Sell me on RC!!

[Mikamarii]

Background:
We are from western Canada and it’s me DW, DS7 and DD5. We are DVC members and love Disney (proposed in WDW , honeymooned in WDW/DCL). However, now that kids are getting older (and cost more) we know our WDW trips are becoming limited. We did our 3rd DCL cruise last fall and loved every minute of it. We booked a placeholder and began planning our next trip. In addition to DCL we have done 1 cruise on celebrity. Next Trip is Jan 2020.

We are planning a last hoorah to WDW to do all things starwars with GE opening up. The original plan was we booked DCL with Star Wars days at sea (family ocean view) and a 10 nights at BLT. We then decided to add 1.....then 2 days at US. Then we decided to book an on-site stay for express pass.

I get bored sometimes and scour the internet and dream of vacations. Today I decided to check out RC and saw they were having a 30% off deal. For whatever reason balconies were the cheapest. I priced out a boardwalk view balcony (in cdn dollars) and found it to be over 3000$ (Cdn) less than our DCL OV room. The room also includes a dinner at Johnny rockets, soda package for 2 and 75$ stateroom credit.

I’ve priced out RC before and while it has always been cheaper I’ve never seen that much of a discrepancy. Only 7hrs left and the deal expires. Call DW and the discussion is on. This was going to be our last DCL cruise anyway but it was always about SWDAS. The question we posed to each other “is it worth over 3000$.” Answer: nope. So I went ahead and booked the EC on the harmony with a stop at coco cay.

I paid extra for refundable deposit and will give at least a few days for buyers remorse.

There are things we love about DCL. Aside from the all things Disney stuff we love the rotational dining, love the size of the rooms, the split bath, the movie theatre. We were looking forward to the Star Wars meet and greets and kids doing the Jedi academy (as opposed to the craziness of doing it at HS)

Soooooo...help ease my mind and tell me why I should keep our RC booking haha. I love first world problems! DW told me to book it but I could feel the tension haha.

 

[nancy drew]

I just completed my first RCI cruise on Saturday, and I am currently reviewing it in this forum. We have sailed DCL and HAL, and now RCI. Aside from the rotational dining and split bath, I think the two cruise lines are equal. I think RCI has better shows, at least on the Oasis class ships.

FYI, RCI will have a Kids Sail Free promo beginning April 1, but it does not include any school vacation dates. If you are traveling outside normal school vacation dates, this might help you save even more money. I have the exact dates if you are interested.

You can check out my trip report in progress and see if that helps push you in one direction or another.

 

[Mikamarii]

You can check out my trip report in progress and see if that helps push you in one direction or another.

Thanks! That’s good stuff. I’m really interested in the extras you talk about. At first glance it feels like a fee for everything but at the end of the day we could spend 2000$ in extras and still be over 1000$ ahead

 

[nancy drew]

Thanks! That’s good stuff. I’m really interested in the extras you talk about. At first glance it feels like a fee for everything but at the end of the day we could spend 2000$ in extras and still be over 1000$ ahead

So, the extra costs above DCL would be:

Drink package:

Soda package (Freestyle machine plus fountain soda at bars) is usually available for $9.99 per person per day.

Refreshment package includes the above, plus bottled water, plus specialty coffee, plus mocktails. Basically anything that is non-alcoholic excluding Starbucks. Usually you can find this for $19.99 per person per day.

Deluxe package includes all of the above plus alcoholic beverages $13 and under. That includes most beer, wine, and cocktails. You also get a discount on bottles of wine. I have heard of getting this for $46 per person per day, but our sailing never went below $52.99 per person per day.

If you buy a Deluxe package for one adult in the room you have to buy it for the other, unless you call Royal and insist that the other adult doesn't drink alcohol.

Specialty dining:

DCL has this too, so this isn't really an extra. We didn't buy any specialty dining, we just ate in the MDR each night and it was totally fine. You can get dining packages with a BOGO or 3 night package, or Ultimate dining, etc. But you don't NEED that. You can still have plenty of options without paying extra. That's where Royal wins, at least on the Oasis class ships. On DCL you are limited to the buffet and MDR, and the poolside places. Oasis class ships have more options for included dining.

Towels:

Ok this isn't an actual charge. But you have to check your towels in and out, and if you are ever in debt, you will be charged $25. This is a really easy thing to avoid. Just keep your towels with you, and return them to the desk.

WOW Bands:

These are like Magic Bands for your cruise. DCL doesn't have them, so RCI wins here. They are $5 each and totally worth it. You wear them on your wrist, and they do everything from opening your stateroom door to charging your drinks to buying your souvenirs. The only thing you will need your Sea Pass card for is leaving/returning to the ship.

One thing RCI does better, IMO, is excursions. You pay for excursions in advance, and if the price drops you cancel and rebook at the new price. You prepay, so you aren't hit with a huge bill at the end of your cruise like you are on DCL. The farther in advance you book your cruise, the longer you have to spread out those payments. I remember feeling sick at the sight of my bill on DCL. Not so much on RCI (or HAL) where you prepay. Walking off the ship after paying a balance of $100 for a one week vacation is a GREAT feeling. You've already paid for everything so you get to relax and enjoy your vacation!

I'm going to try and think of other extras. Maybe the casino? DCL doesn't have that. We walked through it to get to the theater but that's it. Didn't gamble a dime. No spa treatments either, but you'd have those on DCL too. Laundry? No self-serve laundry on RCI but you can send out a bag for $25 and it will come back clean and folded.

 

[Mikamarii]

Thank you for taking the time to do that. I’ll continue to follow your TR and pick up tips.

 

[nancy drew]

Thank you for taking the time to do that. I’ll continue to follow your TR and pick up tips.

Please ask questions there, if you are wondering about something. We sailed to Alaska over the summer (on HAL) and I wrote about it elsewhere. I was taking notes every day, and it really helped me remember what to write. This time I didn't take notes, and I am going by my photos. This is not an efficient system. So please ask questions, because I am already forgetting things left and right!

 

[starvenger]

I guess I missed your sale window. I did Harmony 2 years ago, my recap (warning: very long) is linked in my sig.

Couple of additional things to note:
- If you have status on Celebrity you will get equivalent status on Royal. Assuming you have Classic that will give you gold on Royal's Crown and Anchor. Which isn't much, but it's still something.
- I'm not a fan of the Boardwalk balcony as it can get loud at night when the aqua shows or movies are on. Compounding this is that on Harmony and Symphony the stupid purple tubes block your view. With that said, it's interesting seeing all the hustle and bustle during the day. Still, I prefer Ocean View or Central Park.
- My kids love Adventure Ocean, but they also loved Oceaneers. Bit of an apples and oranges comparison, since Oceaneers is more open and free-range, while AO has distinct age groups and attempts to be more structured.
- Harmony uses RFID SeaPass cards, so if you've got a DCL lanyard with pouch it's the perfect time to use it again.
- The free JR dinner sounds like a good deal for the kids. Don't forget that you can still eat in the MDR.
- Consider pre-paying gratuities. $14.50 USD per person per day adds up to sticker shock at the end of the cruise.

 

[Mikamarii]

I'm not a fan of the Boardwalk balcony as it can get loud at night when the aqua shows or movies are on. Compounding this is that on Harmony and Symphony the stupid purple tubes block your view. With that said, it's interesting seeing all the hustle and bustle during the day. Still, I prefer Ocean View or Central Park.

Thanks for that. When I first looked at the deck map I wasn’t sure how noisy it would be but figured that would be a factor. I booked room 9327 figuring we could watch the aqua shows but then saw a YouTube video and realized the slides don’t make that possible. In his video it seemed fairly quiet in the room but once the balcony was opened the noise was apparent. Thinking of maybe changing to Central Park view.

 

[starvenger]

I believe Central Park View gets you a prix fixe lunch for 2 at either Chops or Jamie's, plus wine. I think kids cost us $10USD each to eat lunch there, so not a huge setback in cost - probably the same cost as the wine after markup.

 

[John VN]

..............Thinking of maybe changing to Central Park view.

My input = make the change if you want a more relaxed balcony experience.

DW and I did DVC Member's Cruise 1 and 2 on the Wonder plus others to Concierge 1 bedroom on Dream. Last November was RCCL Oasis in a Crown Loft at way less than DCL and felt the value was much greater plus enjoyed the ship more than the Dream. Pretty certain DCL might not happen again due to less value. Have heard complaints that Oasis is TOO BIG but not in our minds.

 

[Mikamarii]

My input = make the change if you want a more relaxed balcony experience.

DW and I did DVC Member's Cruise 1 and 2 on the Wonder plus others to Concierge 1 bedroom on Dream. Last November was RCCL Oasis in a Crown Loft at way less than DCL and felt the value was much greater plus enjoyed the ship more than the Dream. Pretty certain DCL might not happen again due to less value. Have heard complaints that Oasis is TOO BIG but not in our minds.

Awesome thanks for the input. The big ship doesn’t bother us as all cruise lines seem to have perfected spreading things out. I showed my 7 year old some of the stuff he could do and he got all excited. Especially the science experiments.


I didn’t think the decision would be this hard haha. When we booked this trip we knew it was likely our last dcl cruise and we wanted to do SWDAS. We booked the cruise opening day with an OBC so it’s pretty much as low of a price as it ever will be. We booked our flights as soon as they released the dates as we had an expiring voucher with WestJet we wanted to use. Plus we were able to book 10 nights in a BLT standard with our DVC points so our dates are pretty much firmed in place. The RC cruise leaves only a day after DCL which means we’d have to add an extra hotel night at universal (which isn’t a bad thing) but eats in to the cost difference. We then would lose a day on our WDW side. Plus transportation gets a little finicky as we have dcl transportation at 140$ that takes us to BLT. Tony Hinds quoted us 180. Not a huge difference but all eats in to the difference. Other option is cheaper transport to airport than magical express to WDW but that’s a lot of travel time.

For wifey the biggest struggle seems to be having to leave her DCL Facebook group haha. 1st world problems at its finest! I appreciate all the input though!

 

[DisMommyTX]

For wifey the biggest struggle seems to be having to leave her DCL Facebook group haha. 1st world problems at its finest! I appreciate all the input though!

I think the thing I miss most from DCL is fish extenders! I loved making, giving, and receiving all the cute little stuff. Mickey trinkets not withstanding, Oasis is still our favorite cruise so far. We love Disney, but we were all bored on DCL. We all enjoyed the activities and entertainment more on RCCL, and the ultimate dining package was sublime. Our kids don't spend much time in the kids clubs, but they loved the family movie theater just outside Adventure ocean. Be sure to check it out!

 

[Frozen2014]

Welcome to Royal. I'm sure you won't be disappointed. Which Oasis class ship are you on? We just got off Symphony and had a Boardwalk room. Everyone is different but we loved it! Its so nice to go out and see what is going on, watch a show or movie depending on your room location. And you can still see the ocean in the distance. I would have no issue booking one again. Just bring ear plugs in case it's noisy.

 

[starvenger]

We booked our flights as soon as they released the dates as we had an expiring voucher with WestJet we wanted to use.

Nice. Always feels good to redeem those vouchers. And not pay for checked bags.

 

[Mikamarii]

Nice. Always feels good to redeem those vouchers. And not pay for checked bags.

Yup! Between the WestJet dollars and the companion voucher we paid less than 600$ for the 4 of us! And the checked bags saves us $200 every trip. It truely is my favourite rewards card.

 

[Mikamarii]

I think the thing I miss most from DCL is fish extenders! I loved making, giving, and receiving all the cute little stuff. Mickey trinkets not withstanding, Oasis is still our favorite cruise so far. We love Disney, but we were all bored on DCL. We all enjoyed the activities and entertainment more on RCCL, and the ultimate dining package was sublime. Our kids don't spend much time in the kids clubs, but they loved the family movie theater just outside Adventure ocean. Be sure to check it out!

My wife did FE extenders last trip. Not my thing be she had a blast. People sure go all out for it! We had an extra carryon full of just FE stuff (mostly American choc bars mmmm nutrageous)
I’m excited at the thought of changing it up and doing different things. Wife likes the devil she knows. I didn’t know they had a movie theatre on RCCL that’s great to hear. We loved doing a family movie night on DCL.

 

[Mikamarii]

Welcome to Royal. I'm sure you won't be disappointed. Which Oasis class ship are you on? We just got off Symphony and had a Boardwalk room. Everyone is different but we loved it! Its so nice to go out and see what is going on, watch a show or movie depending on your room location. And you can still see the ocean in the distance. I would have no issue booking one again. Just bring ear plugs in case it's noisy.

Thank you. I like the idea of the boardwalk room but reading reviews there is too much uncertainty around the sofa bad as the RCCL website lists it as only a single sofa bed for that category and all other categories say “single sofa bed in rooms that sleep 3; double in rooms that sleep 4). I don’t want to have to split up that king!

 

[SA mom]

We have only cruised RCI mainly because of the price. We normally sail out of Galveston. DCL is about double RCI. It’s really heard to spend that much more. DCI is still on my bucket list, but husband just can’t do it. Maybe when it’s just two of us, I’ll find a good deal.