I like Carnival, will RCCL be much different?

[Littlegoo75]

Hi. I really like Carnival a lot, but I am thinking of taking a 6 night cruise on RCCL's Jewel of the Seas in February or March. We are booked on the Carnival Liberty European cruise for October 2005, but that is too long to wait, so we thought we would take a cruise in the late Winter / early Spring to help make the wait for the big cruise more bearable.

I have heard that RCCL's food is not as good as Carnival's. I know there are a lot of people on here that have sailed both cruise lines, can you tell me which line you enjoyed more and for which reasons?

We are planning on sailing out of Ft. Lauderdale because that is the only city in Florida that Jet Blue flies to from D.C. and I really like that airline. Carnival doesn't offer many cruises out of Ft. Lauderdale, and I heard Miami is a real hassle.

I look forward to any input ya'll can offer.

Thanks!

Holly

[carmel]

Except I cruised RCCL in June and won't cruise Carnival until January.

 

My hubby and I really enjoy dining and have eaten at a lot of 5 star places. I would say the food on RCCL was just above average - nothing to die for but certainly tastey enough to enjoy.

 

I thought Jonny Rockets was pretty good. I ate there one afternoon while my daughter swam. The onion rings are yummy.

 

All in all, I really couldn't complain about the food. It was hot, tastey, readily available and very diverse. I think they offer enough to satisfy pretty much all taste buds.

 

I am excited to try some of Carnival's dishes.

 

Have fun!

[torpeedo]

We have sailed several Carnival and one RCCL, the Radiance. The Radiance is a beautiful ship and the sister of the Jewel. We are booked with the CC group to cruise the Jewel on 4/22/06.

Food is definitely better on the Carnval ships for our particular tastes.. Does not mean that some will like it more on the RCCL! It wasn't horrible but it lacked variety and seemed like retreaded meals very often.

There is no Johnny Rockets on the Radiance so I don't think there will be one on the Jewel either.

Specialty restaurants on both Carnival and RCCL are excellent and you will not be disappointed there on either line.

In our opinion, the Radiance was the most beautiful ship with lots of windows and the decor was very art deco.

Service on both lines was comparable. Shows on the Carnival has a bit of an edge over the Radiance.

[joycemh]

I have sailed both cruise lines, and I really think the difference is not so much the cruise lines, but the ship. Each ship has it's own personality, and of course a different crew and CD. My favorite ship is RCCL's Rhapsody. We really enjoyed CCL's Conquest, had a great time, guess this is my second choice.

 

Joyce

[ccletzgo]

You will enjoy Royal. The Jewel is one of the ships in royal's most beautiful class of ships. The colors on Royal ships are "softer", with less extreme decor then carnival.

 

 

Service has always been fantastic. Its been awhile sense I cruised Carnival, but I remember the food was very good with Carnival. My last celebrity cruise, the food was just good, but not GREAT. Royal, some where inbetween.

 

Also Royal ships have the best aft cabin balcony's:D You dont need a suite on a royal ship to have a huge aft balcony.

 

I have not sailed on a radiance class ship yet, but I very much look forward to it some day.

[jimbug]

Something to remember when flying into Fort Lauderdale:

It's only a short cab/shuttle van ride away from Miami! Seriously, it takes less than 30 minutes to get there, even in traffic. Granted, the FLL cruise port is really close to the airport, but still, don't let that limit you.

 

When a friend and I were in Miami for the Orange bowl a couple of years ago, we flew into FLL because it was so much cheaper. We had a friend pick us up and drive us to South Beach, but when we came back, we paid Super Shuttle $18 each to take us back to FLL airport, which I thought was really reasonable.

 

Sooooooo...just remember you've got tons of options for cruising out of South Florida!

[gsb]

CCL--larger cabins, much more and better entertainment options,

I would say the food is comparable, with CCL having more choices for lunch on the Lido.

[robsvacation]

As a single traveler I far prefer Carnival: their ships aren't as nice and the service is not as consistant as Carnival, but the fellow passengers are far friendlier. I really felt like I spent a week at the mall when I traveled on the Explorer of the Seas. While it was likely the week I traveled, it was enough of a turn-off that, combined with the much higher single rates RCCL charges, I generally choose Carnival now.

 

Also, I give Carnival an ever-so-slight edge in the main dining room, while RCCL did a better job on the buffets (especially as dinner time)

[lunyma]

I've been on both lines, on various ships... Although I prefer Carnival, I like Royal Caribbean as well. Unfortunatly, RCCL's food quality has gone downhill, and like the last poster, I felt like I was cruising in a mall, when I went on Explorer. Jewel won't be like that though, but more like the Radiance, which IMO, was the most beautiful ship I've ever been on. I'd say... Go for it!

[Lori&Tony]

After just coming off RCCL Mariner, I can say that I like Carnival much better. We sail with a real partying group and the sidewalks (except for the latin lounge) kinda rolled up after 11. The piano bar is no wheres near as raucous as on carnival. The disco some nights had people dancing, other nights none. I thought that the food was not as good as on Carnival. I thought that in their effort to raise the bar they made to food so fancy as to make it unappealing. One night they had 3 out of 6 entrees as seafood...not good if you don't like seafood. The buffet food was similar to Carnivals but I'm not impressed with either lines fare. Typical commercial grade food. The supper club was cheaper than Carnival and while the service and food were good, it was not as good as Carnivals. So, it is a trade off... a little extra cost for a little better service and food. don't get me wrong, the food was good there but I just thought that Carnival raised the level a little higher. Room service is better on RCCL than on Carnival I will say. One of the biggest gripes is that they certainly need better scheduleing of events. Some events were right before early dinner leaving you the option to prepare for dinner real early or miss the event or dinner. Some events were scheduled when the ship was in port and everyone was off. I will compliment them on the ship however, it was beautiful. We really liked the adult only section. This was our first RCCL cruise after numerous Carnival ones. We see no real need to run off to RCCL again. IMHO, these RCCL fans that typically blast Carnival cruisers as K-Mart cruisers don't really know what they are talking about. I'm sure that there are plenty of RCCL folks out there with just as many reasons not to sail Carnival as I have for RCCL. So to be fair, hear their opinions too.

[nrdsb4]

I don't see any reason to choose only one line and stick with it exclusively. I've sailed both, and I think they are very similar lines. Carnival has better this, RCCL has better that..., etc.

 

IMHO, variety is the spice of life. Try as many lines as you can and experience and revel in all of their differences. I really don't think any of these mainstream lines are "better," just different.

 

You should at least experience RCCL once. They really have incredibly beautiful ships.

 

I've sailed 5 lines and enjoyed every one of them, though none was my idea of perfect. Maybe I'm just too easy to please.

 

I've never sailed on any of the "upscale" lines. I would love to someday - knowing that the ships may not be as large or the activities as varied, etc. It would still be a glimpse into another kind of experience.

 

BTW, I've never been on any cruise line that offered GREAT food, but I've always been able to find something acceptable. I've certainly never gone hungry on any cruise.

[Littlegoo75]

Thanks for all of the feedback. It seems that almost everyone thinks that Carnival's food is better, but as long as the food isn't "bad" on RCCL, we should be fine. We have dined at many upscale places, but we are always up for "Wendy's or Burger King" too, our palates aren't that refined.

One of my husband's best friends works for Charlie Palmer, and went to one of those French cooking academys and helps design the menu on Silversea, so to him both Carnival and RCCL wouldn't be worth his time of day, but he's not going, so phooey on him. I like the cuisine just fine.

I too would like to try one of the Silversea type lines one day, but maybe in 20 years. We're too young right now, and probably wouldn't enjoy it so much. Right now, we really love the bih ships with all of the bells and whistles on them, so we will just stick with the mainstream for now.

[halos]

Carnival's food is very good these days.

Back on my first cruise (I think it was 1990) on the Celebration, the food was disappointing, but I still had a great time and it didn't stop me from trying Carnival again...so even if the food isn't that great on RCCL....and it just may be awesome (who knows???) you'll probably still have a great time. :)

[Marcys]

I was very interested in the responses here since I am making the switch the other way. I am defecting from RCCL to Carnival next summer due to the rising costs of RCCL and the ability to get a good rate on a CC group cruise on Valor. We used the rock wall, in-line skating, etc the first cruise on Explorer but not in the 2 cruises since then so those don't hold us to RCCL any more. Food is plentiful, but just so-so. Entertainment is great! Getting bored with same "games" so looking forward to some new ones on Carnival.

 

My kids are 13 and 16 so we hope they like the teen areas. My only concern is that the kids program stops at 15. My 16 year old doesn't meet friends very easily so I hope she'll have a good time and find other teens being "on her own." Although I understand there's a teen disco.

[crusinmama22]

We are searching for our Feb 2006 cruise. I may have to choose Royal, since Carnival does not go to the ports I am looking for at least the ships I prefer don't sail to the islands I was hoping to do. Also considering Princess any thoughts on Princess.

 

My husband and I will be making this trip without our kids ages 20 and 22, they will be with us on the Miracle 12/26/04 so We need some time alone now.

 

Interested in any comments.

 

Thanks

[momofmeg]

If you read the RCCL board you get the idea that you are taking a "classier" cruise. Not true-both lines are similiar. On both lines if you take a mini cruise you find the hard partiers, obnoxious drunks etc. but if you take a 7 day cruise you don't see this as much.

 

There are a few minor differences- some better on Carnival some on RCCL. For ex. Carnival provides a self laundry-RCCL doesn't. RCCL has a movie theatre-where as except for Carnival Paradise (I think)- Carnival doesn't.

 

The only thing RCCL has on Carnival is the voyager class ships which even the conquest class ships can't compare to. But as we all know those voyager class ship cruises are expensive-so you pay for the putt-putt course, the ice skating rink etc. So I guess it is what you want out of a cruise for entertainment and if you are willing to pay the extra bucks. We are going on a voyager ship cruise next year but don't think we will permantly

desert Carnival. I just want to have that experience once. But I am sure I will be back to Carnival. You just can't beat the value of a Carnival cruise.

 

Now a couple of years ago we did a Princess cruise. That was a step above Carnival and RCCL and we loved it. But I did find it funny when I was reading their board at cruisecritic. Many there would lump RCCL and Carnival as being "low class" pretty much the same way the RCCL guys say that about Carnival. It would not surprise me if like the real expensive lines like Crystal and Cunard would lump Princess, RCCL and Carnival as low class. Not that I care. It just proves to me that most people want to feel they are "better" then others especially when they spend more money. I guess that is the only way they can justify to themselves it was worth the extra money or something.

[bplazo]

I have been on RCCL twice on the Voyager class ships and have had an excellent time. We have another cruise booked next year on the Radiance class ships. Have always received great service.

[PINEVIEW01]

Hi. I really like Carnival a lot, but I am thinking of taking a 6 night cruise on RCCL's Jewel of the Seas in February or March. We are booked on the Carnival Liberty European cruise for October 2005, but that is too long to wait, so we thought we would take a cruise in the late Winter / early Spring to help make the wait for the big cruise more bearable.

 

I've done the same thing. So, I booked one on Princess for January. I've never done Princess before.

 

I know there are a lot of people on here that have sailed both cruise lines, can you tell me which line you enjoyed more and for which reasons?

We are planning on sailing out of Ft. Lauderdale because that is the only city in Florida that Jet Blue flies to from D.C. and I really like that airline. Carnival doesn't offer many cruises out of Ft. Lauderdale, and I heard Miami is a real hassle.

 

I also looked to book out of FLL. It is cheaper for our smaller airport and yes, Miami is a bit of a Hassle. Hoping Ft. Lauderdale is easier.

 

Would be interested to hear other impressions of the differences between Miami & Ft. Lauderdale and Carnival/Princess.

[Marcys]

Momofmeg...you pay for all that fancy stuff on the Voyager class ships, but except for our first cruise (been on Explorer 3 times) nobody in our family uses those amenities. The teens just want to hang out and mom and dad want a lounger on the pool deck, in the shade, with a view of the water plus a health club, and good entertainment at night.

 

We'll be sailing Valor in June on a CC group cruise...it's more about the people!

[Littlegoo75]

I am undecided between 2 cruises now. The 6 night Jewel of the Seas, and the 7 night on the Valor. If the Valor sailed out of Ft. Lauderdale, then I would choose that one for sure, but it sails out of Miami.

For any of you out there that have flown into and out of Ft. Lauderdale for a cruise sailing out of Miami, how much of a hassle, and how much more expensive was it to get to the Port of Miami from there? Are there any chartered busses that shuttle people to the pier? We would fly in the morning of the cruise, and hopefully fly out the day the ship returns. Now that we live on the East Coast (D.C. area) we can do that.

I was looking into the flights from D.C. to Miami, but the times aren't too good, and are much more expensive than the flights to FLL. Also, I can get a non-stop to FLL and it's kind of difficult to find them to Miami for some wierd reason.

I would love to hear what ya'll have to say on that.

[dickinson]

Ft Lauderdale and Miami are both airports that people fly into to take a cruise out of Miami. Ft Laud is not very far away. You can either arrange your own transportation (there are numerous limo companies, etc) or take the Carnival shuttle. You do not have to do air by Carnival to use it. Simply collect your luggage and go outside and look for the booth. It is an independent company. We have done this before. I think the first shuttle leaves at 11:00 am. It is about $16-19/person one way. Don't close yourseslf off to only cruises that leave from Ft Lauderdale. Look at both and decide which one you like. transportation from Ft Lauderdale should not be an issue.

[nascarfans_wny]

Luck of the draw and circumstances determined which line we cruised for our 2nd through 4th cruises (friends picked #2, #3 was a last minute "deal", and my parents sent us on the honeymoon), but we have liked both RCCL and Carnival. There are differences, but they aren't huge. We're looking forward to returning to RCCL next year, but unless "Explorer of the Seas" is the absolute best thing since sliced bread, I don't think we'll stick with just one ship (or line) forever. I'd still like to consider taking NCL's 7-night Western Caribbean out of Charleston -- we love "at sea days", and there are three on that cruise, with stops in Key West, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel.

[Littlegoo75]

Thanks Dickinson.

That's what I needed to know. I really really want to choose the Valor now. When we cruised out of Port Canaveral, we took the Carnival shuttle from the Orlando airport. If getting to the Port of Miami from Fort Lauderdale is as simple as that was, or even more so, since the port was about an hour away, then I wouldn't think twice. I just wasn't sure if the pre-arranged shuttle busses left from Fort Lauderdale or not. Last time, we just bought our tickets from the lady standing outside and we were on the bus. Looking at sailing on the Feb 6th cruise. The itinerary looks fabulous! We sailed on the Pride when she was a few months old, if we choose this cruise, we will be on the Valor when (he's?) a few months old, and in October we will be on the Liberty when she is only a few months old. I don't know if I can sail on older ships now.

[elaineb]

I am undecided between 2 cruises now. The 6 night Jewel of the Seas, and the 7 night on the Valor. If the Valor sailed out of Ft. Lauderdale, then I would choose that one for sure, but it sails out of Miami.

For any of you out there that have flown into and out of Ft. Lauderdale for a cruise sailing out of Miami, how much of a hassle, and how much more expensive was it to get to the Port of Miami from there? Are there any chartered busses that shuttle people to the pier? We would fly in the morning of the cruise, and hopefully fly out the day the ship returns. Now that we live on the East Coast (D.C. area) we can do that.

I was looking into the flights from D.C. to Miami, but the times aren't too good, and are much more expensive than the flights to FLL. Also, I can get a non-stop to FLL and it's kind of difficult to find them to Miami for some wierd reason.

I would love to hear what ya'll have to say on that.

Last Aug. my DH & I flew into Fort Lauderdale instead of Miami. We didn't book a transfer ahead of time, but found the Carnival rep at the airport. We asked if we could take the bus with them, and they said no problem. They wrote up a slip which was then charged to our Sign & Sail. One way I think was $15 pp???