Should we try Carnival after Royal Caribbean

We have been cruising on Royal Caribbean over the last 5 years (7 cruise) With Royal Caribbean leaving California we are looking for a new line. Should we try Carnival

We do most meal at Chop and Portofino. How is the food on Carnival ? Do they have anything like Chop or Portofino.

How are the rooms ? We always book a Ocean View Family room (6500 or7500) does Carnival have any family room

Kids Club My 6 year old twins love the kids club Has any one tryed both

Thanks for your help

Some people, especially loyal Royal's, will not agree with me on this, let me explain. First off, we have our FIRST RCL cruise coming up here in about three weeks.

Our first two cruises were on Carnival. We absolutely LOVED them - some people will tell you that the food and staterooms are better on Carnival than Royal, I will be able to verify that soon. All I can say is try it - see if you like them and decide for yourselves. One thing, too, Carnival's pricing is lower than RCL.

Have sailed both lines mutiple times and they are similar in alot of ways.

The ships that I've sailed on Carnival had a little larger Inside cabin, OV cabin and Balcony cabin, however RCI's suites are larger than on Carnival.

IMO the food on both lines were good not great just good, so no complaints for that department, but that's just my taste and opinion.

The ships themselves RCI wins hands down with decor and beauty there is no comparison with Carnival.

Again IMO Carnival to me offers a mostly cheaper cruise fare than RCI, but not always, so make sure to do your research before booking.

The kids camps I really can't say as mine are all grown and gone. But I have witnessed the children paradeing around the ship on both lines and to me the children on RCI seem to be having a better time.

I would not heisate to sail on either line, I like them both.

A cruise is what you make of it.

You can ask for others opinions all you want, but until you witness for yourself you will never know what you like and don't like.

There are some things to concider before booking that may or may not concern you:

Carnival allows smoking in their cabins and balconies

RCI only allows smoking on the balcony and not the cabin.

Carnival allows one bottle of wine per guest over 21 to be brought onboard and also sells beer and liquor through their Bon Voyage Dept before boarding that will be waitng in your cabin upon arrival.

RCI does not have have this. :(

I'm sure there are others that I have over looked, but these are a few things I find the same and different between the 2 lines.

I have not been on a RCI cruise yet and cannot wait to try one!

My family has been on 2 Carnival cruises and loved them SO much! On the 7-day cruises, you will see many families and not many drunk people, as others think of Carnival.

The food is OUTSTANDING in the MDR. So much so, that we didn't go to the specialty restaurant on our 2nd cruise because it was the same quality as the MDR food. We traveled on the Splendor and the Dream.

The ships don't have a WOW factor like RCI's Promenade but the water slides are great for the kids (and adults!)! Splendor has a seperate Splash Park for young ones too.

All in all, I would give it a try. It is fun to try new ships, I believe, and Carnival should be a great time for your family.:)

My review, CCL to RCL. After 6 Royal we cruised with CCL on Miracle. the review tells why and compares them well.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=898081&page=2

I love both lines, but for my next trip the first of the year I'm leaning toward RCCL. The promenade, and its shops, restaurants and cafes offering something thats missing from Carnival. Everything else is about equal, unless either one throws in $200-$300 obc!

We have been cruising on Royal Caribbean over the last 5 years (7 cruise) With Royal Caribbean leaving California we are looking for a new line. Should we try Carnival

 

We do most meal at Chop and Portofino. How is the food on Carnival ? Do they have anything like Chop or Portofino.

 

How are the rooms ? We always book a Ocean View Family room (6500 or7500) does Carnival have any family room

Kids Club My 6 year old twins love the kids club Has any one tryed both

Thanks for your help

Sure. "Variety is the spice of life."

We just a did the Carnival Spirit and were very disappointed with the kids program ( our 10 yr old daughter loved the kids program on the Oasis and hated the one on the Spirit) and the way the boat smelled like smoke all over. We posted a review of all the things we experienced on The Carnival Spirit. We will not be doing Carnival again.

Of course there is no comparison between Carnival Spirit and RCCL Oasis. Oasis is over twice as big and almost 10 years newer. Apples and oranges. Same with Disney Wonder. The price is also probably twice as much. Try something like the Valor, Liberty, or Dream against RCCL Voyager class. They are very similar. RCCL has better ships hands down. Food on CCL is better in the MDR. The rest depend on the ship and the week. Give one of the newer, bigger CCL ships a try. Most often CCL is a better "value." We are booked on a Jan. LOS cruise, but like to cruise all the lines. Don't let the RCCL cheerleaders make you think there are no other choices.

We've sailed CCL, NCL, and RCCL... and would sail any of them again.

There are slightly more smoking areas on CCL.... but the MDR food is better.

Inside cabins are slightly bigger on CCL, but the promenade is lovely for people-watching on RCCL.

There's good and bad with all cruise lines, mostly subjective.

My point is..... I'd be shopping price and itinerary, as the cruise lines equate.

We are thinking of the October 23rd allure as well, and also the Serenade on the same day, but don't want to fly to san juan for the Serenade - We are doing the Oasis on the 23rd of October and getting excited.

We've never done Carnival, but the more I read the more I don't want to especially if there's more cigarette smoke around:)

Of course there is no comparison between Carnival Spirit and RCCL Oasis. Oasis is over twice as big and almost 10 years newer. Apples and oranges. Same with Disney Wonder. The price is also probably twice as much. Try something like the Valor, Liberty, or Dream against RCCL Voyager class. They are very similar. RCCL has better ships hands down. Food on CCL is better in the MDR. The rest depend on the ship and the week. Give one of the newer, bigger CCL ships a try. Most often CCL is a better "value." We are booked on a Jan. LOS cruise, but like to cruise all the lines. Don't let the RCCL cheerleaders make you think there are no other choices.

Yeah we knew going on the Oasis for our first cruise ever would probably spoil us, and it did. Our problems were not with the boat as much as with the service. It just seemed to us the RCI staff was both more friendly and helpful. Also the carnival kids club was a joke as our daughter watched the employees yell at other kids for making a mess. She only went once and didn't want to go back.

I will share one story which set the stage. On the second day early in the morning my wife's mother went to get coffee. She got in the elevator with a cup of coffee in both hands and an employee got on with her. She asked him to push her floor button. He said no he was "late to work" and made her ride to the top before he pushed the button for her floor. I just see that as rude.

One last note. We knew the smoking policy on CCL is more liberal, and you can tell throughout the ship.

We did have good times on the boat. We just aren't going to do them again when we have other options.

We are thinking of the October 23rd allure as well, and also the Serenade on the same day, but don't want to fly to san juan for the Serenade - We are doing the Oasis on the 23rd of October and getting excited.

We've never done Carnival, but the more I read the more I don't want to especially if there's more cigarette smoke around:)

The Oasis is amazing. I can't really explain how much fun it was for our family. You will love it. In the future I think we may try the freedom or liberty. We are very excited about the dreamworks deal with RCI. It is the reason we picked the allure next fall.

We are thinking of the October 23rd allure as well, and also the Serenade on the same day, but don't want to fly to san juan for the Serenade - We are doing the Oasis on the 23rd of October and getting excited.

We've never done Carnival, but the more I read the more I don't want to especially if there's more cigarette smoke around:)

I'm reading alot about Smoke are there more smoker or more smocking spots on Carnival then RCL

One of my twin has asthma and smooke may be a problem

Thanks for all the input any one know about large family room

We have sailed Carnival, RCCL and Celebrity. We have loved every single cruise for different reasons. Sometimes Carnival has lower prices and for instance, we are sailing this Feb because we liked their itinerary better. But the next one after that back to RCCL because I like that port itinerary better.

Truthfully, if I could afford to sail on Celebrity all the time I would because we are mid-40s with no kids and I think they fit our demographic better ... but their prices are much higher than RCCL & CCL so we can sail more, we have to book the lower fares.

In any case, the cruise is the fun you make of it. The food, shows and facilities are fantastic on all of these lines so you'll have fun no matter which one you choose! :)

Hey there Crosslink - so will you guys be on the 23rd sailing of the Allure? Kinda looks that way from your countdown thingy on here:)

Hey there Crosslink - so will you guys be on the 23rd sailing of the Allure? Kinda looks that way from your countdown thingy on here:)

Yes. We just put the deposit down Tuesday. We are excited about it. We loved the Oasis and expect the Allure to be as good. Especially with the new Dreamworks things they are doing.

Why go backwards ? ? ?

I found the food on carnival to be much better. The service is comparable. The rooms are HUGE compared to RCCL.

The decor is what I do not care for. The RCCL ships seem more elegant but if you like Vegas and Activities then Carnival is your line....

my very 1st cruise was on carnival conquest, loved it. 1st cruise with rcl was on granduer, didn't like nearly as much as carnival cruises. giving rcl another try in 2012 on much bigger ship. looking forward to it.

My reply to this is simple, try it for yourself. Everyone is going to have their opinions, and they're entitled to them. But you just need to try it for youself and say it was better, it wasn't or it was pretty even. I've had one cruise on Carnival, thought it was great, nice people, nice rooms, food was good, couldn't have asked anymore on my vacation.

I am sailing for the first time on RCCL this december so I'll do my comparison then, but just try it, you'll never know for sure unless you do.

yes , u should try carnival . My frist cruise was carnival and then royal caribbean. i went back to carnival last year and they have changed so much that u will like carnival. They even have better prices :D

I'm reading alot about Smoke are there more smoker or more smocking spots on Carnival then RCL

One of my twin has asthma and smooke may be a problem

 

Thanks for all the input any one know about large family room

I'm a non-smoker and had to cruise with two smokers this past time. Smoking was only allowed on the port side of the ship on the open decks. There were some lounges that allowed smoking but I never smelled anything from them as I passed by. Just stay on the other side of the ship and out of the bars that allow smoking and you should be fine. :)

My husband and I are NOT loyal to one cruise line. We have sailed RC & NCL twice, and Carnival, 4 times. LOVED the Miracle!

My advice.....you have to go with an open mind!

Karen

As the majority has said, try both lines. Being

diamond plus RC, it's obvious that we love RC, but we tried the Conquest from Galveston when a RC ship was not there. We were definitely surprised! We enjoyed a

beautiful (not gaudy as expected) ship. As others have said food was better, and the rest was comparable.

However, one thing we loved was the CCL suite, which is to die for. The completely seperate dressing room was so great. This had more room than our usual JS on RC.

One thing we did not like was the fact that one cannot go from one end of ship to other on the Conquest (can't speak for other CCL ships).

We have made reservations for one of the first sailings of the not yet out Magic for a B2B on one of her first Galveston sailings. It will be fun to sail on an almost

brand new ship.

You will have a wonderful time on either cruise line.

Happy sailing!:D