RCL or CCL

[CruisingTrooper1012]

Thus far I have only cruised on Carnival, but I have seen some very cool things with Royal. I mean, WORLDS LARGEST SHIPS, but other things seem to spark my interest.

 

Those of you who have been on both, what are the pros and cons and reason to maybe, and I mean maybe, switch to the dark side and go on Royal.

[Clarea]

Other Carnival vs Royal threads:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2410151

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2401456

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2348855

[mikeyd]

I also think it has a lot to do with the ship you cruise on. We have sailed 10 times before, mainly NCL and Carnival and always thought RCL was "upscale" since their prices are normally higher.

 

We tried the Jewel Of the Seas recently and were completely let down. Poor food, poor entertainment, poor decision making on all sorts of small things. I don't plan to go back to RCL but the Oasis class is appealing to me.

 

We did shy away from Carnival after 2 cruies in a row that had lots of annoying, obnoxious drunks on board. One cruise was spring break so we expected it, the other was off season and it was just downright annoying and a turn-off.

[klfrodo]

I've sailed 10 Carnival and 2 Royal.

Not much difference to me.

 

Why not change to a different cruise line just to try something different..

 

Yes, there will be subtle differences. Some plus, some minus. Only you can determine the value of the pluses and minuses.

[obxMom13]

Thus far I have only cruised on Carnival, but I have seen some very cool things with Royal. I mean, WORLDS LARGEST SHIPS, but other things seem to spark my interest.

 

Those of you who have been on both, what are the pros and cons and reason to maybe, and I mean maybe, switch to the dark side and go on Royal.

 

 

I have always cruised Carnival as well with our families (2 kids). My husband and I booked a week with RCL this summer without the kids to see if it's worth the extra money. We have been going back and forth for years. I'll come find this post when we get back! :)

[jticarruthers]

We started with Carnival and "moved up" to Royal ... over time found that for what we looked for on a cruise Royal dropped back to the pack and there wasn't a huge difference. Sailed NCL, CCL and RCL last year and found them more similar than different.

 

I think a lot has to do with the ships ... I would pretty much the whole RCL fleet above most of the CCL fleet in terms of quality of amenities and ship itself but if you start comparing Vista and NCL Escape for example, I found them very comparable to what RCL has to offer in terms of ship.

 

Then you get into the cruise flavor and what you cruise for ... production shows, edge to RCL, comedy clubs, edge to CCL, etc.

 

Generally speaking I am finding better value at NCL/CCL's top ships at the moment which is why my cruise $ are sliding that way but still looking for RCL options that catch my eye.

[starfish216]

We have sailed equally on both lines. About 16 cruises in total.

 

Started with Carnival because it was more affordable with having to pay for a cabin for our kids. Now that are children are grown we gave RC a try a few years ago and we really enjoyed them.

 

 

On both lines the staff was friendly. We found food we liked and disliked on both lines . I feel Carnival has better comedy entertainment while RC has better Production Shows.

 

 

We like the public areas on RC. Carnival has tables on the Lido deck by the main pool, this area always appeared to be a mess with dirty plates and uneaten fool. Where on RC, at least the ships we have been on, there are no tables by the pool area, leaving more room for lounges.

 

 

Living in NYC our go to cruise line now is RC. We like the Anthem class ships of RC versus an older Carnival ship.

[LeeW]

We sail primarily Princess (Carnival stockholder). The smaller Royal ships are very similar to what we see on other lines but we don't particularly like having to reserve everything in advance on the larger Royal ships. Yes, these ships have more activities, but we prefer not to plan dining and shows. Still fun to try other lines, though. Royal is really good at checking in 5000 people at a time.

[norcalemt02]

Carnival = Walmart of the Seas. Go to theme park review . Com. And look up Klassy kruise

 

 

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[mizLORInj]

Try a different line for yourself and see what you think. Carnival was my first 3 cruises in the 2000s then I wanted to try something different so we branched out and tried other lines. Enjoyed all of them and appreciated the different ships and cruise lines and what they offered. Yes, some things I enjoy more on some lines over others, but none to make me not want to cruise a particular line.

ALL have had cutbacks over the past years.

And you can find obnoxious and rude people on any cruise line. In fact, my memory of drunks on a ship--taking over karaoke--was on RC Explorer of the Seas.

One thing I do miss on RC Allure on Anthem is a water slide. I enjoy Carnival's water slides. Food, service, etc. . . . if you go hungry on a ship you are too picky!

ENJOY!

[OCruisers]

Thus far I have only cruised on Carnival, but I have seen some very cool things with Royal. I mean, WORLDS LARGEST SHIPS, but other things seem to spark my interest.

Those of you who have been on both, what are the pros and cons and reason to maybe, and I mean maybe, switch to the dark side and go on Royal.

 

 

Yes, we've cruised on both Carnival & RCCL (plus most other mass market cruise lines).

You will probably enjoy giving one of the HUGE RCCL ships a try.

From the ships you've sailed on Carnival (per your signature) you'll find one of the Huge RCCL ships a step-up. ;)

[matj2000]

Use the "search thread" function and type in Carnival.

That will bring up about 2000 active threads on this subject.

Also, don't listen the people who have only been on 5 cruises and none of them Carnival...