Heading to Carnival

[boingy300]

I have been a fairly loyal Royal cruiser, but the summer 2012 schedule has ZERO ships in the Southern Caribbean. As a matter of fact the only ship sailing Southern Caribbean in June 2012 is Carnival. We have some teens and a few other family members going. It's only 1 day at sea. Rather than this turn into a Carnival bashing event, since it is what it is- I am seeking advice from RCCL folks who have sailed both and can give me a heads up about the differences. I know the decor is an issue. But I am hoping to be on the islands mostly (Only 1 day at sea)> Are there any people out there who have sailed both who can give HELPFUL advice? I considered Freedom Eastern but it's about $400 pp more and has 3 days at sea going to places we've already been. I'm not interested in a mega ship as i still think the islands are enough. I can't handle another loop around Cuba (Western)! Plus I still like San Juan. I think elderly couples doing the salsa is very romantic. Any transition advice appreciated- thanks!

(Also why did everyone leave Southern Caribbean? Greece and the Mid-east not looking too appealing for me.) There is limited variety......(sad face)

Karen

[Vanilla]

When we have sailed on Carnival, I just go into it knowing not to expect what I do with Royal Caribbean and Princess. I know the decor is tacky/brassy/color scheme is loud - Las Vagas style and the smoke smell is horrid. On the up side - it usually is cheaper and the cabins are a bit larger. Food on Carnival was fairly good.

[Ronn452]

Back in the mid '90s, my wife and I decided to take our youngest son on a cruise. We had always sailed RCCL; but figuring he wouldn't know the difference, we opted for a Carnival cruise. We booked on the Sensation out of Miami. We noticed a difference in the decor; a bity gaudy, but okay. The open decks were not as appealing and had less sea view, but still not bad. The cabins were larger! Overall, we had a great time. In short, we like the more subdued decor of the RCCL ships; but the Carnival ships are a nice change. Over the years, we have cruised on both lines, largely depending on the routes and often the price difference. The newer Carnival ships are a definite improvement in their design as for having a more open feeling and for navigating from deck to deck.

 

Once you compare the two lines after boarding the ship, then just take a deep breath and enjoy being on a cruise. As I said, there are obvious differences, but you will enjoy both; especially with teens. There are more teens on Carnival.

 

Hope this helps. I seem to have rambled a good bit to just say, you will have a good time and possibly like the change. As for RCCL moving to Europe, it is a revenue thing. The market in the Med has increased, so they move the ships to where the money is.

 

Bon Voyage!

 

Captain Ronn

[yogimax]

Carnival's cabins are larger, but the ships in general are much more smoky.

 

At dinner, the warm chocolate melted cake will become a favorite!

[kaykels]

Great Attitude!

 

If you go in knowing what to expect/not expect, you will have a good time.

 

I have sailed a few Carnival ships and they are certainly NOT RCCL, however, they are still fun!

No flames please, these are just my personal experiences

1. The ships are tacky (you already know this) no biggie

2. Service is not as good

3. Main pool is small for the number of guests, however, the slides and

splash areas are nice

4. Overall, just not as classy. For example, on Dream the cruise director

and cast members of the show were in the piano bar drinking and

smoking with the guests.

 

That said, the food is decent, the entertainment is A LOT of fun (they don't call it a fun ship for nothing ), you won't be cooking or cleaning, there is plenty to do and you will be in port almost every day.

 

Read the reviews, be prepared and ENJOY !

[matj2000]

What advice would you like?

[Scottee25]

I have been a fairly loyal Royal cruiser, but the summer 2012 schedule has ZERO ships in the Southern Caribbean. As a matter of fact the only ship sailing Southern Caribbean in June 2012 is Carnival.

There have been several posts on this topic over the past couple of months. One posted by yours truly. Believe me, I feel your pain. I was looking for a southern caribbean cruise for Oct 2012 for my wife's 40th birthday. The only player in town was Carnival. In fact, in the week leading up to or immediately after my wife's birthday Royal only has 3 (three) ships in the caribbean while Carnival has 8 (eight) ships! I have never sailed Carnival either and I asked for a comparison of the lines as well. From what I was able to gather, you will find more similarities in the lines that you will differences. The major points is that RCCL ships appear to have classier decor while CCL ships tend to have larger cabins and better food. I have a friend that swears by Carnival and she is the last person I would label as a "partyier". If the ships are not too over the top for her, I am sure my wife and I will enjoy it just fine. We are booked on the Freedom out of Fort Lauderdale for 8 nights visiting Grand Turk, La Romana Domincan Republic, Aruba, and Curacao. I had also looked at the cruise out of San Juan but there was only 1 sea day and it was early in the cruise. I just felt that cruise was a bit too port intensive for what I was looking for.

 

So in closing, you are not the only ones looking to jump ship due to a lack of variety by Royal. As others told me, if you go in with the right attitude, you will more than enjoy your Carnival cruise. I am hoping we both have positive experiences on our Carnival cruises!

[iaae4]

We tried Carnival for the first time this year, after been RCCI/Princess cruiser for 15 years. The reasons we did go on Carnival were: it was an extra unplanned vacation with no air and price to good to pass. Went with open mind (the worst vacation is better than the best work day). We were very pleasantly surprised and will cruise Carnival in the future for the right price. Cabins on Carnival are bigger (we had a balcony); food was same or better than on our 2010 RCCL cruise. Kids stuff was great. Comedians way better (maybe we just got lucky). The only thing that was way better on RCCl is ship itself…, but again we were prepare for that and still had a blast.

[Puffinater]

We did our first southern from SJ this year and loved it. We had decided it would become a yearly cruise. It still may be but it appears it will not be with Royal.

[firefly333]

...the smoke smell is horrid. On the up side - it usually is cheaper and the cabins are a bit larger. Food on Carnival was fairly good.

 

Carnival's cabins are larger, but the ships in general are much more smoky.

 

At dinner, the warm chocolate melted cake will become a favorite!

 

OP this shows why you should maybe ask on the Carnival boards where people have more up to date info.

 

June 15th, the smoking policy changed on Carnival. No smoking now in the piano or sports bar lounges. Even the cigar lounge is now non smoking. Only a small area of the casino smoking is allowed. 12/1/11 this year the cabins will turn to non smoking, just out on your balcony .. same as on RCL.

 

.... just saying .. take things with a grain of salt. Not that I dont prefer RCL, but I have 17 carnival cruises under my belt too.

 

Carnival has the comfort bedding compared to the lousy mattresses I have had on RCL which are hard as a rock.

[Calker]

There is only one specialty restaurant (Magic/Breeze will have two) on Carnival and that is a steak house. The food served there is fantastic.

Carnival does not have a Starbucks - there is a specialty coffee/tea/sweet treats area - with a separate fee.

Carnival only has two main entertainment attractions during the evening.

- the main theater show - think Las Vegas style song/dance show.

- the comedy club act

There are other areas with entertainment - piano player/Karaoke/dance club.

In my opinion - there are fewer pools on Carnival and they are much smaller and are filled with salt water (than the Allure - the only RCL ship we have been on).

A balcony cabin on Carnival is slightly larger than the same category on RCL. Bathrooms are about the same size.

These are just a few quick observations about the differences.

[silentbob007]

Your Carnival experience can also vary with the ship ... some of their builds are just inherently better than others, though none come close to being as nice as the upper-tier Royal ships.

 

As for the comment about CD and performers drinking/smoking with guests on Carnival ... I've seen/experienced the same thing on several RCI ships, especially in the disco at night.

[ibcnusoon]

Brilliance is in Europe until September, then comes to New Jersey and does a few Canadian cruises before it repositions to San Juan in November (during my November 2, 2012 cruise). From San Juan starting in November, it does the winter southern caribbean tour.

Maybe RCL is pulling out of the Southern Caribbean until the worst of the hurricane season is over?

[Cruzaholic41]

So in closing, you are not the only ones looking to jump ship due to a lack of variety by Royal. As others told me, if you go in with the right attitude, you will more than enjoy your Carnival cruise. I am hoping we both have positive experiences on our Carnival cruises!

 

I think that is the best advice one could give. First, I don't believe in single brand loyalty when there is so much offered out there, but for those who are accustomed to one brand, trying another can be refreshing.

 

Op - Don't go on Carnival expecting it to be RCI. Things are different to some degree and you will recognize that the second you see the ship design. Carnival isn't known for beautiful ships, but they do others things well. Don't spend your time making comparisons. Just go and have a good time. Go and pretend it's a first cruise.

[Puffinater]

4. Overall, just not as classy. For example, on Dream the cruise director

and cast members of the show were in the piano bar drinking and

smoking with the guests.

 

Have seen this on Royal ships many times. Last Oasis trip there were many staff in Blaze having a good time. Not sure how this makes any cruise line less classy.

[Cruzaholic41]

4. Overall, just not as classy. For example, on Dream the cruise director and cast members of the show were in the piano bar drinking and smoking with the guests.

 

As the others have said, I've also seen this on other cruise lines. In fact, I just recently saw it on a Celebrity cruise (although not smoking). I always thought a good cruise director was one who mingled with passengers.

 

That said, I do agree with the other points you made.

[hancogran]

We've done the Southern itinerary three times so far.. twice with Carnival and once with RCL. We don't find a whole lot of difference between the two lines.

 

As previously mentioned, Carnival's pool is smaller but we didn't find that a huge deal since you're in port pretty much every day except one. :) We also love port intensive itineraries.

 

In my opinion, service on both lines is comparable and overall, we have no real complaints.

 

I agree that RCL's ships are a bit fancier but we don't cruise for the ships.. mainly the ports! We're doing another Southern in January on Serenade and the only reason we chose it is because there are two ports we hadn't been to. If the ports were similar to Carnival's Victory, we'd probably go with whatever line was cheapest!

 

I'm sure you'll have a great time on Victory! :)

[gamecockvic]

My TA booked my family of 4 on Carnival Glory. She did say that it was one of the most "toned down" themes and had reservations about Carnival for us. My first observation after boarding was a group of guys in their early 20's with buckets of beer. I have no problem with people drinking or having a good time, but they were wasted well before we sailed and were trying to grab any female who walked by. I was afraid I was on the wrong ship!

 

But, we had a great time and the passengers were just like RC. There are more similarities than differences, as has been said here. From my perspective, the major difference is that RC features and markets "technology" firsts such as the flow rider, zip line, skating rink, etc. Their ships are getting larger and larger each generation.

 

Carnival Glory had some nice touches, but none of the above. They did offer a seafood station that was outstanding. The food and service were very similar to RC. They do use the PA system more for events.

 

I, too, have noticed that Carnival itineraries are attractive. I strongly considered an 8 day on Miracle which went to Grand Turk, Dominica, Aruba and Curacao. No one else offered anything like it. Carnival is very competitive price wise as well.

 

I hope that helps.

[jonbgd]

CCL and RCCL are more the same than different. Both have been providing a great product for many years

 

But the Steakhouse, the beds and regular cabins are better on Carnival. JMHO:cool:

 

If you do the Victory(no steakhouse:() out of SJ fly in on Friday and have a couple days to explore old SJ. It is a port intensive cruise.. It was tiring but lots of fun. All great Islands as I would hop over to St Johns instead of staying on St Thomas.

I prefer a few sea days on my cruises now. So I would do an 8day. If you have never been to Artuba and Curacao there are beautiful

[firefly333]

There is only one specialty restaurant (Magic/Breeze will have two) on Carnival and that is a steak house. The food served there is fantastic.

 

Im only booked on Magic, but I would say 3 pay venues. Red Frog Pub the food is ala carte .. $3.33 per item. More like how Rosie's Cantina is doing it?

The wings sound good.

 

I was told Dream only has one pay restaurant. The Italian restaurant doesnt get added until you book Magic or Breeze.

[bbbearden]

OP, I have cruised CCL twice out of San Juan and these trips are still some of my favorite vacations. The port intensive schedules are really great because we loved the islands, but we had a great expereince on Carnival also. I read the comments about the ship decor and agree that some of the older ships have that Vegas vibe, but the Conquest class and above are nice ships that you should enjoy. Carnival is alot of fun, the staff is great, the food is pretty well done, and the shows are top notch. They have also recently improved thier smoking policy by limiting it more on the ships so the smoke issue should have improved. I hate smoke and have found places on the ships where it was more than I liked, but in general it was not a problem. The cabins are nice, and a good size with comfortable beds. I would not waste much time comparing, I would just go and have a good time. You should really enjoy yourself. :D

[Texmike]

We sailed on the Conquest last summer outside of Galveston and we had a good time

 

We returned to RCI in December and sailed on Voyager-also out of Galveston.

 

I like the party atmosphere on the Carnival-Where they have the band and open area at

[Merion_Mom]

Im only booked on Magic, but I would say 3 pay venues. Red Frog Pub the food is ala carte .. $3.33 per item. More like how Rosie's Cantina is doing it?

The wings sound good.

 

I was told Dream only has one pay restaurant. The Italian restaurant doesnt get added until you book Magic or Breeze.

 

Rita's Cantina.

[Sequim88]

I was going to raise a similar thread but this one fills the bill nicely. My SIL and her husband have been invited to a wedding on a Carnival cruise and the price for an inside was affordable for them. They have never cruised before so won't be comparing to anything but knowing we've done several cruises they have been asking us a lot of questions about cruising. My concern was accidentaly leading them to expect something from our RCI (and HAL) experiences that they would not find on CCL. Looks like the basics and major things are pretty much the same and anything else won't matter for first timers.

 

have a couple days to explore old SJ

YES! And not just Old San Juan. Rent a car and take a drive. Driving there is not as bad as some people make it out to be. Sure, get full damage and liability waivers but cars are cheap to rent. We did a nice compact for $20/day + insurance. Drove to Arecibo and toured the nearby caverns and the radio telescope. Driving in the hills was very pretty and Puerto Rico is way more than just San Juan. Another nice day trip would be over the mountains to Ponce.

[DarthGrady]

I enjoy both lines very much, there are many similarities between them. Both have their pros and cons, but thats true of any line. If you can get past the odd decor and lack of RCI staples (Royal Promenade, rock wall, Viking Crown Lounge) there are good times and great values to be had on CCL.