dac61 Posted July 29, 2018 #1 Share Posted July 29, 2018 We have cruised 2times before with Carnival. What will be the biggest difference with going On RCCL. We will be on Liberty of the Seas in 2019. Looks like a great ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarea Posted July 29, 2018 #2 Share Posted July 29, 2018 No poolside grill on Royal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klfrodo Posted July 29, 2018 #3 Share Posted July 29, 2018 We have cruised 2times before with Carnival. What will be the biggest difference with going On RCCL. We will be on Liberty of the Seas in 2019. Looks like a great ship. Depends on what you are looking for and what 2 ships you sailed on with Carnival. If you sailed on Farcus designed Carnival ships, then the biggest difference is going to be interior design and colors. Carnival puts emphasis on the "FUN" ships. Lots of staff energizing and encouraging "Fun" participation, like sail away dance parties, a performance by the waiter in the MDR, etc. Royal isn't dead by any means but they don't go to the extreme that Carnival does to encourage guests to have fun. Good or bad, Royal is encouraging a "class" system within it's guests. From priority reserved seating in shows, to reserved seating for priority guests at the pool, to special lounges for certain level of priority guests, to even some guests have their own special dining rooms. Otherwise, at the end of the day,, you'll find that Carnival and Royal have more in common than not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tatka Posted July 29, 2018 #4 Share Posted July 29, 2018 We sailed 4 times with Royal in the last 6 months and never felt "class system". Yes there are some reservations made, but people pay dearly for these services. I find Royal ships to be more better designed with nicer decor. Food is subjective. None of these lines are gourmet, but there are nicer food. MDR offers escargots on its regular menu. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carnival03 Posted July 29, 2018 #5 Share Posted July 29, 2018 Depends on what you are looking for and what 2 ships you sailed on with Carnival.If you sailed on Farcus designed Carnival ships, then the biggest difference is going to be interior design and colors. Carnival puts emphasis on the "FUN" ships. Lots of staff energizing and encouraging "Fun" participation, like sail away dance parties, a performance by the waiter in the MDR, etc. Royal isn't dead by any means but they don't go to the extreme that Carnival does to encourage guests to have fun. Good or bad, Royal is encouraging a "class" system within it's guests. From priority reserved seating in shows, to reserved seating for priority guests at the pool, to special lounges for certain level of priority guests, to even some guests have their own special dining rooms. Otherwise, at the end of the day,, you'll find that Carnival and Royal have more in common than not. Royal has priority pool seating? Are you talking about the suite level deck? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carnival03 Posted July 29, 2018 #6 Share Posted July 29, 2018 Hi OP, I'm in a similar situation... Have always cruised Carnival, but making the jump to Royal next May. Below is a link to the thread I started a few months back that you may find helpful. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2625641 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Countrygurl Posted July 29, 2018 #7 Share Posted July 29, 2018 We have cruised 2times before with Carnival. What will be the biggest difference with going On RCCL. We will be on Liberty of the Seas in 2019. Looks like a great ship. Four Carnival cruises under my belt (7 day Alaska on Spirit; 3 Carribean cruises on Glory, Conquest, and Vista). First RCI next month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sitzmark Posted July 29, 2018 #8 Share Posted July 29, 2018 Went on one carnival cruise. It was the last. The Dream was a nightmare. The boat listed to port all week. The food had a laxative effect. The vibrations at the stern were headache inducing. The entertainment was amateurish. I’m not a fan of cruising in general but RCI is much better than Carnival. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCruisers Posted July 29, 2018 #9 Share Posted July 29, 2018 You will basically find very little difference between Carnival and RCCL. Naturally, it all depends on the ship. Some RCCL ships are better than some Carnival ships and some Carnival ships are better than some RCCL ships. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lenquixote66 Posted July 30, 2018 #10 Share Posted July 30, 2018 We have cruised 2times before with Carnival. What will be the biggest difference with going On RCCL. We will be on Liberty of the Seas in 2019. Looks like a great ship. I cruised once with Carnival and said never again . I cruised 7 times with RCI and I love the line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lrn2cruise Posted July 30, 2018 #11 Share Posted July 30, 2018 Went on one carnival cruise. It was the last. The Dream was a nightmare. The boat listed to port all week. The food had a laxative effect. The vibrations at the stern were headache inducing. The entertainment was amateurish. I’m not a fan of cruising in general but RCI is much better than Carnival. I feel the same way about Carnival and RCCL. We took my son's senior class on The Carnival Valor out of Galveston this past May 18' because it was cheap and short. The kids had a blast, but for me? I didn't like it at all. The pool deck was so loud and crazy. I saw really fat people (very obese) wearing bikinis, even a thong. The decor was, IMO tacky. The food in the dining room was good and that is all I will say that is positive. Oh, and our cabin steward was fine. I feel that there is a better class of people on RCCL. I am just a Royal Fan. I hope to do Alaska on Ovation next summer. We have a kid in college, so I have to work extra this year to save for the cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaniceB Posted July 30, 2018 #12 Share Posted July 30, 2018 I cruised from Galveston on the Breeze and LOS. The big differences were the pool area was bigger and I loved the serenity area and the lunch options on Breeze. I did like the shows on LOS. Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tatka Posted July 30, 2018 #13 Share Posted July 30, 2018 I feel the same way about Carnival and RCCL. We took my son's senior class on The Carnival Valor out of Galveston this past May 18' because it was cheap and short. The kids had a blast, but for me? I didn't like it at all. The pool deck was so loud and crazy. I saw really fat people (very obese) wearing bikinis, even a thong. The decor was, IMO tacky. The food in the dining room was good and that is all I will say that is positive. Oh, and our cabin steward was fine. I feel that there is a better class of people on RCCL. I am just a Royal Fan. I hope to do Alaska on Ovation next summer. We have a kid in college, so I have to work extra this year to save for the cruise. I agree with your assessment. Food and service aren’t the reasons we stopped cruising with Carnival after 3 honest attempts. Ambiance and ship decors are. This is our observation of pax/ambiance quality on all lines we sailed (on average, there are some exceptions, but they are very minor) Cunard Celebrity/HAL Princess RCCL NCL Carnival MSC is still under observation as on our 2 cruises majority was from overseas, so it was a healthy mix. If most folks are from here and prices are that low...results could be not as exciting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamTimeDining Posted July 30, 2018 #14 Share Posted July 30, 2018 I saw really fat people (very obese) wearing bikinis, even a thong. Thoughts and Prayers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gatour Posted July 30, 2018 #15 Share Posted July 30, 2018 You can't compare a short over the weekend cruise to a 7 day cruise. Shoot you can not necessary an over weekend cruise to that starts on Monday or Tuesday and ends on Thursday/Friday. As an example, a few years ago some of my wife's aunts and uncles wanted to take the Carnival 4 day cruise out of Jacksonville over a weekend. We booked with them. Then I started to look into it, the following cruise was a 5 day cruise. Added up the cost of the already booked 4 day cruise and the following 5 day cruise. The total cost was cheaper than what were were paying for 7 day cruises at the time. So turned the trip into a B2B Anyway when we boarded, it was readily apparent that people on-board ready to party and they did. A lot of 20 somethings, and groups of friends/coworkers looking for a good time. Then on turnaround day those left and the new passengers boarded. It was like a difference between night and day. The new crowd trended older (not necessarily retirement aged). The cruise was definetly more sedate. I find that if you compare like cruises between RCCL and Carnival you will find more similiarities than differrences. I feel the same way about Carnival and RCCL. We took my son's senior class on The Carnival Valor out of Galveston this past May 18' because it was cheap and short. The kids had a blast, but for me? I didn't like it at all. The pool deck was so loud and crazy. I saw really fat people (very obese) wearing bikinis, even a thong. The decor was, IMO tacky. The food in the dining room was good and that is all I will say that is positive. Oh, and our cabin steward was fine. I feel that there is a better class of people on RCCL. I am just a Royal Fan. I hope to do Alaska on Ovation next summer. We have a kid in college, so I have to work extra this year to save for the cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dacsmom Posted July 30, 2018 #16 Share Posted July 30, 2018 There are more similarities than differences. I go between RCI, Carnival, and NCL and have enjoyed every one. Food is so subjective but I like RCI dining room food, but Carnivals check in system much better. I like the shows on RCI a bit more. No Guys Burgers, Pig and Anchor, or Blue Iguana Cantina, or Seafood shack on RCI. More drink package options on RCI with varied price points. Carnival has Cheers only and is a bit more restrictive. Deluxe drink package is a bit more expensive but includes just about everything with no limit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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