DCL vs RCCL ... My thoughts and Photos

[mojomanny]

Comparison of RCCL and DCL based on & day Eastern cruises on DCL Magic and RCCL Mariner.

 

Family for 3 father, mother and 4-7 yr old son (age dependis on which cruise)

 

photos from each cruise are posted at: http://community.webshots.com/user/mojomanny

 

more deatils are at: - Link Removed - Host Mick

 

Embarkation – RCCL

Despite the snafu in the parking lot, RCCL’s embarkation was smoother and easier than DCL. DCL still has a nicer terminal though.

 

Excurion, spa and dining reservations – RCCL

When we did DCL we had to run to Palo’s and the spa. RCCL takes care of all of this over the phone or via the interactive TV we could also book our RCCL excursions online well ahead of time

 

Sail Away Party – DCL

Who can beat those horns?

 

Cabin – Tie

Both are special in their own way. Not really fair to compare an aft cabin to a side cabin since the view is so different. DCL gets points for a larger cabin. RCCL gets points for tons of storage space.

 

Food – DCL

RCCL’s food was okay, perhaps a notch below DCL. Where the big difference comes is during the non-meal food. DCL has burgers, dogs, chicken, fruit and ice cream right at pool side. RCCL offers the promenade which is no comparison. DCL also wins for room service offering a better variety.

 

It is not fair to compare the dining rooms or the wait staff but if I factored that in, DCL is an overwhelming victor. DCL’s rooms, though less formal, are more fun (though I do think Animator’s Palate is over-rated). The DCL staff did a better job over all and actually provided better, more formal service. (see additional comments in the wrap-up)

 

Kids Club – DCL

No contest. DCL has the kid club down to a T. Mind you I am not talking about the staff, I am speaking of the activities and the entire process.

 

As a parent DCL made me feel much more secure that my child was safe and could not get displaced. DCL has staff assigned just to monitor the check in and check out as opposed to the understaffed RCCL which had staff leaving activities to take care of sign in/out.

 

I felt DCL’s activites were more in tune with the kids. RCCL had a lot of running around and fun activities but I felt DLC was better coordinated (more about this in a bit). One example is later night. RCCL has kids running around playing a form of dodge ball while DCL had kids laid out on mats watching a movie. When a kids is burning the candle on both ends, giving them some down time is a good thing.

 

See more comments in my Wrap-up.

 

Adult Activities – RCCL

With all the amenities RCCL has to offer it is hard to beat them. The ice rink, rock wall, mini-golf make RCCL a leader in this area.

 

Shows – DCL

While RCCL had a few good shows, a lot missed the mark. I would like to see Tim Tillman and the ice show again but the other shows I am done with. The RCCL parades were just repeats with a different theme. By comparison, I would re-view all the DCL shows I have seen.

 

Due to scheduling (see wrap-up) we did not get to many of the later night shows (Karaoke Idol, Love n Marriage….) but did view them on the TV when we were under the weather. They looked like a lot more fun then the main shows.

 

Ship – RCCL

It is larger and has far more amenities.

 

Dis-embarkation – Tie

Both were quick and efficient.

 

 

Wrap-up

 

We had a great time. That being said, we could have had a better time. There are number of things which could have made it better.

 

1.) I think the RCCL schedule seems to lack coordination. Examples:

a. Dinner is at 6pm and the kids club does not re-open until 6pm

b. Thursday’s meal was Venetian (as in Venice, Italy) night but you are encouraged to wear Caribbean clothes.

c. Monday’s meal was Caribbean themed (but not suggest Caribbean attire)

 

2.) Kids Club schedule prevents parents from doing their own thing. It opens and closes more often than a door. It closes for meals, except it takes the kids to Johnny Rockets. But, the parents have to sign them out at 530 then sign them in at JR’s at 6. It closes for lunch. It was not open on the first day.

 

3.) Late night kids club helps burn the kids out even more. How about some more sedate activities at 10PM? Our son (age 7) normally gets 10 hours sleep at night. Between wanting to stay late at the club and waking up early he was down to about 8 hours a night with very active days. Talk about a runaway train, he was due for a crash. (lets not get into a debate about whether I should have made him come from the club or not….I am trying to point out what can be done to make it better)

 

4.) Charging for late night (10pm is late?) at the kids club is lame.

 

5.) The Promenade is nothing more than a shopping mall at sea

 

6.) RCCL is always looking for a buck. Between the mall, the photo’s, the ½ price sale, the auctions, the drinks it all got to be a bit much.

 

7.) Soda Card – the card worked well but some of the bars were none to happy about it. I did get my money’s worth. Here are a couple of hints: Ask for a Pilsner/lager style glass or other large glass. Once you get it, hold onto it, wash it yourself. Otherwise they like to hand out thimble sized plastic cups (8 oz?) (I drink a gallon of water most nights after work so I would have driven myself crazy with such a small cup). When there is a line at the Promenade Café (PC) Bar, go to one of the other bars, they are typically much less active and do not seem to have the attitude the PC bartenders had.

 

8.) Details – The wait staff (not solely ours) lacked some of the formality in their service. Serving from the left with the left hand and clearing from the right with the right hand, ladies first….I notice things like that. (Yes, I am a pain in the pants but I do think it makes a difference). More important details were the empty liquor box left in the hall for about 6 hours and the tampon (unused) that was all over the arcade floor and with staff stepping over it. PLEASE NOTE….The ship in general was very clean and these are seemingly isolated, but notable, exceptions.

 

9.) Set and follow a definitive time passengers will be allowed in the terminal

 

10.) Get good coffee.

 

Okay, so it sounds like I would never do another RCCL. Wrong. We will, probably in 8 years. My feeling is for kids under 12, DCL seems to be the way to go. By the time my son is 15 I think he will appreciate the changes and variety RCCL brings. Until then, we will stick with DCL. I think RCCL is better designed and planned for a more mature audience looking for a more sophisticated product. DCL is set for families and young people looking for a more casual experience. Each has its merits and we will travel on both again.

 

Some of the challenges we encountered were caused by guests (ok, many were). Part of the reason our dining room experience was diminished was our waiter had one family of six that was at least 20 minutes to dinner every night. This throws off the staff. Rather than getting each course in one trip, they are now making more trips since one family is on appetizers while another is on salads and perhaps a third is on their entrée. Wreaks havoc with them. Be fair, get there on time. Of course this is hard when other activites do not finish until your assigned time.

 

Food on Mariner would rate an overall 2 ½ stars. Based on 1 star being a greasy spoon diner; 2 stars being a big boy or friendly’s; 3 stars being a Chili’s, Ruby Tuesday’s or similar chain; 4 stars being a better quality local restaurant and 5 stars being a regionally or nationally renowned restaurant. The food was decent but not spectacular.

 

If I got a call tomorrow to go on another RCCL cruise, I definitely would go!

 

Hope this has been helpful and not too boring.

[karen2cruz]

Thanks Mojomanny.

I had teens on both ships and it was a toss up. Although the teens can "enjoy" the promenade mall, and they liked the rock wall and ice skating, they enjoyed the activities on DCL better. My teen son would be at the DCL parties til one-very organized and fun. But the RCCL he would wander in around 10:30-11 and say they were lame. Also, DCL had teen shore excursions when we were on it, which were nice.

 

So, if we could afford DCL, we would go again in a heartbeat. But because we like to cruise, we take the best itinerary and price, choose to enjoy the trip, regardless of the ship.

[jennat]

Great comparison. Thanks for taking the time to write it. I have been on both ships (Voyager and Magic) and I completely agree. I love RCL and prefer them by far over others HOWEVER we usually don't take the kids. This year we are and we booked Disney for the exact reasons you said. Especially the child care hours both broken and early. I want my kids with me sometimes but don't want to spend my vacation looking at my watch to see if the club is closing or not. Anyway....good review and enjoyed looking at your pictures!

Jen

[mojomanny]

Both cruises were great in their own way.

 

The biggest downfall to the whole cruise was the kids club hours. We are not the type to drop our son off in the morning and pick him up in the evening, but having more flexibility would be nice. The constant watch watching was bothersome.