Laurin612

I have not been on Anthem, but I have been on Adventure. We did not initially choose Adventure--we had booked on another cruise line and that cruise got cancelled due to a re-positioning. We then had to scramble to book something that was leaving out of San Juan the same day--and ended up on the Adventure of the Seas. The cruise was very port intensive and the ship was perfectly fine, but my teens said they were bored and they didn't like the teen club and found it disorganized.

In my opinion, since you are cruising to Bermuda/Bahamas and it will NOT be port intensive and you are traveling with three teens, I'd go with Anthem. There will be much more for them (and everyone else in the family) to do, which is important on cruises that are not particularly port intensive.

That said, you can't go wrong either way. It's a cruise! :)

I had inquired in another related thread because we were considering getting the Deluxe package for my husband and when I tried to buy it it said both my 19 year old daughter and I also had to buy the package (it's a British Isles cruise, so a drinking age of 18). Anyway, DD and I both take a medication that has contraindications for alcohol. Per the excellent advice I received here, I called and explained to RCI. I offered to provide doctor's notes, but they did not require it. They DID, however, require me to purchase the Refreshment package for everyone else in our room (DD, DS and me) if I was getting the Deluxe package for my husband. No problem, since I was getting everyone a package, anyway (although I had only planned to get the soda package for my son initially).

Also, Adventure has a skating rink and shows which Anthem doesn't.

 

 

 

Biker, who does not think a teenager would be disappointed with Adventure.

My teens were disappointed with their experience on Adventure in 2015. They said it was very boring and they didn't like the teen club. DD was 17 and DS was 13. I'd go with Anthem.

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I am loyal to my family and our budget. If it means trying a different cruise line, we are open to it.

Same!

I'm going on my first RCI , but seems like everything I want in a cruise is on Carnival....We're going on RCI because bro and father prefer this line and feels it's more "upper class" so to speak....

 

Carnival's pros (from what I experienced compared to what I have read on here)

 

Legit pizza

Poolside burgers (Guy's) and Mexican grill (Blue Iguana)

Dr. Seuss themed events for the kids

Punchliner Club

Price

 

RCI's pros

 

- Ice rink (wife and daughter may like this)

- Rock climbing wall (no big deal for me)

- Silly surf station (not for us)

- Better food?

 

I like Carnival.....I've been on Princess.....in all honesty, I never been on a cruise I didn't like......trying to convince the fam to do Carnival next summer though....

Better food is subjective. RC USED to have the edge with food, but my family and I were sorely disappointed in the food on our last cruise on RC. Hopefully that was an anomaly, but from what I have been reading it was just the start of a cost-based decline in quality.

The ice rink and Flow Rider are not on all RC ships. I'm not sure about the rock climbing wall.

In my opinion, RC does have a more upper class feel, but I think that is pretty much because of the clientele being more white collar and wealthier. Carnival has more of a "fun" vibe, but it also has a more "working class" feel, pretty much because the clientele tends to be more blue collar and value conscious. While there are things that can annoy me about that sometimes, my family has commented that they prefer the vibe on Carnival, even though my husband and I are college graduates and work in the legal field. Your mileage, as always, may vary. :)

Hi,

carnival and rccl are 2 entirely different beasts. we sail alot out of los angeles because the port is only 20 minutes away and that is why i have been on so many carnival cruises you can get a 3 day for 199, that being said, i consider carnival the doublewide of the ocean. it is a very different group of people than you will find on rccl. i don't mean to insult anyone (i cruise carnival alot) but it is my opinion.

I don't know that I'd go quite THAT far, but I can see your point. ;)Carnival prides itself on being a great cruise value, and tends to attract "value minded" cruisers. Read into that whatever you will. :)

He has certain limits imposed, when we go away he gets a certain amount each day, but once it’s gone it’s gone....bit harder to do with a card/band

 

 

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You can check his spending on the in room account information on the TV daily. If he abuses his spending privileges/goes over, you can shut off the spending ability on his card.

@asalligo Here is my review from our last RC cruise. I'm just including it here because of the comparisons to Carnival:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2191022

How old is this "child"? If they aren't old enough to follow your rules on spending, then they are not old enough to be going "out and about" on their own. Tell them how much you are allowing them to spend, and when it's gone, it's gone....no more, no excuses. If a child can't follow the parent's rules, then that child needs to be with the parent's at all times.

I know some adults who don't follow rules on spending! :p

Hi there. I wrote a comparison a few years back. Here's a link:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2191052

I'm not loyal to either line and there are things I like about both of them (and things I prefer on Royal over Carnival and things I prefer on Carnival over Royal). I am a FTTF fan also, and there is no comparable product with Royal Caribbean.

I have not yet cruised on one of the megaships (Oasis or more recent), but my understanding is that those are the only ships where you need to make reservations for entertainment.

Some other random thoughts:

On RC, we found ourselves missing the Punchliner comedy club. On Carnival, we went there most nights and really enjoyed it.

On RC, we missed Guy's Burger Joint and decent pizza. The pizza we tried on Adventure of the Seas was awful--like $2 "value brand" frozen pizza.

On RC, we missed being able to do our own laundry. We pack lightly and on Carnival I generally do a load or two of laundry on the ship. They don't have self serve laundry on RC.

We just go to Windjammer.

The whole "chair hog" thing reminds me of "Dibs" in Chicago, but with zero effort. (Although the chair hogs would probably argue that their effort is waking up at 6am to drop their towels, watch or towel clips on a chair to claim it as their own. )

I have lived my whole life in the Chicago area and am well acquainted with "Dibs," although thankfully I no longer live in the city and don't have to deal with it unless I am visiting someone in the city. When we lived in the city, we once had a neighbor from down the block angrily knock on our door on Christmas Eve when we had family over and ask if one of our guests had parked in "his" parking spot. Thankfully, they had not!

If you're not familiar with Dibs, in the city of Chicago it is when after a fairly heavy snow someone shovels out a parking spot for themselves and then marks their territory with old lawn chairs, saw horses, and really any manner of random stuff someone has in their garage and doesn't care too much about. It really is quite a sight to see an entire street littered with old lawn furniture, etc. :D

http://chicagodibs.tumblr.com/

Probably for if you're actually staying there overnight/for an extended period of time and outside of tourist areas. Typhoid is from contaminated water or food. In Labadee, all food and drink comes off the ship so completely safe from tyhpoid, unless you plan on drinking standing water.

Or eating "bushmeat" [emoji33][emoji44]🦇[emoji205]

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Who moved along? You or the Chair Hog?

 

I hope it was the Chair Hog!

Me and DH, actually. Just to the next row of towels. [emoji6]I was in a good mood and didn't feel like having a confrontation.

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We have no qualms about sitting on loungers that only had towels on them. Only once did I have someone come over to me and say (after we had been sitting in the chairs for 90 minutes+) "I believe you're in my chair." I just said, " Oh, sorry! I thought those were our towels" and moved along. [emoji846]

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I can't say that Royal gets the nod for staterooms over Carnival.

 

Carnival has good beds, fluffy duvets and great pillows.

Royal is more like a cheap motel - hard or sagging beds, flat pillows and rough sheets with flat duvets.

 

Carnival I sleep well; Royal requires sleeping pills just to get any rest.

 

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Yes! I agree. Bedding is much nicer on Carnival.

I mostly agree with the OP's ratings for Carnival and RC, but I would rate them overall about the same at a 3. That said, I haven't yet sailed on Oasis or newer but I expect that the experience all around onboard is way better. I've never cruised on DCL so I can't compare.

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When I had the Refreshment package on Adventure of the Seas, I would often get a specialty coffee and a water bottle at the same time.

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Not sure if you are loyal to Royal or open to other cruise lines, but I think you should also consider the Carnival Breeze, which is currently sailing out of Galveston.

I know it's one of RC's smaller ships and can't compare with the megaships, but my kids found Adventure of the Seas lacking in this for kids/teens to do and said the teen club was nowhere near as good as Carnival's and was very disorganized/haphazard. We've never utilized the Adventure Ocean club for younger kids so I can't speak to that. Also, Carnival Breeze, Dream and Magic all have a pretty decent waterpark that my kids found really fun.

Soooo....I have a similar issue as the OP, but I am being told I have to buy THREE Deluxe packages!

The Deluxe beverage package for my cruise just went on sale for 25% off. I just went to book it for my husband and it said on the Cruise Planner that all adults in the stateroom must book the same package. The cruise leaves out of Amsterdam, so the drinking age is apparently 18. My daughter is 19--and it says that she and I both have to purchase a Deluxe package, too, if we are going to purchase one for my husband. This must be fairly new, because the last RC cruise we went on was in 2015 on Adventure of the Seas and I had gotten the Refreshment package, soda packages for the kids and a beer and wine package (that no longer exists, apparently) for my husband.

My daughter and I both take a medication that has definite drug interactions with alcohol (and there is even a warning sticker on the bottle from the pharmacy), so I had already purchased a (discounted) Refreshment package for myself and my daughter and a soda package for my son. We were waiting for the Deluxe package to be discounted before purchasing one for my husband.

I know people will say to just "pay as you go," but at around $8 a beer, if we did that we would be paying more than the $42 per day (plus gratuity). I also know it won't ruin his cruise if he can't have the package, but I can tell you he would seriously limit his drinking since he'd essentially be paying concert/stadium prices for beers! :)

I would be able to provide doctor's notes for both myself and my daughter. I will call RC today, but I was just wondering if anyone else had this issue (or had success) in dealing with having to purchase 3 packages with only one drinker in the room.

If you log in to Cruise Planner on the RC site you can make your time reservations for My Time Dining. I just did mine yesterday for my 6/21 cruise.

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I have sailed on both and definitely preferred Carnival Magic.

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Man, Just read this.. Been sailing since 1993 and heard of ships coming out of Dry Dock with some Repairs going on during the following cruise...But this?

 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/norwegian-cruise-passengers-angry-1.4603237

 

 

Mike

Oh, wow....I can't believe the cruise line didn't do more for them than offer 25% on a cruise with Norwegian during the next year. I'd be so :mad:

Check with Royal, but I don't think she will be allowed to participate because she will be 18.

When we cruised on Adventure of the Seas in 2015 my kids did not like Royal's teen club. They said it was very disorganized. They LOVED Carnival's clubs, but I get what your daughter is saying about the cliques/friend groups that form early on in the cruise. That probably happens in all ship's teen clubs, though. That said, there are a lot of other activities that she might like to participate in.

I wonder how many people will actually book that. If I could afford $60k for a vacation I would be on b2b2b2b2b2b2b. Not one week :')

The article I linked above says it's booked pretty much through 2019 since there is only 1 of them. I would rather go on 10-15 cruises with my family for that price.

No issue if they were to go that route, but its no longer a gratuity - its a Service Charge, and should be quoted as part of the cruise price.

Good point! I like the idea of calling it a Service Charge, because, after all, that is what you are paying for--service! And then any additional gratuity/tip for great service would be up to the individual cruiser.