Carnival regular tries RCCL - comparison.

[AandBmom]

This comparison is limited to my experience on Carnival (Legend, Imagination, Sensation and Breeze) and Royal Caribbean (Freedom of the Seas).

 

Cabins: as a general rule they’re bigger on Carnival and I noticed that I missed the space a bit but it wasn’t that big of a deal. Both lines have adequate storage and cabin layout. I missed my Carnival robe though on RCCL. It’s a nice touch that Carnival gives everyone a robe, not just elite members. Also RCCL don’t give pens or paper or toiletries or anything like Carnival does. The shower however was awesome compared to Carnival as it had closing doors and great water pressure but I heard from a friend this is ship dependant, not across the line. I also liked that Carnival gives you pool towels in your cabin and they change them for you whenever you need them to. This was nice on Port days as I found it a slight bit easier to just pack up in our room than having to send someone up on deck to get 6 towels for our family whenever we needed them. Not a big deal, but something I enjoyed on Carnival a little more.

 

Ship layout: this depends on the ship, not the line IMO. I thought the layout was fine on every ship I’ve been on, but I did like how RCCL has the interactive maps everywhere and their signage is better to find your way around. Elevators seemed less cramped on our RCCL ship than previous Carnival ones. Décor seems to be hit or miss on either line. We loved the promenade though which Carnival ships don’t really have. It was bright, open, inviting and fun.

 

Food: I found the dining rooms to be equivalent, menus equivalent and food equal for the most part. I however prefer Carnival for lunch and breakfast. They have much much more variety. I got bored of the windjammer after day 3. The food just repeats in every line. Carnival however has lots of different themed areas all around the ship which I preferred. We defaulted to the dining room for lunch and breakfast whereas on carnival we never found a need to. I like how Carnival makes it easier to eat around the pool. They serve food and drinks on the pool deck, on RCCL you have to walk further and get fully dressed and go into the buffet area to get food. Carnival has buffet food out there, pizza out there and sometimes a hotdog stand. I kind of like being able to eat in my lounge chair in my bathing suit on vacation and I missed this on RCCL. I also found it hard to get a cold drink other than water on the pool deck on RCCL. Whereas on Carnival you could walk over to a drink station really close by. Lastly, there is only 1 little ice cream machine on RCCL and it’s on the pool deck. Carnival seems to have a few more spread out so they’re easier to access. Pizza however is way better on RCCL. Sorrentos is delicious and it’s nice that they have Italian desserts, fruit cups and biscotti there.

 

Staff: amazing on both

 

Kid’s camp: My children actually preferred Carnival. Carnival has more toys in the camp for kids to play with and the children liked the free play time more on Carnival. They also liked the Carnival scheduled activities more. I found they watched more movies on RCCL which wasn’t as exciting for them.

Entertainment: The skating show is a nice touch but it’s a tradeoff for Carnival’s comedy show. You can really only see the skating show once but Carnival has a different comedian almost every night. I missed that. The production numbers were way better on RCCL in my opinion. Also the little extras like parades, entertainment on the promenade, etc were awesome. We also loved the rock climbing and flow rider but on Carnival loved the ropes course and the 5D movie theatre.

 

Pools: hot tubs were hotter on RCCL which was nice. Pools were bigger too which was nice. Splash area for kids though was better on Carnival b/c of the slides. But, it was nice that they had hot tubs for adults in the splash area so adults could sit in there while kids played. I don’t remember that on Carnival.

Crowd: We met nice people on both lines and observed rudeness on both lines.

 

Cost: Everything seemed a little more on RCCL. From the price of the cruise, to the price of drinks, to the daily tipping amount. There also seemed to be more things in general that weren’t included on RCCL. For example Johnny Rockets charges $5 a person whereas Guys Burgers doesn’t charge any fee. Room service has a charge at certain hours, Carnival does not. Fresh squeezed juice there was a charge on RCCL but you could get it at least in some places on Carnival included.

 

Embarkation/Debarkation: same on both

 

Overall we really loved both. I would sail either again in a heartbeat. I will make my book my next cruise based on price, ship reviews and itinerary as I don’t find the differences to be enough to sway me towards one or another.

[molly361]

Thanks for the comparison!!!

[ARI421]

Thanks so much! We are carnival regulars wondering if we should try rc!

 

 

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[silentbob007]

Almost everything Voyager class and newer (except for a few Radiance class, I think) have shower doors instead of curtains.

 

What I like most about RCI are the public spaces ... I felt really cramped on the Carnival Legend when I went back and tried Carnival again.

[AandBmom]

Thanks so much! We are carnival regulars wondering if we should try rc!

 

 

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Definitely give it a try. I'm so glad that we did. It was awesome but now I realize that Carnival is great too!

[Can'tWait2SetSail]

Thank you for your comparison. Going on our first Royal cruise in April. Very much looking forward to it. Never had a problem with Carnival. Can't beat the prices, especially when we are cruising with our young adult children. Leaving them home on this cruise. I am excited to check out what Royal has to offer!

[OCruisers]

Thanks for your honest comparison of your feeling on both lines. We've also cruised on both.

On the robes ... did you ask for them? We've been given robes on RCCL ... but we did have to ask.

LuLu

~~~~

[drarill]

Thanks for your comparison!!:):)

[joepeka]

As others have stated, thank you for the objective comparison review. I have to say I agree with all your points (except the Kids Camp - our "kids" have been adults for a long time so I cannot comment). As to cost, I would say (from our one RCI cruise) that RC is definitely more expensive and we're still trying to decide if the value is there for the additional cost (although we have booked our next cruise on RCI). Again, thank you for posting! ;)

[samzgirl84]

We have cruised with Carnival 7 times and have enjoyed them all. We are celebrating our 30th anniversary this fall and wanted to go on a B2B to celebrate.

I researched and researched and finally booked a 13 day cruise on Royal as the cruise went to 3 islands we have never been to and it was cheaper than any 2 Carnival cruises I could find.

I appreciate your opinions. Not having the comfy robe was the one thing that will bother me. I love the Carnival robes.

We will see after this anniversary cruise if we go back to Carnival next time or RCI.

[AandBmom]

We have cruised with Carnival 7 times and have enjoyed them all. We are celebrating our 30th anniversary this fall and wanted to go on a B2B to celebrate.

I researched and researched and finally booked a 13 day cruise on Royal as the cruise went to 3 islands we have never been to and it was cheaper than any 2 Carnival cruises I could find.

I appreciate your opinions. Not having the comfy robe was the one thing that will bother me. I love the Carnival robes.

We will see after this anniversary cruise if we go back to Carnival next time or RCI.

 

If you ask for one you might be able to get one.

[A2Mich]

Thanks so much! We are carnival regulars wondering if we should try rc!

 

 

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We're Carnival regulars and recently booked our first RCI cruise, so we'll see how it goes!

[APDMOM]

Good comparison. I agree on most points. However, I like RCI's entertainment a lot more than Carnival, and find the food in the Windjammer better than in the Lido buffet on Carnival. We enjoy any cruise and ironically have our cheapest cruise ever coming up on Freedom od the Seas in December. :D There was a glitch with the booking system and the honored our $369 pp price. Sometimes the glitches are good.

[Stateroom_Sailor]

I wrote a similar review a couple weeks ago. Since then, some of these new Carnival MDR photos of dishes are concerning me, who I had actually given the nod to. Either way, if you love Carnival there's no reason to not try RCL at least once. Wait for that unique itinerary maybe, it will be a win-win.

[Dall]

Love to see the comparisons, thanks! In my opinion RCI has a better room service menu....you can get omelets and other hot foods.

[kayehall]

Maybe they skipped the robes so everyone doesn't look alike at the morning buffett.....:D

[tlw440]

We're Carnival regulars and recently booked our first RCI cruise, so we'll see how it goes!

 

We are Carnival regulars too, we are going on our first RCCL cruise in May on the FOTS.

[cingroomer]

We are Carnival regulars. Did one very short RCL years ago and it was horrible (the staff couldn't have been ruder) but doing another specialty one tomorrow with the Steelers. Paid over twice what a Carnival cruise on the Dream costs for a room that isn't even a spa room (not sure RCL even has those). Will see what this cruise is like. Depends on how we like it if we ever go on RCL again. I hope its good cause I like that we are leaving out of Tampa, hometown, instead of driving to Port Canaveral.

[clemsontyger04]

We are Carnival regulars too, we are going on our first RCCL cruise in May on the FOTS.

 

Looks like my wife and I will be doing the same thing. First cruise on Royal on may 4th. We have been on 3 carnival cruises, but our dates this year couldnt match up with a cruise we could make out of PC so we are hitting up the cruise on the 4th on Royal. I have been searching like crazy to see what Royal has to offer like yourself I am sure.

 

Not sure about prices on drinks or things like that, would love to get a breakdown on that if anyone in this thread can provide. I am not going to get a package because the wife doesnt drink as much as I do so it would be a waste for her to get it too.

[Clarea]

Looks like my wife and I will be doing the same thing. First cruise on Royal on may 4th. We have been on 3 carnival cruises, but our dates this year couldnt match up with a cruise we could make out of PC so we are hitting up the cruise on the 4th on Royal. I have been searching like crazy to see what Royal has to offer like yourself I am sure.

 

Not sure about prices on drinks or things like that, would love to get a breakdown on that if anyone in this thread can provide. I am not going to get a package because the wife doesnt drink as much as I do so it would be a waste for her to get it too.

You don't both have to buy a package on Royal anymore. They changed that late last year.

[comxkid]

We are Carnival regulars. Did one very short RCL years ago and it was horrible (the staff couldn't have been ruder) but doing another specialty one tomorrow with the Steelers. Paid over twice what a Carnival cruise on the Dream costs for a room that isn't even a spa room (not sure RCL even has those). Will see what this cruise is like. Depends on how we like it if we ever go on RCL again. I hope its good cause I like that we are leaving out of Tampa, hometown, instead of driving to Port Canaveral.

 

Specialty cruises such as the Steelers' Cruise are typically much more expensive than a "regular" cruise. A portion of the proceeds from this cruise goes to support various charities.

[big al]

This comparison is limited to my experience on Carnival (Legend, Imagination, Sensation and Breeze) and Royal Caribbean (Freedom of the Seas).

 

Cabins: as a general rule they’re bigger on Carnival and I noticed that I missed the space a bit but it wasn’t that big of a deal. Both lines have adequate storage and cabin layout. I missed my Carnival robe though on RCCL. It’s a nice touch that Carnival gives everyone a robe, not just elite members. Also RCCL don’t give pens or paper or toiletries or anything like Carnival does. The shower however was awesome compared to Carnival as it had closing doors and great water pressure but I heard from a friend this is ship dependant, not across the line. I also liked that Carnival gives you pool towels in your cabin and they change them for you whenever you need them to. This was nice on Port days as I found it a slight bit easier to just pack up in our room than having to send someone up on deck to get 6 towels for our family whenever we needed them. Not a big deal, but something I enjoyed on Carnival a little more.

 

Ship layout: this depends on the ship, not the line IMO. I thought the layout was fine on

every ship I’ve been on, but I did like how RCCL has the interactive maps everywhere and their signage is better to find your way around. Elevators seemed less cramped on our RCCL ship than previous Carnival ones. Décor seems to be hit or miss on either line. We loved the promenade though which Carnival ships don’t really have. It was bright, open, inviting and fun.

 

Food: I found the dining rooms to be equivalent, menus equivalent and food equal for the most part. I however prefer Carnival for lunch and breakfast. They have much much more variety. I got bored of the windjammer after day 3. The food just repeats in every line. Carnival however has lots of different themed areas all around the ship which I preferred. We defaulted to the dining room for lunch and breakfast whereas on carnival we never found a need to. I like how Carnival makes it easier to eat around the pool. They serve food and drinks on the pool deck, on RCCL you have to walk further and get fully dressed and go into the buffet area to get food. Carnival has buffet food out there, pizza out there and sometimes a hotdog stand. I kind of like being able to eat in my lounge chair in my bathing suit on vacation and I missed this on RCCL. I also found it hard to get a cold drink other than water on the pool deck on RCCL. Whereas on Carnival you could walk over to a drink station really close by. Lastly, there is only 1 little ice cream machine on RCCL and it’s on the pool deck. Carnival seems to have a few more spread out so they’re easier to access. Pizza however is way better on RCCL. Sorrentos is delicious and it’s nice that they have Italian desserts, fruit cups and biscotti there.

 

Staff: amazing on both

 

Kid’s camp: My children actually preferred Carnival. Carnival has more toys in the camp for kids to play with and the children liked the free play time more on Carnival. They also liked the Carnival scheduled activities more. I found they watched more movies on RCCL which wasn’t as exciting for them.

Entertainment: The skating show is a nice touch but it’s a tradeoff for Carnival’s comedy show. You can really only see the skating show once but Carnival has a different comedian almost every night. I missed that. The production numbers were way better on RCCL in my opinion. Also the little extras like parades, entertainment on the promenade, etc were awesome. We also loved the rock climbing and flow rider but on Carnival loved the ropes course and the 5D movie theatre.

 

Pools: hot tubs were hotter on RCCL which was nice. Pools were bigger too which was nice. Splash area for kids though was better on Carnival b/c of the slides. But, it was nice that they had hot tubs for adults in the splash area so adults could sit in there while kids played. I don’t remember that on Carnival.

Crowd: We met nice people on both lines and observed rudeness on both lines.

 

Cost: Everything seemed a little more on RCCL. From the price of the cruise, to the price of drinks, to the daily tipping amount. There also seemed to be more things in general that weren’t included on RCCL. For example Johnny Rockets charges $5 a person whereas Guys Burgers doesn’t charge any fee. Room service has a charge at certain hours, Carnival does not. Fresh squeezed juice there was a charge on RCCL but you could get it at least in some places on Carnival included.

 

Embarkation/Debarkation: same on both

 

Overall we really loved both. I would sail either again in a heartbeat. I will make my book my next cruise based on price, ship reviews and itinerary as I don’t find the differences to be enough to sway me towards one or another.

 

You missed some serious points here..FYI, I too, have sailed the Sensation, Fantasy, Triumph, Pride, Destiny,as well as the Freedom class...FIRST, didn't you notice the "wow" factor when you saw the Royal Promenade? My mouth dropped open and I just thought, "wow!"..Did NOT get that feeling on Carnival...2nd, the adult Solarium pool area was awesome- those hot tubs that stick out over the side were THEE best hot tubs ever- what a view!!! NONE of the Carnival ships ( have not sailed the Breeze and I know she has an adult pool area) we were on had a cool place just for adults..

3rd- the ice -skating shows!! Weren't they terrific? Great music, great skaters from 3-4 countries...I thought the cabins on the Freedom were much nicer than Carnival...we had a D1 balcony on the hump ( 200 SF with a 65 SF balcony)..colors were tiel..on Carnival the cabins were 180 SF with a 45 SF balcony...also walls were very thin on CCL and we heard noises in the hall a lot from kids running late at night....

 

You also didn't mention the very cool flowrider- great for youngsters, and the pool areas on Freedom blow away any CCL ship..the H20 Fun Zone just for kids is fantastic,then the main pool area WITH LIVE CARIBBEAN music! This has become quite a sore point for Carnival- their using a DJ at the pool playing moronic music...a cruise should have caribbean/ reggae music playing- period...leave the DJ's for the clubs at night..I am very insistent about that...

 

I will agree that the MDR food on Carnival is OK..none of the MDR food is very good, except on Disney ( IMO)..food is very subjective, so I don't say too much about food..we go to the alternative dining venues at least once or twice on any cruise...BTW, everything is a bit more on RCI because the ships are nicer and cost more to build...a Hyatt cost more than a Holiday Inn, and another comparison I once heard is Carnival is "the Walmart of cruising", and RCI, Celebrity,Princess, HAL,etc., are more like Macy's- you can get all that you need, but the quality is definitely better at Macy's...Just MHO..I like Carnival, but their ships IMO don't compare to RCI's...

 

Big Al

[leisuretraveler223]

You missed some serious points here..FYI, I too, have sailed the Sensation, Fantasy, Triumph, Pride, Destiny,as well as the Freedom class...FIRST, didn't you notice the "wow" factor when you saw the Royal Promenade? My mouth dropped open and I just thought, "wow!"..Did NOT get that feeling on Carnival...2nd, the adult Solarium pool area was awesome- those hot tubs that stick out over the side were THEE best hot tubs ever- what a view!!! NONE of the Carnival ships ( have not sailed the Breeze and I know she has an adult pool area) we were on had a cool place just for adults..

3rd- the ice -skating shows!! Weren't they terrific? Great music, great skaters from 3-4 countries...I thought the cabins on the Freedom were much nicer than Carnival...we had a D1 balcony on the hump ( 200 SF with a 65 SF balcony)..colors were tiel..on Carnival the cabins were 180 SF with a 45 SF balcony...also walls were very thin on CCL and we heard noises in the hall a lot from kids running late at night....

 

You also didn't mention the very cool flowrider- great for youngsters, and the pool areas on Freedom blow away any CCL ship..the H20 Fun Zone just for kids is fantastic,then the main pool area WITH LIVE CARIBBEAN music! This has become quite a sore point for Carnival- their using a DJ at the pool playing moronic music...a cruise should have caribbean/ reggae music playing- period...leave the DJ's for the clubs at night..I am very insistent about that...

 

I will agree that the MDR food on Carnival is OK..none of the MDR food is very good, except on Disney ( IMO)..food is very subjective, so I don't say too much about food..we go to the alternative dining venues at least once or twice on any cruise...BTW, everything is a bit more on RCI because the ships are nicer and cost more to build...a Hyatt cost more than a Holiday Inn, and another comparison I once heard is Carnival is "the Walmart of cruising", and RCI, Celebrity,Princess, HAL,etc., are more like Macy's- you can get all that you need, but the quality is definitely better at Macy's...Just MHO..I like Carnival, but their ships IMO don't compare to RCI's...

 

Big Al

 

Wow. Just WOW! So basically, no one can post a personal comparison on this board unless they're going to be an RCI apologist.

 

The "Wow" factor? Do you work for RCI marketing? The "Wal-Mart" of cruising? If carnival is Wal-Mart, then all the major lines are Wal-mart as well.....

Edited March 11, 2014 by leisuretraveler223

[WetToes]

... don't find the differences enough to sway me one way or the other ...".

 

We've been on both lines and totally agree. We like both lines and still sail both. More often with Carnival because we've found the prices better for the cruises we've been interested in.

Edited March 11, 2014 by WetToes

[Junkhouse]

Thanks for the great detailed comparison. For me it is like comparing Six Flags(CCL) to Disney (RCCI). Have a great time at both though.