, fixed fee

Jamie’s Italian - at sea branch of the Jamie Oliver chain. Fixed fee.

Chops - Steakhouse. Fixed fee. More the Keg than Ruth’s Chris.

Wonderland - Molecular Gastronomy. Fixed fee. On the newer ships

Sabor - Mexican/Tex-Mex. Can be a la carte or fixed fee, depending on the ship.

150 Park Fare - ??? Fixed Fee.

Chef’s Table - Tasting menu (?). Fixed fee

Thank you so much! I just added your list to the original post.

Whenever I get the chance, I will try to find out the prices for those restaurants and add them!

 

[mevelandry]

I'll try to keep it short but it's crazy so...

We booked a snorkeling excursion with Fury Catamarans (can't remember if it was thru RC or not) that included a private-ish beach break w/ those giant inflatable "parks" to play on. The snorkeling was amazing, we were having a wonderful morning. After snorkeling, we are taken to the beach park. I lounge in a hammock, bf enjoys a burger, and we decide to go play on the inflatables. Mind you, there is already quite a few people who are playing out there, enjoying the "park" & swimming about. No joke, we chose the closest slide and bf went down first. I was at the top of the slide when bf resurfaced and yelled "don't come down the slide! Something just cut me!" I meet him on the shore, by that time it was bleeding like crazy & people started crowding. So bf is looking for a cut and starts saying it hurts bad (he's a tough guy so if he's hurting, I believe him). He notices a tiny dot on the top of his "index" toe .. looks at the bottom and says "something's punctured my toe! It went thru my toe!" I immediately knew it was a stingray but we couldn't be sure since it obviously swam off. By this time, poor bf is in excruciating pain and threw up right there on the beach. He said he could feel the venom coursing thru him. So our catamaran director said he'd either take us to the ship or the hospital. I decided the hospital since they probably see this kind of thing more often.
We get in some dude's old Mazda pickup, no muffler and start hauling a$$. THEN he says, we have to switch vehicles! He slams to a stop behind a tiny white car with no license plate and beeps his horn. The driver of the white car ushers us in but first clears out the backseat of all the beercans so my giant bf had more room. We take off again, by now I'm praying we're actually going to a hospital because it was getting sketchy. We arrive at the hospital, they put his foot in the hottest water bf could stand & he immediately got relief. Apparently hot water is the treatment for stingrays so this is how we officially knew what it was. We were there for a few hours, until he could keep his foot out of the hot water for 20 minutes without the pain returning. The most amazing part was Fury Catamaran. The driver stayed at the hospital til we were discharged and they even paid his hospital bill!! We still had a few hours of port time left so he took us to a place with strong, cheap drinks.
Needless to say, bf instantly became a celebrity on the ship. Everyone called him stingray or Steve irwin lol whew that was long, sorry

Ooouchhhh!!! :/

 

[mevelandry]

I can add a couple of pay activities that can be booked. Some activities that were bookable for the cruise I am on currently and have a charge are cupcake or sushi making class, galley tour and brunch, and wines around the world activity (which I hadn’t seen before).

I did the sushi class last summer on the Anthem and did it again today on the Rhapsody. I enjoyed it both times I have done this activity.

Thanks I added this in the "Activities with a fee" section.

 

[hdrolfe]

Thank you so much! I just added your list to the original post.

Whenever I get the chance, I will try to find out the prices for those restaurants and add them!

The prices vary a bit by ship, and also if you buy a package, which can go on sale.

 

[anjuan]

You can add me to the roll call for September 16, 2018- 7 day Caribbean on Allure. This will be my first RCI cruise and my first child-free cruise so I'm excited to try something new!