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Who has sailed Carnival after Royal Caribbean?


Sun Lover
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I've sailed Royal and the Vista, booked on the Horizon too ...... The Vista is a cool ship and the Horizon (sailing soon) is her sister ship. The two newest Carnival ships ..... I'd sail them and no others on Carnival. The Vista has plenty to do and compares most closely to RCCL ships .....

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I've sailed on Oasis, Freedom, Radiance and Vision classes on Royal; and Conquest, Sunshine and Fantasy class on Carnival. I have found that with both lines, the smaller ships have better staff (usually the small ships are the training ships) and the larger ships have all the bells and whistles, but IMHO loses some of the personal service. I have found my happy place in the Freedom class on Royal and the Sunshine class on Carnival (although there is only one of those!).

 

I have cruises scheduled with Royal's Voyager class and Carnival's Dream class so that will be two new classes to compare as well as one MSC Meraviglia Class so I guess I am pretty much all over the board! :-)

 

For me though, if I am at sea, I am happy to be on whatever ship happens to get me there!

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We sailed on Freedom of the Seas in March of 2015, and all of our sailings since then have been on Carnival. The food is pretty much the same, and with the exception of the Flowriders, the ships are pretty much the same. The passenger attitude is a tad less stuffy if you will than on Royal. We’re in our mid-30s and definitely prefer Carnival.

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Thanks, that is what I was wondering. Which Royal ships have you been on? Why would you only sail on Vista class with Carnival?
The Radiance and the Indy ..... If you want all the bells and whistles then the Vista is the only thing that compares (maybe not equal to) to the newest Royal ships. The Vista has the skyride, The IMAX theatre, the 4D thrill theatre, ropes course, nice water park, many speciality restaurants, Havana and family Harbor cabins, candy/ice cream shop ..... I have 8 and 10 year old daughters and the Vista and Horizon will have the most to do for them .....
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We have sailed on several cruises on Royal Caribbean over many years but feel like the quality is deteriorating. I would like to hear how Carnival compares. I was just looking online a little bit at cruises on Vista or Horizon. Thanks.

 

 

 

We’ve sailed them all RCCL, CCL, NCL, and Disney. They are all very similar and the pros and cons are negligible. We book now based on price and itinerary. Although, I would never sail Disney again, super boring for adults and my kids are big now.

 

 

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Me. I sailed with Disney once and Royal Caribbean 5 times before my first carnival cruise in December. Loved it so much I booked another carnival cruise for the summer

 

Mind you, this was my first cruise I was an adult, my previous cruises I was a minor with my family. I’m low maintenance though, I wasn’t worried about a culture shock switching from RC to Carnival

 

Would I sail RC again? Absolutely, but Carnival fits my budget better. Will probably never sail Disney again because I can’t afford it.

 

 

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I was loyal to Royal for years...(Diamond)...see signature. Swore I'd never sail Carnival but did it one day and like it better.

 

I'm not saying I'd never sail RCL again but I found Carnival a comfortable fit for what I like these days,,,:)

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We have sailed on several cruises on Royal Caribbean over many years but feel like the quality is deteriorating. I would like to hear how Carnival compares. I was just looking online a little bit at cruises on Vista or Horizon. Thanks.

 

I've sailed a bunch on Royal, and maybe three on Carnival. I can make pros and cons for both, but the quality and service on both has been on a steady decline for a few years now. I do like the larger (not largest) ships on Royal a little better than Carnival. They seem easier to navigate to me. I also like the main dining room experience on Royal a little better, but the food quality on both has been no better than mediocre. Now, for me, since both lines have drawn pretty close to even (in my opinion) it's gotten a little more about the price and itinerary...... And the price gap between Carnival and Royal has gotten hard to overlook. I feel I get a better bang for my buck on Carnival so I have two booked for this year (Pride & Magic) Bottom line, you'll probably enjoy either one.

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We sailed a few RC ships (Adventure and Independence) then we tried Celebrity (Constellation). We really liked RC. We liked the ships, the service, and the vibe. Celebrity was just a bit too stuffy for us (early 30s at the time). There wasn't enough night life and certainly nothing for kids (although we were without kiddo on that trip).

 

A few years ago we decided to give Carnival a go. We decided on a smaller ship from a drivable port - The Pride. We loved it. Our wait staff was hands down the most attentive we've ever had. We sailed with our 5 year old son and he loved the water park, camp ocean, mini golf, etc. I know he'd love all that on a RC ship as well, but for the three of us the cost was so much better.

 

Last year we sailed on the Magic and would equate it to the Adventure of the Seas size wise. We loved it. Service was great. Entertainment was awesome (Cruise Director/Fun Staff). The water park and Camp Ocean was great again for DS. Now we're booked back on the Pride for our kid free anniversary cruise this summer. The cost just works for us.

 

We're not anti-RC and have been looking at an itinerary for next summer. We're between the Carnival Breeze (Magic sister ship) and The Harmony of the Seas. The itinterary is the same, home port is the same, and we're looking within the same month. With an ocean view balcony on the Breeze we're at a $900 savings for the three of us over a Central Park Balcony on the the Harmony of the Seas. That's a drink package or excursions at each of the 4 ports...it's not a drop in the bucket ya know!?! But the Harmony looks so awesome!!!

 

The biggest difference I noticed when jumping to Carnival was my fellow passengers and an overall more laid back feel. The crowd is more diverse - which is not a bad thing. There are lot more large family groups. It is not uncommon to find an extended family group of 20 on a Carnival ship. That wasn't something I saw a lot of on other lines. And the atmosphere was just more laid back.

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Yeah... I was a bit confused from a earlier post that said "Disney (if you wanted to shell out the money)".... I always considered Disney over priced and friends have told me they have seen deterioration in the overall experience on Disney ships especially for high prices paid.

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We have sailed on several cruises on Royal Caribbean over many years but feel like the quality is deteriorating. I would like to hear how Carnival compares. I was just looking online a little bit at cruises on Vista or Horizon. Thanks.

 

I recently took my first Carnival cruise after numerous RCI cruises (and other lines). I haven't been on the newest ships, but Liberty wasn't bad. Take away the odd decor and it might as well have been a RCI ship. Activities and entertainment were very similar to RCI's pre-Voyager Class ships.

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I too am considering switching to Carnival after 3 cruises on RCI and 2 on DCL. We are looking for a better variety in itineraries and the Oasis class ships just don’t offer that.

 

I’ve heard good is better on Carnival and I must say I’ve always wanted to try Carnival. Looking at an 8 day Southern out of Fort Lauderdale.

 

 

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We have sailed on several cruises on Royal Caribbean over many years but feel like the quality is deteriorating. I would like to hear how Carnival compares. I was just looking online a little bit at cruises on Vista or Horizon. Thanks.

Carnival has gone down further especially in the entertainment area . We find the only good entertainment are the comedians.

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With all the bad things that have been going on with CARNIVAL you might want to hold off for a bit. We are on the opposite side have done Disney which can not be compared to Carnival in any way. We have enjoyed Carnival but with 4 ships failing CDC inspections and the latest all out brawl on the Lengend we think it's time to move on for awhile till they get there cat together!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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With all the bad things that have been going on with CARNIVAL you might want to hold off for a bit. We are on the opposite side have done Disney which can not be compared to Carnival in any way. We have enjoyed Carnival but with 4 ships failing CDC inspections and the latest all out brawl on the Lengend we think it's time to move on for awhile till they get there cat together!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Act together sorry

 

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Agree with others that the "quality" has gone down on all lines as the prices have stayed flat. Makes perfect sense. As you can see from my signature, we bounce back and forth between Carnival and Royal.

 

Food- We enjoy Carnival's free food locations and options more than Royal. (ie: Guys, Blue Iguana, 24 hr ice cream machines, deli, pizza, etc.) MDR variety, quality is very comparable IMHO from a non-seafood eater. On a rare occasion we dine in specialty restaurants.

 

Price- We consistently find base cruise prices on Carnival cheaper as well as the cost of drinks and specialty dining. All lines are "nickel and diming" people to do various upsells. I am fine with this, as I simply say "no thank you" and move on.

 

Ships- We love the Royal ships (Quantum & Oasis Class) that include FlowRider, Rock walls, I-Fly, etc. We consider the ship our destination on these vacations. Love Royal's Solariums. Both lines have issues with chair hogs by the pool. We have no problem finding chairs elsewhere however.

 

Staff - We have experienced good and bad staff on each line. Just depends, but nothing that we let spoil our cruise.

 

Entertainment - Carnival Comedy shows with various performers, I like, even though you need to arrive early. Royal having more "production / broadway" shows is a nice treat, even if many times it is not our thing.

 

So, all the above is just my way of saying, the cruises I have been on are more alike than different. I have enjoyed them all regardless of other factor such as weather, other cruisers, etc. that could have impacted us.

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We did the Mariner twice and Voyager before moving to TN/TX before RCCL had a big ship in Galveston. We did 3 Conquests and a B2B on the Ecstasy from Galveston: A little bit of a let down then but the price more then made up for it especially since the ships were so much fun. We did the Magic and it was nice, but we really felt the entertainment had slipped especially in the lounges - and the main dining felt very Luby’s like.

 

Then RCCL put the Navigator in Galveston and we did 4 in a row: Navigator, Oasis (because we won a free cruise playing Bingo), Navigator, and Liberty. We really felt a decline starting with the 2nd Navigator Cruise. Like they were trying to catch up with Carnival in a race to the bottom.

 

Then we did a family trip to Alaska and the Carnival Legend made the most sense for our group: We though the ship would be a let-down (especially since we’d done the Pride back when she was new) - turns Carnival had really reversed course on the entertainment front and our dining team did a fantastic job with our group. We were not wowed by Alaska, but Legend pleasantly surprised us.

 

So that spurred DW and I to take a Dream Cruise out of Nola and it was in our top 5 - it was just a crapload of fun.

 

Then before DD went off to college, we decided to take the kids on the Liberty out of Galveston and none of us got much from the extra bells and whistles (except the Ice show and the Promenade) and all agreed food and service on Carnival was better then RCCL.

 

So DW and I did the Breeze and really liked it, but it did not stop us from booking the Vision OTS on for a 10day B2B after that.

 

Somewhere in all of that we did a Celebrity cruise to Bermuda, an NCL Cruise out of Nola and a Princess Cruise out of Houston. None of them impressed us enough to drive further, pay more or fly again.

 

So we’ve basically been alternating between CCL and RCCL every 5-6 months for the past 3 years. Our feeling is that in the past 3 years Carnival has added many dining venues and improved entertainment, while RCCL has added cabins that cause more crowding than we like. We used to be willing to pay an extra $150 pp for a one week cruise on Royal Vs Carnival but not any more. This may be in part because we take some of the aspects of the Royal ships for granted when they used to wow us, but we honestly feel Carnival has improved their product over the past three or 4 years and Royal has gotten worse.

 

We’re blessed to have sailed both lines so often; But its tough to pay the same or more year over year when the experience is deteriorating: that’s what’s happening on Royal where it’s the opposite for us on Carnival - at least until they swap the Breeze for the Vista.

 

 

 

 

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Edited by nealstuber
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We have sailed on several cruises on Royal Caribbean over many years but feel like the quality is deteriorating. I would like to hear how Carnival compares. I was just looking online a little bit at cruises on Vista or Horizon. Thanks.

 

 

 

We are the opposite, went on our first RC in October. There are pluses and minuses to both. We still prefer carnival and feel we get better prices most of the time, but enjoyed our RC cruise. Differences that stuck out to me. RCs decor was less gaudy. Dinner portions were larger but not as tasty. Buffet options were better on RC, we prefer the taste of Carnivals though. Like that carnival has ice cream open 24/7. Lines on RC for it were ridiculous. I really like that RC has more offerings late night in their deli area, carnival lacks in this. We enjoyed the entertainment more on carnival, especially the comedy club which is one of our favorite things to do. My husband likes carnivals casinos better. I liked how broken up the RC ship was, felt like we didn't run into the Same people often. I wasn't thrilled that RC would not let us bring sand back on board for souvenirs, we collect it from the various places we go so it sucked to not have any from our 20th anniversary cruise. I felt excursions on RC were more reasonably priced, although we usually book on our own. Felt like it was easier to get on and off the carnival boats, flow for it was not as good for RC. Liked the extras RC, like the flow rider and climbing wall. All in all, we enjoy both but prefer carnival.

 

 

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