Royal v Carnival

[kellbellscruise]

Hello. As you can see by my sig, I have only been on one cruise.. and it was wonderful. I def want to go on another cruise. The dilema for me is the diff in some of the ammenities onboard. Perhaps some of you could share your fav's about certain ships and also the things you wished they had.

I have narrowed it down to Royal Freedom OTS or Liberty OTS and Carnival Freedom or Liberty... funny they have same names.

One reason I am considering Royal is they keep pool and/or hot tub open till late. Sensation closed both way early. Does anyone know if Carnival Liberty or Freedom keep pool/hot tub areas open later???

But, I am considering Carnival because of the movie screens..

I am not even giving any thought to Dream or Oasis at this time. I dont think the two Royal ships I mentioned have the movie screens yet.

I also would like a bigger casino....

I am sure both lines offer an outstanding cruise, but its the little things that float my boat... any input is welcome... thanks

[wwinfl91]

IMHO give RCL a chance. They are far superior to Carnival in my experience. We did one Carnival cruise and will probably never do another unless they give it to us for free. The food was terrible, the service was poor, the ship interior wasn't being cleaned in the common areas and many of the passengers either couldn't read the no smoking signs or just didn't care who they bothered.

 

We have been on 3 RCL cruises and enjoyed them all. You might want to check out Princess also as we have been very happy with our cruises on them also.

 

Have a great next cruise.

[BalconyGal]

Rccl!!

[DonnaK]

IMHO give RCL a chance. They are far superior to Carnival in my experience. We did one Carnival cruise and will probably never do another unless they give it to us for free. The food was terrible, the service was poor, the ship interior wasn't being cleaned in the common areas and many of the passengers either couldn't read the no smoking signs or just didn't care who they bothered.

 

We have been on 3 RCL cruises and enjoyed them all. You might want to check out Princess also as we have been very happy with our cruises on them also.

 

Have a great next cruise.

 

You took the words right out of my mouth. Everything you've written here reflects our experience with Carnival, RCI and Princess.

[Essiesmom]

Well, I have never sailed RCCL, but have been very happy with my 10 Carnival cruises. That said, I don't think you mentioned a time frame for your next cruise. I don't use the pools much, but you might go on the Carnival board and ask about the pools. All ships have casinos that get bigger with ship size.

Just FYI, both Freedom and Liberty of the Seas will be getting outdoor movie screens in drydocks next year, along with other enhancements borrowed from Oasis. EM

[lea]

My DH and I have cruised 6 Carnival and 3 RCL. I booked the 3 RCL because I was told that it was "tonier" than Carnival and I kept giving it more chances. But we prefer Carnival. Now we do only go on 7 day or longer cruises and I have been told that thier might be a difference because of that.

 

However, in our case, we have always found the food to be better on Carnival ( we always eat in the main dining room for dinner) and the shows to be superior. The service we find to be better as well.

 

There was not a huge difference however, we enjoyed all our cruises, and whatever you decide, I am sure you can have a great time too!!

 

Carnival Paradise

CCL Triumph

CCL Destiny

CCL Imagination

CCL Liberty

CCL Freedom

RCL Splendor of the Seas

RCL Grandeur of the Seas

RCL Vision of the Seas

(in no paticular order)

 

and soon to be on Carnival Miracle!

[cherjoe5]

dh and i have cruised on rccl and ccl.........also celebrity.......we have found recently that the cabins, and food on ccl to be much better than the other cruise lines........for now we are sticking with ccl......which ever ship you pick you will have a great time..........:)

cheryl

[missabbi]

I have cruised Carnival and Royal Carribean each several times. Carnival is by far my favorite. We just keep going back to them. I think you will have a great time on either cruise.

[broberts]

I've cruised on Carnival and RCCL, slightly more on RCCL. My personal preference all things being equal is Carnival. Better food in the main dining room and better bedding. But you may well want to try Royal Caribbean just to see if it's more to your taste.

 

Royal Caribbean has, to my sensibilities, more tastefully decorated ships. Carnival ships tend to have a more energetic atmosphere. Carnival has, on the whole, better food. Royal Caribbean has much nicer adult pool areas, (I especially like those on the Radiance class of ships), with hot tubs that are open late. Royal Caribbean's Freedom class ships have the flow rider and rock climbing wall. Carnival's Conquest class, (smaller than RCCL's Freedom class), have the twister water slide and big screen. Both are about the same in terms of organized activities - main pool activities, bingo, karaoke, art auctions, etc. Carnival waiters in the MDR perform every night. Royal Caribbean waiters only do it once.

 

While the Royal Caribbean ships you mentioned don't have large outdoor screens, they do have indoor theaters that show movies.