What would it take to pick Carnival over Royal??

[ekatiel]

We have cruised both lines multiple times (plus Disney once). This time, DH and I were looking for a short getaway for just the two of us. We live in the Houston area. DH's time off is precious to us, so we booked the ill-fated Triumph for Oct. It is a 5 day itinerary, requiring only 3 and a half days off work for DH. AND it was only $573 TOTAL-- too good of a deal to pass up. A week on the Navigator this fall would have cost us $1378. That's an $800 difference for 2 more days. I could go on another Carnival 5 day and still have money left over for that price difference. We prefer Royal, but if the price and timing are right, we'll take Carnival. Hoping we don't have a "poop cruise"!

[DonnaK]

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

 

Turning down a free cruise may sound ridiculous at first, but there are other considerations. It is very hard for me to get time off from work, and I am not going to "waste" my vacation days on something that I don't like, or on a sub-par experience.

 

Also, if my kids (who are now young adults) are not positively occupied on a ship with plenty of age-appropriate activities instead of the "lame club" they attended on our Carnival cruise, then that's a miserable time for the whole family.

 

Also, there are associated costs with that free cruise, like getting to the port, parking, arranging for a house/pet sitter, excursions, onboard expenses, etc. I wouldn't want to invest this additional money into the Carnival vacation.

[jmak315]

dont be so hard on c. i have enjoyed them. just saying.

[CruiseFanatic407]

As a Diamond Plus Member, I am partial to RCCL, but with that being said, we have cruised on Carnaval several times as well. The biggest draw for us on Carnaval is being able to put 5 people in a cabin (us and our 3 small kids), where as RCCL you need 2 cabins or to use their cost prohibited Family cabin. Canaval offers the Quint Cabins on their Dream class ships. Enough room for all 5 of us and 2 wash areas.

[CecilCtyCruiser]

Wanted to mention that the Carnival experience can differ a lot depending on the length of the cruise. We have found the shorter cruises to be more booze or party cruises with a totally different clientele than some of the longer Carnival cruises we've taken. We've always been able to find a quiet place on deck, we enjoy the larger cabins and have had some wonderful experiences. That said, I do prefer the decor of the Royal ships and I think they offer better shore excursions.

 

 

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[BecciBoo]

For us it's not about money at all, it's about the ships and the way they are run. And after much research, the difference in money is way smaller than most think. I've even seen R's fares cheaper than C's.

It would take a complete reversal of Carnival's current image to snag us for a second cruise....until then....nothing would induce us to cruise them.

[ty&bear]

All of the Royal Caribbean ships to sink.

 

I am so with you

[petesweet]

I look at both the Carnival & Royal boards a lot. Over at the C board there is a lot of I don't cruise on R because they are $100,$200,$300 etc. /pp more expensive. The same people sometimes say they would cruise r if they were the same price. SO: Here is my question to the Royal crowd. Assuming $1,000/pp for comparable balcony cabins on comparable ships with comparable 7 day East or West itinerary, what would it take to try Carnival. (Consider cruise price only, not travel costs, loyalty benefits etc., just cruise vs. cruise).

 

 

Hope this works as I have never posted a poll.

 

Gregg

Is there such a thing as a comparable ship?

Granted, I have been only on the older Carnival ships (for various reasons - not usually by choice), but I've not heard of any Carnival ship that can hold a candle to Oasis or Allure. Open to convincing arguments.

Kathy

[George C]

My only Carnival cruise was in mid 1980's , so I quess I should give them another chance if there was a great deal, only line I will not sail is NCL

[petesweet]

We've enjoyed sailing on Carnival tremendously because we go with REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS. It's cheap, convenient for us (they are the only cruise line sailing from our two closest ports of embarkation), and we adjust our expectations accordingly. When we want a more polished experience, we dig a little deeper in our pockets and choose other cruise lines.

 

Carnival is a great way to enjoy the basic pleasures of cruising without breaking the bank. We don't go expecting beautiful decor, lavish entertainment, polished service, superb cuisine or to rub elbows with the elite. We go expecting a nice stateroom, relaxing days at sea, a few ports of call, and some basic forms of entertainment and cuisine. THAT, they deliver and deliver well.

Well said, Tapi. As I reflect on my Fantasy cruises, that describes my experience.

Happy sails.

Kathy

[printingchick]

I've cruised both lines, but as you can see from my signature, once I tried Royal, I've never looked back.

 

That said, I checked $400 less per person. I obviously LIKED my Carnival cruises, or I would not have taken SIX of them! I prefer Royal by a substantial margin, but I'm sure I'd still have a GREAT time on a Carnival cruise.

 

Thing is...I use a Royal Caribbean credit card and I'm a Crown & Anchor member. For my 2014 cruise, I saved the following:

• $650 total (cabin, not per person) discount off the regular fare for trading in credit card points. (And by booking nearly 2 years in advance, I paid $520 less PER PERSON than someone who booked today...six+ months in advance).
  
• $125 total (cabin, not per person) for a past-cruiser savings certificate.
  
• $100 OBC for applying a four-year old NextCruise certificate I'd been holding onto.
  

 

So essentially, I saved over $400 per person off the cost at the time I booked, just by being a really loyal RCL cruiser. If Carnival wasn't over $400/pp less, it would essentially cost me MORE!

 

I don't ALWAYS have such a large number of points to trade in. I haven't been able to cruise for a couple of years. So even though my spending is down, the points had a lot of time to accumulate.

 

Once you start being able to apply discounts applicable only to your chosen cruise line, it makes shopping around pretty pointless.

[Desert Cruizers]

Little Buds Mom, the question was asked,what would it take to pick Carnival over Royal, I like many others stated my reasons why I wouldn't sail Carnival. I have never driven a BMW, but wouldn't want to because I don't care for the style of the car. I have read more negatives about that line, the problems they have had and would prefer to stay with a line that has proven themselves.

[Maxiecat3]

Is there such a thing as a comparable ship?

Granted, I have been only on the older Carnival ships (for various reasons - not usually by choice), but I've not heard of any Carnival ship that can hold a candle to Oasis or Allure. Open to convincing arguments.

Kathy

 

When I made the poll I couldn't come up with anything better without getting to wordy. I was trying to let people know not to compare Oasis vs. let's say Fantasy or Majesty vs. Dream. Since I have never cruised Carnival, and somebody I am sure will correct me, I would guess the closest might be Voyager class vs. Dream class??

 

Gregg

[Desert Cruizers]

Gregg, we haven't sailed on either the Oasis or Allure, but would like to. Even though we haven't sailed on all the differant lines, we make our judgement on whether to sail one line over another or class, based upon the itinerary, price and appearance. We all choose a line over another, or even a class of ship for the matter based upon our presonal preferance. Many like Aft Cabins, mid ship, etc, this is what makes cruising so enjoying because it gives us choices based upon likes and dislikes.

[WetToes]

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' date=' is like giving a review on a ship you haven't sailed on. :rolleyes:[/quote']

 

 

Gotta love Desert Cruizers "opinion". :confused: If you've "never cruised Carnival", how the heck ... oh never mind. :rolleyes:

 

"Opinion". ... "review". Not sure they know what either means. smh

[Maxiecat3]

Gotta love Desert Cruizers "opinion". :confused: If you've "never cruised Carnival", how the heck ... oh never mind. :rolleyes:

 

"Opinion". ... "review". Not sure they know what either means. smh

 

I did not vote in my own poll, but I can see where Desert Cruizers is coming from. If I did vote, it would be Never because I didn't include a free option. As by my sig you can tell I have never been on Carnival so the response would be the same as what you asked. How come?? My brother went on 2 - not 1 - Carnival cruises before 4 Disney cruises. I asked him in the last year why not Carnival anymore, and his response was that both were so unenjoyable that if he had to take a week's vacation on Carnival or stay home, he would pick home. That is good enough for me and maybe Desert has something similar.

 

Gregg

[time4u2go]

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.

 

Huh?

[rcrdale]

I have only cruised Royal so far. I would possibly cruise Carnival for a different itinerary. But if it was going to the same places Royal was going, I would take Royal.

[Merion_Mom]

There is a big difference between RCI's big screens and Carnival's big screens. The city of Key West actually had to order Carnival ships to turn down the volume because they were getting noise complaints from nearby houses.

 

I've cruised a couple RCI ships now with the large screens and not once have I heard them blast the volume like CCL ships that pull in here.

 

The location: Cozumel

 

The setting: tied up at the pier next to a Carnival ship

 

The experience: I could hear the CCL screen blaring THROUGH MY CLOSED BALCONY DOOR.

[Desert Cruizers]

My, I didn't realize expressing ones reason for doing or not doing something would receive such responses. I am not here to argue my views, we all have our reasons why we enjoy differant cruise lines. They have been stated on these boards. Perhaps I was a bit harsh is saying they appeared to be a cheap curise lines, for that I appologize. Wet Toes, there are probably a lot of things we all have never tried, and don't care to, some will try once. I have never sailed Carnival and for my reasons, I don't wish to. I end it there and moving on.

[mommabean]

The location: Cozumel

 

The setting: tied up at the pier next to a Carnival ship

 

The experience: I could hear the CCL screen blaring THROUGH MY CLOSED BALCONY DOOR.

 

haha....I had the same experience, same port.

 

Gina

[WetToes]

I did not vote in my own poll, but I can see where Desert Cruizers is coming from. If I did vote, it would be Never because I didn't include a free option. As by my sig you can tell I have never been on Carnival so the response would be the same as what you asked. How come?? My brother went on 2 - not 1 - Carnival cruises before 4 Disney cruises. I asked him in the last year why not Carnival anymore, and his response was that both were so unenjoyable that if he had to take a week's vacation on Carnival or stay home, he would pick home. That is good enough for me and maybe Desert has something similar.

 

Gregg

 

I'm a big girl, so I'd rather make my own decisions.

I'll listen to anyone's opinion, ... If it's valid (;), but I prefer to check things out for myself.

That way my opinion may actually mean something. ;)

[Ourusualbeach]

All of the Royal Caribbean ships to sink.

 

:):):):):)

[Maxiecat3]

I'm a big girl, so I'd rather make my own decisions.

I'll listen to anyone's opinion, ... If it's valid (;), but I prefer to check things out for myself.

That way my opinion may actually mean something. ;)

 

And I a big boy that does make my own decisions. Part of that decision making is listening to other people that you trust to give feedback to make that decision easier. If my brother said he had been to a particular restaurant twice and didn't like it either time, I could very well go myself to find out because we would only be talking about being out maybe $100 if it didn't suit me. But when you are spending the kind of money a cruise costs, I am not willing to throw that amount away after hearing the opinion of 2, not 1, terrible cruise experiences.

 

Gregg

[Tapi]

Perhaps I was a bit harsh in saying they appeared to be a cheap cruise line, for that I appologize. .

 

Personally, I don't think you need to apologize. I'm a Platinum Carnival cruiser, and as much as I've enjoyed sailing on them, I don't pretend that they are something they are not. Carnival is FAR from being an upscale cruise line. They are a budget cruise line whose main goal is to make cruising affordable for everyone.

 

Budget = affordable = cheap

 

It's all the same.