Disney Fantasy vs. Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas

[Vaca3]

I really need everyone's input for an upcoming trip. My husband, son (12 yo) and I are planning a cruise to the Western Caribbean. My son and I are thinking Disney cruise because we are big Disney World fans, although he's not into the characters at his age. My husband isn't a huge Disney fan, but will go along w/ what we want. I'm torn between fulfilling our desire to go on "Disney" cruise for the sake of being on a Disney cruise versus the RC Oasis cruise. My fear is that we will all 3 be bored on a Disney cruise...that once we visit the pools and ooh & ahh over the Disney touches that the rest of the cruise will be a waste of money.

[boulders]

I've been on several Royal Caribbean cruises, but not the Oasis or Allure as well as Disney Magic.

 

Arguments for Disney:

 

The Magic had a pre-teen group for ages 11-13 that had organized activities. On Oasis, your son would be in with the 12-14 age group. Their activities are not as structured as on Magic.

 

The service is excellent. Most staff members have English as their first language.

 

Food is better, but not the buffet.

 

Some people like the split baths in the cabins. I think it's a waste of space.

 

First run Disney movies on board. If you're on board when a new movie is released, that can be a big deal.

 

Aquaduck. RCCL has no waterslides or anything to compare.

 

Pop is free, but you have to go to the pool to get it.

 

Fish extenders (google this)

 

10% Discounts on future cruises if you book on board. Royal Caribbean gives on board credit if you book on board, but it's value is more in the range of 3-5%.

 

Arguments for the Oasis:

 

Zipline, flowrider, larger pool areas

 

Not as crowded. Even though Oasis can hold more people, the space ratio (gross tons/passenger) is higher.

 

Hairspray

 

More shops to spend your money (is that a pro or a con :cool:)

 

Shows in the aquatheater, comedy club

 

More choices in dining venues

 

Casino - there is none on Disney

 

Overall

 

Even though the service is better on Disney, for the most part, it is perfectly fine on RCCL. There have been a couple of times in my 5 or 6 cruises where it was not OK, but those didn't prevent me from having a great time - including the time when RCCL's transfer lost my suitcase for the whole cruise.

 

My Disney cruise was very cheap. I paid $50 per person per day. I wouldn't pay the usual Disney rates which tend to be very expensive. For me, if the Fantasy were less than the Oasis, I would cruise the Fantasy. If the Oasis were less than 80% the cost of the Fantasy, I would choose the Oasis. In between and it's a tossup. I would not choose Magic or Wonder over the Oasis.

[flhokie]

Personally, I would go with Oasis. I've been on 1 Disney Cruise (have annual passes to Walt Disney World so we do parks often) on the Fantasy and 6 on Royal Caribbean (including Allure).

 

The Disney ship was beautiful! Most of the entertainment centered around characters or Disney theming. The food was the worst/most limited of any cruise I've been on--the only time I got off a ship hungry. In their defense I've heard this is one area where they have made major improvements. Service was good, but no better than I've experienced on Royal Caribbean.

 

Allure was great with something for everyone. The food was very good and the service was great. The entertainment was wonderful (varied too).

 

To me, if my daughter (currently 2) specifically really wants to go on a Disney cruise while she is young, and I can find a reasonable option, I might consider it. Otherwise we will be sticking with Royal Caribbean (or others, depending on itinerary).

[Vaca3]

Thank you for the reply. A couple of other questions: have you been to Cayman & Fallmouth? If so, what did you think of each?

[Mack2]

Grand Cayman is fantastic. Lot's of things to do there. It's a wealthy Caribbean island, doing most of the banking in this Hemisphere. Snorkeling and SCUBA are great there because it lays just off of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef.

 

You can swim with stingrays, go on a deep submersible submarine, mail a postcard from Hell, visit a turtle farm, or shop. Cayman will be the premium shopping destination on the Western Caribbean itinerary.

 

 

 

Falmouth is new. It's in a quiet part of Jamaica. It's... quiet there. You kinda have to hop on a tour to get someplace else... but Dunns River, Montego Bay, Martha Brae river.. there's a Dolphin place... but they're a drive from Falmouth.

[sharktums]

We did multi-generational trips on both Allure and Disney Fantasy within the last two years. My husband preferred Disney, the rest of us (six year old, grandparents, myself) preferred Allure.

 

You have to be REALLY into Disney to get the value out of it. Like others have said the dining room food may be better on Disney, but the options EVERYWHERE else on Allure really make it worth it. Rooms are better on Disney than Allure. But there's just so much more to do on Allure. We also found the kids club staff much friendlier on Allure than Disney.

 

Also, I go back to the fact that you have a 12 year old son. Hi, unlimited, open 20 hours a day make your own pizza on Allure!?!?!? How can you beat that!!!

[Blue Line]

We took our 13 yo son and his 13 yo cousin on the oasis last year and they absolutely loved it!!! (So did we... Planning for another in 2015). Highly recommended!! Keep us posted with your decision..

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk... Please excuse punctuation, spelling, nonsensical thoughts and brevity.