RCCL Praise

[JP350]

I just got off a carnival cruise. My first. I know wrong forum. I’ve been on 16 RCI with 4 more booked. I’m just here to say thank you Royal for 16 wonderful cruises. I’m definitely in the loyal to Royal camp after this cruise. The food lines were 1 hour long for guys burger all 4 days, and the debarkation process did not get started until 0930 just a brief overview of the complications of this cruise. I’ve never had any problems on Royal and will continue to sail them in the future!!!

[Cruise a holic]

We also have had negative experiences on Carnival- we stick to Royal and Celebrity-  

[deliver42]

Ive been on 3 Carnival cruises, and never again. I'm Diamond on Royal, and Elite on celebrity. I love both products and they are both my go to. I've also enjoyed MSC, NCLK, and princess, though they seem ot be having their own problems with their ships.

[billslowsky]

There are plenty of posts about long delays on Royal, including a current one "Adventure of the Seas My Time Dining Nightmare".  And every cruise line has occasional problems with disembarkation.

 

If someone wants to wait an hour for a hamburger that's their business.

 

What a breaking point!

[soremekun]

RCCL Praise

 

I came in here expecting details on Sunday (or Friday or Saturday) worship.....

[broadwaybaby123]

Went on Carnival 3 times before the pandemic and on NCL once...never again! Been on about 8 Celebrity and Royal cruises, loved them. A week from Wednesday, I'll be turning Emerald on Royal!

[Turangi!]

Currently on the Radiance and I only have high praise for th RCI port staff that managed efficiently and calmly to get me and my lost passport (left on the plane) reunited and on the ship before sailing! I was on the floor of the embarkation hall emptying out my purse after having all the right forms for all the health requirements. Shout out to the wonderful RCI rep who had all the contacts to make it happen and the wonderul  Dana who walked us through security and customs to keep me calm!  I definitely got the Royal treatment and appreciate everyone who helped us that day.

[firefly333]

I did grandeur late may and couldnt tell the difference with carnival. Loud band at the pool.  Lots who were first timers they said who had only done carnival before. Service in Mdr not spectacular. Lack of dining staff evident. I kept thinking you get what you pay for and it was evident it was a cheaper cruise. 

 

I also blamed it on summer approaching.... summer doesn't seem like a good time to cruise

 

I love carnivals guys burgers lol. Some on carnival dispute the 1 hour waiting time claim. They all said they never waited a hour. I like carnivals pizza better. It's made from scratch dough and rcl isnt. Rcl you can ask for different toppings but the dough is frozen. I like the white pizza on carnival. I dont like their dinner in Mdr, the food. That's why I'm booking rcl now. Their dinner to me wasnt good food. Carnival each pizza is made separately so it is a wait of at least 15 to 20 minutes. Even if the dough is ready to roll. But better tasting made fresh.

 

I do have a unique cruise booked on carnival. Rcl doesnt have as good of itineraries out of Galveston. Prices only seem to go up on these 14 day carnival journey cruises. The ones for oct 2022 and jan 2023 only have balconies and suites left and currently cost $5500 and $6300. These do sell out. I would love one of the eastern that goes to st kitts. I booked the Panama etc. 5 ports I havent been to. And it's out of texas. .. though radiance ots came along and doing 2 of the ports. So I booked it too. Panama and Columbia.  My carnival also does costa rica, aruba and curacao.. out of Galveston. 

 

I dont know but suspect shorter cruises have more of a party atmosphere than 7 day cruises, not just grandeur. I especially missed piping hot pizza (no sorrentos).  I seem to be the only one unimpressed by grandeur. Would I go again sure, but I also have a carnival special journey cruise booked. I'm looking forward to guys burgers and white pizza made from scratch. I'm also looking forward to oasis class with more food options. 

 

I like some things on both lines. Neither is a good bet during summer, right now with staff shortages or pack your patience. I'll wait for fall to cruise again, when the kids go back to school.

 

Guys burgers can have long lines especially when they first open or when people are coming back to the ship on a port day, but I've never seen a 1 hour line. Agree with carnival posters. Its exaggerated.  .. but I got off grandeur feeling the same as op. 

Edited June 19, 2022 by firefly333

[JP350]

1 hour ago, Turangi! said:

Currently on the Radiance and I only have high praise for th RCI port staff that managed efficiently and calmly to get me and my lost passport (left on the plane) reunited and on the ship before sailing! I was on the floor of the embarkation hall emptying out my purse after having all the right forms for all the health requirements. Shout out to the wonderful RCI rep who had all the contacts to make it happen and the wonderul  Dana who walked us through security and customs to keep me calm!  I definitely got the Royal treatment and appreciate everyone who helped us that day.

That’s happened to me when I had to get my passport renewed and I had a cruise to close for comfort so it’s the birth certificate route. Only problem with that is the day before the cruise I couldn’t find the thing. I went to the county and they could print me a copy, but it wouldn’t have the state lifted seal because of the time frame. So I debated weather or not to just cancel the cruise, but decided to risk it and try it. When we got to the port my birth certificate was a problem just like I expected it to be, but Royal went the extra mile. They got on the phone with the state and county governments to confirm that I was a real person and my story checks out. I was eventually allowed to board. Thanks Royal!!!!!!!

[JP350]

21 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

I did grandeur late may and couldnt tell the difference with carnival. Loud band at the pool.  Lots who were first timers they said who had only done carnival before. Service in Mdr not spectacular. Lack of dining staff evident. I kept thinking you get what you pay for and it was evident it was a cheaper cruise. 

 

I also blamed it on summer approaching.... summer doesn't seem like a good time to cruise

 

I love carnivals guys burgers lol. Some on carnival dispute the 1 hour waiting time claim. They all said they never waited a hour. I like carnivals pizza better. It's made from scratch dough and rcl isnt. Rcl you can ask for different toppings but the dough is frozen. I like the white pizza on carnival. I dont like their dinner in Mdr, the food. That's why I'm booking rcl now. Their dinner to me wasnt good food. Carnival each pizza is made separately so it is a wait of at least 15 to 20 minutes. Even if the dough is ready to roll. But better tasting made fresh.

 

I do have a unique cruise booked on carnival. Rcl doesnt have as good of itineraries out of Galveston. Prices only seem to go up on these 14 day carnival journey cruises. The ones for oct 2022 and jan 2023 only have balconies and suites left and currently cost $5500 and $6300. These do sell out. I would love one of the eastern that goes to st kitts. I booked the Panama etc. 5 ports I havent been to. And it's out of texas. .. though radiance ots came along and doing 2 of the ports. So I booked it too. Panama and Columbia.  My carnival also does costa rica, aruba and curacao.. out of Galveston. 

 

I dont know but suspect shorter cruises have more of a party atmosphere than 7 day cruises, not just grandeur. I especially missed piping hot pizza (no sorrentos).  I seem to be the only one unimpressed by grandeur. Would I go again sure, but I also have a carnival special journey cruise booked. I'm looking forward to guys burgers and white pizza made from scratch. I'm also looking forward to oasis class with more food options. 

 

I like some things on both lines. Neither is a good bet during summer, right now with staff shortages or pack your patience. I'll wait for fall to cruise again, when the kids go back to school.

 

Guys burgers can have long lines especially when they first open or when people are coming back to the ship on a port day, but I've never seen a 1 hour line. Agree with carnival posters. Its exaggerated.  .. but I got off grandeur feeling the same as op. 

That’s true when it comes to the shorter cruises we did a 3 night weekend cruise during the summer on Mariner NEVER AGAIN. When you get into the longer ittenaries in their newer ships even with kids the atmosphere becomes less party booze cruise. We cruised wonder on April 1 this year during spring break with our kids and their were kids onboard, but I never saw any misbehaving or being rowdy during the voyage. However if you want no kids book a southern Caribbean cruise during school. When we did the 8 night on allure there was a total of 23 kids onboard, and guest services told us that there were only 980 under 40. That was no party whatsoever. However I’ve looked at those carnival journeys ittenaries on the pride, and I have to give it to carnival they are better than any of royals ittenaries

Edited June 19, 2022 by JP350

[JP350]

2 hours ago, broadwaybaby123 said:

Went on Carnival 3 times before the pandemic and on NCL once...never again! Been on about 8 Celebrity and Royal cruises, loved them. A week from Wednesday, I'll be turning Emerald on Royal!

 

That’s awesome!!!!! I’ve only been on the cleberty summit on a 5 day how are they like!

[JP350]

3 hours ago, deliver42 said:

Ive been on 3 Carnival cruises, and never again. I'm Diamond on Royal, and Elite on celebrity. I love both products and they are both my go to. I've also enjoyed MSC, NCLK, and princess, though they seem ot be having their own problems with their ships.

How’s msc and ncl compared to Royal?

[firefly333]

9 minutes ago, JP350 said:

That’s true when it comes to the shorter cruises we did a 3 night weekend cruise during the summer on Mariner NEVER AGAIN. When you get into the longer ittenaries in their newer ships even with kids the atmosphere becomes less party booze cruise. We cruised wonder on April 1 this year during spring break with our kids and their were kids onboard, but I never saw any misbehaving or being rowdy during the voyage. However if you want no kids book a southern Caribbean cruise during school. When we did the 8 night on allure there was a total of 23 kids onboard, and guest services told us that there were only 980 under 40. That was no party whatsoever. However I’ve looked at those carnival journeys ittenaries on the pride, and I have to give it to carnival they are better than any of royals ittenaries

I'm not a no kids person. I know it's all personal. 

 

I see someone asks how is the wifi on grandeur. 3 will posts how bad it was and issues. 3 more will post and say how their wifi worked just fine. I couldn't attach pictures to emails and send on yahoo. Its certainly not as good. No way I could stand to do a live from like john is doing on oasis. Wifi was noticeably slow and at times didnt work at all. Other things. 

 

I did 3 carnival since restart. I did all pay restaurants for dinner on vista and the price is better than rcl and enjoyed most of the food. The japanese let them pick .. thumbs down but i let them pick the menu choice. The steak restaurant i thought was just as good as rcl. Then i did breeze b2b and regular dinners in Mdr and that was when it was a no from me. ..and i went back to rcl. 

 

Ncl to me has better food overall than rcl. I really enjoyed the food on ncl. 3 on ncl. Prima coming to Galveston.. we will see. Prices are also more than rcl. 

 

I've done 3 on princess and thought it felt stuffy atmosphere. Also liked celebrity.  

 

Maybe I'm not a dressy type is why I dont dislike carnival, though I too am taking a break from carnival after breeze b2b. Not a bad cruise .. but I'd rank equal to grandeur.. not good either.

[bucfan2]

IMO, cruising Carnival compares to going to Walmart.  Walmart has a lot of items that fill a need, and generally at a reasonable price point...but not where we always want to hang out, and certainly not the only place to shop.

[billslowsky]

2 hours ago, bucfan2 said:

IMO, cruising Carnival compares to going to Walmart.  Walmart has a lot of items that fill a need, and generally at a reasonable price point...but not where we always want to hang out, and certainly not the only place to shop.

Don't kid yourself. Whenever Royal has a tshirt sale - or any other junk on the promenades - the Walmart types come out, and there are a LOT of them.  Same with bacon in the Windjammer.

[bucfan2]

37 minutes ago, billslowsky said:

Don't kid yourself. Whenever Royal has a tshirt sale - or any other junk on the promenades - the Walmart types come out, and there are a LOT of them.  Same with bacon in the Windjammer.

Don't kid yourself either, as you indeed missed the entire point....not slamming any demographic of cruisers, nor will I....to each their own.

Edited June 20, 2022 by bucfan2

[billslowsky]

5 hours ago, bucfan2 said:

Don't kid yourself either, as you indeed missed the entire point....not slamming any demographic of cruisers, nor will I....to each their own.

No one missed your point, Royal is the cruise line where its passengers line up to watch "Cats".

[bucfan2]

6 hours ago, billslowsky said:

No one missed your point, Royal is the cruise line where its passengers line up to watch "Cats".

I agree….nobody else missed the point. 

Edited June 21, 2022 by bucfan2

[JP350]

On 6/20/2022 at 5:58 PM, billslowsky said:

Don't kid yourself. Whenever Royal has a tshirt sale - or any other junk on the promenades - the Walmart types come out, and there are a LOT of them.  Same with bacon in the Windjammer.

I have to agree with that about the promenade I've seen guests acting like they have no home-training whatsoever all because a "free" charm is being offered, but those same people look like their going to meet the president at the met gala at dinner.

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

On 6/19/2022 at 12:08 AM, JP350 said:

I just got off a carnival cruise. My first. I know wrong forum. I’ve been on 16 RCI with 4 more booked. I’m just here to say thank you Royal for 16 wonderful cruises. I’m definitely in the loyal to Royal camp after this cruise. The food lines were 1 hour long for guys burger all 4 days, and the debarkation process did not get started until 0930 just a brief overview of the complications of this cruise. I’ve never had any problems on Royal and will continue to sail them in the future!!!

50 Carnival cruises for us. But I must agree Royal blows them out of the water. Harmony in September. Carnival only because of the price.