Carnival or RCCL for next cruise?

[Cruising89143]

FYI - RCCL was recently voted as having the worst food on the cruise lines so just sayin... I have never sailed with RCCL - was going to but after checking prices we decided to stay with Carnival, perhaps if we were taking a 12 year old with us we would take the Freedom of the seas as there definitely seems to be more exciting things to do... for us we are going for total relaxation, so rock climbing and flowriders are not a selling point for us....enjoy your cruise whatever you decide to do!

 

Did you bother to read the article? Carnival was ranked right there with RCI on food and service. Just sayin.

 

Snippet from article.

 

The dining room, afternoon teas and wine lists on board RCI ships were particularly poor, he said. RCI, which owns the world's largest ship (Oasis of the Seas), earned a rating of more than six out of 10 in only one category: informal dining/buffet.

 

Carnival Cruise Lines and Costa Cruises fared little better, with Carnival achieving the lowest mark for afternoon tea and Costa the lowest score for "informal dining" of any of the 11 cruise lines examined.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/cruises/cruise-news/8065916/Royal-Caribbeans-cuisine-criticised.html

 

Op, I have cruised on the Freedom twice. A very nice ship with plenty to do for all ages. I have photos of her in my link below. Also, you are asking this question on a Carnival board so the answers will skew towards Carnival. Ask it on the RCI board and the answers will skew the other way. Best way to find out is to try it for yourself.

[RWolver672]

We've cruised both lines and when our group of eight got off the Adventure of the Seas, we all said we'd never do RCI again for many reasons. That being said, it doesn't hurt to try other lines, then make up your own minds as to which you prefer. After one cruise, you'll know if you like them enough to sail with them again.

[Cruising89143]

Definitely go Carnival. RCL is soooo overrated for their inflated prices. Bad food, bad service, small rooms. All for 150% more than Carnival. But you can rock climb! LOL.

 

This coming from someone has doesn't have one RCI cruised listed in their sig line.:rolleyes:

[lnew1gd1]

Well, we have cruised RCCL, Carnival, HAL, Princess. Never did the Freedom of the Seas or the Carnival Magic so can't compare those. BUT, we were stock holders with Royal and our last 3 cruises with them were definitely not up to the standards of Royal of Old so we sold the stock and said adiós to them. Won't do them again unless no one else has the itin we are looking for. Crappy food, crappy service and the guest services couldn't care less. Won't go into details but we were not happy, no matter what "goodies" they add to their ships and to their prices. Must add that I do like their ships decor better than the sometimes gaudy interior of Carnival. ( I know, it's supposed to be a fun design--not gaudy, beauty in the eye of the beholder??)

 

Have we had issues with the other lines, yes but nothing like we have experienced on the Royal of lately. And every ship has problems at one time or another...our last Royal was a 16 day in April sailing the Tahitian Islands from Australia to Hawaii...the sewer smell was horrible and they had a problem with the hot water...couldn't cool it for 3 days so it was scalding hot and not usable unless you wanted to burn yourself.

 

You really need to decide what ship/ship line meets your needs best, what fits your cruising style and your pocketbook. Even though we are a little disappointed with Royal they do have many good points, as does Carnival. It's like why there is chocolate and vanilla. A choice of something different for everyone.

 

Look at what is offered on-board for your pre-teen, check out the kids clubs and what they offer. I am sure that no matter what decision you make you will still have a great time.

 

Happy sailing.

[windjammerB&C]

We cruised on rccl 8years ago and didnt like it. Desided to give it another try last month on liberty of the seas.Just lets say-still didnt like.Looking to book our carnival cruise on the dream soon.Wont go into to many details but we expected a little more for the extra $$$ we paid for the cruise.

[HighlandCruzer]

Did you bother to read the article? Carnival was ranked right there with RCI on food and service. Just sayin.

 

Snippet from article.

 

The dining room, afternoon teas and wine lists on board RCI ships were particularly poor, he said. RCI, which owns the world's largest ship (Oasis of the Seas), earned a rating of more than six out of 10 in only one category: informal dining/buffet.

 

Carnival Cruise Lines and Costa Cruises fared little better, with Carnival achieving the lowest mark for afternoon tea and Costa the lowest score for "informal dining" of any of the 11 cruise lines examined.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/cruises/cruise-news/8065916/Royal-Caribbeans-cuisine-criticised.html

 

And it should be noted that this is just one author's opinion and the variables are chosen to represent what is important to him. Why would I care which ship has a better afternoon tea seeing as I don't even drink tea? :P And I recall last year's article by Frommer lambasting the Oasis OTS yet it ranks by far as my most enjoyable cruise to date.

 

 

Definitely go Carnival. RCL is soooo overrated for their inflated prices. Bad food, bad service, small rooms. All for 150% more than Carnival. But you can rock climb! LOL.

 

I just want to touch on the room size here. Excluding the older ships from both lines, the size of the cabins are about the same unless you are an inside stateroom guest, then yes, there is about a 20-25 sq. ft. difference. Ocean views and balconies are about the same give or take a few sq. ft. and in some instances the balcony rooms on RCCL are larger. As for suites, there is no comparison, RCCL blows Carnival out of the water in this category. Most of our cruises have been in Owner Suites with the exception of our recent cruise on the Oasis which was in a crown loft, and the size is almost double that of Carnival's Cat. 12 Penthouse. We also have the Sky Loft booked for a back to back next summer which is even larger. At almost 1000 sq. ft. including balcony it's going to be like paradise! :)

 

I'd love to know what people find to be the main difference between these two lines, if there is one.

 

One thing we love on Carnival is the VIP service we get with embarkation/debarkation because we always book a suite. Do you get that with RCCL?

 

OP, I've been on both Carnival and RCCL and I don't have bad things to say about either of them. Food, Service, and Activities are very similar but the newest RCCL ships (Voyager, Freedom, and Oasis classes) in my opinion offer a lot more than Carnival. We chose RCCL as our preferred mass market line because of the onboard atmosphere, decor, and another personal reason. For some it's not worth the extra cost, for others like myself, the costs are justified. You might even be surprised to find some cruises cheaper than Carnival. Everything is subjective so feel free to branch out. :)

 

Also to touch on your last question, you mentioned staying in a suite and if that's the case then with RCCL you're in for a treat. The benefits include-

 

**Priority check-in

**Personalized attention throughout the cruise with complimentary Concierge Club service on select ships

**Reserved prime seating in the main theater for entertainment shows, where available

**Priority tender tickets on select cruises. (Tender service is provided when smaller vessels are necessary to reach shore in locations without docking ports large enough for cruise ships.)

**VIP pool deck seating

**Full breakfast, lunch and dinner dining room menus available for in-room dining

**Private breakfast and lunch seating in specialty restaurants on our Voyager and Freedom Class ships

**Mattel board games available to order for in-room entertainment for the kids

**Complimentary luggage valet service

**Luxury spa bathrobes for use onboard

**Complimentary pressing service on formal night

**Priority departure with exclusive suite departure lounge featuring continental breakfast

 

And since you get access to the Concierge Lounge you also get-

 

Diamond Plus members of the Crown & Anchor Society and guests reserved in our Suites (excluding Junior Suites) can take advantage of the Concierge Lounge.

 

**A dedicated Concierge who is available to assist with anything you require

**Twenty-four-hour a day use of the Concierge Club Lounge

**Continental breakfast every morning and open bar & hors d'oeuvres every evening available in the Concierge Club Lounge

**Assistance with reservations for Portofino Italian restaurant & Chops Grille Steakhouse

**Assistance with Explorations! Bookings

**Assistance booking appointments for Salon or Spa treatments

**Priority tickets for the ice skating show

**Assistance with the arrangement of private parties

**Personalized Discover Shopping advice

**DVDs and CDs available to borrow during the Concierge's hours

**Pre-ordering of your dinner wine

**Business services (faxing, copying, etc.)

 

Ok, I think I'll step off my cheerleading box now. lol Whatever ship you choose I'm sure your family will have a great time! :)

[Cruising89143]

And it should be noted that this is just one author's opinion and the variables are chosen to represent what is important to him. Why would I care which ship has a better afternoon tea seeing as I don't even drink tea? :P And I recall last year's article by Frommer lambasting the Oasis OTS yet it ranks by far as my most enjoyable cruise to date.

 

I agree 100%. All should IMHO be taken with a grain of salt including what is posted on boards like this as it's all opinions. Douglas Ward is a very knowledgable person in the cruise industry and has been around for years but that's his problem. He is stuck in the golden age of cruising when things were much more formal. Cruising has evolved but Mr. Ward has not.

 

I also agree with you on suites. RCI offers much more. Not as nice as NCL but the suites themselves are very nice. I see that you have the Sky Loft booked. We have one on the second leg of our B2B on the Allure. Wish that it would open up for the first week. We are back in a Crown Loft the first week so all is not bad. Also, to date Oasis takes my top award as best cruise ever. :)

[buddylover]

We've cruised both lines and when our group of eight got off the Adventure of the Seas, we all said we'd never do RCI again for many reasons. That being said, it doesn't hurt to try other lines, then make up your own minds as to which you prefer. After one cruise, you'll know if you like them enough to sail with them again.

 

We are taking our first RCI cruise next Dec on Adventure of the Seas.....just curious about your trip and some of the many reasons why you did not like it?? Please share your info....thanks!

[Disneycruisers]

I would choose CCL because I think the food is better.

 

I agree.

 

We'd sailed CCL, then RCCL. The food on RCCL the first time was bad, the second time, it was worse. I know that food is subjective, and everyone has different tastes. However, it was bad enough to keep us from ever sailing RCCL again. I also would not suggest the Dream. Even though our family had a great time, we prefer the Conquest ships.

[CarnivalFan2]

Go Freedom, best cruise I ever taken. Just came off a Carnival cruise, worse cruise I ever been on. There is so much to do on Freedom, I been on 10 RCL cruises. Will never go on Carnival again!

RCI Troll!

[RRLLAL]

According to your signature, you've never been on Freedom, nor RCI for that matter. If you've never been on FOS, what would motivate you to post something like this? Other than FOS typically being more expensive, there is no truth to anything else you said.

 

Think about it really hard, it might come to you.

[BobbyD]

All I can say is we just returned from a cruise on Carnival Dream and it WAS (a dream, that is). I *never* felt crowded or that it was over crowded. In fact, this was our first cruise where there were deck chairs BY THE POOL anytime we looked.

 

The kids camps looked fabulous.

 

We did not have an unpleasant cruise... not even an unpleasant moment on our cruise. I can't wait to sail Carnival Dream again.

 

Just wanted at least ONE positive statement from someone that cruised her and experienced it themselves.

 

Glad to hear this. Sailing on the Magic this coming summer (which I assume will be similar experience to the Dream). Have cruised both CCL and Royal and the deal on the Magic was too good to pass up compared to virtually identical 12 day Med cruise on Royal. Saved $3000 for similar cabin (for 4)! Looking forward to writing a review about the Carnival experience as well as some comparisons to Royal.

 

I think that all things being even, we would prefer Royal (due to the ships) but I don't think you can go wrong on either.

[RWolver672]

We are taking our first RCI cruise next Dec on Adventure of the Seas.....just curious about your trip and some of the many reasons why you did not like it?? Please share your info....thanks!

 

There were many things. The ship's store was a joke. The health and beauty section was about four feet wide and the rest of the store was high end liquor. Room steward was rude. I was on our balcony with the door open and he came screaming into the cabin because he smelled smoke out in the hallway. I wasn't even smoking.

 

Smoking was another problem. Some in our group smoked so we always sat in the smoking section on the pool deck. Non smokers would come through and make snide remarks about smoke. (The only ice cream machine was in the smoking section.) Hey, we were where we were suppose to be. The bar waiters totally ignored that section. If we wanted a drink, we had to go get our own which didn't kill us but we were use to having servers come around all the time on Carnival.

 

We tried striking up conversations with other passengers. Most of them ignored us. Small kids were running all over unattended. The entrance to the buffet area had electric doors. Kids would run over by them to see them open. Twice they ran into people coming out of the area.

 

I like the "glitz" of the Carnival ships. I was disappointed at how plain the AOS looked. The dining rooms were the only area that was classy looking.

 

DW went to see one of the shows. Sound system died at the beginning and they cut the show in half. We wanted to see the ice show...it was during our dining time.

 

Some people reading this may think these things are petty. When you add them all up, we just didn't have the fun that we have always had on Carnival. When you only cruise every two or three years, we don't want to take the chance that we wouldn't enjoy another cruise on RCI. We'll stick with Carnival where we know we'll enjoy it. BTW, we do let things slide. On our Glory cruise, she developed propulsion problems and two stops were changed. We still had fun on that cruise.

 

As I said in my other post, give it a try. You may like it.

[wendymac]

Yes I read the article, and it was for afternoon tea not the dining room, which I would think is more important than afternoon tea..just sayin and for the record no need to be snippy

 

 

Did you bother to read the article? Carnival was ranked right there with RCI on food and service. Just sayin.

 

Snippet from article.

 

The dining room, afternoon teas and wine lists on board RCI ships were particularly poor, he said. RCI, which owns the world's largest ship (Oasis of the Seas), earned a rating of more than six out of 10 in only one category: informal dining/buffet.

 

Carnival Cruise Lines and Costa Cruises fared little better, with Carnival achieving the lowest mark for afternoon tea and Costa the lowest score for "informal dining" of any of the 11 cruise lines examined.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/cruises/cruise-news/8065916/Royal-Caribbeans-cuisine-criticised.html

 

Op, I have cruised on the Freedom twice. A very nice ship with plenty to do for all ages. I have photos of her in my link below. Also, you are asking this question on a Carnival board so the answers will skew towards Carnival. Ask it on the RCI board and the answers will skew the other way. Best way to find out is to try it for yourself.

[halos]

I have been on carnival, RCCL, Disney and princess. 2 years ago we went on the Freedom of the seas. The cost for a balcony room for a family of 4 was around $5000. The ship was beautiful and the kids had a great time. We had a terrible experience every night in the dining room. From the steak being so tough you could not chew it, asking for a house salad and not being able to get it because it was not on the menu that night. We were very disappointed in our service all around and the food. That being said, we still had a great time. Carnival cost us so much less, and the food and service is always great. My husband and I r booked for feb. on the carnival freedom in a balcony room for $599 pp. If i got that kind of deal on RCCL, I would try again, but not when it is thousands difference. Either way you cant go wrong, if money is not an issue try RCCL.

 

I have to agree that my one experience on RCI (Explorer) with the food in the mdr was pretty bad....I was kinda hoping it was 'just a bad week' because we had the worst service we ever experienced on a cruise that week as well. Despite the food and service that weren't up to par, I would try RCI again because I'd hate to judge them on one sailing.

 

RCI has gorgeous ships...just beautiful. The entertainment was about the same as Carnival offers. BUT if I were to put The Freedom against the Dream ( I have not sailed either ship) and had to make a decision, based on the mixed reviews the Dream has had since it's inaugural sailing, I would choose the Freedom, even with substandard food.

[CruiserChloe]

Been on both cruise lines and I would recommend the FOS. Truthfully and honestly speaking, I think the food is great on both, and I don't see a difference in room size. The most obvious is ship difference, and that's where FOS excels.

Then again, I see the Op already chose FOS before the usual senselessness started. :rolleyes:

[caribbeanboy]

This is the Carnival board so you will get the Carnival cheerleaders here. I have cruised like 7 times on each cruise line in a very short period of time as you can see below in my signature.

To start with I will say that 50% what is being said here is NOT true. Food is about the SAME. People tend to say the food is bad just because they are not familiar with it and yes you get a lot of "bad" (delicious) food on Royal Caribbean. The offering in the Lido are very limited -especially - in the evenings on Carnival. For some people hamburgers, fries, pizza and hotdogs are good food!

As someone stated earlier the older ships have smaller rooms, but the newer ones have about the same size as Carnival!

When it comes to the ships, Royal Caribbean WINS hands down, especially from the Radiance class up and I'm not even talking about the decor.

Conclusion:I think for what you are looking for you should try RC. I like to try different lines.

[Cruising89143]

[quote name='wendymac']Yes I read the article, and it was for afternoon tea not the dining room, which I would think is more important than afternoon tea..just sayin and for the record no need to be snippy[/quote]

No where in the article did it say anything about the dining room food other than RCI and Carnival spend less per passenger. Overall Carnival scored a 5.44 and RCI a 5.22. Bottom line, they both scored low in food and service from the authors viewpoint. It wasn't just about afternoon tea. I always find it interesting that people post on these type threads comparing two cruise line when they haven't even stepped foot on board one of them.

[COLOR=red]Some of the major cruise lines, such as Carnival and RCI, score less well on cuisine simply because they spend less on passenger food costs than some of the other major lines," said Mr Ward[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#ff0000][/COLOR]
[COLOR=red]RCI and Carnival finished bottom for service. Knowledge of wine and the way it was served were the weakest areas for both lines, according to the guide. [/COLOR]
[COLOR=red] [/COLOR]

[Crystalkrt]

[I][COLOR=black]Like I said millions of times[/COLOR][/I]
[I][COLOR=black][/COLOR][/I]
[I][COLOR=black][B]I've done both[/B], the Carnival Dream and the RCCL Freedom of the seas. [B]Which one would I do all over again???[/B] THE FREEDOM OF THE SEAS!!![/COLOR][/I]
[I][COLOR=black][/COLOR][/I]
[I][COLOR=black]There's no comparison between the 2 ships, Freedom has so much more to offer!! plus, try a RCCL ship, trust me, it's sooooo worth it!!!!![/COLOR][/I]
[I][COLOR=black][/COLOR][/I]
[I][COLOR=black]People who just diss the Freedom is because they haven't sailed her... it's impossible not to love such a beauty!! [/COLOR][/I]
[I][COLOR=black][/COLOR][/I]
[I][COLOR=black]I'm sorry, but CCL Dream being an new ship, and RCCL Freedom being a couple of years old, the Freedom looks wayyyyyyyy better! [/COLOR][/I]
[I][COLOR=black][/COLOR][/I]
[I][COLOR=black]To me, there's no comparison ; the amenities are so much more on the freedom ; the activities endles, entertainment incredible (especially the ice show), the pools are huge.... the decor ummmm, better not to go there, my vote is for Freedom, hands down. [/COLOR][/I]
[I][COLOR=black][/COLOR][/I]
[I][COLOR=black]... and I repeat, unlike others who talk without even trying a ship, I HAVE DONE BOTH!!!!![/COLOR][/I]

[firefly333]

Im boarding Liberty of the Seas in 3 days .. in a JS no less (I dont usually get expensive cabins, we splurged this time). I cant wait

(Liberty is a Freedom class ship)

[wendymac]

I specifically stated that I had never been on RCCL are we not allowed to give an opinion based on things we read or have heard from friends??? Obviously you are an RCCL cheerleader - good for you, glad you like RCCL I have nothing against them or you for that matter. I was not bashing RCCL I even said if I was planning on a cruise with a 13 year old I would most likely take RCCL - Wow people take things soooo seriously like I personally offended them, anyway enjoy your cruises wherever you go and on whichever line you take - life is what you make of it! Cheers!


[quote name='cruisingator2']No where in the article did it say anything about the dining room food other than RCI and Carnival spend less per passenger. Overall Carnival scored a 5.44 and RCI a 5.22. Bottom line, they both scored low in food and service from the authors viewpoint. It wasn't just about afternoon tea. I always find it interesting that people post on these type threads comparing two cruise line when they haven't even stepped foot on board one of them.

[COLOR=red]Some of the major cruise lines, such as Carnival and RCI, score less well on cuisine simply because they spend less on passenger food costs than some of the other major lines," said Mr Ward[/COLOR]

[COLOR=red]RCI and Carnival finished bottom for service. Knowledge of wine and the way it was served were the weakest areas for both lines, according to the guide. [/COLOR]
[/quote]

[firefly333]

[quote name='wendymac']I specifically stated that I had never been on RCCL are we not allowed to give an opinion based on things we read or have heard from friends??? Obviously you are an RCCL cheerleader - good for you, glad you like RCCL I have nothing against them or you for that matter. I was not bashing RCCL I even said if I was planning on a cruise with a 13 year old I would most likely take RCCL - Wow people take things soooo seriously like I personally offended them, anyway enjoy your cruises wherever you go and on whichever line you take - life is what you make of it! Cheers![/quote]

I get so tired of people, if they disagree with a post, or dont like a post, they call the person a RCL cheerleader. .. a back door way of name calling to me.

[Batch5]

[FONT=MS Sans Serif]Having done both and the Dream being our last cruise this pasted June the Dream fell short. Please don't get me wrong the cruise was still great and had a wonderful time.[/FONT]
[FONT=MS Sans Serif][/FONT]
[FONT=MS Sans Serif] I think I got caught up with hype of a new ship like [/FONT][FONT=MS Sans Serif] Oasis and the Epic I had high expiations for a brand new ship that just came out in 2009. [FONT=MS Sans Serif]I was surprised with the layout; it bottlenecked in certain areas on promenade deck (5) and always seemed crowded and dark to me. From inside the ship you did not see water in most public rooms the windows were covered at times it just felt like a hotel rather then a ship. If you found a deck chair out by the pool you are subject to huge jumbo tron screen and blaring music which we did not find relaxing. I Think it was just the little things that I never experienced on prior cruise's that seemed to stick out . [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=MS Sans Serif]The service was great in the main dinning room but it seemed that the assistant waiter were spread a little thin ( I refilled the water glass) no big deal. [/FONT][FONT=MS Sans Serif]The food was good no complaints in the MDR and there were lines in the buffet during peak times but you had many great food choices. Only saw one show since you needed to be there an hour before it started in order to get a seat and that was on par with other at sea. [/FONT][FONT=MS Sans Serif]Over all we had a great time, everyone was nice and friendly did not encounter any rude and obnoxious people or staff. Sorry I do not mean to offend anyone just stating my opinion. I will sail Carnival again but not the Dream nor the a Magic especially if it the same layout enjoy the Freedom you will not be disappointed.[/FONT]
[FONT=MS Sans Serif][/FONT]
[FONT=MS Sans Serif]Thanks Chris [/FONT]

[Cruising89143]

[quote name='wendymac']I specifically stated that I had never been on RCCL are we not allowed to give an opinion based on things we read or have heard from friends??? Obviously you are an RCCL cheerleader - good for you, glad you like RCCL I have nothing against them or you for that matter. I was not bashing RCCL I even said if I was planning on a cruise with a 13 year old I would most likely take RCCL - Wow people take things soooo seriously like I personally offended them, anyway enjoy your cruises wherever you go and on whichever line you take - life is what you make of it! Cheers![/quote]

Was just clearing up misinformation posted on this thread and nothing else. I myself have cruised 16 times with Carnival so I have history with both. The OP was asking about two cruise lines. Why even answer if you have no first hand knowledge of one of the cruise lines? Not so hard to understand.:rolleyes:

[Cruzaholic41]

[quote name='firefly333']I get so tired of people, if they disagree with a post, or dont like a post, they call the person a RCL cheerleader. .. a back door way of name calling to me.[/quote]

Agreed. Correcting misinformation is not cheerleading, and that word get's thrown around so much, it's completely lost it's meaning. Some of us would actually like to help the Op choose the best cruise for them. The majority of us who have actually cruised both of these ships will agree FOS is the better cruise. That's not cheerleading. It's just stating what we thought was the better product.