Carnival vs. Royal Caribbean..your thoughts?

[hdawson]

I guess for me the Carnival attraction is price.

[Cruising89143]

After mentioning that there are good things about both lines, you seem to really favor RCI. What do you really prefer about Carnival?

 

Not sure who you are asking this question to since you did not use the quote feature. I no longer prefer Carnival. RCI has more of what I'm looking for in an "overall" cruise experience. Not saying that I would not go on Carnival again but it would not be my first choice. Again nothing wrong with them but I found towards my last few cruises with them that they were falling short in certain areas.

[mimgan3]

Let me say there is no bad cruise selection, just a few things that may make a difference in what you choose. If you tend to like the ports RCCL usually has 4 POC's on their 7 day iteniary where Carnival normally has on 3 stops. If you like to be able to walk right up to the grill for a freshly cooked burger while still in your swimwear then Carnival offers that on the Lido deck. RCCL's newer ships are floating cities with many things to do, you can however get lost in the "floating mall" and we don't cruise to shop on the ship, we prefer to do that in port. I could list pros and cons for both lines, I am however partial to Carnival because the crowd seems to be more in line with the things we like. Our teenage daughter however said she liked the activities they had for teens better on RCCL. So just book a cruise and go for it, you will enjoy which ever you choose.

 

Tim

[mimgan3]

Let me say there is no bad cruise selection, just a few things that may make a difference in what you choose. If you tend to like the ports RCCL usually has 4 POC's on their 7 day iteniary where Carnival normally has on 3 stops. If you like to be able to walk right up to the grill for a freshly cooked burger while still in your swimwear then Carnival offers that on the Lido deck. RCCL's newer ships are floating cities with many things to do, you can however get lost in the "floating mall" and we don't cruise to shop on the ship, we prefer to do that in port. I could list pros and cons for both lines, I am however partial to Carnival because the crowd seems to be more in line with the things we like. Our teenage daughter however said she liked the activities they had for teens better on RCCL. So just book a cruise and go for it, you will enjoy which ever you choose.

 

Tim

[Texas_firefighter]

Since I am a Diamond Member with RCL and a often Carnival Cruiser (10 so far), let's compare the my last two cruises on the Mariner vs. Glory

 

1) RCL has a conceiges lounge

2) Carnival has a waterslide

3) RCL has mini golf, in-line skating, and a rock wall. (Cool if you use it!)

4) RCL had two speciality restaurants (or is it three with Johnny Rockets), Carnival had one.

5) Glory had lots of places to eat outside, Marnier None.

6) Carnival had laundrettes, Marnier nothing.

7) Marniner had RANCH Steak, Carnival had Filet. - Actually this has been fixed since my first Mariner cruise (I have been 3 times)

8) Mariner - Full size basketball, Carnival - Smaller than half court

9) Carnival - More self serve ice cream stations

10) In my opinion, the food is a toss up. But Carnival has more free speciality stuff (Fish & Chips, Deli, etc.)

11) In my opinion, the activities and entertainment go to Carnival.

12) In price comparisons, CCL is generally less expensive. I guess this makes RCL more upscale.

13) Glory left on a Saturday and the Mariner left on a Sunday - Same embarkation port. Could make a difference to some people.

14) The Room service menu on RCI was much nicer than CCL - More Choices!

15) If you gamble the Glory is more spacious and they seem to take better care of their customers.

16) If you cruise often, RCI takes better care of their repeat customers.

17) Option to rebook with an onboard credit with RCI while onboard

18) Library always available on the Mariner -Glory had very limited hours.

19) Often the Mariner stops at a Private Island

 

 

Hope this helps.

 

 

Thanks !,Terry.Good overview.This is the way it should be.

[LHP]

Since I am a Diamond Member with RCL and a often Carnival Cruiser (10 so far), let's compare the my last two cruises on the Mariner vs. Glory

 

1) RCL has a conceiges lounge

2) Carnival has a waterslide

3) RCL has mini golf, in-line skating, and a rock wall. (Cool if you use it!)

4) RCL had two speciality restaurants (or is it three with Johnny Rockets), Carnival had one.

5) Glory had lots of places to eat outside, Marnier None.

6) Carnival had laundrettes, Marnier nothing.

7) Marniner had RANCH Steak, Carnival had Filet. - Actually this has been fixed since my first Mariner cruise (I have been 3 times)

8) Mariner - Full size basketball, Carnival - Smaller than half court

9) Carnival - More self serve ice cream stations

10) In my opinion, the food is a toss up. But Carnival has more free speciality stuff (Fish & Chips, Deli, etc.)

11) In my opinion, the activities and entertainment go to Carnival.

12) In price comparisons, CCL is generally less expensive. I guess this makes RCL more upscale.

13) Glory left on a Saturday and the Mariner left on a Sunday - Same embarkation port. Could make a difference to some people.

14) The Room service menu on RCI was much nicer than CCL - More Choices!

15) If you gamble the Glory is more spacious and they seem to take better care of their customers.

16) If you cruise often, RCI takes better care of their repeat customers.

17) Option to rebook with an onboard credit with RCI while onboard

18) Library always available on the Mariner -Glory had very limited hours.

19) Often the Mariner stops at a Private Island

 

 

Hope this helps.

 

That's a good comparison for another poster who was asking this question.

Thanks!

[markandstacie00]

Not sure who you are asking this question to since you did not use the quote feature. I no longer prefer Carnival. RCI has more of what I'm looking for in an "overall" cruise experience. Not saying that I would not go on Carnival again but it would not be my first choice. Again nothing wrong with them but I found towards my last few cruises with them that they were falling short in certain areas.

 

I recommend you give Celebrity a try, they seem like a step up in food and service to me. Sadly they do not have a inverted roller coaster like Voyager class!

[BayMan123]

You can't miss going on RCL Navigator. It's a wonderful ship, please check it out.

[Casino Player]

Royal Caribbean's Radiance class ships are the absolute prettiest ships I've seen in 19 cruises. Very, very classy. Seattle's Best coffee throughout the ship. Production shows pretty equal, but RCCL seems to have better feature performers, such as the Platters or the excellent Elton John impresonator, the ladder guy or the gizmo guys. You'll still get the towel animals some nights. I've noticed on Carnival (5 cruises) there is a more likelyhood of a few boistrous guests. Not so much on RCCL. I will never sail on another "Mall of America of the Seas" again. It just wasn't like a cruise with 3200 guests plus 1100 crew, and with an indoor mall. Way tooooo big.

 

The only cruise I have ever been on when someone was so drunk he couldn't sit and stay in his seat in the dining room was on Voyager of the Seas. He ended up on the floor several times through his dinner.

[hdawson]

Well, I didn't say "drunk". I said boistrous. Although you can find drunks at the very best of places, it just happens more routinely at some places than others. The same can be said about uncouth and boistrous people. I don't vacation to be around either type.

[Cruising89143]

I recommend you give Celebrity a try, they seem like a step up in food and service to me. Sadly they do not have a inverted roller coaster like Voyager class!

 

 

No desire at this time to cruise on Celebrity or HAL. Too formal for me. RCI has the perfect fit that I am looking for at this time.

[markandstacie00]

No desire at this time to cruise on Celebrity or HAL. Too formal for me. RCI has the perfect fit that I am looking for at this time.

 

You are sure they are not right without trying them, please tell me tomorrows lottery numbers! Many people on this board cruise one line and insist it is the best; that is why I asked your opinion. I wanted to hear from someone who appeared to like Carnival.

[Cruising89143]

You are sure they are not right without trying them, please tell me tomorrows lottery numbers! Many people on this board cruise one line and insist it is the best; that is why I asked your opinion. I wanted to hear from someone who appeared to like Carnival.

 

 

I said that I thought that Celebrity and HAL were too formal for me. I have cruised for over twenty years and know what I like. I can do my homework and not just on this board and figure out what is right for me without actually having to try them.

 

I don't dislike Carnival at all as I cruised with them for eleven years and a total of 16 times but RCI gives me more of what I am looking for in an overall total cruise experience which is a clean ship, good service, casual and laid back atmosphere and a great past guest program on ships that no other mass market line can touch. RCI makes me feel welcome back on their ships. One day I may try some of the more premium lines but not at this stage in my life.

[CoachTerry14]

Let's compare apples to apples here. RCI and Carnival comparison on staterooms on each lines newest and largest ships that in are currently in service. Carnival Liberty and Freedom of the Seas. Also RCI offers many other cabin choices than the ones listed below for inside, families and suites. The biggest difference that I see is only on the standard inside cabins.

 

Outside cabins

 

Carnival Liberty 5A porthole outside stateroom = 185 square feet

Freedom OTS - outside stateroom = 161 square feet.

Carnival Liberty 6A - standard outside stateroom = 185 square feet

Freedom OTS - Large outside stateroom = 200 square feet

Freedom OTS - Family outside staterooom = 290 square feet

 

Balcony cabins

 

Carnival Liberty 8A - Standard balcony stateroom = 220 square feet of which the cabin is 185 square feet and the balcony is 35 square feet.

Freedom OTS - Standard Balcony stateroom = 251 square feet of which the cabin is 177 square feet and the balcony is 74 square feet.

 

Interior Staterooms

 

Carnival Liberty Category 4 = 185 square feet

Freedom Standard Inside = 152 square feet.

 

Suites

 

Carnival Liberty Category 11 = 330 square feet of which the cabin is 245 square feet plus 85 square feet for the balcony.

Freedom OTS Junior Suite = 388 square feet of which cabin is 287 square feet and balcony is 101 square feet.

Carnival Liberty Catergory 12 = 415 square feet of which the cabin is 300 square feet plus 115 square feet.

Freedom of the Seas Grand Suite = 513 square feet of which the cabin is 387 square feet and the balcony is 126 square feet.

 

This information was collected at Cruisedeckplans.com for the Carnival cabins and RCI's website for the RCI cabin information. I think that this should clear up the stateroom sizes on RCI. I will admit that on the older RCI ships the cabins are smaller but this is something that Carnival no longer owns when comparing the newer ships. The size difference between the two is not that big.

 

Excellent comparison! Now take it one step further - compare the price per square footage - Which line do you think is a better buy? Having sailed them both very often (just look at my signature for upcoming cruises) and looking at what I pay for suites -I can tell you that Carnival is hard to beat on the price per square foot. For the record all 10 of my Carnival cruises have been Category 12 cruises. On Royal, I have tried or will try everything from Junior Suite and up.

[hdawson]

Terry, et al. Fact: Carnival is the cheapest of the two lines.

[Cruising89143]

Excellent comparison! Now take it one step further - compare the price per square footage - Which line do you think is a better buy? Having sailed them both very often (just look at my signature for upcoming cruises) and looking at what I pay for suites -I can tell you that Carnival is hard to beat on the price per square foot. For the record all 10 of my Carnival cruises have been Category 12 cruises. On Royal, I have tried or will try everything from Junior Suite and up.

 

Depends on the person. Price is not my first consideration but I will say that I have yet to pay more for a JS compared to a category eleven or a Grand Suite compared to a category twelve on Carnival. For me it is who gives me the overall best cruise experience and Carnival has yet to beat RCI in that area. I'm not telling anyone here that they should give up Carnival and try RCI but I do get tired of hearing how small RCI's cabins are and that is simply not true when you are looking at the Radiance, Voyager and Freedom class which now makes up 50% of RCI's fleet. Also RCI has a higher Passenger to Space ratio which IMHO one can tell the difference. A Voyager class ship and a Conquest class hold about the same amount of passengers and yet the Voyager class ships are a good bit larger.

[Randy & Kathy]

After cruising on Carnival 4 times ( the last being the Legend), we then sailed on the RC Jewel. We had an aft balcony both times, 5268 on the Legend, and 9258 on the Jewel. We wanted to compare one with the other and tried to do so fairly.

The cabins were approx. the same size, we did not take a tape measure with us, but looked about the same with about the same layout and storage area. The balconies were about the same width, but on the Jewel it was nearly twice as long out to the railing.

The Atrium on the Legend and the Centrum on the Jewel were both beautiful and we thought were equally impressive to us. We are not that critical regarding food and we thought that both were fine, not that much difference to us. We do not opt for the fine dining experience, just not our cup of tea.

We thought that there were more fun things to do type of options on the Legend on the "at sea" days, although we did enjoy the rock climbing wall and putt-putt golf on the Jewel. We live 2 miles from a beach so we are not into laying in the sun, soaking in a hot tub or cramming into a small swimming pool with a bunch of other people, we can do those at home. Other people are often coming from cold climates so we feel that we should stay out of the way and allow them to soak it all up in the little time that they have to do so.

We enjoyed the midnight comedy club on the Legend, there was far more activity in the casino and more entertainment options that we were interested in both day and night.

Both were relatively newer ships, both were 8 day cruises and we had similar cabins on each cruise. We noticed no difference in service, friendliness of crew or passengers. Both cruises were booked at least a year in advance which gave us plenty of time to search out tour options, we went with only private tours on each cruise.

After giving these what we thought was a fair comparison, and noting the fact that RC Jewel cost about 33% more than the Legend, we could not see where the experience justified the extra cost. Others may place a higher value on those things that did not matter to us, therefore they may defend the difference in cost. However, all of this is just information and our impressions, everyone must make up their own minds regarding just what would suit them the best.

Randy

[PelicanBill]

Cruised on Carnival Glory, and RCL Voyager of the Seas and Explorer of the Seas with our (now) 7 year old daughter, all inthe last 3 years.

 

We found the differences to be mostly about the ships and passengers. Otherwise, each line was so close to be difficult to say which was better.

 

Both were simply family friendly - neither upscale, neither a party ship. Of course, a spring break crowd turns any ship into a party ship, so glad we have not cruised then.

 

Study the ships carefully and read reports, as the size and facilities can make a big difference considering your preferences. Some people like to have a supper club and are unhappy with the food on a ship that does not have the premium restaurant. Some people want to have a covered pool, some don't care. Some ships have big problems with deck chair availability, some don't. Some have more buffet variety, some don't. Some have larger cabins which can be important if you have 4 people, but not so much if it's 2 adults and a small child. If it's important to have other kids in the same age group travel when other kids will be on or on a larger ship if off season.

 

Good research pays off!

[Glama]

The one piece of advice I can give on this issue is to try both lines yourself, and make your own decision as to which line is best for you. There is alot of conjecture out there regarding both lines, and there are hundreds of threads comparing the two. Without knowing the things that are important to each individual (price, cabin size, night life, food), it's hard to determine which line they may like better. Everyone has different opinions. You would be amazed at the number of people who haven't sailed both lines, but insist that they "know" that one is better than the other, or in fact, that one is "horrible".

 

You may find that you like both, for very different reasons. Then, when choosing, it will come down to what is best for you at THAT time, such as new ports, price, available upgrades, etc...

[lt]

CARNIVAL ! I cruised on RC Dec 2006. I think RC is more low key, it isn't nearly as lively as Carnival. What I liked better on Carnival:

food - there was little variety between the dining room and the lido deck buffet, they served the same thing on RC in both places

activities - just better on Carnival

room - RC rooms are nice but Carnival is larger

Spa - Carnival Spa staff are better and the service is better. Manicures on Carnival last weeks, mine from RC was gone before the cruise was over.

Wait staff - Carnival waiters are always there, on RC you have to search for someone to get a drink when you're on deck or in the lounge

Cruise Director was so so so much a stuffed shirt on Vision of the Seas

Room Stewards were equal on both cruiselines

One thing I really like on RC. They have an option if you are flying out after the cruise, they will transport your luggage to the airport for you.

I would certainly cruise RC again, but Carnival is definately my first choice.

[Caribbreeze]

If you have children... then RCCL is the best place for them.

I think I'm on to you, Ventureman. Let's see...on CCL the rooms are bigger, prices better. But if you have kids, then definitely you should go to RCCL. I bet you'd like them to bring their heelies with them;)

LOL Just the way it hit me! Have a good one.

[Attack Dog]

While on a RC cruice I have come across a lot of people who can't stand Carnival. Personally I don't have a preference.

[Twaincruisers]

Our favorite is the Voyager/Freedom class ship, but last year we were on 3 older Carnival ships and had a blast....food, entertainment, etc, about equal, but last year Carnival was much cheaper. I have a preference for being able to walk all the way around the ship outside and go out on the bow--was able to do this on our first cruise on the Regent Star, a 37-year-old ship at the time. Last year, however, I really enjoyed sitting out on several levels of the back decks on the older Carnival ships, but I don't think you can do this on the newer ones. To solve the dilemma of two mostly equal cruise lines, we choose an itinerary first and find a ship to do it at a price we are willing to pay.

[racyguy14619]

I have found the two lines to be fairly comparable, and I have enjoyed both. I think I liked the food on Voyager of the Seas better than Paradise, but I've never had food I truly didn't like on either line. After having seen Carnival menus online this week, I'm really looking forward to the food on Triumph.

 

I would sail either line again, but have to admit that price on Carnival is an attraction. I got my 1A cabin on Triumph for $409 plus $125 single supplement (plus port charges, etc.), which convinced me to go with Carnival this time around. I also liked the Triumph's new itinerary, with two new stops for me (HMC and Grand Turk). Since I'm cruising solo this time, I'm hoping to meet lots of people so I hope Triumph is a little more lively :p

 

I don't know how I'm going to make it another 5 months . . .

[Attack Dog]

I have found the two lines to be fairly comparable, and I have enjoyed both. I think I liked the food on Voyager of the Seas better than Paradise, but I've never had food I truly didn't like on either line. After having seen Carnival menus online this week, I'm really looking forward to the food on Triumph.

 

I would sail either line again, but have to admit that price on Carnival is an attraction. I got my 1A cabin on Triumph for $409 plus $125 single supplement (plus port charges, etc.), which convinced me to go with Carnival this time around. I also liked the Triumph's new itinerary, with two new stops for me (HMC and Grand Turk). Since I'm cruising solo this time, I'm hoping to meet lots of people so I hope Triumph is a little more lively :p

 

I don't know how I'm going to make it another 5 months . . .

 

I'm not going to discuss the incident although I'm refering to it. However, I noticed your signature and refernces to your late wife Kathy. On my last cruise on the Carnival Legend I almost lost my wife in a freak accident. Fortunately she is still around to describe what almost became a horrible event. The incident happened in St. Lucia in the middle of the cruise. We refused to let it spoil the rest of our time together.

 

However, the incident reminded me what I already know about how important it is to cherish the finite amount of time that we still have together. The incident wasn't the cruise lines fault and we still plan on going on many more cruises together. I applaud you for going on and enjoying the activites that you and Kathy once enjoyed together. I just hope that people will follow your example. You cherish your past and the great memories. Your also strong enough to move on and enjoy your life. I'm sure your wife would of wanted it that way.

 

If anyone is interested in the story you can trace my posts to the middle of April 2007 to the Carnival Legend Roll Call thread.