Royal Carribean

[ginger123snaps]

I'm wondering if Royal Carribean is worth the $$$...their cost is so much higher then Norwegian or Carnival. If it is worth it...for those of you that have sailed Royal Carribean...when or what is their best sale?

[kitty9]

There's no real way to tell you of big sales because cruise pricing is weird. They go up and down almost weekly.

 

Personally, I think Carnival and RCI are pretty even in all areas, so I'd go with the best price.

[Keith1010]

I prefer it over the other two you mentioned.

 

What ship are you looking at and itinerary?

 

Keith

[IttaBit]

I prefer RCI over Carnival. Think about it this way...going on RCI's larger ships is like going to Disney World, Carnival is like going to the traveling carnival that pops up in the Wal-Mart parking lot a couple times a year. :p

[LucasLounger1]

My first cruise was Carnival and I had an absolute ball. Would have had no problem doing another Carnival, but booked Royal Caribbean to spend Christmas with my sister and her family. Now I can't go back. I felt they were superior in almost every way (food, entertainment, ship). The only thing I missed from Carnival was complimentary bathrobes (but I read somewhere you can ask your steward and MAY get one), and the little basket of goodies in the bathroom (RCI supplies bar soap and mystery lathering stuff in the shower).

[ginger123snaps]

I sailed on a Royal Carribean ship years ago. I really didn't notice much difference between the different cruise lines...at the time...cruising has changed today and things are different.

 

I recently sailed Carnival Magic...we are sailing Norwegian Epic in December. was considering one of the newer ships on Royal carribean...oasis or allure. well now we have quantum to consider. when i had priced out the cruises..the cost of a haven suite on norwegian was just a bit more then a balcony on royal carribean. The pricing is why i'm wondering if its that much better then other cruise lines.

 

Does Royal Carribean include more activities or special foods then norwegian?

[Julienatul]

I have sailed all of them but prefer NCL at the moment. they are all more similar than different. Of Course Epic, Breakaway, Allure and oasis will be in a league of their own- mega ships. I like that Royal has baby splash zones and nurseries. NCL has amazing Nick JR characters and activities, character breakfasts. We cruise alot so pricing weighs in a lot for us. We love NCL for the value and offerings.

[flhokie]

I've sailed Carnival & Royal Caribbean and my parents have sailed all 3. At this point, I would not sail Carnival again (food was so/so, little entertainment variety, mostly centered around partying which isn't our cup of tea and their recent safety issues & handling of them). We used to be loyal to Princess, but since Carnival bought them they have steadily gone down hill with food & service. So we've turned to Royal Caribbean & haven't been disappointed.

 

Based on the experience of my parents who have been on 75+ cruises, we wouldn't sail NCL unless there was an extremely unique itinerary (they said the food was hands down the worst they ever had on a cruise--barely edible at times and that overall it wasn't up to RCCL in any aspect).

 

We sailed Royal Caribbean in September--my 6th cruise with them & DH's 1st. It was only a 3 day get away without DD, but it was great. Great food & service, clean and a lot of things to do. DH doesn't want to sail any other line now (had been on Carnival & Princess). We are sailing on the Allure next month with DD (2years old) and can't wait. We are so excited about the ship, entertainment, options for DD (nursery, character breakfast, activities, parades, etc) and the overall experience. I'd rather save longer & pay more for a great experience than pay less & go more often.

[snorkelman]

It has more to do with the size of the ship, the duration of the cruise and the time of the year. It is not an equal comparison to try and go on one line for a three day cruise during spring break and to try and compare that to a 7 day cruise in the fall or spring on another line.

 

After 30 cruises, and 6 with children, we are very pleased with RCL and honestly can find deals on RCL that are very close to Carnival.

[sunshine0503]

I have only ever cruised Royal Caribbean. And frankly, I'm nervous to try any other line because I'm afraid I'll be disappointed.

 

We took our kids on the Freedom in 2011 and they loved it!! They were almost 4 and 6 at the time. Most of my friends RAVE about the Disney cruise, but they've never been on any other cruise line and their kids are crazy about Mickey Mouse. Mine could care less about the mouse and I cannot see spending the extra money when they would have just as much fun, if not more, on the Freedom.

 

We have booked the Allure for Spring Break 2014 and my kids cannot wait!! I'm sure the other cruise lines are just as nice... we just tend to stick with what is familiar and awesome in our eyes.

[Mack2]

I have only ever cruised Royal Caribbean. And frankly, I'm nervous to try any other line because I'm afraid I'll be disappointed.

 

I love cruising RCI. We have been on Disney, Princess, Celebrity, NCL, and Carnival. Who can pass up on a good deal?

 

Still... After all is said and done, I still love RCI. There's nothing to be disappointed about with the other lines. They're just... different.

 

Our last cruise aboard the Norwegian Epic, I could have sat there and started picking out the things I didn't like... It would be easy to pick out the things that bothered me aboard the Carnival Legend. Princess, we met with unpleasant people who had something up in their skivvies about children... but that's not a reason to not pass on a deal.

 

Disney was great. Find a cheap Disney sailing, though... Hmmm....

 

No matter what we've chosen, we've had a good time. We make a good time out of it. Try not to let the little things bother us, you know what I mean?

 

(Heck, my sister went on the Oasis with her family. I think I was more excited for them than they were. I told them everything I remembered about the Oasis and they had a GREAT time... they have an agent who always tries to book them on Princess for some reason. I'm very excited about the Quantum)

[Friend100]

I have done RCI, HAL and Disney.

 

For overall onboard experience, we like Disney the most.

 

For variety of onboard activities, we like RCI.

 

For shows/entertainment: Disney

 

These 2 lines will be my choice for typical 4-7 day Bahamas/Caribbean cruise. But if I was looking from a value perspective, then HAL is the best. They often have 3rd/4th passenger free deal. I can't even get those price on Carnival.

 

For ship design and elegance: Disney

 

For itinerary, destination, total relaxation, the feeling of tradition and premium, HAL is the best. If I were able to do a long cruise (10 days+) only with DW and without kids, HAL will be my choice.

 

So it really depends on what you want to get out of from the cruise.

[ginger123snaps]

For those of you getting Royal carribeans prices close to carnival prices do share? Is there a specific time of year you book? Do they run some special sale...for example norwegian always does the kids sail free in the spring?

[ginger123snaps]

Just booked Navigator of the Seas out of Galveston March 2014. Paid a premium as there were only 4 family oceanview cabins that sleep 5 left....so I hope it lives up to the price!

[sharktums]

I've sailed all the lines over the last 20 years or so and now my daughter has been doing the same (she's 6 years old). She loves Royal Caribbean and Disney and refuses to even let us book a Carnival cruise! Luckily, we also love Royal Caribbean so we've become quite the RCCL Family!

[Friend100]

For those of you getting Royal carribeans prices close to carnival prices do share? Is there a specific time of year you book? Do they run some special sale...for example norwegian always does the kids sail free in the spring?

 

The last kids sail free from Royal Caribbean I recall was this one:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=33781480&postcount=1

[Mack2]

Just booked Navigator of the Seas out of Galveston March 2014. Paid a premium as there were only 4 family oceanview cabins that sleep 5 left....so I hope it lives up to the price!

 

The Navigator is an Explorer-class ship.. it's big enough to have the Royal Promenade (which is like having a shopping mall in the middle of the ship) and the Ice Skating rink.

 

These are pictures from the Explorer from a few years back

 

 

The Royal Promenade became a really big selling point for me, personally on the giant RCI ships. With the little ones, just strolling back and forth with the stroller, was relaxing. 24-hour food venues there, an Irish Pub, a couple of souvenir/duty free/convenience shops, a parade twice a week or something... it's just really super nice.

 

I hope you have a GREAT cruise. I don't want to set your expectations too high, but I'm confident the RCI experience will be worth the extra $$$. March may have a lot of families traveling together for Spring Break... so the crew should be well prepared for the kiddie chaos. :D

[ginger123snaps]

wow...thank you for the pictures. we are really excited to try royal carribean again!

[B_Mc]

We've loved RCI but I think NCL and RCI are extremely close once you're on board. Between the two, I'd go with best price, ports, etc. That being said, which ships are you looking at? Stay away from the biggest, newest and you'll find better prices.