Just off Liberty, Carnival vs Royal comparision

[Paul65]

The new American Table menu on Carnival is VERY similar to Royals menus. A lot of the same items even. And then the basics you mention and offerings from the steakhouse for an up charge.

 

That's sort of what I thought. They're not exactly the same, but with either, you can probably count on a poultry dish, a seafood dish, a beef dish, a vegetarian dish, maybe a pasta dish of some sort, and then some other meat, like pork or lamb, along with the everyday basic selections, on any given night.

[KPfromCT]

I think you made a right decision giving Royal a try. It is good to try something new. Our beds were not hard on the Liberty, it was a very comfy bed. The food is very subjective, but I was talking with others and most agreed that the food on the Liberty wasn't as good as other Royal Caribbean ships. Maybe it was just an "off" week. Oasis looks like an amazing ship, the Magic is nice too though.

 

Thank you!!!!!:D:D

We'll have a great time. I am confident.

I see you are going on the Breeze in October. You are going to LOVE her!!!!!

Our FAVORITE ship ever!!!

Enjoy, and thanks for the encouraging words.:D

[cruiser fanatic]

The new American Table menu on Carnival is VERY similar to Royals menus. A lot of the same items even. And then the basics you mention and offerings from the steakhouse for an up charge.

 

The lack of variety seems puzzling, as I know what the menus are. They change every night, and there are something like 5 or 6 different entrees on each menu, along with the few items that are always available (basic steak, chicken, pasta, etc.). If you're going to harp on lack of variety, you should give examples of what you think was missing. I've seen Carnival menus, too, and don't see a big difference in 'variety' between the two.

 

Though it may sound like I'm being argumentative, that's not really my intent. I'm just curious for a little more explanation of "lack of variety", since Carnival and RC seem to have pretty similar menus, to my eye.

 

Now, if everything came out cold, that would be disappointing to me. I haven't experienced that, although at times entrees are not quite as hot as I would like.

 

Ryano, is correct. The American Table on Carnival is about what we experienced on Royal. Not the same, but similar. The American Table does not have a lot of choices. There seemed to be some sort of steak offered every night. Some of the dishes were just too "fancy" for me. I don't really care to eat duck, fish, etc.. Carnival's ships without the American Table seemed to offer steak, pasta, beef tenderloin etc... They also seemed to have Hamburgers and also WAY more dessert options.

[cruiser fanatic]

Thank you!!!!!:D:D

We'll have a great time. I am confident.

I see you are going on the Breeze in October. You are going to LOVE her!!!!!

Our FAVORITE ship ever!!!

Enjoy, and thanks for the encouraging words.:D

 

Your welcome! We are very excited for the Breeze! I read a lot of positive reviews about her. We are going on her for Halloween! We had a blast during Halloween on the Magic in 2014 and had to do Halloween again! Have fun on the Oasis!

[swim13]

Thank you!!!!!:D:D

We'll have a great time. I am confident.

I see you are going on the Breeze in October. You are going to LOVE her!!!!!

Our FAVORITE ship ever!!!

Enjoy, and thanks for the encouraging words.:D

 

So envious. Oasis and Allure are the best ships in the world!! Make sure you eat at the Park Cafe one day. I have a review of Allure if you want to learn some tips and hints!

 

 

Food is SO subjective. I don't think I will ever include food in future reviews because literally everybody has different opinions on it. I am pretty satisfied on every ship I've ever sailed. Only if the food is exceptional would I tell people. Like the beef on kumelwick sandwich in Park Café, @KPfromCT. :p

[KPfromCT]

So envious. Oasis and Allure are the best ships in the world!! Make sure you eat at the Park Cafe one day. I have a review of Allure if you want to learn some tips and hints!

 

 

Food is SO subjective. I don't think I will ever include food in future reviews because literally everybody has different opinions on it. I am pretty satisfied on every ship I've ever sailed. Only if the food is exceptional would I tell people. Like the beef on kumelwick sandwich in Park Café, @KPfromCT. :p

 

@swim13- That's our first stop! The INFAMOUS roast beef sandwich:D:D

Salivating just thinking about it......

Going to read your review now. Thank you!!!:D:D

[Paul65]

Ryano, is correct. The American Table on Carnival is about what we experienced on Royal. Not the same, but similar. The American Table does not have a lot of choices. There seemed to be some sort of steak offered every night. Some of the dishes were just too "fancy" for me. I don't really care to eat duck, fish, etc.. Carnival's ships without the American Table seemed to offer steak, pasta, beef tenderloin etc... They also seemed to have Hamburgers and also WAY more dessert options.

 

Gotcha. Sounds like you're not so much into variety as you are into beef. :cool:

[travelphyl]

I love reading what everyone has to say in these forums... Now me, I save all year to take a vacation and as long as I am not cooking the food, working at my job or working at home, I am a totally happy camper and it would take a lot to make me unhappy at that point! I can just relax and not give a crap about pleasing anyone else if I don't want to and that is the BEST!!! I have been on Carnival, Princess and Royal....I have not had a bad cruise!! Seriously, consider where you are and what you are doing and then think about what you really have to complain about... Don't sweat the small stuff, life is too short... Here's to many more cruises to critique!

[jerseygirlindc]

Thanks for this comparison. I'm pretty new to cruising and took my first Carnival cruise last month and loved it. I am booked on Royal Caribbean in August. The Faster to the Fun on Carnival was definitely worth the money for me. Does Royal Caribbean have anything like that? I couldn't find anything on their website.

[ryano]

Does Royal Caribbean have anything like that? I couldn't find anything on their website.

 

No, they dont offer anything like FTTF.

[MrSnarkyPants]

Food: Carnival wins here. The food in the Windjammer on the Liberty was good but the food in the dining room was awful. There was also not much of a variety. The food in the dining room on Carnival is better and has more of a variety. The food on the Lido restaurant on Carnival is good. The pizza at Sorentos wasn't very good. The pizza on Carnival is better. Chops Grille was very good. We ate at Johnny Rockets twice. It was good but not as good as Guy's Burgers on Carnival where it is free. We didn't eat at Sabor or Giovanni's Table.

 

We found that Royal Caribbean lacked activities. There seemed to be more seminars on how to loose weight/relieve back pain then there was trivia, or games by the pool. Carnival seems to have more activities going on during the day.

 

Hi, Carnival cruiser who got fed up and just booked his first Royal cruise.

 

Guy's burgers are very good. But the dining room on our last Carnival cruise was so terrible that we vowed to never return. The menu has been cheaped out and it's aiming so down-market that it seemed targeted at a passenger who considers a night at Outback or Golden Corral "dining out." No offense intended to those who like those places, and the steakhouse on board delivered an experience on par with a good steakhouse on land, but between the new "american table" menu and the removal of linens from the dining room on Carnival, if the server walked up in a polo shirt and khakis, you'd swear you were at an Applebee's at sea.

 

But those burgers by the pool were pretty spectacular.

 

As for group activities, our last Carnival cruise sounds like what you've described for your Royal cruise. Everything in the Fun Times was either a spa sales seminar, an art auction, a shopping talk to steer you towards the shops that pays to be mentioned... with a bean bag toss or name that tune occasionally sprinkled in.

 

I'm going into this cruise hoping for better quality food, but I expect to see a lot of infomercial stuff on any ship because, duh, it makes them money.

 

If Royal can deliver a dining room experience similar or better than what I had on Carnival 12 years ago, I'll probably be happy. But if it's on par or worse than what Carnival did for us this year... that would be horrible.

[Lady_831]

Thanks, OfTheSeasCruiser. I really try hard NOT to read too much into the reviews.

 

But those damn mattresses keep coming up.

 

Even on our last Breeze cruise, they were hard.

It's not fun waking up in the morning and you are SO sore.:mad:

 

Again, we are CRAZY excited to get on Oasis and see all that she has to offer.:D

 

My husband and I were just talking about the beds on the Breeze last year. They were horrible! We usually look forward to the beds on Carnival and we were very disappointed...especially since the both of us were sleep-deprived for that past year (parents to a 1 year old)!

[Lady_831]

Hi, Carnival cruiser who got fed up and just booked his first Royal cruise.

 

Guy's burgers are very good. But the dining room on our last Carnival cruise was so terrible that we vowed to never return. The menu has been cheaped out and it's aiming so down-market that it seemed targeted at a passenger who considers a night at Outback or Golden Corral "dining out." No offense intended to those who like those places, and the steakhouse on board delivered an experience on par with a good steakhouse on land, but between the new "american table" menu and the removal of linens from the dining room on Carnival, if the server walked up in a polo shirt and khakis, you'd swear you were at an Applebee's at sea.

 

But those burgers by the pool were pretty spectacular.

 

As for group activities, our last Carnival cruise sounds like what you've described for your Royal cruise. Everything in the Fun Times was either a spa sales seminar, an art auction, a shopping talk to steer you towards the shops that pays to be mentioned... with a bean bag toss or name that tune occasionally sprinkled in.

 

I'm going into this cruise hoping for better quality food, but I expect to see a lot of infomercial stuff on any ship because, duh, it makes them money.

 

If Royal can deliver a dining room experience similar or better than what I had on Carnival 12 years ago, I'll probably be happy. But if it's on par or worse than what Carnival did for us this year... that would be horrible.

 

We are in the same boat. We are not completely fed up with Carnival since we are going to check out the Vista next year, but after our experience on the Breeze, we decided to give Royal a try. We took some land vacations and had a baby so we hadn't been on a cruise for a couple of years and we were disappointed at the decrease in quality and availability of the food on Carnival along with a few other things. I'm a little concerned as far as the food because it seems like that is a common complaint with RCL from what I've been reading, but we are not that picky, so hopefully we should be ok.

[PCHENG]

I feel the same way. I don't pledge allegiance to any cruise company and just go with the best deal available. My last cruise was on the Navigator of the Seas, and the cruise before that was on Carnival Conquest. My next two cruises are on RCCL, but that is purely due to economics.

 

RCCL ships definitely got more bells and whistles, and the décor is more refined and classy. RCCL ship also feels more stable in my opinion. Not sure if that is due to good weather, but I hardly ever feel the sway of the boat during my entire 6 day cruise.

 

The complimentary food on RCCL, however, is a major disappointment. I get the feeling the chefs are trying hard not to offend, which means the dishes are bland with little spice or flavor (compared with CCL). The only dish I like from the MDR is the lobster, and only because lobsters are best eaten fresh without any seasoning. Specialty dining on RCCL, however, is pretty good, and I will get the dining package just so I don't have to put up with the boring dishes at MDR.

Edited June 16, 2016 by PCHENG

[bigsky]

We are in the same boat. We are not completely fed up with Carnival since we are going to check out the Vista next year, but after our experience on the Breeze, we decided to give Royal a try. We took some land vacations and had a baby so we hadn't been on a cruise for a couple of years and we were disappointed at the decrease in quality and availability of the food on Carnival along with a few other things. I'm a little concerned as far as the food because it seems like that is a common complaint with RCL from what I've been reading, but we are not that picky, so hopefully we should be ok.

 

Just noticed that you're going on the Oasis in Sep. We went on her a little over a yr ago and loved it! Going on her sister ship the Allure in Sep. Loved Central Park at night! Make sure you try their roast beef sandwiches. I don't eat much bread, so I had them make me up a large salad and put the beef in it. So good! At night you really forget you're on a ship.

We used to cruise Carnival. I think our worst ship from them that we cruised on was the Liberty. Hated the layout!

Anyways, have a wonderful time!!

[Lady_831]

Just noticed that you're going on the Oasis in Sep. We went on her a little over a yr ago and loved it! Going on her sister ship the Allure in Sep. Loved Central Park at night! Make sure you try their roast beef sandwiches. I don't eat much bread, so I had them make me up a large salad and put the beef in it. So good! At night you really forget you're on a ship.

 

We used to cruise Carnival. I think our worst ship from them that we cruised on was the Liberty. Hated the layout!

 

Anyways, have a wonderful time!!

 

 

Thank you! We are very excited to try a new line and especially the Oasis. We booked the Allure next year for a group cruise with our family. I am sure we will love both ships!

 

 

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