Differences between Carnival and Royal Caribbean?

[jmps]

I think only Celebrity has a policy of not using the PA system to hawk bingo, pool games and the like. It is sooooo nice and relaxing.

 

Steph,

 

I agree. You should try Celebrity to see if it fits you better. They do now make an announcement at noon about the afternoon events but that is it. On our last cruise there wasn't even any pushing of products during a spa visit. GASP! It is a very relaxing slightly formal experience.

 

Beyond this I think you have to try the "Luxury" lines.

[pokyd]

As others have said, part of it is how intrusive you want the ship to be. Carnival is "in your face" decor and announcements all the time and stupid pool games. IME passengers on Carnival are much rowdier and in party party mode. The food and entertainment is as good or better than RCI.

 

RCI is beautiful ships, fewer announcements (although not few enough!), and some level of relaxation compared to the always-frantic Carnival. Just depends on what you want the vacation to be.

 

The two may be comparable in food and entertainment but the atmosphere is worlds apart, IMO.

[terri23]

Carnival Celebration was the epitome of bad 80's decor. I mean bad! We didn't care. We had a great time anyway - the rooms were clean, the food was pretty good, the cocktails were inexpensive and the weather was great.

 

Rhapsody was GORGEOUS. And the rooms were clean, the food was pretty good and the cocktails were a little more expensive. The weather was fantastic. Nightlife was a yawnfest, though - don't get me wrong, we are not party animals, just surprised there wasn't more going on.

 

Never had trouble with obnoxious pax on either one - wild kids or drunken adults. The fact that we went in Feb both times was probably a factor w/ the former.

 

Can't wait to cruise again - with whomever, wherever!!

[dms_cruisers04]

Carnival is "in your face" decor and announcements all the time and stupid pool games

yes, because obviously the belly-flop contest that was held on our Sovereign cruise in April would never be considered "stupid". Especially when they judged the "redder the better" part. :rolleyes:

 

Have not seen it on any of my RCI cruises thus far. As far as the photo stations, Carnival sets up so many on the promenade deck that one cannot move without feeling that they are on an obstacle course. Again have not seen that on my four RCI cruises. Maybe some ships are different.

How could you not?! :confused: There are these large, screens with fake looking backgrounds printed on them and usually a camera or atleast a tripod in front of them. Personally I would think a little to hard to miss. But that's just me.

 

I totally understand everyone having a preferred cruiseline that they enjoy and I understand the want to portray said cruiseline in a better light than lines that may not have lived up to expectations. But let's dump all the over-the-top, made-up, storytime issues and instances and stick to the facts. Yes, everyone is entitled to their opinion, but atleast be honest about it. Geez. :rolleyes:

[Fury1995]

The obvious difference in cruise lines is the passengers themselves. Royal Caribbean passengers all live in mansions, drive exotic foreign cars, drink 30 year old scotch and name their kids Brighton and Muffy. Carnival passengers live in trailers, have 3 rusted out cars in the front yard, drink Boones Farm and name their kids Cletus and Mary-Bob....:rolleyes:

 

Thanks alot!

 

Now I have to go the windex and paper towels to clean up the coffee "mess" off my desk and monitor! LOL

[kjunea]

I have been a loyal RCL fan for years and yet, I am taking my second Carnival cruise in 10 days. The only other CCL cruise I had done was a 3 day cruise on the Fantasy and I don't think I can compare that to a 7 day. I know there will be pros and cons and I am looking forward to seeing them.

 

There were a few main reasons for picking the Miracle. (1) fairly new ship (2) I could get a straight flight to Tampa as opposed to changing planes to anywhere else from Knoxville (3) price difference was significant. We had actually booked on a RCL ship, but with the difference, we got a balcony room and our airfare for the same price as an inside room on RCL. So if things aren't the best, I'll grin and bear it. And I'll keep looking for a great deal on an RCL ship!

 

June

[JTJ]

I've been on 5 CCL cruises & 4 RCI cruises including the Glory and Mariner each twice (all western). Here is what's important to me on those two ships. Mariner has better jogging track it's wider and longer (5 laps = 1 mile, vs 9 laps = 1 mile), a bigger workout room with a really neat hot tub just outside, the promenade steet with parades and rooms you can watch from, adults only hot tubs and at least one is always open, the neat deck 14 for bars and views, oriental buffet for breakfast, the buffet restaurant seating extends all the way to the back of the ship for great aft views, can order the dinning room menu thru room service, past guest coupon booklet, on board dive shop & classes (with checkout dive at end of cruise), ice show, and more public area (more gross tonnage per passenger).

Glory has: four dining times, super easy to get 2 person tables for dinner, fish & chips place (that includes soup, toast, octopuss & oysters etc,) great food at dinner, two or three midnight buffets, waiters dance everynight, big basic rooms and easy upgrades (gty has been good to us), free cappuccino or expresso at dinner, lots of areas for people to get out and hang on the railing of the ship (every one seems to be walking around on the jogging track on the Mariner), fairer card casino (better pay outs for carribean stud and let it ride, also a single deck blackjack table), ocean players club cash back, CCL linked slot jackpot (lady on the Glory won $1/2M last November) better stops (Key West & Belize), can see outside when walking on the promenade deck, they don't shut off the TV programs on departure morning and more elevators.

[Cruising89143]

[quote name= dms_cruisers04

How could you not?! :confused: There are these large' date=' screens with fake looking backgrounds printed on them and usually a camera or atleast a tripod in front of them. Personally I would think a little to hard to miss. But that's just me.

 

I totally understand everyone having a preferred cruiseline that they enjoy and I understand the want to portray said cruiseline in a better light than lines that may not have lived up to expectations. But let's dump all the over-the-top, made-up, storytime issues and instances and stick to the facts. Yes, everyone is entitled to their opinion, but atleast be honest about it. Geez. :rolleyes:[/quote]

 

I did not say that you could not see the screens but there are far too many set up along the promenade deck. They could cut the amount in half and have plenty.

 

Also were you there to know if anyone is making up their stories? Who are you to say that someone is not being honest about their statements? Yes we are all entitled to our own opinions and have the right to express them here.

[dms_cruisers04]

I did not say that you could not see the screens but there are far too many set up along the promenade deck.

I was talking about your reference to RCI not having this.

Also were you there to know if anyone is making up their stories?

Well, when someone posts that a certain line isn't as good because they do certain things, in this case bingo or photos, and then say another line is better because they don't, when in actually they do, I'd consider that a story.

But hey, that's JMHO. :rolleyes:

[waterbabies]

We recently returned from our first Carnival cruise on the Conquest (actually, won this in a raffle, of all things) and we NEVER will be on Carnival again. We've done Celebrity once (a little too stuffy, but still a wonderful ship, the Infinity, and great cruise) and RCCL seven times (and booked this July on Brilliance), so you know Royal is our favorite. But my wife and I went on Conquest with a totally open mind and disembarked with some very strong opinions.

 

1. Totally agree with the comments on the ship layout and decor. A lot of up and down on Conquest, limited peaceful places looking out to the sea. Totally different from RCCL, and in particular, the Radiance class (our favorite). And, yes, we knew decor would be over the top, but even the 14-year-old on this post said too gaudy, too much like a video arcade.

 

2. Food reviews are so subjective, yet we are surprised that many folks report the quality is the same. Each of our seven RCCL cruises served much better food than the Conquest. And, why so much value placed on the quality of the pizza between the two lines? Yes, in this case, Conquest served a better slice, but we eat great take-out pizza at home once a week.

 

3. Cabin and food service better on RCCL, and the staff much more friendly.

 

4. Last comment because this IS getting long: walking around with buckets of beer seemed to be a very popular activity on the Conquest. Believe me, folks on our RCCL cruises enjoyed libations (just attend Quest), but the beer and noisy (not intimate) bars and lounges seem to be the Carnival profile. Carinival simply lacks class.

[Cruising89143]

4. Last comment because this IS getting long: walking around with buckets of beer seemed to be a very popular activity on the Conquest. Believe me, folks on our RCCL cruises enjoyed libations (just attend Quest), but the beer and noisy (not intimate) bars and lounges seem to be the Carnival profile. Carinival simply lacks class.

 

I just came off of the Sovereign last week and yes this was a shorter cruise which tends to lead to a rowdier crowd but the buckets of beer were well in demand. Also saw many of them on the Navigator this past December so just to let you know, Carnival does have that award all to themselves.

[NancyIL]

You'll still find announcements for bingo, art auctions, etc. on RCCI.

 

However, I've never felt like I'm being pushed to buy something.

 

My first cruise was on Holland America in March 2004 (Zandam), and there were quite a few announcements - mostly for BINGO. I was on RCI's Splendour of the Seas last month, and there were announcements - though more for art auctions than BINGO. ;) I really wasn't bothered by either.

[BevMoney]

I think on both Carnival and RC, you can turn off the announcments in your cabin.

[caviargal]

We recently returned from our first Carnival cruise on the Conquest (actually, won this in a raffle, of all things) and we NEVER will be on Carnival again. We've done Celebrity once (a little too stuffy, but still a wonderful ship, the Infinity, and great cruise) and RCCL seven times (and booked this July on Brilliance), so you know Royal is our favorite. But my wife and I went on Conquest with a totally open mind and disembarked with some very strong opinions.

 

1. Totally agree with the comments on the ship layout and decor. A lot of up and down on Conquest, limited peaceful places looking out to the sea. Totally different from RCCL, and in particular, the Radiance class (our favorite). And, yes, we knew decor would be over the top, but even the 14-year-old on this post said too gaudy, too much like a video arcade.

 

2. Food reviews are so subjective, yet we are surprised that many folks report the quality is the same. Each of our seven RCCL cruises served much better food than the Conquest. And, why so much value placed on the quality of the pizza between the two lines? Yes, in this case, Conquest served a better slice, but we eat great take-out pizza at home once a week.

 

3. Cabin and food service better on RCCL, and the staff much more friendly.

 

4. Last comment because this IS getting long: walking around with buckets of beer seemed to be a very popular activity on the Conquest. Believe me, folks on our RCCL cruises enjoyed libations (just attend Quest), but the beer and noisy (not intimate) bars and lounges seem to be the Carnival profile. Carinival simply lacks class.

 

Radiance class is also my favorite for many reasons and I concur with your observations about your Carnival cruise. Also, IME, the ships were dark, especially the atriums, and I really missed seeing the water all of the time.

 

The staff on the RCI ships I have sailed are a warm and friendly group and the waitstaff, in general, well trained. On my CCL cruises, the service was pretty basic, like you would experience in a chain restaurant. It's like a TGI Fridays at sea. Apparently, that works for a whole lot of people, but it does not work for me.

 

CG

 

Also, passengers tended to be more casual overall, especially in the dining room. I did not care for that.

[stargate fan]

We have sailed on Carnival twice and Royal Caribbean once. From our experiences, we liked the two Carnival cruise SO MUCH MORE than the Royal Caribbean cruise.

 

Now, about generalizations...Each ship has it's own passnger quirkiness. Every sailing is different. Every week had different mixes of people.

 

Maybe the reason we weren't thrilled with Rhapsody was the clientele...the average age was 60+. We went to every night club after 10 pm and there was nothing happening. Nothing! We walked around the ship every night. It was great...I lost weight.:D We were in our cabin by midnight, though.

 

What we liked about Paradise and Victory were the constant announcements. We are vacation. We don't want to watch the clocks so we know when to be at whatever activity at the right time. And we didn't experience spring break activity on either cruise.

 

One of our relatives has sailed RCI several times. They bad-mouth Carnival terribly. But you know what, they have never been on Carnival. I don't think anyone should be negative unless there is a specific reason. And of course, each person perceives things differently so one person's awful cruise is another's fantastic journey.

 

We are trying Royal Caribbean again. We'll see what happens.

 

ak

 

 

I have sailed on Carnival twice. I don't know about the thongs, but your wife's concerns mirror my experieces.

 

Add tacky decor, lots of smoke, too many announcements and a spring break atmosphere.

 

I am not 20 anymore and am happy not to be. But I was cruising at 20 and even then would not have enjoyed Carnival.

[CruisnMom007]

:confused:

 

Let me share my experince so far with trying RC for the first time:

 

We have always sailed Carnival and have been treated like royalty.

Our anniversary is coming up so we decided to book a short cruise to get away without the kids this time. I was convinced by my TA that I would just love RC and that they blow Carnival away. So...going against my gut we booked our cruise with RC. I was given Superior Ocean View room I selected. I had gone online last month to complete the online check in and saw we had been upgraded to a JS. I thought WOW this is how Carnival has always treated me so RC must be just as good. I have been upgraded by the upgrade fairy before with Carnival no extra cost. Then.....last week after my final payment was made, RC sends a letter to my TA stating that we owed an additional $430 for the upgrade!!! My TA was shocked..called RC and they said it was a mistake on their part for sure. We all agreed that RC should still let me keep the suite as they had already given away my other room!! NOPE....they sent me packing back down below! Not to mention that my final payment went up for the switch!! I can't get a customer service rep to talk to me at all.

I am right now so disghusted with this and that they won't even so much as make it up to me in any way what so ever. Carnival has ALWAYS been so generous with the upgrades and any problems that ever came up were dealt with professionally and usually I found a credit on my sail and sign account when boarding as a "gift". Some special Anniversary cruise if this is what I have to expect from RC.

 

This is not knocking RC for everyone as I am sure most have had nothing but good experiences, but for my first time with this cruise line, its not a good taste so far.

 

DOES ANYONE HAVE THE EMAIL TO SOMEONE HIGHER UP AT RCCL that I can contact?

 

Thanks

[PreciousPetal]

I have sailed both VOS on RCCL and Legend/Carnival. I prefer the Carnival experience in general. Carnival rooms are larger, productions are better (I like the tables in front of your vs. theater seating where there isn't any place to put down a drink), outdoor eating tables, and fun atmosphere. Where RCCL excels is in its dining room service and staff help.

Food was comparable on both, but Carnival has RCCL beat in variety of buffet food, free ice cream sundae bar, afternoon teatime, and pizza.;)

[Guil]

I have sailed both VOS on RCCL and Legend/Carnival. I prefer the Carnival experience in general. Carnival rooms are larger, productions are better (I like the tables in front of your vs. theater seating where there isn't any place to put down a drink), outdoor eating tables, and fun atmosphere. Where RCCL excels is in its dining room service and staff help.

Food was comparable on both, but Carnival has RCCL beat in variety of buffet food, free ice cream sundae bar, afternoon teatime, and pizza.;)

 

Hi,

 

I agree with 100%.:D Will give RCCL another shot, just one more time that is.

[GCBCKat57]

While RCCL wins by a nose with me, I totally agree with the OP...I love that RCCL pools are open 24/7 and they have the solarium. One of my favorite onboard things to do is end a very late day with a swim in the solarium...that was the moment Royal Carib took it for me. I do think the food was a bit better on Carnival and while their rooms are larger, it didn't feel like a discernible business. Do not like the decor on Carnival and can't wait to sail a Radiance-class ship which I understand is even more visually appealing then the Voyager-class ship I've been on.

Will always remember Carnival fondly though, as I won a Bingo cruise with them about 6 years ago and sailed in their category 12....that was fun!