RCCL vs Carnival ?????????????????????

[Sicilian Princess]

We are in our mid 30's and I was wondering who is better? We enjoyed our cruise with Disney(that was our first cruise) no one can beat Disney but too expensive and too many little kids(duh). Our first RCCL cruise was the bomb our second well all I'll say is we were on the 12/13 cruise. So we were just trying to get some feedback on what people thought.

[ruttie]

you will find that RCCl and carnival are very similiar now in what they offer for me i simply choose based on price intenarary etc.. I do more RCCL cruises now becasue they have a better past guest program but... i would not hesitate to do carnival.... enjoy!

[DeRon]

No one can beat Disney? hmmm...that wasn't my experience. But if you are going to try Carnival, you might want to go on the nicer ships (the Spirit class: Miracle, Sprirt, etc.). I think RC ships are prettier.

[JB007]

Carnivals new ships are ok, but Rcls are much nicer ,apples for apples go RCL. Happy cruising.

[NancyB84]

People here on RCCL just seem to want to go with the flow, jeans in the diningroom,.... who cares, just go with it.... linen napkins with casual dress, must be the norm.... who cares..... those of us who save up for cruises.... who cares!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Yellowlily]

I've been on both - RCCI's the Adventure of the Seas is absolutely breakthtaking! That ship is so beautiful! The service is good, not excellent. The rooms are nice and clean. The whole ship is great - can't beat it. The food - some was wonderful, some was just too much (as in too rich....you can't eat that stuff all the time, but hey, it's a cruise, some people do); really, some of the food is just darn right awesome and some was okay. The pizza was sad, but we've heard they have improved. Had a good time despite our luggage was lost (US AIR) and we didn't get for 3 days. We missed the first formal and RCCI gave us a T-shirt. So, that put a damper in our cruise for the get-go, but overall, RCCI does a good job. The beauty of the ship is like nothing other.

 

The Carnival's Fascination was so much fun. My husband and I booked it on a whim and it was the best!! The ship was nice, not gorgeous (but you must keep in mind how much this ship is used - it does only 3 day cruises to the Bahamas constantly so it gets a lot of wear and tear). Our service was good, the food was good and the activities and entertainment were out of this world!!! You really get a good deal (money wise on Carnival), IMO. Soooooo much fun! We would love to do Carnival again sometime. I would love to see one of their newer ships.

 

We are going next on RCCI's Enchantment of the Seas and can't wait! It's most definitely a hard decision.

 

I would say if you want it all, go for RCCI...if you want the best for your buck, go for Carnival. Either way, you'll have a great time!

[Cruising89143]

While they are both similar and cater to the same demographics, I have found that RCI is a step above Carnival in several ways. First and this is a matter of taste but I find RCI has nicer looking ships. They do not scream back at you like some of the Carnival ships do.

 

I have found both to be about even with the food but this topic is so subjective as we all have different taste buds. Carnival has much better pizza.

 

I also found that the folks on RCI adhere to the dress codes much better. If it were me I would take a Voyager class ship as there is nothing out there that can touch them.

[Cruising89143]

People here on RCCL just seem to want to go with the flow, jeans in the diningroom,.... who cares, just go with it.... linen napkins with casual dress, must be the norm.... who cares..... those of us who save up for cruises.... who cares!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not even sure why you posted this on here. It has nothing to do with the OP's question but speak for yourself. What an attitude.:rolleyes:

[Grape One]

I've taken about 5 cruises on CCL, 2 on RCCL, 1 on NCL, and 1 on Disney. Just to give you some background which hopefully will be relevant, I'm 30 yrs old and can tell you that it depends on the environment you want to enjoy.

 

My first cruise was on Carnival, while my next one will be on RCL. In my college days and mid 20s, I found Carnival appealing to my lifestyle. Fun, not a care in the world about decor, I just worried about price and how many friends we could get on the ship. Now, my wife and I look at what we want to do, rather than what we can afford to do on a college budget.

 

Now that I've got a little extra money to spend (don't worry, its not much), for a cruise, a couple hundred dollars difference between cruise lines isn't going to break you. Between CCL, Royal, NCL, and Celebrity, you can find those itineraries and prices that are pretty much in line with what type of cabin you want. For example, we booked our RCL cruise with a balcony for about $2000 w/taxes and all charges for my wife and I for 7 days. Hot deals 1, 2, 6, or even 12 months out should be snatched up, while those last minutes cruises shouldn't be overlooked.

 

All in all, try them, compare them! You'll come back to the one you like that fits your desires and expectations. Myself, I prefer RCL for the comfort, ship layout, decor, service, and best of all - I have never felt like the ship was crowded with too many people.

[SUSIEK]

Hi, I have sailed on both. The new Carnival ships are outstanding! Decor and service. Spirit Class is my favorite. Conquest class is very nice. These ships are classy and not the old "neon" style of early Carnival. They are very comparable to Radiance class of Royal Caribbean.

[staylor]

I have sailed on both, too. They are similar. Royal has prettier ships. Carnival has better food and entertainment.

[QueensChick]

I found Adventure of the Seas slightly nicer than Conquest, though both ships were beautiful.

I thought the food very good on both but Carnival had better pizza. Service was slightly better on RCL.

When it comes to elegance and ambience, RCL wins out over Carnival. Celebrity beats both (I know, no one asked about Celebrity.) ;)

 

You will enjoy either line. If you choose Carnival, I encourage you to try a longer cruise (7+ days) on a newer ship.

Enjoy your cruise!

[49holding]

I prefer RCCL for their past guest program, decor and the outstanding service I have received on my 3 RCCL cruises(2X enchantment ,1Xexplorer). On my one CCL cruise( Triumph) I found the service awful all around with the room steward downright surly. I will give the edge to CCL in the food department tho I find RCCL food very good, I am not a foodie. I have found RCCL's entertainment to be excellent, better than CCL. If you are choosing a short cruise, then definitely choose RCCl, their older ships are more appealing than CCL fantasy class ships.. I would like to try one of the CCL Spirit class ships only if I cruised sans kids. The Voyager class ships can't be beat!

[Cruising89143]

I prefer RCCL for their past guest program, decor and the outstanding service I have received on my 3 RCCL cruises(2X enchantment ,1Xexplorer). On my one CCL cruise( Triumph) I found the service awful all around with the room steward downright surly. I will give the edge to CCL in the food department tho I find RCCL food very good, I am not a foodie. I have found RCCL's entertainment to be excellent, better than CCL. If you are choosing a short cruise, then definitely choose RCCl, their older ships are more appealing than CCL fantasy class ships.. I would like to try one of the CCL Spirit class ships only if I cruised sans kids. The Voyager class ships can't be beat!

I agree with the decor and service. My Navigator cruise blew Carnival out of the water in the service department. The major thing for me was the fact that I did not feel like I was getting the nickle and dime treatment on RCI. On Carnival they walk around holding their hands out for more money. Constant annoucements for inch of gold, bingo and art auctions. Also no bingo prior to the evening shows on RCI. Just a step above IMHO.

[Yellowlily]

Staylor - I agree with your statement 100%. I think that RCCI has absolutely gorgeous ships. We went on a Carnival cruise last spring and were blown away by the entertainment. It was just amazing! The food was also great. The best burgers we've had, very good food all around. At dinner the waiters brought our entire table extra dishes of things he thought we would also like to try. I had nothing that I didn't like. It was great! By the way, I see you are from WV. Where are you from? We are also from WV!

[mtd716]

I can't compare the newer ships, but I have done older ships on both lines (RCI Sovereign 3-night in 2000, Carnival Sensation 5-night in 2004). We had an equally good time on both. I would say that Carnival might have the edge just because it was a longer cruise, so we felt more able to relax and more fully explore the ship.

 

For our upcoming 2006 cruise, we looked at both Carinval Miracle and RCI Mariner. We were strongly leaning toward Miracle due to price, but a couple of posters on the Carnival board actually recommended that with kids, Mariner might be worth the extra cost. We researched further and have decided on Mariner. I've always wanted to cruise a Voyager-class (which includes Mariner), so I'm very much looking forward to it. I'd still like to try a Carnival Sprit-class (includes Miracle) one day as I've heard very good things about those as well.

[neverenufcruising]

We enjoy the Conquest Class Carnival ships just as much as the Voyager Class RCCL. There are tradeoffs on each but we've had an equally enjoyable time on both.