IS it worth 3x the money?

[KashasMom]

I guess I interpret selection and variety as the same thing when we're talking menus. If you consider 2 different entrees each night plus the same old other 4 an outstanding selection, more power to you. There use to be a much wider selection and variety on RCCL's menus when I cruised them in 2015 and 2016. They have changed them and both selection and variety is much more limited with the new menus. Even their wait staff admits that.

She sailed in 2011! I'm not sure why you're jumping all over her opinion. Even YOU said 2 years ago the menu was much different. No doubt 7 years ago it was very different as well.

 

[Dug720]

The "lighter" selections on DCL are the same Sirloin, Salmon and Chicken Breast every night. There is 1 other item that is different night to night. The total number of those options also represent about 1/3 of the menu. SO not seeing any difference between RCI and DCL there.

DCL has more unique entrees per night than RCCL offers with their new menus.

Appetizers? The choice is DISMAL between nights. One or two different options - all the other appetizers are the same.

Again - I have liked RCCL and they have been my second choice. But they have slipped dramatically in the past two years between my 12-night Med cruise and my 7-night Greek Isles cruise (same class of ship - but the menus are across the fleet). This is not a case of me bashing one line just to raise DCL. This is me saying that based on what I experienced a week and a half ago, I'm going to think long and hard about going on RCCL again, even if it means I have to wait longer between cruises.

 

[Dug720]

She sailed in 2011! I'm not sure why you're jumping all over her opinion. Even YOU said 2 years ago the menu was much different. No doubt 7 years ago it was very different as well.

I was NOT jumping on her opinion.

I interpreted selection and variety as the same thing which to me is something that is quantitative (you can see the selection and variety of the menus with a simple web search) and not qualitative, which is how I would interpret "We liked the taste of the food better" - and I did not interpret that as her opinion (again, I read selection or variety as what was physically offered on the menus) but based it on my knowledge their past menus having had a much larger selection of foods AND variety of foods (again, a simple search will show their past menus and their current ones).

 

[lilsonicfan]

For ___ and giggles, I went to CC to find some Royal menus of late (as of 2018) - here's what we've got:
Day 1: horseradish crusted salmon, spicy grilled pork chop, aged prime rib, chicken marsala, baked polenta and feta, fish of the day, NY strip loin
Day 2: seafood linguini, almond crusted cod, duck a l'orange, pork shank, roasted beef tenderloin, veg casserole, fish of the day, roasted chicken breast
Day 3: braised beef short rib, lasagna al forno, chicken cordon bleu, wild mushroom risotto, fish of the day, grilled chicken breast, NY strip loin, spaghetti bolognese
Day 4: garlic tiger shrimps, roasted rack of lamb, chicken parmigiana, steak diane, tagliatelle, fish of the day, spaghetti bolognese
Day 5: pan seared wahoo, broiled lobster tail, slow roasted prime rib, potato gnocchi, cheese tortelloni, fish of the day, grilled chicken breast, NY strip loin

So definitely not only 2 new entrees every day, and to me it seems more like about 4 new entrees every day which SEEMS to be similar to what DCL offers. In any event, I didn't find DCL food amazing in the MDR and I doubt I've ever said that about any cruiseline MDR. But I could pick something from each of the above menus and I'm sure I'd be reasonably satisfied.

Edit: for appies, I can see that they offer 3 new appies every night with 5 mainstays (baked french onion soup, caesar salad, escargot, shrimp cocktail, fruit medley)

 

[KashasMom]

DCL has more unique entrees per night than RCCL offers with their new menus.

Appetizers? The choice is DISMAL between nights. One or two different options - all the other appetizers are the same.

Again - I have liked RCCL and they have been my second choice. But they have slipped dramatically in the past two years between my 12-night Med cruise and my 7-night Greek Isles cruise (same class of ship - but the menus are across the fleet). This is not a case of me bashing one line just to raise DCL. This is me saying that based on what I experienced a week and a half ago, I'm going to think long and hard about going on RCCL again, even if it means I have to wait longer between cruises.

Guess I'll see in November. We haven't had any issues in the past. We don't do MDR every night though.

 

[Dug720]

For ___ and giggles, I went to CC to find some Royal menus of late (as of 2018) - here's what we've got:
Day 1: horseradish crusted salmon, spicy grilled pork chop, aged prime rib, chicken marsala, baked polenta and feta, fish of the day, NY strip loin
Day 2: seafood linguini, almond crusted cod, duck a l'orange, pork shank, roasted beef tenderloin, veg casserole, fish of the day, roasted chicken breast
Day 3: braised beef short rib, lasagna al forno, chicken cordon bleu, wild mushroom risotto, fish of the day, grilled chicken breast, NY strip loin, spaghetti bolognese
Day 4: garlic tiger shrimps, roasted rack of lamb, chicken parmigiana, steak diane, tagliatelle, fish of the day, spaghetti bolognese
Day 5: pan seared wahoo, broiled lobster tail, slow roasted prime rib, potato gnocchi, cheese tortelloni, fish of the day, grilled chicken breast, NY strip loin

So definitely not only 2 new entrees every day, and to me it seems more like about 4 new entrees every day which SEEMS to be similar to what DCL offers. In any event, I didn't find DCL food amazing in the MDR and I doubt I've ever said that about any cruiseline MDR. But I could pick something from each of the above menus and I'm sure I'd be reasonably satisfied.

I can tell you from having just sailed on them, that is not what they are actually putting forth all the time. Definitely did not have the Day 5 menu.

But when you take the entire menu into account, appetizers as well... It got old quickly.

I'm out of this one since no one seems to be getting that I am NOT bashing RCCL. Just pointing out that things have gone downhill in the past 2 years and they are very far down my personal consideration list.

 

[Dug720]

Guess I'll see in November. We haven't had any issues in the past. We don't do MDR every night though.

If you don't have food allergies or issues, you may be perfectly fine in the MDR - or even the buffet. But if you have any special needs...it's a challenge. It should not have taken me filling out the mid-cruise survey and giving dining poor marks for the head server to start falling all over himself to get more options and to make it clear that I could order anything and they would adapt it. He should have done that night 1 if it was available - not when he started worrying about their survey rating.

 

[starvenger]

I can tell you from having just sailed on them, that is not what they are actually putting forth all the time. Definitely did not have the Day 5 menu.

But when you take the entire menu into account, appetizers as well... It got old quickly.

I'm out of this one since no one seems to be getting that I am NOT bashing RCCL. Just pointing out that things have gone downhill in the past 2 years and they are very far down my personal consideration list.

I appreciate your honesty, fwiw.

I’m on Allure in just over a month so I guess we’ll see how it compares to cruises previous. I’m curious to see if it’s an overall drop in quality or an inconsistency between RCI cruise classes.

 

[Dug720]

I appreciate your honesty, fwiw.

I’m on Allure in just over a month so I guess we’ll see how it compares to cruises previous. I’m curious to see if it’s an overall drop in quality or an inconsistency between RCI cruise classes.

Thank you.

Yeah - I wondered if it was a ship classes thing - my experience with RCCL has only been Radiance class - but some on cruise critic have reported similar issues on larger ships. I hope you have a great time though!!

 

[cgolf]

I have to say we did a 5 night on the Brilliance this year and had no issues with the menus in the mdr.

I will say if Celebrity executes on their preview menus on the Edge it will blow away what we have seen on either DCL and RCCL in the free dining venues.

My 2 cents on is DCL worth the upcharge, is that if you love all things Disney you will have a great time, just don’t think about the extra money spent. If you are like us and can take or leave Disney, you will want to give it a lot of thought.

We have had great experiences on our two RCCL cruises were the food and service were comparable and even better than some of our DCL trips. The only caveat we have is we didn't try another line until our daughter went to college. The prices stayed where we needed them to get her to platinum and do one trip as an adult

 

[southerngirl528]

That's a pretry closed minded train of thought...which is fine for you but hope OP takes it with a grain of salt.

While I understand your comment, aren't forums about opinions? And the OP asked for input and opinions. There is a broad spectrum of answers to the OP's question, which should make it easier to take all the comments with a grain of salt.

 

[southerngirl528]

Larger ships are a very different cruising environment. To me, even Dream seems a bit too big and crowded at times - while Magic feels just about right. But it really is the atmosphere on DCL which makes us go back,

My opinion is the very much the same. And as a Platinum w/DCL, I have only had children with us on 2 cruises. All adults otherwise. 8 of my DCL cruises have been on the Classic ships, 2 on the Dream. I did not like the Dream nearly as much as my cruises on the classic ships. I chalk that partly up to the Dream's shorter itinerary. We are sailing on the Fantasy soon, so we shall see how we like her!

 

[SgtTibbs]

Assuming the Disney cruise is an option, I'd price out what I could get for that price on the 1/3 price cruise line. Upgrade to a suite? More specialty restaurants, more/better shore excursions, a longer cruise? What else would you spend that extra 2/3rd on? Basically what's your lost opportunity cost going Disney.

 

[darnheather]

To OP. I have never compared a DCL cruise to another cruise line and had it come out 3x more when I considered the size of the room, same dates, same itinerary. I would be very uncomfortable having a bunk bed over the main bed which is the set up on many other inside rooms. Also, the style of the ship is important to me. I love the look of the Disney ships. Finally, I don't ever want to have to walk through or near a casino with smokers on vacation.

I'm very willing to pay more for Disney but considering both my cruises were around $3500 for three people I can't imagine finding a cruise for $1200 that was as good.

ETA: The best deals on DCL are opening day and less than 90 days before sail. Anything else could be inflated.

 

[Frozen2014]

While I understand your comment, aren't forums about opinions? And the OP asked for input and opinions. There is a broad spectrum of answers to the OP's question, which should make it easier to take all the comments with a grain of salt.

Definitely. I hear you. It's just the post was stating that if you can afford Disney premium cost, then no other cruise line was worth while for kids and do not take a cruise. Didn't want OP to miss out on other options and shut the door based in the comment.

 

[mevelandry]

There are other cruise lines outhere that have the possibility to make you just as happy as DCL but unless you don't take a chance and try it, you'll never know as you can't judge a book by it's cover.

Although I had great experiences on all my DCL cruises, when I chose to try another cruise line, the money saved I was able to put on specialty dining, nice excursions and little extras (like decorations & gifts for the cabin, a cabana at the beach, beach front hotels and a Spa access cabin on the ship) which was very nice...

But even without investing in extras, I managed to have wonderful vacations. We did encounter amazing staff members and cabin hosts and attended shows we are still talking about. We tear up when memories from those vacations come to our minds.

I honestly think that the "magic" is inside us and we can find it pretty much anywhere as long as our heart is open to it.

On a more "cartesian" side: I also find that it is nice to be able to alternate between cruise lines and not having to wait longer before my next cruise... To be able to put money in my account for rainy days without having to make a choice between savings and vacations.

 

[lizzyb]

I think Disney is definitely worth more than other cruise lines, I can't say it is 3x worth it.

 

[cruiser21]

For ___ and giggles, I went to CC to find some Royal menus of late (as of 2018) - here's what we've got:
Day 1: horseradish crusted salmon, spicy grilled pork chop, aged prime rib, chicken marsala, baked polenta and feta, fish of the day, NY strip loin
Day 2: seafood linguini, almond crusted cod, duck a l'orange, pork shank, roasted beef tenderloin, veg casserole, fish of the day, roasted chicken breast
Day 3: braised beef short rib, lasagna al forno, chicken cordon bleu, wild mushroom risotto, fish of the day, grilled chicken breast, NY strip loin, spaghetti bolognese
Day 4: garlic tiger shrimps, roasted rack of lamb, chicken parmigiana, steak diane, tagliatelle, fish of the day, spaghetti bolognese
Day 5: pan seared wahoo, broiled lobster tail, slow roasted prime rib, potato gnocchi, cheese tortelloni, fish of the day, grilled chicken breast, NY strip loin

So definitely not only 2 new entrees every day, and to me it seems more like about 4 new entrees every day which SEEMS to be similar to what DCL offers. In any event, I didn't find DCL food amazing in the MDR and I doubt I've ever said that about any cruiseline MDR. But I could pick something from each of the above menus and I'm sure I'd be reasonably satisfied.

Edit: for appies, I can see that they offer 3 new appies every night with 5 mainstays (baked french onion soup, caesar salad, escargot, shrimp cocktail, fruit medley)

Yes that looks very similar to DCL. DCL has theme nights, but it's basically still the same type of food. Putting a Marvell or Disney characters name in front of the dish doesn't make the dish any different.

 

[cruiser21]

I think Disney is definitely worth more than other cruise lines, I can't say it is 3x worth it.

Since we still don't know which ships OP is considering I can't even comment on that. Is it worth 3x more then Harmony or Vista? No. Is it worth 3 times more then a some of the 20 year old year ships that are really cheap? It might be.

 

[All about me]

I guess I interpret selection and variety as the same thing when we're talking menus.

Yes, by saying 'The selection of food each night in the main dining room was outstanding for an adventurous eater," I meant 'there was an excellent variety (of extravagant entrees)'.

It's seems rather silly to give up something you want to see just because you cant do it on the mouse.

Ah, but it doesn't need to be given up; it can simply be postponed. After all, children don't stay children forever.

For ___ and giggles, I went to CC to find some Royal menus of late (as of 2018) - here's what we've got:
Day 1: horseradish crusted salmon, spicy grilled pork chop, aged prime rib, chicken marsala, baked polenta and feta, fish of the day, NY strip loin
Day 2: seafood linguini, almond crusted cod, duck a l'orange, pork shank, roasted beef tenderloin, veg casserole, fish of the day, roasted chicken breast
Day 3: braised beef short rib, lasagna al forno, chicken cordon bleu, wild mushroom risotto, fish of the day, grilled chicken breast, NY strip loin, spaghetti bolognese
Day 4: garlic tiger shrimps, roasted rack of lamb, chicken parmigiana, steak diane, tagliatelle, fish of the day, spaghetti bolognese
Day 5: pan seared wahoo, broiled lobster tail, slow roasted prime rib, potato gnocchi, cheese tortelloni, fish of the day, grilled chicken breast, NY strip loin

Oh yeah, that's the type of food they served in 2011. And they did not stint on the portions.

It's just the post was stating that if you can afford Disney premium cost, then no other cruise line was worth while for kids and do not take a cruise.

In point of fact, I said 'I', not 'you'. And nowhere in my post did I tell anyone not to take a cruise with children if they can't afford Disney. I said I wouldn't do it if I were unwilling or unable to pay the premium. And I don't.

Yes that looks very similar to DCL. DCL has theme nights, but it's basically still the same type of food. Putting a Marvell or Disney characters name in front of the dish doesn't make the dish any different.

I looked it up and you are correct. I do not remember the food being so... upscale. We are more Pecos Bill people than Monsieur Pauls so I hope my granddaughters are more adventurous when it comes to food than I am aware of!