Carnival vs. Royal Caribbean - my Review

[BND]

I have been on RC 2 times, and smoking is allow in the cabin.

Just for your info.

 

Seriously??? Just for your info, not IN the cabin. We were just onboard Explorer of the Seas in March and the cabins were most definitely NON smoking.

 

You haven't been on RCI since 2007? Think maybe the rules have changed??? I was being NICE by saying "as far as I know".....

[pnjkeith]

Our neighbor smoked cigars on his balcony on our RCCL cruise. We just closed the door. You'll get obnoxious neighbors on any line.

 

How does that make him obnoxious? Cigars are great on the Balcony. :confused:

[pnjkeith]

Our neighbor smoked cigars on his balcony on our RCCL cruise. We just closed the door. You'll get obnoxious neighbors on any line.

 

How does that make him obnoxious? Cigars are great on the Balcony. :confused:

[hazeleyez3]

Thanks for the review...quite helpful since I haven't been on them in awhile.

 

As for the smoking...I believe most allow smoking on the balconies.

 

We had a balcony on our RC cruise in January. We hardly used the balcony for the same reason. Neighbors were fowl mouthed and were constantly smoking. I do know that RC does not allow smoking in the rooms. Just on the balcony.

 

We did NCLA for our honeymoon. If you ever try them or another NCL ship you might want to ask more about the deck directly above you. Had a suite at the back of the ship. We could barely use it because they had it set up to be right below a smoking deck. Had cigarette butts and ashes everyday.

[MPH711]

Even though your kids are young, you should have tried eating in the Main Dining Room. You could have gotten a booth or table for just the 4 of you. A lot more food options for you plus a kid's menu for them and great service. I really think you missed something special.

[nothomeonacruise]

How does that make him obnoxious? Cigars are great on the Balcony. :confused:

 

On our RCCL cruise, we had a rude character. He was loud and obnoxious, as well as smoking all his Cubans before he got back into the US. He was always complaining. Every time we saw him, he'd have something else to moan about.

We closed our balcony door to keep out the smell. I guess cigars are an acquired smell.. :p

[hoop4321]

agree that they allow smoking on the balconies of all royal caribbean ships. Only Celebrity has banned both room and balcony. I do know from talking to the staff on the Navigator that they are thinking of banning it on the balconies as well, but i doubt that will be any time soon as right now they are soon to launch Allure and want every room filled. Put that with the recession and Carnival's competition, and it would be further delayed. I think they should have a side of the ship that smoking is allowed on.....that way the non smokers could have a whole side to themselves and would not have to worry about smokers. Most smokers are wonderful people and if you let them know you are bothered by it they will stop. We were a bit leery of booking with Carnival due to the smoking in the rooms, but we never smelled anything. There are few places that the smoke smell lingers and the casino has to be one of the biggest places. I am glad the OP had a great cruise. We find that we like the activities for the kids far better than what we had on royal.....and on par with disney.

[Lib0007]

Now I've read on the Royal Caribbean boards that their bingo is much more expensive than Carnival!

 

 

 

I can't really remember about Royal Caribbean but I just recently sailed NCL and their bingo is really expensive . . something like $45 and you use an electronic gadget to play. I passed . . . but missed what I considered the cheap bingo on Carnival.

[MrCo9]

OMG, you compared the Lido buffet to a Golden Corral, that is so WRONG. I had the mispleasure of visiting one of them in the Fort Worth area, nasty, nasty, nasty is all I have to say. Walked into the one in Eagle Pass, TX and walked right out. I was hoping it would be different. If $10.99 is all you can afford for a meal, get 10 double stacks and a medium drink from Wendy's instead.

[capndinghy]

For Gosh Sakes!!!

The Balcony is Out Doors!

 

 

Sure wish I had not quit smoking LOL

[kimber814]

did you post a review of Camp Carnival? (Perhaps I missed it??) if you could give a quick recap, it would be much appreciated....our children are close in age...We will be sailing on the Legend in August with a 5 and 3 year old...

 

Thanks!!

[blindrid]

I have been on RC 2 times, and smoking is allow in the cabin.

Just for your info.

 

Not sure when you've been but from RCL's FAQ (even though it does vary by ship):

 

"Smoking in public areas is only permitted in designated smoking sections which vary by ship. Generally, smoking is permitted outdoors on only one side of the ship; and smoking is permitted on all private ocean front balconies, including Loft Suite balconies on Oasis Class.......

 

For your safety, smoking is not permitted inside any stateroom or on interior private balconies on Oasis Class that overlook The Boardwalk or Central Park. Smoking is not permitted in any dining venue, food outlet, theater, hallway or corridor; nor in Central Park, The Boardwalk or The Jogging Track on Oasis Class ships; nor in the H2O Zone on Oasis and Freedom Class ships......."

 

I smoke and do smoke on my balcony and do try to restrict my smoking when someone is on their balcony next to mine though. I do have a problem with some that complain when the smoke is going by at 25 knots as it is outdoors though. Regarding the obnoxious neighbors, I don't think any line has a monopoly on rude guest so to give up on one line for another is a bit shortsighted - you can find them anywhere you go.......

[f7prez]

I have been on RC 2 times, and smoking is allow in the cabin.

Just for your info.

 

No, they don't

[klingoncruiser]

Nice review. Thanks.

[PCalabrese]

Can you offer more details about the cabana/beach in Roatan? What company would you book this through? I realize that you may have booked it through Carnival themselves however we will be sailing NCL Epic in April and have a real interest in this beach/cabana. I know that it is not a "private" Carnival beach, is there a company name or is this something that you can set up when you get off the ship?

[gr1634]

We just recently did a cruise on Oasis of the Seas - after having 14 Carnival cruises under our belt. We found the cruising experience pretty much the same. Obviously the Oasis is much larger than any Carnival ship and they have a few extras - but again as has been noted - they aren't all "free." Ben and Jerry's, The Fish House etc. Was nice to have a few choices of upscale resturants but frankly we didn't find anything but Chops that was really worth the extra $$$. Why would I pay for a Hamburger when I can get one for "free?"

 

Rooms on Oasis were in our opinion smaller than Carnival and the bathrooms were definitely smaller - not a problem - just smaller.

 

Sorry but I find it disconcerting that people just continually complain that someone would dare smoke on their "outside" balcony with a 30 knot wind blowing by. People smoke - we have pushed them pretty much outside so let's get real here. Now that is no excuse for the gross conduct - I am afraid I would have had to have a little talk with them and if that didn't work perhaps a visit to the Pursers Desk - you should not have to be subjected to that kind of crass behavoir - especially since you had young children along. Worst problem we ever had was a "Swinger" couple at our dinner table -- on our first cruise ha ha.

 

Had a great cruise on Oasis but in the final analysis we did not see a significant difference between the two cruise lines - at least not substantive enough to warrant the normal difference in price tags and the slightly higher cost for almost everything you normally buy on a cruise ship on RCL..

[amybeth4]

I have been on RC 2 times, and smoking is allow in the cabin.

Just for your info.

 

Absolutely not the case. They banned smoking from cabins in Jan of '08.

 

You can smoke on all of the balconies on RCCL. You can't smoke on any balconies on Celebrity.

[Chirpbird]

It wasn't on the Mariner last August.......

It was on Mariner in May 2010. I don't know if it was 'legal' or not, but all I could smell when I was on my balcony was cigar smoke.

[Mrs. Chernabog]

knox72,

 

I would like to know more about your troubles with Miami since we are considering a cruise from there in the future. Did you have issues with Southwest as well, or just the FLL airport?

[Kurbanfan]

It was on Mariner in May 2010. I don't know if it was 'legal' or not, but all I could smell when I was on my balcony was cigar smoke.

 

I was talking about the cabins......yes you can smoke on RCCL's balconies........

[flyfan]

Thank you for your comparisons so far. I too am very much looking forward to hearing your impression on Camp Carnival and how it compares to RCCL.