Carnival vs RC Oasis

[firefly333]

2 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

I flat out don't like Royal at any price point.

 

Some people are swayed by bribes and are fickle; some like a brand (or don't) and bribes are irrelevant.

Oh here is another one I'm sure you will love.

 

carnival wins in the mattress dept ... almost afraid to jinx dream cruise but carnival mattresses have always been softer. At home I have a foam topper on the bed.

 

3 weeks on harmony in that cut rate balcony had the worst mattress in 20 years.  By the end of week 2 I asked for a topper and they said they changed out my mattress but the damage was done. Sleeping on a hard mattress on my side is how I pinched a nerve in  my upper arm. I wouldnt have been at the hospital in pain this week if I'd been on carnival. I'm almost afraid to say I've loved carnival mattresses in the past and jinx myself. But when you are listing things carnival does better, mattresses for non suite guests might be top of the list though I do like food lol. 

 

Thank you harmony for a pinched nerve. Harmony newer sister to oasis. If I could combine my favourite things on both I'd be loyal to one. Big thing for me from now on lol. 

[Cherries Jubilee]

I’ve sailed both and will sail both again. The issue here is Oasis has significantly more for kids to do. If your kids took part in the wet and dry slides, laser tag, ice skating, zip line, flow riders, large pools and the carousel they may very well be disappointed by a ship that has a few wet slides , ropes course, mini golf and small pools. 

 

I personally didn’t do some of the things offered on Oasis so Carnival not having them doesn’t bother me but I’m not a kid so it’s different.

 

As for Venezia I was on her for 12 days and I didn’t notice a smoke smell anywhere other than the casino and I didn’t find the free food offerings any more Italian than they are on any other Carnival ship unless you count the 2 new burgers at Guys. I actually saw a lot of complaints that they marketed this ship as “Carnival fun Italian style” and then put very little effort into making it different from their other ships. It’s literally just decorated differently. Some voyages have an Italian festival one night but the cruise director has skipped that a few times too so your basically just getting a Carnival ship from 2019, neither old nor completely brand new.

 

 I don’t think any Carnival ship has enough additional activities to compete with Oasis class for kids if they actually did all that stuff.
 

 

Edited January 11 by Cherries Jubilee

[BlerkOne]

1 hour ago, firefly333 said:

 

If the bribe is more free perks, then thats me. I miss my free wifi and drinks and discounts on carnival.

 

You can buy all that on Carnival. Carnival simply chooses not to get in a bidding war. And why should they go after customers who change cruise lines depending on who offers the most? MSCs strategy is to poach as many customers from other cruise lines and even Motel 6 as possible. Let them. There are plenty of potential customers out there who have never been on a cruise.

 

Carnival offers a lot you can't get on other cruise lines.

 

[jimbo5544]

1 hour ago, Cherries Jubilee said:

I’ve sailed both and will sail both again. The issue here is Oasis has significantly more for kids to do. If your kids took part in the wet and dry slides, laser tag, ice skating, zip line, flow riders, large pools and the carousel they may very well be disappointed by a ship that has a few wet slides , ropes course, mini golf and small pools. 

 

I personally didn’t do some of the things offered on Oasis so Carnival not having them doesn’t bother me but I’m not a kid so it’s different.

 

As for Venezia I was on her for 12 days and I didn’t notice a smoke smell anywhere other than the casino and I didn’t find the free food offerings any more Italian than they are on any other Carnival ship unless you count the 2 new burgers at Guys. I actually saw a lot of complaints that they marketed this ship as “Carnival fun Italian style” and then put very little effort into making it different from their other ships. It’s literally just decorated differently. Some voyages have an Italian festival one night but the cruise director has skipped that a few times too so your basically just getting a Carnival ship from 2019, neither old nor completely brand new.

 

 I don’t think any Carnival ship has enough additional activities to compete with Oasis class for kids if they actually did all that stuff.
 

 

Not trying to start a dog fight on the topic.  I have been in both as well.  Not even sure why it is an issue.  All cruise ships and lines have way more in common that differences.  Just wanted to reply to a couple of your points and then I will move on.  First, the reason that the food is the same is because Carnival WANTS it to be same.  She now is a Carnival ship.  The Italian flair is way more about the heritage and decor than food (which BTW is way better than Costa food).  

 

In regards to the kids and keeping them happier on Oasis (class), it really depends on ages and demand.  I would def concede the flow rider, but the rest not so much.  A merry go round and flow rider attract a WAY different crowd.  I s the ice rink open every day?  I do not believe so.  Saw WAY more adults on rock climbing walls than kids.  I could go on, but will not.  No need.  I did a lengthy review of our sailing on Oasis and posted it on the RCCL main page as well as here.  There is a reason we have only sailed Oasis class once.  

 

Listen I get the hype, the wow, the sizzle (Icon right now).   That comes with some caveats, no tender ports (NONE) and limited ports of calls.  For a lot, the sizzle wins….not for us.  Your opinion (or your kids) may vary.  Time to move on.

[Cherries Jubilee]

18 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

Not trying to start a dog fight on the topic.  I have been in both as well.  Not even sure why it is an issue.  All cruise ships and lines have way more in common that differences.  Just wanted to reply to a couple of your points and then I will move on.  First, the reason that the food is the same is because Carnival WANTS it to be same.  She now is a Carnival ship.  The Italian flair is way more about the heritage and decor than food (which BTW is way better than Costa food).  

 

In regards to the kids and keeping them happier on Oasis (class), it really depends on ages and demand.  I would def concede the flow rider, but the rest not so much.  A merry go round and flow rider attract a WAY different crowd.  I s the ice rink open every day?  I do not believe so.  Saw WAY more adults on rock climbing walls than kids.  I could go on, but will not.  No need.  I did a lengthy review of our sailing on Oasis and posted it on the RCCL main page as well as here.  There is a reason we have only sailed Oasis class once.  

 

Listen I get the hype, the wow, the sizzle (Icon right now).   That comes with some caveats, no tender ports (NONE) and limited ports of calls.  For a lot, the sizzle wins….not for us.  Your opinion (or your kids) may vary.  Time to move on.

I’m not a fan of Italian food myself and I don’t even know what Italian entertainment people were expecting. 

 

I personally didn’t expect Carnival to roll out a bunch of new things for the Italian ships and I was happy that they didn’t.  When I cruise Carnival I want the experience I’m accustomed to and already know that I enjoy. 

[firefly333]

2 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

You can buy all that on Carnival. Carnival simply chooses not to get in a bidding war. And why should they go after customers who change cruise lines depending on who offers the most? MSCs strategy is to poach as many customers from other cruise lines and even Motel 6 as possible. Let them. There are plenty of potential customers out there who have never been on a cruise.

 

Carnival offers a lot you can't get on other cruise lines.

 

There are also things people dont discuss. I'd never gotten sick for 20 years until twice 2022. First time sept 2022, over 50 people posted on my roll call they had the runs friday about dinner time. Some went to doctors when they got off and ecoli mentioned. Yes food related. People called rcl to report and ignored, not covid who cares. I was on the next week and tried to report it to customer service and yelled at, yep yelled at, impossible cant be our food.

 

Dec and 2022 and this time picked up that respiratory thing that was going around. I was clearly sick. I was surprised they didnt confine me to my cabin. Sold me night quil and cough drops so there wasnt a question I was sick, and went to medical. Tested negative for covid, go and spread your germs, they werent covering room service. I have no idea how carnival handles if someone gets really sick. 

 

Another royal policy I dont like is if port fees go down you get nothing before the cruise and often nothing during the cruise. I wrote the vp office who said it's up to each ship if they want to refund fees overage. Twice booked cayman and jamaica and got changed to costa maya and roatan. Cheaper port fees and then we missed costa maya. Got 0 back. Weather related they said. Carnival has always refunded fees for missed ports. I know it's a small amount, it's the principle. 

 

The email said since they dont bill for extra when fees go up why would they refund if they go down. Well guess what. Bahamas built some new port and upped port fees. They sent emails they are billing the extra $13 to $16, though I had one go up $19 so email not accurate .. but they billed for increase 2024 and outward, which the email stated they dont do. 

 

I wouldnt say I prefer one totally over the other. As I said I like things on both. Things on both I'd improve. I cruise a lot and decided to lock in top tier kn carnival and rcl. Need 14 more days on rcl, then I'll be looking around. You never know when things will change. There are differences people say dont matter  ... unless you cruise a lot. Neither is perfect. So far i havent gotten sick on carnival knock on wood.

 

Actually I'd like to try HAL because friends say they have the best food. I admit food is a big draw.

[mz-s]

1 minute ago, firefly333 said:

Actually I'd like to try HAL because friends say they have the best food. I admit food is a big draw.

 

Food is very important on cruises because unlike any other vacation, you can't just drive down the street and get takeout if the food is bad.

[jimbo5544]

5 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

There are also things people dont discuss. I'd never gotten sick for 20 years until twice 2022. First time sept 2022, over 50 people posted on my roll call they had the runs friday about dinner time. Some went to doctors when they got off and ecoli mentioned. Yes food related. People called rcl to report and ignored, not covid who cares. I was on the next week and tried to report it to customer service and yelled at, yep yelled at, impossible cant be our food.

 

Dec and 2022 and this time picked up that respiratory thing that was going around. I was clearly sick. I was surprised they didnt confine me to my cabin. Sold me night quil and cough drops so there wasnt a question I was sick, and went to medical. Tested negative for covid, go and spread your germs, they werent covering room service. I have no idea how carnival handles if someone gets really sick. 

 

Another royal policy I dont like is if port fees go down you get nothing before the cruise and often nothing during the cruise. I wrote the vp office who said it's up to each ship if they want to refund fees overage. Twice booked cayman and jamaica and got changed to costa maya and roatan. Cheaper port fees and then we missed costa maya. Got 0 back. Weather related they said. Carnival has always refunded fees for missed ports. I know it's a small amount, it's the principle. 

 

The email said since they dont bill for extra when fees go up why would they refund if they go down. Well guess what. Bahamas built some new port and upped port fees. They sent emails they are billing the extra $13 to $16, though I had one go up $19 so email not accurate .. but they billed for increase 2024 and outward, which the email stated they dont do. 

 

I wouldnt say I prefer one totally over the other. As I said I like things on both. Things on both I'd improve. I cruise a lot and decided to lock in top tier kn carnival and rcl. Need 14 more days on rcl, then I'll be looking around. You never know when things will change. There are differences people say dont matter  ... unless you cruise a lot. Neither is perfect. So far i havent gotten sick on carnival knock on wood.

 

Actually I'd like to try HAL because friends say they have the best food. I admit food is a big draw.

We have a good friend who used to work for Carnival who now works for HAL and is dying to get us to try HAL.  We need to do that.

[TiredTrucker]

11 hours ago, firefly333 said:

Well I'm hopefully boarding dream for 2 weeks Saturday. Just my luck seem to have pinched a nerve or whatever so that's why its iffy, nothing to do with carnival. 

 

I am looking forward to white pizza and guys hamburgers. I'm hoping its dream where there is a seafood place with lobster rolls. I have always said all lines have stuff I like. I know people who are loyal to one and only one. Even on the rcl threads I post carnival has better pizza. 

 

If the bribe is more free perks, then thats me. I miss my free wifi and drinks and discounts on carnival. On rcl I ate pizza once in 3 weeks. I pulled off the cheese and toppings. Uggh. And I post I wish royal would take lessons from carnival on anytime dining. They stink at it. I loved on carnival I could push a button and be seated without standing in a long line. 

 

I just dont agree any one line does it all the best. I used to go back and forth to get Mdr variety. Not because one was the best, for variety. This will be my diamond cruise and here I am in pain leaving tomorrow. Hope I make it onboard. I was in emergency tuesday the pain was so bad so I'm not exaggerating.  Disappointed. I booked a couple of excursions now I'm worried about. 

 

I will never agree one is all perfect .. they all have pluses. I'll be heading to guys burgers asap when I board. I dont touch royals free burgers btw. Another thing carnival does better. Fast food. I like junk food not a solid burger and cheese and all that, give me a greasy burger on a toasted bun .. im hoping for guys. I read they got rid of the sauteed onions. Darn. My favorite part of guys burgers.

 

Why does it have to be 100% loyalty? 

 

Sorry about your back, I have a pinched nerve cluster that will act up out of nowhere and drop me, so I know what kind of pain you are in firsthand.  Hopefully you are like me and after a few days the pain turns off like a light switch and if I'm careful it stays off. Fingers crossed for you. 

[john91498]

Like the OP, our cruising is centered around our kids. If the choices are the Oasis or the Venezia, the Oasis would win hands down. There's simply no comparison in kids activities between the 2 ships. 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

5 hours ago, john91498 said:

Like the OP, our cruising is centered around our kids. If the choices are the Oasis or the Venezia, the Oasis would win hands down. There's simply no comparison in kids activities between the 2 ships. 

and for us it would be what I can afford. And lately, RCI's prices have been out of control. Sure, all the cruise lines increased their prices lately, but RCI's prices are outrageous.

[mz-s]

36 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

and for us it would be what I can afford. And lately, RCI's prices have been out of control. Sure, all the cruise lines increased their prices lately, but RCI's prices are outrageous.

 

post #20

[firefly333]

1 hour ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

and for us it would be what I can afford. And lately, RCI's prices have been out of control. Sure, all the cruise lines increased their prices lately, but RCI's prices are outrageous.

I agree that all cruise prices are out of control. I do think rcl pricing is so variable its apples and oranges. I pick a cruise and let's say the rate shows as $5000. Ask my TA and he applies a group rate that royal seems to have on most cruises for inside or balconys. Then I get $250 off for D+ and early booking. Then i get DP340 which is 25% off the entire cruisefare which is even applied to my D+ so its reduced from $250 to $188. Final $2700. Almost 50% less than rate in public.

 

Carnival doesnt do huge loyalty discounts. They used to do no solo supplement for 1A, then it was 50% and then 100% now. No discount solo. Now solo arent carnivals market, seems to be casino folks. Times change so did I. 

 

If I was a family what's cheapest would be a completely different . I get it some are willing to pay more for carnival.  I dont feel I owe any line loyalty. I dont get this you need to be loyal to one. It's not a marriage. Fidelity forever. 

[jimbo5544]

12 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

I agree that all cruise prices are out of control. I do think rcl pricing is so variable its apples and oranges. I pick a cruise and let's say the rate shows as $5000. Ask my TA and he applies a group rate that royal seems to have on most cruises for inside or balconys. Then I get $250 off for D+ and early booking. Then i get DP340 which is 25% off the entire cruisefare which is even applied to my D+ so its reduced from $250 to $188. Final $2700. Almost 50% less than rate in public.

 

Carnival doesnt do huge loyalty discounts. They used to do no solo supplement for 1A, then it was 50% and then 100% now. No discount solo. Now solo arent carnivals market, seems to be casino folks. Times change so did I. 

 

If I was a family what's cheapest would be a completely different . I get it some are willing to pay more for carnival.  I dont feel I owe any line loyalty. I dont get this you need to be loyal to one. It's not a marriage. Fidelity forever. 

That logic works…..some of the time.  Their (RCCL) latest behemoth is another story.

[sprint180]

My kids loved being on any ship.  We went on all sizes.  But, Royal is of course a much more active ship.

[firefly333]

40 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

That logic works…..some of the time.  Their (RCCL) latest behemoth is another story.

No argument from me. I do have wonder and utopia booked. For our 3rd group cruise that I've done with some from here on cc we went back to Oasis. He said oasis was cheaper than even adventure so he did our bella3 group back on oasis. So TA is aware of the moaning and groaning over prices. Wonder was my highest but now it's a 10 day leg in europe to greece and italy. Under $1800 still. But prices are creeping up. 

 

I'm not even that excited for Icon or Star. More cabins that hold more 3rd and 4th pax. Oh boy, more kids. Utopia is less because it's a 4 day. Utopia came out as 3 and 4 days. 1k for a broad walk balcony. Still high. Mardi gras isnt looking as high as it used to. But even a inside on mardi gras or jubilee is around $1500. At least on royal I can get a balcony for that. .. only because I'm a solo. I'm not doing much booking lately, just the TA and 2nd leg. Europe is cheaper than florida lol. Guess time to see europe. It's the flight home the yikes. 

 

Star and icon will be around ... I can wait. And jubilee and mardi gras. The 2 i still want on carnival. 

[mz-s]

1 minute ago, firefly333 said:

Europe is cheaper than florida lol. Guess time to see europe. It's the flight home the yikes. 

 

Yep, the flights are what is keeping me on this continent and coast for now! Eep.

[hbsprite]

We have sailed 30+ times, we aren't particularly brand loyal.  We have sailed Carnival, RCCL, NCL, Disney and Princess.  However, most of our cruises have been on Royal Caribbean and Carnival.  We love both Royal Caribbean and Carnival. 

 

No Carnival ships hold a candle to the Oasis ships (or even the Voyager class ships imho).  We are to the point where we are willing to pay up to 20% more to sail on a RCCL ship vs Carnival. 

 

With that being said, we find the service is generally better on Carnival.  We also find the MDR food slightly better on Carnival as well.  But entertainment is much better on Royal Caribbean and any of the newer Royal Caribbean ships are MUCH better than even the newest Carnival ships. 

 

We always have a great time regardless.  We generally choose our cruise based on price and the specific ship.  We don't really care about the itinerary, as the ship itself is our destination. 

[jsglow]

1 hour ago, hbsprite said:

We have sailed 30+ times, we aren't particularly brand loyal.

We always have a great time regardless.  We generally choose our cruise based on price and the specific ship.  We don't really care about the itinerary, as the ship itself is our destination. 

I find this to be an interesting and useful observation. We are very much the opposite and value the itinerary much more than the ship itself. Isn't it great that there are options for all! 👍

[BlerkOne]

5 hours ago, hbsprite said:

  We don't really care about the itinerary, as the ship itself is our destination. 

This is what Royal loves to hear. They like to keep cruisers and their money on the ship.

[jimbo5544]

6 hours ago, jsglow said:

I find this to be an interesting and useful observation. We are very much the opposite and value the itinerary much more than the ship itself. Isn't it great that there are options for all! 👍

As I always say, options are always a good thing

[Moonarino]

We sailed Oasis (for the third time) this past November and were both more disappointed than ever about the food. Yes, despite having so many venue choices. The one exception was the ribs place Llido deck aft, if I remember correctly). Four years ago we gave up on Johnny Rockets after paying $10 each for two very cheap milkshakes. This past cruise the MDR was as bland as ever, same with Windjammer. I ended up just getting a free hot dog (or two) on the boardwalk 3-4 times, instead of wondering whether one of the main venues would be worth the wait or fighting the crowds.

 

The majority of our cruises have been on Carnival (4 on Royal, 2 on Celebrity) and we keep going back to Carnival because of the food. Just my own humble opinion. We're currently booked on Mardi Gras in April.

 

One other thing is that a couple of our relatives are loyal to Carnival because they've always taken such great care of their kids.

 

[JMKreno]

On 1/16/2024 at 3:52 PM, Moonarino said:

We sailed Oasis (for the third time) this past November and were both more disappointed than ever about the food. Yes, despite having so many venue choices. The one exception was the ribs place Llido deck aft, if I remember correctly). Four years ago we gave up on Johnny Rockets after paying $10 each for two very cheap milkshakes. This past cruise the MDR was as bland as ever, same with Windjammer. I ended up just getting a free hot dog (or two) on the boardwalk 3-4 times, instead of wondering whether one of the main venues would be worth the wait or fighting the crowds.

 

The majority of our cruises have been on Carnival (4 on Royal, 2 on Celebrity) and we keep going back to Carnival because of the food. Just my own humble opinion. We're currently booked on Mardi Gras in April.

 

One other thing is that a couple of our relatives are loyal to Carnival because they've always taken such great care of their kids.

 

Your opinion very much mirrors our thoughts on the Oasis. 

 

The ship was AMAZING - nothing on Carnival compares. Central Park is probably my favorite place on any ship. Tons of amenities. That said, we had issues. 1) Seeing the ocean is next to impossible from most locations - I cruise so I can see water 2) for a ship of it's size the amount of "included" food was incredibly disappointing.

• El Loco fresh doesn't hold a candle to Blue Iguana and often was bland, overcooked, or sat too long under the heating lamp - never fresh.
• For 7 days I couldn't get a good burger anywhere - the buffet burger was a puck and I wasn't paying $10 for a burger at Johnny Rockets. 
• When the buffet closed, it CLOSED. You couldn't go in at all, we love sitting in Lido on Carnival during non-meal times since there's tons of seating for games, etc. But not only that, Breakfast ended at 1130 or so, buffet closed and then the ONLY restaurant open was Cafe Promenade with just 3 sandwiches to pick from (all yuck) a couple salads, or cookies or Sorrento's. Even Central Park cafe "closed" to transition to lunch. So there was a period of 30 minutes there was almost no food. Evenings were worse! Between 3 and 6 there was almost no food! Buffet was closed, El Loco Fresh closed, Central Park Cafe close and once again back to Cafe Promenade or Sorrento's for the same options we head earlier. The deli on Carnival has a number of sandwiches, most premade but you can customize them if you want, the sandwiches on Royal were pre-made with no options to change. 
• Royal REALLY pushes you to "buy" better food - our family palette is fairly simple - meat & potatoes type people. We've been comped free dinners at specialty restaurants and honestly were never so blown away that we felt they were "worth" visiting again. We ate at Giovanni's Table and honestly didn't find it any better than Macaroni Grill - and it was a free dinner and would have been disappointed to pay for it. To be fair, we also did "Cucina Del Capitano" on Carnival and had the same feeling - just not worth it to us. We don't eat stake, my wife is a vegatarian, and my kids would live on Chinese food if they could. Carnival winds hands-down.
• Disney wasn't any better - their casual options were even more limited - mostly to pool deck food that wasn't nearly as good as Carnival pool deck food. Sure, the dining room was better, but mostly due to the "rotational dining" and the theming/entertainment aspect. We still enjoyed Carnival food more. We just aren't that "sophisticated"

Would we go on Royal again? Yes, but for the right price. Disney? Maybe not, but again, for the right price we would. We may try NCL some day, but the same thing seems to be that they "push" for specialty dining since they encourage you to get the dining package during booking. 

 

Also, add to that, my wife and I don't drink wine or much else (maybe a margarita, pina colada, or daiquiri now and then). 

 

For us, Carnival still works and will likely keep getting our money MOST OFTEN as long as they remain affordable. 

 

As for my kids? They are 8 and 16, and they still love Carnival even after the Oasis and Disney...we're even booked on the Venezia sister, Firenze in October. The area above the pool deck looks really nice, since we love Bocce Ball you'll likely fund us there most of the week!

Edited January 30 by JMKreno

[elcuchio24]

On 12/29/2023 at 5:52 PM, mal831 said:

We took our kids on the Oasis last summer and had a great time.  This summer the only cruise I think we can swing is Carnvial Venezia.  Will they be disappointed?  The cruise seems to have good reviews except for the pool, which was a big hit last summer with my 5 year old.  My older ones will be 12 and 14.   The oldest was not into the teen club on Royal, I'm hoping the tween one might appeal to her more.

 

Short answer: yes, extremely. 

[elcuchio24]

On 1/11/2024 at 1:13 AM, BlerkOne said:

Oasis only has about 100,000 more gross tons and a couple of thousand more passengers. At least Venezia is capable of making tender ports.

 

Venezia is a bottom of the barrel reworked old Costa ship. Regardless of your brand affiliation, which I have none, its not even a close comparison to Oasis