Why should I try a Royal Caribbean cruise?

[Xystence]

I know there are many upon many comparison threads and I am very sure I have read nearly all of them. I cruise fairly regularly and for the last 13 cruises I have been very happy with Carnival. My first 2 cruises were on RCI and I enjoyed them as well, however I imagine much has changed over time.

 

My question here is, what will I get differently? I am somewhat tired of the Carnival menu as its not changed much over the years, but random things have been added. I do like how a majority of Carnival's food is included and I do not know these aspects of RCI.

 

Can anyone please tell me where I will see my biggest differences outside of the obvious ship differences. We are thinking of taking a 4-5 Day RCI cruise just to see how it fares, and I am aware I obviously will not see the experience of a ship like this vs the much larger vessels.

 

Recently I have been on the Carnival Legend, and the Carnival Dream. Me and my girlfriend do not really care for Carnival's Vegas style shows and tend to kind of do our own thing most of the time. We are not large party people, but love meeting new people.

 

Thanks for anyone's opinion! I am very excited to see not only peoples thoughts, but my experience on board!

[cb at sea]

You'll find the 2 cruiselines remarkably similar....the same things are included in your fare...the dining room and buffet food and room service, just like on Carnival. Depending on the ship, there may be other included eating venues and then there will be a "for fee" restaurant or two (again, depending on the ship).

 

Both lines offer entertainment...but you don't have to attend! Both offer traditional OR "anytime" seating at dinner.

 

It certainly wouldn't hurt to give RCI a try again...

[Xystence]

You'll find the 2 cruiselines remarkably similar....the same things are included in your fare...the dining room and buffet food and room service, just like on Carnival. Depending on the ship, there may be other included eating venues and then there will be a "for fee" restaurant or two (again, depending on the ship).

 

Both lines offer entertainment...but you don't have to attend! Both offer traditional OR "anytime" seating at dinner.

 

It certainly wouldn't hurt to give RCI a try again...

 

Thank you for the reply! I am just kind of getting bored of the same thing time after time and I feel like things are different on almost every royal ship from what I see, where as Carnival's experience is relatively the same outside of the Dream Class ships.

 

Could you give me an example of free to eat places outside of the dining and buffet style places on the royal ships. This has sparked my attention, as I assumed everything outside of those had a cost associated.

[Mr_Cruise]

In my opinion, the two most significantly different things are the ship designs / decor and the guest demographics.

 

Overall, Royal Caribbean's ships are more tastefully designed when compared the gaudy (but sometimes fun) feel of most Carnival ships. And, in general, the crowd on Royal Caribbean will be a little more wholesome and family oriented when compared to those on Carnival which are often die hard partyers (depending on the destination and time of year).

 

Between the two experiences, I prefer Royal Caribbean.

[Cruising89143]

I guess it can be different for each person. For many years we only cruised Carnival but then we had some issues with service and the whole Carnival experince began to get old. When we were docked in San Juan while cruising on the Triumph, we looked over at the Navigator OTS docked next to us and kept commenting on how nice that ship looked. We came back home and booked it for later that year and haven't looked back.

 

For us the difference is the ship themselves. RCI knows how to design ships and Carnival has nothing that can touch RCI's Radiance, Voyager, Freedom or Oasis class ships IMHO. RCI is now going back and spending a good amount of money to upgrade the Vision class ships by adding more balcony cabins and specialty dining along with a few other things that will give them the advantage over Carnival's Fantasy class.

 

We also find that RCI has a much more happy crew that does an overall better job of taking care of their guests. RCI also has a much better past guest program. Finally for us we feel that RCI does a much better job maintaining their fleet.

 

As far as food, it's all subjective. IMHO it's all mass produced banquet quality food. Nothing more or less and can vary by ship regardless of cruise line. Especially when you have fleets as large as Carnival and RCI. Which line has better food depends on your own taste buds. RCI will give you plenty of dining options that is included in your cruise fare. What's different than Carnival is that they give you more dining options that will cost extra if you decide to partake in the specialty dining. One difference is that RCI charges a surcharge of $3.95 for room service between midnight and 5:00 in the morning. Gratuity is included in the service charge.

 

Entertainment will vary by ship but the Freedom, Liberty, Allure and Oasis have some of the best entertainmet afloat with Oasis and Allure being the best of anything I have seen in 26 years of cruising.

 

Even though RCI has become our favorite cruise line, we still step out from time to time and try other cruise lines to see what is out there. I suggest you do the same. You may find that in the end Carnival is a better fit but at least you will have tried. One ship that I suggest looking at is the Liberty of the Seas as she will doing the four and five night cruises out of FLL upon her return from Europe in the late fall.

[Xystence]

I guess it can be different for each person. For many years we only cruised Carnival but then we had some issues with service and the whole Carnival experince began to get old. When we were docked in San Juan while cruising on the Triumph, we looked over at the Navigator OTS docked next to us and kept commenting on how nice that ship looked. We came back home and booked it for later that year and haven't looked back.

 

For us the difference is the ship themselves. RCI knows how to design ships and Carnival has nothing that can touch RCI's Radiance, Voyager, Freedom or Oasis class ships IMHO. RCI is now going back and spending a good amount of money to upgrade the Vision class ships by adding more balcony cabins and specialty dining along with a few other things that will give them the advantage over Carnival's Fantasy class.

 

We also find that RCI has a much more happy crew that does an overall better job of taking care of their guests. RCI also has a much better past guest program. Finally for us we feel that RCI does a much better job maintaining their fleet.

 

As far as food, it's all subjective. IMHO it's all mass produced banquet quality food. Nothing more or less and can vary by ship regardless of cruise line. Especially when you have fleets as large as Carnival and RCI. Which line has better food depends on your own taste buds. RCI will give you plenty of dining options that is included in your cruise fare. What's different than Carnival is that they give you more dining options that will cost extra if you decide to partake in the specialty dining. One difference is that RCI charges a surcharge of $3.95 for room service between midnight and 5:00 in the morning. Gratuity is included in the service charge.

 

Entertainment will vary by ship but the Freedom, Liberty, Allure and Oasis have some of the best entertainmet afloat with Oasis and Allure being the best of anything I have seen in 26 years of cruising.

 

Even though RCI has become our favorite cruise line, we still step out from time to time and try other cruise lines to see what is out there. I suggest you do the same. You may find that in the end Carnival is a better fit but at least you will have tried. One ship that I suggest looking at is the Liberty of the Seas as she will doing the four and five night cruises out of FLL upon her return from Europe in the late fall.

 

Thank you for this comparison. Me and my girlfriend tend to go on cruises for the ship rather then the destinations unless it's a place we have not been to yet. So the info you have given is fantastic!

 

I live in the Tampa FL area and I believe the Jewel OTS is coming to Tampa this fall so I may go that route. Does anyone have any opinion of that ship?

 

I want to try without a doubt. One thing that bugged me recently on carnival was the heavy increase of constant nagging to buy things. I felt like this increased a lot recently. Does royal do this a lot?

 

How does everyone here feel about the clearly sometimes large price difference?

[Mr_Cruise]

Thank you for this comparison. Me and my girlfriend tend to go on cruises for the ship rather then the destinations unless it's a place we have not been to yet. So the info you have given is fantastic!

 

I live in the Tampa FL area and I believe the Jewel OTS is coming to Tampa this fall so I may go that route. Does anyone have any opinion of that ship?

 

I want to try without a doubt. One thing that bugged me recently on carnival was the heavy increase of constant nagging to buy things. I felt like this increased a lot recently. Does royal do this a lot?

 

How does everyone here feel about the clearly sometimes large price difference?

 

Royal doesn't do it as much; but of all the large ship lines, in my experience Celebrity does it the least (same goes for loud speaker announcements).

 

I feel that the experiences are all priced accordingly. They're all fair value for the money (there are of course exceptions to this, but this usually only happens when the ship is heavily booked and the options are pay what they say or just don't go).

[Cruising89143]

Thank you for this comparison. Me and my girlfriend tend to go on cruises for the ship rather then the destinations unless it's a place we have not been to yet. So the info you have given is fantastic!

 

I live in the Tampa FL area and I believe the Jewel OTS is coming to Tampa this fall so I may go that route. Does anyone have any opinion of that ship?

 

I want to try without a doubt. One thing that bugged me recently on carnival was the heavy increase of constant nagging to buy things. I felt like this increased a lot recently. Does royal do this a lot?

 

How does everyone here feel about the clearly sometimes large price difference?

 

The Jewel is a beautiful ship and since it's so close by it would be a nice option. I have some photos of the Jewel in my link below. It's been five years since my cruise on the Jewel but she has plenty to offer. One of the things about the Radiance class (Jewel) is the amount of glass with views of the sea.

[Merion_Mom]

Thank you for this comparison. Me and my girlfriend tend to go on cruises for the ship rather then the destinations unless it's a place we have not been to yet. So the info you have given is fantastic!

 

I live in the Tampa FL area and I believe the Jewel OTS is coming to Tampa this fall so I may go that route. Does anyone have any opinion of that ship?

 

I want to try without a doubt. One thing that bugged me recently on carnival was the heavy increase of constant nagging to buy things. I felt like this increased a lot recently. Does royal do this a lot?

 

How does everyone here feel about the clearly sometimes large price difference?

 

The Jewel of the Seas is a beautiful ship, but the Liberty of the Seas will also be sailing 4 & 5 night itineraries out of Fort Lauderdale when she returns from the Mediterranean in November.

 

If you are wanting to see if there is a difference in the ships, Liberty of the Seas certainly will hit you with that "WOW" factor.

[tmt218]

Thanks for asking this question. I'm curious as well. I have not been on RC and have a cruise booked on the Monarch for October just to try them out. I am tired of the same old stuff on Carnival and looking to try something different.

 

[firefly333]

I was going to suggest Jewel, before you even said you live in Tampa. Im already planning the hotels for my two Jewel cruises next spring. Its a nice class of ship, maybe most comparable to spirit class, more open and lots of glass.

[dfishner]

Thank you for this comparison. Me and my girlfriend tend to go on cruises for the ship rather then the destinations unless it's a place we have not been to yet. So the info you have given is fantastic!

 

I live in the Tampa FL area and I believe the Jewel OTS is coming to Tampa this fall so I may go that route. Does anyone have any opinion of that ship?

 

I want to try without a doubt. One thing that bugged me recently on carnival was the heavy increase of constant nagging to buy things. I felt like this increased a lot recently. Does royal do this a lot?

 

How does everyone here feel about the clearly sometimes large price difference?

 

The Jewel is one of the radiance class of ships and the ship is stunning, if you can get over to Ft Lauderdale the Liberty of the seas is this ship that has all the bells and whistles and is amazing and has a hip vibe to it. I believe all mass market ships no matter the cruise lines will be hawking their stuff it is hard to know if Carnival does it more then RCL. I just tune it out and ignore it.

[Cruising89143]

How does everyone here feel about the clearly sometimes large price difference?

 

There is not always a huge price difference between the two lines but you have to compare apples to apples and that is not always easy when comparing the two lines. Again. the difference with the new ships will make them more expensive. All prices are dictated by supply and demand and to be truthful, if Carnival could charge more for their cruises, they would. Both cruise lines are in the business to make money. In the end RCI can charge more. It's up to the individual if the extra cost is worth it. To us, they are.

[Desert Cruizers]

We will experience our 1st Freedom Class this Oct, when we sail the Liberty of the Seas TA and can't wait. We have sailed the Radiance Class ( Brilliance & Radiance) and love the glass so this will be a new experience, but one we are looking forward to seeing.

[Xystence]

The Liberty OTS is absolutely stunning looking. I think the Jewel is absolutely stunning looking. I'm highly impressed here!

[Wormy53]

I have cruised several different lines - and picked RCI next with the Jewel. I always look at the itineraries first - then figure out who goes there. We usually cruise Princess, but decided RCI provided more of what we wanted with this cruise. (I know what you mean by being tired of the menus!;))

 

I can't imagine having a bad time - after all, you are on a cruise!!!:D:D

[NorthTXRanchers]

Like you, we'd only cruised Carnival and were generally happy. But there is no reason NOT to try another line, and many reasons to do so. We did and enjoyed our cruise, but we did learn some things that I'll share with you:

 

Beware of taking a 4 or 5 day RC cruise (on an older, smaller boat) and comparing that to your 7+ day Carnival cruises on newer, larger ships. If you have our luck, RC may not come out looking good, but that's not a fair comparison -- apples to oranges I suspect. I don't think it's because it was RC, but rather that ship on that particular trip (crew). If we were on a newer ship, for a week or more, I suspect we'd have liked it just as much (maybe more??). Our ship showed her age and our crew was tired out. Not likely representative of RC line generally ...

 

I think some of us (me?) can also get used to a certain level of service/way of doing things, so that when we find it different, we're disappointed. E.g., on Carnival, my "normal" was soft serve ice cream 24 hours a day, so when I found they didn't have that on RC, even though it wasn't at all a priority, I was a little disappointed. That was true for other little things like pizza, etc.

 

My takeaway lesson from the RC experience? I'll try RC (and other cruise lines!) again, but when I do so, I'll try a 7 day cruise on a newer ship to make a fair, apples to apples, comparison.

 

Regardless, you'll have fun. I mean, this kind of experimenting is a "task" I'll gladly assume responsibility for! LOL Enjoy!!!

[Merion_Mom]

Like you, we'd only cruised Carnival and were generally happy. But there is no reason NOT to try another line, and many reasons to do so. We did and enjoyed our cruise, but we did learn some things that I'll share with you:

 

Beware of taking a 4 or 5 day RC cruise (on an older, smaller boat) and comparing that to your 7+ day Carnival cruises. If you have our luck, RC may not come out looking good, but that's not a fair comparison -- apples to oranges I suspect. I don't think it's because it was RC, but rather that ship on that particular trip (crew). If we were on a newer ship, for a week or more, I suspect we'd have liked it as much (maybe more??). Our ship showed her age and our crew was tired out. Not likely representative of RC line generally ...

 

I think some of us (me?) can also get used to a certain level of service/way of doing things, so that when we find it different, we're disappointed. E.g., on Carnival, my "normal" was soft serve ice cream 24 hours a day, so when I found they didn't have that on RC, even though it wasn't at all a priority, I was a little disappointed.

 

My takeaway lesson from the RC experience? Try them (and other cruise lines) again, but when I do so, be sure I try a 7 day cruise on a newer ship to make a fair, apples to apples, comparison.

 

Regardless, you'll have fun. I mean, this kind of experimenting is a "task" I'll gladly assume responsibility for! LOL Enjoy!!!

 

 

Robin, that is the reason that *we* have been recommending either the Jewel or the Liberty.

 

Neither will disappoint.

[NorthTXRanchers]

Robin, that is the reason that *we* have been recommending either the Jewel or the Liberty.

 

Neither will disappoint.

 

I'm ready to try those! :)

[Xystence]

The biggest issue in having is I feel like the price difference between a 4-5 day on the jewel or liberty is not much less money then 7 days on the oasis or allure. Especially in a balcony cabin and this is making me want to lean that way. I do feel like Carnival Is considerably cheaper and I always have a blast, I do want change but the price difference is killing me though.

 

Every cruise I've been on with Carnival was 7 days long. I just got off a cruise from the Legend today, and Dream last October, it's boring me some lol.

 

What to do..

[Xystence]

For Royal, does there tend to be better last minute deals or better early booking deals? Carnival is generally on the early side of things.

[skandls]

The biggest issue in having is I feel like the price difference between a 4-5 day on the jewel or liberty is not much less money then 7 days on the oasis or allure. Especially in a balcony cabin and this is making me want to lean that way. I do feel like Carnival Is considerably cheaper and I always have a blast, I do want change but the price difference is killing me though.

 

Every cruise I've been on with Carnival was 7 days long. I just got off a cruise from the Legend today, and Dream last October, it's boring me some lol.

 

What to do..

 

We have cruised on a lot of the Royal Caribbean ships. We did a 7 night Oasis this year. When we left the ship I realized there was so much to do that I missed many of the things I usually do on a cruise. And I did not get to do some of the thing I had planned. Even with the same old ports there is so much to do on the ship I was not bored. Yes the Oasis and Allure are more expensive but there are so many venues and entertainments it is hard to be bored even if you never leave the ship.

[piscesgal223]

One big reason I wanted to try Royal was price. They have some great deals.And for a economy(yet not super cheap) person like me, that's appealing. And, having seen a RC ship form afar-I thought, "I want to try that someday".

[Daghis]

For Royal, does there tend to be better last minute deals or better early booking deals? Carnival is generally on the early side of things.

From my experience, prices start off at near their lowest point about 14+ months in advance, and then the prices slowly go up as time approaches when final payment would be due (75 days out). If a ship isn't filling to capacity like they would like, then price dips can happen 30-60 days in advance for those who prefer closer to last-minute bookings.

 

We've generally booked over a year in advance on the newest ships and have found that our pricing is just about as good as it could be. Some people who have more flexibility can get good pricing during Royal Caribbean's Tuesday sales for cruises happening in the next month or two.

[tallcva3344]

My question here is, what will I get differently?

Recently I have been on the Carnival Legend, and the Carnival Dream. Me and my girlfriend do not really care for Carnival's Vegas style shows and tend to kind of do our own thing most of the time. We are not large party people, but love meeting new people.

Thanks for anyone's opinion! I am very excited to see not only peoples thoughts, but my experience on board![/

 

 

 

Cruise on the Liberty 4 nights and you will see the difference.