RCCL vs Carnival

[JF4300]

Getting ready to try our first cruise on a Carnival ship. Not sure which one yet. Have been with RCCL for 10 years (11 cruises) and need to know what the major differences are from anyone who has tried both lines. The prices caught our eye!

 

Mostly we want to know about:

Entertainment

Food

Dining - is it open or fixed times?

Cabin sizes - we can't seem to find that information on the Carnival web site

Spa, Casino

Lectures - are there any?

Which are the newest ships?

 

Appreciate any information. Thanks

[hdawson]

Try the search feature above. This question or subject comes up at least once or twice a week. You'll probably get more information by reviewing previous threads.

[sunlover5]

We have been on both and heading on Carnival again this March. Everyones opinion is different but here is ours:

 

Entertainment: Shows were the same to us

Comedian better on Carnival

Discos/entertainment in lounges better on Carnival

 

Food: Close but Carnival wins by a hair

 

Cabins: Much bigger on Carnival, but we don't mind RC either.

 

Spa: Only used it on RC and thought it was too much $$

 

Casino: Won the most on our last RC cruise! We mostly play slots so they are all fine with us.

 

Don't know about any lectures.

Carnival newer ships are the Liberty and Freedom. It was the Liberty we were on and sailing again. We love that ship!

We are very picky and pretty layed back so you might get better replies from someone else.

 

We usually pick an itineary we want and then compare the different lines, ships, and prices and pick from there!!

Good Luck!!

[NYC2FLA]

Getting ready to try our first cruise on a Carnival ship. Not sure which one yet. Have been with RCCL for 10 years (11 cruises) and need to know what the major differences are from anyone who has tried both lines. The prices caught our eye!

 

Mostly we want to know about:

Entertainment

Food

Dining - is it open or fixed times?

Cabin sizes - we can't seem to find that information on the Carnival web site

Spa, Casino

Lectures - are there any?

Which are the newest ships?

 

Appreciate any information. Thanks

 

Entertainment - Same. Good most of the time, sometimes cheesy

Food - Think RCCL has a bit better selection - especially breakfest

Dining - fixed on 3-4 day cruises. Not sure on longer cruises

Cabin sizes - Carnival boast's about being the largest in the industry.

 

All in all, RCCL gives better detail to the guest, where as to us, Carnival is a bit more free going, just have a crazy time of it. Which I think thats why RCCL can charge more.

 

We've been on 9 Carnival and 2 RCCL cruises. We go for the cost effectiveness rather than what is the better of the 2. I think you can make the cruise whatever you want to make of it. It all depends on what you want out of the experience.

[sunlover5]

OOPS!:eek: Meant to say we are NOT very picky!!!!

Sorry!!

[BlueJacketsFan1]

Mostly we want to know about:

Entertainment: My wife and I both enjoyed the entertainment on both of our cruises with Carnival.

Food: We also really liked the food. Everything was done very well.

Dining - is it open or fixed times?: The dining room are fixed times, about 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm. Lido buffet is open most of the day.

Cabin sizes - we can't seem to find that information on the Carnival web site: Most people say that Carnival cabins are a little bigger than most.

Spa, Casino: Never visited the Spa, although we know people who have and they seemed to of like it. Casino, my wife loves playing around in the casino. It is a nice size and you can almost alway play anything when you walk in.

Lectures - are there any? There are briefings about the shore excursions and for debarktion.

Which are the newest ships? The Freedom is the newest ship sailing. The Liberty is the newest sailing here in the states.

[kellywhitehills]

Getting ready to try our first cruise on a Carnival ship. Not sure which one yet. Have been with RCCL for 10 years (11 cruises) and need to know what the major differences are from anyone who has tried both lines. The prices caught our eye!

 

Mostly we want to know about:

Entertainment

Food

Dining - is it open or fixed times?

Cabin sizes - we can't seem to find that information on the Carnival web site

Spa, Casino

Lectures - are there any?

Which are the newest ships?

 

Appreciate any information. Thanks

 

I have cruised both and prefer Carnival..

Food was better, the ship was maintained better couldnt say much about the entertainment..The price was excellent with Carnival and the cabins are way bigger..Inside rooms are 185 sq ft verses 125 in RCI...Dining is fixed on both lines..The dining room on Carnival was very nice..Lots of room and head space..On the Monarch I felt the roof was right above my head if I stood on my tippy toes the top of my head felt like it would hit the ceiling..

 

The newest ships are probably the Conquest Class, Freedom and Liberty..I have not sailed on them but have read they are nice though some find them hard to Navigate..I have sailed on the Carnival Spirit and she was very easy to navigate..I thought she was beautiful...

 

I know I am comparing Apples to Oranges when comparing The Monarch to the Spirit..My experience on the Monarch of the Seas was so bad it would take a mircle to get me back on a RCI ship..Putting everything else aside...Service wise they just were not that much better for me to spend the extra $$$$

[jode]

We just returned (last night) from our second Carnival cruise - Liberty - and absolutely loved it ! We had previously been on 10 RCL cruises and were die-hard RCL lovers - - however - suddenly RCL seemed "stale" - same entertainment, same menu, etc. So 2 years ago we did Carnival Spirit to Hawaii and now are happy Carnival cruisers.

 

Food - Carnival (surprisingly for us) has better food - - we were pleasantly surprised on the Spirit and more so on the Liberty - nice variety, very nice presentation - always something to appeal to you. Had breakfast and lunch in Lido - there are so many choices that even after 8 days we still hadn't tried everything : )

 

Dining times are somewhat fixed - however - there are 2 early times - 5:45 and 6:15 and 2 late dining times. We wanted the 6:15 but were assigned the 5:45 and were told "no problem - just arrive when it is convienient for you between 5:45 and 6:15" . . .and it worked out fine. And the Lido is always available for dining outside of the 4 fixed times (I believe the 4 dining times are only on the newer ships).

 

Entertainment was excellent on Carnival - their "production" shows are a bit better than RCL. We saw great (and sometimes not so great) entertainers on RCL and also on Carnival. I think it is a draw on that with Carnival edging a bit better on the large productions.

 

Cabins on Carnival are definitely bigger than RCL - HOWEVER - somehow the balcony on the Liberty seemed awfully small this time. The balcony on the Spirit had 2 chairs with foot rests and a small table - on the Liberty you could barely walk in front of the small upright chairs. Not sure if this is a trend with the newer ships to accomodate more cabins.

 

Casinos eat your money no matter what line you chose : )

 

We never use the Spa treatments but I do enjoy the sauna and steam and again the Carnival Liberty had a much better set up than the last I used on RCL. Generally they are much bigger spaces with large picture windows so that you can steam/sauna with a tropical view - very nice.

 

And bottom line - cost - Carnival has been cheaper (comparing itineraries/length of trip, etc) on both of our last cruises. So now we can hopefully cruise more often with Carnival's lower prices.

 

Hope this was helpful.

[AmberMarie]

Entertainment

Entertainment on Carnival was cheesy at times, but still entertaining. The opening show was really cheesy and some of the dancers seemed overly excited. I heard a few guests make quiet jokes about them being on coke or having too much coffee. But they were mostly very good. The ventriliquist was pretty good and the adult comedian was pretty funny. I thought Butch was a great cruise director. He was the highlight of the finale show on the last night of the cruise. On RCCL, I don't even remember the cruise director.. but I wasn't really watching for him, either. We only went to one RCCL show last year, and it was the Piano Man and it was awesome!

 

Food

The buffet is not as good as RCCL's in my opinion. The pizza and burgers and hotdogs were very good, though! Dining was ALRIGHT. Some nights were definitely better than others. I don't like seafood, though. Josh said the lobster was really good. I had a burger one night because nothing looked appetizing. The tea was really good, though. The Chocolate Melting Cake was the only dessert that was REALLY good, in my opinion. Our waiter was friendly and funny, but not as good as our servers on RCCL. We were treated like kings on RCCL. Drinks were NEVER empty and they always poured our wine for us. Our bottle was never even at the table, he would just pour it for us. On CCL, we poured our own glasses except for once. One time he even joked, "thanks for doing my job, haha!" but we did "his job" for the rest of the week. Wasn't a big deal, though. This is just nitpicking.

 

Dining - is it open or fixed times?

You are assigned a dining time, but you don't have to go. They have other ways of eating including the buffet and the pizzeria (among other things) and those places you can go anytime you want (as long as they're open).

 

Cabin sizes - we can't seem to find that information on the Carnival web site

Cabins are generally larger on Carnival.. however I think it's not that big of a deal having a smaller or larger cabin.. We had our first balcony on Carnival, though, and we LOVED IT!

 

Spa, Casino

I didn't go to the spa.

The casino was basically the same. The dealers seemed a bit more laid back, though.

[Gator Bait]

Have been on the Spirit, Conquest & Fantasy class ships on Carnival. We just returned (Sept 6) from Enchantment of the Seas. We had cabin # 7124 (Superior Ocean view). In comparing it to the balcony cabins on the Carnival ships, I found it to be not only larger at 190sf & 36sf for the balcony, but the layout was much better. The balcony had a sliding glass door instead of the usually door opening onto the balcony (taking up space) making it seem much roomer. The sofa bed and cabin table were next to the balcony, on Carnival the bed is next to the balcony. Loved the bathroom it even had built in shelves in the shower to hold shampoo, body wash, etc. . It really seemed to be a much larger cabin than the standard balcony cabins on Carnival. I did glance into a interior cabin and it was defiantly much smaller (140sf) than those on Carnival and the large ocean views were 154sf.

The Casino on Carnival are larger and have more slots. Carnival is not big on lectures unless you want to know how to shop or buy art. They don't have the type of lectures that may be offered on other ships, nor do they have the cooking classes.

 

The dinning hours are fixed on Carnival, but the Lido Decks have plenty to satisfy you if you can't make your seating. On the Enchantment I did like that you didn't have to get your lobster on formal night. On formal night we ate at Chops (fantastic) and had our lobster the next night in the dinning room with casual dress. On Carnival you get lobster on formal night only.

Room service was great on the Enchantment, and you could get hot meals. We ordered hamburgers one night after missing dinner (casino overstay), and they arrived popping hot delivered by an enthusiastic server. Room service on Carnival is very limited but the service is very good.

Food is just too subjected. I loved the food & excellent service in the dinning room on EOS, have not ever gotten that kind of service from Carnival, but it's hard to beat the variety that Carnival offers. Carnival also has the best ice cream & pizza not to mention the grilled Rubens. I guess to really compare you need to look at ship class and the cabin category. You can always find something good to eat on any ship. There can be a big difference in ships due to age and size. I have yet to sail on any ship that I didn't like.

[DqALEX]

I just booked my first cruise on RCCL today on the Explorer of the seas. I dont know what to expect but the ship sails 45 min away from my house so I will give RCCL a chance

[rsinj]

We enjoyed both, but enjoyed RCCL more.

 

Carnival's food was better, but RCCLs service was better. RCCL had more family-oriented activities. You are not going to find a rock wall or ice skating rink at sea anywhere but RCCL.

 

DqAlex - it is a pleasure making the short ride to Bayonne. One warning, if you park your car at the dock, invest a few dollars in a cover - there is always paint overspray from the shipyard.

 

Howard

[wonderfullife]

We have done both. We cruised on Carnival only once and RCI, 4 times. This was mostly due to circumstance.

 

The shows and entertainment are almost the same. The best bar band I found was on Carnival. However, everyone's taste in bands is very different so that is not a reason to choose one over the other. And, the band will not necessarily be there the next time.

 

The food was close to the same.

 

The service, wait staff and room staff was almost all better on RCI so far. Our waiter on Carnival was very awesome though and he was good enough for me to write a letter about.

 

The rooms are by far larger on Carnival than the RCI ships.

 

The activities are better on RCI if you are looking for mini golf, rock walls, ice skating etc...

 

We saw more chair hogs on RCI. We also some more obnoxious drunks on RCI. This is not just someone drinking but someone so very over the top that they were bothersome to many.

 

Overall, go on price if you aren't hooked on a line. It is not that much different of an experience.

 

We are going on Carnival this time. Leaving on Friday.

 

Aleece

[DqALEX]

Thanks for the tip Howard. I think I will try to get my father to drop us off he lived in Rutherford. I can park for free at his house.

[papa1952]

:rolleyes:

Getting ready to try our first cruise on a Carnival ship. Not sure which one yet. Have been with RCCL for 10 years (11 cruises) and need to know what the major differences are from anyone who has tried both lines. The prices caught our eye!

 

Mostly we want to know about:

Entertainment

Food

Dining - is it open or fixed times?

Cabin sizes - we can't seem to find that information on the Carnival web site

Spa, Casino

Lectures - are there any?

Which are the newest ships?

 

 

 

Appreciate any information. Thanks

 

 

:rolleyes: DW and I have always sailed with RC and we just booked with Carnival for a Thanksgiving cruise on Carnival Triumph. We sure hope it is all everyone said, it is. But, just in case we are also booked on RC's Voyager of the Seas for New Years.:D

[pugsammy]

We just returned from our first Carnival, having only sailed with RC.....You should definately try it...Yes, there were differences between the 2 lines, but none that would keep me from sailing with Carnival again.

 

The biggest difference for me was the ship itself. Valor was a nice ship, but in no way IMO stacked up to the glamour of the voyager class ships.

 

You should do a search on this board, for I asked the same question a month back prior to my sailing.

[AmberMarie]

To me it seemed like Carnival was more geared towards "inside entertainment" and keeping you inside the ship.

 

Also the range of people was very different on CCL. Much younger and more diverse group of passengers on CCL, and way more outspoken. RCCL was mostly older, and white (not saying anything is better or worse, just an observation!!). But I have only been on one cruise with each line but they were during the exact same week.

[IwannaGo Now]

I was on the CCL Glory two years ago, and thought everything was great.

I was on RCI Voyager of the Seas 7 years ago, and thought it was great.

I was on HAL, Westerdam last year and thought it was pretty good.

I just got of the CCL Legend last week, and thought it was just OK. I felt that the food quality had really gone down, as well as the selection choices. The Lido was great at lunch, but Dinner offered only one carving station, and a limited selection of stuff, and only two dessert choices. The entertainment was also just ok. All in all, I did enjoy it...after all, it is a cruise!

But now I have to book a cruise on RCI again to see if they have also slipped.

Maybe I'll try Princess, or NCL again...been a long time for them also. Decisions, decisions... Any cruise is better than staying home!

[IwannaGo Now]

I forgot to mention, I agree with AmberMarie, above. I did feel like I was at my local Walmart whenever I was on deck. Carnival has become quite a diversity magnet of sorts....not that there's anything wrong with that, just that it was a BIG change from 2 years ago on the Glory...and I wasn't expecting it.

[Cotton]

I've also cruised on both lines. Although the two are pretty much the same as far as service and entertainment - I much prefer Carnival, for many reasons. The larger cabins, more amenities, and the food - plus value - are the reasons I'll stick w/Carnival. I'm a retired chef from N.O., food is important to me, and I'm not disappointed on Carnival ships. Also - in the dining room on Carnival you can have complimentary espresso and cappuccino in the dining room with all three meals a day - not so on RCCL. I had to pay dearly for them.

[crusinmama06]

I've also cruised on both lines. Although the two are pretty much the same as far as service and entertainment - I much prefer Carnival, for many reasons. The larger cabins, more amenities, and the food - plus value - are the reasons I'll stick w/Carnival. I'm a retired chef from N.O., food is important to me, and I'm not disappointed on Carnival ships. Also - in the dining room on Carnival you can have complimentary espresso and cappuccino in the dining room with all three meals a day - not so on RCCL. I had to pay dearly for them.

 

Darling cotton loves her espressos and cappuccinos :D ;)

 

Actually, I am going to go the opposite (big surprise huh...lol). The newer RCCL ships have more ammenities and more perks, especially in the suite classes.

 

I do really like the food on Carnival though. But I just can't get past the WOW of the RCCL ships.

[Cotton]

Yes, I really do!:D Anytime I can get the little extras like that and not be out an add'l $55 (I kept track of the caps & esp on RCCL), plus less rate, I'll go w/Carnival.

[criuisingurl079]

I am also a RCCL fan, who tried Carnival in 2003. I was very disappointed, but think part of it was that it was an older smaller ship. Trying the Liberty in Dec- so hopefully the 2nd time will be better!