Carnival or RCI

I am looking at a spring Western Caribbean cruise out of Galveston. Need input on which line to go with. Carnival Magic comes in about $200 cheaper than Royal Caribbean Liberty. Is RCI worth the extra money?

Also any thoughts on booking directly with cruise line or going through travel agent or online agency?

Yes! Liberty of the Seas has some of the best entertainment at sea and for that one reason alone, the $200 extra is well worth it. Also, the pool space on Liberty is much, much better and larger than Carnival Dream Class.

In case you didn't know, Liberty is getting some pretty awesome waterslides installed during her upcoming drydock.

Yes, RCI is worth the additional money.

Keith

Check out the RC board. A pretty good thread/review going right now. Title "we strayed to Carnival never" might give you some answers.

I've been on both ships. The Carnival Magic is lovely. It has good food, good specialty dining, a lot of comedy shows, piano bar and a nice spa with a thalisotherapy pool and thermal suite. IMO, the Carnival buffet is significantly better than the RCCL buffet.

RCCL Liberty is also a lovely ship. The spa does not have a thalisotherapy pool, but it does have the adults only Solarium. Where RCCL is better than Carnival is in having flow riders and ice skating rink and putting on shows that are large scale spectacles such as an ice skating show and acrobatic show.

Both ships are good, but they are different. I like the casino better on Carnival, but I like the shows better on RCCL. I also like the bathrooms in RCCL cabins better. They have glass shower enclosures.

This is JMO, but both ships are worth sailing on! I would choose the less expensive (look around at online travel websites and find the best deal) and then next time go on the ship you didn't do this time.

IMO, the decor and amenities are better on RC, but in regards to service and relaxation, etc, RC and Carnival for us has always been the same.

You will get so many opinions on right better feel, but if it were me, I look at the boats and decide on one for this trip and the other for another.

We do tend to sail more with Carnival personally. Have fun and whichever you choose, you will have a great time.

Rachel

I am looking at a spring Western Caribbean cruise out of Galveston. Need input on which line to go with. Carnival Magic comes in about $200 cheaper than Royal Caribbean Liberty. Is RCI worth the extra money?

Also any thoughts on booking directly with cruise line or going through travel agent or online agency?

Check out the thread..travel agent or me.. it's on the first page of ask a cruise question..

We've considered RC but have always traveled with Carnival. If the ports are the same, I'd prefer to spend the $200 on excursions or a spa day.

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Another thing to consider is the size of your cabins.

Carnival Magic insides are 185 sqft. whereas Liberty of the Seas are 149-161 sqft. Oceanviews on Carnival are 220 sqft and RCI are 161-200 sqft.

And so the same pattern for balconies, etc.

Service and food quality is about the same. Yes RCI does have more bells and whistles, but it depends on what is important to you.

They are both very nice ships, and you'll have a great time on either one.

Go on another cruise on the one you did not choose this time. :D

I've actually been on both ships and there is no comparison here. Liberty of the Seas blows away Carnival Magic in just about every category, not the least of which is the entertainment, ship design/decor and open deck spaces.

If nothing else, consider this. the size of Carnival Magic is 128,000 gross tons. Liberty of the Seas is 154,000 gross tons. Yet, both ships carry about the same number of passengers. What does that tell you about crowding? Yeah, Liberty is worth $200 more. Liberty is worth $1000 more.

In my opinion, RC is a better product and worth the extra $s.