Carnival vs Rccl

[bearette]

I did a cruise on carnival in December when my twins were 9 months old and then just got off the Navigator of the seas where my twins turned one (right after we got of. ) I thought for anyone considering both lines you might want to see my comparisons.

 

Food

Both had high chairs readily available but make sure you check for the seat belts since sometimes they would try to give me one without it. Both lines were great with the kids. Picking up dropped items and having high chairs ready at dinner when we arrived. Carnival would not purée any food for our kids but Rccl would. I would just specify what you wanted puréed since sometimes my son wouldn't eat it. ( the fruit sometimes had pineapple and other items my son was not used to.)

 

Diapers

both were good about taking the trash- diapers and all. Unfortunately there were no diaper changing stations on either line( though on the allure etc I hear they have them). On Rccl they had a vanity area that was big enough for me to change my kids in some of the bathrooms, particularly the one by the Nutcracker dinning room and ice skating rink.

 

Room

We had a balcony on carnival and a ocean view on Rccl. I think my babies preferred the window since they could climb onto the window sill and pat the window. I also have some great pictures of this. Your budget more then your babies will determine which works for you.

 

Cribs.

Rccl uses pack in plays by graco which I preferred over the white cribs used by carnival. The pack and plays could be collapsed during the day so we had more more. Also my babies would stick their arms or legs out of the white cribs so I would have to adjust them for my sanity.

 

Not a line thing but the Tub- I got a blow up tub to use on carnival but I found it annoying to have it dry in the room. On Rccl we just took them in the shower with us cleaned them off then passed them to the other parent. We found it easier then messing with and bringing the tub.

 

Staff

Both lines were great about helping With the babies. On both lines I was assisted while holding the baby and pushing a stroller. They were more then happy to push my stroller, which I thought was great since I would say I didn't need help, but it was so much Easier when I accepted the help. The staff on both lines were wonderful.

Staff will show you pictures of their babies and engage you in conversations about yours- which depending on what we were doing was great or annoying. Plan on getting attention with a baby. With twins we get more attention then most but even if we had one baby ( while the other was with the grandparents) we got a lot of attention. This also means you get a Loy of help. Both lines get an A+ for service.

 

Activities

My kids love music and dancing so those shows were a big hit but Rccl gets a bonus for the ice show. My son jumped and my daughter clapped through the whole show so I knew they loved it.

Carnival doesn't have anything for the 0-under 3 set but Rccl has play time ( you have to stay) with toys. They also do a toy exchange and though we talked about it we never used it. The toy exchange allows you to check out toys and return it later in the cruise. If they get bored with the toys you can return the bag for a new set of toys.

 

Overall

We tend to like Rccl more anyway but after trying both I give the edge to Rccl. If the price was right I would do carnival, but a few of the little things I liked more on Rccl. Feel free to ask any questions.

[lastminutemama]

Thanks for the reviews. I've been debating between these two lines all week and just stressing out about it. We're trying to do a last minute with my two year old.