RCI vs. Carnival

[Mary&Jim]

My family is planning a birthday celebration for my mother who will be 75 next July ('05) and I've been elected the unofficial "cruise director". I've been researching both RCI & Carnival in an effort to accomodate everyone. However, I've never been on a Carnival cruise, so therefore I'm biased. Our group will be from age 2 thru 75 with lots of young family members There will be about 45 people.
I hear conflicting information about Carnival being a party boat. Am I being overly concerned? I'm trying to keep the price down for the families, so cost is a factor.
I don't want to shock the more mature family members either. Any ideas? We have to go during the summer because of school vacations and my mother wants to go to St. Thomas. Other than that, I'm wide open.
Thanks,
Mary

MaryW

[fodorspeter]

I wouldn't care if Carnival was free - I'd sail any other cruise line before stepping on a Carnival ship. Too many horror stories to take a chance. Besides, you can really go wrong with any RCCL vessel or itinerary.

Peter

[cruisinqt]

With a group so large you can probably get a group discount. Just ask your travel agent or call the cruise line you're interested in. As for which cruise line to pick, I don't personally think one is better than the other. What helps me make up my mind is where the ship is going and what amenities it offers. Some of the newer, larger ships have skating rinks, large movie theatres, and rock climbing walls. If you find a cruise that you're interested in, don't choose based on which cruise line it is. Choose based on what the ship is like. If the RCI ship I like is smaller and has less extras than the Carnival, then I would pick Carnival. And visa versa.

I usually go to the ship reviews and see how people liked that particular cruise. I also find out how large the ship is and what extras it might have on it. The Carnival ships do tend to be a younger crowd. But I don't think they are too rowdy or anything. Personally, I like both cruise lines. RCI has a little better food and is a little older and quieter crowd. But Carnival has more activities going on and you never get bored.

Another thing to keep in mind while you're booking is the time. Summertime can be very busy with lots of college students and high school students graduating. I would stay away from the month of June. Many people have complained about whole classes of graduating students coming along on a cruise in late May and early June. A little later in the summer around late july or the first week in August may be better. By then the fourth of July and graduation is over. You might miss some of the roudier crowds that way.

[imsulin]

I've cruised on both lines, Mary & Jim. If you want to go to St. Thomas, you're looking at a 7-night (minimum) cruise from Florida. Many ships alternate Eastern (St. Thomas) and Western itineraries every other week. Also, the number of ships available doing Caribbean cruises during the summer is quite limited, as many ships are re-positioned in late Spring to do Alaskan and European cruises. Cruising in July will command very high prices because: fewer ships available/Honeymoon season/family vacation time/graduation time/summer vacation. Both Carnival and RCI have their July 2005 itineraries available now, so you might want to check out dates of sailing, first. On the Carnival and RCI cruises I've been on, I've found that the time of year you go will determine the "party" atmosphere. July can definitely be "party time" on either line. RCI allows 18-year olds to drink beer and wine. Carnival's age is 21. Carnival's cabins are definitely bigger, and - IMO - has better food. Carnival has water slides into their pools. RCI has rock-climbing walls and some ships have the ice rinks. You might want to check out Holland America's Zuiderdam, which does year-round Caribbean sailings (alternating Eastern and Western), and does family cruises all the time. You will find less partying, passengers of all ages, wonderful food and service, but no slides or rock-climbing walls, and the Children's Program may be more limited than the ones on Carnival or RCI. Another thing you want to do is to book through the GROUP DEPT. of whatever cruise line, because you can earn free berths (free "cruise rate" for you and others, amenities like bottles of wine/champagne, shipboard credit per cabin, etc.) Go through a TA to have them handle the booking and communicating for you, too. July in the Eastern Caribbean is VERY hot and humid! Also, if any of you have special medical needs or medical problems, you really need to look into them buying trip insurance. It sounds like a very large group, and I'm not sure if you want to do all of this yourself. Hope I've given you some good information!

[imsulin]

"Besides, you can really go wrong with any RCCL vessel or itinerary"

I agree wholeheartedly.

[karen_cpa]

I have been on 4 Carnival Cruises and 1 RCCL. Hands-down, Carnival has the best food, IMO! Also - I have heard many supposed horror stories about Carnival. Honestly, after 4 cruises with them, I have never seen it. We did encounter a horribly drunk adult on RCCL last month, so trouble like that is not contained to just one line!!! And yes, I have traveled during spring break, as my best friend is a HS guidance counselor. We never had a problem on Carnival.

Personally, assuming all other things were equal (price, itinerary) I would choose Carnival over RCCL. You probably can't go wrong either way - with a group your size, you make your own fun!!!!

Enjoy!!

[momofmeg]

Carnival is not such a "party ship" anymore if you take a cruise of 7 days. I won't say it is sedate like HAL but it is a decent line. I have found the "hard partiers" are more often on the mini cruises (less then 7 day). The more expensive cruises especially on the newer ships you don't see this. I have found too even on Sovereign (also a mini cruise) there were obnoxious drunks and partying college students.

Anyway as you know the voyager class ships are more expensive then other RCCL ships I have not done a voyager class ship but hope to this year. Unfortunately they are so popular that the weeks I can go seem to be booked up except for suites which is way beyond my pocketbook so it may be next year.

Ofcourse you are planning far enough ahead you can do a voyager class ship. If not- don't worry you can still have a good time on a Carnival ship. Carnival does give you value for your money as does RCCL.

[cruise-forever]

I have been on three soon to be four Carnival criuses and have had a blast on every one. We travel in large groups and with varying ages. Each member has had a good time. I agree with previous posts that you should begin by considering where you want to go and where it leaves from. Then you can begin to look more into the acutal ships. Our travel agent has always been a huge help here. She works for a company that specializes in cruises, so she has a wealth of knowledge about each line and thier ships. I suggest finding a person such as her to help you. Today their are so many ships to choose from it can become overwhelming. Have a great time whatever you choose.

[Cruiser-T]

Our family (19 of us) just went through the same decision making as you are doing now and it was a very tough decision. We went back and forth many times before deciding to go with RCCL Navigator of the Sea's, the Carnival Miracle was the other choice.

We read many reviews, both good and bad for both lines, but the things that made us choose RCCL was that we wanted to cruise a voyayger ship, RCCL ships tended to be very nice even after several years, where as Carnival ships seemed to bit a bit trashy after a few years. The decor of the RCCL was much nicer than the gothic theme of the Miracle.

Both had their good points and bad, for us atleast, RCCL had more good points than Canival. Read as many reviews as you can. Good luck!

[CoachTerry14]

Both cruise lines/ships have their positivies and negatives. I always pick the newest and biggest ships. For others to judge a cruiseline without going on it is not fair.

If you have specific questions about the cruiselines or ships, please ask away.

Make a list of the important criteria for the cruise. Rank order them. Things like: Embarkation port, cruise itinerary, age of ship, size of ship, price,current specials, availability of certain types of cabins, general age make-up of cruisers, children's programs, etc. This will help you select a cruise. Remember, there are lots of travel agents eager to help. If you go in with this info prepared, it will make the job much easier.

[cruisinqt]

Well said Terry! I agree wholeheartedly. I use to debate about which cruise line is better. Now that I have some experience under my belt, I can honestly say that one cruise line is not better than the other. Some ships are better than others but the cruise lines are all very good. And I think sometimes people go on an older, smaller Carnival ship and compare it unfavorably to a newer larger Royal caribbean ship. That's not fair! Or someone may go on an older, smaller Royal Caribbean ship and compare it unfavorably to a larger newer Norwegian ship. When we compare cruises, we need to make sure we aren't comparing them unfairly. Newer larger ships should only be compared to newer larger ships. Older smaller ships should only be compared to older smaller ships.

My first cruise was on a smaller older Carnival ship. When I went on a newer larger Royal Caribbean ship, I thought Royal Caribbean was much better than Carnival. Then I decided to try a Carnival ship that was quite large and new. It was then that I realized that I was comparing the two cruise lines unfairly. I think the people that say both cruise lines are good are seasoned travelers like myself who have realized that their previous comparisons were not fair. Those who talk bad about one cruise line may have gone on a smaller, older ship and then never went back. I agree with Terry. I always look for newer larger ships now. The newer larger ships sometimes have ice skating rinks, rock clilmbing walls and other extras to choose from. Those extras make a big difference on whether or not you like your cruise because you are always looking for something fun to do on those days you are at sea.

[fodorspeter]

but here's a spin for you - The ships may be comparable, the food may be comparable, the service may be comparable, but - the passengers aren't. I know that shouldn't be, that it's unfair, and maybe I don't know what I'm talking about; but I think it's true. Regardless of how it came to be, the passenger profile for Carnival and Holland America keeps me from booking one of their cruises. Here's the publics perception - Carnival = rowdy, drunk, walmart shoppers, jeans in the dining room. HAL = pretentious, rich, ascots, martinis, tuxedos for lunch. Now these are the passenger profiles, not the ship, cabin, wait staff or food.

I don't want to take a chance on HAL to have a Rockafeller or Rothchild as my table mates. I don't want to turn the lights off at 8:00 and go to bed. I don't want to sound like an idiot when I don't know what anything is on the menu. Conversely, I don't want to take a chance on Carnival to have Joe Sixpack as my cabin neighbor throwing wild parties at 4:00 in the am. I don't want hot dogs and sauerkraut for dinner. I don't want to get covered with silly string at the Captain's welcoming party. I don't want to walk down the corridors and get dizzy from the Las Vegas retro-carpeting.

Unfair - probably. But why take a chance. I've been extremely happy with RCCL, Celebrity, Princess and now Norwegian.

Now everyone will post how wonderful their Carnival or HAL cruise was and I'm sure it was. But it's the perception, reputation and horror stories from boards like this that keeps me from trying. After all, the Joe Sixpacks of the world know the reputation as well as I do - so who do you think they'll book their next cruise with? Exactly.

Peter

[cruisinqt]

Fodorspeter,

You asked who we think the joe sixpacks of the world will book with. I think they will go for the cheapest cruises they can find. Trashy people like that tend to go as cheap as they can and they even bring their own booze too. If you look at Carnival's larger newer ships they are not cheap. Some of them are even more expensive than Celebrity, Princess, and Royal Caribbean. I find that these large new ships have a higher class of people and the cruise is much nicer than some of the smaller cheaper ships. The type of people you refer to like to go cheap and tend to be on smaller older ships that are only on the ocean a few days. I always book 7 days or longer on larger newer ships. Not only have I been on the cruise lines you have been on, I have also went on Carnival's larger newer ships and had a blast. The cruise critic did his own review on Carnival's new larger ship the Conquest just recently. And he seems to agree with me. He was very impressed with it. He said that the people and food were first class and he would go on it again. I think Host Terry was correct when he said for some of us to judge a cruise line without even going on it is very unfair. Don't get me wrong, I am not a die hard Carnival fan. I have been on Royal Caribbean and had a blast. But I have found Carnival just as nice. The difference for me was that I have never been on an older smaller Carnival cruise. And I never plan to be on one either. Carnival's larger newer ships have a much better class of people and that's what I will stick with in the future.

I just don't think it's right to say all Carnival's cruise ships serve hot dogs and sauerkruat for dinner. Or that their passengers are rowdy drunks that shop at Wal-mart. It's not fair either to label all Holland America cruise lines as full of rich pretentious people either. That's like saying all black people can dance. Or all tall people are good at basketball. Or all chinese people are karate experts. You can't label a whole class of people like that. Not only is it incorrect, but it's morally wrong. To label all passengers on a ship or to lump them all into one category is just not right. To lump an entire cruise line full of ships is equally wrong. You may call it profiling but I would call it something entirely different. Call it what you may, but I just call it plain ignorance.

[kevloe84]

Hello Peter,
I don't get what you say about HAL and Carnival. The public's perceptions? Sounds like your perceptions. Please give us the research, so we can come up with our own opinion. In addition, there's good and bad on all cruise lines. I would think your cruise is what you make of it!

[MoonBaby]

"Gothic Theme on the Miracle????" hmmmm they must have changed the decor for my recent cruise, the ship was lovely, had a great time, lots of families, no rowdy drunks. :confused:

[romy]

Peter!!! Good to see you from over in Fodorland. You know I agree about Carnival. I'd rather not cruise at all then go with them!

BTW, what are your thoughts on NCL's Dream? We're used to Celebrity but we're "guests" on this one for the Baltics.

Romy

[Cya@Sea]

We sailed on Navigator of the Seas, and I think that she and her sister ships have something for everyone. I am not putting Carnival down by any means. We just enjoyed RCI so much more than Carnival. I think to be safe get all the info. on both lines/ships. Then have a group vote. This way YOU won't be blamed. I wish you the best of luck and a wonderful cruise, no matter what cruiseline you choose.

[mimikens]

Actually, there are demographics for each cruise line. I used to be a travel agent, so the things I'll say are a few (5) years old. Both RCI & Carnival have the same approximate average age in the Caribbean (40's). RCI passengers have a higher gross income and education level. And unless things have dramatically changed in the last few years, Carnival is known in the travel industry as a party cruise, although I have to somewhat agree with the person who said the type of cruise you get depends on the sailing. I went on a June sailing on RCI, and it was the most sedate cruise I have ever been on. The singles party had less than 10 peole there (June being honeymoon & anniversary month). I have been on 37 cruises. Only three have been on Carnival. When I die, I will have only been on 3 Carnival cruises. I will never go on Carnival again. The last Carinival cruise I went on was a freebie because I had gotten such horrible food poisoning on the 2nd one. On the third one, something worse happened. So, I am horribly biased against Carnival. But, in truth, if you have a large enough group, it doesn't matter as much because you will enjoy being with one another. Most likely, the food will be better than you get at home, and the best part is, you'll be waited on!

[CoachTerry14]

[quote name='fodorspeter']but here's a spin for you
Unfair - probably. Exactly. [/QUOTE]


I always love it when people compare Carnival Cruise Lines to Walmart. They are both industry leaders. Jealous is a terrible thing.

For the record, I own stock in RCL, CCL, and Wal-Mart! :)

[CaribbeanCruisesRock]

[b][color=red]I've been on both cruise lines. I personally like Royal Caribbean a little bit beter because they have concierge service. Although, Carnival has a water slide. But, i don't need a water slide. I personally think Royal Caribbean is little more up scale....... no offense but that's my opinion.[/color][/b]

[mariakitty]

[quote name='karen_cpa']I have been on 4 Carnival Cruises and 1 RCCL. Hands-down, Carnival has the best food, IMO! [/QUOTE]

And I feel just the opposite. Of the three cruise lines I have sailed, Carnival the absolute worst food in my opinion, and I felt the quality of food on RCCL was substantially superior. My husband LOVED the 24-hour pizza on Carnival, but as far as fine dining goes RCCL has Carnival beat. My mother has sailed Carnival and RCCL in the past year and also feels the food is much better on RCCL of that means anything. I guess we all have different taste buds. :)

maria

[dmbleser]

I just got off the Glory yesterday. Beautiful ship. It was my second Carnival and 3rd overall. The other being on RC last year. I don't remember the ships name. I agree with those that say you can't go wrong with either. I think RC has better food but my wife thinks Carnival does. Carnival has a more relaxed atmosphere than RC. I love the decor of Carnival. It helps you relax in my opinion. As far as the drunks are concerned, I agree with those who say it depends as to how long your cruise is and when you go. I didnt see any out of control drunks on any my cruises. There were a wide range of cruisers on the Glory. I saw everyone from infants to folks that looked like they were waiting for their casket to be built. I wouldn't mind sailing on RC in the future. Yes my first preference is Carnival. One thing I will you I won't do in the future and that is taking a cruise that is less than 7 days.

[DeckCadet]

I think this section of CC might be a bit RCCL biased........

I'm 15 years old. I've been on an equal number of RCCL and CCL ships. Honestly, I doubt very much if I'll go on RCCL again for a long long time.

Don't get me wrong, I had a blast on every RCCL cruise I went on. The ships are beautiful, if crowded. Nice decor, amenities, service and all.

When I first went on Carnival, I had been back from my previous cruise for three months. I had a category B suite on Navigator of the Seas for its 2-day pre inaugural voyage. I had mixed expectations. I'd heard the horror stories, party ship, and so on.

By the end of my first of 4 cruises on Carnival's Paradise in a 1 year 1 month period, I was hooked.

Paradise was the messenger showing what was to come in Carnival's evolution. Lots of wood and brass. It still has some elements of the usual glitzy stuff, but it is very well maintained and really quite beautiful. I've had great service, and the food on CCL really made me realize how mediocre the food had become on RCI. I also realized how much a difference it makes on a smaller ship. 2400 maximum with about 950 crew is better than 3850 maximum with 1150 crew if you ask me. The cabins really were spacious and comfortable.

Despite having had such a good time on RCI, Carnival just appeals to me more. I don't think that i noticed too much of a "Party Atmosphere" on CCL even during totally packed cruises.

Each line has its pluses and minuses. From what I saw in pictures of Glory, carnival's decor is improving greatly. From the pictures of the atrium, my mother and grandmother asked me if it was a RCI ship. I told them, smiling, it was Glory.

It is your decision, but I'd not rule out CCL really. Just try for one of the newer ships, with a week-long voyage. Carnival does hold on to its ships for some time, so the aging ships get a lot of use and wear over time, especially on the shorter itineraries. Like a well-loved toy, it is used and wears out a bit. You know how it is. They get first-time and party cruisers more if you ask me. Other times as they get nearer to the end oftheir service lives they become like old west pioneers, going into uncharted territory. Many Fantasy Class ships are doing the 3/4 day itineraries now. This includes the glitzy ones. The older ships doing those itineraries tend to have the wacky decor and i'd say from reviews lesser service/food (lots of use, and not much time).

You make the choice, but just weigh all the options.

[ilionite65]

I sailed on the Carnival Conquest and will never again sail on Carnival. The Conquest is supposed to be their Biggest and their best! If that is the case then it's pretty sad. I found the decor to be garish and gaudy. The food was only ok IMO, and the staff just couldn't seem to get it to the table warm! Speaking of the staff they seemed to be doing a job and that was it, only what they had to do and nothing more. They acted liked they hated what they were doing. Old ship or new, Carnival is still lacking in many areas.

[lunyma]

I've been on both lines, in various sized ships... MY preference is Carnival, especially for a group your size, and age range. I like them both, but for different reasons. *I* feel that Carnival has better food, but food is subjective. Carnival DOES have larger cabins, given fair comparisons to cabin class and price. RCI does a good job with their extras, particularly in offering rock climbing, ice skating, mini golf, etc... but mostly on Voyager class ships (although the rock climbing has recently been added to their mid class, as well)... Carnival entertainment, in MY opinion, is far superior, and although I have never used it, I am told that Carnival's Children's programs, are also better than Royal Caribbean's. From MY experience, and from the experience of my past clients (I too, used to sell cruises), I would say that either choice would be fine for your group. You have to decide what is important for you and your family... Food? Entertainment? Service? Amenities? Price?
I would be happy to help you out, should you want some advice. Just email me at [email]lunyma@aol.com[/email]...