Carnival vs. RC

The menu is limited and portions are small. The menu did change every night. The decor and view are outstanding from CK on Harmony. The food was very good. I probably would have preferred to have breakfast in CK but as a JS suite guest was only allowed in at dinner. I find breakfast on any mass market ship too busy and would prefer a small quiet venue like CK. Dinner I'm better able to deal with crowds and this is from a X- NY'er.

Thanks

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Enlighten us

 

 

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Oh, such as a poster claiming almost every eating location on Carnival is part of the buffet. Things like that. ;)

Oh, such as a poster claiming almost every eating location on Carnival is part of the buffet. Things like that. ;)

Just reporting facts. #RealNews :cool:

Comparing brand new ship prices vs older ships isn't fair but comparing two sailings booked a year apart is? (Unless I am misreading when you sailed on Harmony and will be sailing on Glory.)

She is on a roll.....

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Thanks for the video.

I finally went on Allure. I have been wanting to since it came out. I thought it would be my absolute favorite and I thought I'd love Royal, I thought it was more my personality. As it turned out my family wasn't really thrilled with royal. Probably won't do them again but will absolutely go on Carnival. We had a great time on our trip with them. You just never know.

You're welcome! Thanks for watching. I had fun putting it together. I felt the same on the Harmony. Don't get me wrong, if they have an itinerary I want and the cost is right, I'll take it. But, feel the same and enjoy Carnival a bit more. :D

Just reporting facts. #RealNews :cool:

Your facts are more like fake news. #FakeNews :cool:

Thanks for the video.

I finally went on Allure. I have been wanting to since it came out. I thought it would be my absolute favorite and I thought I'd love Royal, I thought it was more my personality. As it turned out my family wasn't really thrilled with royal. Probably won't do them again but will absolutely go on Carnival. We had a great time on our trip with them. You just never know.

Thanks for watching! I'd give Royal another chance if I were you. The huge ships have a totally different "feel and experience" IMO than the "smaller" ships. Try the Freedom Of The Sea's if you can find a good deal. One of my favorites!

I sailed the Harmony last year in May but am happily sailing the Sunshine this May. While I also agree RCI has better shows, I’m not a show person. But I did enjoy them but it was too much work to try to see them all. I hated having to book my day for a show before I boarded. Then once onboard we realized we just couldn’t make all of them and when we had picked. If I was not an experienced cruiser I would have really hated RCI because I’m a tech person and I found their website very difficult to schedule and do the onboard check in stuff. I also like the fact not everyone has to have a drink package or even same one. And that there is a midpoint one for juices but not alcohol. But again the whole trip seemed like too much work. And the Harmony has the worse spa - the heated lounge chairs - fewer than the Sunshine! And the ladies locker room. Terrible. If I was just dropped off in there I would guess I was in a Fantasy class ship because it was so small and only two toilets. Not a brand new - largest ship. I did like the open area mid ship but hated when they did the stupid character parade because they blocked the whole deck and you couldn’t get to any of the shops along there. I also think RCI extra food options are a ripoff. Too $$$$. But they also didn’t charge for food in the snack options. Like if you got a smoothie or juice which cost unless you had drink package. There were cookies and fruit you could get for free. I don’t think Carnival should charge cookies cakes etc that you get in coffee & Shake shop.

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I sailed the Harmony last year in May but am happily sailing the Sunshine this May. While I also agree RCI has better shows, I’m not a show person. But I did enjoy them but it was too much work to try to see them all. I hated having to book my day for a show before I boarded. Then once onboard we realized we just couldn’t make all of them and when we had picked. If I was not an experienced cruiser I would have really hated RCI because I’m a tech person and I found their website very difficult to schedule and do the onboard check in stuff. I also like the fact not everyone has to have a drink package or even same one. And that there is a midpoint one for juices but not alcohol. But again the whole trip seemed like too much work. And the Harmony has the worse spa - the heated lounge chairs - fewer than the Sunshine! And the ladies locker room. Terrible. If I was just dropped off in there I would guess I was in a Fantasy class ship because it was so small and only two toilets. Not a brand new - largest ship. I did like the open area mid ship but hated when they did the stupid character parade because they blocked the whole deck and you couldn’t get to any of the shops along there. I also think RCI extra food options are a ripoff. Too $$$$. But they also didn’t charge for food in the snack options. Like if you got a smoothie or juice which cost unless you had drink package. There were cookies and fruit you could get for free. I don’t think Carnival should charge cookies cakes etc that you get in coffee & Shake shop.

 

 

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Actually, Royal has recently gone to if one person buys the drink package, all adults 21+ would also have to buy it.

I really do like both but in my own experience, I really do like Carnival just a tad better although as the other poster stated, I do think RCL's ships are a bit nicer and I like the Promenade being long and through the ship. To each their own I guess.

We have done both as well. For us it is not so much about the food or how big/nice the ship is. It is about how EVERYONE on Carnival knows my husbands name and they all joke with him. It makes him feel special. He is always joking and laughing with Carnival's crew. I couldn't tell you our stateroom attendants name on RCI. Or our waiters name on RCI. Most people don't care if they get to know the staff, but we love it.

On Carnival, it just is a FUN atmosphere! JMHO.

Just my two cents. I've been on 3 NCL Cruises, one RCI and one Carnival with another on the Horizon scheduled for June. To me, there's not a whole lot between any of these cruise lines. It's a cruise, have a great time and for me, it's more about the people and the destination that the cruise most of the time. I'll thrown NCL in here for comparisons because I've been on them them most and they compare with these two lines.

Food: I like NCLs way of doing dining, I found the food in the MDR best on RCI, Service best on Carnival and NCL average on both. We love MDR for breakfast and RCI has the buffet WITHIN the MDR so you can have the best of both worlds (We were on the Anthem)

Entertainment: Movies are best on Carnival, the "theater" presentations best on NCL (and none of our cruises had the BWAY type shows...just overall better nightly experience. Comedy best on Carnival (but NCL has Second City if you like improv). I found RCI's entertainment overall the worst. Sure they had the three bigger shows, but, the other nights, terrible (and two of the three "stage shows" were terrible). NCL had a decent show every night. Carnival and NCL both had great dance parties. I couldn't find a decent one on RCI. They DO have tribute bands which we enjoyed.

Buffet: We don't spend a whole lot of time at Buffet but they were better on RCI and finding a seat was better. NCL we had trouble eating at the Buffet because of we could never find a seat.

Special Needs: My daughter has Celiac, and Carnival did a much better job of handling her needs. Oh and the molten lava cake or whatever it's called my daughter said, was to die for. Nothing like that on the lines.

Cabin: This was RCI hands down. We had a balcony room that was the size of a decent smaller hotel room. Other cabins tended to be cramped. We've done all three types of rooms on NCL (balcony, oceanview and inside) and they were all about the same. Carnival had a bigger balcony, but the room was kind of tiny. We are doing an inside on the Horizon, interested to see how that is...brand new ship.

Lastly service. I'd rate that Carnival and NCL 1 and 1a and Royal 2. I just felt that the staff were nicer on the those lines.

Just my two cents. I've been on 3 NCL Cruises, one RCI and one Carnival with another on the Horizon scheduled for June. To me, there's not a whole lot between any of these cruise lines. It's a cruise, have a great time and for me, it's more about the people and the destination that the cruise most of the time. I'll thrown NCL in here for comparisons because I've been on them them most and they compare with these two lines.

 

Food: I like NCLs way of doing dining, I found the food in the MDR best on RCI, Service best on Carnival and NCL average on both. We love MDR for breakfast and RCI has the buffet WITHIN the MDR so you can have the best of both worlds (We were on the Anthem)

 

Entertainment: Movies are best on Carnival, the "theater" presentations best on NCL (and none of our cruises had the BWAY type shows...just overall better nightly experience. Comedy best on Carnival (but NCL has Second City if you like improv). I found RCI's entertainment overall the worst. Sure they had the three bigger shows, but, the other nights, terrible (and two of the three "stage shows" were terrible). NCL had a decent show every night. Carnival and NCL both had great dance parties. I couldn't find a decent one on RCI. They DO have tribute bands which we enjoyed.

 

Buffet: We don't spend a whole lot of time at Buffet but they were better on RCI and finding a seat was better. NCL we had trouble eating at the Buffet because of we could never find a seat.

 

Special Needs: My daughter has Celiac, and Carnival did a much better job of handling her needs. Oh and the molten lava cake or whatever it's called my daughter said, was to die for. Nothing like that on the lines.

 

Cabin: This was RCI hands down. We had a balcony room that was the size of a decent smaller hotel room. Other cabins tended to be cramped. We've done all three types of rooms on NCL (balcony, oceanview and inside) and they were all about the same. Carnival had a bigger balcony, but the room was kind of tiny. We are doing an inside on the Horizon, interested to see how that is...brand new ship.

 

Lastly service. I'd rate that Carnival and NCL 1 and 1a and Royal 2. I just felt that the staff were nicer on the those lines.

you should try the Oasis class ships on RCI. the entertainment was awesome.

Bill

Harmony was cheaper for me for the given cruise. Harmony was in May '17 and Glory is in two weeks. Comparing a brand new ships prices and an older ship is not very fair. Compare Vista with Harmony and you should see some similar prices. I would agree Carnival is usually cheaper but you do get more with Royal. Carnival is just a cheaper brand all around.

The question is...what is the definition of more?? Some people may not even care about all the additional options on the Oasis ships. Some people like to cruise to relax , dine, visit ports and really don't care or use all options onboard. IMO Carnival outshines RCL in service... happier staff. Usually a lower price and since food is subjective, not going to even address this area. And I do question the "Cheaper brand" comment.