Royal Caribbean or Carnival

[cd4lsu]

Carnival has a great deal of alternative free dining options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Guy's Burgers and the Blue Iguana are really good.

 

I should amend what I said earlier; I left out the "Fish and Chips" eatery. I would put it third behind Guy's and Blue Iguana, but they have some very good options. The calamari fritters and crab cakes are very good. It is also rarely busy, it might be the best kept secret in all of Carnival Cruise lines.

[bighairtexan]

I've cruised both many times. While I prefer RCI to Carnival, that's a chunk of change you'd be saving so I'd probably opt for Carnival in that situation.

[2PinaColadas]

Go with Carnival. We did this cruise a few years ago--it was great! Loved the ports-- all but Dominica and they have now put a Fun Day in its place. Since we were not scheduled to set sail unitl 10pm, we walked around and explored Old San Juan. There were a lot of interesting things to see and do. When we got back from the cruise, we went to the forts (which are a must see) before heading home. It was by far our favorite cruise ever.

 

We were very tired when we got home--but it was worth it!

[iCruise717]

I've cruise on both and had two very different experiences. While we didn't really enjoy our Carnival cruise, I know enough about the hospitality industry and CCL to know that there are plenty of Carnival ships and itineraries we could have enjoyed, we simply picked the wrong cruise for us.

 

The positives of Carnival:good service, similar to RCCL (actually better than on the larger RCCL ships); food was good, we had no complaints (we, however, are not picky eaters); had great excursions!

 

Where we were disappointed was the entertainment. Like most others have said, your vacation will be what you make it and the two are more similar than different. Enjoy!