Carnival cruiser back from Royal Caribbean- my thoughts and comparisons.

[spookwife]

I knew someone would bring that up at some point. :)

 

You have until 8:45 pm to be seated. uh what gave you THAT impression?The main dining room opens at 8 pm then you needed to be there at 8 or 5 after. more than that IS late and rude you anyone at your table as wella s the wait staff. and I arrived at 8:15. Yes I was late, however I was well within the allotted time. there is no 45 minute window to be seated. imagine if that were the case.. late dining would always be held up since the early seating stragglers strolled in when they felt like it But also let me say that there was no one in line behind me and 3 people at the host stand, so I'm sorry but that's not an excuse. After returning to speak with them twice, it was 8:30 when I was finally seated. Even if I was 10-15 minutes late on Carnival, I've still been escorted to my table and not left on my own to find where I'm going.

 

it has never even been an unofficial rule that you could be(up to) 45 minutes late and still be served/sat down in the fixed dining room.

[gapearl]

Don't know where you ever heard that. You have late sitting that begins at 8. That's when you go. With your cruising experience, you should know how late comers affect the flow

If you don't want to go at correct time, you book MTD

 

I suspect she was a bit more than 15 minutes late also. Pretty unusual to get appetizers, especially the first night, in 15 minutes from sitting

 

You can suspect whatever you like, my dear. Because I write very detailed reviews, I take very detailed notes with the notepad on my phone. I know what time I arrived and it was 8:15. The only thing I can think of as to why they were already eating is that this dining room was used for both my time dining and late seating. I've never heard of them mixing the tables, but maybe I was listed at this table by myself on fixed dining and they saw 3 empty seats so they put 2 people on MTD there with me? Who knows. You have your opinion which I respect and we'll just have to agree to disagree.

[spookwife]

I suspect she was a bit more than 15 minutes late also. Pretty unusual to get appetizers, especially the first night, in 15 minutes from sitting

 

 

true especially since they DO wait 10-15 minutes for everyone to be seated before they start taking your orders. especially first night.

[gapearl]

it has never even been an unofficial rule that you could be(up to) 45 minutes late and still be served/sat down in the fixed dining room.

 

Perhaps I didn't word that correctly. The Cruise Compass states that the doors close at 8:45. Sorry if I caused any confusion with my wording.

[cruisinfanatic]

You can suspect whatever you like, my dear. Because I write very detailed reviews, I take very detailed notes with the notepad on my phone. I know what time I arrived and it was 8:15. The only thing I can think of as to why they were already eating is that this dining room was used for both my time dining and late seating. I've never heard of them mixing the tables, but maybe I was listed at this table by myself on fixed dining and they saw 3 empty seats so they put 2 people on MTD there with me? Who knows. You have your opinion which I respect and we'll just have to agree to disagree.

Lets not go there!

 

They don't! MTD is on a different floor

Edited November 4, 2015 by SeaUs

[gapearl]

Lets not go there!

 

They don't!

 

Second seating was on decks 3, 4, and 5 of The Sound of Music. My time dining was deck 5 of The Sound of Music. My table was on deck 5 of The Sound of Music.

 

Have a great day. :D

Edited November 4, 2015 by gapearl

[gapearl]

Very fair comparison. It would have frosted my ass if the hostess just pointed to a section of the dining room. That's never happened to me. As far as the hype, I think that comes more from people that have sailed the newest ships. From the Freedom Class on, Royal really zeroed in on innovation and of course, the Oasis Class is somewhat incomparable.

 

Yeah, that was a little disappointing. Late or not, with 3 hosts there and no one behind me in line, I don't think it would have hurt for one of them to make the 20 second walk to my table. I would love to sail on one of the newer ships, but golly the prices! :eek: I actually considered I think Anthem to Bermuda next year, but ultimately went with the Carnival Pride as I could get a 7 day cruise on her for the price of Anthem's 5 day.

 

GApearl, thank you for the comparison review! Very well done and enjoyed your perspective. :)

 

We have been on both cruise lines and loved both but give the edge to Royal Caribbean. I just love their ships better and the flow of getting from bow to aft is easier, unlike most of Carnival's ships you have to remember which decks bypass the dinning room in the middle of the ship. The only Carnival ships that you do not have that problem are the Spirit Class ships where the dinning room is aft.

 

I agree. Carnival ships can be confusing to get around as on some decks you can't walk straight through and have to go up and over. I found Mariner very easy to navigate.

[tinkr2]

Nice review. You need to cruise one of the new RCCL ships for a more accurate comparison IMHO . the Magic is one of the new style ships from Carnival but you're on one of the old style from RCCL . The newer shapes blow Carnival out of the water. but Carnival rules for fun deck parties and sail always.

And no matter how late you were, on the first night you should have been taken to your table. On Independence, we requested a large table and were seated at a 4 top with 2 ladies who had also requested a large table, so they seem to be failing there.

[spookwife]

You can suspect whatever you like, my dear. Because I write very detailed reviews, I take very detailed notes with the notepad on my phone. I know what time I arrived and it was 8:15. The only thing I can think of as to why they were already eating is that this dining room was used for both my time dining and late seating. I've never heard of them mixing the tables, but maybe I was listed at this table by myself on fixed dining and they saw 3 empty seats so they put 2 people on MTD there with me? Who knows. You have your opinion which I respect and we'll just have to agree to disagree.

 

 

MTD is on a different floor entirely and uses an entirely different entrance. furthermore they would never put a person sailing alone at a 4 top( or larger)on Standard seating. if you had requested to be sat alone you would have been given a 2 top.

 

regardless 815 is still 15 minutes too late to be showing up of an 8 pm seating

[gapearl]

Never heard of this on RC. Late seating is usually 8:30 and you are expected to be there at 8:30. Some itineraries may have 8:00, but again no leeway.

 

I remember from my Navigator cruise that late seating was at 8:30. I think the change to 8 pm might be one of those differences in the cruises leaving from Asia. I do try to be on time for dinner but somehow didn't make it right at 8 tonight.

 

I agree with your overall impression that they are more alike than not, but everything you preferred Carnival over is the stuff about Carnival I didn't like.

 

so if our roles were reversed I'd pick Royal for my free cruise heheheh

 

Haha it just goes to show how varied our tastes are! :p

[spookwife]

Second seating was on decks 3, 4, and 5 of The Sound of Music. My time dining was deck 5 of The Sound of Music. My table was on deck 5 of The Sound of Music.

 

Have a great day. :D

 

 

on those ships where this has happened, MTD enters on ONE side of the dining room and fixed seating on the other. never through the same set of doors. I agree that sometimes the sign is on the small side so may not be easily noticed.

[gapearl]

Nice review. You need to cruise one of the new RCCL ships for a more accurate comparison IMHO . the Magic is one of the new style ships from Carnival but you're on one of the old style from RCCL . The newer shapes blow Carnival out of the water. but Carnival rules for fun deck parties and sail always.

And no matter how late you were, on the first night you should have been taken to your table. On Independence, we requested a large table and were seated at a 4 top with 2 ladies who had also requested a large table, so they seem to be failing there.

 

I had asked here a week or so before sailing if Royal Caribbean is good about seating solos with other solos. Two different people said they cruised solo and were seated at a small table and were sat with one other couple, and one of them was a honeymooning couple! I got nervous after reading that but hoped it wouldn't happen to me, and it did lol. In the end I had a good set of table mates. :)

 

MTD is on a different floor entirely and uses an entirely different entrance. furthermore they would never put a person sailing alone at a 4 top( or larger)on Standard seating. if you had requested to be sat alone you would have been given a 2 top.

 

regardless 815 is still 15 minutes too late to be showing up of an 8 pm seating

 

Point taken. :) I got the dining places and times directly from the Cruise Compass sitting right next to me. Also there were two lines at the entrance of The Sound of Music. The line on the left was for MTD and the line on the right was for late seating. There were two different host stands with several people manning each. Again, probably something different on sailings from Asia. I thought this was the normal thing for Royal Caribbean but judging by the comments, I guess it's not. ;)

[tinkr2]

Holy smoke. That would be super awkward to be a single seated with just honeymooners lol

Well I can tell you that table assignments are not by rank, we are emerald and the other 2 ladies were diamond and diamond plus. And they ignored all our requests lol

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Grandma Dazzles]

I had asked here a week or so before sailing if Royal Caribbean is good about seating solos with other solos. Two different people said they cruised solo and were seated at a small table and were sat with one other couple, and one of them was a honeymooning couple! I got nervous after reading that but hoped it wouldn't happen to me, and it did lol. In the end I had a good set of table mates. :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Point taken. :) I got the dining places and times directly from the Cruise Compass sitting right next to me. Also there were two lines at the entrance of The Sound of Music. The line on the left was for MTD and the line on the right was for late seating. There were two different host stands with several people manning each. Again, probably something different on sailings from Asia. I thought this was the normal thing for Royal Caribbean but judging by the comments, I guess it's not. ;)

 

 

As pointed out in a previous post, should you choose to sail RC again, make sure you specify on your original booking what size table you wish to be seated at. You are given a choice. I always request "large table" and have only once been seated at a table for 6. The rest have been 8-12. INever had a problem.

[looking4info]

OP....welcome to "the world of "no" or is it "know" it all's" ...also known as the Royal Caribbean thread.

 

Thanks for taking the time and effort to post your report.

 

Ignore the man behind the curtain....

[gapearl]

Holy smoke. That would be super awkward to be a single seated with just honeymooners lol

Well I can tell you that table assignments are not by rank, we are emerald and the other 2 ladies were diamond and diamond plus. And they ignored all our requests lol

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Lol first world problems. :D

 

As pointed out in a previous post, should you choose to sail RC again, make sure you specify on your original booking what size table you wish to be seated at. You are given a choice. I always request "large table" and have only once been seated at a table for 6. The rest have been 8-12. INever had a problem.

 

I always request a large table, especially when I'm solo. I made the booking so long ago that I don't remember if it was brought up when I booked or not. I'll definitely make sure it's very well known next time that I'd like a large table. Haha :) But again, I ended up at a good table when all was said and done.

[Godsonsafari]

Great meeting you! We honestly were like "How did we never see her again?" And man, some salty replies in here or what? SPOILER: some of y'all may not like my opinion on the food when I get to writing out my full review of the ship.

[ken_nyc]

Yeah, that was a little disappointing. Late or not, with 3 hosts there and no one behind me in line, I don't think it would have hurt for one of them to make the 20 second walk to my table.

 

I agree someone should of brought you to your table.

[ryano]

And man, some salty replies in here or what?

 

Thats typical Royal Caribbean forum on Cruise Critic for you :rolleyes: You better make sure you dot your i's and cross your t's and make sure every little fine detail is correct before sharing anything here or certainly you will be called on it. :rolleyes:

Edited November 4, 2015 by ryano

[Debitoo]

Thanks for reading! I looked at a similar itinerary on Princess and almost gave them a try, but I figured I might have a little more fun on Royal. Do they not have any ships in California?

Royal pulled all of their ships out of CA several years ago. I guess the revenue from the short Mexican itineraries wasn't good enough. :mad: They had a few sailings this year doing a California Coastal which I took advantage of. It was nice not to have to fly to get to port! We're hoping they return with a few sailings (at least) every year. In the mean time. I'll have to find other cruise lines to get my fix....:p

 

Thanks again for your original posts.

Edited November 4, 2015 by debitoo
Spelling....eek!

[Nessa1dc]

I think you were very fair in your observations. I have never sailed Carnival and have no intentions too...I'm Diamond with RCCL now, not willing to go backwards.

 

Thanks for your insights. It was nice hearing a different point of view.

[Godsonsafari]

Thats typical Royal Caribbean forum on Cruise Critic for you :rolleyes: You better make sure you dot your i's and cross your t's and make sure every little fine detail is correct before sharing anything here or certainly you will be called on it. :rolleyes:

 

It's really funny to me too - lots of indignation and attitude about cruise ships? Especially mass market ones? At this point, I see the distance between Royal Caribbean and Carnival as being practically nonexistent, and that's coming from someone who's taken three RCCL ships in a row. I still like them and will continue to cruise on them given the opportunity, but whatever my opinion was of the line when I first took them in 2009 versus now is markedly different.

 

The MDR is a great example; when formal night was starting to get shuffled off, I was a little upset about that. I liked the pomp and circumstance. Now when I look at what is served in the MDR, I find it never being worth the trouble to pack a suit. Why bother? They literally serve some of the same items as off the general room service menu!

[Big_G]

Thats typical Royal Caribbean forum on Cruise Critic for you :rolleyes: You better make sure you dot your i's and cross your t's and make sure every little fine detail is correct before sharing anything here or certainly you will be called on it. :rolleyes:

 

Most times it's all in the delivery but all too often delivery just doesn't matter. :cool:

Edited November 4, 2015 by Big_G

[gapearl]

Great meeting you! We honestly were like "How did we never see her again?" And man, some salty replies in here or what? SPOILER: some of y'all may not like my opinion on the food when I get to writing out my full review of the ship.

 

It was so great meeting you and your wife too! I wish I would have run into you guys again. Which was your favorite port? Mine was definitely Langkawi. I can't wait to see your review. I always love reading what other people write for sailings I was on. It's always interesting to compare what others did and how we might have viewed things differently.

 

Thats typical Royal Caribbean forum on Cruise Critic for you :rolleyes: You better make sure you dot your i's and cross your t's and make sure every little fine detail is correct before sharing anything here or certainly you will be called on it. :rolleyes:

 

Good thing I have thick skin and wore my flame retardant suit today! :p

[islandchicklet]

Nice review. You need to cruise one of the new RCCL ships for a more accurate comparison IMHO . the Magic is one of the new style ships from Carnival but you're on one of the old style from RCCL . The newer shapes blow Carnival out of the water. but Carnival rules for fun deck parties and sail always.

And no matter how late you were, on the first night you should have been taken to your table. On Independence, we requested a large table and were seated at a 4 top with 2 ladies who had also requested a large table, so they seem to be failing there.

 

I agree with tinkr2... When comparing ships like Navigator and Magic they will be similar but Carnival has nothing to compare with Allure and the newer ships. You need to try one. I can't wait to sail Anthem!

 

Great review!!