A confession

[mintypixie]

Forgive me fellow royalty, I nearly did the unthinkable and book a Carnival Cruise :eek: I was lured in by the promise of low prices and European itineraries. However after doing the maths and comparing the offers I realised I was a fool and RCCL are much better value. Can I ever redeem myself?

 

A copy of the spreadsheet comparing the cost is attached if you are at all interested. I want cruise 4: 14 night Italian Med on the Indy, whereas Hubby prefers cruise 3: 9 night Spain, France & Portugal on the Navi as it is cheaper.

 

 

 

 

P.s. Just want to say I don't have anything against Carnival :). I have never sailed with them so I can't make a comparison. They do seem good value and If they sailed from Southampton I would probably book with them, Its just in this instance RCCL offers and UK departure mean they are more suitable for us.

cruises.xls

[2CatsInFlorida]

I can't access your spreadsheet , but also found Carnival to be almost the same price as RCI.

 

We are not loyal to any cruise line and book the best value to where we want to go.

 

 

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[renech]

Forgive me fellow royalty, I nearly did the unthinkable and book a Carnival Cruise :eek: I was lured in by the promise of low prices and European itineraries. However after doing the maths and comparing the offers I realised I was a fool and RCCL are much better value. Can I ever redeem myself?

 

A copy of the spreadsheet comparing the cost is attached if you are at all interested. I want cruise 4: 14 night Italian Med on the Indy, whereas Hubby prefers cruise 3: 9 night Spain, France & Portugal on the Navi as it is cheaper.

 

 

 

 

P.s. Just want to say I don't have anything against Carnival :). I have never sailed with them so I can't make a comparison. They do seem good value and If they sailed from Southampton I would probably book with them, Its just in this instance RCCL offers and UK departure mean they are more suitable for us.

 

My loyalty to RC is directly proportional to my wallet, mostly. :D

That said, after sailing RC enough to have status, it is hard to walk away from the perks that come with it. So, that is definitely a factor in my continuing to book with them, but not the only one. I am an RC loyalist because I truly enjoy what they offer.

 

I have tried Carnival a few times, and it wasn't horrible overall, but the food on both my sailings was... unacceptable. And believe me, I'm not a fussy eater. That said, I have friends who book Carnival all the time and love it. Different strokes and all.

 

For the Mediterranean, we did the Brilliance and it was fabulous despite us being "big ship"fans. The Med is a whole 'nuther kind of cruise because it's so port-intensive. Focus on what ports you want more than what ship. My friend who prefers RC ended up booking NCL for her Med cruise because they had the itinerary she wanted and a great sale with awesome perks like obc, drink pkgs and gratuities. It was an offer they couldn't refuse and they had a fantastic time.

[Keith1010]

It's good to try different cruise lines.

 

You might find out that you enjoy them and have more then one cruise line to enjoy or it might make you appreciate RCI even more.

 

Keith

[impatientlywaiting]

Forgive me fellow royalty, I nearly did the unthinkable and book a Carnival Cruise :eek: I was lured in by the promise of low prices and European itineraries. However after doing the maths and comparing the offers I realised I was a fool and RCCL are much better value. Can I ever redeem myself?

 

A copy of the spreadsheet comparing the cost is attached if you are at all interested. I want cruise 4: 14 night Italian Med on the Indy, whereas Hubby prefers cruise 3: 9 night Spain, France & Portugal on the Navi as it is cheaper.

 

 

 

 

P.s. Just want to say I don't have anything against Carnival :). I have never sailed with them so I can't make a comparison. They do seem good value and If they sailed from Southampton I would probably book with them, Its just in this instance RCCL offers and UK departure mean they are more suitable for us.

 

OMG! LOL - of course you're forgiven! Our first cruise was on Majesty and we enjoyed the product so much we just decided to stick with Royal. Now that we're Diamond and on our way to Diamond +, it's hard to walk away from the "perks" we enjoy with the C&A status. Plus we've always had good experiences and never been disappointed.

 

When we were docked in the Bahamas a few years ago, there were 3 Carnival ships docked the same day. On all 3 ships, there were huge industrial size generators strapped to the top deck (behind that big red thing). Of course, DH being in construction, noticed them and commented there would be no way he would ever cruise with a company that refused to maintain their engines and instead carried backup generators like that. He was pretty disgusted.

 

I will say that we are looking in the future to try Celebrity but since they're owned by Royal, it's all in the family!

[Langley Cruisers]

Nothing to forgive. It is your hard-earned dollar to spend where you want!!! No one cruise line ticks all the boxes - feel free to spread the love around! :D

[poz222]

OMG! LOL - of course you're forgiven! Our first cruise was on Majesty and we enjoyed the product so much we just decided to stick with Royal. Now that we're Diamond and on our way to Diamond +, it's hard to walk away from the "perks" we enjoy with the C&A status. Plus we've always had good experiences and never been disappointed.

 

When we were docked in the Bahamas a few years ago, there were 3 Carnival ships docked the same day. On all 3 ships, there were huge industrial size generators strapped to the top deck (behind that big red thing). Of course, DH being in construction, noticed them and commented there would be no way he would ever cruise with a company that refused to maintain their engines and instead carried backup generators like that. He was pretty disgusted.

 

I will say that we are looking in the future to try Celebrity but since they're owned by Royal, it's all in the family!

 

Well that's just a silly assumption about the generators. To ease his "disgust" might I enlighten you/him on their use, you see, Post Triumph, CCL embarked on at retrofit project to equip the ships with a redundant system and separate emergency generators. These systems are a back up to the back up system that are dedicated to the auxiliary systems and do not way reflect the maintenance of the engines. As with RCCL, Celebrity and other major lines, the ships systems are maintained to an exceptionally high standard.

 

As you can imagine the project of retrofitting old ships, the extensive cabling work required and the system tie ins, the generators are a sort of an extra safety net in order to provide seamless powers even in the even if a blackout. Obviously not the most attractive one but These temporary generators are slowly being incorporated into the ships systems. But their presence should in no way indicate they are there because of inability or unwillingness to maintain the engines. Because CCL has an older fleet than RCCL, there are more ships needing to be retrofit. New designs obviously have the same system incorporated in a more "clever" and unobtrusive manner. This certainly would not be a major reason for deciding never to sail with a company IMO.

[steveweese]

Sailed on 7 different lines and looked at their loyalty programs. Have not been impressed enough with the loyalty programs to stay with one line. We just decide when and where and then choose. Whe have always had a good cruise every single time.

[KPfromCT]

I personally probably would've chosen the Vista because she's brand-new. That ship looks absolutely gorgeous!!!!! We will be on her next year. [emoji5][emoji5]

 

 

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[cruiserhal]

Interesting numbers - thanks for posting.

 

The Carnival numbers do look good. I suggest you go to the Carnival board and see what people are saying about the ship. I would consider the Carnival trip but due to a very bad Carnival cruise we had many years ago I don't think I would even bring it up to my wife. :)

[KPfromCT]

Interesting numbers - thanks for posting.

 

The Carnival numbers do look good. I suggest you go to the Carnival board and see what people are saying about the ship. I would consider the Carnival trip but due to a very bad Carnival cruise we had many years ago I don't think I would even bring it up to my wife. :)

 

She just finished her sea trials, so there are no reviews. She is not sailing until May.

 

However, you can definitely do some research on the ship. Looks AMAZING.

 

We will be on her in the spring.:D:D 2017 that is.

[cincicruisers]

I have also found Carnival prices high. With the diamond discount I can get a good price. I can not find a comparable price on new ship or one that has all 2.0 upgrades. The only one that was cheaper was the Glory at 175.00 cheaper.

Not worth it since I like the product that Royal delivers.

[Clarea]

I have also found Carnival prices high. With the diamond discount I can get a good price. I can not find a comparable price on new ship or one that has all 2.0 upgrades. The only one that was cheaper was the Glory at 175.00 cheaper.

Not worth it since I like the product that Royal delivers.

Appreciate the comparison.

[LMaxwell]

The Carnival product is a good value when it is priced up to about 70% of what Royal Caribbean costs; base this on a per person, per night rate after factoring in any discounts, OBC, etc. More than that and Royal Caribbean is worth the extra spend, IMO. I actually think Carnival's MDR food blows RCI's out of the water, and their standard (interior/OV/Balcony) cabins are larger than most RCI cabins. Royal's ships are much nicer, service is better, and entertainment much more varied and more of it.

[3happyferrets]

Interesting numbers - thanks for posting.

 

 

 

The Carnival numbers do look good. I suggest you go to the Carnival board and see what people are saying about the ship. I would consider the Carnival trip but due to a very bad Carnival cruise we had many years ago I don't think I would even bring it up to my wife. :)

 

 

Yeah, we had a bad experience on Carnival and my husband said never again and he really meant it [emoji51] I really liked Norwegian but it always seemed like the times we wanted to cruise they weren't going out of the ports we wanted. Frankly, I'm open to trying all different ones if the opportunity arose.

 

 

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[Pipo]

If we talk about good value, I'd recommend Celebrity. You can compare the cost per night, and you'll find it's not that different than RCI, and sometimes cheaper on 10+ night cruises, but you're getting better service.

[bigsky]

I don't feel I'm loyal to Royal , I just prefer them better : )

 

 

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[OCruisers]

Depending on the ship, we've never found Carnival to be very different from RCCL except we like the extra cost restaurants on RCCL better.

[IsanTom]

Go with RCI!

[maryann2]

I personally probably would've chosen the Vista because she's brand-new. That ship looks absolutely gorgeous!!!!! We will be on her next year. [emoji5][emoji5]

 

 

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I'm doing a B2B on the Vista in October. Med cruise followed by TA. Can't wait.

I do find the food much better on Carnival.

Sailed on 7 different lines and looked at their loyalty programs. Have not been impressed enough with the loyalty programs to stay with one line. We just decide when and where and then choose. Whe have always had a good cruise every single time.

I also sail on several lines and am working my way to Diamond + on Royal.

[kernow]

RCL are our 'go to' cruise line particularly as we have worked out way up through the loyalty levels, but we still like to sail other lines too and have never had a bad cruise with any of them.

 

Our very first 2 cruises were with Carnival and I have fond memories of them and would like to sail them again some time, we did look at Vista this year too.

 

I think the bargain in Europe at the moment is MSC, we tried them for the first time in January and enjoyed them very much, they also have the loyalty match as an added advantage.

 

For us, if RCL keep building all their new ships in the Oasis/Quantum class styles (huge and gimmicky), I think we will eventually switch lines, we just prefer something more traditional, maybe Celebrity which we have enjoyed in the past too.

 

Julie

[peteukmcr]

Thanks for the comparison, this is a very similar exercise we perform when working out the best value cruise when we're undecided. Living in northern UK we definitely have to consider transport costs, even if sailing from Southampton.

 

Having sailed Carnival, Celebrity, RCI and soon to be P&O and MSC you can see we're no longer 'loyal to Royal' despite being D+ after 12 years sailing exclusively RCI.

 

Other than Oasis class, none of the newer Quantum class interest us, especially at the premium fares being charged.

 

RCI's decision to raise beverage prices means we feel the need to purchase a beverage package, despite being D+ due to for an example the C&A cocktail hours on our recent Serenade sailing which do not suit our timetable in the evening. So that cost now has to be considered in our calculations. So the only benefit to us now is the balcony discount.

 

We have got 2 of our upcoming sailings on MSC and Celebrity including beverage packages. MSC gave a 5% discount due to matching our loyalty status from RCI.

 

IMHO the MDR food on Carnival & Celebrity is better than RCI, as are the buffets (you won't starve on RCI, but boy has the quality gone down in the WJ, maybe we're just tired of the offerings after 12 years). There are far better 'coffee shops' on Celebrity. Carnival offers nice touches like popcorn when watch movies on the pool deck, freshly made pizzas etc.

 

IMHO fares in Europe for Mediterranean sailings are higher from the start than those in the Caribbean.

[rimmit]

I have been on all the cruise lines and have found RCI to be the one most in tune with my tastes throughout all stages of life, while at the same time being the kindest to my wallet.

 

I love Disney, but the price is cost prohibitive.

 

I did not like Carnival as the demographic tends to be more a little rowdier. Many of my friends like carnival for that reason. They say RCI is a total snoozer and not much fun at night. Can't argue, but I prefer a time without fights breaking out, and people l puking in the hallways. Talking with the security guards on the RCI ships (I am Filipino so they tend to like to talk to me.) I have talked with some that state they much prefer RCI and Celebrity to CCL. CCL they said has a brig, and there is almost always something they had to do, break up a fight, stolen items reports, etc. They said RCI doesn't even have a brig, while CCL ships all have brigs. Not sure about the newer RCI ships, but this was before oasis and quantum.

 

NCL. Do no like the freestyle thing. Nickel and dime to death.

 

Princess. Slightly older crowd than RCI. Nice itineraries. Not as family friendly as RCI.

 

Holland America. MUCH OLDER CROWD THAN RCI. Like the itineraries though. I felt like I was in a nursing home on Holland America. My wife and I were the youngest couple on the ship by 20 years.

 

Big Red Boat/Premier. No longer in existence. Was nice for the time, but pales in todays cruise experiences.

 

Star. More of an Asian market. Not really quite a US cruise experience. Very gambling focused and no focus on entertainment.

 

Celebrity. Slightly more expensive than RCI, and not as family friendly. Better itineraries than RCI though.

 

Quark Expeditions. Awesome, but not exactly kid friendly. Also not really cruising as it is an expedition. No frequent expedition program.

 

One Ocean Expeditions. Awesome, again, but not really cruising, and not really kid friendly. No frequent expedition program.

 

RCI. I have two kids now, 1 year and 5 years old. RCI serves my needs at all stages in life. It isn't too rowdy of a crowd, but still has a fare amount of young families on board. The nursery is a must with a 1 year old. The kids program is second to Disney. Never tried CCL though and I hear it's pretty good. RCI is the biggest and has the most ships. Also constantly innovating. It also has the best frequent cruiser program IMO. So we stuck to RCI mostly now due to the perks at Diamond. Princess gets tons of internet. CCL gets lots of laundry. Disney doesn't give much. I felt that RCI has the best thing to transition me from a family man to a retiree that will cruise half the year.

Edited April 3, 2016 by rimmit

[Moremajor]

I think that Carnival has a lot to offer, depending on the boat. I have sailed with them several times, but I think they offer the same, for the most part, on every boat. That got boring so we have been sailing with Royal. We have done Serenade in the Baltics and now will try Oasis this summer. Both lines have good things to offer, but for now we are enjoying a bit more of an upscale experience on Royal. However, I have bookings on the Vista for 2017 and the Conquest prior to our Oasis cruise!

[cruiserhal]

She just finished her sea trials, so there are no reviews. She is not sailing until May.

 

However, you can definitely do some research on the ship. Looks AMAZING.

 

We will be on her in the spring.:D:D 2017 that is.

 

BIG RED FACE HERE! I didn't realize the ship isn't sailing yet since I don't follow Carnival. OOPS. :)