Difference between Royal Caribbean and Carnival

[7thheavengtr]

I have sailed both numerous times

 

1 - Royal Caribbean's ships are the best designs and functionality

(Voyager class, Freedom Class & Oasis Class)

 

2 - Food is equal on most ships, I believe it comes to the head chef and what he decides to make, however there are WAY more options for a variety of food on RCCL (most free, some not)

 

3 - Service was better on all lines I traveled except carnival. Carnival was a least friendly staff of all cruises I have traveled.

 

4 - On the class ships stated on RCCL, the pools are all fresh water and open 24 hours.. not the case on carnival (a.k.a. the "fun ship"???????)

 

To me it's completely worth the extra couple bucks to travel on the RCCL ships.

[Chigirlcruzin]

I have sailed both numerous times

 

1 - Royal Caribbean's ships are the best designs and functionality

(Voyager class, Freedom Class & Oasis Class)

 

2 - Food is equal on most ships, I believe it comes to the head chef and what he decides to make, however there are WAY more options for a variety of food on RCCL (most free, some not)

 

3 - Service was better on all lines I traveled except carnival. Carnival was a least friendly staff of all cruises I have traveled.

 

4 - On the class ships stated on RCCL, the pools are all fresh water and open 24 hours.. not the case on carnival (a.k.a. the "fun ship"???????)

 

To me it's completely worth the extra couple bucks to travel on the RCCL ships.

 

 

I disagree with the food options...I thought Carnival had way more variety....Mongolian line, deli, sushi, etc. RCI doesn't have these things. Yes, they have two specialty restaurants instead of 1, but I felt Carnival offers more variety. Perhaps this changes on the Freedom class, and I know it changes on Oasis class.

 

I felt the service was equal on the lines. I've always had great service on Carnival ships.

 

At least on the Mariner, the pools were salt water, not freshwater.

[80sramfan]

Hello, I have sailed on the Carnival Conquest twice, and was not disappointed, but I am wondering. What is the difference between Royal Caribbean and Carnival. Thank you, John

 

Very simple. With Royal Caribbean you pay more and get less. Very simple. The food on Royal is awful, the cabins are smaller and the service is sub-par. End of story.

[caribbeanboy]

Very simple. With Royal Caribbean you pay more and get less. Very simple. The food on Royal is awful, the cabins are smaller and the service is sub-par. End of story.

 

How many times have you been on a Royal Caribbean cruise?? according to your past cruise list you have never been on a Royal Caribbean cruise, so don't get it where you come with your extremely stupid conclusion!!

[caribbeanboy]

Have been 5 times on Carnival and 5 times on Royal Caribbean in the 12 months.

 

I like Royal Caribbean's ship much better.From Radiance class up, there is no other cruise lines that have ships comparable to their ships. Maybe the Solstice class, but haven't been on one yet.

 

Food is very subjective but food in the Windjammer on Royal Caribbean blows away what you get at the Lido on Carnival, however MDR food is better on Carnival.

 

Of all the 5 cruise lines I have been on Royal Caribbean has the friendliest crew around.

[halos]

Comparing the different cruise lines is a bit like comparing McDonalds to Burger King. They both serve hamburgers, but they both go about it a little different. But at the end of the day, both are pretty much the same.

 

There are going to be some that like how Burger King serves their burgers more than they like the way McDonalds serves theirs.

 

Nobody can tell you if you will like McDonalds burger more that Burger King's because we all have our own prefrences on different things.

 

For me, I like NCL, but that was mostly for the free style dining. I am considering sticking with Carnival now that anytime dining is available. Still not as good as NCL, but better than it was, and it is cheaper.

 

Good analogy!!

[slyster]

I have cruised both cruise lines...RC more than Carnival. My very first cruise was with Carnival and we LOVED it! We have never had any problems with Carnival. One of the things I noticed is that Carnival is more of a party crowd. I don't mean that in a negative sense...it's just a group that lets loose and has a great time. RC does too but the atmosphere is just a little different.

 

I'm going on my first carnival cruise in several years so I'm really wondering if it still feels the same to me now that I'm a little older.

 

I do remember Carnival's food being better, but RC's ships being nicer. Mostly in part because as we began cruising a little more, we booked newer ships. If you look my list of cruises, you will see we sailed the Tropicale and Imagination. We had a great time on both but Tropicale isn't even around anymore. It was our very first cruise and we were hooked from there.

 

I think if you prefer more of a younger/party crowd, Carnival is a great choice. Not even party crowd, but just lets loose and has a great time. With RC you do have a great time, but it's a little less party like. That's just my opinion :-)

[Cindy]

Here's a couple of my quick thoughts...I posted this on the same titled thread on the Royal Caribbean board yesterday...

I've cruised on both lines, although I've only been on Carnival once. In my experience and for the things we like to do on a cruise, the overall experience was very similar.

 

If I was going to choose a cruise based only on the ship itself (decor and layout), I would choose Royal Caribbean in a heartbeat. However, that's not the only reason I choose a ship. In my opinion, the food on our Carnival cruise was vastly superior to what we've gotten on our recent RCCL cruises. Both my husband and I thought the quality, flavor, variety, and presentation of the food on Splendor this summer was outstanding. Another thing that is important to us is wine, and we really enjoyed being able to bring some aboard with us this summer. We liked Carnival enough to give another CCL ship a try. Our upcoming Conquest cruise should be a good basis of comparison for us, since it's out of Galveston sailing the same itinerary we've been doing on the Voyager.

[MrPete]

Hello, I have sailed on the Carnival Conquest twice, and was not disappointed, but I am wondering. What is the difference between Royal Caribbean and Carnival. Thank you, John

 

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.

[MrPete]

Whoa.

 

I was under the impression that RCCL was a step up from Carnival (and NCL.)

 

Not that I'm bashing; I've only sailed NCL and Carnival and liked them both (though there were things I liked more about NCL).

 

I just thought that it was NCL & Carnival at the bottom, then RCCL, then other higher-end cruises (like Disney), then the REALLY higher-end things like Cunard (sp.)

 

As much as I'd love to take the family on a Disney cruise, I've been pleased for the vacations we've gotten in ratio to the money spent in the past on NCL and wondered if the "step up" to RCCL would really be worth it. Perhaps not...

 

 

-Sarah

 

I was led to believe that too, paying more to experience it.

 

Came back seeing it was not a step up at all, just that I paid more for it. A bit frustrating, if you ask me.

 

But, it's still a fine line to cruise on.

[Kurbanfan]

Very simple. With Royal Caribbean you pay more and get less. Very simple. The food on Royal is awful, the cabins are smaller and the service is sub-par. End of story.

 

Our RCCL experience was that our cabin was the same size as Carnival but we had a much bigger balcony.........we never felt we got less of anything.....and we paid no more........and food is subjective........

 

OP our experience is that RCCL offers much more on their ships then Carnival........passengers are exactly the same.........service is great on both......although RCCL's anytime dining leaves much to be desired in our experience (could have been that particular ship)........all in all you can't go wrong with either.......

[Drew B]

Your comparing Celebrity to Carnival? What do you think is comparable between the two? I would love to hear your answer. Certainly the food and service is in Celebrryt's favor. :)

 

It depends what you like. I found the food more impressive on Celebrity, but often tastier on Carnival. I found the service more formal on Celebrity, but often warmer on Carnival. I was perfectly happy with the food and service on both, and have a hard time saying which I prefer. I will say my all-time favorite dish on a cruise ship was on Celebrity, but my all time favorite waiter was on Carnival.

[80sramfan]

How many times have you been on a Royal Caribbean cruise?? according to your past cruise list you have never been on a Royal Caribbean cruise, so don't get it where you come with your extremely stupid conclusion!!

 

Twice Freedom of the Seas

[LHP]

How many times have you been on a Royal Caribbean cruise?? according to your past cruise list you have never been on a Royal Caribbean cruise, so don't get it where you come with your extremely stupid conclusion!!

 

If you will take the time to read their signature before forming

your extremely stupid conclusion" you will see they have sailed the Freedom of the Seas TWICE.....

[Kurbanfan]

Very simple. With Royal Caribbean you pay more and get less. Very simple. The food on Royal is awful, the cabins are smaller and the service is sub-par. End of story.

 

That's odd......because my balcony cabin on the Mariner was the same size but bigger balcony then a regular balcony on Carnival....... paid the same price, service was excellent.... and food is subjective......I don't think I got anything less.......actually the Mariner had more to offer on the ship.......and yes for free.......maybe you should try a different ship on RCCL......I did after I sailed on the Holiday and truly found how different ships can be.......

[tiggerman101]

I was pretty impressed with my RCCL cruise last week. It was also on their smallest ship. True, there were things I liked better on Carnival (and vice versa), but most of it is subjective anyway. I am sure my Oasis cruise in February will be a whole other story. However, I want to experience many different lines. I feel variety helps keep it fresh.

 

I will say I am absolutly sick of cheerleaders for both lines. Enough is enough people.

[Schplinky]

 

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

 

 

That made me laugh. There are people on both the CCL and RCL boards who write as though the pizza was the make or break factor of cruising.

 

My feeling is that people measure everything against their first experience. Our first was RCL's Navigator of the Seas and then we went on Celebrity's Constellation. It was a let-down. In retrospect, I think we just were comparing everything to our positive first experience.

 

Now, we've sailed RCL, X, HAL, NCL, Princess and this weekend we'll try Carnival's Dream. I agree that most lines are far more alike than different. The only line we won't sail again soon is HAL and that's really just because even on their newest ship, everything seemed geared for senior citizens and the activity level in the evening wasn't enough for us.

[Schplinky]

I will say I am absolutly sick of cheerleaders for both lines. Enough is enough people.

 

I agree. It's the nastiness of the cheerleaders on all the boards that keep me from reading much between cruises. All the boards have them but it seems to be getting worse over time. It also seems [to me] that the nastiest cheerleaders have only ever sailed the one line they like best (which is an interesting statement, when you think about it).

[IWORK2CRUISE]

I was pretty impressed with my RCCL cruise last week. It was also on their smallest ship. True, there were things I liked better on Carnival (and vice versa), but most of it is subjective anyway. I am sure my Oasis cruise in February will be a whole other story. However, I want to experience many different lines. I feel variety helps keep it fresh.

 

I will say I am absolutly sick of cheerleaders for both lines. Enough is enough people.

A lot is subjective as you state.

Most of our cruises have been RCCL followed by NCL.

We have been on Carnival twice but not recently.

We were looking into possibly going to Hawaii in Sept. on RCCL's Rhapsody of the Seas (a ship that we have not sailed) and have found it to be a little high in price. As we are Diamond members we have a couple of perks (not as many as we used to) like wine & champagne before dinner.

We are not big partiers and have read a lot about Carnival being more of a party atmosphere.

Here is the real question. Carnival has a very similar itinerary on the Spirit in Sept. Now, I am assuming that for a 12 day cruise the party crowd is less prevelent than on a short cruise.

Carnival seems to have a MUCH more affordable price. That is big for us right now.

One differance in the itinerary that I note is that RCCL seems to specificaly indicate the Mount Kilauea evening sail. Carnival Spirit does not list that but I know that we would be sailing between islands at night.

My main question would be for anyone who might have done this cruise before. Can you see the lava?

 

Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated at this point.

Thanks!

[Janan]

That likes to get opinions but in the long run I need to find out the "truth" for myself.......out of all the cruises we have been on Dolphin (now out of buissness was the best) the next is Carnival, MSC, princess and NCL then Commodore (also out of buissness...thank god!) We will eventually try all the cruiselines but for right now the pricepoint is right with Carnival....RCI has some better itineraries but costs more than we budget, Celebrity has better itineraries, and HAL the best of all (for the carribean anyway) now i could tell you what I have heard about those cruiselines I haven't personally experienced but......you see where I'm going with this I'm sure find an itinerary and pricepoint you can live with...if it is on RCI then you'll find out for yourself what its like....there is no such thing as a BAD cruise just bad moments on a cruise and if you have something to look forward to (such as an Island you haven't been to) The cruise will be that much better (regardless). Just my two cents for what its worth; (that and $2.00 will get you on the New york subway...it isn't more than that these days is it?:D

 

Andy

[salty dingo]

I can't speak to RCL but I can speak to NCL and Celebrity. I find the food and service to be so close it's not possible to draw a distinction.

 

Carnival and Celebrity are not too serious about stopping customers from bringing drinks to consume in the cabin. NCL and (I hear) RCL are very strict on liquor smuggling, which is a real turn-off.

 

So, with all else being relatively equal, we look for the best price. Sometimes we can find a good price on NCL's older ships. Sometimes, they are the only game in town. But generally, Carnival has the best price and therefore the best value for us.

[aubreysmom]

IWorktoCruise, I cannot tell you about seeing the lava on the Spirit in Hawaii. I can tell you that my parents just did this cuise in Sept. and loved it.

 

A little background - My dad is 80 and Mom is 75. Dad is a retired engineer and Mom is a retired school teacher. They are not what I would consider wild or partiers. Neither have ever traveled a large cruise line like Carnival before. They have done very exclusive type cruises before -like of the Greek isles on a catamaran with 6 cabins. So, I was a little concerned about their adventure on the Spirit. They have never done "mass" cruises before.

 

They had a wonderful time and have booked another cruise for next October. (On RCI). I have told them that Carnival and RCI way more alike than different.

[amybeth4]

Just my two cents for what its worth; (that and $2.00 will get you on the New york subway...it isn't more than that these days is it?:D

 

Andy

 

Sadly that, your two cents, two dollars and an additional 23 cents will now get you on the subway! :)

[MrPete]

 

My main question would be for anyone who might have done this cruise before. Can you see the lava?

 

Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated at this point.

Thanks!

 

We did this on the Carnival Jubilee. They gave us the time and the direction for the lava watch. What a sight!

[zqvol]

Hello, I have sailed on the Carnival Conquest twice, and was not disappointed, but I am wondering. What is the difference between Royal Caribbean and Carnival. Thank you, John

 

Royal's ships are have nicer decor

Service is about equal

Royal's food is head and shoulders above Carnival

Royal's prices are higher