A Limited View Comparison CCL vs RCI

[TEXASMUNK]

Took first Carnival cruise last week. On Carnival Conquest

Here is a "quickie" comparison....applies ONLY to Galveston......

 

Embarkation: Carnival had very few check in agents, lines were long and slow. RCI check in is much faster! This could be a financial cutback area.

 

Music: Conquest offered many more musical opportunities and for longer periods of time than RCI. Live music throughout the ship everry evening, you could easily find a venue to suit your tastes.

 

Food; The Pointe, on Conquest: Absolutely 5 star

Portofino's on Voyager: Absolutely 5 star

Atmosphere: Voyager: The Pointe, while the room is nice, it

is not "beautiful"

Ship: Conquest is clean, nicely done, but harder to get around, only 2 decks can take you all the way forward or aft...Voyager is easy to navigate

 

Tendering: Conquest did a really good job!

 

Dining Room food: Breakfast, very good on Conquest, but that is it. Dining, had to abandon several meals, lower quality than Voyager.

 

Buffet: Conquest offer a ton of options, but buffet lines were boring...hot selections for dinner were very limited, lots of trays of cold cuts. But the Japanese and Chinese and sandwich sections made up for some of that.

Drinking/Rowdy Behavior: Nope! Great passenger base on both lines, nice folks to cruise with!

 

Disembarkation: Called at 9:15am, finaly cleared customs at 11am....May have been a lack of porters or Gov. staffing, but very slow on Conquest.

 

The final factor: Would we sail again on Conquest? Would only go if we planned on dining at The Pointe on most evenings. Otherwise, we were more than satisified with the offering.

[63galaxie]

Took first Carnival cruise last week. On Carnival Conquest

Here is a "quickie" comparison....applies ONLY to Galveston......

 

Embarkation: Carnival had very few check in agents, lines were long and slow. RCI check in is much faster! This could be a financial cutback area.

 

Music: Conquest offered many more musical opportunities and for longer periods of time than RCI. Live music throughout the ship everry evening, you could easily find a venue to suit your tastes.

 

Food; The Pointe, on Conquest: Absolutely 5 star

Portofino's on Voyager: Absolutely 5 star

Atmosphere: Voyager: The Pointe, while the room is nice, it

is not "beautiful"

Ship: Conquest is clean, nicely done, but harder to get around, only 2 decks can take you all the way forward or aft...Voyager is easy to navigate

 

Tendering: Conquest did a really good job!

 

Dining Room food: Breakfast, very good on Conquest, but that is it. Dining, had to abandon several meals, lower quality than Voyager.

 

Buffet: Conquest offer a ton of options, but buffet lines were boring...hot selections for dinner were very limited, lots of trays of cold cuts. But the Japanese and Chinese and sandwich sections made up for some of that.

Drinking/Rowdy Behavior: Nope! Great passenger base on both lines, nice folks to cruise with!

 

Disembarkation: Called at 9:15am, finaly cleared customs at 11am....May have been a lack of porters or Gov. staffing, but very slow on Conquest.

 

The final factor: Would we sail again on Conquest? Would only go if we planned on dining at The Pointe on most evenings. Otherwise, we were more than satisified with the offering.

Thanks for the information! We've sailed Carnival once (Destiny from San Juan). We did not like the party atmosphere, but we'd like to try another ship in the hopes it was just our particular sailing/ship.

I think we'll give Conquest a try. How much was the charge for the specialty restaurant on the Conquest?

[TEXASMUNK]

The charge was $30 per person, but it was more than worth it!

The steaks were spectacular, the lobster, large and fresh, the appetizers and desserts were truly superb.

[Cruisethroughlife]

Thanks for the info. I've only cruised RCCL (6 so far). I stayed away from Carnival because I was convinced it was not a good value. But now that we have a tighter budget (and RCCL prices seem to soar) I'm curious to try one of their ships, and it helps to know that they are comparable to RCCL in a lot of ways.

[Mrsg324]

Thank you, I was looking for a review of this type. The only ship of Carnival I have to compare was Fantasy to Rhapsody & Splendour and there wasn't a comparison in my opinion. Fantasy was a nice ship for the daughter and mom cruise since she did camp carnival but I prefer the staf & everything on RCI over it. However, we are going on Conquest in Nov & I have Voyager booked for Feb. This is great info to have.

[TEXASMUNK]

They do actually enforce the dress code for The Pointe

[ehfl]

I always wondered why the musicians on RCL play for such short stints. They usually play for 45 minutes to an hour per day...that's it. I understand having to take breaks, but it seems like if your only job is to play piano, you could play for 45 minutes, take a half hour or hour break, then play for another 45 minutes.

[ilionite65]

I also sailed the Conquest and have sailed on most of Royals ships. I must say, there is no comparison. If you're pleased with the service and the atmosphere on Royal, stick with it, sadly lacking on the Conquest.

[DPurcell58]

Also sailed on CCL last week for the 1st time. Carnival Pride out of Baltimore. Have sailed the Explorer 3 times and Freedom last year. Ship is very dark inside. Would say food wasn't as good as RCL, but David's Supper Club was well worth it. Strange seeing shorts in the dining room some nights, although did see someone asked to change on elegant night. I think for the value the sailing was worth it, but we'll probably stick to RCL in the future.

[Storm Monkey]

My husband and I cruised on Carnival Spirit last year -- his first cruise, my second. We enjoyed the food in the dining room but were very disappointed that they did not enforce the dress code on any night. We are going on Oasis for my birthday next April and hope the RCI enforces their policies better.

[DarthGrady]

Totally agree that the Supper Club is totally worth it on Carnival, they have it down to a science! I am a steak lover, and they have some of the best I have had.

 

As far as the dress code, I have seen folks in shorts in the MDR on both lines. Monarch's dining room seemed just as casual as Carnival's, which surprised me. We'll see if its still the case on Freedom in October.

[Kurbanfan]

My husband and I cruised on Carnival Spirit last year -- his first cruise, my second. We enjoyed the food in the dining room but were very disappointed that they did not enforce the dress code on any night. We are going on Oasis for my birthday next April and hope the RCI enforces their policies better.

 

I find this quite funny.......we just got off the Mariner last week and noticed many people in shorts in the main dining room on casual nights.......I know Carnival lists shorts in their dress code.......but I don't think RCCL does......does it:confused::confused:

[silentbob007]

I've found enforcement of dress code very lacking on both lines ... at least Carnival is being honest now in saying that they don't really care. I saw a few (more than two) shorts in the dining room on formal night on our 10-day Jewel cruise last December so it's not just the short cruises with Royal either.

[Storm Monkey]

I have no problem with 'dressy' shorts on the casual nights. It's the jogging pants and track pants with the tank tops that I have the issue with -- especially on the formal nights.

[OV8]

I have no problem with 'dressy' shorts on the casual nights. It's the jogging pants and track pants with the tank tops that I have the issue with -- especially on the formal nights.

 

That happens on most lines.