RCI vs Carnival? Opinions, please!

[pondlover1969]

Last March my husband and I took a 5 night cruise out of Tampa on Grandeur of the Seas on RCI. It was our first cruise and we really enjoyed ourselves. This year we are looking at bringing our 6 year old and 12 year old on a cruise with us for their spring break.

 

My husband and I are typically creatures of habit and we like to stick to things that we are familiar and comfortable with so we are having a hard time making the break from Royal. On another hand my cousin is getting ready to take his 3 kids on Carnival Glory for the 2nd time in the last 18 months and he raves about the kids program with Carnival.

 

So, I am now turning to the pros here at cruise critic :D for some help on what I should do. Please share the good, the bad and the ugly!

 

Thanks in advance!

[janabm81]

I personally really enjoy Royal Caribbean's ships and atmosphere better than Carnival. We've only taken our kids on RCCL so I can't compare but they've always enjoyed it. I must say though that Carnival's Chocolate Melting Cake is awesome! :)

[firefly333]

I hear rave reviews for kids programs from both RCL and Carnival .. so I would guess for younger kids they are pretty equal .. teens seem to prefer RCL ships.

 

I dont think you can go wrong with either.

[GSRDPM]

My 11 year old daughter enjoyed the kids program on the Carnival Ecstasy the most out of her four cruises and my son enjoyed Royals Independence of the Seas the most. My impression echos the previous poster. Both progams seem strong but our experience was there were more options for older kids on Royal.

[medianeh]

Well I'm looking at it from the opposite of you! My kids have been on 2 Carnival cruises (and 1 Disney). However, my daughter is now 18, so she can be excluded from the kids clubs....lol

 

My son (who is 6) loved the kids programs on Carnival! When we went on the Freedom in 08, he didnt even want to eat dinner with us! I believe Carnival's kids clubs are awesome! We just went on the Dream in Oct, and I couldn't pull him away from the waterslides to do anything! He did make it to the kids club a few times and really enjoyed it. But nothing beat the waterslides....

 

We are going on the Allure in 2012, and by then my son will be 8. So I'm wondering if he will like Royals kids club!?

[rolloman]

The only reason a person would rave about Carnival kids club is because they have nothing to compare it to. Carnival has nothing they can compare to a Royal Caribbean Voyager and above class ship when it comes to entertaining the little ones. NCL Jewel class and Epic class are outstanding as well, Disney of course beats them all.

[DarthGrady]

I can't help with the kid's programs on either line as we are happily child free.

 

I have cruise both line though, and I like them both. Food, service and entertainment are pretty comparable between them. Obviously RCI has the bigger, fancier ships. But I have cruised on Carnival Glory and she was very nice. I especially like Carnival's dedicated piano bars.

 

I think that either way you go you'll have lots of fun. If you do choose Glory, I highly recommend the Supper Club/Steakhouse. It's $30 per person, but the service and food quality are way beyond what you would get on land for the same amount. If you choose to go RCI I would recommend Freedom of the Seas, absolutely stunning vessel.

[twospoiled]

We went on family on the Carnival Glory early last year. My kids were 7 and 4 and had a GREAT time on the kids clubs. I was a little worried at first that they would be in seperate groups because of their ages but I soojn found out that I woried for nothing. Once they were in they had a great time with no problems at all. It was especially nice when we were docked in Grand Turk and were able to leave the 4 year old in Camp Carnival while the rest of us went on a shore excursion that he was nor old enough to participate in. My DD (7) still talks about how much fun she had and can't wait to go again. One of my favorite pics from that cruise is my DS (4) with his face painted like his favorite fruit! A strawberry!

 

I have not personally used the kids facilities on RCCL but I have witnessed the kids during their pirate parade all dressed up and having a blast during my cruise in '08 on Sovereign.

 

I'm sure you will have a great time which ever you choose. My only advise is to research exactly what programs they both offer and their schedules that they are open. I know when researching our cruise last year, Carnival's schedule was much better with being open a lot more than RCCL's was but things have been changing.

 

In other words choose what will work best for your family regardless of what pthers may tell you.:D

[Xewrsw]

I feel your hesitation. For many years I looked at Carnival as the low end party ships. Some friends have traveled Carnival and I have held back. Then... in 09 a group of good friends, very cruise savy, had decided to try the Carnival Glory. My son would be with all of his friends and me with mine. (Husband opts out from sea sickness) I REALLY had to convince myself to trust my friends choice since I wanted to go with the group. I did have friends who opted out because it was Carnival.

That said, my 10 year old son had a blast on the water slide, in the kids club, consuming the food, playing the giant chess board, mini golf, and the water balloon catapult, playing on the sports deck, going to Atlantis and all of the other excursions. It was his first cruise and he was with friends. The parents brought walkie talkies and let the older kids go mostly to and from camp on their own. There were several younger aged kids too and they had a good time in their camps as well. If your older child has someone to pal around with, I think that he will have a good time.

The kids enjoyed this ship. If your children have cruised on Disney they may notice a difference but it shouldn't keep them from having fun. The atmosphere is different than on RCCL but from the child's perspective, I think it's negligible. I know that if I hadn't been with a group of friends I would have felt the difference. The staffing isn't as professional and is at a lower psgr vs crew ratio than on RCCL. There was quite noticeably less and lower quality entertainment on the Glory and the staff was definitely over worked. The cost of this cruise reflects the lower staffing. The atmosphere is very low key. The dress code is extremely casual. The rooms were surprisingly the largest and nicest I've had. The room stewards for all of us were awesome.

I think that if you have the option to travel with others, the Glory will keep the kids entertained and the sun and your friends will keep you entertained. I was actually pleasantly surprised by this ship. The ship is well maintained and appointed. With better and more staffing it could compare with other lines. For the price this is what you get. It wasn't a "party" ship on our Easter break cruise. No loud or sloppy drunks on board. It was filled with kids. I would cruise Carnival again, but only with a group and with minimal expectations to be entertained.

[RaiderFaninNM]

Let me chime in here as our last cruise, only one, we were on Carnival Pride and we were in the elevator going to the Lido deck to eat and we were in a an elevator with a man and his 2 kids. They were very jumpy and excited, we over heard them telling the father they wanted to go to the “kids club” more then swimming. Then the door opened up the kids ran out of the elevator the doors closed and he mentioned to us that they hardly ever see them as they LOVE the kids club. Made me wonder if my kids would have loved it so. Well this summer we are on RCI Allure and my 14-year-old son is going and I am wondering if he will like the youth program as much as those kids on Carnival did? I think each cruise line has its special touch to add to a youth program to make it different and I am hoping that my son will love it as much…..

[roscoegirl]

I've just returned from my first Carnival cruise...sailed on the Pride so I can only speak to my experience on that ship.

 

Before I share my opinion, let me first say that thanks to all the negative feedback about Carnival on this board, I was not looking for anything special on the Pride. That being said, I'm so glad the CC posters got this one wrong. If you are looking for the RCI WOW factor, take a cruise on the Carnival Pride!!

 

Opinions regarding the decor of the Carnival Pride differ and I too was initially taken aback. After moving throughout the ship over the seven day period, I found the decor to be very unique and quite lovely. Given the Italian art influence, I found nothing to be obscene or 'dark'. The Pride is a fantastic ship! (just as nice a the Enchantment only different)

 

I think each and every venue I visited on the Pride was simply wonderful! The staff were the most interactive, courteous and professional that I've ever cruised with. This also applies to the captain, Master Captain Alessandro Gullato. Example: during formal night, you don't stand in a line waiting for the ship's photographers to pose you with the captain (for a nice hefty price), the captain mingles with EVERYONE (and you don't need to be D or D+ to have a conversation with him) in the Atrium area and you take 'personal' photos with him and any of the officers. I liked that type of socializing with the management staff as they all seemed anxious to engage with ALL of the guests!

 

My 12 yr old traveled with us and he thoroughly enjoyed Circle 'C'. (this is the group for 12-14yr olds) They have a wonderful area in the front of the ship which has: computers, video arcade, playstations, lounge area, etc. They all seemed to be getting along with each other and it was truly painful for him when I insisted he enjoy certain activites with us:) (like attending dinner on formal nite!)

 

The majority of the activites onboard are very similar to RCI with the exception of 'Tea Time'. Carnival hosts this dining treat on sea days during the afternoon...lovely sweets to enjoy!

 

The ONLY thing I missed about RCI while on the Carnival Pride was (believe it or not) the Windjammer Cafe. I did not enjoy the Merimaid Grille on the Lido deck...the food was not to my liking and most of it was too salty for my taste.

 

Other than that, I will gladly sail with Carnival's Pride again and still will enjoy the Enchantment or any other ships the cruise lines provide at the Port of Baltimore.

 

We had a great holiday cruise--even the weather cooperated throughout the week sailing to the Bahamas:)

 

If you have any questions, I may be able to help. Thanks for listening and Happy New Year!

[Cruzaholic41]

Last March my husband and I took a 5 night cruise out of Tampa on Grandeur of the Seas on RCI. It was our first cruise and we really enjoyed ourselves. This year we are looking at bringing our 6 year old and 12 year old on a cruise with us for their spring break.

 

My husband and I are typically creatures of habit and we like to stick to things that we are familiar and comfortable with so we are having a hard time making the break from Royal. On another hand my cousin is getting ready to take his 3 kids on Carnival Glory for the 2nd time in the last 18 months and he raves about the kids program with Carnival.

 

So, I am now turning to the pros here at cruise critic :D for some help on what I should do. Please share the good, the bad and the ugly!

 

You have to remember Grandeur is one of RCI's older and smaller ships. The newer, larger ships are a completely different expereince. If you enjoyed your Grandeur, you may love a cruise on a Voyager, Freedom, or Oasis Class ship - especially with kids.

 

Carnival does have a great kids program and they will enjoy the Glory, but are you considering a larger RCI ship as an option?

[elcuchio24]

I have never understood folks either on CCL, RCCL, NCL or whatever boards saying what an absolute trash heap other cruise lines are and you are an idiot if you sail them. I have sailed pretty much all the major cruise lines and find they have much more in common then different. There are possitives and negatives to each, but I can never understand how an objective person can just write off a whole cruise line and garbage. I guess the answer is, they aren't objective. Not sure what causes such blind loyalty.

[Mysticks1]

Well this summer we are on RCI Allure and my 14-year-old son is going and I am wondering if he will like the youth program as much as those kids on Carnival did? I think each cruise line has its special touch to add to a youth program to make it different and I am hoping that my son will love it as much…..

 

We sailed on Carnival in the past and my DD (then 10) loved the kids club on the Carnival Conquest. She didn't want to spend time with us at all if their doors were open.

On our last cruise on Mariner of the Seas she was 14 and went to the first day meet and greet party. She didn't connect with anyone there and never went back. She is somewhat shy about meeting people. If your 14 yr old is outgoing and makes friends easily he should have a great time. If he is more like my daughter it might be harder to get him to go to their events although Allure might be easier with all the new things they have to offer.

[Havingfun2010]

My 15 year old has been on both, and from the kid's point of view, RCCL is better without any doubt in his mind. I also want to point out that RCCL will do a better job, and has more activities for the older kids. I believe for the younger kids that either cruise line is just fine and have no complaints about either one.

 

As an adult, I enjoyed the activities on RCCL better. Adults can rock climb, play dodgeball, ice skate, use the flowrider, and the mini golf is much better all on the Freedom Class ships. Something that both parent, and child can do! The activities for RCCL extend beyond the kid's clubs. Also, I found the swimming area better for kids and adults.

 

I am not putting down Carnival, but from a view with kids, I believe RCCL exceeds and the older they get, the better the kid's will like RCCL. (If a kid likes the water slide, than the flowrider will entertain them for hours.....)