Help--royal caribbean cruiser thinking of going to carnival

[liberty080208]

I am considering the Carnival Splendor in August, 2009. I have never been on Carnival but have been on 4 Royal Caribbean Cruises. Anyone out there who has switched from Royal to Carnival?

[EASTMAN]

Hi-Yes we have liked RCCL in the past.We heard all these Carnival stories about crazy kids running around drunk and and this might have been in the distant past,but Carnival is a great cruise and very close to RCCL.We are 61 and even at our age we always have a great time.The big picture is that we think RCCL has priced us out of their market.We get very good deals including a military rate that only Carnival gives to other then retirees and active service.Save your money and go Carnival.its always been good for us.But watch the first two weeks in March,I still hear stories that make me want to book in the fall.

HAVE A GREAT CRUISE :)

[thepeach]

I am considering the Carnival Splendor in August, 2009. I have never been on Carnival but have been on 4 Royal Caribbean Cruises. Anyone out there who has switched from Royal to Carnival?

Yes, we have been on both lines. We tried RCCL again this past November, and we will never go again. We were on the Granduer out of Tampa, and we didn't find the cruise very grand. Great ports, but we were absolutely bored. There are far more activities on Carnival to keep you busy. The food wasn't very good either-it was OK, but not the quality of Carnival. Even the loyal Royals at our dining room table were not happy with the food. The buffet was good, probably a bit better than Carnival. We missed our afternoon tea on sea days also. The Carnival Lido (Windammer) is open almost all day, unlike the Windjammer. You can get free lemonade, ice tea, coffee and water all day long. There is a separate grill and pizza area on all Carnival ships. The pizza station also offers caeser salad and calzones. The pizza station is open 24 hours. The pizza is excellent (if you're from New York or Chicago, probably not, but we're from Atlanta, so we don't have great pizza here). The pizza we had on the Grandeur was horrid!! The grill stations have hamburgers, hot dogs, minute steak sandwiches, grilled chicken breast sandwiches and fries. The decor on Carnival ships is a bit glitzy, but I'll take glitzy over boredom and not so great food any day. The entertainment is about the same on both ships. When we took excursions on the Granduer last year through the ship, there wasn't anyone directing you to get to your group. Carnival does a much better job in this area. Debarkation in Tampa was a nightmare in November. No one seemed to have their act togther on how to get the bus to the airport. We waited 1 hour and then had to beg someone to get us transportation as we going to miss our plane. Again, Carnival does a much better job in this area as well. Give Carnival a try, if you don't like it, you can always go back to RCCL.

[liberty080208]

We went on the liberty of the seas 8/08 and it was a really nice ship. We celebrated our 25th anniversary with our daughters and their significant others. RCCL is getting overpriced in my book, and we want to go again this fall (9/09). I have heard both sides, don't go 'backwards' to CCL if you've been on Royal, you'll see why it's cheaper...but the ships on Carnival really do look nice. I am highly considering it and appreciate all the input. Our daughter is 20 and her boyfriend is 21, and I think they'll love it.

[bakechef]

Some people cannot get past the busy often gaudy decor of Carnival ships, but I find that they add a nice energy to the public areas.

 

Carnival ships do not have the rock climbing, ice skating or flow rider. They do have big water slides and on many ships (including the splendor) have the seaside theater on the lido, I'm looking forward to that in the evenings.

 

I have enjoyed each and every cruise that I have taken. I enjoy Carnival for the value. I really enjoy their staterooms, they suit my needs well. I love the bedding and the nice fluffy robes that every cabin gets.

 

I would sail Royal Caribbean again in an instant if they offered similar pricing to Carnival for the dates that I want to sail. For now Carnival suits me just fine.

 

The food on my 2 Carnival cruises has been quite good in contrast to my last Royal Caribbean cruise, I don't know if it was just a bad week, but the food was consistently bad.

[EarthGirl517]

We've gone on both and like them for different reasons. These are the things we liked about each line

 

RCCL

 

We think the ships are prettier.

We like that you can order off of the dining room menu through room service at dinner.

We've done Voyager class only and like the ice rink.

We think the promenade is nice.

Past guest perks are a little nicer.

Larger variety of cabin types.

 

Carnival

 

We think the food is better.

We like the bedding better.

Price is usually better (but not always).

Even though we've done smaller ships on Carnival we felt there was more to do.

We like the kids' program.

We thought the entertainment was better.

Warm Chocolate Melting Cake (available every night) is delicious.

Free cappuccino in dining room after dinner.

 

 

I'm sure there are more pros to both lines, but that's what I have right now. Just my two cents. Oh yeah and I really missed the grilled burgers on my last RCCL cruise. We ate at Johnny Rockets a lot because I am a big burger eater. The burgers in the buffet are sitting in water. Gross. Johnny Rockets is good but I'd rather not pay $4 a pop.

[bakechef]

We've gone on both and like them for different reasons. These are the things we liked about each line

 

RCCL

 

We think the ships are prettier.

We like that you can order off of the dining room menu through room service at dinner.

We've done Voyager class only and like the ice rink.

We think the promenade is nice.

Past guest perks are a little nicer.

Larger variety of cabin types.

 

Carnival

 

We think the food is better.

We like the bedding better.

Price is usually better (but not always).

Even though we've done smaller ships on Carnival we felt there was more to do.

We like the kids' program.

We thought the entertainment was better.

Warm Chocolate Melting Cake (available every night) is delicious.

Free cappuccino in dining room after dinner.

 

 

I'm sure there are more pros to both lines, but that's what I have right now. Just my two cents. Oh yeah and I really missed the grilled burgers on my last RCCL cruise. We ate at Johnny Rockets a lot because I am a big burger eater. The burgers in the buffet are sitting in water. Gross. Johnny Rockets is good but I'd rather not pay $4 a pop.

 

I remember those gray burgers floating in fat and water on every RCI cruise that I have ever been on, I am surprised that they are still there, LOL!

 

The free burgers are really quite tasty on Carnival and always fresh.

[crisperjr]

We have sailed twice on both RCL & CCL, and have found both to be similar. However as another poster mentioned, RCL has priced us out this year, so we have opted for CCL out of Baltimore.

 

I enjoyed Explorer of the Seas quite a bit with its promanade. Plus I also liked the fact I could order almost anything for room service. But to pay considerably more for a cruise for just a couple of perks - No.

 

Looking forward to the Pride this Nov.

 

Oliver

[pamp0227]

I've been on both cruise line and like Carnival better. It may have more kids but one thing that happened to us on the RCL was there was a brief times where there was no food available. We were in Naussa and came in from a shore excursion and found no food available for 1 hr. The ship we were on had a 1 hr time period in the afternoon where their was no food available annd after a day of diving this was important.

[dingoguy]

The conga difference between RCC

= BORING.. 20 person, Princess..50 person....Carnival 200 to 400 ="s MORE FUN.:D Rcc - larger nicer ships, less Americans (most likey the reason for boring), food well.. not good, more things to do (rock wall, Ice ring,etc,) Princess - older crowd, small bathrooms, better shows, good all around. Carnival - people having fun, better food, ice cream anytime, best bargain, best all round. But any day cruising is better than any day work.( ON ANY SHIP line)

[kimwilly]

Ditto to most of the posts that have responded about CCL versus RCCL. The level of excitement on Carnival was much higher on CCL. The crew was more enthused,and seemed to actually enjoy catering to you. The feeling that you were the only guest in the world that mattered was wonderful. The food was good,and the service was outstanding. I felt like I was something special to my cabin steward and wait staff in the dining room. The feeling on RCCL did not compare to CCL at all. I hope you have as good of time as we did on Carnival.

[motherchic]

We have sailed RCCL once and Celebrity seven times. This August we are going on our first Carnival cruise, the Valor with our 3 daughters.

CELEBRITY: I have loved the pampering, the concierge level,

We like assigned dining. The food and leisurely dining for us is a plus. I enjoyed the thallo pool, reading books. Always being able to enjoy a hot tub when I wanted to. We have been very lucky to have a great roll call of CC'ers. So we have had allot of laughs and I can spend hours reading a book and looking out at the ocean. ( I think that has allot to do with having a bunch of kids and allot of cooking and laundry to do )

BUT, I would like to go on a cruise with more activities. With taking our girls we knew we wanted either RCCL or carnival. The price on carnival was soooo much better.

We are very much looking forward to Carnival... I dont mind too much glitz. It can be fun. I am hoping we really have a good experience. I would like to cruise more often and if this cruise is a fun experience then we could afford Carnival so much easier then Celebrity or RCCL.

Hope you also have a great cruise

Nadine

[reno3]

We have been on both.

Carnival has better prices, better food, better service, better slide:D.

Was not inpressed with RCCL for the price.

Husband says he will never cruise RCCL again.

Last cruise on Legend was GREAT!

[Willbcruisin]

This is a great thread and I'm so happy with all the info!

 

As you can see by my signature we have been all Royal and 1 Princess.

 

Princess I did not care for at all. Just not our style...........but we made our own fun, no Thanks to Princess. But Hey...we were cruising!!

 

We are SO excited to try Carnival as everything I have read here seems RCC & CCL are similar but people tend to like the food better on CCL. I really don't care about the "decor" as long as the foo-foos are flowing and we are sailing!:p

 

I can't imagine having more fun than we do on RCC but we're sure going to give it our best on CCL!! The price was really good so no time like the present to try it out!!

[seajayg]

I am considering the Carnival Splendor in August, 2009. I have never been on Carnival but have been on 4 Royal Caribbean Cruises. Anyone out there who has switched from Royal to Carnival?

Hi there,

We took our first cruise last year on Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas 7 day eastern Caribbean. We are 40's w/ 2 teens then 15 and 17. We all had a great time although we found the evenings a bit quiet.

This year we sailed Carnival Freedom Eastern (different ports) 8 day. We took our DD's again and our sister and Brother in law and their teens 13 and 18.

FOOD- comparable although I liked RCI's pizza much better

STAFF- we loved our waitstaff, Lana, Nam, and Igor on Carnival

CABIN- Everyone talks about Carnival's lg cabins. Although I didn't take a tape measure I'm sure my Liberty cabin was bigger. (We had Balcony cabins 8A type each ship).

MOTION- We felt significantly more motion on the Carnival ship I assume because it is smaller although it is one of the larger Carnival ships. We also were awakened by severe vibration and noise when docking with Carnival. We heard nothing on the Liberty (cabins were in comparable locations on each ship). Last year we used to comment on the skill of the captain that he could dock a ship that size and we didn't feel a thing!

ENTERTAINMENT- The shows on the Freedom were great especially "Ticket to Ride" and "The Big Easy". Much better than Liberty last year.

DECOR- the Freedom as just about everyone mentions is pretty gaudy, but that certainly wouldn't influence my decision.

PASSENGER DEMOGRAPHIC-we had heard (and were concerned a little) about the party ship however this was certainly not the case. I would say that on our particular sailing the average age was 60+. HOWEVER it was the overall rudeness of the passengers that astounded me! After 2 or 3 days I stopped saying "excuse me" to anyone for any reason because it appeared to be part of a foreign language. We all just laughed and shook our heads. There was one night where I thought there would be a physical altercation in the theater because a man had saved a seat for his kids. The agressor was at least 75 years old and made a real fool of himself!

TEEN PROGRAM- all of the kids enjoyed themselves after they got over the fact that their ages split them up in regard to activities. They are used to doing things together on vacation. (and at home)

ACTIVITIES-there were some trivia and karaoke that was "entertaining". The kids and husbands used the slide once but it seemed to be closed alot as well as the upper area where the running track, golf etc were. Of course w/ RCI there are a myriad of activities ie surf simulator, BBall, ice skating etc.

OVERALL- if we are to cruise again which may not happen until a smoke free cruise line is launched, we will go back to RCI mainly because of the size of the ships, the vast array of activities on board, and the manners of the fellow travellers.

I really hope that whatever you do that you enjoy yourselves. During the trip we focussed on what we liked and laughed off the rest. On the flight home DH and I looked at eachother and simply said "if there's a next time it'll be RCI!"

[Kurbanfan]

We have sailed RCCL, Princess and are platinum on Carnival. We enjoyed them all (well except a few ships on Carnival) and will continue to sail all and more......

We found them all to be different, with what one had the other didn't....so I can't really compare them in that sense. Except maybe the age difference, which we found to be the same on each line............I think you will enjoy Carnival.

Now if I could just roll Princess, RCCL and Carnival all in one.......that would be my perfect line of choice;)

[CarobBean]

We've been on both lines a couple of times and like them each. It really depends on what you're looking for in a vacation. Carnival definitely wins in the nightlife department. On the last RCI (Jewel of the Seas) we went out one evening and there were literally 15-20 people in the largest lounge on the ship and most of the other lounges either had no entertainment or were just quiet.

 

On both Carnival cruises, we found the overall feel to be friendlier, but as one poster mentioned already, there are a lot of Europeans on RCI and they tend to be far more staid.

 

Food on both lines has been pretty consistent. Decent fare for most meals in the dining rooms (the extra charge venues on the Jewel were quite good--neither Carnival ship had this feature so can't comment.)

 

We're booked on the Dream in Feb. and can't wait to see how Carnival presents its newest generation of cruise ship.

 

I would definitely give Carnival a try...

[liberty080208]

Thank you everyone for your input. I think I may give Carnival a try. I was very concerned because of everything you hear about it, but it sounds like they've come along way. I have been on the Soverign, Majesty, Monarch and Liberty of the Seas...now I just need to decide if I really want to do Mexico or stick with Caribbean.

[CarobBean]

If by Mexico you mean Costa Maya then definitely go there...the ruins at Chachobben are awesome! Cozumel is terrific as well.

 

Hope you have a great cruise with Carnival...

[firefly333]

Thank you everyone for your input. I think I may give Carnival a try. I was very concerned because of everything you hear about it, but it sounds like they've come along way. I have been on the Soverign, Majesty, Monarch and Liberty of the Seas...now I just need to decide if I really want to do Mexico or stick with Caribbean.

 

I was on the SOV and said never again in those tiny cabins. Majesty is the twin of the SOV and Monarch the cabins are still thimble sized.

 

For all the bad things you hear about Carnival, we told ourselves during that last 3 day leg on the SOV at least the next cruise on the Conquest we had a 220 s.f. OV cabin!!!

 

If you liked those ships ok, then you will be fine on Carnival. Those are the oldest ships in RCL's fleet. Liberty OTS at least is a more modern RCL ship.

[Cruzman]

I have sailed both lines a number of times and enjoyed them all. Having said that, Royal has essentially priced me out. I can cruise Carnival for much less and that enables me to cruise more often.

[Crusin Karen]

We are CCL snobs...LOVE Carnival, BUT, we are platinum and they all but kiss our feet when we board. We cruised on Voyager of the Seas twice and I have to say, I really loved that ship. Can't think of any problems with food (but we sailed her years ago) The big draws for us were: she sailed from Bayonne, just a stone's throw from our home. Went to Labadee which I LOVE. Had the Royal Promenade which I also love. We also cruised on the Empress of the Seas a few years ago, but that was JUST to go back to Bermuda and Hamilton (vs. Kings Wharf) It was a smaller ship than we are used to, but a very nice ship. BUT, for the price and the cruise itself, Carnival always...you just get more for your $$. We ALWAYS book corner aft wrap balconies on Carnival and for the price we pay, we would be in a far lesser cabin on RCI.

We have had to cancel 4 booked cruises (all on CCL) due to "the economic times." Looking forward to our Dream cruise in November...and we realize that for our $, hands down, it's Carnival and nothing else....I know it's hard to make these decisions, so good luck. I am sure whatever you pick you'll have a great time. :cool:

[jdmaillet]

We just got in from the Pride (Mexican Riviera) a few hours ago. Am planning to do a trip report as soon as I get caught up around here and get some much needed sleep. We have sailed RCI (Navigator) and Disney (Wonder and Magic) and were very hesitant to sail with Carnival. I initially was planning on RCI's Mariner but the rate just got so high in price that we decided to go with Carnival. I was dragging my feet on both Carnival and the Mexican Rivera (have sailed eastern Carib and Bahamas previously).

 

You will be fine on Carnival. There really weren't huge differences. I found the food in the dining room about the same (although DH did not like Carnival dining room food) and the buffet, I thought was better on Carnival. However, my kids truly missed the Promenade Coffee shop and the cheese and cracker room service plate:)

 

The Pride was a little "dark" for my taste and I loved the feel of the open and newness of the Navigator. And, I prefer a larger ship. Preferred the linens on Carnival but hated the mattresses. So hard! My kids way preferred their inside room on Carnival. No comparison in size to the hole in the wall inside they had on Navigator (we had a JS on Navigator and missed that).

 

The crowd was 35 to 50ish. No big Springbreak craziness on this cruise. All the service was excellent on the ship. I was a little worried when the girl checking us in was positively short and rude. Not so on the ship. Everyone warm and wonderful.

 

Absolutely loved having a Colorado tv station so we could keep up with news and Dancing with the Stars, Survivor etc. Fun, to curl up before our late night dinners with a piece of pizza and watch real TV and relax for a bit.

 

It just isn't a huge difference. We saved over $1000 to go Pride rather than Mariner and was glad we did. Will def sail both lines again....

 

Hope that helps.....

Jenn

[Mikew0805]

Just got off my third RCI cruise. Although the Voyager class is AMAZING, I still prefer Carnival for the total package. JMO... give em a try!

[thepeach]

I have sailed both lines a number of times and enjoyed them all. Having said that, Royal has essentially priced me out. I can cruise Carnival for much less and that enables me to cruise more often.

We were booked on the Jewel of the Seas for November. We changed to the Splendor for October and saved $2,600!!