RCL vs DCL

RCL VS DCL

Disney Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean Cruise Line are the two best cruise lines in my life right now. DCL has been a strong contender after I have been on my fourth cruise in the last two years. I have been on four Royal in the past two years as well, on multiple different ships so I think this will be the best time to rate them. They each have their positives and negatives attached to them, but which one should you spend money on?

The ships—Royal Caribbean has a total of 31 cruise ships that goes to all sorts of itineraries. They range from smaller ships from the 90’s to the largest cruise ships on the ocean in the 2020’s. Disney Cruise Line has eight ships so far. Before they went into the IP overload, these ships were thoughtfully designed, the Disney Fantasy is one of the most beautiful ships I have ever been on. So many design elements and special surprises on every deck just made the ship beautiful. Just based on the amount of ships, the different locations offered, and different activities this point as to go to Royal.

The private islands—Before I went to Castaway Cay, Coco Cay was easily my favorite cruise ship private island. It had the most things to do, so many dining options. I love the mozzarella sticks, and the funnel cakes. A huge freshwater pool with a swim up bar. So many different areas to sit and enjoy the beach. A huge water park if you want to pay extra for it, I never have. I have enjoyed the upcharge adults only experience which was just our own smaller version of Coco Cay with the swim up fresh water pool and so many beach views. Castaway Cay feels like the Disney water parks. It has bits of theming everywhere. A 5k course on the island is a fun added experience, with things to find along the way. It has multiple places to get food, but the food is not good. Feels like the quality is even worse than the ship. I love the multiple different beaches, plenty of water play areas for kiddos. A huge snorkel area where you can hunt for little easter eggs sprinkled throughout the water on the family beach. The adult section of Castaway Cay is a hidden gem. It takes a little while to walk there, or you can ride some trams but the reward is worth it once you get there. The beach is empty the last four cruises I have been on to the island. You can walk down the beach, find tons of chairs, and drag some of them right into the water. Just be prepared for the random people to decide to play in the water DIRECTLY in front of you when the entire beach is empty. It happens, every time.

Lighthouse Point is the newest private island of Disney, and I have now been there twice. It is a pain to get to the beach. A 10-minute unshaded walk, a wait for the tram, plus a 10-minute tram ride just to get to the beach. It is similar to getting to the Magic Kingdom from the Magic Kingdom parking lot.

Once there, it gives me a new age water park feel, like Volcano Bay. When you finally make it to the beach, it is beautiful there, a long stretch of beach greets you. Some water play areas, a nature trail that LACKS signage. Once again, you can typically bring a chair, right up to the water.

The winner has to be Disney here, Royal can’t compete when Disney has two private experiences compared to the one of Royal. I am going to the Royal club in Nassau on my next cruise so maybe I change my tune after that.

Professional Entertainment—This depends on the cruise ship you go on. We went on the Liberty of the Seas last year and the entertainment offerings were limited. The shows weren’t as fun, and it is a night and day difference between the Liberty offerings and the Star offerings. Disney’s entertainment is extremely consistent. It didn’t matter which ship I got on, it had great theater shows. If you have kiddos that love Disney IP, this would be the pick for you. But if you want more diversity, going for Royal is best, but go on a ship with a diving show, an ice show, and a Broadway show.

Adults only Entertainment—Royal wins this in a runaway, the amount of audience-based entertainment dwarfs whatever Disney has. The Crazy Quest for adults on Royal is the flagship of this category, and beats Disney’s Go Fetch. I do love how unused the adult areas are on the Disney cruise ships. The adult section on Castaway Cay is almost completely empty every time I go, I can always get a chair RIGHT on the water. On a port day, we were able to have hot tubs to ourselves, the adult pool to ourselves. Bars completely to ourselves. It is a different experience for sure.

On Board Activities—If anyone loves character meet and greets, the ship is absolutely loaded with them. The best part? The lines are in air conditioning. Fireworks at sea is also just an uniquely Disney idea, and the only time, I have seen fireworks on Royal is when I was docked at Cocoa Cay next to the Wonder of the Seas on its media only voyage.

Disney has small movie theaters on their ships that play movies that are still in theaters, I love that touch. I watched the Mandalorian and Grogu, Lilo and Stitch live action, and Freakier Friday all onboard at these movie theaters before they ended up on Disney + for streaming. The room also has included movies of a huge Disney catalog of classic and recent movies. I watched a ton of Marvel while relaxing in my room.

The main deck’s movie screen is always a must do almost every night. They push the newer stuff a little bit too much for me, like it is 10 PM and we are playing Descendants… Why not The Lion King.

The different water slides are elevated than the typical small body slides that most cruise ships have. The Aqua Mouse/Aqua Duck is a lot of fun. Karaoke. Fantastic design for the kids’ clubs. So much trivia. Even watched their executive chef create an apple strudel in front of us.

Royal Caribbean has just pure tonnage of activities you can do. Rock climbing, ice skating, laser tag, different dining options, walking in central park, walking the promenade, countless bars, plenty of pools, the flowrider, water slides are good, got to see the galley in the main dining room, there is just always something happening on the ship.

Deciding the winner for this one is difficult for me. If you are a fan of the characters, then Disney is for you. If you want more diversity in what you do, Royal is the best. Half point for each.

The food—Quality can be inconsistent on cruise ships, and especially ship to ship. I went on the Disney Wish last year and it had one of the worst dining experiences I have had on the ocean, but then I went again in January and it was much improved. I haven’t dined at all of the specialty restaraunts as I have heard good things for the Disney Cruise Line specialties but just based on options available, I have to go with Royal. The Disney buffet was not great, I loved the mickey churro waffles. I think the ice cream is better on Disney, they have unique daily flavors that I love having that option available. I love some chicken tendies on the pool deck. The dining rooms have incredible theming, but overall the food quality slips in these areas. Royal Caribbean has so many solid dining establishments. Their dining rooms aren’t themed but the food tastes slightly better than Disney. The buffets on these cruises are HUGE and have more options available. On the Star they had lobster steak and shrimp on the buffet the first day, and the 6^th night. Being able to sail on the Disney Fantasy and the Star of the Seas back-to-back really showed how GLARING this difference was. Worlds of Marvel is the worst restaurant on the sea.

Price—Disney Cruise Line is often close to double the price as a Royal Caribbean cruise, and I just can’t justify the difference in cost very often. We went on the brand-new Star of the Seas for $2200 for an interior room for seven days. A 5-night cruise on the Disney Magic, a ship that started sailing in 1998 was $2600 for a similar room, and that was discounted.

Overall, I think you can’t go wrong. Both cruise lines deliver a great experience. The food and the price point are weighted the heaviest in all of these battles, and Royal beats Disney on both of those. I think Disney Cruise Line has the worst food in the industry. I like Royal better, I like Norwegian better, I like Virgin better, and Carnival isn’t too far off