RCI vs Carnival for budget cruise with my sister??

[leight]

She's a first time cruiser. This will be a short getaway in Jan/feb just the two of us. I've only been on one Carnival cruise, one of the smaller ships for a quick weekend getaway with hubby 7 years ago. We weren't impressed with the activities or shows. We do love RCI- especially the mega ships - love walking around the promenade, using the ice skating rink, seeing the shows. We also enjoyed lots of the games that RCI has done and didn't see them on the Carnival Elation.  Price is a major factor- she's coming from AZ to FL, so we are looking to keep it under $500 each which seems very doable for a 4 night cruise . I'm looking at either RCI navigator, Independance or Mariner vs Carnival Liberty or Paradise. Any thoughts or recommendations? Itinerary isn't as important- we don't plan to do excursions just relax without the kids and husbands. Price, activities like games(not bingo) and shows are the main consideration. It seems like RCI is $100 more for each for us- can anyone sell me on  Carnival?

[sparks1093]

We just returned from our first Royal cruise and we found Royal to be a bit better than CCL overall so if the difference is only $100pp I'd sail again with Royal without thinking about it (especially if it was with one of their older/smaller ships so I could better compare our experiences across the cruise lines).

[leight]

I just booked RCI Navigator for just about the same price I was looking at the Carnival cruise and we are very excited! 

[sparks1093]

Have a great cruise! We hope to cruise on one of Royal's older ships one day for a true comparison.