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Carnival vs Royal Caribbean


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14 minutes ago, CanTex said:


I fully agree with this.  Frankly, making Your Time Dining table requests through Carnival's HUB app is the slickest experience I've had with this. We make our requests while getting ready for dinner and wait time is rarely more than 10-15 minutes from that point, so we literally walk right up to the dining room and are seated immediately.

 

Yes! I was skeptical the first time we used the app for a table request, but I am a believer now! We put our request in as we leave our cabin, then swing by the atrium bar for a glass of wine. We have always been notified that our table is ready by the time we are handed our wine.

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16 hours ago, BNBR said:

 

You show up early, great.  My point was that it's pretty well established that NCL does freestyle dining the best.  You have a different experience, cool.

 

18 minutes ago, CanTex said:


I fully agree with this.  Frankly, making Your Time Dining table requests through Carnival's HUB app is the slickest experience I've had with this. We make our requests while getting ready for dinner and wait time is rarely more than 10-15 minutes from that point, so we literally walk right up to the dining room and are seated immediately.

 

I agree with both of these statements.  NCL really has a handle on Anytime Dining, but using the Hub App on Carnival makes it easy also.  On our Magic cruise earlier this month, there was a line for people who don't use the app for making a reservation, not everyone has a smart phone.  My suggestion would be for Carnival to have kiosks near the dining room for this purpose or make it available on the tv's in your cabin.  I haven't been on the Vista or Horizon lately so maybe it is already available on these ships.  I also have to add, the only reason I knew to make a reservation on the app was because the hostess in the MDR told us to do it this way.  There wasn't any information about it, they need to advertise it to the passengers better. 

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3 minutes ago, nofocruiser said:

 

 

I agree with both of these statements.  NCL really has a handle on Anytime Dining, but using the Hub App on Carnival makes it easy also.  On our Magic cruise earlier this month, there was a line for people who don't use the app for making a reservation, not everyone has a smart phone.  My suggestion would be for Carnival to have kiosks near the dining room for this purpose or make it available on the tv's in your cabin.  I haven't been on the Vista or Horizon lately so maybe it is already available on these ships.  I also have to add, the only reason I knew to make a reservation on the app was because the hostess in the MDR told us to do it this way.  There wasn't any information about it, they need to advertise it to the passengers better. 

It is available on Vista, Horizon and all of the other newer ships (about half so far) and is being extended to the other ships over time. I heard / saw them promoting using it on Vista and Dream.

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12 hours ago, CanTex said:

It is available on Vista, Horizon and all of the other newer ships (about half so far) and is being extended to the other ships over time. I heard / saw them promoting using it on Vista and Dream.

Thank you, that's good to know.  Maybe they did promote it on the Magic and I missed it, but I usually notice things like that.  My guess is that they weren't promoting it on the Magic and I tried to use the tv on the Magic but no joy there.  The ability to see your photos, the dinner menu etc was one of the things about the Vista/Horizon that impressed me.

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1 hour ago, nofocruiser said:

Thank you, that's good to know.  Maybe they did promote it on the Magic and I missed it, but I usually notice things like that.  My guess is that they weren't promoting it on the Magic and I tried to use the tv on the Magic but no joy there.  The ability to see your photos, the dinner menu etc was one of the things about the Vista/Horizon that impressed me.

I am pretty sure it is rolled out fleet wide, I know it is on the last 6 ships we have been on (Horizon, Vista, Sunrise, Sunshine, Breeze, and Pride.  We are on Legend next week and it is also on her. 

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15 hours ago, Aquahound said:

 

My opinion is totally opposite of BNBR's.  Ever since the cruise lines went to anytime dining, it's all I have done.  To this day, NCL is the only line I've been handed a pager and made to wait.....and not just once.  It was consistent.  On Dawn, the wait was upwards of an hour.  To try to appease all the people waiting, they walked around handing out free champagne....you know, the really awful kind.  I also don't agree with the "good food" comment.  NCL has consistently been the worst free dining I've had on any line.

 

JMHO. 🙂

We always showed up right when the MDR was opened and were seated right away and by the time we left there was a very substantial line. It's been awhile since we've sailed NCL (for price reasons alone) but waiting to be seated was the norm we witnessed.

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22 hours ago, BNBR said:

 

Multiple venues, usually no wait, good food, and just a very smooth experience.  There is a lot of complaints about it on Carnival and Royal.  You show up early and avoid those issues, but most don't.  NCL simply runs it more smoothly as it's what they primarily do.

Looks like AQUAHOUND does not agree.

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On 12/28/2019 at 8:19 AM, nofocruiser said:

 

There are differences in the cruise lines themselves, I read that someone didn't like the dancing waiters on Carnival, the last 2 Royal cruises we took the waiter danced in the MDR on at least 2 occasions, something I hadn't seen on Royal before.  I don't know if it is ship specific or if they are trying new things, but they did dance and sing.  I am not a fan of the dancing waiters, it breaks up dinner service and if the service is already on the slow side it gets worse.

I'm the one that mentioned dancing in the MDR. Did the wait staff on Royal dance on raised platforms to 'club' songs? Back before MTD, I do know the waiters on Royal sang and danced, but it was more 'show tune' type singing and dancing - it was between courses so didn't interrupt dining. It was also classier feeling than the club vibe on Carnival during Flo Rida's "Low" 😕 It was amusing watching elderly people putting up with the club atmosphere entertainment though...until the night some drunk girl stood up in her booth seat screaming and yelling the song...I thought clothes were going to start coming off next, lol.

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17 hours ago, palmettostatecruiser said:

I'm the one that mentioned dancing in the MDR. Did the wait staff on Royal dance on raised platforms to 'club' songs? Back before MTD, I do know the waiters on Royal sang and danced, but it was more 'show tune' type singing and dancing - it was between courses so didn't interrupt dining. It was also classier feeling than the club vibe on Carnival during Flo Rida's "Low" 😕 It was amusing watching elderly people putting up with the club atmosphere entertainment though...until the night some drunk girl stood up in her booth seat screaming and yelling the song...I thought clothes were going to start coming off next, lol.

I can't remember the songs that they sung, it was a popular Top 40 song within the last 10 years or so.  But honestly there is bound to be someone that doesn't like the song choice.  You may like show tunes while others don't, I Iike most types of music but anytime they sing during my dinner is unwelcome.   I understand that you may not like a specific genre or song, but there are others who do and the cruiselines are trying to appeal to a certain market.  I didn't feel that it was any classier on Royal than it is on Carnival.  It isn't the song choice, it is that they are interrupting dinner with dancing and singing, and I was trying to make the point that Royal does this as well, it's not just a Carnival phenomenom. 

 

 

 

 

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12 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

With Carnival being chosen best domestic cruise line 3 years running, the point here is fairly moot.


What is your source for this?  I just googled best domestic cruise lines and Carnival was not listed number one on any site I looked at. I have been loyal to Carnival for years and not trying to knock them, but a simple google search does not support your comment. 

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1 hour ago, nofocruiser said:

I can't remember the songs that they sung, it was a popular Top 40 song within the last 10 years or so.  But honestly there is bound to be someone that doesn't like the song choice.  You may like show tunes while others don't, I Iike most types of music but anytime they sing during my dinner is unwelcome.   I understand that you may not like a specific genre or song, but there are others who do and the cruiselines are trying to appeal to a certain market.  I didn't feel that it was any classier on Royal than it is on Carnival.  It isn't the song choice, it is that they are interrupting dinner with dancing and singing, and I was trying to make the point that Royal does this as well, it's not just a Carnival phenomenom. 

 

 

 

 

It's not that I don't like the songs - heck, I love hip-hop and rap, show tunes not so much - it's just the selection to the venue was weird IMO. We don't eat in the MDR on Royal every night anymore and do MTD when we do, so haven't seen the dancing you mentioned yet. But, if we did, be assured that I would think it was weird on a Royal ship as well🤣 

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14 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

With Carnival being chosen best domestic cruise line 3 years running, the point here is fairly moot.

 

1 hour ago, PhillyFan33579 said:


What is your source for this?  I just googled best domestic cruise lines and Carnival was not listed number one on any site I looked at. I have been loyal to Carnival for years and not trying to knock them, but a simple google search does not support your comment. 

Same - source please...because when I google it, I get:

 

Screenshot_2019-12-31-10-41-28_kindlephoto-232354909.png

 

🤷‍♀️

Edited by palmettostatecruiser
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I think this is the source -- it's a Cruise Critic ranking:

https://cruisefever.net/carnival-named-best-cruise-line-for-the-money/


 

12 minutes ago, palmettostatecruiser said:

 

Same - source please...because when I google it, I get:

 

Screenshot_2019-12-31-10-41-28_kindlephoto-232354909.png

 

🤷‍♀️

https://cruisefever.net/carnival-named-best-cruise-line-for-the-money/

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This post has devolved into a cheerleader back-and-forth. Both lines are very successful at what they do, and they're also not trying to pretend they're something that they're not. While both have nice ships and niches of exclusivity in their offerings, they're not upscale lines -- their parent companies have lots of other options for those markets. I think the OPs original question has been answered...

Edited by CanTex
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2 hours ago, CanTex said:

This post has devolved into a cheerleader back-and-forth. Both lines are very successful at what they do, and they're also not trying to pretend they're something that they're not. While both have nice ships and niches of exclusivity in their offerings, they're not upscale lines -- their parent companies have lots of other options for those markets. I think the OPs original question has been answered...

🙌🏻🙌🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

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5 hours ago, palmettostatecruiser said:

 

Same - source please...because when I google it, I get:

 

Screenshot_2019-12-31-10-41-28_kindlephoto-232354909.png

 

🤷‍♀️

Actually the source is Travel Weekly, prob one of the industry’s most reliable products. You can google it, but if you need it I can post it.  It is real though....

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7 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:


What is your source for this?  I just googled best domestic cruise lines and Carnival was not listed number one on any site I looked at. I have been loyal to Carnival for years and not trying to knock them, but a simple google search does not support your comment. 

https://www.travelweekly.com/Readers-Choice/2019/Winners-Travel-Weekly-2019-Readers-Choice-Awards

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On 12/30/2019 at 7:37 AM, jimbo5544 said:

I am pretty sure it is rolled out fleet wide, I know it is on the last 6 ships we have been on (Horizon, Vista, Sunrise, Sunshine, Breeze, and Pride.  We are on Legend next week and it is also on her. 

 

Unfortunately it is not! We were on the Fascination in September and The Fantasy last week and neither of them had where you could reserve dining on the app. We sailed the Breeze in March and they had it and it was very nice!! Hopefully they will extend it to all the ships! Love anytime dining! 

 

Donna

 

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2 hours ago, JJ Sefton said:

Has anyone else read to the bottom of the list. Just wondering which cruise line was voted best overall?

Nah, who cares,  repeat it with me 3 times running best domestic cruise line... come on I know you can do it.  

Edited by jimbo5544
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27 minutes ago, jennas_mum said:

 

Unfortunately it is not! We were on the Fascination in September and The Fantasy last week and neither of them had where you could reserve dining on the app. We sailed the Breeze in March and they had it and it was very nice!! Hopefully they will extend it to all the ships! Love anytime dining! 

 

Donna

 

Good to know!

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