Royal VS Carnival

[face15442]

I recently just took a cruise with Carnival on the Glory. I had never sailed with Carnival before. Only Royal Caribbean and wanted to see what Carnival was like. Well, Let me save all of you some money. I will never go on Carnival again. It was the biggest disappointment. If you have never been on a cruise you would have probably liked it. But, if you have every been on Royal and then went on Carnival you would hate it. The Glory is only 1 1/2 yrs old and it was nasty. The Decor is so tacky, it was dirty and very worn. Tile was missing from the floors. Dirty glasses would sit around for days. The music was terrible. I think the earliest music they played was from 1986. Who wants to hear John Couger on a Caribbean cruise. The service was moderate. It was service you would get at any run of the mill restuarant. The scheduling of activities sucked. On days at sea, the 2 men band would not even start till like 12:00. Then the games royal would do on deck, Carnival did in the main theater. So you had to leave the pool and sun and go inside if you wanted to see them. This is your day at sea. You don't want to go inside!!!! It was terrible. The main dining rooms is like a maze. the set up is weird. And most of the table are little. We are a family of 4 ad was put at a table for 4. Heck, I eat with my family every night, I wanted a big table so that we could meet people.

Royal is unbelievable in comparasion. They wait on you hand and foot. The Decor is High Class. Clean as clean can be. You can't even find dust in the corners on Royal. Royal goes above and beyond.

So to conclude this, ask yourself a question. If you could buy the exact same suit for the exact same price from Wal-mart's self-check out, or buy it from sax-fifth avenue and they try it on for you, serve you coffee and donuts, alter it for free and even throw it a tie, Again same suit, same price where would you buy it. Same holds true for Carnival and Royal. GO ROYAL,

DON"T THINK TWICE, My rating: CARNIVAL * 1 star (Very Common)

ROYAL CARIBBEAN***** 5 star (Luxury)

[Nessi]

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and has their own unique experiences. If I had experienced what you did on that cruise, I would probably think twice about sailing that line again. However, that was not my experience on the Carnival Triumph. Beautiful ship that was very clean. Service was great (just as good as the other two lines I've sailed). In fact, the only issue I've ever had with service on a cruise was our maid and room steward on our last cruise (NCL). I understood that to be two problematic employees and not an across-the-board problem with the entire line. Everyone else we spoke with on that cruise loved their maid and room steward. The games on our two Carnival cruises were all out by the pool. The hairy chest contests were hilarious. I personally liked Carnival and would sail on them again. I'm sorry you had a bad experience with Carnival, but I hope readers will keep an open mind about the line.

 

Carnival Celebration 05/00

Carnival Triumph 06/01

Star Princess 06/02

Golden Princess 12/04

Norwegian Spirit 02/05

Norwegian Star 01/06 :)

[jle714]

I've been on both CC and RCCL... there are definate plus and minuses but I liked both and would go again. I don't remember bad music, dirty glasses, etc. on the CC Elation.

[GottaLuvCruising]

I will also have to respectfully (or not) disagree. I've also sailed both lines and found them very similar, comparable in all respects. While I see no significant differences, I would note that I prefer Royal Caribbean's decor, but Carnival's fun attitude. I also have to disagree with the original post in that Royal Caribbean's pricing is almost always higher.

[caviargal]

I agree with the OP. My two sailings with Carnival were my two least favorite of 102 cruises.

 

I found the ships to be gaudy, tacky, not clean, poorly maintained (broken legs on furniture, in need of painting).

 

The nightlife was boring, food and service mediocre. Daytime activities were not what I enjoy on a cruise.

 

I would truly have preferred to stay home.

[momofmeg]

I agree with the OP. My two sailings with Carnival were my two least favorite of 102 cruises.

 

I found the ships to be gaudy, tacky, not clean, poorly maintained (broken legs on furniture, in need of painting).

 

The nightlife was boring, food and service mediocre. Daytime activities were not what I enjoy on a cruise.

 

I would truly have preferred to stay home.

 

I do not agree with Caviar gal about Carnival. I am not crazy about Carnival but they do give you value for your money.

I thought their food was excellent. Their entertainment WAS great until they started the smoking and non smoking lounges-all the lounges with the live entertainment are smoking-the boring ones non smoking so I detest this and this is why I am not thrilled to do a Carnival cruise. By the way normally cigerette smoke does not bother me-but it does bother me now on a Carnival cruise as all the smokers are crammed in to certain lounges.

 

Caiviar gal is right a bout the decor but I have noticed on Miracle, one of their newer ships, they had toned it down and I am hoping this is a new trend and the newer ships will be more tasteful.

 

As far as RCCL being great-I feel they have just gotten TOO popular-they no longer care if we as indivual customers are happy. I won't go into all the particulars but I have a complaint on a future booking as the ports were changed-I tried to change to another week for that cruise and they wanted to charge me $100 MORE because the cruiseship was so popular and the cruise had went up in price since we had booked-they did not give a flip how we felt or the fact they would turn around and sell my previous booking for more then I paid also.

 

I am still going on this cruise, my daughter still wants to go and it is a graduation present to her-but I tell you THIS-thse voyager class ships better be something else-if not I will never cruise RCCL again.

 

By the way Caviar gal- since you are a travel agent-do you get extra kick backs from RCCL? I can't help but wonder. Because I could not see my 2 RCCL cruises were any better then the Carnival ones.

[momofmeg]

Just wanted to add-I am not into hairy chest contests and stuff the bikini contests either. (Carnival) But that is an easy solution-leave the pool for a little bit and come back in an hour when the cr^*&p is over.

 

My last cruise on Sovereign (back in 2001) I found her carpets were worn and stained, a loose railing on one of the stairways (unsafe for sure) and she was due to be redecorated. (I know she was last year) I had been on her in 99 and was AMAZED in how bad she had gone down in 2 years. My guess that happens to all the ships no matter the line.

 

Like I said-I have only been on soverein-an older ship and unfair to judge RCCL by her-but with RCCL's lack of customer service-these voyager class ships better be something if they get any of my business in the future.

[DEL67]

I also have to disagree. We have been on 4 RCCL cruises and 7 or 8 Carnival cruises (including the Glory in 4/04) and I have never encountered the poor conditions that face15442 and caviargal mentioned. Like Momofmeg, I find the food comparable on both lines. I do prefer RCCL's daytime activities, but many Carnival ships now have activities like Trivia also.

 

Where I do find a major difference is in the front office. When I communicate a issue or complaint to Carnival, I get a letter apologizing and saying that they will look into it. I do not know if they do anything, but at least irt makes me feel better. They often also provide a discount on a future cruise even when I say I do not want anything. RCCL tries to make the issue my fault. They did not even apologize when they repeatedly did not meet a comittment.

[Nliedel]

I have very much enjoyed Carnival, Princess and RCI cruises over the past 20 years and plan to sail all three lines in the near future. I have had wonderful experiences on every cruise.

[serene56]

I have sailed Royal once but Carnival a few times more. I am trying to understand the poster who said the carnivals lounges were smokey--is that not the case on Royal too? having sailed the Voyager I know that a few places were non smoking and others were. did that change?

 

So then what was the difference

[fay54]

Just adding my two cents. I sailed twice on Carnival, once on Celebrity and once on NORWEGIAN Sea, going on our second Royal Carribean cruise in June. Our last Carnival cruise was the Miracle. I disagree with Momofmeg. I thought the Miracle was tastelessly decorated and the dining room was horrendous with all those pink light that were supposed to be grapes. There was also a cat fight with a bunch of drunken women and then the men got in it on the Carnival Miracle. The music while sunbathing was like a steady drum beat, no music. Really bad. I much prefer Royal Carribean. The food is better, they give you music that suits the area and it is a much classier cruise.

[fay54]

Oh one more thing about the Miracle. The cruise director dressed like a homeless person and the staff were very lax in controlling the crowd, hence the drunken brawl.

[serene56]

. The cruise director dressed like a homeless person .

 

 

 

Who was the Cruise director? And do you think you could have him mixed up with the social director?

[caviargal]

By the way Caviar gal- since you are a travel agent-do you get extra kick backs from RCCL? I can't help but wonder. Because I could not see my 2 RCCL cruises were any better then the Carnival ones.

 

No, momofmeg, I do not get "kickbacks" from RCI. just really nice perks for being Diamond Plus. RCI does not give kickbacks to my knowledge. And, I have paid FULL fare for all but one of my RCI cruises. As I have for my two cruises on CCL. When I am on vacation and spending my time and money on a cruise, I want to enjoy myself. RCI is one of the lines I enjoy sailing and have sonce 1978.

 

I am taking a group of 193 on the Glory in 4 weeks. Yes, I did sell Canival to these folks because it was the right fit. And, they have been a nightmare to deal with!

 

I can only hope the cruise is not.

[serene56]

I am taking a group of 193 on the Glory in 4 weeks. Yes, I did sell Canival to these folks because it was the right fit. And, they have been a nightmare to deal with!

.

 

 

The main reason that I can not become a travel agent. I love looking and touching but to work with nightmares--the job will become not fun.

[caviargal]

The main reason that I can not become a travel agent. I love looking and touching but to work with nightmares--the job will become not fun.

 

Let me specify that the nightmare has been dealing with Carnival, not my 193 clients!

[momofmeg]

Just adding my two cents. I sailed twice on Carnival, once on Celebrity and once on NORWEGIAN Sea, going on our second Royal Carribean cruise in June. Our last Carnival cruise was the Miracle. I disagree with Momofmeg. I thought the Miracle was tastelessly decorated and the dining room was horrendous with all those pink light that were supposed to be grapes. There was also a cat fight with a bunch of drunken women and then the men got in it on the Carnival Miracle. The music while sunbathing was like a steady drum beat, no music. Really bad. I much prefer Royal Carribean. The food is better, they give you music that suits the area and it is a much classier cruise.

 

I did not care for the fushia grapes either. they should have been either a lavender or a matte gold. That was a goof-but that was much better the the "bat cave" on Inspiration in the lido resturant, or the movie star mannequins that Fascination had.

 

I also did not like all the copies of nude paintings of women- in particular the one of a young girl who looked to be about twelve years old. But over all the neo-classic look of the ship was nice and a BIG improvement over the other Carnival ships I have been on. the colors were nice too over all-pale greens, teals and aquas. with offf whites and taupes.

 

 

As far as a bunch of drunks acting up-that can happen on any ship-the worse experience I have had with drunks was ONCE again on RCCL Sovereign of the Seas. We had an abnoxious drunk man in the second seating at dinner who was cussing out the waiters and his wife/companion? etc. and he was only like 2 tables away so we heard it all. He WAS NOT escorted from the dinningroom. That same cruise we also had a problem with a bunch of partying college students-a little drunk-mostly inmature-who took over the lido pool throwing one another-FULLY CLOTHED-in the pool-this was at like 7-8p.m. (before we went to dinner) and it went on for at least 30-45 minutes before we left for dinner. If an officer or crew member interviened-it was after we left.

 

As far as the person not liking Glory, I do not think I will ever take a cruise on a conquest class ship-I have read too many reviews-that they are a bad design and tend to get congested really badly.

 

I would cruise Miracle again though as I did like her but I am not so thrilled with Carnival either. But at least when I complained to Carnival customer service about their smoking policy and lounges-they answered me. They told me most nonsmoking people like the new policy and they regretted I did not feel that way. They gave me a 10% iff certificate for a future cruise. Now I did not use it-as I said-I am not sure I want to do another Carnival cruise but I did appreciate customer service acknowleged me. I have written Royal Carribean FIVE times about my problem with them and NO ONE has answered me. If my daughter wasn't so stuck on wanting to do a "voyager class" ship and the cruise being her graduation present-I would cancel that cruise and book a Princess one.

[momofmeg]

I have sailed Royal once but Carnival a few times more. I am trying to understand the poster who said the carnivals lounges were smokey--is that not the case on Royal too? having sailed the Voyager I know that a few places were non smoking and others were. did that change?

 

So then what was the difference

Serene- go back and read my post. what I SAID was with the NEW POLICY of smoking and non smoking lounges I did not like it. Normally I am not bothered by cigerette smoke-it was just that it was super congested in these lounges as smoking was not allowed in all the lounges and the lounges I enjoy- the piano bar and karokee were smoking lounges. The non-smoking lounges seemed to be the boring ones with no entertainment. I am not one to just go and sit and drink-I want to hear a little music.

 

This was on the Inspiration. On my Miracle cruise more entertainment was provided in the non smoking lounges on that ship-Franke and Johnny's in particular I liked as there was a live band who did nostalgia rock music-lots of Beatles, Rolling Stones etc. which I LOVED as I am a baby boomer. (young people under 35 would have hated it-but the disco is for them)

 

I even got to enjoy the piano bar on her a couple of times-I found if I went early enough in the evening-I could enjoy it-it did not become congestd with smoke until after 10 or so.

[decruisers]

I too have sailed both. I prefer RCCL over Carnival. Did the Carnival Legends to Bermuda and was so disappointed with the service. Bartenders who would have to be called over to wait on you. I never met my cabin steward. And there seemed to be HUGH dead times through out the day. A lot of activities started at the same time, then NOTHING going on for hours. With Royal, never had to wait to get served, always met my cabin steward, and there is always something going on.

[L_T]

Wow Renee, sounds like you didn't enjoy yourself at all. You should have had a good cabin on the Spa Deck, we were on the Panorama Deck on the Conquest and really like that area as it is so easy to get around from there. How did Zack and Nick like the activities? I know how boys that age can be, hope they enjoyed themselves. We really enjoyed our two Carnival cruises, but based on what you posted - Sak-fifth Avenue service and quality for a Walmart price - I think we'd better take a look at RCCL! I think I'd also get to like being waited on, hand & foot! Thanks for the report!