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!

[firefly333]

Carnival = baby full fare.

 

I think you will find food available 24 hours, much the same or more than on RCI. Inside and OVs are larger on Carnival, newer ships, balconys larger on RCL.

 

Much the same between them both.

[montekat]

The only way you will know is to try it for yourself. As far as we are concerned, the two lines are more alike than different. I only cruise RCCL when the price is right and the itinerary is good. RCCL is prettier, otherwise no real difference. We have encountered just as many drunks and partiers on RCCL as CCL. We have met the same mix of people on both lines.

[miked998]

I have been on 6 Royal Caribbean cruises and just got off my first Carnival Cruise on the Miracle.

 

The two lines are mostly the same. Service is great on both. RC ships are nicer and more open (promenade). The food was better on Carnival.

 

I would not hesitate to sail either line.

[smile1234]

Hi

 

I am looking for some of the same answers your are, except we already booked with Carnival for this June. I have been Loyal to Royal as well, so much so that we are Platinum. Anyhow we like to go out of a local port (NJ/NY). I have been on Explorer twice already and Voyager once so we were up to try something new. Mind u we looked at the prices of both and Carnival was extremely cheaper. We have a 4yr old child and have been on 2 cruise with her. Camp Carnival has gotten rave reviews and a plus for ur is that they take un potty trained children. RCCL did not and when she was 2 1/2 she was not yet potty trained so couldnt go to Adventure Ocean. Anyhow i am still looking for some general comparisons and so far everything I have found has been good. Also I was speaking with someone last week, a Dr who cruises several times a yr on all of the lines and he said ....if u get a newer ship then u wouldnt be dissappointed. And when i thought of that the ship that we booked on Carnival was newer than the explorer of the seas. At that point i was able to get over the fact that there was no ice skating or roller blading. LOL Good Luck !

[smile1234]

I have been on 6 Royal Caribbean cruises and just got off my first Carnival Cruise on the Miracle.

 

The two lines are mostly the same. Service is great on both. RC ships are nicer and more open (promenade). The food was better on Carnival.

 

I would not hesitate to sail either line.

 

You are exactly the person i need to talk to as we r going on the Miracle in June. U mentioned no Promenade. Not to sound stupid how did u get across from one side of the Miracle to the other. Also was it weird having the dining room so low (wheras the Windjammer is on Deck 11). Were the rooms nicer? How was the entertainment compared to RCCL?

 

Thank u in advance

[Chacooe]

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!

 

I would just take the plunge and book a cruise on Carnival and then you can judge for yourself. If you like it, then book again, if you don't like it stay with RCI or switch between them. I know as your child gets older Camp Carnival is fantastic for the kids. I have seen little ones refuse to leave the Camp because they enjoyed it so much. I had always heard that Carnival were party ships to, but I can tell you they are not, unless you, yourself want to make your cruise that way.

[17andacruiseaddict]

well i know you can always get food on carnival. room service is 24 hours and free (on royal it ends at a certain time and its no longer free), there is also 24 hour pizza. all food ends at a certain time on royal.

 

carnival keeps the fun going as long as the passengers are willing to party. the club stays open as long as possible and so does the casino. on royal, everything closes at a certain time.

 

ive met plenty of fun people on each ship but i have found the majority of the passengers too be a lot friendlier on carnival. i know that is just an opinion.....

 

i hear the rooms are bigger on carnival. to me, i cant really see the difference. i do like the bedding on both ships. but if you wanted to purchase the comfortable bedding from your cruise, carnival gives you that option...

 

that is all

[firefly333]

Hi At that point i was able to get over the fact that there was no ice skating or roller blading. LOL Good Luck !

 

Hi, on Conquest, I saw folks playing vollyball and having fun, or mini golf on Triumph. I won the ship on a stick for winning the ping pong daily morning contest once last Sept. ... finally a ship on a stick. There are activities if you look for them, even if they dont skate or climb a rock wall.

[montekat]

You are exactly the person i need to talk to as we r going on the Miracle in June. U mentioned no Promenade. Not to sound stupid how did u get across from one side of the Miracle to the other. Also was it weird having the dining room so low (wheras the Windjammer is on Deck 11). Were the rooms nicer? How was the entertainment compared to RCCL?

 

Thank u in advance

We have been on several of the Spirit class ships, including the Miracle. No, there is no Promenade, but there is an open atrium which extends upward to the lido deck. There is an open walkway through the center of the ship, but it's not open to the top as the promenade is. The promenade is OK, but we weren't that impressed with it (we have been on 4 Voyager class ships). It's more like a mall for shopping.

 

The Lido deck is where the buffet dining is located, same as the Windjammer. On RCCL, the MDR's are on the lower decks, same as CCL. Cabins on CCL tend to be slightly larger. Entertainment is very similar, no ice skating shows, but we only go once on each RCCL cruise. We don't do rock climbing, flow riders or ice skating.

[zstell]

I was hesitant about sailing on CCL, but we love it. I have never encountered drunk teenagers onboard, plenty in port from various cruiselines. The cabins are great and the beds are very comfortable.

 

I have nothing against RCCL, but usually find better value with CCL. We're just not that picky and don't want to pay significantly more for about the same. As for the activities, I don't care too much about a skating rink or rock climbing walls that I wouldn't use. The spa privileges on the Dream and the Splendor...love those!

 

I honestly shop several lines when choosing a sailing and go with the best bang for my buck. Having perks for loyalty to whatever line you prefer does count for something, love the free laundry :D

[17andacruiseaddict]

Hi, on Conquest, I saw folks playing vollyball and having fun, or mini golf on Triumph. I won the ship on a stick for winning the ping pong daily morning contest once last Sept. ... finally a ship on a stick. There are activities if you look for them, even if they dont skate or climb a rock wall.

 

 

like you said, there are activities. thats something i think carnival really has over royal. royal had a few activities too but carnival looooves to get its passenger into having fun. the capers are filled with plenty of fun thing throughout the day. they even have dance classes where they teach you how to do the thriller dance. and on a cruise last year, they had a silly but fun competition where people had to walk down a line with a coin between their butt cheeks lol. carnivals social hosts and fun patrol do their best to make you have a fun and exciting cruise. something for everybody. rock climbing and ice skating is fun, but what are you going to do when the times for those are over?

[TamLaiSang]

I keep hearing about RCI price hikes...but I'm not seeing any...

 

Maybe it's because I'm not looking in the right place.

 

I have some friends that just booked an RCI 7 day cruise to Mexico...it cost roughly the same amount as the Carnival Splendor. I'm looking at other destinations, The Bahamas, Western Caribbean, and the prices seem to be within 10-20 dollars of the Carnival ships.

 

Now if the price and destination is the same (which it seems to be in many cases)...which cruise line would you pick?

[halos]

I have been on 6 Royal Caribbean cruises and just got off my first Carnival Cruise on the Miracle.

 

The two lines are mostly the same. Service is great on both. RC ships are nicer and more open (promenade). The food was better on Carnival.

 

I would not hesitate to sail either line.

 

My feelings exactly, only I have sailed CCL about 8 times and RCCL only once.

Royal ships are gorgeous...Carnival food is better. Everything else is about equal.

 

I enjoyed my Royal cruise but when I'm shopping for cruises, they are usually significantly higher in price so I stay away. Why would I pay more when I can have just as nice a cruise on another line?

[ztacruisnmommy]

i sail both and i think they are the same, rc ships are better but carnival food and onboard activities are better(bingo,dance lessons,etc)

 

we are booked on a southern carb for rc and its 700 for a7 nighter the same cruise for carnival was 349 pp, so there are some cruises that are alot higher in price

[breezycruiser]

well i know you can always get food on carnival. room service is 24 hours and free (on royal it ends at a certain time and its no longer free), there is also 24 hour pizza. all food ends at a certain time on royal.

 

Don't forget about Carnival's nightly Midnight bites snack buffet and the 24 hour Ice cream! Theres also the deli, sushi bar, mexcian station, mongolian, tandoori, fish and chips, supper club and taste of the nations buffet on some ships. You have plenty of options.

 

As far as price goes I was looking into taking a cruise around my birthday with my family and I've checked both lines to see who has the better deal. Both depart within a day of each other and from Port Canaveral. This is what I found.

 

RCCL Freedom of the Seas-12/12/10: Inside $749, Outside $899, Balcony $1049

 

Carnival Dream-12/11/10:Interior $479, Ocean view $599, Balcony $709

 

For the price of the RCCL Inside I could have an balcony on Carnival's newest ship. So far the Dream has my vote.

[Dialemic]

I keep hearing about RCI price hikes...but I'm not seeing any...

 

Maybe it's because I'm not looking in the right place.

 

I have some friends that just booked an RCI 7 day cruise to Mexico...it cost roughly the same amount as the Carnival Splendor. I'm looking at other destinations, The Bahamas, Western Caribbean, and the prices seem to be within 10-20 dollars of the Carnival ships.

 

Now if the price and destination is the same (which it seems to be in many cases)...which cruise line would you pick?

 

 

Hands down id pick RCI haha, just a preference. Its good to hear all this feedback and I am more than grateful for all of your input! Sounds like Carnival is a good time, but the ships arent as nice. Im used to the voyager class so i like the big open feeling. I also admire a good pool deck, even if its not on an RCI ship haha. I really may consider giving ccl a shot!

[Dialemic]

i sail both and i think they are the same, rc ships are better but carnival food and onboard activities are better(bingo,dance lessons,etc)

 

we are booked on a southern carb for rc and its 700 for a7 nighter the same cruise for carnival was 349 pp, so there are some cruises that are alot higher in price

Mommy I hear you on that one! Thats the prediciment im in atm. I already booked it but ccl was significantly lower than RCI.

[kkorman]

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!

 

It really depend son the ships you are comparing.

 

Everyone has preferences. I sail mostly RCI and Princess. Would I sail on Carnival again, probably, but it is worth the extra for me for the experience of another cruise line.

[aubreysmom]

I have cruised both lines and feel they are pretty similar. However, the wildest, drunkest bunch of teenagers I ever bumped into were at Senior Frogs in Nassau. They were off a RCI ship - not our Carnival ship! I have never seen any wild, drunk kids on 6 Carnival cruises - one Carnival cruise during spring break time with my own kids - 19 & 22 at the time.

[cccer]

We have sailed on both and have not seen a big difference. They both have their pros and cons, but nothing stands out that would make me sail one over the other. The only reason we are going carnival this summer is price. I will not pay a premium to sail RCL.

[lillian marie]

We've sailed Cunard, Holland, Princess, RCL and Carnival.. Carnival is really a great bargain and we feel the service, food, activities, cabins and entertainment is exceptional considering the cost. We also like the number of ports that Carnival offers. The kids activities are exceptional too. When your child gets older you may want to chose Carnival for that feature. A child pays 3rd person in a cabin with 2 adults. I'm taking my daughter with us on a cruise this year to Alaska and the 3rd person fare was really reasonable considering all that you recieve for the cost. She will enjoy Camp Carnival and I'd pay as much as her fare for a week of camp here at home. Yet everyone has their favorite cruise line. We like them all but think Carnival gives the "best bang for the buck".

[ddgleason]

We have always been loyal to Royal (diamond members). But Royal pulled the short cruises from the West, so that has limited our options big time. Also, on our last Royal cruise this past summer, we noticed a huge reduction in the loyalty perks. Even the coupon books were not worth the paper they used to make them. I think we used maybe 2 coupons the whole week. When before we would clean that book out and use just about everything. With the higher prices, the not so good loyalty perks, and only one ship on the left coast, we looked at Carnival. And booked. We are trying the Elation (BTW, thanks for the feedback on my other thread about which ship to book, everybody! It helped me decide to go with Elation over Paradise. :D) Spring Break week. Only 2 months and 3 weeks to go! Yay!

 

(Now, if I had posted any of this on the Royal board, I would have been run out of town on a rail. I tend to keep my mouth shut over there.)

[dc-snoopy]

Our first two cruises were on RCI and we LOVED them. We went on the Carnival Destiny in 2007 and although our family had a great time, we had a lot of issues with the ship (and the crew, but that's another story). In general, DW and I go for the cruise with the best itinerary because we prefer the ports to sea days...so whichever line has the best itinerary is what we would pick. However, as many have said, the two lines are more alike than different, but the things that we've noticed different:

 

RCI ships are nicer and better laid out. We find that the decor is more to our liking as are the amenities. Our experience on the Destiny was that it was a poorly laid out ship and getting around was inconvenient (floors that did not go through, many places with narrow passageways, places where you had to pass through a major smoking area like the cigar lounge to get to another lounge, poorly laid out buffet service, etc). Since we were on the Destiny with my then-81 year old father and I frequently had to escort him places, there were many areas where we had difficulty walking side-by-side. Some we could do so but would block anyone trying to move around us or coming in the other direction. But there were even some places where we had to walk single file and I had to walk in front and he had to hold onto my back. RCI ships have more and better amenities such as the rock climbing walls, basketball court, a slightly better quality of shopping on the promenade. Most of the dining outside of the dining room was more convenient (stations instead of a long line, wider aisles) and we preferred the buffet food in the two RCI windjammers to the Destiny buffet area.

 

As for Carnival, the balcony room and the balcony on the Destiny was slightly larger than what we had on RCI's Jewel of the Seas. The food in the dining room was slightly better than we remembered on JoS (although we loved most of the food on all three ships). The prices were definitely better and meant that we had more disposable income to spend elsewhere including excursions and shopping.

 

One of the biggest differences to us was that we did find that the Carnival Destiny was more of a party ship and that in general it was much louder. There seemed to be more music/bands and that they seemed to have the speakers pumped up higher. One sea day, I tried to find a quiet place to read and had a devil of a time finding anyplace outside my cabin (not even my balcony) where there wasn't some noise bleed from one of the sound systems. Much easier to find quiet places for reading on sea days on the RCI ships. And definitely the crowd on our summer 2007 Destiny cruise was much rowdier, but then I've heard that the Southern Caribbean itinerary in the summer does draw a rowdier crowd and that the Destiny is a slight exception to other CCL ships in some ways. I'll get another chance to compare this coming week.

[Cheeseland Cruisers]

We have been on the Carnival Legend and Fantasy, and the RC Explorer and Grandeur. I would say the Explorer was the nicest ship, then probably Legend, then Grandeur. I do like the layout of the RC ships a bit better.

 

The food on Carnival, to us, was much better than either of our RC cruises. Espeically in the main dining room, and the desserts.

 

The bartenders were better BY FAR on Royal, they were just fun, engaging, and remembered you every day. I would say, WITHOUT question, there were more partiers on our two Royal Carribbean criuses than there were on the Legend (can't really remember on the Fantasy).

 

The rest of the service was pretty much equal between both lines. Overall passengers etc. seemed about the same. Seems like we were paying for more extras on Royal.

 

Camp Carnival is great, didn't have the kids on RC.

 

I would sail either line again. We are sailing in Feb. on Carnival (liberty), so I guess that shows our preferences for right now. To me, Carnival seems to have better and more varied itinereries to the Eastern and Western Caribbean.

 

we also took one cruise on Princess. Beautiful ship (Sun Princess), but BORING. Ship was dead most nights by 9 pm. If you are looking for quiet, I would look at Princess.