Carnival or RCCL?

[CRocks]

Not sure where to post this. Been on several cruises, all Carnival. Never had any real complaints. Wanna book a Southern Caribbean cruise + RCCL offers a 10 day for less than Carnivals 8 day. I'm close to getting VIP boarding on Carnival but, the RCCL itinerary looks better. My concerns are.....does RCCL have anytime dining? Also, while I'm not into the party atmosphere, I DETEST stuffy atmosphere. I like the laid back dress code etc on carnival. Should I stay where I'm at or give RCCL a chance?

[L454S]

Yes, you can choose My Time Dining. I like the decor and upscale feeling of the RCI ships a lot better than Carnival. I found the food and MDR service very comparable. Great room steward on both.

 

Not sure how to define stuffy. I didn't find that much more of a party atmosphere on Carnival. Drinking is pushed on both lines(lots of profit). Cheaper drink pkg. on Carnival though if that's your thing. Found a lot of the same daily activities on both. Somewhat younger crowd on Carnival?....probably.

 

I think for my money, right now, RCI is a better value overall than Carnival, even if Carnival is cheaper. We tried them twice.

Edited January 14, 2015 by L454S

[Clarea]

Not sure where to post this. Been on several cruises, all Carnival. Never had any real complaints. Wanna book a Southern Caribbean cruise + RCCL offers a 10 day for less than Carnivals 8 day. I'm close to getting VIP boarding on Carnival but, the RCCL itinerary looks better. My concerns are.....does RCCL have anytime dining? Also, while I'm not into the party atmosphere, I DETEST stuffy atmosphere. I like the laid back dress code etc on carnival. Should I stay where I'm at or give RCCL a chance?

Royal has anytime dining, they call it My Time.

[CRocks]

Thanx for the responses. Lemme ask this, the RCCL cruise leaves Tampa. I love the sailaway from Tampa but hate that terminal. The Carnival cruise leaves Ft Lauderdale. Never sailed from there but heard it's terminal wasn't very good either.

[Ourusualbeach]

Not sure if Carnival uses the same terminal in Tampa as Royal or if they just have a whole different process but our sailing from Tampa was one of the easiest for both embarkation and debarkation.

 

Just a tip for debarkation. Get a porter to take your luggage as they have their own separate line to clear customs and immigration. Well worth the $10 tip we gave him.

[Clarea]

Thanx for the responses. Lemme ask this, the RCCL cruise leaves Tampa. I love the sailaway from Tampa but hate that terminal. The Carnival cruise leaves Ft Lauderdale. Never sailed from there but heard it's terminal wasn't very good either.

We've sailed from Tampa and don't remember anything negative about the terminal. Better than Galveston, New Orleans, or San Pedro.

[Ms Jo UK]

I am not loyal to any line sailed RCL, Carnival and Princess and the order I like them is the same order I typed them. Sailed Carnival Breeze in October and sailing Oasis in Seeptember.

 

The atmosphere on RCL is very similar to Carnival and they have MTD.

[HiCSailor]

Unless you have a reason to be brand loyal, go with the best value for you. I've only sailed Royal, but everything I have seen indicates that most lines delivery a similar product and there are often more differences ship by ship than line by line.

 

For a broader range of people responding, you might repost under ask a cruise question or another area above the cruise line specific threads.

[pajazz28]

I have sailed on both Carnival and RCI on only 7 days cruises. Most of the time in January for my anniversary but we did go one summer with the my almost adult kids. RCI does have MY Time Dinning and they take reservation.

 

Dress code: It is the same and just like Carnival some passenger adhere to it and other do not and I do not see either cruise line enforcing the dress code.

 

Food: To me the MDR food is about the same for dinner. Deserts seem to be better on Carnival. Breakdown below

 

On RCI we usually travel in an inside cabin so we tend to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner in the MDR we just like being served. maybe one or two nights in a specialty restaurant each cruise.

 

On Carnival we usually travel in an balcony room and like to order room serve for breakfast and then I go to the blue Iguana pick up there breakfast burrito and/or Mexican Tortilla and take it back to the balcony and have breakfast there. For lunch either MDR, Buffet or the burger on the high seas Guy Burger Joint.

 

Overall dinning: Breakfast- Carnival but that maybe because of the balcony and the Blue Iguana. Lunch- Carnival because of Guy's Burgers Dinner-RCI for both for specialty and MDR (except chefs table at Carnival was amazing- I recommend it)

 

Entertainment- For me the las vegas type shows on all these cruises is pretty bad and I have been know to dose off with a full stomach. headliner can be god depending if it comedy, magician or illusionist (hit or miss). Comedy is good on both.

 

Carnival: Has comedy every night.

 

RCI: Comedy only once or twice during cruise.

 

Overall Entertainment: Carnival due to comedy every night.

 

Activities: They are the same trivia, music, belly flop and hairiest and sexiest man contest, movies by the pool. Differences:

 

RCI: The Quest is an amazing crowd interactive game that is hilarious to watch and even more fund to participate. A must do on any RCI cruise.

 

Carnival: Has the Love and Marriage show this also is very funny.

 

Overall Activities: I would say RCI because of the Quest.

 

Overall Crew: Never has a bad experience they are human so they can have a bad day but overall I cannot remember ever having a bad interact with anyone.

 

Pool Area: I go to relax so I tend to stay to the adult only pools. Those areas are about the same and you can always get chairs in the area.

 

Overall: I prefer RCI less party boat and I cruise to relax, a little classier.

 

So I usually just take a look at the ship, Itineraries and pricing and if it fits my budget then I will go on either cruise line. I defiantly think you should try RCI you won't be disappointed.

 

Hope this helps.

[dappledumpling]

I would pick the RCCL cruise just for more days.

As stated before the lines are more similar than different now. We sail on both and enjoy both for different reasons.. Neither are stuffy.

I love the look and feel of Royals ships but miss the nightly comedy.

Also prefer Tampa to ft Lauderdale for cruise terminals. Either one you will be herded like cattle... but a minor inconvenience for the pleasure of a cruise.

[jules815]

We've sailed on both lines and find that most things on board are more similar than different, but find the RC ships to be nicer overall.

 

It sounds like a good opportunity to give RC a try.

[jtdl]

We are trying RCCL for the first time next year. Our Western itinerary on Freedom of the Seas is also cheaper than a comparable ship/itinerary on Carnival. We only do my time dining and I am a little concerned with the way RCCL does it. According to some posts I have read, some people have had to eat very late or very early because they were late making reservations or had to wait in line for long periods of time. I much prefer Carnivals ATD where you arrive at the dining room without having to make reservations in advance, which is truly "my time dining" and we have only ever had to wait 10 minutes once and that was on the first night of the cruise. I certainly do not wish to make dining reservations in advance, I want to be able to go when we decide we are ready to go each night. One thing I do prefer is RCCLs drink packages since each person can purchase whichever one they want and there is not a 15 drink per day limit as with Carnival. My DH only drinks beer and I love the frozen drinks so he can get the cheaper package for beer and I can get one that includes frozen drinks.

 

 

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[impatientlywaiting]

We've sailed from Tampa and don't remember anything negative about the terminal. Better than Galveston, New Orleans, or San Pedro.

 

Glad to read your positive opinion of the Tampa terminal as we'll be sailing out it in March. Was shocked to read you didn't have a high opinion of New Orleans. We sailed out of New Orleans for the 2013 Christmas cruise and felt it was the best terminal we'd ever gone through - they were fast and organized for embarkation and we were off the ship and in a taxi in about 15 minutes.

[CRocks]

Thanx for all the help, truly appreciated. I think we're goin with RCCL this time, 2 more days + slightly lower price. I love the sail away from Tampa with the cruise down the channel + under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, but the terminal we sailed outta last time was dumpy + the processing atrocious. Hope this has changed, maybe RCCL uses different terminal.

[Clarea]

Glad to read your positive opinion of the Tampa terminal as we'll be sailing out it in March. Was shocked to read you didn't have a high opinion of New Orleans. We sailed out of New Orleans for the 2013 Christmas cruise and felt it was the best terminal we'd ever gone through - they were fast and organized for embarkation and we were off the ship and in a taxi in about 15 minutes.

Perhaps the terminal has been improved. We were last there in 2011 when Voyager arrived after the transatlantic. I don't think they were prepared for a ship that large. It took about 90 minutes to retrieve our bags, and then we got stuck in traffic for another 30 minutes because there was some jewelry show going on at the convention center. We went a month later in December, embarkation traffic was still bad because the street went down to one lane in front of the terminal. After check-in, they stuck us in a small, crowded "priority" boarding room on folding chairs for about 45 minutes.

 

Serenade has significantly fewer passengers than Voyager, and that could make all the difference.

Edited January 14, 2015 by clarea

[rednose83]

2+ days, lower cost, and a better itinerary.....I'd go with RCI for sure. I wouldn't base my decision on loyalty programs and such. Carnival's really isn't worth that much. Really the only nice thing (for me) is the priority boarding and the rooms being ready at time of boarding. However, Carnival is the only line that consistently takes a long time to board, IME.

 

Every other cruise line, we have been car to ship within 30 minutes without the priority boarding.

 

As far of the feel of the ship, I'd say RCI ships feel more pretentious (again IME). I've only been on three of their cruises but I could feel a "better than" vibe. I don't really know how to explain it but we felt it (even on the 3 day Majesty). It wasn't completely insufferable but I do notice a difference in the vibe compared to CCL and NCL.

 

ETA: Tampa- have only sailed out of there once and it was our fastest CCL embarkation and that was before we got priority boarding.

Edited January 14, 2015 by rednose83

[tserface]

Just to add to what everyone else has said... I think it's always fun to try a different cruise line once in a while just for a change of pace. As you said it's a good itinerary and the price is good. You certainly don't have to "switch" forever. We jump between RCI, Celebrity, and Princess mostly. The cruise lines are pretty comparable and you really have nothing to lose (you'll have a great time on either), but sometimes the same old games and food and rooms, etc. get, well, old and just experiencing something different is kind of cool.

 

I hope you have a lovely cruise.

 

Tom

[NightOne]

Thanx for all the help, truly appreciated. I think we're goin with RCCL this time, 2 more days + slightly lower price. I love the sail away from Tampa with the cruise down the channel + under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, but the terminal we sailed outta last time was dumpy + the processing atrocious. Hope this has changed, maybe RCCL uses different terminal.

 

Just for completeness you may want to factor in that 2 more days may mean more spending (excursions, drinks, etc.) so even thought the initial cruise fare cost is lower the end result may be a higher cost.

 

Just something to think about. :)

[tserface]

Buzz kill...

 

:D

 

Tom

 

Just for completeness you may want to factor in that 2 more days may mean more spending (excursions, drinks, etc.) so even thought the initial cruise fare cost is lower the end result may be a higher cost.

 

Just something to think about. :)

[NightOne]

Buzz kill...

 

:D

 

Tom

 

I know, right. :)

 

Just something I would factor in when making the decision.

[3dog]

I've only sailed Royal, but everything I have seen indicates that most lines delivery a similar product and there are often more differences ship by ship than line by line.

 

Indeed. For the most part, I have also found that the lines themselves are more alike than they are different, and that service and amenities are also more alike than different.

 

What I have found is that the ships (or at least the various classes of ships) are what differentiate any particular cruise.