Thinking of going on Royal Caribbean

[Chowder_17]

I'm a fan of Carnival, I've been on one cruise and have another book for this December. My siblings and I are looking to go on a cruise in May 2012 and looking to drive to a port from Ohio. Carnival has a few options for Charleston, but the timing doesn't work out for our price budget. So, we are possibly looking to go on Royal Caribbean. Two of the siblings went on one cruise on Princess, another has never been, and as mentioned before I will have been on two on Carnival.

 

Anyways, long story...but what can I expect to be different from Carnival? We are looking going on Majesty of the Seas...

[cdamion]

Here is my review of Majesty from last month with lots of pics.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1436734

 

I enjoyed Majesty, but keep in mind that this is Royal's smallest and oldest ship. It is comparable to Carnival's Fantasy class.

 

Majesty is less of a party atmosphere than Carnival's ships. There is entertainment and the nightlife does go late into the night (I went to bed between 2:30am and 3:30am and the action was still going strong). I felt that Majesty had more quiet places to get away from the crowds if you wanted to.

 

Majesty's buffet is definitely better than Carnival, but Carnival's MDR food is better.

 

From your signature, it looks like you were on Legend before. From what I understand the Spirit class has very good passenger flow and not too much crowding, so I am not sure how Majesty will match up with that particular class.

[serene56]

Majesty will be comparable to your sensation cruise.

 

I found Royal and carnival to be about the same in terms of service and food.

[SANDYJABS]

smaller cabin size. I know the sq ft is not much smaller but RCL cabin seem really small to me, IMO. I sailed Majesty of the Seas - also I know this is petty but I do not like their pool loungers :p and I'm a pool lounger but not pool lounger hogger ;) had to buy burger at Johnny rockets - but their Pina Coladas are the BOMB DIGGITY! I probably won't cruise RCL again because I am Platinum, only if someone else was paying for my cruise or if they were sailing to a port that CCL didn't. Just do it :) and enjoy your cruise with your sisters.

[cdamion]

smaller cabin size. I know the sq ft is not much smaller but RCL cabin seem really small to me, IMO. I sailed Majesty of the Seas - also I know this is petty but I do not like their pool loungers :p and I'm a pool lounger but not pool lounger hogger ;) had to buy burger at Johnny rockets - but their Pina Coladas are the BOMB DIGGITY! I probably won't cruise RCL again because I am Platinum, only if someone else was paying for my cruise or if they were sailing to a port that CCL didn't. Just do it :) and enjoy your cruise with your sisters.

 

Oh I did forget to mention cabin size. Majesty's cabins are tiny compared to Carnival.

 

I do notice a difference between Carnival and RCI and will pick RCI every time if the itinerary (and cost) is similar for the short trips. RCI just doesn't have that 'college drinking binge party' feel that Carnival does on the short weekend runs. You can have your fun on RCI, but you can escape it if you want to.

[CWcruisers]

You should try another line. How else will you know what you may or may not be missing. I have been on 11 different cruise lines, some of which no longer exist, and can site positives and negatives from each one.

[firefly333]

I would never book a inside cabin on that ship .. and on CArnival I book insides and port holes and 1As all the time.

 

Too too small. .. book at least a obstructed OV or you will feel crowded. you need to window to keep the cabin from closing in on you.

 

The lines are enough the same, you wouldnt have any issues otherwise.

[cdamion]

I would never book a inside cabin on that ship .. and on CArnival I book insides and port holes and 1As all the time.

 

Too too small. .. book at least a obstructed OV or you will feel crowded. you need to window to keep the cabin from closing in on you.

 

The lines are enough the same, you wouldnt have any issues otherwise.

 

I booked and inside and it was just fine for such a short cruise, I was hardly in the cabin. This being said, I am in an outside cabin for Majesty in Sept.

 

Give it a try. You have nothing to lose for a short cheaper cruise.

 

Bottom line is that no matter what ship you are on, you get to be on a cruise!

[beachbaby2]

i was on majasty of the seas in may after several carnival cruises and i must say i missed carnival! my daughter and i had an inside on majasty, i walked in the room and said "oh my god how will i ever survive in this closet!". it was small!!!! but really we only took showers and slept there so it was fine, and we were very organized with our stuff and kept it neat, but only for a short cruise. i would never do it for a longer one.

 

the breakfast food in the windjammer i do have to say is better on rcl and more selections, although the dinners in the mdr were awful! one night we barely ate. in response to the "party atmosphere" and "beer drinking" on carnival never has bothered me and i have never seen anyone get out of control. but i did feel that the short cruise on rcl had a wayyy more party atmosphere cus they are long weekends and the people felt like they had to get it all in by monday before work. don't get me wrong, we had a blast, and went to bed somewhere between 1am and 2am every night. it's all what you make of it.

 

little things i missed...like the beach towels being left in the rooms on carnival vs rcl had to check them out at the pool and then return them every day. ice cream 24/7 on carnival. more organization on carnival regarding dining room dinner seatings...had reservation and paid for this cruise months in advance, got onboard and had no dining room or table assignment along with 100 other ppl. got it straightened out (i thought), got to dinner and table was full, had to go get it straightened out AGAIN. very unorganized. etc...

 

if you do decide to go on the majasty of the seas, you have to go with an open mind and enjoy what little time you have on the cruise. i did, but i still missed carnival :)

[cdamion]

i was on majasty of the seas in may after several carnival cruises and i must say i missed carnival! my daughter and i had an inside on majasty, i walked in the room and said "oh my god how will i ever survive in this closet!". it was small!!!! but really we only took showers and slept there so it was fine, and we were very organized with our stuff and kept it neat, but only for a short cruise. i would never do it for a longer one.

 

the breakfast food in the windjammer i do have to say is better on rcl and more selections, although the dinners in the mdr were awful! one night we barely ate. in response to the "party atmosphere" and "beer drinking" on carnival never has bothered me and i have never seen anyone get out of control. but i did feel that the short cruise on rcl had a wayyy more party atmosphere cus they are long weekends and the people felt like they had to get it all in by monday before work. don't get me wrong, we had a blast, and went to bed somewhere between 1am and 2am every night. it's all what you make of it.

 

little things i missed...like the beach towels being left in the rooms on carnival vs rcl had to check them out at the pool and then return them every day. ice cream 24/7 on carnival. more organization on carnival regarding dining room dinner seatings...had reservation and paid for this cruise months in advance, got onboard and had no dining room or table assignment along with 100 other ppl. got it straightened out (i thought), got to dinner and table was full, had to go get it straightened out AGAIN. very unorganized. etc...

 

if you do decide to go on the majasty of the seas, you have to go with an open mind and enjoy what little time you have on the cruise. i did, but i still missed carnival :)

 

My comments re the Carnival party crowd are that you can not escape it on the ship. I could on Majesty. I also thought Majesty's dining room food was fine although not as good as Carnival.

 

Two things I do agree with is the beach towels - didn't like that so much. It wasn't a big deal, but why can't they just leave the towels in the room. Also, I did have to go to the Maitre D too because they didn't give me a dining assignment. I thought it was odd, but apparently it isn't uncommon. That just seems basic to me - give your passengers a dining room assignment. No big deal if it is a rare fluke, but you and 100 other people too? and then me and several people a couple weeks later? not good Majesty.

[DarthGrady]

As others have mentioned, the cabins on the Sovereign Class ships (including Monarch and Majesty) are much smaller than what we are used to on CCL. That was probably the biggest thing that hit me the first time I cruised with RCI on Monarch. Their newer classes of ships have cabins much more in line with CCL's. Other than the cabins differences, the rest of the experience was pretty comparable. Overall I have found RCI's atmosphere to be a less festive, but the ships are very nice.

[H82seaUgo]

bad move. switching from ccl to rccl on that type of ship will only make you think you made a mistake.

 

if you're going to try rccl, try one of their ships they built after they woke up and became serious about cruising.

[Socref124]

I'm a fan of Carnival, I've been on one cruise and have another book for this December. My siblings and I are looking to go on a cruise in May 2012 and looking to drive to a port from Ohio. Carnival has a few options for Charleston, but the timing doesn't work out for our price budget. So, we are possibly looking to go on Royal Caribbean. Two of the siblings went on one cruise on Princess, another has never been, and as mentioned before I will have been on two on Carnival.

 

Anyways, long story...but what can I expect to be different from Carnival? We are looking going on Majesty of the Seas...

 

We went on a Royal cruise 2 years ago and founf them and Carnival to be more alike than different. It seems that when we are looking to cruise Royal is always more expensive.

Did you look at the Carnival Pride out of Baltimore? A friend in Va tells me that Carnival has some good deals there.

Hope you enjoy whichever ship you choose.

[tiggerman101]

I did a string of Carnival cruises before I tried Royal. It happened to be a short cruise on Majesty that I got for a ridiculous price. I knew it was their smallest/oldest ship going in so I didn't expect too much. It was alright, but certainly didn't blow me away. For the price, I was perfectly fine with it. My very next cruise was on Oasis, and well, talk about night and day! Since then I have also cruised on Liberty of the Seas (Freedom Class) and Navigator of the Seas (Voyager Class). The Voyager class ships and later builds are outstanding and beautiful. They are definitly worth seeking out if you want a real change (ship wise) from Carnival.

 

I don't know when you are looking, but both Liberty and Navigator do 4-7 day cruises in the late fall and winter. Originally, Navigator was to stay in Europe for the upcoming winter, but Royal pulled it back to the states. The prices on these cruises were really, really good (I jumped on a six day in January). They have gone up some since, but are still worth looking into.

 

I know the Majesty/Monarch prices are tempting, but I would personally pay more for the newer ships.

[QLUVS2CRUZ]

I know I haven't been on a ton of cruises, but my cruise on the Sovereign class so far has been the least favorable. I think you should try RCI, but I probably wouldn't choose that ship. Usually RCI and Carnival offer about the same product in terms of food and service. CCL has bigger cabins. Both have about the same kind of entertainment. If you can find another RCI ship to go on, I say go for it!

[RWolver672]

It all boils down to personal opinion.

[kentuckyluckyguy]

I'm the same way....I've only cruised Carnival and not extensively...but I think I'd like to try RCL and maybe even Princess or Celebrity at some point in the future. More expensive I know....my only hesitation is spending "that much more" and being disappointed and wishing I had stayed with Carnival.....

[bar1068]

It all boils down to personal opinion.

 

It most certainly does...thats why in my opinion, we're gonna cruise on the RCI Oasis of the Seas next spring, mostly because...it's another cruise!!!!

 

Not concerned at all whether it compares favorably or not with Carnival, but we are just a little curious to see whats different besides the freaken crazy huge size of the ship!!

[Socref124]

I'm the same way....I've only cruised Carnival and not extensively...but I think I'd like to try RCL and maybe even Princess or Celebrity at some point in the future. More expensive I know....my only hesitation is spending "that much more" and being disappointed and wishing I had stayed with Carnival.....

 

Look for deals. Royal and Princess are usually higher than Carnival when we cruise, however, we did find a good deal on Monarch of the Seas (it was cheaper than the Sensation same week) and on the Caribbean Princess (It was less expensive than the Victory same week). Carnival and Royal are very much alike, imho. Princess, on the other hand, was a notch above. The passengers were much more laid back than on Carnival and there wasn't as much of a party atmosphere.

On the Monarch of the Seas, they party with the best of them. Hope this helps a little. I would love to try the Oasis or Allure, but not at the prices they are charging. We will wait a couple years until the prices come down.