RC Explorer or Carnival Splendor

[megnut78]

I would like opinions - we are going back and forth between the Carnival Splendor 8 night cruise leaving the end of August going to San Juan, St. Thomas and Grand Turk leaving from NYC or RC Explorer of the Seas leaving out of Bayonne 8/22 going to Bermuda, St. Maarten, San Juan and Labadee for a 9 night cruise. I'm looking at about a $700 difference - RC being more expensive.

 

We have been on Carnival Glory to Canada, Carnival Pride to Bahamas and last year we went on RC Enchantment of the Seas to Bermuda out of Baltimore. To be honest, I was a little disappointed by RC Enchantment cruise - the food was lacking all around and much better quality on Carnival. The interior rooms are smaller on that ship then on Carnivals (IMO).

 

So I was curious what everyone else thought. Thanks in advance!

 

~Megan

 

 

12/88 - Holland America Ms Noordam Caribbean

12/89 - RC Nordic Prince Caribbean

8/10 - Carnival Glory Canada

8/11 - Carnival Pride Bahamas and FL

8/12 - RC Enchantment of the Seas Bermuda

8/13 - ?

[mizLORInj]

Carnival's cabins are larger than RC, Princess, Celebrity, or NCL (the lines I've sailed to compare). So if that's what you've grown used to and you're going to try other lines, just be prepared! :D Seriously.

 

Our family was also less than enthralled with the food on our one and only RC cruise (Explorer) but that wouldnt stop me from trying them again.

 

The ones you've selected would be a tough choice for me also! Though I've not sailed Splendor so I'd probably go with that (as I've sailed Explorer already) since I like to try different ships out!

 

I think either choice is good, and can understand wanting 9 nights, but understand the cost differential too. Note there are no launderettes on RCI which may be a consideration on a longer cruise. I also like Carnival's waterslides.

 

Have fun--on whichever you choose!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Carnival -- longer cruise -- better price -- larger cabins.

[lissa42886]

i sailed Explorer on almost the exact cruise.. ( labadee was traded for.. i think St Thomas ) loved the ship and the cruise. i loved all the on bored activites. ( rock climb, rollre blading, ice skating ) i wish carnival had some of those. loved the big ship. had a fantastic time. my friend who i sailed w/ went on her again the following year w her husband loved it again. and cant wait to go back after dry dock in a year..

[Teeara]

I love Explorer. It is a larger ship than Enchantment and has many more options onboard. You've got the rock wall, inline skating, ice skating and mini golf. The Royal Promenade in the middle of the ship is great (along with the parades at the beginning and end of the cruise). What's not to love?

[susie8862]

We have been on the Explorer NUMEROUS times. This is probably one of our favorite ships and cannot wait until it goes into dry dock.

 

There is soooo much to do and the entertainment...IMO is better. IMO, the food is better also. I like all of the different stations in the buffet. On Carnival, standing on long lines is the norm. Service is great on BOTH ships. :o

 

We just got back from Hawaii....a 15 day cruise.....although I do not dislike the Splendor (even have her booked again when she comes to NY)....BUT...very little to do on this ship.

 

Carnival ship set ups are very different than RCCL ships. They do not have the promenade deck....(which makes it seem more open and spacious).

 

Are you cruising for the ship or itinerary? This can make a big difference in your decision. The Explorer, we will do again. As I said, we have the Splendor booked again, but this time, it is for the itinerary and not the ship. Good luck to you. I think you will be fine with either choice. :o

[caribsun]

I just loved my cruise on the Explorer 10 days to some of the same ports. Plenty of entertainment especially the performers in the lounge venues.

Have not sailed the Splendor but my concern is the cutbacks on entertainment Carnival has instituted.

CCL is now listening to feedback and are considering bringing back the bands and musicians.

Even with the current entertainment curtailment, that 700.00 would pay for all of my onboard expenses. At this point I would go with Carnival.

[maryred]

Like you I have sailed the Glory and Pride on those itineraries, but unlike you I have been on the ExoS and have a cruise booked for the Splendor. So here's my one question are you a person that prefers quantity or quality for your purchasing dollar?

The Carnival cruises all have had decent food, activities and entertainment with an greater availability of choices within each category than what I have found on Royal. While RCI has limited what choices you have they have elevated the quality of what they do offer, perhaps because they are working with a more concentrated pool of offerings.

 

First off, in my perceived opinion, is the food, Carnival offers more choices at more times of the day than RCI, but what Royal offers tastes better. First the similarities both offer 24 hour pizza and gratis drink offerings (just it's in different locations than each other Carnival on the Lido deck, Royal in the Cafe Promenade on deck 5). For the buffet we have found lines on both companies for the more popular offerings. At the buffet on Carnival I've found that they open at 6 am (or earlier) with their continental breakfast and just keep going from there until the deli closes at 11 pm (or later if there is a Lido deck party). While Royal keeps the buffet hours strict, actually closing the door to the serving & indoor seating area between the posted meal times (you can't even get coffee or tea since the beverage service is inside). Now it's in the MDR that Royal really shines since their food prep & presentation is better albeit with a limit number the choices. While Carnival had a more varied daily menu, except for the Comedy Brunch. The servers treat you with the same enthusiasm and courtesies on both lines. (Remember food opinions are as subjective as the Coke/Pepsi or Hellmann's/ Miracle Whip arguments.)

 

The next big difference was in the entertainment. Royal puts on a better show with more dancers & singers, and has better set props but again on a 7 day cruise they only did 2 production shows in the main theater and one ice show down at the ice rink. Most other nights where filled in with either a single comedian offering the same (adult only) show twice in 1 night (BTW at least 1 of the comedians on the ExoS had appeared on the Miracle cruise w/ the same shtick) or a specialty act (we had an acapella group and juggler). On some nights when they ran only 1 main theater show they would add an audience participation show (again adult only) down in the ice rink. While on Carnival I'v become accustom to leaving the main theater from either a production, specialty act, or audience participation show then going (most nights) to the comedy lounge to catch a couple of different comedians or to a deck party on the nights that did not have comedy acts scheduled.

 

Activities wise for those more physically active Royal has Carnival beat hands down with their rock climbing wall, golf simulator, and ice rink, but other than the skating none of those appealed to my family. Just a word of warning the ice rink on our trip was only open for skating 4 out of 7 days for 2 hours at a clip in the morning and in the afternoon and had 1 night were it was open skating for an hour of adult only skating, the rest of the time it was being used for rehearsals, game shows, or being cleaned and the ice replaced. But the one thing that irked me was on Royal was the more sit back but still be involved activities like trivia, name that tune, karaoke, and bingo would all be scheduled that they overlapped. Many times this forced us to have to skip one or another since we were unable to run from one end of the ship to the other w/ a change of decks to make the start time of different activity. While on Carnival we found they had a natural flow to these activities with decent spacing between the start times.

 

Other similarities include chair hogs, the dance club, and the casino. Both lines had people saving seats in various areas with little to no enforcement from the ship's personnel. At the dance club rap and DJ club mixed music with the exception of a Michael Jackson and Whitney Huston tribute hour. And the casino would vary between being deserted or overly packed w/ the machines running hot and cold.

Other differences included the adult only area, Lido deck entertainment. and parades. On Carnival the all of the outdoor adult lounging areas I've seen a segregated from the all ages access areas while on the ExoS the the adult lounge area was partially enclosed and included the walk through from the forward elevators to the main pool & buffet area where children would pass through regularly & were only discouraged from lingering much like they are when passing through the casino. On Royal there are still certain times of the day you can find a live band playing for your entertainment, while Carnival has gone with a DJ for the during the day. As for the parades it's simplest to say Royal has them while Carnival does not. But like with prime seats for the main show area you need to claim your space on the Promenade 30 to 45 minutes prior to the parade and unlike the main theater 90% of the viewing area is SRO.

[megnut78]

Thank you Lori! We were definitely shocked last year going on RCI Enchantment after coming off two years on Carnival. I was almost afraid my husband was going to sleep outside on the lounge chairs :)

We still haven't decided - we have things we like about both. My son who will turn 12 on the cruise wants to go on Carnival and my daughter (9) wants to go on RCI - we shall see.

 

Carnival's cabins are larger than RC, Princess, Celebrity, or NCL (the lines I've sailed to compare). So if that's what you've grown used to and you're going to try other lines, just be prepared! :D Seriously.

 

Our family was also less than enthralled with the food on our one and only RC cruise (Explorer) but that wouldnt stop me from trying them again.

 

The ones you've selected would be a tough choice for me also! Though I've not sailed Splendor so I'd probably go with that (as I've sailed Explorer already) since I like to try different ships out!

 

I think either choice is good, and can understand wanting 9 nights, but understand the cost differential too. Note there are no launderettes on RCI which may be a consideration on a longer cruise. I also like Carnival's waterslides.

 

Have fun--on whichever you choose!

[megnut78]

How did you like the food and how we're the planned activities? I felt they were lacking on the Enchantment or overlapped and we couldn't do the things we wanted to.

 

i sailed Explorer on almost the exact cruise.. ( labadee was traded for.. i think St Thomas ) loved the ship and the cruise. i loved all the on bored activites. ( rock climb, rollre blading, ice skating ) i wish carnival had some of those. loved the big ship. had a fantastic time. my friend who i sailed w/ went on her again the following year w her husband loved it again. and cant wait to go back after dry dock in a year..

[megnut78]

Personally I would say I was cruising for the ship more. Both have similar itinerary. Both are going to San Juan - one to st Thomas the other to st Maarten. I have two kids 9 and 11 and they love the kids program on both. The two things I was most disappointed with on the Enchantment is the food and also the amount of shows. I think the dancers and singers are great, but they didn't have them every night - instead it was a comedian or some other form of entertainment - where on carnival they have the dancers and singers and they comedians and such. I enjoyed the adult shows later on. :)

 

We have been on the Explorer NUMEROUS times. This is probably one of our favorite ships and cannot wait until it goes into dry dock.

 

There is soooo much to do and the entertainment...IMO is better. IMO, the food is better also. I like all of the different stations in the buffet. On Carnival, standing on long lines is the norm. Service is great on BOTH ships. :o

 

We just got back from Hawaii....a 15 day cruise.....although I do not dislike the Splendor (even have her booked again when she comes to NY)....BUT...very little to do on this ship.

 

Carnival ship set ups are very different than RCCL ships. They do not have the promenade deck....(which makes it seem more open and spacious).

 

Are you cruising for the ship or itinerary? This can make a big difference in your decision. The Explorer, we will do again. As I said, we have the Splendor booked again, but this time, it is for the itinerary and not the ship. Good luck to you. I think you will be fine with either choice. :o

[lissa42886]

How did you like the food and how we're the planned activities? I felt they were lacking on the Enchantment or overlapped and we couldn't do the things we wanted to.

 

honestly i dont recall the food it was so long ago. i dont recall disliking anything tho. so thats a plus. and we tried to attend most activies they were great. so many options we couldnt always see everything we wanted!