The Standoff. RCI vs. Carnival

[Dialemic]

Hello all! Its been awhile since I posted, but cruise time is coming and its filled up the brain and I cant get it out! :D Anyways, here I am, loyal to the royal, and this will be #4 for me. I love RCI service, ships, and pretty much everything that has to deal with them. Recently, Ive been noticing some pretty major price spikes. When I first initially thought of booking, the same cruise from carnival was significantly cheaper (by almost 400 bucks) and I thought to myself, is carnival that bad? Im already all paid up for my RCI which with my prepaid grat. and taxes + "surcharges" was a little over 900 bucks for the cheapest room. Obviously Im only paying that cause I love my RCI haha. My question to you all (which im sure its been asked plenty of times) is how is the comparison actually to RCI vs. Carnival? Is the service way worse? Is it more of a party ship? (that what I heard). Not that it really bothers me, but im a somewhat grown up 24 year old and hate loud obnoxious teenagers drinking their first beer. Im just looking for a general comparison and maybe some details if you're able to and have some time. Any pics of a typical Carnival ship would be awesome. My main focus is does carnivals ships feels smaller? Rooms, are they comfy? Drinks cheaper? Food good or bad? Is there always food somewhere like RCI? If you can throw anything else in there that would be great. Im wanting to take my 1 year old on a cruise with us, but RCI says baby=full fare, so its a little to expensive at this time. Thank you all and god bless!

[pkrchkr]

Hello all! Its been awhile since I posted, but cruise time is coming and its filled up the brain and I cant get it out! :D Anyways, here I am, loyal to the royal, and this will be #4 for me. I love RCI service, ships, and pretty much everything that has to deal with them. Recently, Ive been noticing some pretty major price spikes. When I first initially thought of booking, the same cruise from carnival was significantly cheaper (by almost 400 bucks) and I thought to myself, is carnival that bad? Im already all paid up for my RCI which with my prepaid grat. and taxes + "surcharges" was a little over 900 bucks for the cheapest room. Obviously Im only paying that cause I love my RCI haha. My question to you all (which im sure its been asked plenty of times) is how is the comparison actually to RCI vs. Carnival? Is the service way worse? Is it more of a party ship? (that what I heard). Not that it really bothers me, but im a somewhat grown up 24 year old and hate loud obnoxious teenagers drinking their first beer. Im just looking for a general comparison and maybe some details if you're able to and have some time. Any pics of a typical Carnival ship would be awesome. My main focus is does carnivals ships feels smaller? Rooms, are they comfy? Drinks cheaper? Food good or bad? Is there always food somewhere like RCI? If you can throw anything else in there that would be great. Im wanting to take my 1 year old on a cruise with us, but RCI says baby=full fare, so its a little to expensive at this time. Thank you all and god bless!

Dialemic, I ahve done more Carnival cruises the RCCl and could not wait to get back to RCCL. This discount on Carnival kept getting bigger as the problems got bigger.We went from exposure to a highly contagious disease called SARS( where there was not area set for isolation or quaratine during temperature tests)To being served food that had already been eaten off of Twice ( EEWWW)to have expulative said to us by staff.Our last trip with Carnival was in the Pride the sister to the Spirit but that was because it was a gift from my mom.

The food generally is the same nothing really sticks out, the rooms some say are larger on Carnival, for us that remains to be seen.Drinks are about the same but the service I remember from RCCL was way better the Carnival will ever be to us. We leave in 57 days on the IOS and can't wait to build some new memories and make some great new CC friends..Good luck with your choice, if I can help at all let me know.

Cheers

[Tranquil Waters]

Hello all! Its been awhile since I posted, but cruise time is coming and its filled up the brain and I cant get it out! :D Anyways, here I am, loyal to the royal, and this will be #4 for me. I love RCI service, ships, and pretty much everything that has to deal with them. Recently, Ive been noticing some pretty major price spikes. When I first initially thought of booking, the same cruise from carnival was significantly cheaper (by almost 400 bucks) and I thought to myself, is carnival that bad? Im already all paid up for my RCI which with my prepaid grat. and taxes + "surcharges" was a little over 900 bucks for the cheapest room. Obviously Im only paying that cause I love my RCI haha. My question to you all (which im sure its been asked plenty of times) is how is the comparison actually to RCI vs. Carnival? Is the service way worse? Is it more of a party ship? (that what I heard). Not that it really bothers me, but im a somewhat grown up 24 year old and hate loud obnoxious teenagers drinking their first beer. Im just looking for a general comparison and maybe some details if you're able to and have some time. Any pics of a typical Carnival ship would be awesome. My main focus is does carnivals ships feels smaller? Rooms, are they comfy? Drinks cheaper? Food good or bad? Is there always food somewhere like RCI? If you can throw anything else in there that would be great. Im wanting to take my 1 year old on a cruise with us, but RCI says baby=full fare, so its a little to expensive at this time. Thank you all and god bless!

 

Did you post this on the Carnival board? If you are truly looking for what Carnival cruisers like about Carnival, they would be the ones to be able to help you.

 

On the RCI board, you are more likely to get knee jerk reactions to the idea of Carnival being anywhere close to RCI. :D (and this said by a girl who has only cruised RCI......;))

[travelntreats]

The cruiselines are more alike then they are different I think. There are many positives and negatives on either cruiseline. Many factors need to be considered regarding your questions i.e. size of ship, age of ship, time of season cruising, etc..... As for dining... that is so subject to opinion. As for room size, again depends on the ship comparisons. On average CCL oceanview staterooms are a nice 220 sq. ft. on their newer ships.

 

Bells and whistles that RCI offers by far EXCEED that of Carnival in my eyes. Entertainment.... I have been on both were it was great and not so great. Passenger mix.... again this could depend on length of cruise and time of year. Food quality and variety... it really depends on how important food is to you. Personally I dont think either cruiseline offer anything more than your average catered meal you could get in a hotel convention atmosphere and buffets are ...well just what they are. A place to feed the masses with fair quality food but nothing to write home about !

 

So in the end, I would say if you are looking for the ship to be your destination, RCI wins with the newer ships and especially the Oasis. If just looking for a decent time and the ports are the priority... I think you would do well on either line if pricing was the major factor.

 

Good luck in your decisions and please pop over to the CCL boards to ask any specific question you have about a specific ship or ship(s) to help in making your decision more better informed.

 

Happy Cruising !

[Dialemic]

Thank you all for your input. It seems im sticking with what I know is right, and its a good decision :) Ive only been on royal and never experienced anything else, thank god for CC haha. Ill try popping this over on Carnivals board as well to see what kind of shock response I get haha. But thank you all. Please feel free to continue dropping a line about your opinion cause I take everything in and highly appreciate your honest opinions :)

[Cruzaholic41]

I think it boils down to what ships you are considering. Most of what Carnival and RCI offer are the same. In my opinion, the big (and I mean huge) difference in the two cruise lines are the individual ships. Comparing the newer classes of ships, Carnival can not compete in terms of the physical ships.

 

If you try Carnival, I recommend the Spirit Class. If the price is really that much different, then yes, go for it. Experiencing different cruise lines is good.

[jmom5]

We are loyal royals and last year when it came time to plan our 09 family cruise, we were having the same thoughts that you are having right now. we could take our 5 kids on royal and pay around $5000 or try Carnival for $3500. We thought about it for a long time and decided that we would never know until we tried it so we went for it. We chose the Carnival Freedom (one of their larger ships second only to the Splendor and the new Dream, I believe) because it is one of their newer ships.

I will tell that about half way thru the cruise we had already decided that it would probably be our last cruise with Carnival. Mainly because we didn't like the ship and it's lay out, not necessarily the decor, although royals ships are way prettier imo, but the flow of the ship was not good. Carnival was definitely more of a party atmosphere, all the time and not just at night.

Service was comparable so no complaints there. Some like the food better on Carnival, but we definitely like Royal better, we felt like Carnival never had normal food like mashed potatoes or stuff that you would order in a mid range restaurant like chili's or something like that. Their normal food was hamburgers and chicken strips. Also the lines during breakfast and lunch were unbearable. There were times when it would be 30 minutes of waiting in lines before we would finally get back to the table to eat.

Carnivals pizza is good and it's available 24 hrs, I can't remember if there is other food available.

I'm not sure about the drink prices, they seem to be close to the same price, but don't quote me on that one.

As far as room size, we had an interior room and it was around the same size as an interior on a voyager or freedom class ship of royals.

We just decided that our experiences on a royal cruise was worth the extra money, but obviously there are a lot of people that won't agree so maybe you should try it yourself!

[Dialemic]

Thanks jmom! Now honest question. Did you go into carnival open minded or basing alot of this off of RCI? I mean, going into carnival with RCI expectations? I know thats what would happen to me if I did this. Did carnival have plenty to do? Were there lots of activities and stuff or pretty dull?

[Aussiegrlfl]

Well the only way you will ever know is to try it......and they are cheaper so it can't hurt...

 

We have sailed 10 x with CCL, 9 x with RCCL, 2 x Celebrity and 1 x NCL.....and it all depends.....most of my carnival cruises have been what I have wanted them to be....fun....and relaxing....I'm not into the party scene either....only occasionally but especially not for 7 full days straight....RCCL have slipped some in both service and food lately.....no more lobster even on our Canada/New England cruise and they are right there....whats up with that........anyway....we sailed Celebrity Century 2 years in a row at the same time.....first time blown away....amazing staff, service everything.....but the next year...the ship was still beautiful, but service and smiles were not there.....disappointing....NCL....don't bother....IMO...anyway...

 

The bigger RCCL ships offer way more than Carnival...that is a fact....but sometimes I just want to get away and relax and Carnival is great for that unless it is the summer holidays.....yikes......and that goes for any of the lines.....I love kids, but not 1000's of them all in a confined space....

 

Try it....even just once......you may be surprised.....

 

Lee

[Aussiegrlfl]

OOPs....just realized you are in Colorado Springs....doesn't leave you many options without spending tons of $$$ either way because of air.....although some of our 20 something friends went on Carnival Spirit to Alaska this year and loved every minute of it......but suppose you want to get away from the cold.....

[jmom5]

Thanks jmom! Now honest question. Did you go into carnival open minded or basing alot of this off of RCI? I mean, going into carnival with RCI expectations? I know thats what would happen to me if I did this. Did carnival have plenty to do? Were there lots of activities and stuff or pretty dull?

We honestly went in open minded. We really did think about it for a couple of months before we decided and once we made up our mind to go for it, we were excited about it. We still had fun, but if we would not have had the extra $1500 to do some really fun excursions, in our minds, it would have been kind of a bust. Normally we love the boat and all it has to offer, but on this one, we were happy when we were able to get off and do fun stuff.

Carnival does have the big waterslide and that was ok, but it closed at 5 everyday. I thought that was strange and also the miniature golf course closed everyday at 5 or 6 too. During the evening I felt like the only thing to do was go to the show.

One thing we did like about Carnival is the movies they show on the deck at night. It's on a large screen and you can sit in the pool chairs and watch.

We don't ever go in the summer, so as far as a lot of kids and stuff, we haven't really ever dealt with that aspect.

[debshomespun]

RC has some great deals on their cruises. Keep searching until you can find one that is in your price range. Hopefully, your schedule is flexible, and you can find a really good rate on RC. We feel the RC ships have much more to offer whether it be their shows, or activities to do on the ships (Voyage & Freedom classes). We felt the entertainment is better on Royal. The only way to find out if Carnival would be a right fit for you would be to try it for yourself.

[mojonah]

As a newbie to cruising, we are planning our second cruise with RC. Our first was with carnival (splendor) and I can honestly tell you that we did not have a single thing to complain about except for the minor issue of ship layout.

 

Our room staff were awesome, they cleaned our room twice a day. The wait staff were amazing. For us this two issues (room staff and waiters/food) were the most important and the carnival crew did not disappoint.

 

When it comes to price it can be a shock sometimes. Our trip with RC is 700.00 more than the Carnival which is doing the same run. We will find out if RC is worth the difference in dollars.

 

My input is a little biased as we do not have anything to compare it with. What we have learnt on this site as you probably known is that experiences will differ based on ship, time, staff and even us passengers.

 

my 2 cents

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

I'm 40's female and I've mostly sailed Carnival. My first RCI cruise is coming up on the Mariner. But in all honestly, there is nothing wrong with a Carnival cruise. The food is fabulous. Of course food is very subjective matter but most people say Carnival wins over RCI. In the main dining room you will get things like lobster (all you can eat) prime rib, lamb chops, chateaubriand, and the desserts OMG! Yummy!!!!

 

Most of their staterooms are 185sq ft. Balconies are 185 sf plus 40 sf balcony. Oceanviews are 220 sf on some ships because instead of a balcony, their room extends out as far as the balcony thus making the room larger. Not on all ships. For an inside cabin, they are much larger than most RCI insides that are around 150sf. Rooms are nice. Nothing wrong with them.

 

The prior poster that said they won't sail Carnival again - well they sailed on pretty large ships with capacity of 3000+ pax. That is why.

 

As for party ship, usually only the 3 or 4 day weekend cruises or the spring break cruises will have that atmosphere. In all my cruises including 3 day weekend cruise over Memorial Day weekend had a wide range of pax - all ages - all nationalities etc. Lots of fun.

 

Activities are pretty comparible to what I've read on the RCI compass. They have various activities like towel folding class, line dance class, bingo, name that tune, trivia challenge, battle of the sexes etc. Plus they have lots of bars/clubs including karoake and piano bars.

 

Service is usually very good. Just like anywhere (including RCI) will have someone that isn't performing well. Most of the time I've been really pleased with my room steward and dining staff. Always had my room cleaned twice a day. One cruise my dining staff wasn't very attentive as far as remembering that I like to drink iced tea for dinner. But that was once. All other times they have my tea waiting for me. Service is great.

 

Below is a picture of a cabin and some ship pics from Carnival. Just click on a picture to take you to each of my albums.

 

By the way, the last picture was taken on Elation 3 day cruise over Memorial day weekend. Look how crowded that ship is. LOL It actually did fill up but that nobody was outside.

[Dialemic]

God you guys rock! So much to say and I wasnt expecting all of the input! haha you guys are great! Ok, heres what im getting:

 

1. Just try it, you'll never know

2. Carnival has its ups and downs (but so does RCI)

3. Food is decent.

4. Party ship is not everytime haha.

 

I was googling ship layouts and pics and stuff and it seems rather ackward. I just love the way RCI ships are so roomy! even when its full. What would be a ship from carnival that is comparable to Voyager? between Carnival and RCI, I usually drive to Galveston and make a fun road trip with the fellas so air isnt an issue. Id really love to leave out of florida one of these times ( sorry off topic!). One more specific question, hows the atmosphere in carnival ships? It seems like everyone is smiling, having a great time doing whatever on the RCI ship. Its not a party, but it is a good time ya know? And whats this on no more lobster on RCI??? This cant be!! I neeeed my lobster! <--- record is 11 in a sitting so far :-P

[mojonah]

I agree with jmom5 regarding the lay out of the ship. As far as the partying is concerned the friends that sailed on the Carnival Splendor with us mentioned that there was a lot more partying on the RC than there was on the Splendor, so go figure.

[mojonah]

And whats this on no more lobster on RCI??? This cant be!! I neeeed my lobster! <--- record is 11 in a sitting so far :-P

 

I had my first lobster on Carnival. 11 in one sitting is is is ....wild.

[jmom5]

My husband and I did state that if we had never been on a cruise before, we probably would have enjoyed cruising Carnival more, but you can't help but make a comparison when it's not your first, especially when going on a different line.

We have been on large ships, but we have also cruised a couple of times on RCCL's smallest ship and we would still choose it over Carnivals biggest.

I have friends that like Carnival a lot, and some other friends said don't go. I just wanted to share my opinion since I have now cruised both lines and can speak from experience rather than what I have heard.

[mojonah]

My husband and I did state that if we had never been on a cruise before, we probably would have enjoyed cruising Carnival more, but you can't help but make a comparison when it's not your first, especially when going on a different line.

We have been on large ships, but we have also cruised a couple of times on RCCL's smallest ship and we would still choose it over Carnivals biggest.

I have friends that like Carnival a lot, and some other friends said don't go. I just wanted to share my opinion since I have now cruised both lines and can speak from experience rather than what I have heard.

 

You have a point on the experience thing:)

[Killswitch]

That bathroom on the Carnival Elation looks pretty funky and out dated.

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

I was googling ship layouts and pics and stuff and it seems rather ackward. I just love the way RCI ships are so roomy! even when its full. What would be a ship from carnival that is comparable to Voyager? record is 11 in a sitting so far :-P

 

OMG - 11 lobsters is a lot. But I checked cruisedeckplans to see what would be comparible. Frankly, none of Carnivals are that large. Closest is the new Dream at 1004 ft length (1020 RCI) 128 ton (137 RCI) and 4631 guests (3844 RCI). I've heard bad reviews of the Dream so not so sure I would go on it until they work out the bugs. Other ships that are next in size (smaller than Voyager but still good size ships) are Splendor (LA) 113ton and 3700 pax or the Conquest class ships which have several ship names in that class. I personally prefer the Spirit class ships (Legend, Pride, Miracle & Spirit). They have the best layout according to many reviews I've read. Easy to navigate without a lot of dead ends where you have to take an elevator to another deck to continue. Spirit ships are awesome IMO. But they aren't quite as big as voyager but the guest ratio is best. 86 tons, 2680 guests max (normal is about 2100), 960 ft.

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

That bathroom on the Carnival Elation looks pretty funky and out dated.

 

I actually like the bathroom in the Elation. They have a pretty large shower. I can actually bend over and shave my legs. Room for 2 people too:D

 

Those round showers on most ships don't allow you to bend over. Very tight especially if you are plus size.

 

[broberts]

I was googling ship layouts and pics and stuff and it seems rather ackward. I just love the way RCI ships are so roomy! even when its full. What would be a ship from carnival that is comparable to Voyager? between Carnival and RCI, I usually drive to Galveston and make a fun road trip with the fellas so air isnt an issue. Id really love to leave out of florida one of these times ( sorry off topic!). One more specific question, hows the atmosphere in carnival ships? It seems like everyone is smiling, having a great time doing whatever on the RCI ship. Its not a party, but it is a good time ya know? And whats this on no more lobster on RCI???

 

It's really tough to compare ship classes. RCL's Voyager class is larger and carries more pax than Carnival's Conquest class but they are roughly contemporary. Personally I prefer the RCL's Raidance and Carnival's Fantasy classes (Elation, pictured in posts by Yukon111, above is a Fantasy class vessel). Slightly smaller than Voyager & Conquest, but the size really suits me.

 

Ship layouts, especially in the middle decks are simply different. I don't think one is any better than the other. That being said, the promenade on Voyager class is nice. Although I really hate it when it's used for gold by the inch and other trinket sales, draws etc. since the sound seems to permeate the entire ship.

 

I personally prefer the decor on RCL ships. I do find Carnival ship decor amusing - as someone posted in another thread. it's Las Vega glitz. I prefer Carnival cabins & bedding, except I like the decor and sliding balcony doors on RCL. I personally think that Carnival MDR menus are more interesting and the food is generally better. Both buffets are good but I like the Paul's, P C's Wok and Sur Mer areas on Conquest class.

 

Carnival dance venues seem to be more active and interesting. Other evening venues are about equal. It's been my experience that the atmosphere on Carnival ships is more tolerant and gregarious. Not to say that people are unfriendly on RCL ships.

 

As to lobster. On my last RCL cruise there were no seconds of the small lobster tail served on surf-n-turf night.

[Killswitch]

I actually like the bathroom in the Elation. They have a pretty large shower. I can actually bend over and shave my legs. Room for 2 people too:D

 

Those round showers on most ships don't allow you to bend over. Very tight especially if you are plus size.

 

 

 

You can't fit 2 people in there....comon.

 

lol

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

On this one we could. That is the Elation and they are very large compared to most ships. Thats why I like it so much.;)