Thinking of switching to Royal Caribbean after only done Carnival

[Desert Cruizers]

We have sailed Princess & Royal so can't offer a comparison to Carnival, sorry. The room size on a standard E category room is around 180 sq ft with a 47 sq ft balcony, D-1 category rooms are 200 sq ft on Royal. We have had excellant cruises on both lines but feel Royal suits us best. The crew seemed friendlier on Royal then our Princess cruises. Food I would say equal, entertainment much better on Royal and we love the layout of their ship.

[OnceAMarineAlwaysAMarine]

i will put my two cents in. I have cruised mainly on Royal Caribbean and consider them my favorite cruise line but I have to admit that I did enjoy my cruise on Carnival Splendor. I was not crazy about the decor (almost everywhere you looked it was pink) but the cabins were larger and the staff were wonderful. I did not like the layout of the ship because you could not go from forward to aft on decks 4 or 5. You had to go up a deck or down a deck to get past the dining rooms and then you could get back to deck 4 or 5. My next cruise will be my first on Norwegian but then I am heading back to Royal Caribbean in 2016. The food in the main dining rooms is better on RCCL in my opinion but Carnival had much better pizza available all the time. I also enjoyed RCCL entertainment much more than Carnival. To put this in perspective, we are retired and in our mid 60s. If you are from the younger set you may enjoy the party atmosphere of Carnival over RCCL. Bottom line is that nobody can tell you which cruise line you will like best. The only way to know for sure is to try them for yourself.

[jakesnana]

We did Explorer in Nov and thought about Navigator this Nov, but then I saw an 8 night on CCL Sunshine that's $520 cheaper (There's 3 of us...). So now I'm torn between what I know RCCL and new islands CCL. What were your thoughts on Sunshine?

 

We just sailed the Sunshine last month and overall we enjoyed it. Our experience was a little different than yours will be, as we sailed over spring break.

 

I loved the new dining options for lunch - Guys Burgers and the Italian restaurant (made to order pasta, yum). Hopefully, you are not addicted to swimming onboard, as there is only one SMALL pool (and I mean VERY SMALL). This was not an issue for us, but I did miss the adult pool and hot tub area at the back of the ship (which is where the Havana Club and Italian restaurant went). This was partially alleviated with the new Serenity area, which is GREAT.

 

If you have any specific questions on the Sunshine, ask away and I'll see if I can help.

[phred119s]

Jakesnana,

 

Thanks!!

 

The pool is somewhat important to us because we have a 2 yr old. The flip side though is that she didn't get to swim at all on Explorer as she didn't potty train until 1.5 months after we sailed. As long as she got a smidge of pool time she would be just fine I bet. :) plus the Sunshine sailing is mid-Sept so school would already be back in.

[jakesnana]

Jakesnana,

 

Thanks!!

 

The pool is somewhat important to us because we have a 2 yr old. The flip side though is that she didn't get to swim at all on Explorer as she didn't potty train until 1.5 months after we sailed. As long as she got a smidge of pool time she would be just fine I bet. :) plus the Sunshine sailing is mid-Sept so school would already be back in.

 

They did have a kids splash zone on the Sunshine which many of the younger kids seemed to really enjoy. I'm sure she would be fine with that vs trying to find a spot in the pool. It wasn't just the kids clogging up the pool, but a lot of adults also.

[JimAOk1945]

We just returned on Sunday from a very relaxing and enjoyable cruise on the Navigator of the Seas. We had sailed on the Island Princess in December, we were able to compare the differences more readily since the two cruises were only four months apart.

 

Although there are a great many similarities, we enjoyed our NOS cruise more than Princess. However, we will sail on Princess again because they offer some itineraries that RCI doesn't have.

 

Happy Cruising! It's a great way to travel.

[freddy penguin]

I tend to choose my cruises by price, itinerary, or departure port which is how I've ended up on four different cruise lines. My recent cruises have been on Carnival but later this year I'll be on Royal because they had the best price from the departure port I wanted. Don't feel compelled to cruise the same line all the time. The ship itself is a destination and by branching out to other lines there will always be a new ship to explore.

[dacsmom]

I have cruised both Carnival and RCI and each has its good and not so good points. The Allure definitely has the WOW factor and most of my recent cruises have been on RCI. The lines are more alike than different. I do want to try Guys burgers on Carnival though. My vote is to give it a try, I always say any day on a cruise is a good day.

[American Bear]

I have cruised both Carnival and RCI and each has its good and not so good points. The Allure definitely has the WOW factor and most of my recent cruises have been on RCI. The lines are more alike than different. I do want to try Guys burgers on Carnival though. My vote is to give it a try, I always say any day on a cruise is a good day.

 

RCL Johnny Rocket's costs $5. each(last time for us)

Guy's is free!

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

If you can swing the RCI Oasis or Allure.......Just Do It!!!! They are awesome ships and the ship is the destination.

 

You will enjoy royal caribbean much more than carnival. It is definitely a step in the right direction. The food is much better, and the ships appear to be in better shape. The service is much better as well.

 

Makes me wonder how many Carnival cruises you were on and were they 3 day, what ship, what time of year etc. Food is very subjective. I can say in my opinion, they are all good as far as food goes. Carnival, Royal, Princess & NCL all had decent food. I think Carnival's desserts in the MDR were awesome.

 

I'm platinum level on Carnival with 1 more booked this November, 2 on NCL, 1 on Princess and 3 on Royal with 2 more booked on Royal. I go on Oasis this weekend. Woohoo. I've not had a bad cruise yet even the 3 day weekend cruises on Carnival I had fun. Don't stress. I say try any line and don't worry so much about it. I think as far as decor goes, Carnival is the worst IMO. Royal definately gives me the wow factor every time so far. Princess & NCL are fine but felt their service was lacking but I haven't sailed on them enough to render a valid comparison as any cruise can be different even the same cruise can have 2 totally opposite reviews, 1 awesome and 1 horribly bad but they were on the same ship same sailing? It is true as a cabin steward, dining staff etc can be on their A game or be incompetent.