How does Voyager class compare to Disney?

[3redheads]

Just got back from Disney and rebooked, but found out RCI was much cheaper! Cancelled Disney, booked RCI Navigator.

 

For those who have been on both, how do they compare?

 

Besides saving lots of money :D

 

Kim

[yogimax]

Think you will enjoy Navigator a whole lot better! Wise decision!

[medolee]

I also booked on the Navigator--from what I hear and know about RCCL, it will MUCH better than Disney. Frankly, I was not too impressed with Disney. I thought there would be more contact with the Charactors than in the parks, and there isn't---the kids are lined up like cattle and they get a brief photo op with the charactor. Then again--you may not see the charactor of your choice either. We did not see Belle or Cinderella. Oh well--live and learn. It is RCL for us!!

[3redheads]

Since my kids weren't that into the characters, we decided to save a bit of money. I'm soooo excited!

 

Thanks for the info!

 

Kim

[wovenwonder]

The following is a post trip report I made on another board after sailing on the Navigator in 2004. This was after sailing DCL three times prior. After the report are some other comments I made due to questions posters presented to me.

 

04/24/04 RCCL Navigator of the Seas w/DCL Comparrisons

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I am not a big 'trip report' person however, I am listing a few notable comparrisons between the Disney Magic and RCCL's Mega Ships.....

 

Embarkation This was just amazing on The Navigator how they were able to pull this off. We arrived at the port around 10:15AM and were sent to a 'holding area' downstairs for a short time. Obviously we had arrived very early so I understood that they were not ready for us yet. About 10:45AM they began calling Diamond and Platinum members for boarding and shortly after that all other passenger were called. This was not actually a 'boarding call' but a call to go upstairs to the area where you present all of your documents for boarding. I was fully prepared to register and then get in line to play the waiting game like we did on DCL. The area for registering is set up very efficiently. They have a seperate line for each deck of the ship. We were in the first line which was for Deck#10 staterooms. There was ONE other family in line and I guess they didn't want us to have to wait in that 'Long line' so they ushered us directly over to the concierge lounge to register. We were actually on board the ship and in our room by around 11:00AM or soon after that. What really amazed me was the fact that while we were boarding there was still a line of the people that were waiting to go thru immigrations/customs to disembark! They do quite a quick turn around on this ship.

 

Food I felt that the Food quality was quite comparable on both ships. But, it doesn't take a whole lot to make me happy in this area. I didn't have to cook it or clean it up. AND the choices were plentiful and I felt the food was very good. Believe me, I ate my share of calories and managed to come home with 8 more pounds of cargo [and I don't mean souveniers either].

 

Stateroom. This is a little hard for me to compare. The first two times on DCL we had a Category #11 inside for 4 people. The third time we had connecting Category #10 secret porthole rooms which we LOVED. On the Navigator we had our very first Balcony cabin. There are 'secret' rooms on the RCCL Mega ships also -- two of them. They are deluxe verandah rooms but they are much bigger than the other category D1 rooms. They are on the two corners of the AFT on Deck#10. We had stateroom #1388 and had booked an inside room across the hall for the kids. Our stateroom was large. It was actually bigger than our hotel room that we had in Miami. And the balcony was also very large. It held two lounge chairs, two chairs, and a table with plenty of room to spare. I learned on Cruise Critic that Robes are provided for Suites but we could ask for them in our room and should be able to receive them. We asked and our stateroom host brought them to us without any question. We enjoyed towel animals on the Navigator similar to what we received on the Magic.

 

Misc. Notes I have to admit that the first couple of days I was really missing the Magic of a Disney Cruise. Disney was the only cruise we were ever on and I guess in the back of my mind I associated Mickey Mouse with Cruising. By about mid week I was feeling comfortable with this ship and really enjoying it -- even without The Mouse. The Navigator seemed to have alot in the way of kids activities. In fact they have an entire area of one deck for teens alone. My son is 15 but he preferred to hang out with us. He never even really checked out the clubs. Table mates of ours had a 16 year old Son and he was more outgoing than Colby. He was always out on his own with other teens and enjoyed himself. Like I said, there appeared to be alot for the kids to do in the line of organized activities. There was also many things for adults to do into the wee hours of the morning. They have ALOT of bars and clubs on this ship for any music or drink taste you may enjoy - and ofcourse they also have the Casino. We had late dining and our show was actually AFTER dinner rather than before like on DCL. After going to the show at 10:30pm or so each evening we didn't feel like there was much to do as a family. There would have been plenty for Colby to do with the teens but not alot for him to do with us [Myself, DH and our 20 year old daughter]. So we found ourselves turning in by midnight most evenings. Shelby [DD20] was permitted to drink beer and wine onboard after we signed a permission slip for her. They punched her card one time which meant she was 18-20 and had parent permission to purchase beer or wine. Colby had two punches which were for kids under 18 [who were not to be served any alcohol].

 

Disembarkation Like I mentioned briefly in the beginning it amazed me how people were boarding so quickly - even though there were still some waiting to go thru immigrations/customs. This worried me a bit but the procedure was handle just as well as during boarding. We received colored luggage tags. You were called by color - every 20 minutes or so a new color was called. The color you received was determined by the time you needed to leave to reach a flight home. We had to be out of our staterooms by 8:00am so they can prepare them for the new arrivals. At that time we went to the Windjammer buffet for breakfast. We could have also chosen to eat in the sit down resturant or grab something continental style in the Seatle's Best coffee shop area. After eating we were able to sit comfortably in any of the lounges or theatre's, etc to wait until our color was called. We were called by 9:30am and got in line to go thru immigrations and customs. This was actually quite painless and things moved at a steady pace. American Airlines was at the Port [even though they said NO AIRLINES would be there] and we were able to check our luggage right at the port. This took longer than the entire immigrations/customs procedure. But, by around 11:00am we had already grabbed a cab and we were sitting in the Hard Rock Cafe' at Bayside Marketplace in Miami enjoying lunch. We had a late flight so we had plenty of time to spare.

 

Final Thoughts I have ALWAYS enjoyed our Disney Cruise and have many wonderful memories of our three trips. I enjoyed the Navigator also but just in a different way. I would like to return to both sometime in the future but I'm just not sure if DCL is worth the difference in price. To compare, I am listing prices for April 2005 for The Disney Magic and also for The Mariner which is the newest of the RCCL Large ships also sailing out of Port Canaveral. These are BOTH for the Eastern Itinerary for the week of April 2nd [Mariner 4/3].

 

Balcony

Category #6 on The Magic $2125.00 pp

Superior Balcony on The Mariner $1169.00 pp

 

Inside

Category #10 on The Magic $1515.00 pp

Inside on The Mariner $779.00 pp

 

As you can see --- the difference in price is quite large and I'm just not sure if I can justify it.

 

***************************************************

we actually really liked the private island we visited. In fact my family liked it better than Castaway Cay. What I missed the most with Coco Cay was seeing the pastel colored umbrella's all over the beach from the ship. They have what looked like a neat water park on Coco Cay. There was a small fee to use it. I think it was mostly for crowd control. They even had a couple large blow-up rock climbing walls in the water as well as a water trampoline. Tons of Lounge chairs to chose from --- both in shady and sunny locations. And I seen alot of hammocks in the shade. There were so many hammocks that most were empty.

 

*****************************************************

There were times posted on Sunday and Monday for picking up ice show tickets. They also noted what shows are recommended for each dinner seating. The process seemed to move smoothly.

 

The main show was held once each evening for each dinner seating. Both shows were after your dinner. This was a little different for us as we prefer late seating. Our show was around 10:45pm each evening. This sometimes conflicted with other things going on during that time. I think I would have preferred to have the show before dinner. It didn't look like it would have been as much conflict with earlier seating. Ofcourse we could have eaten in the Windjammer at our convenience. During dinner the Windjammer is all decked out with low lighting and nice table clothes and table settings. The same food that is available in the dining room is available at the Windjammer but in a casual dress atmosphere. We really enjoyed our server and tablemates and therefore ate every meal in the main dining room.

 

I will probably think of other things later but here are a couple things....

 

**Ask your room stuard for robes upon your arrival. They were so nice to wrap up in after a shower and first thing in the morning.

 

**When you receive luggage tags if they are not for the time you would have preferred, you can go to guest services and request different ones -- but go in a timely matter.

 

**When you go onto the private island you will need to take your sea pass card but also take cash. There are outside vendors at the island straw market selling things that you will need cash for. You do not need your picture id on the private island - just your seapass card. You will aslo need to take your pool towels from your room -- there are not any available on the island.

 

**If there are electronics that you think sound like a good deal on the ship take the time and little extra money to go to the internet cafe' and search for the item on ebay or amazon to check the 'on land' pricing. We purchased a camera and thought we had a great deal but found it quite a bit cheaper at home on ebay [new in package from a reputable seller].

 

**You can ask your room stuard to remove the cash/carry items from your fridge if you don't think you will be wanting the purchase them later. The soda cards are a bit pricey [$42 for adults and a little less for kids plus gratuity]. You receive a coke thermal cup plus a sticker on your seapass card. It appeared that you could use one or the other -- either your card or the mug. We were never asked to see our card when we had the thermal cup with us. I did not purchase the card for myself. I brought a throw away 1/2 gallon jug from home [one that previously had tea in it that I washed] and made my own crystal light tea for in the room fridge. I then purchased a RCCL Mug in the gift shop for $6. The room stuard kept plenty of ice in the ice bucket. I actually preferred having my drinks this way -- it was handy to have it in the room. On occasion I did have a few soda's -- I just asked someone else in the family to get one for me *gasp*!

 

******************************************************

We've been off the Navigator for a week now and I've had alot of time to think about our trip......

 

I posted our Navigator pics and looked over my website at our DCL pictures. That DCL cruise was so VERY SPECIAL in my eyes. Its hard to explain. I explained it to my mother like this. We live close to Hershey Park. It is a VERY NICE amusement park that people drive from all over to go to. They have wonderful service and top entertainment. People that have been to our area Hershey Park often but have not been to WDW sometimes cannot understand our love of Disney. It is much more than just an amusement park --- it is an experience all in its own and worth the extra money to us. Well, the DCL cruise is MUCH MORE than just a 'cruise' -- it is a cruise combined with that wonderful Disney experience. It was worth the extra money and I'm glad we experienced it. But, it doesn't mean that the Navigator wasn't a good cruise -- it was absolutely FABULOUS but it was a 'cruise' and did lack that Disney experience that we had with the Magic. Once we got past that we enjoyed our trip and know that we will return to RCCL for the 'cruise experience' but will still be hoping to have the Disney experience again in the future -- either on the Disney Cruise or at the Parks.

Jody

[3redheads]

Jody,

 

 

Wow! Thanks so much for the info. I think we made the right decision. I'm going to check out your pictures :D

[katman]

We've done lots of cruises with different cruise lines and did Disney once, but never again. Don't get me wrong - it was a wonderful cruise and there was absoluetly nothing wrong. But, at least for our family (girls were 11 and 14 at the time we did Disney), there wasn't enough extra 'magic' to justify the additional $$$$. I'm glad we did it, it was a fabulous trip (we celebrated our 20th anniversary), but other cruise lines are just as nice for a whole lot less $.

[vacation rccl]

We were on the Disney Wonder 3/6-3/10. Yes......you do get the "Disney Magic" on the cruise, but with the money you save on a voyager class cruise you could add 3-4 days on to your vacation and spend it at Disney World! DCl is WAY overpriced, misses Castaway Cay to often, and nickel and dimes you to death. I will give DCL some time to see if they do something to make this trip worth it, but for now we will stay with RCCl, have a great cruise, and spend the money saved on attractions in and around Orlando.

[boingy300]

Everytime I turned around that mouse had his hand in my pocket....and used my kids to get the money! Grrrr..........Disney is okay if you have 3-6 yr. olds, but anything older should consider RCCL- at least that was my experience. Would jump on either for free in a heartbeat. Loved Disney's pvt. island over RCCL>

Karen

[medolee]

We've done lots of cruises with different cruise lines and did Disney once, but never again. Don't get me wrong - it was a wonderful cruise and there was absoluetly nothing wrong. But, at least for our family (girls were 11 and 14 at the time we did Disney), there wasn't enough extra 'magic' to justify the additional $$$$. I'm glad we did it, it was a fabulous trip (we celebrated our 20th anniversary), but other cruise lines are just as nice for a whole lot less $.

 

That is it exactly--we did it now we're done. I am soooo looking forward to the Navigator!:)

[Nano]

Sounds like we're all in agreement! We've done Disney once and RCI Mariner twice and our family prefered the Mariner hands down. Don't get me wrong...Disney's ships are beautiful, and I especially liked rotating to the different dining rooms each night (with Animator's Palate being our favorite), but when you look at the entire experience for the price we paid, the Voyager class ships have our vote. By the way, our children are now 9 & 12, so that may have something to do with it as well. Enjoy your cruise!!

[dkort]

boingy3000: your post is one of the funniest i've ever read. so eloquently said in such a few words.

[3redheads]

It's amazing that we got a Junior Suite and still saved $2300 over Disney. Plus, I like the Eastern ports.

 

Thanks for the responses! The cruise can't get here fast enough :D

[travellady]

After a 3 day Disney Wonder cruise, we were Disney'd out. Ship was nice, clean, great service, food on par with RCCL, but enjoyed RCCL activities more. My son is a very athletic 11 year old - found he had much more to do on the Voyager. He wasn't into the Disney clubs, felt he was too old.

 

The next time I do a Disney cruise it will be with future grandchildren between the ages of 5-9.

 

And forgot to mention Disney doesn't have a casino. Some people call this out as a selling point but I do enjoy periodic trips to the casino on my cruises.

[jerseycruzers]

we found rci superior to disney in all ways but one. the entertainment on disney was consistantly better. we would definately opt for rsi

[3redheads]

Believe it or not, we didn't go to any shows on Disney. I like the itinerary much better with RCCL.

 

 

Now we have to wait over a year...:(

[ckrobyn]

Believe it or not, we didn't go to any shows on Disney. I like the itinerary much better with RCCL.

 

 

Now we have to wait over a year...:(

 

I know it seems like a long wait.....I have 306 days myself :( But you have the rest of the CC community to keep you company until the final countdown :)

[herrbeeb]

we spent the week after our 2/19 VOS cruise discussing the relative merits of disney (5 cruises) v. rccl (1 cruise). my children are older 17. 14. 13 and are not as awed by the mouse. that is why we decided to try rccl. i have no complaints about disney but on the whole we decided we prefer rccl. there were more older children and activities for same. the food is about equal as is the entertainment with the exception of the ice show which is fantastic.

 

all else being equal why not save $$. we had 2 staterooms, a balcony and an inside, for less than a family stateroom on disney. the casino is not important to me but i did not miss the mouse or the hordes of small children.

 

i prefer labadee to castaway cay. labadee is more environmentally interesting and there is more to do. and at the risk of being repititous, there are far fewer little kids.

 

we still go to wdw but i don't think we will cruise with them again. have a wonderful time on your trip.

[medolee]

we found rci superior to disney in all ways but one. the entertainment on disney was consistantly better. we would definately opt for rsi

 

Yes but isn't it the SAME shows all the time on Dis? I mean--how many times can you see Hercules or Magic Dreams or whatever it was called? I perfer a wider variety so I can sail 2-3 times a year

[medolee]

we spent the week after our 2/19 VOS cruise discussing the relative merits of disney (5 cruises) v. rccl (1 cruise). my children are older 17. 14. 13 and are not as awed by the mouse. that is why we decided to try rccl. i have no complaints about disney but on the whole we decided we prefer rccl. there were more older children and activities for same. the food is about equal as is the entertainment with the exception of the ice show which is fantastic.

 

all else being equal why not save $$. we had 2 staterooms, a balcony and an inside, for less than a family stateroom on disney. the casino is not important to me but i did not miss the mouse or the hordes of small children.

 

i prefer labadee to castaway cay. labadee is more environmentally interesting and there is more to do. and at the risk of being repititous, there are far fewer little kids.

 

we still go to wdw but i don't think we will cruise with them again. have a wonderful time on your trip.

 

 

Now WDW--that's another story. I love WDW and will go as often as possible!! I will have to endure one more disney cruise as I have to take the grandsons. (they were not old enough when we took the granddaughters!)

 

We are booked on the Navigator later this year--do they have the ice show as one of the entertainment nights?

[jennigator3]

I have been on 3 Disney cruises and 1 on the Mariner of the seas and for us it is RCCL all the way. Don't get me wrong, Disney is great and everyone should do it once, if only to see Castaway Cay, but the Mariner is much better. The ice show on the Mariner (and the Navigator, to answer your question) easily compares to Disney Dreams as they are both excellent. The buffet on the voyager class ships are so much roomier, although there is no outdoor seating. The solarium on the voyager class ships are so beautiful, I spent so much time there. The other pools are great too. Also, there are a lot more things for adults to do, but from what I saw, the kids had a blast as well. The food was basically the same, the Disney restaurants are cute, but the huge dining room on the RCCL ships are so grand. The biggest thing for us was the promenade, we spent so much time roaming the shops and there was so much entertainment there throughout the day. It is just such a neat concept, we really loved hanging out there to grab a snack and a drink after a long day on the islands.

 

We actually went on a Disney cruise with my future in-laws 3 months after first going on the Mariner. It was their first experience cruising so we went on a 3-day Disney cruise since the port was so close to where they live. The mariner was docked next to us in Nassau and we just stared at it and wanted so bad to be on it. Trust me, once you do the voyager class ships, it's hard to go back to anything else. I hope you have a great time on the Navigator!!

[medolee]

I have been on 3 Disney cruises and 1 on the Mariner of the seas and for us it is RCCL all the way. Don't get me wrong, Disney is great and everyone should do it once, if only to see Castaway Cay, but the Mariner is much better. The ice show on the Mariner (and the Navigator, to answer your question) easily compares to Disney Dreams as they are both excellent. The buffet on the voyager class ships are so much roomier, although there is no outdoor seating. The solarium on the voyager class ships are so beautiful, I spent so much time there. The other pools are great too. Also, there are a lot more things for adults to do, but from what I saw, the kids had a blast as well. The food was basically the same, the Disney restaurants are cute, but the huge dining room on the RCCL ships are so grand. The biggest thing for us was the promenade, we spent so much time roaming the shops and there was so much entertainment there throughout the day. It is just such a neat concept, we really loved hanging out there to grab a snack and a drink after a long day on the islands.

 

We actually went on a Disney cruise with my future in-laws 3 months after first going on the Mariner. It was their first experience cruising so we went on a 3-day Disney cruise since the port was so close to where they live. The mariner was docked next to us in Nassau and we just stared at it and wanted so bad to be on it. Trust me, once you do the voyager class ships, it's hard to go back to anything else. I hope you have a great time on the Navigator!!

 

Thanks for the info. I will check out your photos!!

[cruislovin]

My daughter, age 12 at the time, and I went without DH and DS on the Disney Wonder as she wanted to see what it was all about. We had a fantastic time. BUT when the Navigator was in port next to us in Nassau, she was almost in tears that she had to go back on the Wonder and not on the Navigator!

 

The only thing we found we liked better about DCL than RCCL was the shows - and we only liked 2 of them. We didn't like Hercules at all, but I guess it's DCL's attempt to do something for the boys. The ship itself, including the stabilizers, the food, the service - ALL are much better on Royal Caribbean. Of course, the price is better too on RCCL as everyone knows.

 

My daughter was bored - she does not like the kids' club as it is too structured for her taste. There is virtually nothing else to do on the Wonder for her age group, except swimming. The pools are very poorly planned on the Disney ships as it was standing room only in the family pool and the adult pool was nearly always empty. We couldn't wait to get back to RCCL!

[BethA]

It was interesting reading all th comments as we have sailed DCL 4 times and are sailing AOS in June. We loved Disney and I think will miss the Disney experience. We found the service to be excellent and the crew to be amazing. You hated to leave your waiters at the end. My teen had plenty to do and met a lot of friends. Being big Disney fans we enjoyed the shows a lot and the movies offered all the time were great too. I don't see too many shows on RCL that appeal to the whole family so I am afraid we'll all be going our separate ways. DCL had daily trivia, or games and activities for families that appealed to us.I think changing dining rooms was a plus as well. Since we had cruised DCL 4 times my younger son-now 9-was able on the last cruise to find his own way around the ship---I'm afraid I'll be lost on AOS. Te other thing I will miss is having the food, like hamburgers, pizza etc right at the pool.

Okay--I'm a big Disney fan--or should I say addict. I'd appreciate any other comparisons from cruisers who have done both.

thanks.

Beth

[goingtocruise]

I sailed Disney Magic with my two boys, then 8 & 10. Had a wonderful time. didn't think anything could compare. Two years later I booked us on the wonder, but the kids thought it might be fun to try something else. Ended up on the 3rd sailing of the Navigator. WOW! RCCL is the best. Room much bigger with more storage, better food, better itinerary and much more. However, the kids clubs on Disney were wonderful for the 8 year old. He didn't leave until the club closed at night. Didn't spend near that amount of time in the kids club on RCCL. Very few kids on our sailing. Also missed changing dining rooms each evening. Disneys ship officers were friendlier and more visible. Alot of character interaction and even tea with Wendy. I guess what I am saying is that everyone (especially those with young kids) should give DCL a try at least once. But if the kids are teens,(mine are now 13 & 15) RCCL is the way to go. Cruised Carnival last year and will return to RCCL this year. Can't wait for the chilled soup, ping pong, 3 or 4 rounds of putt-putt golf a day, Johnny Rockets (which was free last time), and this time I will try rock climbing. Labadee was so much better with banana boat rides, parasailing, and the market to buy souveniers. Also enjoyed the shows much more on RCCL. Faster moving, more humor, and colorful costumes. Would love to do DCL again, in about ten or fifteen years with grandkids, if I get invited along.