I’m breaking down the things that I feel matter while cruising. And giving my option on who did it better.
I have been on 10+ Disney cruises with many different itineraries. However, I have only been on 2 Royal Caribbean cruises (the first being 26 years ago). I will speak on my personal experiences and what I feel were positive or negative.
Itineraries
Because of the Royal Caribbeans’ fleet size, they offer a more diverse choice of itineraries. Royal Caribbean has 26 ships versus Disney’s five helps them to reach many different locations.
With Royal Caribbean’s 240 destinations in 6 different countries, you can explore many places worldwide.
Disney Cruise Line is growing their fleet, which will help them develop their destinations. I don’t know the exact number of destinations, but they offer at least 15 locations with multiple itinerates possible.
While I am known for saying that “I don’t cruise for the destination but more for the cruise,” this is not something that concerns me, however, mixing up our port of call is always good; if you like to expand your horizons, Royal Caribbean will be the winner on itineraries.
Ships
Trying to compare the ships in Royal Caribbeans fleet to Disney Cruise Line fleet is like apples to oranges.
The largest Royal Caribbean ship is Icon of the Seas. With a length of 1,198 feet, this is the largest cruise ship in the world, accommodating up to 7,600 guests plus 2,350 crew.
The smallest Royal Caribbean ship currently operating, both in terms of gross tonnage and passenger capacity, is Grandeur of the Seas, which is also the oldest ship in the fleet. It can carry 2,440 passengers at max capacity and measures 73,817 tones.
The Disney Wish measures 1,119 feet long, and can hold up to 4,000 passengers in 1,254 staterooms — making it the biggest cruise ship in Disney’s current fleet.
The smallest Disney Cruise Line ship is Disney Magic. At 83,000 gross tons, it’s about 40% smaller than Disney Wish. It can carry 2,700 passengers at max capacity. Unveiled in 1998, Disney Magic also is the oldest Disney cruise ship. Its arrival marked the beginning of the line.
Cabins
The Disney Cruise cabins are more significant in square footage than the Royal cabins, but not by much. They both have ample storage space for all your things. The one place I saw the most significant difference was the layout for families. The majority of Disney and Royal cabins will hold four people. Larger families that want to stay in the same cabin are limited to a selection.
Royal’s cabins have a bed that can be pushed together to create a king or separate for two twins, plus a sofa bed. The cabins with more than four will have bunk beds and can hold up to 6 passengers. The cabins also have a traditional bathroom layout.
Disney’s cabins have a queen-sized bed and sofa bed, and most have a pull-down upper berth. If you want more sleeping space, they also offer cabins that have a Murphy bed. Select Concierge staterooms can fit up to 7 Guests. Disney has what is referred to as a split bathroom in the cabins; one side is for toilets, and the other is a shower and sink. This makes it excellent for families to be getting ready simultaneously.
On Board
There are two types of people on a cruise ship; the one that wants to be constantly on the go and the one who just wants to chill.
I love sitting back and chilling with a good book and a cocktail. My son is a social butterfly, always looking for someone to talk to and something to do. My husband enjoys sitting on the veranda and being alone. Both of these cruise lines were able to meet our vacation needs.
While on the Royal Caribbean ship, there was always something going on that we could choose from. There were many high-energy, exciting activities and events along with low more relaxing events like trivia, gambling, and Bingo, and there were also kids club activities.
Disney’s activities are less high-energy or adrenalin filled than Royal’s. Disney has more low-key events and activities; trivia, bingo, arts and crafts, and fun activities for the kids in the clubs.
I found plenty of spots to relax with my book or converse with someone. My son was able to run around the ship making new friends and enjoying many of the activities on board. Of course, he couldn’t do many of the activities as they were not wheelchair accessible. But he still had many fun adventures on both ships.
While I tried to check out the kid’s clubs and family activities, I found that compared to what I am used to at Disney Royal needed to improve. This does not come as a surprise since Disney strives for family fun geared toward kids.
Both lines have an adult-only area on board their ships. Royals area was open to 16+ while Disney’s is 18+; I found that surprising and thought that Royals would be full of teens, but it was not. I did see a few but more like in passing. They didn’t like the quiet, relaxed vibe of the area.
Food
I found the food on both lines good. Did I like one over the other? I like that on Disney, you can order more than one item (certain things) without an upcharge like Royal is doing now.
If you read my posts about our trip, you know that the dining crew made my experience in the dining room unpleasant. But the quality of food is what is to be expected on a ship.
Disney has much more of a variety of food choices on board outside of the main dining room, which is included in the cruise cost.
Royal has many more restaurants you can try for an upcharge through a dining package or individual reservations. This is expected since you can cruise on Royal for much less than Disney.
Disney had what they call rotational dining (dinner), ensuring all guests enjoyed each of the three themed dining venues while on board. Most other dining options shut down around dinner time.
Royal Caribbean offers complimentary dining (dinner) options in the main dining room. Although, there are many other options open during dinner as well.
Crew
No matter what you call them Cast Members or Crew we have always had great experiences with them.
The only place that we had an issue was on Royal Caribbean in the main dining hall. They just seemed to be over worked and didn’t take the time to find out our allergies/preferences. We felt very rushed and not welcomed. I have been told that if you do pick your time dining then that is pretty normal. Since the servers only have you for one night then they don’t take the time to get to know you. The next cruise we are going on with Royal I have opted to do a scheduled main dining and I will let you know if I see a difference.
Disney always strives to be the best with their cast members. And most times I feel this is true. But just like in any profession you will have employees that are wonderful and others that get the job done.
Cost - Bang for your buck!
I went into our Royal Caribbean cruise with the intention to keep our cruise around the same price as what we would normally spend on a Disney Cruise. I am not going to give numbers here because they are constantly changing.
On a Disney Cruise we normally book verandah cabins for 3 adults. This will give us a cabin with 246 square feet of space, room service, breakfast, lunch and dinner, soft drinks served at meals and at each ship’s beverage station, snacks and ice cream throughout the ship, Disney Character Meet & Greets, Entertainment including live Broadway-style productions at the Walt Disney Theatre as well as Disney movie classics and current first-run films at the Buena Vista Theatre, kids clubs. What is not included in that cost Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, gratuities, spa/salon, nursery, private island rentals, alcohol, smoothies and specialty drinks, photography, laundry, internet, shore excursions, Food items like popcorn, peanuts, and packaged snacks are available for purchase around the ship and outside the theaters, Royal Court Royal Tea, bottled beverages, specialty restaurants, airfare and transportation.
This is what we got on our Royal Caribbean cruise for around the same cost.
Our cabin was a Crown Loft Suite 540 sq. ft. of space; two-deck-high stateroom with panoramic view, master bedroom and bath on loft level, bedroom has two twin beds (can be converted to queen-size) with a shower for two, bath with shower on main level, stairway to loft, private balcony with chairs, dining area with dry bar, living room sofa converts to double bed, concierge service. Booking the suite also gave us access to all day access to Coastal Kitchen, specialty bottled Water (upon arrival), complimentary VOOM (internet), flexible arrival boarding & priority departure, priority dining reservations, reserved seating section in select entertainment venues, suite lounge access (complimentary hors d’oeuvres and cocktails each evening), access to Suite Sun Deck, Royal Caribbean plush bathrobes for use onboard. All Royal Caribbean passengers have these included in their cruise price breakfast, lunch and dinner, tap water, milk, tea, coffee (regular and decaf), lemonade, iced tea, flavored waters, juices (at breakfast and not fresh squeezed), Hot chocolate (via instant packets), and most entertainment onboard.
The following services are not included in the cruise price; dining in specialty restaurants such as Chops Grille, 150 Central Park, and Izumi, dining in Johnny Rockets (Where applicable), spa and salon services, gambling (including bingo), art auction, shore excursions, photographs, video arcade, medical services, internet access (unless staying in suite), Transfers (Unless guest has purchased our air/sea package), laundry and dry cleaning services, gratuities, alcoholic Beverages, non-alcoholic beverages
