Carnival vs. Royal

[jbethel11]

8 minutes ago, schazzy said:

 

I see your point and my old "Get off my lawn!" self somewhat feels the same way now, but also I remember a hundred years ago when I was a teenager and what it was like. Did I NEED to be out running around after 1am? No. Did I do it anyways and had some very interesting experiences? Yes. If I could go back and do it again, I would in a heartbeat, weeeellllll, I might not do somethings again, but ya know...You're only young once. 

 

 

And I'm glad you can see where we old folks are coming from, we only have your best interests at heart, but like Will Smith said "Parents just don't understand" 

 

Exactly, studies show teenagers are the most “productive/active” at night! 😂

[motheroftwocats814]

I have sailed Oasis class ships as well as Carnival ships. I love the Oasis class ships..but, in my opinion, Carnival food is better. The staff and service I find to better on Carny as well. It really is very subjective. You can always try out Carny and if you don't like it..then go back to what you love. But it is a cruise after all. Enjoy and try not to be nervous. 

[jbethel11]

1 hour ago, klfrodo said:

No problem. I just think kids get a bad rap these days.

Everybody over 40 thanks their lucky stars every day that social media and camera phones weren't around when we were kids.

Kids do, because there are people who find the need to lick ice cream off the of the machine 😤. Hanging our with the wrong crowd. But then again some drunk individuals do the same exact thing, so ...

Edited February 17, 2019 by jbethel11
Forgot to add an “f” to “off”

[jbethel11]

3 minutes ago, motheroftwocats814 said:

I have sailed Oasis class ships as well as Carnival ships. I love the Oasis class ships..but, in my opinion, Carnival food is better. The staff and service I find to better on Carny as well. It really is very subjective. You can always try out Carny and if you don't like it..then go back to what you love. But it is a cruise after all. Enjoy and try not to be nervous. 

Yes. Last summer I went on the Carnival Horizon, and loved it, especially the Lanai. I went on the Harmony as well, and I didn’t like it as much, mainly because the crew just seemed upset half of the time. Also the little things Carnival does, just makes it so much better!

[schazzy]

8 minutes ago, rukkian said:

I know it kind of had the get off my lawn feel, I am well aware I am getting old 😀.

 No worries, it happens to us all 

[Palmetto Pilot]

3 hours ago, jbethel11 said:

The only problem with NCL is that it is too expensive! 4200 for 4 people in a Balcony with Free 3rd and 4th Guests to Bermuda in the beginning of June? Really NCL?

NCL is outrageously priced even with the "included" perks. My last NCL cruise was the Norway so it's been a while. I'd love to give them another shot, if the price is right. Celebrity is so attractive because they honor RCL loyalty.  

[BettyPC]

My dh and I have sailed both.  The food (IMO) is better on Carnival and the "your time dining" on Carnival is truly that.  On Royal I didn''t make reservations for each day - I was told I should have and to come back at 8:30 p.m.   So needless to say my next RC cruise I did book a time for dinner each day - hence defeating the purpose of "MY time dining".

[bizeemom4]

5 hours ago, motheroftwocats814 said:

I have sailed Oasis class ships as well as Carnival ships. I love the Oasis class ships..but, in my opinion, Carnival food is better. The staff and service I find to better on Carny as well. It really is very subjective. You can always try out Carny and if you don't like it..then go back to what you love. But it is a cruise after all. Enjoy and try not to be nervous. 

 

I agree. I've been on 2 Royal ships and quite a few Carnival. Carnival's food is so much better!

[jbethel11]

3 hours ago, Palmetto Pilot said:

NCL is outrageously priced even with the "included" perks. My last NCL cruise was the Norway so it's been a while. I'd love to give them another shot, if the price is right. Celebrity is so attractive because they honor RCL loyalty.  

Well, they need money to pay for their new ships, I guess. Maybe that is why Carnival is priced cheaper since they have much older ships. I suspect that when Wave Season is over, and the "Take All Perks" has ended, the prices would go down. Hopefully. 

[kdawg954]

Man, I have been dying to try a big boy Norwegian ship but it just prices itself out every single time.

 

I did the 3 day Sky and it left a terrible impression from a food and service perspective . . . Luckily it was dirt cheap and included basic alcohol.  The live music was also as good as any other ship I have been on.  Great Latin and Reggae artists.

 

Oh well one of these days.

 

[jbethel11]

3 minutes ago, kdawg954 said:

Man, I have been dying to try a big boy Norwegian ship but it just prices itself out every single time.

 

I did the 3 day Sky and it left a terrible impression from a food and service perspective . . . Luckily it was dirt cheap and included basic alcohol.  The live music was also as good as any other ship I have been on.  Great Latin and Reggae artists.

 

Oh well one of these days.

 

Book early on one of the Breakaway Class Ships (Breakaway, Getaway). The prices are high right now, but they should go down since the Bliss and the Encore will take the stage for the "must try" ships. I might follow suit.

[kdawg954]

Just now, jbethel11 said:

Book early on one of the Breakaway Class Ships (Breakaway, Getaway). The prices are high right now, but they should go down since the Bliss and the Encore will take the stage for the "must try" ships. I might follow suit.

 

Yea was eyeing the Breakaway in May and it came out more than $1200 more than the Fascination out of San Juan (with flights).

 

And the damn drink package doesn’t include speciality coffee, fresh squeezed juice or bottled water, plus you are dropping 20% gratuity.

 

They really price themselves out of their competition but I still will look.

 

 

[AmBear]

9 hours ago, jbethel11 said:

Well, they need money to pay for their new ships, I guess. Maybe that is why Carnival is priced cheaper since they have much older ships. I suspect that when Wave Season is over, and the "Take All Perks" has ended, the prices would go down. Hopefully. 

We cruised 92 days on Carnival in 2018, we will not cruise on Carnival in 2019 with current prices! Our offers have risen by a minimum 20-30%, over the last year on Carnival! New large ships offering a lot more cabins to sell will be launched the next several years, hopefully this will drive down prices!

[bizeemom4]

On 2/17/2019 at 9:13 PM, kdawg954 said:

 

Yea was eyeing the Breakaway in May and it came out more than $1200 more than the Fascination out of San Juan (with flights).

 

And the damn drink package doesn’t include speciality coffee, fresh squeezed juice or bottled water, plus you are dropping 20% gratuity.

 

They really price themselves out of their competition but I still will look.

Yes, except the Fascination is about 100 years old. I did the Freedom of the seas for just a small bit more than what Carnival is charging for Fascination. And it's night and day better!

On 2/17/2019 at 9:13 PM, kdawg954 said:

 

 

 

[BNBR]

I thought Carnivals buffet was disgusting. MDR pretty much the same as Royal, and the pizza/burgers/burritos better on Carnival. 

 

Overall Royal has a better product if you sail the big ships. Carnival can't compete with them. On similar size smaller ships, I'd probably prefer Carnival.  Great product and carnivals strong point is a lower price.  So expect less because you pay less but still great. 

[jimbo5544]

On 2/13/2019 at 8:54 PM, TomCruise48 said:

Biggest difference that we notice is that staff and crew on Carnival are more friendly and engaging.  On Carnival, stateroom stewards and dining room servers will almost always address you by your first name.  CCL entertainment staff is much more approachable and want to engage with guests.

We have a winner

[AmBear]

11 hours ago, bizeemom4 said:

Yes, except the Fascination is about 100 years old. I did the Freedom of the seas for just a small bit more than what Carnival is charging for Fascination. And it's night and day better!

 

True the Fascination is older, and smaller, (not 100 years)and offers less amenities, but COST does factor in to some cruisers decisions! Plus there are many cruisers who prefer the smaller ships cause the extra amenities don't mean anything to them, so to them the Fascination would be better! You may have gotten a good deal, but usually Carnival prices, (which have gone up recently) are lower then RCL!

[kdawg954]

11 hours ago, bizeemom4 said:

Yes, except the Fascination is about 100 years old. I did the Freedom of the seas for just a small bit more than what Carnival is charging for Fascination. And it's night and day better!

 

 

I mean how do you know its better if you didn’t go on the Fascination?

 

Sure the Freedom of the Seas is newer, bigger and has more amenities but those should be near the bottom of the list when talking about a San Juan Cruise.

 

Itinerary, Price, Food and Service are a much more important factors and my experiences on both cruiselines allow me to give the edge to Carnival in all 4 of those areas.

 

And I had the same decision to make last year . . . .the price difference was nearly $500 less on Carnival and the ship was only 2 months out of drydock and fully updated to the newest 2.0 amenities.

 

 Carnival just made more sense in that situation. 

[KmomChicago]

It’s tough when a well meaning commenter believes their “Better” is the whole story and applies universally.  Hardly applies just to cruising.  How many grocery stores are there? Aldi? Publix? Walmart? Whole Foods? Local corner shop? 

 

Too many variables, and too many individual preferences to have just one “Better.”

[schazzy]

40 minutes ago, KmomChicago said:

It’s tough when a well meaning commenter believes their “Better” is the whole story and applies universally.  Hardly applies just to cruising.  How many grocery stores are there? Aldi? Publix? Walmart? Whole Foods? Local corner shop? 

 

Too many variables, and too many individual preferences to have just one “Better.”

 

Exactly, especially considering what one person considers a pro, another considers it a con.

 

For example, using your grocery store analogy, We like ALDI and one of the things we like and is that they have motivated us to actually use our collection of reusable shopping bags and use less plastic and we consider that a pro because they offer lower prices because of things like that save them money. Others can consider those kind of things cons and will not shop there because of it. 

 

It's all about what you want and get from something that makes it the best for you. 

[cruisinagain1960]

so - my $.02, FWIW, my first cruise was on RC Majesty of the Seas, so smaller ship.  Loved everything about it.  MDR food was amazing, staff was wonderful.  I was not impressed with the buffet or the shows, but I did love the live music aspect of the shows.

 

I have cruised 2x on Carnival - Ecstasy of the Seas, so basically the same size ship. MDR has been hit or miss on our first Ecstasy cruise, the MDR food was not great at all - prime rib tasted like it had been boiled, burned baked potato - just not what I expected - the entertainment was good, no live music.  the second time we sailed Carnival - same ship - the food was wonderful, so maybe the first cruise was just a fluke.

 

As for the "party" atmosphere, I was concerned about that as well before my first Carnival cruise - I did NOT find the atmosphere to be much different than RC.  We tend to stay away from shorter itineraries, which I think does change the census onboard.

 

We are sailing Carnival again next week - out of Tampa this time.  And have a cruise booked with RC in October out of Baltimore.  And a Celebrity cruise booked out of Bayonne in June ; ))

 

For right now we really like sailing out of Charleston (4 hour drive and free parking for us), so we check Carnival first ; ))

 

[cruisinagain1960]

On 2/23/2019 at 6:52 AM, jimbo5544 said:

We have a winner

Absolutely agree with this - Carnival has it all over RC as far as their staff goes - Entertainment staff, CD all much more approachable than RC.

 

One other thing I like better about RC is that mid-range drink package that includes everything except alcohol.  I really wish Carnival would come out with something similar.  I'm not a big drinker so the alcohol package holds no interest for me.  But I do love the specialty coffees and mocktails that I could get on RC.

 

Edited February 24, 2019 by cruisinagain1960

[PlanoDebbie]

I've been on about a dozen Carnival cruises and only one on Royal.  (Allure of the Seas)

 

Entertainment on Royal was AMAZING!  The major musical production was Momma Mia.  Fabulous!  You have to "book" the shows on the Allure.  I have no experience on smaller RCL ships to know if this is fleetwide.  At first, I thought it was rather annoying, especially since I had to put an entire calendar of events together to make sure I didn't book a specialty dinner at the same time as a show.  Your ship card is scanned as you enter each show.  At 10 minutes to showtime, all remaining reservations are cancelled and they let the stand-by folks in.  Once the show starts, you are not allowed to enter the theater.  Love this part!  No more dealing with people crawling over you for the first 30 minutes of a show.  The Diving Show was spectacular as well.  I would give RCCL a 10+ on all of the entertainment, while Carnival is around a 6 or 7.

 

Food.  The MDR experience was fairly similar.  The biggest difference was in the buffet dining and specialty restaurants.  Their buffet dining space was way too small for this size ship.  There were long lines for breakfast and dinner pretty much every day.  They wouldn't let you even in the room unless there were seats available.  I know there are several other dining options that are "included" for breakfast and/or lunch, but with the size of this ship, I didn't feel like scoping out each of them to find a seat.  Most of the other venues didn't seat more than about 60-75 people.  Quality of food was very similar.  Specialty restaurants on RCCL were awesome.  We ate dinner at a different one nearly every night.  All were well worth it.

 

Adult area.  RCCL gets my vote for the adult area on the Allure.  The spas were about the size of the Aft pool on Carnival.  It was nice to relax and not deal with a spa filled with kids or teens.  The Allure also had a very nice pool in the adult area.

 

Cabin.  Rooms were pretty similar.  We booked a balcony guarantee on Royal, knowing that we would probably be given an inside balcony.  We didn't spend more than 15 minutes all week on the balcony.  We felt like peeping Toms because across the center area were all of the other inside facing balconies.  If the curtains were open, you could see into every single cabin.  It made us keep our curtains closed most of the week for that reason.  The TV service was horrible.  Every channel would cut out and make loud noises every few minutes.

 

Size of ship.  The Allure was an absolutely beautiful ship, but it was a LOT of walking for everything.  I was logging 8,000 to 10,000 steps every day on the ship.  It was exhausting.

 

Price.  Gotta give this one to Carnival.

 

 

[rukkian]

10 minutes ago, PlanoDebbie said:

I've been on about a dozen Carnival cruises and only one on Royal.  (Allure of the Seas)

 

Entertainment on Royal was AMAZING!  The major musical production was Momma Mia.  Fabulous!  You have to "book" the shows on the Allure.  I have no experience on smaller RCL ships to know if this is fleetwide.  At first, I thought it was rather annoying, especially since I had to put an entire calendar of events together to make sure I didn't book a specialty dinner at the same time as a show.  Your ship card is scanned as you enter each show.  At 10 minutes to showtime, all remaining reservations are cancelled and they let the stand-by folks in.  Once the show starts, you are not allowed to enter the theater.  Love this part!  No more dealing with people crawling over you for the first 30 minutes of a show.  The Diving Show was spectacular as well.  I would give RCCL a 10+ on all of the entertainment, while Carnival is around a 6 or 7.

 

Food.  The MDR experience was fairly similar.  The biggest difference was in the buffet dining and specialty restaurants.  Their buffet dining space was way too small for this size ship.  There were long lines for breakfast and dinner pretty much every day.  They wouldn't let you even in the room unless there were seats available.  I know there are several other dining options that are "included" for breakfast and/or lunch, but with the size of this ship, I didn't feel like scoping out each of them to find a seat.  Most of the other venues didn't seat more than about 60-75 people.  Quality of food was very similar.  Specialty restaurants on RCCL were awesome.  We ate dinner at a different one nearly every night.  All were well worth it.

 

Adult area.  RCCL gets my vote for the adult area on the Allure.  The spas were about the size of the Aft pool on Carnival.  It was nice to relax and not deal with a spa filled with kids or teens.  The Allure also had a very nice pool in the adult area.

 

Cabin.  Rooms were pretty similar.  We booked a balcony guarantee on Royal, knowing that we would probably be given an inside balcony.  We didn't spend more than 15 minutes all week on the balcony.  We felt like peeping Toms because across the center area were all of the other inside facing balconies.  If the curtains were open, you could see into every single cabin.  It made us keep our curtains closed most of the week for that reason.  The TV service was horrible.  Every channel would cut out and make loud noises every few minutes.

 

Size of ship.  The Allure was an absolutely beautiful ship, but it was a LOT of walking for everything.  I was logging 8,000 to 10,000 steps every day on the ship.  It was exhausting.

 

Price.  Gotta give this one to Carnival.

 

 

You are spot on for the allure, we absolutely loved it.  We are doing a magic cruise this time, and will be able to see the differences.  

[Steve551]

On 2/13/2019 at 4:28 PM, Idacruiser77 said:

Before I get in to it I know there are a million places to find people bickering back and forth about which line is better, I just thought I'd add another 😉

 

Anyway, my wife and I are headed out on the Carnival Magic later this year and to be completely honest I'm a bit nervous. We have 5 cruises under our belts with RCCL and have always stayed away from Carnival. No particular reason, I chalk it up to having tried Royal first and just being blown away by the "WOW factor" and being afraid to veer away from it. Our last 3 have been on Oasis Class ships and I'm worried that has spoiled us beyond repair. Thoughts on that?

 

Our first cruise together was on the Mariner OTS and the Magic seems to be pretty comparable to that. Those of you that have been on both/either, what are your thoughts?

 

We're younger but aren't big partiers. Mostly enjoying a few drinks throughout the day, relaxing on the balcony, and checking everything out. No excursions, maybe a show here and there, no specialty dining unless we really want to try it.  What are the BIG differences between the two lines and ships? What makes or breaks it for you?

 

Thanks in advance everyone!

I have been on 18 Carnival cruises and 12 or so RCCL.  I have cruised on every other major cruise line as well, although you didn't ask about them.

 

IMHO there are no ships anywhere that compare to the Oasis Class ships. The first time I cruised on an Oasis Class ship I told my wife that the next time we need to book a 14-day cruise just to enjoy everything that the ships offers.

 

If I were to compare any CCL ship/RCCL (Oasis Class):

Entertainment (shows) RCCL would win hands down!

Entertainment (venues like clubs) RCCL again wins hands down!

Food in the MDR, I feel that these are comparable. We do not eat at the buffets so I can't help you there.

Specialty restaurants, once again my vote goes to RCCL Although I do enjoy Carnival's Guy's Burgers and their BBQ.

Casino: I am a poker player and I prefer live dealers over Carnival's poker machines.

 

If any CCL ship and a RCCL Oasis Class were both offering an itinerary I wanted I would pick the Oasis Class ship, even if it were a bit more expensive.

 

Just my opinion, I'm sure that there are many who would disagree.