Royal vs Disney January

[greeneyedchick]

I wonder if we could somehow bring a mattress topper-crazy as it sounds I have seen others mention this

I once brought a queen-sized faux-feather bed topper to a resort in Mexico because I had heard the beds were hard. This was before airlines charged for luggage. But I had a big suitcase and I think I still managed to fit other items in the suticase as well. Buying a topper and paying the luggage fee is still probably cheaper than paying Disney prices.

 

[hardcorestitch]

I just got word that if you are 18 to 21 on Royal Caribbean, you can no longer sail on your own. It is now required that someone 25+ has to sail with you.

This is why the current generation is so bad that these cruise lines did this.

 

[firstwdw]

At this point, the mattress, food and destinations are of zero importance to me, it’s all about the ship.

We are DCL Platinum and are at various levels on several other cruise lines, but my favorite cruise was on the RCCL Wonder of the Seas. For me, bigger is better.

We came to a similar conclusion. We love Disney ships but the price is a bit much. We've decided to give Utopia a try-instead of an older Royal ship

 

[firstwdw]

I once brought a queen-sized faux-feather bed topper to a resort in Mexico because I had heard the beds were hard. This was before airlines charged for luggage. But I had a big suitcase and I think I still managed to fit other items in the suticase as well. Buying a topper and paying the luggage fee is still probably cheaper than paying Disney prices.

I agree and if we fly Southwest, even better!

 

[dreamer17555]

I just got word that if you are 18 to 21 on Royal Caribbean, you can no longer sail on your own. It is now required that someone 25+ has to sail with you.

This is why the current generation is so bad that these cruise lines did this.

It has been 21 for awhile on Royal on most cruises departing North America. I think you might be hearing about it now since someone posted about it and it went viral. It is actually pretty typical of most cruise lines.

And not only is it not new or to be blamed on a certain generation but hotels have been doing this since I was a teen (in in my 40's) where most hotels require you to be 21 to check in (WDW resorts allow 18 & up as do some others but many do not). Most car rental places require you to be 25 and have for the past 20+ years but we don't assume it is due to some behavior issue caused by a single generation...

 

[John VN]

I agree and if we fly Southwest, even better!

Just wondering what type of accommodations you cruise. Might a Suite Level offer a superior mattress?

 

[Mousefan mom]

We've done Royal (Odyssey of the Seas) and Disney Dream. Atmosphere is the largest thing that was different. Now, I'm not saying one is right/wrong--but you will know if this is for you or not. My kids tend to be more the nerdy, academic variety. They are not into the latest greatest brands, they are not exceptionally sport minded kids (think cheerleaders and football players more than bowling club, JROTC type of "sports"). My kids (all teens and young adults) felt like the kids on board were the "popular" kids and they didn't fit. On Disney, they made friends with other cruisers very easily. For the adults, nice--but a bit more plastic surgery, women wearing string bikinis, etc. than maybe you find on the Disney. It is just a different vibe--maybe it was also because we cruised over spring break season too (with Royal)?

We are a Disney family. We don't want to get all dressed up to go to dinner (Royal technically has relaxed the formal dining and dress up dining each night at dinner--but I assure you it is still very much a "thing" there). We want to go to dinner in sundress and sandals and a polo and nice shorts or something like that. We felt VERY underdressed each and every night on Royal in the main dining room. Don't get me wrong, I promise we didn't dress like trash (think a Tommy Bahama shirt and khakis, my kids wore collared shirts and nice shorts, my daughter and I wore summer dresses)...but we were out of place and servers even commented to us "don't worry, we allow the casual dress now"...I never felt this way on Disney--it is relaxed and chill.

entertainment shows--they were equal. Royal did not disappoint here.

customer service--equal, Royal staff was as good as Disney. Not better, just equal.

Royal was exceptionally crowded, even in the adult only areas. Plus we didn't like the solariums are like huge indoor pools with echos--we loved the adult areas on Disney that are outdoor and relaxing and you hear the ocean.

 

[Mousefan mom]

One more thing to add, I booked a non Nassau with Royal, but Haiti (where their other private island is) had violence, so they rerouted us back to the Bahamas--be warned, that could easily happen again. We also went to the Dominican--but honestly, I'll take the private islands any day over the ports. A lot of panhandling and poverty. Beware of the excursions--they were not as good as they make them out to be at all.

 

[greeneyedchick]

It has been 21 for awhile on Royal on most cruises departing North America. I think you might be hearing about it now since someone posted about it and it went viral. It is actually pretty typical of most cruise lines.

And not only is it not new or to be blamed on a certain generation but hotels have been doing this since I was a teen (in in my 40's) where most hotels require you to be 21 to check in (WDW resorts allow 18 & up as do some others but many do not). Most car rental places require you to be 25 and have for the past 20+ years but we don't assume it is due to some behavior issue caused by a single generation...

It's quite a pain. My daughter has to travel for school and her job. Because she's not 21, she can't rent a hotel. She has to pretend to be me and only stay at hotels that do online check-in and that use your phone to open the door. She's a responsible kid who will graduate college before she's 21. Renting a car is also problematic. We had to get her a AAA membership that allows her to rent a car for an extra fee.

 

[firstwdw]

We've done Royal (Odyssey of the Seas) and Disney Dream. Atmosphere is the largest thing that was different. Now, I'm not saying one is right/wrong--but you will know if this is for you or not. My kids tend to be more the nerdy, academic variety. They are not into the latest greatest brands, they are not exceptionally sport minded kids (think cheerleaders and football players more than bowling club, JROTC type of "sports"). My kids (all teens and young adults) felt like the kids on board were the "popular" kids and they didn't fit. On Disney, they made friends with other cruisers very easily. For the adults, nice--but a bit more plastic surgery, women wearing string bikinis, etc. than maybe you find on the Disney. It is just a different vibe--maybe it was also because we cruised over spring break season too (with Royal)?

We are a Disney family. We don't want to get all dressed up to go to dinner (Royal technically has relaxed the formal dining and dress up dining each night at dinner--but I assure you it is still very much a "thing" there). We want to go to dinner in sundress and sandals and a polo and nice shorts or something like that. We felt VERY underdressed each and every night on Royal in the main dining room. Don't get me wrong, I promise we didn't dress like trash (think a Tommy Bahama shirt and khakis, my kids wore collared shirts and nice shorts, my daughter and I wore summer dresses)...but we were out of place and servers even commented to us "don't worry, we allow the casual dress now"...I never felt this way on Disney--it is relaxed and chill.

entertainment shows--they were equal. Royal did not disappoint here.

customer service--equal, Royal staff was as good as Disney. Not better, just equal.

Royal was exceptionally crowded, even in the adult only areas. Plus we didn't like the solariums are like huge indoor pools with echos--we loved the adult areas on Disney that are outdoor and relaxing and you hear the ocean.

Yea, my family sounds a lot like yours which is why we haven't tried Royal yet. We are leaning towards giving it a try though. Our last Disney cruise was packed with young kids, screaming parents. I think we will give Royal a try and save some money and then we will know! Thank you for your perspective!

 

[Mousefan mom]

If I were you and doing Royal, I'd stick to the Oasis class ships. We found the quantum class didn't have enough to do, or it was booked up you couldn't do it. Also, expect a lot of upcharges for things, etc. In our experience everything the kids wanted to do cost extra.

 

[CM Dad]

If I were you and doing Royal, I'd stick to the Oasis class ships. We found the quantum class didn't have enough to do, or it was booked up you couldn't do it. Also, expect a lot of upcharges for things, etc. In our experience everything the kids wanted to do cost extra.

Depends on what length cruise you want to do. Looks like the Oasis class ships will be doing shorter 3 and 4 night cruises in the future.

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2025/02/27/royal-caribbean-short-cruise-plan-sparks-backlash

 

[ldo]

Freedom will be fine. It's a step down from Oasis class. But there is plenty for your kids to do. It is a different vibe/clientele as prior poster said. Here's my post re Oasis--which is fabulous:
Our family (now with 20-something kids) adores DCL, but the Oasis class+ Royals are something that we really like. DH said, "Royal has stepped up their game on these ships." In addition to the main entertainment, they have an "Attic" that looks like a garage bar with 2 comedians that do 12 (same) shows during the week, large karaoke forum, etc.
If you have older teens who might be "tired" of the Disney theme, I'd definitely recommend Oasis class Royals. There are 4 pools, (slides, putt-putt, rock climbing, etc.), very nice adults only pool/solarium, and lots of free eating options. Even with 5,500 passengers, it really doesn't feel that crowded.
We also liked CocoCay-they've got a huge pool and, like Castaway, multiple (free) beaches with different vibes (some with entrance fees that we saw no reason to use). Royal also appeared to handle the lunch crowd better (and more options).