Difference between Royal Caribbean and Carnival

[The Big Booper]

I have found that RCCL focuses on the ships, while Carnival focuses on the people. At the end of the cruise, I can distinctly see how I felt, as opposed to what I saw.

 

Everything else is so close between the two lines, that people start comparing pizza.

 

Personally, I like the food, and the availability of it, better on Carnival.

 

Mr. P - you live in the NY metro area, you know that within a 3 mile radius of your house you can go to any one of a dozen pizza places and get a slice that will blow away any pizza on a cruise ship. Same with a deli sandwich. And a client of mine ran Reuben's in Manhattan for 25 years (yes, the inventor of the Reubens sandwich), the BEST deli I ever tasted. On the Victory, I got in line behind 6 people at the deli counter and after waiting 15 minutes it was my turn. I ordered 4 different sandwiches for the four of us and we split them up back at the table. The best we could say was that it was sort of OK. I can grab a Boar's Head at any local deli and it will be better, not to mention the fat-clogged stuff at any of the three kosher delis in our area (fat=really good tasting)

[MrPete]

Mr. P - you live in the NY metro area, you know that within a 3 mile radius of your house you can go to any one of a dozen pizza places and get a slice that will blow away any pizza on a cruise ship. Same with a deli sandwich. And a client of mine ran Reuben's in Manhattan for 25 years (yes, the inventor of the Reubens sandwich), the BEST deli I ever tasted. On the Victory, I got in line behind 6 people at the deli counter and after waiting 15 minutes it was my turn. I ordered 4 different sandwiches for the four of us and we split them up back at the table. The best we could say was that it was sort of OK. I can grab a Boar's Head at any local deli and it will be better, not to mention the fat-clogged stuff at any of the three kosher delis in our area (fat=really good tasting)

 

LOL. I never said I compared it to "our" pizza. S A C R I L E D GE ! :D

 

In fact, I said people, not me.

 

Personally, I took one bite out of RCCL's pizza and threw it away. It was garbage.

 

The pizza on Carnival reminds me of Freshetta's. I usually grab a slice or two on my final stroll across the lido deck before I retire. One night, my then 7 year old got a kick out of veturing up at 3AM for a slice. She couldn't believe that people were still up at that hour!

 

Even better is a meat calzone at that hour!

[Tatka]

Loved food (especially Fish and chips), bath robes on Carnival.

 

Hated design of the pool areas (although RCCL isn't my favorite in this department either, Princess is), non-stop bottle necks, overcrowdness in every important public area on Carnival

 

RCCL larger ships have more activities which allows crowd to spread out. This is a main key for us even though we are not using every single one of them.

 

One of the minuses of large RCCL ships are that you don't see an ocean unless you are on the open promenade or lido deck (which is very high).

[moochy one]

I have sailed both Carnival and RCCL only in the last year after being a long time HAL customer. I can honestly say that I see little difference in both, so much that me and my husband have some trouble differentiating which line the ships we were on belonged to. I thoroughly enjoyed both CCL and RCCL and am glad that we decided to branch out, we even have an NCL booked for next year. I think variety is a good thing.

[Tatka]

I have sailed both Carnival and RCCL only in the last year after being a long time HAL customer. I can honestly say that I see little difference in both, so much that me and my husband have some trouble differentiating which line the ships we were on belonged to. I thoroughly enjoyed both CCL and RCCL and am glad that we decided to branch out, we even have an NCL booked for next year. I think variety is a good thing.

 

Try large Princess ships.. They provide nice combination of activities and service for almost every taste.:)

[rollie]

Boy, am I suprised. I thought I'd see a lot of Carnival bashing here. It's rather funny how these two cruise lines are now so much alike. I don't think you would have said that several years ago.

 

Rollie

[Hobiecat01]

Last sailed on the Carnival Destiny waaay back in 1998 when she was new. We had a blast! Then we moved to Princess and now on to RCCL. Carnival ships are just a bit to flashy for our taste. RCCL's ships are drop-dead gorgeous. The first time you see the Royal Prominade will take your breath away. We are considering a Carnival cruise late next year, primarily for the price. I would go back with out hesitation, but RCCL will always be my home. From what I hear from my Carnival friends, there is the lines are very similar, with Carnival catering slightly more toward the younger set.

------------------------------

Sea ya!

Ron and Lee

Canton, Ga

Proud RCCL Platinum Member

"In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom,

in water there is bacteria." – Ben Franklin

We are proud Oasis Camel Cruiser – April 17, 2010

The Oasis Camels Website

Previous Cruises – 59 Days at Sea!

Carnival Mardis Gras - 3 Day Bahamas - April 1982

Carnival Destiny - 7 Days Western Carib. - April 1998

Princess Grand Princess - 7 Days Eastern Carib. - April 1999

Princess Sea Princess - 7 Days Western Carib. - March 2000

Princess Grand Princess - 7 Days Western Carib. - March 2002

RCCL Navigator of the Seas - 7 Days Western Carib. - March 2003

RCCL Mariner of the Seas - 7 Days Western Carib. - April 2005

RCCL Freedom of the Seas - 7 Days Western Carib. - 6/18 - 6/25/2006

RCCL Liberty of the Seas - 7 Days Eastern Carib. - 7/19 - 7/26/08

Planned Cruises

RCCL Oasis of the Seas – Our Friends Cruise - April 17, 2010

RCCL Allure of the Seas – Our Neighborhood Cruise - 2011

The BIG One - Southeast Asia 14 day – 2012?

Princess Cruises - The Med – 14 day – 2013?

[Borat]

I am shocked at how many people think they are comparable lines. Obviously from my signature you can tell ive been on many rrcl ships...but what you cant tell is that I WORKED for Carnival and Princess as recent as this year. I wouldnt go on a FREE CRUISE on Carnival. That is how disgusted they have made me...from cleanliness (or should i say lack of) to tackiness (which they have alot of) to unorganized (none of)...carnival is a JOKE.

 

To the OP...Do not bother with Carnival if you want to be satisfied completely. Having worked on their ships I know a lot about what goes on behind closed doors and it just is not professional...certainly nowhere near Princess or Royal Caribbean.

[Lyncruiser]

Our first two cruises were with Carnival. That was a number of years ago. We enjoyed the first one. The second one we had an issue that needed resolution (a sewage smell so overwhelming in our cabin that we couldn't even sleep in it). The purser's office was so rude to us we swore we would never cruise Carnival again and we haven't. That was 1998.

 

We switched to Royal Caribbean in 1999. We've cruised exclusively Royal Caribbean and Celebrity for the past decade. We're diamond cruisers with Royal Caribbean now so, as you can see, we've been very happy with them. This isn't to say we haven't had glitches with RCI on a couple of cruises over the past decade (hey, stuff happens!), but we have found the purser's office on RCI ships ready to bend over backwards to try to solve the problem and we've never been treated rudely by them. In fact, we had a small issue a few years ago on the Legend of the Seas. The purser's office could not have been more accommodating.

[BND]

Borat, this discussion is from the viewpoint of passengers, not former employees who may or may not have their own reasons to make statements about what may or may not go on behind the scenes. We will never know so you can basically say anything you want. What I get from your post is that you have it out for Carnival. This of course is assuming you REALLY did work for the cruise lines you mentioned. And you never said you worked for RCI so how can you say they're better behind closed doors?

[Cruising89143]

Borat, you have just as much right to give your opinion as anyone else.

 

To the OP, I cruised 16 times with Carnival in 11 years before making the swictch to RCI and before the resident Cruise Critic makes his normal smart comments on why it took so long to switch, I will explain.

 

For a long time I only cruised with Carnival and would never look at anything else. Once I tried RCI's Navigator of the Seas, I never looked back. While both cruise lines are mass market, the areas that hooked me were the ships themselves. No one can match the Radiance, Voyager or Freedom class ships. Also, I found the service and friendly crew to be much better than I experiences on Carnival. I also found the ships on RCI to better better in upkeep and cleanliness and that's important to me. The other was the past guest perks that RCI "used" to offer but sad to say in the recent years, they are no longer that great.

 

My advice is to try it for yourself and see what you think. That is the only way to really know. Over the last few years, I tried HAL for the first time and went back and tried NCL after a 13 year break. Had a very nice time on both but it made me realize just how much I like RCI. Good luck and happy cruising.

[BND]

Borat, you have just as much right to give your opinion as anyone else.

 

Yes, he has a right to his opinion, but he really didn't state his reasons, just gave vague references to "behind the scenes" stuff and to me it's clear that his opinion is tainted in some way. I would much prefer when someone gives their opinion, that they actually gives facts and reasons and not pretend incredulity that everyone doesn't think the way they do.

[Cruising89143]

Yes, he has a right to his opinion, but he really didn't state his reasons, just gave vague references to "behind the scenes" stuff and to me it's clear that his opinion is tainted in some way. I would much prefer when someone gives their opinion, that they actually gives facts and reasons and not pretend incredulity that everyone doesn't think the way they do.

 

 

It's not up to you to or anyone else on this board to choose who can and cannot post. It's up to each person to take the comments for just that. None of us are right or wrong. It's just an opinion.

[novalab]

While I have sailed both cruise lines numerous times, my preference is RCCL over CCL. I agree that the food was better on my CCL cruises, loved the poolside grill & the 24 hr. pizza, deli was good too. Rooms are bigger, great bedding system, nice basket of goodies in the bathroom. But...decor was way to over-stimulating for me.

 

The RCCL ships (Voyager Class) are my favorite. They are beautifully laid out, gorgeous ships. Even though the cabins are a little smaller than Carnival, I feel they are laid out better. Lots of storage space, better closet design & I like the solid shower door. Crews seem friendlier & more helpful all around. I like the fact that there were rules geared to the Windjammer...no bathing suits/bare feet in the buffet line. This was not always the case with CCL in the Lido Buffet areas. On our last 2 RCCL cruises I felt the passengers were a little more reserved than on my CCL cruises. I liked the absence on my RCCL cruises of the running children slamming doors up & down the hallway in the middle of the night that was a constant on our past CCL cruises. That may have just been our bad luck:(

 

I agree that you should try both. Both have their good & not so good points. Both offered a lot for my cruise dollar. Either way, you will have fun!:p

[Oren]

We have been disgusted with the in-cabin smoking allowance on our last Carnival cruise that we have decided no more cruises without a 100% non-smoking in-cabin policy. Regardless of what others swear by, smoke does leak from neighboring cabins especially if there is a chain smoker. Although still allowed on balconies (for now) on CCL and RCCL, at least you can escape a smoking neighbor's balcony. But when you have to sleep and stay in your cabin with a smoking neighbor cabin, there is no where else to go.

[browneyes7]

They are more alike than different. You'll enjoy both lines. Carnival ships are brightly decorated, whereas RC ships are more subdued.

[broberts]

As most others have opined, the lines are more similar than different. After sailing several times on both lines I've reached the conclusion that for my tastes I really need to look at the ships individually. General crew attitudes vary widely as does food. The itinerary greatly affects the make up of the passenger population which affects ambiance around pool areas and entertainment venues.

 

I now look for desirable itineraries then consult recent cc member reviews.

[hinks4]

we feel the food on Carnival is much better than what we just experienced on Independence of the Seas with Royal Caribbean. The buffet was on the same line as Ryans Steakhouse or Country Buffet. Very dissapointing

[Borat]

It's not up to you to or anyone else on this board to choose who can and cannot post. It's up to each person to take the comments for just that. None of us are right or wrong. It's just an opinion.

 

Thanks cruisingator :) sure wasnt trying to cause trouble, just share my experience

[Borat]

Borat, this discussion is from the viewpoint of passengers, not former employees who may or may not have their own reasons to make statements about what may or may not go on behind the scenes. We will never know so you can basically say anything you want. What I get from your post is that you have it out for Carnival. This of course is assuming you REALLY did work for the cruise lines you mentioned. And you never said you worked for RCI so how can you say they're better behind closed doors?

 

as you can see from my signature, i have been a passenger quite a bit. I think that when you are a passenger many times and then go and work for a cruise line, you can appreciate much more than simply just going to work for a ship. My previous knowledge of ships/cruises made for a pretty interesting experience on carnival. I am not saying it was an awful experience...I am just saying that I believe Royal Caribbean does a much better all around job than Carnival.

 

I certainly have no reason to post and lie about the fact that I worked onboard. I was the golf professional onboard 2 different carnival ships earlier this year. This job gave me what they called "limited passenger status" which certain staff (not crew) is able to get. So I was able to enjoy the public spaces..this being said, i compared all my previous rccl cruises to carnivals way of cruising.

 

I feel my credibility is pretty sufficient. I thank Carnival for the experience but will never cruise on that line. Is that a more thorough explanation?

[Tatka]

Borat, I read you worked for Princess too. What do you think about them? How in your opinion Princess compare to the RCCL?

[Borat]

Borat, I read you worked for Princess too. What do you think about them? How in your opinion Princess compare to the RCCL?

 

In my opinion, Princess is closer to Royal Caribbean. Princess takes a lot better care of their crew, and they do everything more professionally than Carnival. They maintain their ships well also, much like Royal Caribbean. That was the one thing about Carnival that was not appealing to me. The ships always seemed on the dirty side, and the effort to fix certain problems was not there. I would recommend princess for sure, though royal caribbean takes the cake for me. I think Royal has got the whole package figured out. They cater to almost everyone, and keep their ships in great shape

[kooljamming]

We have been disgusted with the in-cabin smoking allowance on our last Carnival cruise that we have decided no more cruises without a 100% non-smoking in-cabin policy. Regardless of what others swear by, smoke does leak from neighboring cabins especially if there is a chain smoker. Although still allowed on balconies (for now) on CCL and RCCL, at least you can escape a smoking neighbor's balcony. But when you have to sleep and stay in your cabin with a smoking neighbor cabin, there is no where else to go.

 

and Princess!

[kooljamming]

Borat, this discussion is from the viewpoint of passengers, not former employees who may or may not have their own reasons to make statements about what may or may not go on behind the scenes. We will never know so you can basically say anything you want. What I get from your post is that you have it out for Carnival. This of course is assuming you REALLY did work for the cruise lines you mentioned. And you never said you worked for RCI so how can you say they're better behind closed doors?

 

I have friends working at top resorts that I would love visit. Yo could not pay them to spend a minute past the hour after their shift. Work is a 4 letter word.

After working as a waitress and watching the movie Waiting, just say I would rather not know some of the behind the door happenings:eek:

[kkorman]

I agree with Borat in that RCL is a lot more comparable to Princess than Carnival. I was not a fan of the dining options or food on my last Carnival cruise, and while I do not have anything above a chain restaurant expectation for food on a cruise, CCL disappointed me.

 

Carnival does have larger rooms, but our air duct was connect to someone who enjoyed to light up a few illegal substances and the scent carried to our room. :( I have noticed the ships smelled of smoke quite abit as well. Though I did see that the new ones are much more dedicated to smoke free.

 

There is no comparison in ships RCL wins, and it is not even close. I also like Princess' ships though.

 

I have been on both this year and woul donly consider CCL if there was no other option.

 

Just my two cents.