Carnival vs. Royal Caribbean for a NCL fan?

[Warmer Climes]

We want to sail out of Galveston in Feb. 2012. The two ships sailing from there are the new Carnival Magic and RCCL's Mariner of the Sea. We have sailed Royal Caribbean twice, both times on Voyager class ships and the cruises have been very good, although we were a little bored with the "sameness" of the ships on the second go-round. We have never tried Carnival and our TA thinks we wouldn't like it. We would be sailing with a 13 y.o. and would get a suite. The prices and itineraries are identical.

 

Any advice? (We would definitely sail NCL instead if they were still sailing out of Houston.)

 

Thanks, Barb

[caribsun]

I have sailed on all three cruise lines and RCCL offers more formality to their cruises. I believe it would be worth trying Carnival, a little closer to NCL demographics.

I think your TA wants you to sail RCCL because RCCL may comp them better than Carnival.

[jeannep]

We have sailed both RCL and Carnival. I think the closest to NCL is Carnival. The food is very good on Carnival IMHO. RCL is a little more dressy than Carnival.

 

Whatever one you choose, I am sure you will have a great time. We have always enjoyed all of our cruises. But like you, we LOVE NCL.

 

Have a great time.

Jeanne

[nathand95]

I have not been on RCL, so I cannot compare them to NCL, but I can compare CCL to NCL.

CCL is a great ship for families. It has excellent teen programs. I'm 15 and loved them. The age group for your child is in the 12-14 club called Circle "C" and it was awesome both times I was in it. The food on Carnival is very good, but the thing I hate most about Carnival is that they only have the MDR, no specialty restaurants like on NCL. Carnival ships are basically carbon copies of each other; seen one seen them all. They have relatively small pool decks. Only 2 pools per ship and they are extremely small pools. The rooms on Carnival are decorated with ,IMHO, ugly oranges and blues that does not appeal to me. However, they have tons of storage and are quite spacious. NCL has more activities on board than CCL. If I were you, I would drive to NOLA and catch the NCL Spirit,before it goes to Europe year round. Carnival is a great cruise line don't get me wrong, but it appeals to different people. NCl is still my overall favorite, but as I always say anytime you are able to be on a cruise, it is a good cruise. Best of luck and happy cruising.

[bigtoeswim'n]

I have not been on RCL, so I cannot compare them to NCL, but I can compare CCL to NCL.

CCL is a great ship for families. It has excellent teen programs. I'm 15 and loved them. The age group for your child is in the 12-14 club called Circle "C" and it was awesome both times I was in it. The food on Carnival is very good, but the thing I hate most about Carnival is that they only have the MDR, no specialty restaurants like on NCL. Carnival ships are basically carbon copies of each other; seen one seen them all. They have relatively small pool decks. Only 2 pools per ship and they are extremely small pools. The rooms on Carnival are decorated with ,IMHO, ugly oranges and blues that does not appeal to me. However, they have tons of storage and are quite spacious. NCL has more activities on board than CCL. If I were you, I would drive to NOLA and catch the NCL Spirit,before it goes to Europe year round. Carnival is a great cruise line don't get me wrong, but it appeals to different people. NCl is still my overall favorite, but as I always say anytime you are able to be on a cruise, it is a good cruise. Best of luck and happy cruising.

 

Thanks for taking the time to comment. This was a great. Dh and I are booked for Hawaii Dec 2011 on POA. There reviews here are soo wide and varied. I'm hoping for the best. Like, Wow, in Hawaii!!! I, too, say anytime you are able to cruise, it is a good cruise.

[Cruiser10003]

Where do you think Celebrity, HAL, and Princess cruises fall in these categories.

[darbs7]

We want to sail out of Galveston in Feb. 2012. The two ships sailing from there are the new Carnival Magic and RCCL's Mariner of the Sea. We have sailed Royal Caribbean twice, both times on Voyager class ships and the cruises have been very good, although we were a little bored with the "sameness" of the ships on the second go-round. We have never tried Carnival and our TA thinks we wouldn't like it. We would be sailing with a 13 y.o. and would get a suite. The prices and itineraries are identical.

 

Any advice? (We would definitely sail NCL instead if they were still sailing out of Houston.)

 

Thanks, Barb

 

I sailed on Royal a couple of times and Carnival about 6-7 times. Carnival is such a great bang for your buck. We sailed Carnival all through our daughter's teens (she is 21 now) and she loved it. We are party type people so we loved the festive atmosphere. I would sail Carnival in a heartbeat and recommend it to anyone. Book it and have fun.

[darbs7]

We want to sail out of Galveston in Feb. 2012. The two ships sailing from there are the new Carnival Magic and RCCL's Mariner of the Sea. We have sailed Royal Caribbean twice, both times on Voyager class ships and the cruises have been very good, although we were a little bored with the "sameness" of the ships on the second go-round. We have never tried Carnival and our TA thinks we wouldn't like it. We would be sailing with a 13 y.o. and would get a suite. The prices and itineraries are identical.

 

Any advice? (We would definitely sail NCL instead if they were still sailing out of Houston.)

 

Thanks, Barb

 

I sailed on Royal a couple of times and Carnival about 6-7 times. Carnival is such a great bang for your buck. We sailed Carnival all through our daughter's teens (she is 21 now) and she loved it. We are party type people so we loved the festive atmosphere. I would sail Carnival in a heartbeat and recommend it to anyone. Book it and have fun.

[Warmer Climes]

Thanks to everyone for your advice. I think I am going to go with Carnival Magic- why not try something new? People say all kinds of things about Carnival but then again they say all kinds of things about NCL, too. We are pretty flexible people so I'm sure we'd enjoy almost any cruise.

 

nathand95- We want to sail from Galveston so we can combine a few days vacation in Texas where we used to live before the cruise. When NCL was sailing from Houston we did the Dream and it was a great cruise. Air fare for us from NH to Houston is almost half what it is to Miami on the week we have to go (February school break in most of New England.)

 

Thanks again,

Barb