Experienced Carnivore cruiser, considering RCI

[A2Mich]

OK, so have been on several Carnivore cruises over the years, with the most recent being in 2006. Other cruises included a ten day Princess cruise, and a one day SeaEscape "cruise" on the Scandinavian Sea. While I never experienced any issues on the 7 or 8 day Carnival cruise, I know fully well what other people are referring to on the 3/4 day cruises.

 

I've seen the underdressed MDR crowd, the puke in the pool party animals, the young couple who can't wait to get to their cabin to be um, intimate, as well as the fun-loving families, the retired seniors having a great time, etc.

 

I am not the party animal type at all. I am in my early 40's, DW in late 30's, and two children (currently 5 and 7). My daughter (5)has never been on a cruise, and my son (7) was on the Carnival Legend when he was 1 for a cruise to Panama, so needless to say, he doesn't remember it. My wife and I will only have an occasional alcoholic drink, and with 2 small children, we don't generally stay out late. We are also the type that don't care for dressing up too formally for dinner.I have no issue with a dark jacket, but not really the full suit or tux type. DW enjoys dressing up somewhat as well. Not sure how we would dress the kiddos for MDR, or what is considered appropriate for them.

 

We used to live in Orlando (I actually grew up there) and are therefore familiar with the area. Our kids were both born in Celebration, FL, but don't remember much, if anything. We now live in Colorado, so for the four of us, we're having to fly to Orlando, and luckily have family to stay with and a car to use, to help reduce costs. So what we're planning to do is combine a few days/week in Orlando with a cruise out of Port Canaveral (for convenience, mostly). Our original plan was to fly from Denver, stay in a hotel with a rental car, a few days at Disney (for the kids - I could give a turd pile about Disney,myself), and then take a Carnival 7 day cruise.

 

Well, since the offer of a place to stay and a car to use, this has opened up a bit more cash flow. We have also decided to maybe limit to a max of 2 days at the theme parks (Magic Kingdom or Sea World), to try and cut some more costs. This has opened us up to the option of taking a RCI cruise, and wondering what others thought might be. We had booked a FOS cruise a few years ago, but had to cancel due to unforeseen circumstances.

 

Does this sound like a good decision and if RCI would be a good fit for us? We had previously only booked Carnivore because it was in our comfort zone, though we sort-of enjoyed a 10 day Princess cruise (the main reason we didn't enjoy it was the lack of activities onboard, which was probably due to the largely older age group. We were in our early 30's at the time and were almost the youngest people aboard! The ship and itinerary were great, though.

 

So, wanting to sail out of Port Canaveral realistically limits us to the Carnival Dream or Freedom of the Seas. We're looking to cruise anytime from Sept - Nov 2013. Our TA is fairly certain that Freedom will still be sailing from Port Canaveral, and that Carnival Dream will be on her same itineraries.

 

So does anyone think we would be a good fit for Royal Caribbean and Freedom-class ships? We already have our cabin choices narrowed down, too...LOL. Just hoping we're not setting ourselves up for disappointment considering that we're used to Carnival. I've searched and read the Cruise Compasses and found the MDR menus, etc. We're really excited about what we've heard about Adventure Ocean and RCI's service. Dining reviews have been mixed from what I can tell. We always had "decent" offerings on Carnival, but again, our last CCL cruise was in early 2006, so that would be the most recent benchmark I have for comparison. Have heard that all of the mainstream lines have been cutting back over the years.

 

As for Disney, that is not an option for us. Their prices are so ridiculous, just like everything else Disney is. I can hardly bear the thought of having to go to any of their parks for a day. Having lived in Florida, I know the negative sides of Disney, too - not just all of the glamorous "fluff" the tourists see. I remember their mis-treatment of employees, their screwed-up tax classifications, the cuts that Michael Eisner made just to stuff his pockets back in his days, etc., so I'd much rather not give Disney any more than I have to. If it weren't for the kids, I wouldn't patronize Disney at all. They have done just as much to ruin the central Florida economy as they did to help improve it - think along the lines of Wal-Mart here. Disney - "we brought thousands upon thousands of jobs to Central Florida...." The local resident reality of it all - "Yeah....thousands upon thousands of low-paying entry level/minimum wage jobs, which brought ridiculous growth to the area, and brought down the already low pay scale even further.....thanks."

 

Anyway, any help or opinions would be greatly appreciated here. We're pretty much already sold on the Freedom of the Seas, but wanted other's opinions as well. Our TA also has us pretty much sold on RCI as well, BTW!

[SNJCruisers]

We're looking to cruise anytime from Sept - Nov 2013.

 

Anyway, any help or opinions would be greatly appreciated here. We're pretty much already sold on the Freedom of the Seas, but wanted other's opinions as well. Our TA also has us pretty much sold on RCI as well, BTW!

 

Since you're looking to book in the fall of 2013, you will be able to get rock bottom rates, which is always a good thing. In general, the rate differentiation between the two ships you are deciding between is around 150-190 more on the Freedom for similar sailings in fall of 2012 for passengers 1 & 2 in a cabin.

 

If you were not locked into going out of Pt Canaveral, I would sail out of Ft Lauderdale and go on either the Allure or the Carnival Breeze. But you can always do that in the future. If you don't mind the extra 500 dollars or more it's going to cost you to sail on the Freedom, do it....you'll have a great time.

[A2Mich]

Since you're looking to book in the fall of 2013, you will be able to get rock bottom rates, which is always a good thing. In general, the rate differentiation between the two ships you are deciding between is around 150-190 more on the Freedom for similar sailings in fall of 2012 for passengers 1 & 2 in a cabin.

 

If you were not locked into going out of Pt Canaveral, I would sail out of Ft Lauderdale and go on either the Allure or the Carnival Breeze. But you can always do that in the future. If you don't mind the extra 500 dollars or more it's going to cost you to sail on the Freedom, do it....you'll have a great time.

 

Well, the hotel and rental car savings alone is helping to offset the higher cost of RCI vs Carnival. We had considered a cruise out of Miami/Port Everglades, but honestly, not quite so sure that I want to jump into a cruise on the Oasis/Allure size. The Carnivore Legend is the largest ship we've sailed on so far, at roughly 90,000 GRT. I'm not so sure that I would like the massive number of people on the Oasis class ships, as I'm sort of nervous about the Freedom-class. I've never felt particularly over-crowded on a ship, but I'm not one for large crowds, myself. I also think that the Oasis-class are bordering on the edge of ridiculous/why? So we're wanting to sail on nothing larger than the Freedom-class, at least at this point. But, we would consider it or one of the Project Sunshine ships if we enjoy the Freedom-class.

 

Unfortunately, we're on a budget, and are wanting to give our kids a great vacation,so anywhere we can save some costs is certainly helping. Staying with my mother and using one of her cars for a week will save about $800-$1000. This cost savings is why we are more seriously considering RCI. If we were having to pay for the hotel and rental car costs, in addition to the estimated $1800.00 in airfare, plus the several hundred dollars per day at the theme parks, we couldn't afford Royal Caribbean at all. So since, the cost savings, is the reason for the serious consideration.

 

If we still lived in Florida, which I must say, I will probably never do again, we would probably just book an inside cabin or an OV/Balcony guarantee, since the opportunity to cruise more often would be there. Since we're having to spend so much on other expenses, we want to book what we want and still stay within our comfort zone. We may even save money on shore excursions, particularly if we do an Eastern Caribbean cruise.

 

St Thomas - we're OK with either walking Charlotte Amalie and Havensight, or taking a taxi to Red Hook and the ferry to St John. Been to St Thomas several times and is one of our favorite ports.

St Maarten - have already taken the island/double flag tour - not so impressed with French St Martin - loved the shops in Dutch Sint Maarten. can just walk the shops for a few hours then come back to ship and enjoy the balcony!

CocoCay - no brainer awesome beach day!

 

Thanks for your opinions!

[SNJCruisers]

I would sail out of Ft Lauderdale and go on either the Allure or the Carnival Breeze. .

 

The Carnivore Legend is the largest ship we've sailed on so far, at roughly 90,000 GRT. I'm not so sure that I would like the massive number of people on the Oasis class ships

 

Well, since you're looking for a step up size wise from 88,500 tons on the Legend, and you don't want to go all of the way up to the Oasis/Allure, why not try the new Carnival Breeze? Have you seen the 20 or so videos on their website? It is much more subdued than the glitzy look of the Farcus inspired Carnival ships and the Breeze will have all of the new 2.0 upgrades. They include new eating choices like Guy's Burger Joint and the Blue Iguana Cantina, new drinking locations like the Red Frog Rum Bar and the Alchemy Bar, new entertainment choices like the Punchliner Comedy Club and Hasbro, the Game Show and new sports activities like Sportsquare and The Waterworks. The Breeze also has 6 & 8 day options to either the Eastern or Southern Caribbean.

 

All I am saying is that it seems like you have 90% of your eggs in one basket and you're inquiring about reassurance about Freedom of the Seas on the RCCL boards. I'm just trying to give you another possible option. Whichever way you decide...have a great cruise!

[akcruz]

One of the main reasons we like RCI over Carnival is ship layout which allows the passengers to dispersed around the ship making it seem as if there aren't so many others on board. When we were on Carnival we always felt like we were waiting in line for something, on RCI, and especially Freedom, we often wondered where all the people were.

 

My kids were a little older than yours when we started sailing, so can't comment on the programs at that age (although I bet they would love the H2O zone on Freedom), but as teens they definitely preferred the RCI ships and activities over those on Carnival.

 

Once the kids are past their teen years we will go back to give Carnival another try, as well as other lines, but for now we are sticking with RCI, even giving Allure a try :eek: and hoping the reviews are true that it also has that comfy feel even though so big :D.

[Tapi]

Like you, we had been consistently sailing on Carnival for several years until we decided to return to Royal Caribbean last year. Although we had enjoyed our previous time on Carnival, we were feeling a bit "Carnivaled" out, and wanted something more.

 

We had a WONDERFUL time when we sailed on the Allure of the Seas last year. Yes, it definitely cost more than sailing on any Carnival cruise we've ever taken, but it was worth every extra penny.

 

Our biggest concern was if we'd ever be able to go back to Carnival after such an experience. We did go back in October when we sailed aboard the Carnival Dream. We had a very enjoyable cruise (and it almost felt a bit fresh to go back to Carnival after sailing on another cruise line), but the experience paled in comparison to our cruise on the Allure.

 

I've reviewed both cruises. You can click on the links below my signature if you want more detailed information about the Royal Caribbean experience from the eyes of a Carnival Platinum cruiser...:) (and about sailing on Carnival again after Royal Caribbean).

[jmom5]

Freedom is a great ship and although its not oasis or allure, it is still better than anything carnival has to offer.

[ThreeDogsCruising]

If memory serves, isn't Carnivore Cruise Lines a subsidiary of Donner Cruises International?

[SNJCruisers]

Freedom is a great ship and although its not oasis or allure, it is still better than anything carnival has to offer.

With a ratio of 13 on RCCL and only 1 on CCL, we know where your loyalties lie. But making blanket statements like that is totally asinine. I will grant you that Oasis and Allure are in a class by themselves, but the Carnival Breeze and the soon to be refurbished Carnival Sunshine will be able to out shine many in the fleet of RCCL.

[LaShelle2]

Monarch of Seas sails out or Port Canaveral too. it is a 3 or 4 day sailing. The prices are Awesome, and it is a good small unintimidating ship. The kids will LOVE Cococay!

[LouLou921]

If memory serves, isn't Carnivore Cruise Lines a subsidiary of Donner Cruises International?

 

 

 

Brilliant!

[A2Mich]

Wow! Thank you all for your insight. I think that we were, in fact, looking for a reassurance to book with RCI. We have sailed so often on Carnival, that we're nervous about leaving our comfort zone. But, we'll never know until we try.

 

I have no problems with Carnival, at least in my past experiences - we have always had a good time, as we made the best of it, no matter what. I think, as someone else mentioned, that we're looking for something that may be just a little bit better. We have seen several videos of the Dream, and also a rendering for the Breeze, and they do look very nice. I'm not at all thrilled with the Destiny/Sunshine refurb, as it appears that they are removing public space to simply add more cabins, along with the upgrades they are completing.

 

I would sail on Carnival again, and are actually keeping the Carnival Dream as an alternate plan to Freedom. I had previously mentioned wanting to sail out of Port Canaveral for logistical reasons, and would like to stay with that plan, but could make arrangements to get to Miami or Port Everglades if need be.

 

Glad to hear most everyone feel that RCI would be a good idea, though it's sort of expected on the RCI forums, but, you all have actually been on RCI. Not so sure that I would get many positive responses on the Carnival boards, as I would surmise that the majority of Carnival loyal have little, or possibly no experience with RCI. Our TA always raves about RCI, and she's actually not wild about Carnival, though she is also intrigued with the Breeze.

 

Thank you all again for the reassurance, as I think we will focus on RCI, yet keep our options open. At this point, BTW, we have no interest in NCL - that may be for another cruise, but we're wanting the kids to have a great time, whether they're with us or with the kid's program. It also sounds like Adventure Ocean will have plenty of activities, as well as plenty of shipboard activities we can all enjoy as a family.

 

That was another issue - we want the kids (who will be 6 and 8 at cruise time), to be able to choose if they want to spend time with their new friends at Adventure Ocean, or with us. We don't believe in the whole dump the kids off and forget them mentality. It's a family vacation - the kids should be able to have some "kid's time" as well as family time. Seems like Adventure Ocean and Camp Carnival are similar, though I get the impression that Adventure Ocean may have some advantages.

 

Thanks again.

[Cruising89143]

Give the Freedom a try. You won't be sorry. She is a very nice ship and underwent a minor refurb last year to bring on some of the Oasis class amenities. RCI added the Dreamworks Experience to this ship last year and something that your kids may enjoy.

 

I think that you will find that you will be very happy with your decision. I have cruised twice on the Freedom. I am one that prefers the Oasis class but have no problems with cruising on the Freedom again either. I have photos below in my link of the Freedom. She is a beautiful ship.

[Cruising89143]

Wow! Thank you all for your insight. I think that we were, in fact, looking for a reassurance to book with RCI. We have sailed so often on Carnival, that we're nervous about leaving our comfort zone. But, we'll never know until we try.

 

For many years I only cruised with Carnival and would not even think about trying other lines. Then we made the decision to try RCI and have never looked back. Everyone has their own reason for choosing a cruise line but for us after trying RCI, Carnival just doesn't interest us. It's good to step out of the box every once in a while.:)

[rafinmd]

It may not be possible with the dates you want but have you considered the possibility of sailing out of Tampa? RCI has ships based there at least part of the year.

 

Roy

[jmom5]

With a ratio of 13 on RCCL and only 1 on CCL, we know where your loyalties lie. But making blanket statements like that is totally asinine. I will grant you that Oasis and Allure are in a class by themselves, but the Carnival Breeze and the soon to be refurbished Carnival Sunshine will be able to out shine many in the fleet of RCCL.

please i don't want to start a fight, my loyalty lies there only because of the experience we had on the carnival freedom and looking at your signature, we can see where your loyalty lies.

the new "sunshine" will not be new as it is the old destiny with more passengers, which is one reason why we hated our carnival cruise - too many passengers for the amount of public space. it was the most crowded cruise we had ever been on, and we went in the off season.

all of their other big ships are bigger versions of the carnival freedom - which means more passengers...

some people don't care about the ships - they just use it as a mode of transport. we pick cruises based on the ship and don't care about itineraries, so with this in mind - RCCL wins and there won't be that many people that would argue with that point. Carnival has yet to make anything that is as good as the Freedom class or above on RCCL.

This is my opinion and that is what the op asked for.

[gilboman]

OK, so have been on several Carnivore cruises over the years, with the most recent being in 2006. Other cruises included a ten day Princess cruise, and a one day SeaEscape "cruise" on the Scandinavian Sea. While I never experienced any issues on the 7 or 8 day Carnival cruise, I know fully well what other people are referring to on the 3/4 day cruises.

 

I've seen the underdressed MDR crowd, the puke in the pool party animals, the young couple who can't wait to get to their cabin to be um, intimate, as well as the fun-loving families, the retired seniors having a great time, etc.

 

I am not the party animal type at all. I am in my early 40's, DW in late 30's, and two children (currently 5 and 7). My daughter (5)has never been on a cruise, and my son (7) was on the Carnival Legend when he was 1 for a cruise to Panama, so needless to say, he doesn't remember it. My wife and I will only have an occasional alcoholic drink, and with 2 small children, we don't generally stay out late. We are also the type that don't care for dressing up too formally for dinner.I have no issue with a dark jacket, but not really the full suit or tux type. DW enjoys dressing up somewhat as well. Not sure how we would dress the kiddos for MDR, or what is considered appropriate for them.

 

We used to live in Orlando (I actually grew up there) and are therefore familiar with the area. Our kids were both born in Celebration, FL, but don't remember much, if anything. We now live in Colorado, so for the four of us, we're having to fly to Orlando, and luckily have family to stay with and a car to use, to help reduce costs. So what we're planning to do is combine a few days/week in Orlando with a cruise out of Port Canaveral (for convenience, mostly). Our original plan was to fly from Denver, stay in a hotel with a rental car, a few days at Disney (for the kids - I could give a turd pile about Disney,myself), and then take a Carnival 7 day cruise.

 

Well, since the offer of a place to stay and a car to use, this has opened up a bit more cash flow. We have also decided to maybe limit to a max of 2 days at the theme parks (Magic Kingdom or Sea World), to try and cut some more costs. This has opened us up to the option of taking a RCI cruise, and wondering what others thought might be. We had booked a FOS cruise a few years ago, but had to cancel due to unforeseen circumstances.

 

Does this sound like a good decision and if RCI would be a good fit for us? We had previously only booked Carnivore because it was in our comfort zone, though we sort-of enjoyed a 10 day Princess cruise (the main reason we didn't enjoy it was the lack of activities onboard, which was probably due to the largely older age group. We were in our early 30's at the time and were almost the youngest people aboard! The ship and itinerary were great, though.

 

So, wanting to sail out of Port Canaveral realistically limits us to the Carnival Dream or Freedom of the Seas. We're looking to cruise anytime from Sept - Nov 2013. Our TA is fairly certain that Freedom will still be sailing from Port Canaveral, and that Carnival Dream will be on her same itineraries.

 

So does anyone think we would be a good fit for Royal Caribbean and Freedom-class ships? We already have our cabin choices narrowed down, too...LOL. Just hoping we're not setting ourselves up for disappointment considering that we're used to Carnival. I've searched and read the Cruise Compasses and found the MDR menus, etc. We're really excited about what we've heard about Adventure Ocean and RCI's service. Dining reviews have been mixed from what I can tell. We always had "decent" offerings on Carnival, but again, our last CCL cruise was in early 2006, so that would be the most recent benchmark I have for comparison. Have heard that all of the mainstream lines have been cutting back over the years.

 

As for Disney, that is not an option for us. Their prices are so ridiculous, just like everything else Disney is. I can hardly bear the thought of having to go to any of their parks for a day. Having lived in Florida, I know the negative sides of Disney, too - not just all of the glamorous "fluff" the tourists see. I remember their mis-treatment of employees, their screwed-up tax classifications, the cuts that Michael Eisner made just to stuff his pockets back in his days, etc., so I'd much rather not give Disney any more than I have to. If it weren't for the kids, I wouldn't patronize Disney at all. They have done just as much to ruin the central Florida economy as they did to help improve it - think along the lines of Wal-Mart here. Disney - "we brought thousands upon thousands of jobs to Central Florida...." The local resident reality of it all - "Yeah....thousands upon thousands of low-paying entry level/minimum wage jobs, which brought ridiculous growth to the area, and brought down the already low pay scale even further.....thanks."

 

Anyway, any help or opinions would be greatly appreciated here. We're pretty much already sold on the Freedom of the Seas, but wanted other's opinions as well. Our TA also has us pretty much sold on RCI as well, BTW!

 

 

Upgrade to Disney Cruise, RCI is pretty much the same as Carnival for service and food, not sure what you've heard about RCI service, but it's no worst but definitely no better than Carnival. Both are mass market turnstile cruiselines.

 

If you have a problem with corporate practices of Disney, you should not be cruising at all. All the cruiselines have much much worst corporate practices than anything Disney ever could do. At least Disney pays taxes and operates/follows US law.

 

How much more would a Disney Cruise be compared to RCI?

 

But seriously, have you ever looked at the practices of the cruiseline industry? RCI was fined millions for dumping oil in Alaska, and they lied and falsified records to try to cover it up. They pay their staff slave wages and work 80+ hour weeks, cruise staff can only dream of minimum wage that Florida has. They don't pay taxes to the US and do not follow US law, they hide behind maritime law to absolve themselves of any/all liability.

 

Carnival was also fined for dumping, NCL fessed up on their own. But RCI falsified records and lied about it as well.

 

So ya.. Disney doesn't seem so bad now?

[kneught77]

please i don't want to start a fight, my loyalty lies there only because of the experience we had on the carnival freedom and looking at your signature, we can see where your loyalty lies.

the new "sunshine" will not be new as it is the old destiny with more passengers, which is one reason why we hated our carnival cruise - too many passengers for the amount of public space. it was the most crowded cruise we had ever been on, and we went in the off season.

all of their other big ships are bigger versions of the carnival freedom - which means more passengers...

some people don't care about the ships - they just use it as a mode of transport. we pick cruises based on the ship and don't care about itineraries, so with this in mind - RCCL wins and there won't be that many people that would argue with that point. Carnival has yet to make anything that is as good as the Freedom class or above on RCCL.

This is my opinion and that is what the op asked for.

 

I agree 100 percent.... its just an opinion after all.

 

I have been on 2 carnival cruises, 4 RCCL, and 1 Celebrity.

 

Celebrity I thought was best for cabins and food, RCCL for its public areas and entertainment (by a mile)... and Carnival didn't impress me much in any areas... wasn't a bad time... but doesn't exceed expectations anywhere.

 

Again, just my opinion.... I won't be going on Celebrity anytime soon... I will be going on Allure in May... and have plans to try out the NCL Epic/Breakaway in the future.

[A2Mich]

Upgrade to Disney Cruise, RCI is pretty much the same as Carnival for service and food, not sure what you've heard about RCI service, but it's no worst but definitely no better than Carnival. Both are mass market turnstile cruiselines.

 

If you have a problem with corporate practices of Disney, you should not be cruising at all. All the cruiselines have much much worst corporate practices than anything Disney ever could do. At least Disney pays taxes and operates/follows US law.

 

How much more would a Disney Cruise be compared to RCI?

 

But seriously, have you ever looked at the practices of the cruiseline industry? RCI was fined millions for dumping oil in Alaska, and they lied and falsified records to try to cover it up. They pay their staff slave wages and work 80+ hour weeks, cruise staff can only dream of minimum wage that Florida has. They don't pay taxes to the US and do not follow US law, they hide behind maritime law to absolve themselves of any/all liability.

 

Carnival was also fined for dumping, NCL fessed up on their own. But RCI falsified records and lied about it as well.

 

So ya.. Disney doesn't seem so bad now?

 

Disney just stands out as an exception to me because I knew so many people affected by their policies. Not to mention that Disney pays no property taxes on all of the land that they own, as well as special tax rates, etc. As far as Disney prices, my TA and I have found them to average about 30%-50% higher than RCI, even, and an even higher percentage compared to Carnival.

 

Also already knew about the millions of dollars in fines paid by the cruise lines - I remember the days when ships were allowed to discharge a certain amount of trash (even non-bio-degradable garbage) overboard. Remember seeing tons of old deck chairs tossed overboard by Carnival in the early to mid 80's!

 

You are right about the cruise industry having similar business practices to Disney. In either case, they all have the same basic business model - maximum cash extraction from every guest. That is why we have all of the no-drinks brought onboard rules that we have. Every can of soda or beer brought on board is less revenue to the cruise lines, especially alcohol - the markup and profit margin on alcohol is HUGE.

 

I think the big thing with Disney, is that I don't so much mind the characters, etc, but to have Mickey Mouse in my face for 7 days would drive me nuts - I would be shopping with Wile E Coyote at ACME for the World's Largest Mouse Trap!

[A2Mich]

please i don't want to start a fight, my loyalty lies there only because of the experience we had on the carnival freedom and looking at your signature, we can see where your loyalty lies.

the new "sunshine" will not be new as it is the old destiny with more passengers, which is one reason why we hated our carnival cruise - too many passengers for the amount of public space. it was the most crowded cruise we had ever been on, and we went in the off season.

all of their other big ships are bigger versions of the carnival freedom - which means more passengers...

some people don't care about the ships - they just use it as a mode of transport. we pick cruises based on the ship and don't care about itineraries, so with this in mind - RCCL wins and there won't be that many people that would argue with that point. Carnival has yet to make anything that is as good as the Freedom class or above on RCCL.

This is my opinion and that is what the op asked for.

 

Thank you very much for your opinion as well. We don't want any arguments, and I certainly don't want this to be a Carnival vs RCI bashing thread. I know how how Carnival was in the mid-2000's (though they may have slipped a few notches since then). I'm just wanting to know that we won't be disappointed booking RCI over Carnival. From what everyone has said, it seems that we would be at least equally happy on Royal Caribbean as on Carnival, and that was the main thing.

 

Will we be more happy on RCI than Carnival? Probably hard to say, and that would more than likely simply be our call once we experience them. We are hoping for a step up from Carnival, and it sounds like we would likely experience that, but the main thing is that the kids have a great time. We wouldn't want them to have a horrible time and never want to go again!

 

We're trying to make the best of our time and resources. The kids will get to see Grandma, and enjoy at least one day, if not two, at the theme parks, and go on a 7 day cruise at the same time. For the difficulty in getting time off of work, not to mention the expense of getting to Florida, we have to maximize the opportunity while we have it.

[A2Mich]

It may not be possible with the dates you want but have you considered the possibility of sailing out of Tampa? RCI has ships based there at least part of the year.

 

Roy

 

We have, but it seems like most of the cruise lines (at least RCI and Carnival) don't port any ships there until March/April.

[jmom5]

Freedom is awesome and if you end up going on it, I think you will love it. I live in Orlando, and you can't beat the convenience of Port Canaveral and other than the Oasis and Allure - it is the best ship afloat.

 

Your kids are at the perfect age to enjoy the H2O zone - my kids LOVED it and would usually want to spend all day there instead of going to the kids club, and then at night, they would want to go to kids club and play with all the kids they had met at the waterpark that day. After our first cruise on the Liberty (same class as Freedom), my kids didn't want to go on anything else.

[Mewissy]

I've been on the Liberty - Freedom's sister ship. Your kids will love the H2O zone, the flowrider, and probably Sorrento's for snacks. Its a great ship. I think you will be happy!