Loyal Royal cruiser ,just off Carnival Magic(Aug 19th-26th)

[PH8]

Not doing an in depth review........just a few comparisons and observations. Which cruiseline "wins" in different categories......at least IN MY OPINION! I am Pinnacle with RCCL and this was only my 3rd Carnival cruise. Trust me,status DOES not matter to us...Just filling you in.

 

We booked this cruise just a few weeks ago........got assigned a 12:30 check in to the terminal time.....With RCCL,they only suggest times and you can show up whenever you want........Not with Carnival.....they won't let you into the terminal before your time. So we got to the port around 11am..........dropped our luggage off and went to Fishlips for lunch. Got back to the ship at our time and still had to battle LONG lines thru security and check in.

RCCL wins this round(don't have to be at the mercy of the clock)

 

On board,we didn't have too much time to go before our cabins opened up at 1:30.......RCCL basically has the same policy.

 

Upon entering our cabin(# 8211),we could see right away Carnival definitely offers more storage!! BUT the balconies are way smaller....No room for a lounger.......just room for two chairs and a table and no walking past each other.. So both lines win and lose in this.

 

Met our cabin steward.....handed up a piece of paper,we had to fill out right then and there........check off if you want your cabin cleaned morning,night OR BOTH.......and if we wanted bathrobes,more towels or pillows....... We told him he could do just morning but at night,just check to see if we needed fresh towels........and we also wanted ice..... His name is Denis and he did a fantastic job.Our mini bar was nice and cold and chilled our white wine perfectly.

 

Now food is subjective.....For the most part,Carnival has the better food. LOVED the deli....my favorite place....also good was Guys Burgers and the pizza......couldn't get near the Mongolian Wok so can't tell you have that was. Tried Guys BBQ....it was just ok......here where I live we have a fantastic BBQ place so perhaps I am spoiled..

 

We ate dinner in the dining room 2x.....all the appetizers,soups,salads were great..........not so much for the entrees...seems they all came with a sauce on them,even when we requested none....The last straw was when I had prime rib and they went to add gravy.........It "plopped" off the spoon........like it was congealed ....We left right after that and never went back............except for breakfast......which was FANTASTIC.

 

Tried the Cucina one night and again left before we even ordered dessert........steak with gravy? Jeez.....

 

So as far as food,I say Carnival RULES with the buffets and places to grab a bite whenever you want and RCCL rules in the main dining room and specialty restaurants.

 

Carnival has RCCL beat with the live music all over the ship,just about all day,every day.......from jazz to pop to reggae to country......and we enjoyed all the different kinds of trivia and games.........of course like every cruise,you have the same people who cruise a lot and know all the answers,even the obscure ones.......doesn't make it fun for others..

 

Some really nice places to go sit and have drink....except wish they had a wine bar type of place....

 

Other observations.......too many announcements...........even at night.......You can hear them in your cabin and it is kinda annoying. Not there is a speaker in your cabin. You can hear them from the hallway.

 

The pools are a JOKE......such a big ship to have TWO small pools....one on the main deck and one aft..neither one was big so it did not take long to fill up.......Kids in the hot tubs diving in and horse playing with each other.....Kid in a diaper in a hot tub with his father.Trust me,I am telling the truth...It was like Romper Room....When the kids took over the pools and hot tubs,no adult would dare go in.

 

LOTS of rude people on this cruise,esp the kids. Even the crew made a comment about it...Why do parents think it is ok to let the kids have a free for all once on board......I witnessed several groups walking and saying how they were on the way to beat up someone who was talking smack about their sister/brother/whoever.....and another group using the F bomb as many times as they could......Heck ,even as I played the slot tournament,one observer was standing behind the participants......the one lady playing told her to get the"F" away because she didn't know her and didn't want her nearby....I guess some of the kids learned from their parents.One lady nearly started a fight with another one morning in the buffet over eggs......

 

On line at guest services,the lady behind us was yelled at by the lady behind her because she moved her head and her hair must had touched her.............UNBELIEVABLE attitudes...

 

While waiting on line for pizza one day, a teen girl walked up and said to the pizza guy "YO,I want some pizza".......I had to look at her and ask "YO,,really???" Can't really blame this on Carnival...could happen on any ship....but this was the rudest bunch we ever saw and heard.

 

All in all,we enjoyed our Carnival cruise and the ports...... Amber Cove,St Thomas,San Juan and Grand Turk....I would cruise with them again,as I will with RCCL and other lines....

[Cruise or Lose!]

A very informative and comprehensive review. Thank you!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[joepeka]

Thank you for your review and I appreciate your disclaimer about status as RCI does recognize loyal customers better than Carnival. We've cruised RCI twice as suite guests and do appreciate the amenities they offer. We like both lines but for different reasons, some of which you have outlined so thanks again.

[Badfinger]

You should have waited for the Mongolian Wok. It is very good. On our last cruise I went there three times. I would have no problem waiting 30 minutes (or longer) in line. But knowing it is popular, I would show up 10 minutes early and be the person standing in line while the covers were still pulled down. I agree with your take on Guys BQQ Pig and Anchor. It is bad.

 

As for rude people and unruly kids, frankly that is the demographic you chose when you go with the lower priced cruise lines, compounded by the time of year. Not defending it by any means though.

[Aquahound]

Hi Kathy! :)

 

Thanks for your review. You struck a chord with the rude passengers comments. I'm fed up with the behavior of passengers on cruises. We're looking more at longer...but less often...cruises. I know rudeness will always be there, but it certainly does limit the "Yo, I want some pizza" people.

[Ocean Spirit]

We love Royal and after a terrible experience with Carnival back in 1996 we said we would never sail again with them. About 8 years ago, we got a great deal on Carnival and decided we would go ahead and go. We had such a wonderful cruise, we were shocked!

I think we have about the same amount of days on both lines, with several on NCL.

 

We don't cruise anymore during "off from school" times for most part because of the kids. I love kids, but not a thousand of them running all over the ship. We had a group laying / talking, yelling in the hall near our cabin on one cruise and yes the junior high & high school kids ran in packs.

 

The Carnival pools are a joke. I really like the adult only pool area on RCI. As for rude people, I've met some on both lines. However the crude language I hear more on Carnival. The F word is very common with younger people in general.... it's part of the culture unfortunately, and Carnival does attract younger folks.

 

Almost forgot.... I agree about the BBQ, I have no plans to go back but Guys burgers & fries is a great plus for Carnival.

[SkyMaster]

THANKS for posting, what I consider a very fair, and honest summary of your "Magic" cruise. I agree with about 90% of your comments, and will be sailing "Magic" again in November.

 

"SKY"

[PH8]

Thanks all.

 

Unfortunately since my husband is in retail,we can't cruise as of Sept.

 

Guess I'm not the only one who wasn't crazy about Guys bbq.

 

Nice to see you Paul..been too long.

Thinking maybe a land trip to the Keys instead of a cruise would be nice.

[NavarreCruiser]

A very fair review. But as a Pinnacle cruiser on RCCL (over 700 points/usually days for you Carnival cruisers who don't know RCCL's Crown & Anchor loyalty levels) you are at the very top of their program. You would have to be a diamond on Carnival to make more of an equivalency comparison. But I don't disagree with your impressions.

[sanmarcosman]

"One lady nearly started a fight with another one morning in the buffet over eggs"

 

That was a woman, not a lady.

[PH8]

A very fair review. But as a Pinnacle cruiser on RCCL (over 700 points/usually days for you Carnival cruisers who don't know RCCL's Crown & Anchor loyalty levels) you are at the very top of their program. You would have to be a diamond on Carnival to make more of an equivalency comparison. But I don't disagree with your impressions.

like I said, status means nothing to us.

 

None of my complaints had anything to do with that

[PH8]

• "One lady nearly started a fight with another one morning in the buffet over eggs"
  

  That was a woman, not a lady.

  That was a kind word ,NOT what we really called her.

[dctravel]

I am working on my review of this cruise too, and I cannot disagree with you about the food and entertainment generally, although we had very positive main dining room experiences. Perhaps my perspective of traveling with kids and being asleep by 10:30 pm most nights matters. We saw some kids in packs and a bit out of control (not to mention the stinker who put a water balloon in the balloon drop the last night), but did not personally witness the rudeness you described. I am always surprised how many kids wander around. Maybe they avoid us since my wife is a high school teacher and has that "look" about her that makes kids who don't know her stay away?

 

dctravel

[satxdiver]

Interesting review of the two cruise lines. I have been on both as well as a few others. I laughed at the comments about the "pools" and totally agree. However since I have one in my backyard, the pools on the ship do not interest me. I agree with the food offering on the lido deck of both ships. I do like the many choices and the fact that the buffet stays open from early morning to late evening continually on CCL. I like the trivia games but quickly realized some pax make this their sole purpose in life and play for keeps. I am more of a casual player and just do my best.

 

Not too long ago, CCL decided to limit cabin services to once a day and to remove table clothes from the MDR tables on all nights except elegant night. The table cloth issue does not matter much to me but the once per day cabin service is a bit annoying. Last cruise earlier this year, our cabin steward came by and just asked us what we prefered as to morning or evening. No problem and I chose morning.

 

CCL markets to the younger crowd as the "fun ship" and has things aboard like the water park etc to encourage their presence. Therefore it is not a surprise to have hundreds of kids aboard. I have never had a problem with them but have seen them traveling in packs, playing on the elevators and sitting on the stairs. When I have wanted to use the stairs or elevators they have always made room.

 

It is a standing joke that the walmart crowd are who are aboard CCL and there have been times when I have come to believe just might be true. Of course my opinion of the walmart crowd comes from what I have seen online which is not exactly correct.

 

Living where BBQ is a religion, I have to agree with the BBQ. However as we all know BBQ has to be smoked and building a fire on a cruise ship would made the USCG and others go ballistic. So we are stuck with this approximation and I stay away waiting until I get home.

[riclop]

Thanks for your thoughts.

[PH8]

A very fair review. But as a Pinnacle cruiser on RCCL (over 700 points/usually days for you Carnival cruisers who don't know RCCL's Crown & Anchor loyalty levels) you are at the very top of their program. You would have to be a diamond on Carnival to make more of an equivalency comparison. But I don't disagree with your impressions.

My loyalty level has NOTHING to do with my experiences.....even if I were top dog with Carnival,it wouldn't change things..

[MandyMooToo]

I appreciate the comparisons. We are RCCL cruisers going on our first Carnival cruise later this year and it is hard to find reasonable comparisons. Most reviews seem to paint one line or the other as horrible and lowdown without giving a fair review. And they tend to end with "I'll never sail this one again, I shouldn't have strayed from ________." I feel that both lines are probably fairly comparable and hope to enjoy our maiden voyage on Liberty in October!

[PH8]

I appreciate the comparisons. We are RCCL cruisers going on our first Carnival cruise later this year and it is hard to find reasonable comparisons. Most reviews seem to paint one line or the other as horrible and lowdown without giving a fair review. And they tend to end with "I'll never sail this one again, I shouldn't have strayed from ________." I feel that both lines are probably fairly comparable and hope to enjoy our maiden voyage on Liberty in October!

No complaints really about the ship,staff or crew.

 

It was the passengers who put a bad taste in my mouth.

[frisbeewife]

Thanks so much for this review and comparison. I'll be on this same ship/itinerary in late October and have also never sailed on any cruise line except Royal (not counting my very first cruise in 2000 on HAL on a nice old, lots-of-teak-and-brass, ship that I loved) and have also heard bad things about the party atmosphere on Carnival. However, another couple that we are good friends with are seriously devoted to Carnival and are whatever the highest loyalty level Carnival has and they finally talked us into going with them. In return I about have them talked into going on Oasis in December 2018, since I've never been on that class of ship and would love to see the decorations for Christmas.

 

As for the kids, I'm hoping that late October will not be a time when they are swarming the ship. There are always those parents who will take their kids out of school for a vacation, but it shouldn't be too bad. I really don't mind kids in general, but when they start with what I think of as "pack behavior" then I get annoyed.

 

Anyway, maybe I'll post my own RCCL-vs-CCL comparison when I get back. It's not that I feel terribly loyal to Royal, but I live 30 minutes from Port Canaveral and my choices have been Royal, Carnival, and Disney. Would love to go on Disney but can't justify the $$$, especially when I don't have kids (except my grandsons who really couldn't give a hoot about Disney). I know NCL sails from Pt Canaveral now but I've heard they're about the same as RCCL and Carnival so unless they had a new itinerary I probably would just stick with Royal for the loyalty points. But that all has nothing to do with this thread. Sorry for rambling......

[FSHLOT]

I love this review, it's so honest and fair.

 

Me and my wife have cruised many different lines and would cruise with any one of them again, and again. So I really don't try to compare them anymore. We make cruising fun and never sweat the small stuff, no matter what ship we are on.

 

ph8, Thanks again

[mississauga]

 

Not too long ago, CCL decided to limit cabin services to once a day and to remove table clothes from the MDR tables on all nights except elegant night. The table cloth issue does not matter much to me but the once per day cabin service is a bit annoying. Last cruise earlier this year, our cabin steward came by and just asked us what we prefered as to morning or evening. No problem and I chose morning.

 

 

Sorry that you have been misled about the choice of cabin service. The cabin stewards are suppose to offer you one of three choices, morning, evening or both. When they started this policy of choice, we were asked verbally which we preferred and each time we answered both and received both with no problems. Then we had a cabin steward read from a form and as we answered, he would check off the answers. Besides, the choice of cabin service, he checked off if we wanted bathrobes, extra towels, extra pillows or ice once or twice a day. Another time, the cabin steward gave me the form to check off our choices. Same form.

 

In summary, they are suppose to either ask you all these questions or have you fill out your needs/requests. The choice for both cabin service is available when done verbally or in print.

 

Now that you have the heads up, the next time you cruise on Carnival, if not offered the choice for both, you can request both with no problems.

 

Having said this, I can understand why they started this policy as there are many who do prefer only once a day service. They are some like us who do not need ice so it just goes to waste. So good, that our cabin stewards know not to bring us any.

[mississauga]

Ph8, thanks for you fair and balanced review. We find the lines more alike than different but as always, different strokes for different folks. Therefore sometimes a difference in views, opinions and experiences.

[Ziggy7]

 

CCL markets to the younger crowd as the "fun ship" and has things aboard like the water park etc to encourage their presence. Therefore it is not a surprise to have hundreds of kids aboard. I have never had a problem with them but have seen them traveling in packs, playing on the elevators and sitting on the stairs. When I have wanted to use the stairs or elevators they have always made room.

 

It is a standing joke that the walmart crowd are who are aboard CCL and there have been times when I have come to believe just might be true. Of course my opinion of the walmart crowd comes from what I have seen online which is not exactly correct.

 

Living where BBQ is a religion, I have to agree with the BBQ. However as we all know BBQ has to be smoked and building a fire on a cruise ship would made the USCG and others go ballistic. So we are stuck with this approximation and I stay away waiting until I get home.

I disagree, I cruised both lines and found this to be more true on RCCL ships as they have all the big exciting things kids what to do! And have had cruises on both lines where ppl seem so rude, I dont think you can pin that on a cruise line sorry! And claiming Walmart crowds are the ones cruising CCL only speaks to your rudeness!

[Ziggy7]

Thank you for your review! It's refreshing to see a review that is not determined to bash other cruise lines! :)

[SharkCruiser24]

Thank you for your review. I enjoyed it and agree with a lot of it. I will be sailing on The Magic in two months and Harmony next year.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums