8 RCCL cruises, debating on trying a Carnival Cruise...

[shayelle]

We have enjoyed each and every one of our RCCL cruises. We have 2 kids (6 and 8) who LOVE to cruise. We have always sailed the Voyager class ships with the kids. We are pretty brand loyal when it comes to travel (hotel, airline, cruise, etc) but I am seriously considering trying Carnival. Honestly, it's mostly due to price. We have the Adventure of the Seas March sailing on hold now, but I am looking at switching. My questions are: What ships should we consider? We like the bigger ships with good kids club, good pool etc. I would like one similiar to the Voyager or Freedom class on RCCL. How is the food? Does Carnival offer connecting rooms? We always get two connecting rooms but I was going to try Princess and found out most of their ships do not offer this.

 

Thanks!

[jetskier]

We have enjoyed each and every one of our RCCL cruises. We have 2 kids (6 and 8) who LOVE to cruise. We have always sailed the Voyager class ships with the kids. We are pretty brand loyal when it comes to travel (hotel, airline, cruise, etc) but I am seriously considering trying Carnival. Honestly, it's mostly due to price. We have the Adventure of the Seas March sailing on hold now, but I am looking at switching. My questions are: What ships should we consider? We like the bigger ships with good kids club, good pool etc. I would like one similiar to the Voyager or Freedom class on RCCL. How is the food? Does Carnival offer connecting rooms? We always get two connecting rooms but I was going to try Princess and found out most of their ships do not offer this.

 

Thanks!

 

Look at the Carnival Freedom. You never know if you will like something until you at least try it. Carnival gets a lot of knocks from folks who have never stepped foot on one of their ships. Carnival is also retrofitting several of their ships with connecting rooms as they go into drydock. Look at the deck plans on Carnival's website and it should show you if it has it.

Dave

[Dave85]

The truth is no Carnival ship really compares to the RCI Voyager and Freedom Class ships... just my personal opinion, as someone who sails and loves BOTH lines. That said, I'd strongly encourage you to give Carnival a try -- and I'd suggest one of the Conquest Class ships (Conquest, Glory, Valor, Liberty, Freedom).

 

You'll find that while the Carnival ships don't have the amenities of the Voyager/Freedom Class ships, Carnival cruises are a great value and IMHO the food is better on Carnival.

[A&Jfamily]

We have enjoyed each and every one of our RCCL cruises. We have 2 kids (6 and 8) who LOVE to cruise. We have always sailed the Voyager class ships with the kids. We are pretty brand loyal when it comes to travel (hotel, airline, cruise, etc) but I am seriously considering trying Carnival. Honestly, it's mostly due to price. We have the Adventure of the Seas March sailing on hold now, but I am looking at switching. My questions are: What ships should we consider? We like the bigger ships with good kids club, good pool etc. I would like one similiar to the Voyager or Freedom class on RCCL. How is the food? Does Carnival offer connecting rooms? We always get two connecting rooms but I was going to try Princess and found out most of their ships do not offer this.

 

Thanks!

 

Kids program is great - your's would be in the the 6-8 group, together, which is nice. Food is very good (IMHO based on the Valor and the Legend - western iten. on both which was a WONDERFUL adventure for the kids). And yes, they do offer some connecting rooms.

 

Look at the Conquest class ship - you can pull up the deck plans on the web site. You will find basketball, putt putt, ping pong, etc, but you will not find the rock wall, wave rider, ice skating etc. Dependng on the ship, they may or may not have the pool side theater. Also, you will be asked to pick a dining time - either 6 or 8:15 (and if you are like us, we chose the early one).

 

I guess the question I would ask myself is will we still have a nice vacation without the rock wall etc. If those things are important, then you will need to stick to RCCL. If you don't mind giving those up (they are not important to us) then I think you will really enjoy Carnival and the bang for the buck it delivers.

[steveaaaaa]

We have enjoyed each and every one of our RCCL cruises. We have 2 kids (6 and 8) who LOVE to cruise. We have always sailed the Voyager class ships with the kids. We are pretty brand loyal when it comes to travel (hotel, airline, cruise, etc) but I am seriously considering trying Carnival. Honestly, it's mostly due to price. We have the Adventure of the Seas March sailing on hold now, but I am looking at switching. My questions are: What ships should we consider? We like the bigger ships with good kids club, good pool etc. I would like one similiar to the Voyager or Freedom class on RCCL. How is the food? Does Carnival offer connecting rooms? We always get two connecting rooms but I was going to try Princess and found out most of their ships do not offer this.

 

Thanks!

We love the Voyager class ships but the price is too high.Your kids will be a little let down as it is a downgrade from Voyager class to anything.IMHO.

Steve

[mom2girls]

The closest to the Voyager class ships is the Conquest class with Carnival. I have sailed both lines, and personally I prefer Carnival. But, I don't need the rock climbing wall, ice rink, or flowrider. I'm happy with a pool and being out at sea. Both of my girls love the children's program with Carnival. But, they don't do all of the activities in the program as I want to have family time as well.

[frito58]

We sailed Carnival 5 times , the last on the Glory. We the switched to the AOS, twice which we loved. There is really no comparison but we are returning to the Glory in Oct. for price and we are going with another couple that wanted a good deal. But saying that the Glory is a great ship with a great itinerary and you would enjoy it I'm sure.

[Casino Player]

We have enjoyed each and every one of our RCCL cruises. We have 2 kids (6 and 8) who LOVE to cruise. We have always sailed the Voyager class ships with the kids. We are pretty brand loyal when it comes to travel (hotel, airline, cruise, etc) but I am seriously considering trying Carnival. Honestly, it's mostly due to price. We have the Adventure of the Seas March sailing on hold now, but I am looking at switching. My questions are: What ships should we consider? We like the bigger ships with good kids club, good pool etc. I would like one similiar to the Voyager or Freedom class on RCCL. How is the food? Does Carnival offer connecting rooms? We always get two connecting rooms but I was going to try Princess and found out most of their ships do not offer this.

 

Thanks!

 

If you really like RCCL then you should stick with them. My wife and I tried RCCL once and it was enough. You will find larger staterooms on Carnival, better food, and much better service. I always enjoy sailing on the Triumph. However, go on whichever ship that is going to where you want to go to. Some rooms on Carnival connect.

[karenw]

If price wasn't an issue, I never would have strayed from RCCL. The ships are classier, food better, service upscale. I love Royal! But realistically, when I could do 2 CCL cruises for the price of 1 with them, I made some changes. In my opinion, Carnival is more for families and partying. If I'm doing a couple thing, I'd pay the extra and do Royal. Althouth, my kids loved RCCL too.

Do the newer ships. Glory's class was nice, but didn't care for Legend's.

[cruzncouple]

We just got off the Glory New Years Eve cruise. Our first with Carnival as we sailed RCCL twice before. Honestly, we could not say one way or another what was better. Although I will stay that immediatly we noticed the larger state rooms and we did have connecting cabins with our 4 children in the other one. A vacation is a vacation and we were happy to not be working and to be on the ocean.

We are getting ready to book with Carnivals new ship Dream. Check out the water area.

 

I guess it depends on what really matters to you and your family. We would rather spend the extra money on other stuff rather than paying for a rock wall etc. I'm sure our teenagers would speak differently but it's not their money.