My first topic: Thank you and my thoughts on Carnival vs Royal Caribbean

[AdG15]

We -family with two teens- have had two absolutely amazing cruise vacations in the last couple of years, on the Conquest and the Freedom of the Seas respectively. When I proposed to do something different this year, I was outvoted 3-1 so guess what we're doing this year :).

 

Like many here I am a planner and you, the people on the Cruise Critic board, have been an amazing source of wisdom for me. We have saved money (bringing wine in our carry on, OBC after a price drop etcetera), have had amazing adventures in the ports of call and great food thanks to the recommendations on the various boards.

 

For that, I would like to thank you all!

 

Of course, now that we have another cruise to look forward to, I am back.

 

I find the Carnival vs Royal Caribbean debate always interesting so I thought I`d add my two cents. I can only compare the Conquest vs the Freedom of the Seas, we`re sailing Carnival Magic later this year.

We actually had a great time on both ships, and I think they are very close. We sailed in the same period (early May) and I did not see a big difference in the type of passengers.

 

Overall: both were great. Some differences, but I`d say it is a tie.

 

Food: Interestingly, we all preferred the food on the Conquest. I did not expect that. The experience in the MDR (my time dining) and the food was just a little better. Plus, we really liked the seaday brunch and the kids loved Blue Iguana's cantina. Breakfast burrito`s!

 

Entertainment: I wouldn't know. We somehow always end up having a late dinner and miss the shows. Casino was fine on both ships, kids preferred the Carnival arcade.

 

Stateroom: not a fair comparison. We stayed in a junior suite on the Conquest which was really nice, but on the Freedom we had one of the brand new Family Panoramic Ocean View rooms, which was absolutely amazing. If you ever have the chance to book that one, don`t hesitate!

 

Sports deck: definitely RCCL. Great crew on the Freedom of the Seas. They were friendly, fun and flexible, organising additional daily soccer tournaments because there were so many enthusiastic players on board. We spent a lot of time there (oh - that`s probably why we missed the shows :D). Kids liked the slides on the Conquest, but sports staff was a little uninterested and most sports events were adult only.

 

Staff: with the exception of the sports staff (Really great on FOTS, meh on Conquest) both ships had excellent staff.

 

Now I am off to the Magic boards again!

[Sparky2]

We -family with two teens- have had two absolutely amazing cruise vacations in the last couple of years, on the Conquest and the Freedom of the Seas respectively. When I proposed to do something different this year, I was outvoted 3-1 so guess what we're doing this year :).

 

Like many here I am a planner and you, the people on the Cruise Critic board, have been an amazing source of wisdom for me. We have saved money (bringing wine in our carry on, OBC after a price drop etcetera), have had amazing adventures in the ports of call and great food thanks to the recommendations on the various boards.

 

For that, I would like to thank you all!

 

Of course, now that we have another cruise to look forward to, I am back.

 

I find the Carnival vs Royal Caribbean debate always interesting so I thought I`d add my two cents. I can only compare the Conquest vs the Freedom of the Seas, we`re sailing Carnival Magic later this year.

We actually had a great time on both ships, and I think they are very close. We sailed in the same period (early May) and I did not see a big difference in the type of passengers.

 

Overall: both were great. Some differences, but I`d say it is a tie.

 

Food: Interestingly, we all preferred the food on the Conquest. I did not expect that. The experience in the MDR (my time dining) and the food was just a little better. Plus, we really liked the seaday brunch and the kids loved Blue Iguana's cantina. Breakfast burrito`s!

 

Entertainment: I wouldn't know. We somehow always end up having a late dinner and miss the shows. Casino was fine on both ships, kids preferred the Carnival arcade.

 

Stateroom: not a fair comparison. We stayed in a junior suite on the Conquest which was really nice, but on the Freedom we had one of the brand new Family Panoramic Ocean View rooms, which was absolutely amazing. If you ever have the chance to book that one, don`t hesitate!

 

Sports deck: definitely RCCL. Great crew on the Freedom of the Seas. They were friendly, fun and flexible, organising additional daily soccer tournaments because there were so many enthusiastic players on board. We spent a lot of time there (oh - that`s probably why we missed the shows :D). Kids liked the slides on the Conquest, but sports staff was a little uninterested and most sports events were adult only.

 

Staff: with the exception of the sports staff (Really great on FOTS, meh on Conquest) both ships had excellent staff.

 

Now I am off to the Magic boards again!

 

Thanks for the comparison, and I'm happy you chose your next cruise on Carnival.

[cruiseonthebrain]

Interesting comparison.

[meatloafsfan]

Great comparison.

 

I think you might find a little more "sports" stuff to do on the Magic than on the conquest as they have the sports square featuring the ropes course and the sky net, as well as mini golf, outdoor exercise equipment and whatnot up there (plus a newer waterworks area with multiple slides).

 

And to really "give back" to the boards, be sure to try out the new Guy BBQ place and give us a review of that! I am eager to hear about it.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for your report.

[AdG15]

 

And to really "give back" to the boards, be sure to try out the new Guy BBQ place and give us a review of that! I am eager to hear about it.

 

I will! However, we're sailing in August this year, so we'll have to wait a few more months to try it....or 134 days to be precise :)

[Je Souhaite]

I went on my first RCCL cruise while Carnival was at the top of thier game.

 

I went to whole week waiting to see what the step up to Royal was all about. Never found it. It was merely a side step.

 

And simply found another line with a fleet of ships that surely were in the cruise business also at the top of their game. The biggest difference was the ship itself. There was NO comparison.

 

But each line excelled in mostly the same stuff, and the one offs, each line had something a bit better that the other line did not do.

 

But I was quite please I busted through.

[krehberg]

I went on my first RCCL cruise while Carnival was at the top of thier game.

 

I went to whole week waiting to see what the step up to Royal was all about. Never found it. It was merely a side step.

 

And simply found another line with a fleet of ships that surely were in the cruise business also at the top of their game. The biggest difference was the ship itself. There was NO comparison.

 

But each line excelled in mostly the same stuff, and the one offs, each line had something a bit better that the other line did not do.

 

But I was quite please I busted through.

 

I agree. My last two cruises were on the Independence of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas after 8 Carnival cruises (ranging Spirit class, Fantasy class, and Conquest class).

 

I can say I enjoyed things about each line and each class of ship. It really is like picking long distance plans back in the 90's.

 

What I loved about RCCL -

1) The wine bar and its huge selection of wines at all price points.

2) The pub and the nice craft beer selection

3) Multiple dining options (Carnival adding on newer ships)

4) So many entertainment options and great entertainment (Yes, I know Freedom class and Oasis class are their top options, but amazing ships)

 

What I didn't like about RCCL -

1) Having to get advanced tickets for everything (Aqua theater, comedy shows, productions shows) due to ships being so large

2) Lack of USDA prime steak at Chops without paying a 2nd upcharge

3) Lack of consistency at different bars (ok, would be hard to have the same wine selections everywhere, but was a pain to go to wine bar to get what I wanted for dinner..lol)

4) Oh yea...I got Norovirus on IOTS

 

What I like about Carnival -

1) Alchemy Bar - though only on my Liberty cruise (only 2.0 ship I'd been on so far)

2) Lido deck food options with Guys and Blue Iquana

3) Serenity - in that its 21+

4) Steakhouse (except for Fantasy class) - still serves USDA Prime Aged cuts for its base upcharge

5) Comedy shows

 

What I don't like about Carnival -

1) Fantasy class still lacks many 2.0 features

2) Fewer dinning options, but I do like CCL MDR better than RCCL (though I've not cruised CCL since the American Table/Feast conversion)

3) Quality of entertainment other than comedy...I usually skip the shows but Carnival does have better Karaoke than RCCL, which is great.

 

Thing is, I will gladly cruise either line and basically it comes down to price/itenerary a the time I can schedule off

Edited March 31, 2016 by krehberg

[Keith1010]

Very nice comparison.

 

Keith