Europe on RCCL?

[wallawallakids]

Has anyone done Europe with RCCL? Has anyone done both Disney and RCCL? I am curious to know how they compare. Right now with KSF on RCCL we can cruise for more than half than on Disney. But I am nervous about the RCCL experience with kids. Also, I have heard the rooms are much smaller, will we be squashed with three per room? Is there anything not included in the price that I have to factor in that I wouldn't on DCL? (Besides the soda. We don't drink soda anyway). Before our Disney cruise I bought a passporters book which was very helpful, is there a book like that about RCCL? Thank you so much.

ETA: how are the excursions in Europe on RCCL vs. those on DCL?

 

[momto2js]

I thing Europe is a good place to try a different line. Most itineraries are really port heavy so the ship is really just a floating hotel. There isn't much time to really enjoy the stuff you are paying 2x more for between DCL and RCI. If we were talking about a PC or TA where there are 7 or 8 sea days that it is whole different story.

We had a really small room on a recent RCI trip and it was perfectly adequate for the 3 of us. I'm not sure 4 would have worked but for 3 it was fine. It is better if you do some of the space saving things you read about on these boards.

 

[totallytigger]

We went on RCCL several years ago--round trip from Barcelona. We loved it!!! As PP said, you really only use ship as a place for breakfast, dinner, and sleep. We didn't really have time to play on the ship very much at all. Of course, we did excursions at every port (booked through RCCL), and enjoyed every one of them. We had an interior stateroom overlooking the promenade and were very comfortable. We felt that using the saved money to book great excursions and see as many sights as possible was well worth the smaller room. It was very clean and comfortable--my two most important requirements.

 

[woody73]

. . . I have heard the rooms are much smaller, will we be squashed with three per room?

You can get cabin size info (square footage) from the brochures to compare. RCI does not have split bathrooms.

Is there anything not included in the price that I have to factor in that I wouldn't on DCL? (Besides the soda. We don't drink soda anyway).

Other than soda, we receive free DCL lanyards at check-in.

ETA: how are the excursions in Europe on RCCL vs. those on DCL?

Unless it's a DCL exclusive excursion, DCL uses the same tour operators in Europe. The cruise lines supply the numbered paddles to match the stickers that guests wear.

Some past DCL exclusives were opening Tivoli Gardens theme park an hour early for DCL guests, and the Princess Ball at St Petersburg.

Woody

 

[woody73]

Europe on RCCL?

One thing I especially like about RCI in Europe is My Time Dining.

Like Disney, RCI has traditional early and late dining times. But they also have My Time Dining, which is very flexible and lets you dine when you want. You can make a reservation, or just show up. (I usually make a reservation to avoid any potential wait by just showing up.)

Our European cruises have been port intensive, and all ashore times varied. After a full day of sightseeing, we're often hungry when returning to the ship.

On DCL we typically have late dining. When the all aboard time was early (for example 5:30), we had to wait nearly three hours for dinner. That was rough.

With MTD on RCI,we liked the ability to dine when we wanted, rather than have a fixed dining time.

Woody

 

[wallawallakids]

One thing I especially like about RCI in Europe is My Time Dining.

Like Disney, RCI has traditional early and late dining times. But they also have My Time Dining, which is very flexible and lets you dine when you want. You can make a reservation, or just show up. (I usually make a reservation to avoid any potential wait by just showing up.)

Our European cruises have been port intensive, and all ashore times varied. After a full day of sightseeing, we're often hungry when returning to the ship.

On DCL we typically have late dining. When the all aboard time was early (for example 5:30), we had to wait nearly three hours for dinner. That was rough.

With MTD on RCI,we liked the ability to dine when we wanted, rather than have a fixed dining time.

Woody

This is great to know. I didn't know about MTD. Thank you.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Years ago, we did 13 night RCCL cruise out of Harwich..went to Amsterdam, Normandy France, and then a few ports in Norway. It was excellent. Excellent shore excursions, food, local flair of entertainment. In Europe, the itinerary is what attracts us. We are doing Princess this fall.

However, we did not have children with us.