RCCL vs CARNIVAL

[cruiselover11]

Well....I feel like i am a trader....we have always sailed RCCL.But this year i have desided to try Carnival Liberty . the main reason for this ship was the itenirary( 8 night: Ft.Laudredale ,SanJuan,St.Thomas,Antigua,Tortola,Bahamas). All ports were good plus an extra day, but even my 2 18yrs old boys saw the difference in service, food was really bad most of the time.....service in the dining room was absolutly terrible, everyone who worked on the ship looked tired and overworked. The only good thing about that ship was that the rooms are larger and they have robes in all the rooms.

( we had a balcony ).

anyway, had to get this off my chest. The only time we will consider Carnival is when we will go to Europe and if there is a major price difference.

[babybaby]

This is how my family feels about both lines.

Carnival: Better food,(buffet and dining room), dining room servers more attentive, three banks of elevators not two, fantastic beds, more room in bathroom, better portrait backgrounds, grill on pool deck, discounts at the time of booking, price of cruise is more reasonable, robes in rooms.

Royal Caribbean: Better room service menu, better pool areas, chairs available on 4th deck in the shade, Promenade alot of fun, employees say hello and smile whenever you pass them, putt putt, game room, sports deck great for the kids, decor grand and beautiful, Johnny Rockets for a change at the end of week, Ice show wonderful.

They both have great things to offer. There are pros and cons to everyting, depends on what things are more important, decor, service, price, recreation. Needs and requirements change from cruise to cruise.

[THERUDYS]

Sailed Carnival in 2005, and loved it. Sailed RCI in 2006, and loved it. Sailing Carnival this November and will decide if we stick with one over the other. Both have good features and neither have really bad points in our oppinion. Carnival has larger rooms, but RCI has a better setup in their buffet stations. Carnival had overall, better entertainment. RCI had more tasteful decor. We've had excellant service on both lines. I think price is a motivating factor, and will determine what cruise we pick next. We don't remember food being outstanding on either line. It was good for mass production, not great, but good. The specialty dining was excellant for the price on both lines.

[minnow12]

Just returned from our 6th Carnival Cruise (The Elation) and loved it! We've been on 4 RCCL cruises and enjoyed them too. If you have kids, you can't beat Camp Carnival. Only Disney rivals it. The food and wait staff were excellent on Carnival. The beds and blankets were wonderful. Decide by the price-they are both excellent cruise lines.

[CruiseFever]

Good question. I say that because yes, it has been asked before but yes, things change over time. The cruise industry is evolving all the time.

 

I looked back at an answer I gave here for this question a couple years ago and it was really dated. Still, when comparing lines, I think it's only fair to stick to stuff that's not subjective like food and service. What I think is great food, you might think is garbage or vice versa.

 

General comparison: More affluent clientele on Royal Caribbean. Not as many cheapskates.

 

I guess I could have candy-coated that by saying something more general and generic but lets face it; Carnival draws a less classy customer. I didn't realize that until I'd been away from Carnival for a few years sailing Princess, Cunard, Celebrity and Royal Caribbean. When I sailed on the Carnival Glory last May it was totally appropriate to make that observation.

 

At least that was my first impression

 

When I walked through the parking lot at Port Canaveral seeing so many people tailgating as though they were getting ready for kick-off of a Sunday football game, that was my first impression.

 

But as I worked my way through the week onboard I looked back on embarkation and thought "Actually, that's not a bad idea; tailgating" I mean think about it, we plan, pack think and maybe over-think every single aspect of our cruise. We "dance" when documents arrive as though we'd been freed from bondage. We fly in to the port city the day before to be safe "in case there are flight delays" which makes logical sense. In reality we know we just wanted to get started on vacation a day early and flying in for logical reasons was just a bonus.

 

So why NOT tailgate?

 

Why not get every single drop of enjoyment we can out of it?

 

I go early to the port to be the first on the ship and I am not alone. 30 days out is time to pull out the luggage to dominate the living room and I am not alone.

 

That said, to be fair to the Carnival clientele, they do know how to have fun on those FunShips.

 

But you, like those before you, want specifics so here ya go:

 

• Carnival employs more obvious cost-saving measures to keep their costs and cruise prices the lowest. On the Glory, bartenders measured each shot of booze like it was liquid gold while Royal Caribbean bartenders free-poured a powerful drink
  
• Carnival IS priced lower and if your travel agent is any good, those prices can be haggled down.
  
• Royal Caribbean prices are fixed. Like buying a Saturn car the prices are the same for everyone. Still, there are added amenity values to be had on Royal Caribbean.
  
• Carnival really means it on that "We are the Funships" thing; they honestly want you to have the time of your life. Royal Caribbean wants you to "Get out there" and experience stuff you might not otherwise. I think the tv commercials on both lines accurately portray what they are all about
  
• Carnival does automatic tips, Royal Caribbean gives you a choice
  
• Both now accept jeans in the dining room. Not ratty "I just plowed the corn field" jeans but nice jeans. If you don't like this see a therapist; they're here to stay. Personally? I think it's the beginning of the end of a formal dining setting that will result in us eventually having hot dogs on the dinner menu. I hope they are good hot dogs.
  
• Royal Caribbean has the rock climbing wall that most people don't do on all ships.
  
• Royal Caribbean Explorer and Freedom class blow away anything Carnival has in the water in terms of total cruise experience.
  
• Freedom class? There's simply nothing that compares
  
• Neither line give much in the way of perks to suite guests. They all need to sail on Princess or Celebrity to get with what we want.
  
• Royal Caribbean sails more places than Carnival does
  
• Royal Caribbean has more longer cruises than Carnival does
  
• Carnival entertains far more first-time cruisers
  
• Carnival's older Fantasy class ships and others now becoming "boutique ships" via intense refurbishment program
  
• Kids programs dead even on who is better. That's either a slip for Carnival or gain for Royal Caribbean. Teen programs on both lines designed to ease concerns of adults more than to really provide great teen cruising experience. Keep watching your teens folks, what's out there is not the answer. Teens still roaming in packs
  
• Internet access about the same on both; mediocre. If they're going to do it, they should make it awesome. You know they can.

I guess that's about all I can think of.

 

If given a choice of a free 7 day cruise to the same places on either line I would pick Royal Caribbean without hessitation. I'd go on Carnival too though.

[The Big Booper]

.......General comparison: More affluent clientele on Royal Caribbean. Not as many cheapskates.

 

I guess I could have candy-coated that by saying something more general and generic but lets face it; Carnival draws a less classy customer. I didn't realize that until I'd been away from Carnival for a few years sailing Princess, Cunard, Celebrity and Royal Caribbean. When I sailed on the Carnival Glory last May it was totally appropriate to make that observation.........

.

 

There was a post here last year that addressed this subject. To paraphrase-

 

If you choose to cruise on a line whose main selling point is low price, then you will be surrounded by people on that trip whose main criteria is low price.

It would be interesting to see a breakdown of how much the lines make off booze, bingo and gambling. The basic ticket price is a loss leader.

[FitzLA]

Like comparing a Westin (RCCL) to Holiday Inn (Carnival) or Four Seasons (Crystal) to Motel 6 (Easy Cruise). :D :D :D :D

[DonnaK]

Well....I feel like i am a trader....we have always sailed RCCL.But this year i have desided to try Carnival Liberty . the main reason for this ship was the itenirary( 8 night: Ft.Laudredale ,SanJuan,St.Thomas,Antigua,Tortola,Bahamas). All ports were good plus an extra day, but even my 2 18yrs old boys saw the difference in service, food was really bad most of the time.....service in the dining room was absolutly terrible, everyone who worked on the ship looked tired and overworked. The only good thing about that ship was that the rooms are larger and they have robes in all the rooms.

( we had a balcony ).

anyway, had to get this off my chest. The only time we will consider Carnival is when we will go to Europe and if there is a major price difference.

 

 

We agree with your assessment. We didn't care for our cruise on Carnival Miracle at all.

1. We hated the ship - it was so ugly, dark and VERY smoky. The layout was awkward, especially traffic between the pool and the aft bank of elevators through the Lido Buffet while you are eating, and the odd location of the kids club made it underutilized so there were lots of unsupervised kids running around.

2. Service in the dining room was horrendous - the wait team were responsible for 3 times more diners than on RCI, so there was no personal attention and requests (like can I have another fork, or a refill on my ice tea) took 15 minutes or so to grant.

3. My teens were bored to death - there was no organized activities for older kids.

4. Our 8A room was the same size as a D1 on RCI, so I didn't find the cabin to be any larger/better.

5. The passenger to public space ratio was smaller on Carnival so it seemed much more crowded. We were packed into the dining room like sardines.

 

We wouldn't sail Carnival again if it were free, even though the food and the shows were comparable to RCI.

[dfishner]

Good question. I say that because yes, it has been asked before but yes, things change over time. The cruise industry is evolving all the time.

 

I looked back at an answer I gave here for this question a couple years ago and it was really dated. Still, when comparing lines, I think it's only fair to stick to stuff that's not subjective like food and service. What I think is great food, you might think is garbage or vice versa.

 

General comparison: More affluent clientele on Royal Caribbean. Not as many cheapskates.

 

I guess I could have candy-coated that by saying something more general and generic but lets face it; Carnival draws a less classy customer. I didn't realize that until I'd been away from Carnival for a few years sailing Princess, Cunard, Celebrity and Royal Caribbean. When I sailed on the Carnival Glory last May it was totally appropriate to make that observation.

 

At least that was my first impression

 

When I walked through the parking lot at Port Canaveral seeing so many people tailgating as though they were getting ready for kick-off of a Sunday football game, that was my first impression.

 

But as I worked my way through the week onboard I looked back on embarkation and thought "Actually, that's not a bad idea; tailgating" I mean think about it, we plan, pack think and maybe over-think every single aspect of our cruise. We "dance" when documents arrive as though we'd been freed from bondage. We fly in to the port city the day before to be safe "in case there are flight delays" which makes logical sense. In reality we know we just wanted to get started on vacation a day early and flying in for logical reasons was just a bonus.

 

So why NOT tailgate?

 

Why not get every single drop of enjoyment we can out of it?

 

I go early to the port to be the first on the ship and I am not alone. 30 days out is time to pull out the luggage to dominate the living room and I am not alone.

 

That said, to be fair to the Carnival clientele, they do know how to have fun on those FunShips.

 

But you, like those before you, want specifics so here ya go:

 

• Carnival employs more obvious cost-saving measures to keep their costs and cruise prices the lowest. On the Glory, bartenders measured each shot of booze like it was liquid gold while Royal Caribbean bartenders free-poured a powerful drink
  
• Carnival IS priced lower and if your travel agent is any good, those prices can be haggled down.
  
• Royal Caribbean prices are fixed. Like buying a Saturn car the prices are the same for everyone. Still, there are added amenity values to be had on Royal Caribbean.
  
• Carnival really means it on that "We are the Funships" thing; they honestly want you to have the time of your life. Royal Caribbean wants you to "Get out there" and experience stuff you might not otherwise. I think the tv commercials on both lines accurately portray what they are all about
  
• Carnival does automatic tips, Royal Caribbean gives you a choice
  
• Both now accept jeans in the dining room. Not ratty "I just plowed the corn field" jeans but nice jeans. If you don't like this see a therapist; they're here to stay. Personally? I think it's the beginning of the end of a formal dining setting that will result in us eventually having hot dogs on the dinner menu. I hope they are good hot dogs.
  
• Royal Caribbean has the rock climbing wall that most people don't do on all ships.
  
• Royal Caribbean Explorer and Freedom class blow away anything Carnival has in the water in terms of total cruise experience.
  
• Freedom class? There's simply nothing that compares
  
• Neither line give much in the way of perks to suite guests. They all need to sail on Princess or Celebrity to get with what we want.
  
• Royal Caribbean sails more places than Carnival does
  
• Royal Caribbean has more longer cruises than Carnival does
  
• Carnival entertains far more first-time cruisers
  
• Carnival's older Fantasy class ships and others now becoming "boutique ships" via intense refurbishment program
  
• Kids programs dead even on who is better. That's either a slip for Carnival or gain for Royal Caribbean. Teen programs on both lines designed to ease concerns of adults more than to really provide great teen cruising experience. Keep watching your teens folks, what's out there is not the answer. Teens still roaming in packs
  
• Internet access about the same on both; mediocre. If they're going to do it, they should make it awesome. You know they can.

I guess that's about all I can think of.

 

If given a choice of a free 7 day cruise to the same places on either line I would pick Royal Caribbean without hessitation. I'd go on Carnival too though.

Chris, this was very well written and also very objective in comparing both lines.. Thanks

[rocketman1]

We were on Glory last May also and I agree that Carnival does attract a cheaper class of cruisers. Could be price, I don't know for sure. Glory wasn't nearly as bad as Carnival Inspiration and Sensation we were on the previous 2 year. The ships were o.k. but they were full of cruisers wearing jeans, shorts, jerseys, tank tops, and worse to dinner. Even on formal night. A lot of them were loud and boisterous. I know these are the fun ships but Carnival need to control some of this.

[The Big Booper]

We were on Glory last May also and I agree that Carnival does attract a cheaper class of cruisers. Could be price, I don't know for sure. Glory wasn't nearly as bad as Carnival Inspiration and Sensation we were on the previous 2 year. The ships were o.k. but they were full of cruisers wearing jeans, shorts, jerseys, tank tops, and worse to dinner. Even on formal night. A lot of them were loud and boisterous. I know these are the fun ships but Carnival need to control some of this.

 

Control this? This is their target market. Backwards baseball hat, wife beater shirts, dirty cutoffs for dinner (clean cutoffs on formal night, runs the joke). Dark, gloomy ships with no sunlight allowed in. Poor layout resulting in poor passenger flow. Overcrowded because Carnival packs them in like a Japanese subway at rush hour.

 

There is more to cruising then 12 sq ft more in a cabin. And waiters dancing on the food service platforms at most dinners.

 

Not our cup of tea at all.

[PrettyLA]

What I liked about Royal Caribbean better was the service and the ships. The food was pretty comparable, except for the pizza, which Carnival wins hands down.