The Standoff. RCI vs. Carnival

[Dialemic]

I approve of the 2 people showers! haha, now thats a shower. I feel like im suffocated in RCI's little showers haha! Im really thinkin Im just gonna have to get my feet wet and do it ya know? why not, its not crazy $$ and itll be somethin new!

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

Now you're talkin. Go into it with an open mind. It isn't RCI, it is Carnival. Okay to make comparisons but don't fret over little things that may not what you are used to and think of the money you saved. To be honest, price is why I keep going back to CCL. The money I save buys me a lot of fun. Third & fourth guests are practically free. Under $200/pp usually on CCL. We're paying $179 for him. In fact, my Mariner cruise I booked I had to book without taking my son due to the cost for the 3rd guest. I'm taking him on a Carnival cruise in October cuz all 3 of us can cruise for the same cost on CCL vs 2 of us on RCI.

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

One more thing I thought I would mention. I am going on my first RCI cruise and I'm going to totally enjoy it. I know I will have a good time. That doesn't mean I won't cruise Carnival again even if RCI turns out to be better than CCL. CCL offers a great product at a great price. Can't complain.

[Cindy]

We've cruised on both lines...5 on RCCL and only one Carnival so far, with another one coming up in a couple months. We went in with an open mind, and were very pleasantly surprised by how much we enjoyed our experience on Carnival.

Things that stood out to us...

In our opinion, the food on Carnival Splendor was much, much better than on any of our RCCL cruises. It seemed like the quality of the beef and seafood was superior to what we're used to.

We liked our cabin (a Category 11) the best of any we've had, including balconies/mini-suites on Princess and balconies/junior suites on Royal Caribbean. It probably wasn't the biggest cabin we've had, but it was the most nicely appointed, with a whirlpool tub, double sinks, granite countertops, a full set of wine & bar glasses, and a separate vanity/dressing area with additional electrical outlets. However, we thought the balcony was quite a bit smaller than the one we had on the Voyager last March. Our balcony on Carnival Splendor was long but shallow.

We have had good to great service on most of our cruises. I think this is sometimes attributed too much to the cruise line and not enough to the individuals. We've only had bad service twice...once on Grand Princess and once on Explorer of the Seas. The service on Splendor was fine...I didn't think it was better or worse than what I'm accustomed to.

I didn't care for the layout of the ship...it was "choppy" in that there are decks where you have to change levels to get from one end of the ship to the other. It reminded me a lot of the Grand Princess in that respect. I much prefer the layout of the large RCCL ships. I find them easy to get around. My husband and I also prefer the decor on Royal Caribbean, but the decor on Carnival didn't impact my enjoyment of the cruise.

I thought the activities were very similar. Same pool games, trivia, wine tasting, etc. We don't use the skating rink or the rock-climbing wall, so we didn't miss them!:) We also didn't use the slide on Carnival, but I can tell you my nieces and nephews wore a rut in it they were on it so much! The entertainment on Carnival was good...very similar to RCCL with a couple production shows, comedians, etc. I did find the sight lines in the theater on Splendor to be not very good...there were lots more obstructed views than there are on a Voyager class ship.

I thought I was a "Loyal Royal" once I reached platinum, but what I found this summer is that I have another option. I certainly plan to sail RCCL again, but I'm also excited about my second Carnival cruise, & I hope it's as enjoyable as my first!

[mechcc]

If the ships you are considering are out of Galveston, they must be the Voyager and the Conquest. Been on both and had great cruises on both, however, our Voyager cruise was our favorite of all of our cruises.

Food – pretty much a toss-up as to which one is better. Overall the food was better on Voyager but Conquest has the best pizza and an awesome not your everyday Mac &Cheese (on kids menu but you can order it as a side). And Carnival has that wonderful Chocolate Melting cake every night. Voyager has lobster tails on their seafood platter on second formal night.

Layout – hands down the Voyager is the winner with their open spaces and two interior decks to get from one end of the ship to the other. Conquest is more broken up in smaller lounges and only has one interior floor to get from one end of ship to other.

Activities – another toss-up as they are pretty much the same except I like the water slide on Carnival.

Entertainment – Voyager with the ice show and Derek Lewis in the pub. However, we tend to not do the regular shows anymore.

Décor – that goes to Voyager as it is light, airy, and sparkling whereas the Conquest is dark and over the top in gaudiness.

Service – on both ships we had the average good service in our cabins and outstanding service in the MDR. And when we found our favorite bar on each ship we got wonderful friendly service at both with a slight nod to Voyager. But hands down the service at other areas goes to Voyager. But probably because they needed to do maintenance in our cabin on shore days and for our inconvenience they gave us some free shore excursions and priority tender at Grand Cayman. Plus you can get a print out of your charges at the front desk whereas Carnival won’t give you one.

Cabins – hard to compare here since we were in an aft balcony on Conquest and a JS on Voyager. Only beware of the aft balconies on Conquest as they are very, very small with a standard size balcony. I believe the other balconies are much larger. Did go to a party in a suite on Conquest and it was very nice and larger than our JS but still not apples to apples. Also went to a party in an aft balcony on Voyager and loved the cabin and balcony was very large.

Atmosphere on board – about the same – Texas Friendly crowd having a good time but no obnoxious party animals.

I’ve been on 4 cruises on RCL and 4 on Carnival and 2 on another line and believe that there is a difference in ships within a line and even within the class of ships. It depends upon the leadership on that particular ship.

I hope to sail again on both the Voyager and Conquest again but more so on the Voyager.

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

Per maggies post: Plus you can get a print out of your charges at the front desk whereas Carnival won’t give you one.

 

Carnival will give you a print out of your onboard expenses if you go to the pursers desk. I've never been told no. Plus most ships also have it available on the tv in your stateroom which is a big bonus. You just enter your folio number on the remote on the channel specified and it shows all your charges and your total. Not all ships but many have it on the tv. I think you can also see dining room menu's, purchase excursions etc. Again, not all CCL ships have this option.

[jbobst]

Just thought I would add a little to the conversation here. Keep in mind, I have only been on ONE Carnival cruise (a 5 day Elation) and only TWO Royal Caribbean cruises, so my experiences are pretty limited. I was leary of the Carnival cruise before going on it, but it actually had a few stand out things compared to the other cruise lines I have been on. But, in the end, it lacked in some important areas, that are important to me at least. Food and service were on par if not better on Carnival, but by no means can I say that Carnival is better overall since I have only been on Carnival once! Here are the troubling things that I noticed on our Carnival cruise:

 

1. Cabins decor and quality: The cabin was this pinky peach color, with particle board closets and cabinets that were chipped and not in good condition. The shower and bathroom, while a good size, was totally ugly with the pink/peach color scheme and awful tile. The shower water ran all over the bathroom and just felt like big step down in quality. We did have an interior room however, so maybe it was just our particular room. I just hated the color, quality of materials, layout and overall feel.

 

2. While the Elation seemed somewhat subdued with the interior decor of the public spaces, it still seemed gaudy and cheap. RCI seems so much more elegant! One thing that stuck out on our cruise was that many of the elevators had graffiti of the male genitals. You step into the elevator, the door closes and you see the male organ etched into the door...not good! I am sure that Carnival employees didn't do this, but they should have fixed it promptly (never was fixed during the cruise). But, it tells me more about the passengers on the ship...which brings me to my third point...

 

3. The passengers seemed less behaved and just a different sort of group of people. I am not trying to judge anyone, but from the graffeti on the ship (there were other parts that had been vandalized besides the elevator), to the abnoxious people yelling vulgarities while drinking buckets of beer, it just felt like a lower class of people. I am not what anyone would consider a high class person myself, but I don't go around yelling curse words on deck, where kids and other passengers are. And there was even one incident where someone was either seriously wounded or killed in one of the stair cases because of a fight between passengers. It just felt less classy, compared to the other cruises I have been on.

 

And finally, I just can't get over how Carnival allows that Joe Farcus guy to get away with some of his designs. I know it's my opinion and personal taste, but when the Splendor was launched, I couldn't believe the way that ship was decorated! It was supposed to be the latest and greatest from Carnival, but that hideous PINK in that ship is just awful. I haven't sailed on the Splendor, but my mom and grandmother did a few months ago, and they said it was just awful. Since I live close to the West Coast, I was excited to hear that Carnival was sending a brand new ship to home port in Long Beach. When I started researching the ship, I just couldn't bring myself to spend money on a cruise ship that was that ugly inside. Maybe I am putting too much stock into the color scheme, but it just looks hideous. Did anyone clear the design with the Joe Farcus guy before he started in on the Splendor???

 

I do have to admit that I am seriously considering going on an 8 day cruise on the Carnival Spirit next Fall... The price at this point is FAR better than any other cruise line out of California, and I am still opened minded to know that just because there are a few things about Carnival I don't like, I would like to give it another try...especially with their pricing on the 8 day. My experience on the 5 day Elation cruise was just that...a 5 day cruise...which typically means more "party" like atmosphere. Hopefully the 8 day will be a better option for me if we end up going on the Spirit!

[fireofficer5]

What Ilike is both lines are still different.

What I dont like is that lines are copying others things to do, or dining options.

[mtchg]

..but I just booked the massive Independence OTS for a 14 niter Meditteranean.

 

.....I have had great times on both lines; It has been my experience that both have their pros and cons, but both deliver an excellent vacation value; and if you have not sailed Carnival yet; you need to try it and go in open minded. I was an exclusive Carnival dude..

but found a great deal on a 10 nite Splendour OTS; and had a great time (and made some great new friends I have cruised with since)..

 

Here are my comparisons:

 

Food: Main dining room: Carnival gets the nod; beef especially better; but RCCL was

tasty enough.

 

Ships: With the exception of the standard cabins; Royal Caribbean's are more beautiful

and the newer Mega ships offer more than Carnival's newest; BUT the Carnival

ships are nice enough.

 

 

 

Staterooms: Both lines offer comfortable modern cabins; but if your are talking space in

your standard inside and outside (window) cabins, Carnival's averages 30

square feet bigger. The brand new mega ship Independence OTS? I just

paid 2,650 PP (14 niter keep in mind) for an inside that is a mere 155 square

feet. With the exception of a few small cabins that Carnival designates for

single travelors, you cant book a cabin on any Carnival ship, old or new

that is smaller than 185 square feet. For me? Not a big issue; for others

it could be, especially if you have more than 2 in a room.

 

Service: Gosh, this varies so much from ship to ship and voyage to voyage; and percep-

tions are so subjective, but my experience is they are both very good; with an

occasional failing. Maybe Royal gets the nod, but it's pretty close.

 

Entertainment (stage shows) Both comparable; mostly good; sometimes mediocre.

 

The "Feel" of the ship. Hey, it's a cruise; FUN is accentuated on both lines; I thought MAYBE my Royal Caribbean voyages were a little quieter late nite; but then again two of them were 10 and 12 niters; folks pace themselves a little more perhaps.

 

Finally, I couldn't help but notice that when sharing cruise experiences on the RCI voyages,

there were more than a few "upturned noses"..when I mentioned Carnival. I think Royal Caribbean gets alot of mileage on the myth that they are the classy, good service cruiseline and Carnival is a low rent booze cruise. The reality? they are very similar.

 

Carnival prices tend to be less expensive for comparable experiences; but not always.

It just takes doing the homework.

 

Mitch

[Barbiegator]

Hello all! Its been awhile since I posted, but cruise time is coming and its filled up the brain and I cant get it out! :D Anyways, here I am, loyal to the royal, and this will be #4 for me. I love RCI service, ships, and pretty much everything that has to deal with them. Recently, Ive been noticing some pretty major price spikes. When I first initially thought of booking, the same cruise from carnival was significantly cheaper (by almost 400 bucks) and I thought to myself, is carnival that bad? Im already all paid up for my RCI which with my prepaid grat. and taxes + "surcharges" was a little over 900 bucks for the cheapest room. Obviously Im only paying that cause I love my RCI haha. My question to you all (which im sure its been asked plenty of times) is how is the comparison actually to RCI vs. Carnival? Is the service way worse? Is it more of a party ship? (that what I heard). Not that it really bothers me, but im a somewhat grown up 24 year old and hate loud obnoxious teenagers drinking their first beer. Im just looking for a general comparison and maybe some details if you're able to and have some time. Any pics of a typical Carnival ship would be awesome. My main focus is does carnivals ships feels smaller? Rooms, are they comfy? Drinks cheaper? Food good or bad? Is there always food somewhere like RCI? If you can throw anything else in there that would be great. Im wanting to take my 1 year old on a cruise with us, but RCI says baby=full fare, so its a little to expensive at this time. Thank you all and god bless!

 

 

After lots of RC cruises we went on a short Carnival. No complaints. Thought desserts were much better on Carnival and nice to have a change of menus as we know the menus by heart on RC.More dance and music options at night.

Overall just nice to have a change but looking forward to Oasis next week.

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

So in summary based on prior posts:

 

OP started getting a lot of thumbs down for Carnival from RCI loyalists and thought he should stick with RCI. Then next half turned around with thumbs up for Carnival saying they are pretty much equal to RCI for less money usually and OP is now considering Carnival again. Hmmmm.

 

Good to spread wings & try something new - keeps life interesting.

[mtchg]

..that I found elsewhere. It explains well the different nuances between these two great companies starting with a little history.

 

 

 

 

 

By 1972, Royal Caribbean was the cruise line Carnival aspired to be; with three regularly scheduled Caribbean cruise ships back when Carnival was still struggling with a single, aging Greek passenger ferry made into a Caribbean cruiser. Royal Caribbean had the lead in passenger volume for many years, and for many people are still the preferred cruise line of the two, but without a doubt, still, a day does not go by when Royal Caribbean does not look at their windows at the Port of Miami and wonder what Carnival is doing. In fact, it is the ongoing rivalry between the two lines that is largely responsible for bringing about the modern age of mass market cruising as we know it today.

 

So, if the question of which is better is the reason why you are reading this, wiithout a doubt, Royal Caribbean is farther along the cruise industry's cutting edge, ever innovating, ever challenging the received wisdom about what a cruise ship can do and be. But, are they better? In some areas yes, but it is hard to compete with Carnival's ability to establish and embellish a simple concept; build fun ships with good food, and make sure the staff understands the concept. Royal Caribbean may have many more things to do onboard, but Carnival may be arguably "more fun" based solely upon their attitude. Where Royal Caribbean may be aptly described as "something for everybody" Carnival embodies the concept of "fun for everyone" with more personalized service, better food, less focus just on sports enthusiasts, and better stage entertainment.

 

But that is not to say a Royal Caribbean cruise should be missed! If any cruise ships deserves to be sampled at least once, as possibly several times, it is one of the Royal Caribbean mega-ships. These ships define the concept of "the ship as the destination" more than any other cruiser in the world, with an onboard water park, ice skating, rock climbing, surf riding, a variety of pubs, large casinos, and simply the biggest ship imaginable; larger than Carnival's biggest by over 30%. Even if you don't care to get wet, skate or climb rocks, don't dismiss the people-watching wow factor.

 

(I'm not sure I agree about Carnival having better stage entertainment, it's pretty much the same stuff; but this make some good comparison points)..

 

Mitch

[arb711]

My opinion pretty much echos jbobst's. My experience is similar - one short Carnival cruise, on Elation; 2 RCCL, Radiance and Adventure. The class of ship certainly makes a big difference - Adventure is HUGE compared to the other two!

 

I would agree that the lines are more alike than different, but the main difference for me is the decor. Overall, Royal Caribbean is much more elegant, better maintained. I think that Radiance and Elation are fairly comparable in size? (I'm sure some of you will correct me if I'm wrong...:rolleyes:) Radiance was beautiful, everything looked good, clean, shining, etc. The rooms were the same size, but on Radiance you felt like you were in an upscale hotel. As compared to Elation, which felt more like a cheap motel.... Not quite Motel 6, but sure as heck not the Ritz. :p Things appeared to be built more cheaply, out of fiberboard, e.g. the dresser and box that holds the life vests. (SO oddly placed!) Worn carpets in the hallways, worn decks. And the color scheme.... I sure wouldn't turn down a cruise because I didn't like the colors on the ship, but I really HATE all the pink on Carnival!

 

As for food, I found them comparable, with the exception of Carnival's warm chocolate melting cake - oh my. Other lines should pick up on this and create their own versions - it's almost worth going on Carnival for! Passengers on Carnival also seemed to me to tend to be younger, a little wilder - certainly plenty of families and quieter folks, but a good sprinkling of tables of hooting and hollering young people. And I have very rarely seen jeans in a Royal Caribbean MDR, but they were common on Carnival.

 

But a cruise is a cruise.... I live in Los Angeles, so I'm sure to take more short Carnival cruises. It's better than staying home!!

[Sugar*Magnolia]

My comparitive review from 1/09

 

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

 

Happy Sailings,

CruiseDivaNJ

[ehfl]

I've been on both Royal (our 7th cruise is coming up later this month), as well as Carnival. They are both very similar. I've had a great time on every cruise. There were a few differences here and there, but overall, they are more alike than different.