First time with Carnival vs RCI - what will we find different?

[aztekpm]

Coke products on Carnival, alas no machines. :) Bottomless Bubbles, soda package is $7.50 daily plus 15% and they will put it in your own cup if you wish.

 

Yep, 2 nightly comedy shows, and typically 2 comedians the first few nights, switched out with 2 more for the rest of the cruise ... family friendly first and then not so much at the later show LOL.

 

Included on the Pride. beside the buffets & nightly MDR are MDR breakfast, Sea Day Brunch, Guys Burgers, Blue Iguana Cantina (the toppings bar for both are excellent), nightly amuse-bouche at the Taste Bar, Deli, Pizza, 24 hour soft serve ice cream, popcorn for the movies, tho it is plain/dry.

 

Bonai Sushi ($1.50 up to $22 for a ship for 2) and David's Steakhouse ($35 pp) are the only upsell restaurants, other up charges are: desserts, specialty coffees & milkshakes at the Piazza Cafe, Cherry on Top candy store, some hot items on the otherwise free room service and the Dr. Seuss Breakfast for $5 pp, breakfast items with Dr. Seuss twists & character interaction.

 

Quest, Love and Marriage are on Carnival as well, plus interactive Clue and Hasbro game show. As someone else stated above, its not Oasis class, no climbing walls, surfing, aqua shows, bumper cars, etc. just a regular cruise ship with the standard track, mini-golf, basketball court, gym, spa, 3 pools (1 adult), waterworks and slides.

 

For a comprehensive review with pictures, click here, Jamman has a great one that will give you a real feel for the ship!

[Oshawapilot]

Thanks - taking this all in, and I like what I'm hearing.

 

Glad to hear it's Coke and not Pepsi - pretty sure I had read somewhere in the past that Carnival was Pepsi however, did they change at some point?

 

Do they provide a soda tumbler like RCI for those with the soda package, or is it the "tiny plastic cup" routine like RCI does if you don't have your mug on you and you go to a bar?

 

I suppose someone would be offended if I brought one of my RCI soda mugs, huh? :p

[aztekpm]

LOL it's up to you, but, probably wouldn't offend anyone ;) Always coke on Carnival at least as long as I've been sailing with them. NCL is Pepsi. Only had BB once and from what I remember it was usually a glass large enough for ice and pretty much the whole can, but, I also had my own stainless mug that they filled for me.

[Oshawapilot]

Whole can? They serve cans for BB patrons vs just filling from the soda "gun" at the bar?

 

Any chance they have Coke Zero? That's my poison of choice, and of course, it's seldom an option on the bar dispensers, meaning I opt for Diet Coke instead.

[aztekpm]

Whole can? They serve cans for BB patrons vs just filling from the soda "gun" at the bar?

 

Any chance they have Coke Zero? That's my poison of choice, and of course, it's seldom an option on the bar dispensers, meaning I opt for Diet Coke instead.

 

I believe they do, most of us do diet, but my BIL does zero (maybe not at every bar? someone else may know for sure) and I know they have Sprite Zero as that's my second choice! I honestly don't remember seeing a soda gun ... perhaps certain bars have one? I know a couple bartenders would give me an unopen can for the room, but not all. LOL the casino bar was one :)

[TNcruising02]

I've sailed on both lines and like both of them for different reasons.

 

RCL - The theater entertainment is much better. They have move to offer as far as physical activities (huge water slides, rock climbing, ice skating...). The ice skating show was amazing. The buffet at night is much better. They have a much larger selection. If you don't eat at the buffet at night, then it doesn't matter. The general vibe of the guests is a bit more relaxed. I like the set-up of the ships better with the promenade.

 

Carnival - With the Faster to the Fun Pass you can get extra benefits, even if it's your first cruise with them. Your room is ready as soon as you board the ship. You get to go through shorter lines, both when you first arrive at the port, on the ship at guest services, and when you leave the ship. I love this benefit. I'm the type who will pay extra to skip lines. Some people couldn't care less and don't see a benefit.

They have self-service laundry. I like to travel with carry-on only and wash a load of clothes in the middle of the cruise. I don't like paying extra for luggage when I fly. Some people think doing laundry on vacation is the devil, so this isn't a benefit to them.

The comedy shows are the best because they are more frequent and the comedians often have several different shows. You can watch multiple different shows on the same night and throughout the cruise. Since my husband and I like comedy shows better than any of the other entertainment, it's a win for us.

I really like that they serve food near the pool area. It's usually burgers on one end and something like made-to-order pizza or made-to-order burritos on the other end. It's a good option and something that was not available on my RCL cruises.

The vibe is livelier. I prefer it to be a bit more relaxed, but I can roll with it.

 

I am planning my next cruise and it will probably be on the Carnival Vista. I'll probably keep mixing it up when it comes to cruise lines, but I definitely think Carnival is worth it.

[kctwinmommy]

I suppose someone would be offended if I brought one of my RCI soda mugs, huh? :p

 

Don't think they'd care! LOL! My son wore his Carnival lanyard on our RCI cruise. And as I said, I actually covered a lot of these points on my post about the pros & cons.

[Cricket63]

I personally find the food better on Carnival. FYI...lobster is served the night of the Captains Dinner(second night). Lunch in the dining room is pretty good to. We try and go at least once during our trip. Their are sooo many choices of food to choose from for lunch on the Lido deck.

 

If you don't want to cruise with a lot of kids, don't travel during the times they are out of school. Even when they are out of school, they are not all that bad, a few...yes.

 

The shorter 3-4 day sailings tend to draw in the party crowds. Especially during Spring Break.

 

Also, each person is allowed to carry on 12 non alcoholic beverages in CANS, no bottles allowed.

1 750ml bottle of wine per person(21 yrs or older)

12 pk of water can be purchased from the Carnival Fun Shops for $4.99, it will be delivered to your cabin. I think the water out of the faucet is OK to drink.

Free drinks on board:

Breakfast: 3 types of juice, milk, coffee, tea, hot chocolate

Lunch: iced tea, lemonade, coffee, tea, milk (in the dining room, you will have to ask for any of these)

 

Go with an open mind. Have a wonderful trip!!

Edited October 1, 2017 by Cricket63

[richnorto]

Our one experience on RCI was bad. It was a Christmas cruise out of NOL. The staff was rude and very unfriendly and the food just eegh! We generally cruise Celebrity, HAL and Princess. We took our first Carnival cruise a couple years ago and it was pretty good! The food was good - surprised me as I was not expecting that! We loved guy's Burgers - really good, although everybody doesn't love that type burger. My biggest issue was that the ship we chose did not have a back deck/bar - we love to sit and watch the ocean passage on the back deck. This was poor research on my end as we had not run into this before. It would have ranked up there if the ship was set up more for our type of relaxation.

[trouble1964]

I don't have a complaint about the food on either line.

 

I saw a lot of drunken behavior that I would consider inappropriate at the pool games, especially the hairy chest game.

I don't care to see people "twerk" or "thrust" when they dance. Most of the drunks I saw were women, but there were some groups of young men that probably weren't feeling too good the next day.

 

The problem with the kids is that they were left to just run wild on our last cruise. And run they did. Down the halls, around the pool, thru the buffet....one lady at our table was a pre-school teacher and had found a 4 year old alone on an elevator one night. I guess people feel secure about their kids being on a ship. I would be scared to death to let them out of my sight unless they were at the kid's club, personally. I thought there was a curfew for them, but they ran the halls as late as midnight. It wasn't the kids fault....it was the parents that let them do it. What we didn't know when we booked it, was that spring break can be as much as a month apart, depending on your part of the country.....and it was spring break somewhere!

 

One RC cruise we were on, there were a bunch of Latin American mothers and daughters for a trip. The daughters all wore HUGE hoop skirted dresses and crowns on formal night. I'm not sure how they sat in them, but there were at least 50, and I think that's the only time we ever saw them except for one day at the beach.

 

The late night comedy show on Carnival can get vulgar. The Quest is always a great laugh, but people tend to get carried away with winning and you'll see some skin or some simulation of things that should be left in private.....this is an adults only show that is on the last night, so I guess they aren't worried about running into someone the next day and being embarrassed, lol.

 

I don't like the flashy sing and dance shows. Give me a good singer, a ventriloquist, comedic jugglers...anything but the big, several outfits in an hour production. Carnival is better about the entertainment on that part, imo. I do enjoy the ice shows on RC that show off the talent.

 

Twice we went to Alaska on the "newlywed and nearly dead" line. We are going on them again soon, and don't know what to expect in the Caribbean from them. We like to go to bed no later than 11, don't like LOUD music, and like to sleep in sometimes. Stuff to do on this line ended early on the Alaska cruise, so it was a good fit for us then.

 

I agree about the Carnival cabins feeling bigger. We always get a balcony cabin, anywhere we go. I don't have a problem with drinking the water from the tap. I usually get the steward to fill up our ice bucket twice a day and keep it in the fridge. It will still melt and give you ice water. I carry my own tervis cup to use. DH drinks coffee and tea, and I drink water. We may have a total of 5 mixed drinks max on a cruise.

 

I like the tutti salad bar on sea days on RC.

 

We've been on 4 different lines, and like things about each one. I don't think there is any line that is going to "check every box" on your likes or dislikes list.

[bride928]

I was in the same position in February and while they feel totally different I will say I enjoyed my Carnival experience better.

[nhsails]

Op.we actually think Carnival's menus are, shall we say uninspired.

[Oshawapilot]

Thanks again to everyone who's contibuted.

 

With regards to bottled water, it's not a biggie for us...we drink the tap water knowing it's not only perfectly safe, but is the same water that the drinks are made of and your meals are cooked with, so I always get a laugh at the "OMG I wouldn't let a drop of the ship water past my lips, bottled water only!" people. ;)

 

The "inappropriate behaviour" doesn't sound too bad to me, but we are not the sort that care a whole lot about shenanigans - if people were running around naked or there was heavy groping or worse going on in public spaces I'd draw the line there, but I'm not going to get bent out of shape about much else - we've seen it on RCI as well.

 

Kids running amok? Yeah, seen it on RCI as well, and I agree it depends on what cruise you book. Our last cruise (as previously mentioned) had an average age of about 80 I swear (our daughter said the teen club manager told them there was only 15 kids under the age of 17 on the whole ship, my daughter and her friend she brought along being one of them) but a March Break cruise we took a few years before was the polar opposite. Again, it's not the end of the world to us so long as they are kept out of the adults only areas, and there's a way to disable our suite doorbell (if so equipped like some RCI ships) to stop that problem before it begins. ;)

 

Kids curfew on RCI was (IIRC) 1AM - the same on Carnival, and is it enforced by security?

 

I heard that one of the few suite perks on Carnival was a Keurig - can anyone confirm? We are admitted coffee snobs and found the coffee on RCI ranged from terrible swill (when they had Seattles "Best"), to tolerable after they got rid of Seattles Best and switched to some other brand in the last year or so. In the past we brought our own coffee from home, along with a french press or a pour-over, but just bringing a supply of our favourite K-Cups would be far easier if there's a way to brew them.

 

On that topic....how is the shipboard coffee on Carnival? It might take a fellow Canadian to answer this question as we tend to like our coffee a lot stronger up here vs American (especially southern) coffee. A small thing (petty some would think, I suspect), but a good strong cup of coffee is a big part of our morning routine that makes things more enjoyable for us. ;)

[Palmetto Pilot]

A much different clientele, more drunks, tattoos, and loud mouths.

The passengers are more similar than alike on all of the mainstream lines anymore. The length and time of year has more of an effect on the clientele than the cruise line. They are more alike than different.

 

As a loyal Royal you couldn't have paid me to sail Carnival since I'd heard so many horror stories.

 

Lo and behold, due to a great price out of NY on Splendor in winter (Feb.2014), I decided to give it a try. I LOVED IT and couldn't believe I'd shunned it for years. The people I met were much friendlier than any RCL I'd ever sailed, food was better, comedy was funnier, CHEERS was a good deal.

 

I don't think you will be disappointed...:cool:

 

I was in the same boat, I was loyal to Royal for years, my (now) wife was a carnival fan. I was so scared when we booked the Fantasy out Charleston for a quick getaway a few years ago. It was a great trip, and surpassed all my expectations for carnival and a small, older ship. We did the Breeze in January of 2016 and it blew any preconceived notions of Carnival out of the water! The ship was beautiful, the public spaces were nice. I'll highlight a few places where I think carnival excels. #1 Pizza, and it's available most of the date. Really it was to die for. Lunch options, Blue Iguana for tex mex, Guys Burgers is amazing and cucina del capitano along with the buffet all free lunch options but Guys burgers really stands out. The other thing great about the breeze was the Punchliner comedy club, the venue was too small but the comedy was awesome! Another nice touch Carnival did, that I have not seen on Royal was a military veterans meet up, the cruise director even showed up. It was cool to meet and get to know some of the other service members (of all nationalities) and having a beer or to. I really enjoyed my Breeze cruise and wouldn't hesitate to cruise any ship on Carnival again. Honestly the only thing I really missed from Royal was the Promenade. We cruise for price, ship and itinerary now regardless of line.

[A2Mich]

Surprised to hear the rave reviews on the food - I've heard the contrary lots of times from people on RCI ships that had sailed Carnival - sounds like things must have improved dramatically.

 

What are the included vs upsell options? I will admit that was one thing that I always got tired of on RCI was the constant upsell on the dining. I love sushi, but sorry, I wasn't paying $10 per roll ala-carte for it in the sushi restaurant, and virtually any other option aside from MDR or the buffet was upsell, aside from the cafe options....sandwiches, bad pizza, that sort of thing.

 

For some reason my daughter is super pumped about Guy Fieri's restaurant, even though she's a vegetarian...but I understand they do offer a veggie burger, and glad to see it's not an upcharge.

 

I'm not big on shows at all myself either - I couldn't care less about song and dance crap, but my wife will occasionally go see the shows, but if there's nightly comedy that's way more our speed.

 

What about all the usual RCI strongholds like the Quest, Love and Marriage, etc? Are there equivalents of some of them on Carnival?

 

As for drinks, neither of us are big drinkers - I'm sure the cruise lines hate us as they don't really get anything out of us for booze - that aside we tend to be very frugal and our folios are rarely much beyond our gratuities, excursions, $20 or $30 each in the casino, and maybe a few small onboard purchases.

 

I do, however, enjoy the soda packages, and yes, I have been spoiled by the Coke Freestyle machines aboard all RCI ships. And as a Coke drinker, I can't say I'm excited about Pepsi, nor about having to visit bars and wait in line to get a drink - I much preferred the self serve Freestyle options, as well as all the flavor options that came along with that. Not the end of the world, but it will be one big thing I'll miss.

 

Just to be clear, in case anyone is curious, not all RCI ships have the Coke Freestyle machines. just in case that's important to others

[sgttami]

The passengers are more similar than alike on all of the mainstream lines anymore. The length and time of year has more of an effect on the clientele than the cruise line. They are more alike than different.

 

 

 

I was in the same boat, I was loyal to Royal for years, my (now) wife was a carnival fan. I was so scared when we booked the Fantasy out Charleston for a quick getaway a few years ago. It was a great trip, and surpassed all my expectations for carnival and a small, older ship. We did the Breeze in January of 2016 and it blew any preconceived notions of Carnival out of the water! The ship was beautiful, the public spaces were nice. I'll highlight a few places where I think carnival excels. #1 Pizza, and it's available most of the date. Really it was to die for. Lunch options, Blue Iguana for tex mex, Guys Burgers is amazing and cucina del capitano along with the buffet all free lunch options but Guys burgers really stands out. The other thing great about the breeze was the Punchliner comedy club, the venue was too small but the comedy was awesome! Another nice touch Carnival did, that I have not seen on Royal was a military veterans meet up, the cruise director even showed up. It was cool to meet and get to know some of the other service members (of all nationalities) and having a beer or to. I really enjoyed my Breeze cruise and wouldn't hesitate to cruise any ship on Carnival again. Honestly the only thing I really missed from Royal was the Promenade. We cruise for price, ship and itinerary now regardless of line.

 

 

I guess you just have to see for yourself....I'm doing a cruise in 2 weeks on MSC Divina. Invited by a friend. Neither one of us has ever sailed that line but she got a UR Comped free cruise and invited me...I'll try anything once:D:D:D:D. We're both a little skeptical since we're used to what we're used to...but what the heck! You won't know how it suits you unless you do it!:cool:

[Silent Penguin]

The "frat party" description is way off. ..... 95%+ of the people are quiet and keep to themselves.

 

I completely agree. Even the people with tattoos. ;)

[riclop]

As the thread title states, we have been exclusive RCI cruisers since day 1, but we favour the northern ports (Baltimore & NYC/NJ) and neither want to sail on Grandeur anymore after having sailed it (and it's sister Enchantment as well, both out of Baltimore) many times, nor can we swallow the price of Anthem (out of NYC/NJ) at this point when we can do multiple (or longer) cruises on other ships for less money.

 

So, I ended up on the Carnival website one day, found a suite that was attractively priced for a date that worked well with our work schedule, and we booked. :D

 

So, I'd like some insight on what we will find different on Carnival...specifically from cruisers who have sailed both RCI and Carnival.

 

Thx all - looking forward to the new adventure.

Nothing on Carnival compares to the Oasis class ships on Royal.

[norwane]

I have been on 2 RCI cruises and 1 Carnival cruise. I'm going on another Carnival cruise later this week. :D

I was very nervous about going on Carnival thinking it would be the 'Walmart of the Seas'. It wasn't nearly as bad I had thought it would/could be. There were some definite differences though:

Food - Royal won by a country mile - I thought Carnival's buffet at night was bad. I could always find something to eat in the MDR though. It wasn't the best food I had ever eaten, but it was okay. I still managed to gain weight on the cruise! ;) The pizza on Carnival was really good!

Decor - again RCI. The Carnival Pride was gaudy. If you don't care about decor, then it's no big deal.

Cabins- again RCI, but not by a lot. On RCI we had an AFT cabin that I swear could have been a bowling alley. We didn't have an AFT on Carnival, so I can't really compare apples to apples. I don't think that Carnival puts a lot into making the cabins or suites fancy.

Staff - Carnival. Everyone I met on Carnival was friendly and had a smile. On our first RCI cruise, we thought the staff was the B crew - no one went out of their way to be friendly or wow us.

The other cruises: Carnival. People on Carnival were just more laid back and friendly. Honestly, some people on RCI just seemed kind of snobby. I am really shy and I talked to way more people on Carnival than I ever did on RCI.

Drink package - I liked that my DH could just get the soda package, and I got the drink package. On Carnival, if one person gets the drink package, everyone gets it.

Entertainment: RCI, by a very, very long shot. I thought RCI's shows were Broadway caliber. I've seen better shows put on by high schools than what Carnival had to offer. We walked out of a few of the shows. The game shows were fun, though. The comedians were hit and miss on Carnival.

Activities - Carnival. Carnival had karaoke and trivia that we enjoyed throughout the cruise.

I can't speak to the coffee on RCI or Carnival, as I'm not a coffee drinker. I didn't hear anyone complain about it though.

 

I hope that helps - have fun on your cruise!

[code_d]

Thx all for the insight - yes, I have heard (and read here) that the suite perks are basically non existent aside from priority boarding? It is what it is, the perks in my mind are the suite itself....but we will enjoy priority boarding as we do like to arrive early and board as soon as we can. Can anyone confirm if priosity boarding is indeed still a thing? We are on Pride out of Baltimore.

 

Don't know if this was answered, but:

 

gratuities from $12.00 to $12.95 per person per day for standard cabins and $13.95 per person per day for suites, effective for cruises departing September 1, 2016 and onward.

Announced in a letter, dated April 29, Carnival added: “In tandem with this change, in addition to priority embarkation and debarkation in all ports and confirmed main dining room preference, suite guests will now receive priority tender service, complimentary in-suite bottled water and one complimentary bag of laundry per voyage, as well as an enhanced turndown service”, Carnival confirmed.

[nhraformula00]

Carnivals pizza is( TERIBLE ) drinks a lot cheaper per drink, beds softer, crew a lot nicer in general. RCI pizza is eatable, shows are much better, ships in general classier.

[rok233]

Carnivals pizza is( TERIBLE ) drinks a lot cheaper per drink, beds softer, crew a lot nicer in general. RCI pizza is eatable, shows are much better, ships in general classier.

 

You should invest in spell check.

[Palmetto Pilot]

Carnivals pizza is( TERIBLE ) drinks a lot cheaper per drink, beds softer, crew a lot nicer in general. RCI pizza is eatable, shows are much better, ships in general classier.

You must not have had the new carnival pizza because I can assure you, it's really good.

[nhraformula00]

Well I just got off the Splendor on Saturday and it was terrible. We were on the Allure in May and pizza was better. So tell me ,Where is the new Carnival pizza being served then?????????????

[PalmTree601]

Food, especially pizza, is very subjective. Some love it, others hate it - and that can be from different slices from the same pizza! :)

 

IMHO, you can't take 100% what you read in reviews, because everyone has their own vantage point. Something that "ruins the cruise" for one person, might not even be noticed by someone else. Especially for food, but other things as well. Reviews are helpful as a general guide, but don't let them rule your selection process, because you may be missing out on something you would love. And try not to get hung up on the little things - get out there and enjoy your cruise!