Just Cheated on Royal

[TeeRick]

Just now, firefly333 said:

I'd be curious how you would decide this. OP took celebration out of calif which runs cheaper than mardi gras or jubilee same class of ship. Its generally cheaper to go out of calif. So would you compare to older navigator or a newer ship out of another port like Galveston or Florida?

 

 

I was assuming the OP did some comparison shopping for their criteria and chose Carnival this time for whatever reason.  Maybe not just price.  

[BecciBoo]

12 hours ago, firefly333 said:

carnival folks hate royal and royal folks feel the same

Didn't HATE it at all, just didn't have enough to make it worth while to skip our drink vouchers and other things.  Don't like the layout of that ship, too chopped up with weird angles that make you "feel" crowded And not serving bacon Every day is not acceptable to us.  And the most disappointing things were not enough choices in the Lido Marketplace and feeling cramped in there and little things like no tablecloths...ANYWHERE!  Loved the entertainment.  Tolerable chill time on the outside open decks was pretty nice, we liked those.  But not enough......

[spunks]

When we started cruising, we went on Princess, Carnival, Celebrity and RCCL. We gravitated to Princess because at the time the perks were better for us...at only 5 cruises we got free internet....at 15 cruises you got unlimited free laundry and dry cleaning. We have almost 700 nights on Princess....then things changed....

 

First they eliminated dry cleaning. Then they eliminated free internet....Not even God can explain how they gave any Casino Perks...In the mean time we were going on Royal more and more....we got to Diamond and really liked it. Then we got to Diamond Plus and we really liked it.

 

We finally started getting free cruise offers from Princess through the Casino and took advantage.We found that although we got free cruises and were always invited to the top 40 cruisers events, we still got no free beverages. We since cancelled free 27 day TA cruises we had booked with Princess and also another free TA.

 

This month we will make Pinnacle....Royal is a good fit for us.

[ReneeFLL]

@RoyalFan2011 I have never called or considered it cheating when I want to try different cruise lines. Considering that Royal has taken away benefits and raised prices would be more cheating the customer than the other way around. Due to this we are trying other cruise lines and not cheating. If it's Royal or elsewhere I'll take my money where it suits me best. 

[edrussell]

Interesting thread and I had recently started another in the Carnival area in a similar vein calling myself a 'Carnival convert'.  Truth is though we are really not loyal to any particular line, we are loyal to our comp.  

 

Background, we have taken 8 RCCL cruises on ships as new and large as Wonder and on ships as older and smaller as Grandeur and Enchantment.  We have also cruised on Carnival twice and have 6 more sailings booked with 4 being Carnival and 2 being RCCL.  ALL have been casino COMP.

 

Some of our observations when comparing the 2 lines.  The food, which of course is 100% subjective and can change greatly from ship to ship and heck from day to day sometimes is about a wash.  Carnival has better dessert options in Lido for us, RCCL has a bit better of a selection overall in Lido.  MDR (we eat in MDR almost every night) food is about equal.  However Carnival's check in process is FAR superior if you opt for My Time. My Time on an Oasis class is a gongshow in our opinion.

 

Ships, our overall experience on either line has been about on par.  We enjoy both lines approaches, however RCCL definitely comes out ahead in terms of overall navigation onboard, with better signage etc.

 

Casino (remember we are gamblers, so if this part of the post is not for you ignore it), the casino COMP value we get from Carnival far outpaces RCCL.  The main reason we tried Carnival for the first time is that our offers started to trend in a direction we didn't care for from RCCL.  Carnival is offering us much more variety in sailings and balconies etc.  For instance we are booked on a 12 night European sailing in June of 2025 onboard Carnival.  

 

Vibe, entertainment etc, again highly subjective but RCCL doesn't even come close to Carnival.  We just came off of a 8 night onboard Vista (2/3 of an ABC cruise) and we were floored.  The sail away party, white hot, comedians etc all were just outstanding.  So high energy, participant from PAX etc.  Again this may or may not apply to you.

 

One other thing that we have noticed is what I can loosely term the number of Pinnacle Pete's onboard.  I cannot count the number of conversations we've had on deck, in hot tubs etc onboard RCCL that have started with "I'm diamond and my name is XXX".  Now of course I am saying this tongue in cheek, but I personally don't give a rats behind what your C & A status is.  For some reason onboard RCCL it seems a particular focus though.  For us it holds no value whatsoever for us, then again as I said we are loyal to the COMP.  In addition there is often a twinge of PAX being more judgmental of other lines, in particular Carnival.  Not everyone of course, and ironically we've been in a number of convresations where people are talking as if they have personal experience and when you ask how many other lines they've tried the answer is none.  Odd.

 

Sorry about the length of the post, I am sure many won't read all of it, heck can't blame you there.  We will continue to sail as many lines as we can, as we want to try NCL, MSC, etc, etc.  As long as there is a decent COMP and we don't get treated like cargo we'll give it a shot!  Happy cruising.

 

[cruiseaholic777]

We have a few cruises under our belts. We are booking with Royal way more than anyone else. Price wise Royal is the better deal. We have been cruising is groups anywhere from 10 to 14 and we have found Royal to be the best deal. I love the comedy clubs on Carnival but over the last 2 years I am worried that a big brawl will break out at any minute on Carnival. This is just my opinion, have a great cruise everyone.

[TheHawk1]

23 hours ago, RoyalFan2011 said:

* Carnival has at least 3 self serve ice cream machines that are option until at least midnight.  This was awesome!

 

Hmm, I'm not sure some self serve ice cream would be enough to have me overlook the typical passenger behavior on a Carnival cruise:

 

https://cruise.blog/2024/07/passengers-banned-after-large-fight-breaks-out-carnival-cruise-ship

 

 

 

 

[Tatka]

2 hours ago, spunks said:

When we started cruising, we went on Princess, Carnival, Celebrity and RCCL. We gravitated to Princess because at the time the perks were better for us...at only 5 cruises we got free internet....at 15 cruises you got unlimited free laundry and dry cleaning. We have almost 700 nights on Princess....then things changed....

 

 

  Princess was our #1 overall out of 8 lines. It offered the best seafood, fun (without being cheesy), later free internet at Platinum... but Royal grew on us with great solariums, better choices out of Northeast... and later D perks.

 

   Our last cruise with them was on Crown for New Year 2020. It  was side by side 5 days on Explorer of the Seas for Christmas and 10 days on Crown for New Year. We fully expected Princess to beat Explorer and be a way better cruise, We were hugely surprised when Explorer ended up to be a better ship in terms of food, entertainment and ship's maintenance.

[time4u2go]

45 minutes ago, TheHawk1 said:

Hmm, I'm not sure some self serve ice cream would be enough to have me overlook the typical passenger behavior on a Carnival cruise:

 

https://cruise.blog/2024/07/passengers-banned-after-large-fight-breaks-out-carnival-cruise-ship

 

 

 

 

Lol this has also happened on Royal Caribbean. 

[LobsterStalker]

22 hours ago, firefly333 said:

I accidentally missed my last cruise, so my 14 day Carnival journey cruise is still my last cruise.

Could you elaborate for the inquisitive among us , how you accidentally miss a cruise ?

Edited July 8 by LobsterStalker
misspelled

[njasmine]

On 7/7/2024 at 11:23 AM, RoyalFan2011 said:

My favorite place is on a cruise ship and it has always been on Royal Caribbean.  Last Sunday I stepped on the Carnival Celebration and really felt like I was cheating on Royal.  I wasn’t sure what differences I would fine, but was surprised by some and thought I would share them.

 

* Carnival doesn’t require anyone to wash their hands before eating.  They only had 2 sinks in the front entrance of their buffet area.  My immediate reaction was, this is nice since there wasn’t a line to wash my hands.  I do wish more people would have used the sinks or Carnival would have offered hand sanitizers. 

 

* I enjoyed the variety of free food options that Carnival options.  But the Windjammer on Royal has many more food options/stations.  The main dinning options were very similar, but Royal has much better dessert options.

 

* Carnival has at least 3 self serve ice cream machines that are option until at least midnight.  This was awesome!

 

* No fresh squeezed orange juice on Carnival (was told the machine was broken at the Havana Bar).  The had pressed juice options, but I missed this so much.

 

* I love that Royal offers the Royal Replenish beverage options that includes juices and non alcoholic frozen drinks.  Carnival has the soda or alcohol package, they really need a 3rd middle option.

 

* I have never seen bartenders (not sure what to call them) in the main dining room going around every night on Royal selling shots.  I was not impressed by this.

 

* Carnival does not require reservations for onboard entertainment, you might have to get to the venue earlier than Royal, but you can plan your day that day, not months in advance.  I also loved that they had a new Comedian on board every night, we never had issues getting seats.

 

* I liked how Carnival had pools on multiple floors both in the front and back of the ship.

 

* I don’t ever remember seeing armed (could have been tazers, I never asked) secruity guards on Royal but they were everywhere on Carnival.  This did not make me feel safe, but once I saw how hard they sold shots it made more sense, 

 

* Employees on Royal care more about the guests and the guest experience.   I saw multiple Carnival employees argue in front of guests, ignore quests, and be rude to each other and guests.  That was the most surprising thing of the week.  

 

Being on a cruise is always going to be my favorite place and I’m happy we tried a different line.  It was good to see the differences.

 

My next cruise will be in January and I’m looking forward being back on Royal!

No one should be loyal to any business.  This is just something I can't wrap my head around 

[irun5k]

On 7/7/2024 at 2:31 PM, firefly333 said:

I too loved their free fast food options. Guys burgers, mexican, stir fry, their pizza to me is so much better. I hardly eat royals. I didnt have a bad meal in the Mdr, and enjoyed the emerils additional. I rate carnivals Mdr over royal by a lot. They do have limited buffet but they have a deli in the buffet and I enjoyed a BLT 3 times. 

...

I also like mardi gras class how they offer 3 pay restaurants FREE if you book anytime dining. Chibang and the italian and a 3rd free one time. Used to offer every night but now a tiny upcharge. I ate in pay restaurants for 6 nights on carnival the time before for about $100. 

...

Carnival does anytime so much better. Push a button when you want to eat. Truly its anytime.

Overall, Excel class has a lot more complementary dining options and many of them are very good. Shaq's Chicken, Guy's Burgers, Blue Iguana, 4 food windows on pool deck with rotating menus, Chibang, Cucina Del Capitano, the BBQ place/brewery, sandwich place next to the pizza place, soft serve in multiple places, etc.   Emril's is also very good food at reasonable al la carte pricing.  On Excel class they spread these venues out throughout the ship which seems to work out well for crowd control.

 

Royal's expansion in the dining space has largely been in up-charge restaurants.  

[irun5k]

2 hours ago, TheHawk1 said:

Hmm, I'm not sure some self serve ice cream would be enough to have me overlook the typical passenger behavior on a Carnival cruise:

 

https://cruise.blog/2024/07/passengers-banned-after-large-fight-breaks-out-carnival-cruise-ship

 

That is the problem with budget cruises... Paradise is one of their oldest ships and one of the cheapest to sail on.  Combine that with the "fun ship" vibe and you get this sort of thing. 

 

This is why I tell people that are considering Carnival to think of Excel class as a completely different experience than their older ships.  We were on Celebration last year and the passengers (and their behavior) were very much in line with a RCI ship.

[BecciBoo]

6 hours ago, edrussell said:

"I'm diamond and my name is XXX".

That is so strange, we've never had anybody mention their status on RCCL after more than 34 cruises and 28 years, even in the lounge...unless the conversation stears that way, but nothing obtrusive like you observed.

[Roybthered]

We first started off with Carnival doing a couple of 7 nights and then a couple of trans Atlantic's    (across the pond towards the US). We then did a cruise on RCCL as it suited our available time off work and liked it so booked some more trips, we started using the casino a bit more and started to get comp'd cruise offers and also enjoyed the prime offers we have been getting. Are we loyal to Royal? well yes as long as the comp cruises keep coming and prime is still an thing as this makes it all worth while, both getting to prime is great to get the offers but wish there was a few more European ones. 

[George C]

On 7/7/2024 at 12:08 PM, Jasukkie said:

I was one and probably done on Carnival myself. I do think they do a great job with quick eats so I will give them that over Royal, actually by a lot. Just not my vibe on the whole. 

I was one and done about 4 decades ago . 

[edrussell]

1 hour ago, BecciBoo said:

That is so strange, we've never had anybody mention their status on RCCL after more than 34 cruises and 28 years, even in the lounge...unless the conversation stears that way, but nothing obtrusive like you observed.

 

We must be a magnet for them then, it seems almost every cruise we end up in the middle of a conversation about it.  Doesn't bother me, this is half tongue in cheek, more so it amuses me, especially when I am asked what my C & A status is and I answer, I've no idea only the casino program matters to me.  100% to each their own, whatever blows you hair back.   I do get the C & A daily drink voucher is a big deal to some, but we always buy the drink package as we like to drink on cruises so it doesn't have any value for us.

 

I am about as loyal to any line as they are to me (aka not at all).  Whoever gives us the best COMP we will book with.  That said we give play as appropriate to continue the COMP.

 

[Cruising89143]

10 hours ago, firefly333 said:

I'd be curious how you would decide this. OP took celebration out of calif which runs cheaper than mardi gras or jubilee same class of ship. Its generally cheaper to go out of calif. So would you compare to older navigator or a newer ship out of another port like Galveston or Florida?

 

 

Celebration cruises from Miami and not the west coast so it could be easy to compare. West coast ships out of Long Beach are Panarama, Firenze and Radiance. 

[firefly333]

1 minute ago, Cruising89143 said:

Celebration cruises from Miami and not the west coast so it could be easy to compare. West coast ships out of Long Beach are Panarama, Firenze and Radiance. 

Ok thanks. I'm out of PC and mardi gras here and that Italian ship moved to carnival here. 

 

I get DP340 solo disco and dont get casino rates so royal is always cheaper for me as a solo. I also admit I love fast food. And on a cruise on carnival splurge on calories. I'd rather a hamburger than a steak. But lately between group rates and solo discount royal cant be beat on price for me. I get it why others dont like it and one and done. For me it's about the price.

 

I started on Princess like many others here ... then princess left texas, though its back now, I've moved.  But I bought into princess is the best when I started too. I prefer not to fly. I'd do more HAL if it was easier to gr to. 

[cruiselvr04]

We tried Carnival, last pre covid, and on the last one we mutually said not again.  Cheapest is not always worth it. 
 

We love Royals but we are open to trying Princess again or HA if the price is right. Princess and HA have a-lot more interesting and longer itineraries. We’ll be doing some Celebrity cruises coming up.
 

We’d love to do Silversea and Viking (we’ve done Viking River) but right now we’re more into quantity, trying to travel to get to as many places in the world as we can over luxury. We have a yearly budget. I’d rather do 80-100 nights a year right now then 30 or less.

 

With Royal raising prices and putting so many ships in the same ports over and over in the Caribbean it will become necessary to do some “cheating”.

[Scottdalfonso]

10 hours ago, BecciBoo said:

That is so strange, we've never had anybody mention their status on RCCL after more than 34 cruises and 28 years, even in the lounge...unless the conversation stears that way, but nothing obtrusive like you observed.

I've definitely met people who dropped status on us in the first 5 minutes. But I think the pins are the funniest, you don't work for the cruise line, you don't need a tag. 

[firefly333]

3 hours ago, Scottdalfonso said:

I've definitely met people who dropped status on us in the first 5 minutes. But I think the pins are the funniest, you don't work for the cruise line, you don't need a tag. 

There is a thread up now where the op booked a gty and thinks it's unfair their newbie friends got a promenade cabin and they got a regular inside. They mention their status that royal should take it into consideration. I've run into this in person. A couple was berating royal, they got assigning a connecting neighborhood balcony next to a screaming infant. They were in the then diamond lounge and thought too royal should have paid attention to the age of the child next to them, how they were diamond and never sailing again. 

 

You can see status mentioned all the time. How royal should have taken their diamond or whatever status into consideration, its not fair. 

[BecciBoo]

6 hours ago, Scottdalfonso said:

I've definitely met people who dropped status on us in the first 5 minutes. But I think the pins are the funniest, you don't work for the cruise line, you don't need a tag. 

We've seen them but not many and the only time I ever put one on, was on Mariner and they advised us to wear it for some special functions on the helipad, you needed it to get in.  I kept the diamond plus one in case that happens again, the rest were thrown into the trash.