compare carnival and royal caribbean

[fsuprincess]

hello all,

last year my friends and i went on a cruise with carnival (we had an inside room), it was a lot of fun but there were some things that we really didnt care for, so we decided this year to go with RC (we got an outside room with a window...yay). Last year and this year we will be going to the bahamas. I was wondering, has anyone been on both ships before (carnival- Fantasy/ RC- sov. of seas)?? How do they compare? What are the approximate sizes of the rooms on carnival (i couldnt find that). Did you like one better than the other? We will be going for spring break so i know that it will be kind of crazy, hopefully not the drunken stuper from last year (vomit in the halls...... ewww:eek: ). Anyway, any help would be great.

FSUPrincess

Anyone that has gone to the Bahamas... what are some good excursions (last year was nothing but shopping)... Thanks again. :)

[Katie333]

I've been on Carnival Paradise and the SOS, liked both but probably liked Carnival more. I should clarify first that I will likely be the exception that prefers Carnival to RCI. Many people have complaints about the party atmosphere, decor and food on Carnival. Our cruise was pretty quiet aboard Carnival. Surprisingly our cruise on SOS was somewhat 'boring' and the crowd was relatively older than I thought it would be. On Spring Break I'm sure this will not be the case, likely a party atmosphere to be sure.

 

Here's my two cents:

 

Carnival Big staterooms, many different activities, decent food. Crazy

decor, party atmosphere

 

RCI SOS Tiny staterooms, nice decor, food ok (thought Princess was

far superior and even Carnival), somewhat lacking in amenities

[lv2crooz2]

Princess, you have asked the question that will never get answered!:) That said, I have sailed on both ships. My two cents would go to RCL. SOS was in drydock and I understand she looks great. Fantasy was more like "nightmare" for us. Remember that these ships are the older ships of the two fleets. Go to both websites and take the virtual tours. That might help you make up your mind. You can't lose....you'll be cruisin', right?:D

[Rockin' Rhonda]

I've been on the Carnival Ecstacy (inside single room) and RCCL Rhapsody of the Seas (ocean view regular room shared w/ my BF and her hubby). We all pretty much agreed we enjoyed Carnival more. In our case, our room stewards were much better and attentive on Carnival, the food in the dining room was quite a bit better. However, entertainment on RCCL was much more enjoyable than on Carnival.

 

OH - and the rooms on Carnival are quite a bit larger.

 

Needless to say, I'm sailing on Carnival Elation in one month. And probably on Carnival Conquest in October. It's a little less expensive also.

 

There's my two cents worth. Any specific questions, please ask.

[caviargal]

hello all,

last year my friends and i went on a cruise with carnival (we had an inside room), it was a lot of fun but there were some things that we really didnt care for, so we decided this year to go with RC (we got an outside room with a window...yay). Last year and this year we will be going to the bahamas. I was wondering, has anyone been on both ships before (carnival- Fantasy/ RC- sov. of seas)?? How do they compare? What are the approximate sizes of the rooms on carnival (i couldnt find that). Did you like one better than the other? We will be going for spring break so i know that it will be kind of crazy, hopefully not the drunken stuper from last year (vomit in the halls...... ewww:eek: ). Anyway, any help would be great.

FSUPrincess

Anyone that has gone to the Bahamas... what are some good excursions (last year was nothing but shopping)... Thanks again. :)

 

I have been on both ships, SOS several times. Yes, both will be crazy at spring break.

 

I prefer SOS to Fantasy for several reasons:

 

- Fantasy is dark and neon, SOS is light and bright

- Love the Champagne Bar on SOS, it is my fav spot on the ship

- Prefer food on SOS

- great gym and fitness program on SOS

- Prefer nightlife on SOS

 

Fantasy has larger cabins. IMO, that was the only thing I preferred.

 

I do not do excursions in Nassau so cannot comment there.

[momofmeg]

I have not been on fanasty but I have been on two fanasty class ships. The 2 that I were on- as caviergal says- were pretty ugly-but one thing I did like was the rooms both inside and oceanview were roomy and the bathrooms the biggest I have been in-even on our HAL cruise our bathroom was smaller and Disney's split bath was no roomier- and on the Carnival Miracle, our extended balcony bathroom was dinky.

 

So those ships were great if you have more then 2 people in your stateroom.

 

Now Soverign has dinky rooms-we have done Sovereign twice-but the second time we booked 2 inside rooms-we considered booking an oceanview but decided room wise we would just go with 2 insides.

 

Sovereign is a beautiful ship-a very nice cruise for the money you pay-but realize the staterooms are dinky. I know our first cruise-hubby slept in sweat pants. He would leave and go up on the lido-so our daughter could dress-then she would leave so he could dress.

 

On that cruise the steward offered to make our two twin beds into a queen but we said "no thanks" as whenever our daughter would need to go to the bathroom during the night she would have no choice but to step on our bed-she slept in an upper berth.

 

But as I said we booked Sovereign again-we just the next time booked a separate stateroom for our daughter and we still felt the price was reasonable-I think it cost us only about $150 more then if we had booked an oceanview for the 3 of us and much, much MORE room for us that way.

[momofmeg]

I've been on Carnival Paradise and the SOS, liked both but probably liked Carnival more. I should clarify first that I will likely be the exception that prefers Carnival to RCI. Many people have complaints about the party atmosphere, decor and food on Carnival. Our cruise was pretty quiet aboard Carnival. Surprisingly our cruise on SOS was somewhat 'boring' and the crowd was relatively older than I thought it would be. On Spring Break I'm sure this will not be the case, likely a party atmosphere to be sure.

 

Here's my two cents:

 

Carnival Big staterooms, many different activities, decent food. Crazy

decor, party atmosphere

 

RCI SOS Tiny staterooms, nice decor, food ok (thought Princess was

far superior and even Carnival), somewhat lacking in amenities

I have been told that Carnival Paradise is the exception to the other fanasty class ships in the decor-it was designed for non-smokers in mind so not the loud neonish decor-both Fascination and Inspiration were down right UGLY but I did enjoy the nice statrerooms.

[jacketwatch]

:cool: We preferred the Destiny to the SOS. The food was much better though I'd say the shows on the latter were better. Do remember that itinerary and ship age also make a difference. The newer Carnival ships I hear are really good and a more upscale itineray draws a different crowd. I did not know the SOS has been refitted. I suppose it was time. :)

[Kudos2Fly]

I have been on Carnival and Royal Carribbean will be in Dec 2006. I did some research on the rooms. RC is smaller, they have 3 different size for the inside room 134sq ft, 154sq. ft, and 172 sq. ft. The ocean view is 154sq. ft. Carnival inside and ocean view are 186 sq. ft.

 

I think it depends on what you like for cruising. We went on a family cruise on Celebrity and we found it a bet boring. I'm hopping RC will be more fun.

 

We opted to get a balcony on RC. I like the size of that room... Looking forward to see what Royal Caribbean is like.

[Ehpride]

I actually kind of liked the decor on the Inspiration. It just seemed fun and kind of crazy to me, not ugly. And the Mardi Gras dining room was very tastefully done imo. Our cabin was plenty big enough for 3 adults, even with three beds on the floor.

[momofmeg]

I actually kind of liked the decor on the Inspiration. It just seemed fun and kind of crazy to me, not ugly. And the Mardi Gras dining room was very tastefully done imo. Our cabin was plenty big enough for 3 adults, even with three beds on the floor.

 

That is because you are young-I did not like that lido restuarant decor at all-reminded me of the "bat cave" from that 1960 TV series Batman. RCCL"s ships at least the 2 I have been on were much more tastefully decorated. I was on Sovereign before the refurbish-but even then the decor was nice.

 

Carnival is more "neon" and "Las Vegas" in their decor-I did find though carnival Miracle with the exception of the famous fushia grapes in the dinningroom alot more attractive-that ship was mostly decorated in tans, creams, browns, aqua and light teal-so much much more subdued then Inspiration and Fascination.

 

Not that decor is the big thing for me-I can have fun on any ship-and when it comes down to it I do not pick a ship by decor-I was only saying Caviergal was right-and since the orginal post had already been on Fanasty-I guess they already know Carnival decor-but as they had booked SOS-my suggestion was that they book more then one stateroom if there is more then 2 people. That is what they were asking-how big were the staterooms and if there was a considerable differance in the size of the staterooms on the 2 ships.

[Cotton]

hello all,

What are the approximate sizes of the rooms on carnival (i couldnt find that).

 

Carnival's basic inside cabins are almost 190 sq.ft., which is approximately 50+ sq.ft. larger than other lines.:) The suites, of course, are larger.

 

........hopefully not the drunken stuper from last year (vomit in the halls...... ewww:eek: ).

 

Now that is disgusting. Eww is right! In ten Carnival cruises (plus Princess and NCL), I've never, ever experienced any sight like that! Nor have I seen anybody who was roaring drunk, just happy cruisers. Ok, an exception - only once did I see a guy having to be helped back to his cabin.

 

To paraphrase someone above - It's a cruise, and you'll have a good time on any ship.

[Kudos2Fly]

I don't think age has anything to do with it. My husband and I love Carnival and he is in his 50's and I'm in my 30's. Its just your own personality on what you perfer and like.

 

Neither have I experience any drinking problems then what you would find normaly . I have always had nice experiences on any ship we have been on.

[caviargal]

I don't think age has anything to do with it. My husband and I love Carnival and he is in his 50's and I'm in my 30's. Its just your own personality on what you perfer and like.

 

I agree. There were plenty of seniors having a great time on my cruises with CCL.

 

I have been on Carnival (different ships) at 35, 42, and 49 and it is just NOT my cup of tea, no matter what my age.

[waterrats]

We love spending time by the pools. We haven't cruised on Carnival yet but from all the pics I have seen from their ships, the pools don't look as inviting as on Princess and Royal Caribbean. On these two cruiselines, the pools have side areas that the water washes up on and you can sit on the sides of the pool. All the pics of Carnival pools show at least a one foot drop to the water from the sides of the pool. It also appears that if you are in the pool, you may just be able to see the lounge chairs because of the way these pools are designed.

[momofmeg]

hello all,

What are the approximate sizes of the rooms on carnival (i couldnt find that).

 

Carnival's basic inside cabins are almost 190 sq.ft., which is approximately 50+ sq.ft. larger than other lines.:) The suites, of course, are larger.

 

........hopefully not the drunken stuper from last year (vomit in the halls...... ewww:eek: ).

 

Now that is disgusting. Eww is right! In ten Carnival cruises (plus Princess and NCL), I've never, ever experienced any sight like that! Nor have I seen anybody who was roaring drunk, just happy cruisers. Ok, an exception - only once did I see a guy having to be helped back to his cabin.

 

To paraphrase someone above - It's a cruise, and you'll have a good time on any ship.

 

In ten cruises, 4 of them Carnival I have never run into vomit in the hallways. I have only had a couple of negative experiences with drunks. Two were on sovereign of the Seas. this was a 3 day weekend cruise. we had an obnoxiopus drunk guy in the dinningroom the first night-two tables away-he kept cursing his wife/companion? and the waiters. He was NOT removed from the dinningroom but thankfully the next two nights we did not see him. that same cruise we had a bunch of partying inmature college students throwing one another fully clothed into the swimming pool. My first SOS was nothing like this-so I felt this cruise was because it was a 3 day that fell over the weekend-so I recommend when taking a mini cruise take one that falls over the week days instead of the weekend.

 

My other experiences with drunks was on carnival Miracle from our balcony we heard a drunk couple fighting about 2a.m. one night-they woke us up-they were like 2 decks above us and to the side a little bit so not directly above us-the fight went on about 10 minutes and I was getting ready to call security when they shut up so I figured someone else beat me to it. That was also a 3 day weekend cruise-but that cruise we had paid 3 times the price of the SOS cruise-Miracle was brand new then and the cruises were going for premium prices. but that just reminded me that I no longer want to do 3 day weekend mini cruises.

 

My last bad experience with a drunk was this past fall on Mariner of the Seas. There was one loud obnoxious drunk guy in the piano bar one night. He kept yelling out requests for songs-the singer just ignored him at first-then the guy got nasty because the singer took other's requests who OFCOURSE had tipped the singer-the guy yelled he had made his request first-the singer told him he took PAYING requests first. The next thing I knew this guy pulls out a $10 bill and makes a big deal showing everyone that he was putting that in the singer's tip glass. We left not long after that-I was afraid there would be a showdown. Then if that was not bad enough I see this guy after we disembarked-he boards the Radisson shuttle like us-I am thinking"oh no!" but fortunately this guy was mild and quiet-I guess he is an entirely differant person sober. Now that was a 7 day cruise-so I guess we can run into low class people no matter what cruise we are on-but I still feel the odds are more likely on the 3 day cheap weekend curise.

 

But THANKFULLY I have no vomit stories-I think that would be enough to turn me OFF cruising.

[Happy ks]

Some interesting comments. Especially the one about Paradise not having loud, garish neon because it was built for non-smokers. I never realized smokers were partial to bad decorating.

 

I've only been on Carnival Ecstacy and RCL Monarch, both in the same classes (I think) that you are asking about. If the Carnival ship had been our first cruise, we never would have cruised again. I was warned about it, but no, I had to spend all that money to see for ourselves. I've been on Monarch 3 times and would go again any day. I do have another cruise booked on her, but not for quite some time. I would not even consider Paradise after our one Carnival cruise, I know it's not fair, but I just can't do it. Interestingly, I've priced them out for comparison and RCI always comes in cheaper for us, even if I price one cabin for the 4 of us on Carnival rather than the 2 cabins on Monarch.

 

I do have to say, the food and entertainment are about the same. So, it comes down to ambience for us. Being the non-smokers that we are, we like the elegance of RCI as opposed to the loud decor of Carnival.

[eangel12]

My husband and I are trying to make the choice between Carnival Miracle and Royal Carribean Legend of the Seas. The ships are making the same stops. We are in our late 20's. Neither of us drink or smoke. We do like to dance though, love to swim and LOVE food. Any opinions or suggestions?? We really would like a nice, relaxing vacation with good food and beautiful views!

[fig414]

Waterrats

What do you know about Carnival? You admit you have never been on a CCL cruise. Save your comments.

 

Love ya

[momofmeg]

Some interesting comments. Especially the one about Paradise not having loud, garish neon because it was built for non-smokers. I never realized smokers were partial to bad decorating.

 

I've only been on Carnival Ecstacy and RCL Monarch, both in the same classes (I think) that you are asking about. If the Carnival ship had been our first cruise, we never would have cruised again. I was warned about it, but no, I had to spend all that money to see for ourselves. I've been on Monarch 3 times and would go again any day. I do have another cruise booked on her, but not for quite some time. I would not even consider Paradise after our one Carnival cruise, I know it's not fair, but I just can't do it. Interestingly, I've priced them out for comparison and RCI always comes in cheaper for us, even if I price one cabin for the 4 of us on Carnival rather than the 2 cabins on Monarch.

 

I do have to say, the food and entertainment are about the same. So, it comes down to ambience for us. Being the non-smokers that we are, we like the elegance of RCI as opposed to the loud decor of Carnival.

 

 

Statics show non smokers usually drink less, gamble less and spend less money- are more subdued as a rule-now I was never on Carnival Paradise but I have aquaintances who love Carnival and they said Carnival Paradise was in their words "boring" and that the casino was empty everytime they went in there. They hated that ship and they have been on like 15 carnival cruises. what most of us complain about carnival cruises is what these people loved. I guess there are plenty of people like them-because Carnival sure makes the money-if I were buying stock in a cruiseline I would pick Carnival for sure.

 

My guess is that is why it is now a smoking ship-we all know the lines make their money on alochol and the casino. I have read posts from time to time from differant people saying they wished there was a nonsmoking ship but my guess until the non smokers start spending more money that will never happen.

[momofmeg]

My husband and I are trying to make the choice between Carnival Miracle and Royal Carribean Legend of the Seas. The ships are making the same stops. We are in our late 20's. Neither of us drink or smoke. We do like to dance though, love to swim and LOVE food. Any opinions or suggestions?? We really would like a nice, relaxing vacation with good food and beautiful views!

 

I was on the Miracle when she was brand new-everything was great then-and plenty of live music in both the smoking and non smoking lounges. She had two huge pools and one smaller adults only pool. She also had that superslide.

 

We did not get to do Nick and Nora's as they were booked solid but I found the food in the main dining room superb and top quality-the gourmet dishes tasted wonderful. That was my problem with RCCL-you know fatty prime rib, cucumber and pumpkin soups not tasting quality etc. I was fine with the windjammer food-simple roast beef, ham, salads and steamed vegs. can't be ruined and I prefer eating stuff like that to "gourmet food" not done well. Now I am talking about MOS, a voyager class ship-LOS is a smaller ship so the food may be better and Chops on MOS was superb-I did not go to Portofinos but my husband and daughter did and they loved Porotfinos. I keep reading posts from people saying the food on all the mega ships- no matter the line- is just not good- outside of the specality restuarants/supper clubs.

 

Back to the Miracle-as I said-she was less then 6 weeks old when I cruised her-four months earlier I had cruised on the Inspiration and that was just a medicore ship-so my experience on Inspiration was not the Miracle for sure-and I wondered if Carnival was just pulling out all the stops because of the Miracle being brand new. She is 2 years old now so she may not be as nice.

 

I will say this-my daughter loves the discos and karoke lounges on Carnival ships. She is 21- but beware those are smoking lounges- so if you have an allergy to smoke you will not enjoy them. That is my daughter's problem-she loves those lounges but she can't stay very long because of her allergies to smoke.

 

Meg also loves the neon decor. That is what I meant about younger liking Carnival's decor better then the older ones. (Ephide is about Meg's age) I have done four Carnival cruises and enjoyed them mostly although I did not enjoy the Inspiration cruise so much but I have never liked the decor so much on Carnival ships. Now the Miracle was not quite so "neon" outside of those famous dinningroom fushia grapes-not tasteful for sure-but I guess carnival had to put a little '"CARNIVAL" on the Miracle since she's a Carnival ship but overall the Miracle is much more attractive then the fanasty class ships I have been on .

[mutual]

My wife and I did the Panama Canal with Carnival on the Holiday and we did Mediteranean/Transatlantic with Royal Caribbean on Brilliance of the Seas. Based on these experiences, we'll NEVER travel on Carnival again.

 

Arrival/departure were an absolute nighmares with Carnival. Animals going to a slaughterhouse get treated better. Onboard Carnival was ok, but Royal Caribbean was excellent. Better food, better cabin, better atmosphere, better overall treatment.

[Ehpride]

I don't think it's really age that attracts you to decor or not. My mom also liked the decor and so did my grandma. It didn't seem too garish to me. It had almost an art deco feel. Just kind of fun and different from the normal decor that I see. It just might not be for everyone.

 

To the OP, I didn't notice any overdrunkeness. I didn't drink very much and while I did see some people overindulging, the only vomit I saw was on the last sea day because of the rough seas.

 

As far as embarking and debarking, I thought everything went pretty smoothly. Everyone was very helpful and when they could see my grandma having problems, they would direct her to elevators or give her a hand. Of course, we waited a little bit to get off the ship after they called for a general debarking and that helped with the lines and finding our luggage.

[jayzee]

We have cruised on Carnival, Celebrity and RCI - Although we only did RCI once, we really enjoyed it. Celebrity is a bit more subdued, but we are those "low-life" people that MomofMeg referred to earlier and we tend to imbibe a bit while we are on vacation. That said, my husband would never swear at me in the dining room:eek:.

 

Carnival pools are not as nice as the ones on RCI - that little rim around the pool is very nice if you don't actually want to jump in, but just to soak your feet or even sit in four inches of water! Even though I love to swim, I hardly ever go in the pools, just lay by them and read once in awhile.

 

Carnival does have a bit more party flavor to it, but both my mother and mother in law came on a five day Carnival cruise with us and they had a blast! I don't think they really saw any heavy drinking as they weren't actually looking for it. However, if you were on the Triumph in November, you probably ran into a couple of drunk 21 year olds that we took along (dd and friend), but I am hoping they didn't deposit any vomit anywhere - yuck!!

 

Any way you slice it, it's your vacation and you will enjoy it!! Smaller rooms and all:)

[waterrats]

Waterrats

What do you know about Carnival? You admit you have never been on a CCL cruise. Save your comments.

 

Love ya

 

Fig - shouldn't you be on your cruise? Not sure which week it was suppose to be. We are trying to get on a Carnival cruise in April with the kids but the prices are way toooooo high at the moment. We are currently going to Orlando for a few day and then to St. Pete Beach for the rest of the week and returned to DC on Easter. Have fun on your cruise. Too bad you can't join us in September.

 

We will be in St. Pete Beach for you B-day and Kellys.