Royal vs Carnival is change a good thing?

[VCruisers]

We are traveling with friends next June with Carnival Triumph...We have never ventured beyond Royal or Princess..

 

Any good comparisons? or bad?

 

Thank you.

[Oppgaard]

I sail on Royal a lot and just came back from my 2nd cruise on Carnival. I thought I would give them a second try but it just wasn't there. Whether I am used to Royal or what, Carnival doesn't even run a close second in my book. I will abstain from sailing on Carnival in the future.

[RDeagazio]

You will find the Carnival ships very dark and a bit tacky in their decor. Their ships also have very cheap furnishings and are not as clean as RCI and Princess ships. You will also find the service is lacking and the crew aren't as happy and friendly as those on RCI. You'll also find more people and more lines and crowds on CCL. They just pack more people on their ships than the others. You will find larger cabins on CCL, but IMHO, they are very sparse in decor and not as functional as those on PCL and RCI. You will find good food and decent entertainment on CCL. I won't even touch the subject of clientele for fear of getting flamed.. :-)

[negc]

We have sailed on Carnival and RCI and a number of other lines. We prefer RCi. However, we know this because we have tried those other lines and while we have never had a bad cruise, some were better than others and RCI seems to match our tastes most closely. Our tastes may not be the same as yours however. Unless you try other lines you will never know for certain, which is best for you. If you are going with a group of friends, you will probably have a great time no matter what line you are on since the general cruise experience is not that much different on the various lines and ships. Cruising in general achieves a very high level of satisfaction, so check out some other ships or lines and see if you like one better than the others.

[lizzytish]

Life is what you make of it. Enjoy the company of your friends, go with an open mind, and let the fun begin!!! The best time we had was on a small Carnival ship with a great group of friends and family. The ambiance could not overshadow the fun friends vacationing together generated.

[Cruising89143]

Have been on both and think that overall RCI is a step up over Carnival. Each have their strong points. Carnival has larger staterooms and much, much more comfortable bedding. RCI is like sleeping on a cot.

 

I think that food and entertainment are about even but RCI blows Carnival away with better service, friendlier crew members and much cleaner ships. I also like the look of the RCI ships over Carnival.

[CJJSmith]

I went on my first 2 cruises with Carnival and my 3rd with RC and my 4th will be with RC in 8 days... I have to honestly say that on a cruise I am not really into how new the ship is. What *I* care about is the food taste, the food variety and the fun. HOnestly, in the fun department (around the pool deck) I thought Carnival was superior to RC. It was more of a party type atmoshpere with Carnival. I have to say that the food in their buffet restaurant was different every day and for every meal. RC on a 7 day cruise had the same food every day in the Windjammer for breakfast and lunch - it got old after 7 days. The room service on Carnival was a much larger variety - BUT not as tasty as RC. I also liked that Carnival had a 24 hour pizzeria with salads, sandwiches and pizza... nothing better than pizza at midnight! lol. I found food hard to find on RC late at night unless we ordered room service. I will say that the food in the dining room tasted better on RC than on Carnival - the dining room was far superior... but the buffet was not. The beds were much more comfortable on Carnival and the rooms MUCH larger. BUT - the overall appearance of the ship, the pool area, internet cafe, decks, etc are much classier on RC. That stuff didn't matter to me though so I liked Carnival better. Carnival ships seemed more open to me with higher ceilings and hallways as well. I have only been on small carnival and small RC ships though - so my experience is limited. I chose RC for my upcoming cruise because I thought maybe my 1 experience with RC wasn't the best it could have been and I wanted to give RC another try. I would cruise Carnival anytime again. :)

 

In my opinion - every line has it's own specialties. A cruise is a cruise - and going with friends makes it great regardless. Have a good time. :)

[CJJSmith]

I won't even touch the subject of clientele for fear of getting flamed.. :-)

 

I had to LOL when I read that. I agree that the clientele is much different on both lines. I actually liked the fun party people on Carnival and found it to be a great place to go if you are young and want to just have fun. (And when I say young, I mean I was 35 on my first cruise and went with my nephew who was 18 and my sister who was 49... we ALL had a great time.) It's all in the type of atmoshpere you are looking for.

 

On RC I noticed people seemed to be classier (and this is just my interpretation - they seemed classier than me - lol) and maybe a bit more reserved. Just a different type of atmosphere like I said. I had a wonderful time on my RC cruise as well, just more mello.

 

LOL - I love the "flamed" comments - it took me reading that in several posts before I realized what it meant. lololol. :D

[MGilly]

You will find the Carnival ships very dark and a bit tacky in their decor. Their ships also have very cheap furnishings and are not as clean as RCI and Princess ships. You will also find the service is lacking and the crew aren't as happy and friendly as those on RCI. You'll also find more people and more lines and crowds on CCL. They just pack more people on their ships than the others. You will find larger cabins on CCL, but IMHO, they are very sparse in decor and not as functional as those on PCL and RCI. You will find good food and decent entertainment on CCL. I won't even touch the subject of clientele for fear of getting flamed.. :-)

You will find whatever you want to find! We've sailed several times on both lines, and we have yet to be disappointed in either. When we are on a cruise, we enjoy all that is offered in the way of entertainment, and we really select our cruises based on the ports of call. We try to visit at least two or three new ports on each cruise. If you want to find fault with Carnival, you will. If you want to just enjoy yourself and have a great cruise, you'll be able to do that, too.

[GranysT]

I have sailed quite a bit on both Carnival and RCL. I find them very comparable overall. I have never found Carnival ships to be dirty,don't know where that comes from. The only Carnival ship I found dark,is the Victory. It's decorated in dark greens and blues,to signify the ocean. I didn't much care for how dark it made that ship,but the rest aren't like that at all. Pride is done in wood tones,and artwork.It is a very "classy" ship. The all new bedding on Carnival is fantastic. So comfortable,and makes for great sleeping. I wish RCL would get on the stick,and update their beds. I will warn you that Triumph is a very hard ship to get around on. The design for that class of ship,is not the greatest. I spent a lot of time lost on Triumph,but I also have a lousy sense of direction. If you can get past its logistics,you will enjoy the Triumph,and Carnival as a whole. The one thing Carnival does not have,is a ship to compare to the Voyager class of RCL. To me nothing can compare to the Voyager class. At least nothing I've sailed on so far. I am taking my first Radiance class cruise in April. I hear they're also great. So go with an open mind,and I'm sure you will enjoy the Triumph. Carnival really does have the fun ships. :D