What would it take to pick Carnival over Royal??

[yj2cute]

I hate to be the one to tell you but RCI is adding these big screen TV's to their ships too.

 

 

Yes, but the way RCCL does it is more enjoyable. During the early morning, the screen is displaying various nature scenes and is QUIET. When not broadcasting something specific, the screen displays images with no sound, which make tons more sense.

[Tapi]

Yes, but the way RCCL does it is more enjoyable. During the early morning, the screen is displaying various nature scenes and is QUIET. When not broadcasting something specific, the screen displays images with no sound, which make tons more sense.

 

I do avoid the main pool withe the big screen on Carnival ships like the plague specifically because of what they show. Sitting by the pool, watching Justin Bieber or 50-Cent videos, with music blasting at deafening levels is not my idea of relaxing at sea.

[yj2cute]

I do avoid the main pool withe the big screen on Carnival ships like the plague specifically because of what they show. Sitting by the pool, watching Justin Bieber or 50-Cent videos, with music blasting at deafening levels is not my idea of relaxing at sea.

 

Ugh, that sounds like torture. Precisely one reason why I would NEVER choose CCL OVER Royal simply because of price.

[AXiDMonica]

I'm on the other side of the fence... I have sailed Royal twice, once in 2005 and again just last month. I don't "hate" it but it's not my first choice and I would pick CCL over Royal every time. I think it has a lot to do with what you are used to.

 

Some of you have stated that you wouldn't try CCL even if it were free. I think once you've cruised one line a number of times you build an expection in your mind of what cruising is "supposed to be" and if you deviate from that it's like "ruining your vacation" ... No one wants to spend money and their one week of vacay to be disappointed.

 

While RCCL has BEAUTIFUL (absolutely, postively GORGEOUS) ships to me it's not the same cruising experience I know and love. They have a lot of nice things onboard but small details on the Oasis for example made me miss CCL. I'll give you examples:

 

- cabin size, this room felt a bit cramped

- closet/drawer space was reduced

- no beach towels in our room (having to schlep up to the pool deck to switch them out was a pain -- call me lazy lol)

- no bathrobes in our cabin (we use them for the spa)

- the spa (we bought the week pass) was not on par wth the spa experience on the Carnival Breeze

- there were no morning mimosa specials (I take FULL advantage of this on CCL)

- Towel animals were scarce (I know, I know... but this is my tradition for pictures every night)

- no chocolates on the pillow (my husband actually really enjoys those lol)

- room service was not complementary after midnight (I usually get cookies and a soda every night before bed)

- Pizza was not 24 hours (3:00am was okay most nights but sometmes you want pizza at 4! :rolleyes:)

 

All of these things might seem petty to some, but to me this is what I have come to expect on a cruise. While RCCLs experience is out of this world I feel like there is too much going on and the "cruising" feeling is lost.

 

To each their own right? :)

[Desert Cruizers]

Never cruised Carnival and have no interest to do so. For us Royal or even Princess has provided a more elequant feel and service. Carnival gives us the feeling of a cheap way of cruising. This is just our opinion.

[xeriod]

"What would it take to pick Carnival over Royal??"

 

A gun to my head

[Aquahound]

Yes, but the way RCCL does it is more enjoyable. During the early morning, the screen is displaying various nature scenes and is QUIET. When not broadcasting something specific, the screen displays images with no sound, which make tons more sense.

 

Aint that the truth! I'll take these tranquil sea, sky and landscapes any day over Bieber!

 

 

[yj2cute]

Aint that the truth! I'll take thes tranquil sea, sky and landscapes anyday over Bieber!

 

 

 

Absolutely, Paul! And don't forget 50 cents! :rolleyes:

[Aquahound]

Absolutely, Paul! And don't forget 50 cents! :rolleyes:

 

Oh, gawd! 50 Cent and Bieber. And people wonder why CCL went through a bad period with a bunch of man-overboards. They didn't fall. They were jumping! :D

[LittleBud'sMom]

Never cruised Carnival and have no interest to do so. For us Royal or even Princess has provided a more elequant feel and service. Carnival gives us the feeling of a cheap way of cruising. This is just our opinion.

 

For someone to bash Carnival without sailing on the line, is like giving a review on a ship you haven't sailed on. :rolleyes:

[meatloafsfan]

I didn't vote because my reasoning isn't an option.

 

I like Carnival - truthfully, I like Carnival more than RCCL (yes, I expect to get flamed here for saying that).

 

My issue is that they do not separate out their handicapped accessible cabins from their regular cabins. It makes it very difficult to book for those who need the HA cabins and leads to more non-handicapped passengers booking HA cabins out of ignorance because they don't even know that they are booking a HA cabin when doing an online booking (they get that cute little message that they could be moved - they won't be though).

 

For RCCL, I can go to their website, play around with dates and ships and find a decent priced cruise in a HA cabin that works for us.

 

Thats why I selected the Explorer of the Seas for next February (and last February) despite the fact that I prefer the food, cabins and entertainment more on Carnival.

[Toddcan]

I'm not sure if people are just be Sensational (no pun intended), or live in a Fantasy (no pun inteded) world, but if a Miracle (no pun intended) happened, and I was offered a FREE Carnival cruise, there would be a Celebration (no pun intended), and I would TAKE IT!

 

Turning down a FREE cruise if it were offered? Either you have too much Pride (no pun intended), or your expection of Paradise (no pun intended) is just a little too high.

 

:D

[LMaxwell]

I live local to Port Everglades, which means Tampa, Port Canaveral, and Miami are all within driving distance. I like the RCI experience and feel. If I could get a screaming deal on a 3 day Carnival cruise, almost to the point that it was cheaper than staying home, I would give it a shot. I went in the mid 1990's but don't have much of a memory.

 

I wouldn't want to risk significant money or a week of time to not enjoy the experience, but I also will not say that I would never go. It would just have to be a really inexpensive trial for a weekend getaway.

[lrn2cruise]

Being a Texan, I will throw in my 2 cents and I hope RC reads this too.

 

There is the Carnival Magic now in Galveston. It is a new and updated ship. One of the itineraries goes to the Bahamas and Key West. This is what would get me on Carnival, the location without flying, the different intinerary.

 

I think there is a market for short cruises from Galveston besides the pathetic Carnival Triumph. Carnival could not pay me to go on that ship. I saw that The Navigator is taking a 5 day out of Galveston on Feb 5 2014, but I think it is a charter. I wish they would do a 4 and 5 day out of Galveston without having to get on a Carnival ship.

 

Disney also has a cool itinerary out of Galveston. It stops in Port Canaveral for a day at Disney. (a bit of a hijack)

 

Hint hint RC on the 4 and 5 day!!!!!!;)

[Big_G]

We have never been on a cruise that we didn't enjoy. That said, at the end of our Destiny cruise we felt that Carnival would have to do better in order for us to return. As others have said, the blasting outdoor videos was a big factor but we also thought that the ships design was a tad bizarre. Our cabin was forward on deck 9 and we had to negotiate this funnel to get to the buffet and what's up with the upstairs downstairs to get to the dining room? I would never say never :D but for now we're happier with Royal and Celebrity.

[Tapi]

As mentioned before, we've had a good time on Carnival, but that is because we know what to expect,

 

Since we know about the loud videos by the main pool, we avoid the area during most of the cruise (literally, we just walk through the area if we are going from the atrium to the lido buffet).

 

We know where the quiet spots are and we stick to them.

 

We know that the music trio normally plays soft music at the atrium in the afternoons and we make it a tradition to enjoy drinks there at that time.

 

We've learned to treat ourselves to at least one night at their Steakhouse (truly superb and better than anything we've experienced on other cruise lines).

 

We avoid the hairy chest contest or other silly games that don't contribute one bit of worth-while entertainment.

 

We've learned to enjoy the aft pool and hot tubs as soon as they open in the morning, when we have the entire area to ourselves.

 

Lower prices mean getting a better stateroom than what we normally book on Royal. This means another spot to enjoy the cruise away from the crowds.

 

So, no we don't consider Carnival to be better than Royal, but when we choose to cruise on them, we know what to do to maximize our enjoyment. Once again, its all about expectations.

[SWManiac]

All of the Royal Caribbean ships to sink.

 

This!! ;)

[hellsop]

Carnival decided they didn't want our 50+ group six weeks after establishing the reservation because they were a "family-oriented vacation". Our group? 50 friend that happen to like dressing in dark colors and listening to stompy music. They can go rot, for all I care.

[Toddcan]

Carnival decided they didn't want our 50+ group six weeks after establishing the reservation because they were a "family-oriented vacation". Our group? 50 friend that happen to like dressing in dark colors and listening to stompy music. They can go rot, for all I care.

 

Did RCI take your group? Is that the cruise in 2 days?

[Jimnbigd]

...I know this is my fault, but there are a few things on the RCI that I've come to enjoy - the Solarium, the Promenade, and Quest. I would really miss those - and I have no idea if Carnival has the equivilant.

On only one of my Carnival cruises (Ecstasy) , I had the Quest game. It was very similar to RCI's. I don't know why Carnival does not have this always. It would seem to fit Carnival. I remember seeing some youtube videos of the quest on Disney cruises -- now that to me is unexpected for Disney.

 

I would cruise Carnival if the price were cheap enough, but my wife won't.

[greygoose66]

We also sailed Carnival Miracle out of NY for the holiday cruise last year as Explorer was booked up. Hate to tell ya the produst was nothing like I've read here. Food was EXCELLENT!!! far better than RCCL, maybe we were lucky. The variety was not as grand as RCCL but the quality was a cut above. The Chef's table was an awesome experience not to be missed. The ship overall was.... cramped, my wife didn't like the layout, low ceilings, color etc... My Children 17 & 15 were a little bored with the lack of age appropriate activities. No live music by the pools was missed, but the comedy shows were actually pretty good and the Casino was lively and actually kept you entertained without buying the cruise twice. Smoking policy is far more restrictive than RCCL, if you smoke as I do there are very few places to do so. Staff was excellent, security was on the ball, we didn't see as many loud "drunk" people on Miracle as I've seen on RCCL. Even without a curfew the kids aboard were much better behaved than the RCCL cruises we have been on. Carnival does lack kid activities like O2 on RCCL, the teen venues were opened on a very limited basis and not well staffed. We had two ocean suites (joining) for 1500.00 less than two d3 balconies on Explorer. I will say Carnival treats ALL cruisers the same, there is no Entitlement attitudes, Diamond lounge... Concierge lounge or other air of superiority perks offered. Overall the cruise was the same "gutter" itenerary..... port canaveral, bahamas, close to the warm weather just not quite there. I probably wont be back any time soon as we always enjoy sailing with RCCL, but if the dates fit and I can't book RCCL I wouldn't hesitate cruising Carnival again.

[BillOh]

I'm not sure if people are just be Sensational (no pun intended), or live in a Fantasy (no pun inteded) world, but if a Miracle (no pun intended) happened, and I was offered a FREE Carnival cruise, there would be a Celebration (no pun intended), and I would TAKE IT!

 

Turning down a FREE cruise if it were offered? Either you have too much Pride (no pun intended), or your expection of Paradise (no pun intended) is just a little too high.

 

:D

 

I'm questioning your intentions your Majesty - Pun fully intended. I love the Allure and Freedom of a cruise. While I've never been on Carnival, I've heard Royal is a Quantam leap ahead. Puns fully intended.

[Lazirus65]

I cruise for the itineraries so would not rule Carnival out.

[ace1zoe2]

Being a Texan, I will throw in my 2 cents and I hope RC reads this too.

 

I think there is a market for short cruises from Galveston besides the pathetic Carnival Triumph. Carnival could not pay me to go on that ship. I saw that The Navigator is taking a 5 day out of Galveston on Feb 5 2014, but I think it is a charter. I wish they would do a 4 and 5 day out of Galveston without having to get on a Carnival ship.

 

Hint hint RC on the 4 and 5 day!!!!!!;)

 

We are booked on the 4 night Navigator on 2/5/14. Also being from Texas, we jumped on this 4 night as RCI has never offered one from Texas before (to my knowledge). This is the first cruise after dry dock and is NOT a chartered cruise. It is however almost sold out with only inside cabins left available.

 

I agree that if they would do short 3-4-5 day alternating itineraries they would continue to sell out as the port is within driving distance for so many in TX/OK/LA.

[halos]

we are d+ but hop on a carnival ship when the price is right...

We recognize the demogrpahics are different.

We recognize the menus are different.

We recognize we will not see live music by the pool.

 

We recognize there are differences...but will pay for a royal cruise without reservation.

 

Nothing negative about carnival, just that they are different.

+1!