Why should I switch to Carnival?

[VaTech8912]

[quote name='Georgiagolfer'][/color]

Why would anyone ever take any type of vacation and "go with low expectations"? DW and I are Platinum on both CCL and RCI, and quite frankly, I can't say that RCI is superior to CCL, and also vice versa. We cruise because we like to cruise. Some cruises have been better than others (both lines), but never have I expected my CCL cruise to be "lower" than my RCI cruise.:confused:[/quote]

Agree 100%. Very well said.

[JerseyshoreBruce]

[quote name='Jenn31708']Hubby and I are thinking or giving Carnival a try. We have only done 2 previous cruises, both on Royal Caribbean.

Can someone that has done both cruise lines before tell me the pros and cons comparing them?


Thanks! :)[/QUOTE]
[B]If your happy with RCCL i wouldn't switch......i am happy with Carnival and can't find a good enough reason to switch.....RCCL or others would have to go down in price for me to switch. I would rather cruise more often then pay more for very little difference! Stay with RCCL i hear they are good![/B]

[graphicguy]

[quote name='Georgiagolfer'][/COLOR]

Why would anyone ever take any type of vacation and "go with low expectations"? DW and I are Platinum on both CCL and RCI, and quite frankly, I can't say that RCI is superior to CCL, and also vice versa. We cruise because we like to cruise. Some cruises have been better than others (both lines), but never have I expected my CCL cruise to be "lower" than my RCI cruise.:confused:[/QUOTE]

Pretty much the same as I've experienced. Both cruise lines offer good products. Are they different? Yep....depending on which ship you sail, sometimes they're very different. But, that doesn't make one better or worse than they other.

Frankly, I've come to the conclusion that among the major carriers (CCL, NCL RCCL) spending more money does not equate to a better cruise.

Said this before, I'll say it again. Pick the itinerary that interests you most. These lines are more alike than different. If one fits your budget better than another one (and there are significant differences in fares from one line to another, one ship to another, sometimes within the same cruise line), book it.

Finally, don't let anyone make your cruise decision for you (including me;)).

[S.S.Oceanlover]

[quote name='TwinPrincessMermaids']We grew up on RCI. Our last one was Hawaii and was incredible, but I didn't even remember the name of the ship I was on, the cruise (besides ports) was not memorable. (I have since gone back in the photos, it was the Legend OTS.) Then CCL came to Mobile and it honestly was WONDERFUL, even as a 'crappy old' Holiday. We had incredible service, great food, good ports, our cabins were great. We thought CCL was BETTER than RCI, especially for food. (My husband was unhappy with RCI's bringing him a cup of broth with a chive in it...he said that isn't much more than he can make at home for soup!)

We went a few yrs later with our friends on the CCL Triumph and had one of the best cruises ever. Incredible service, Roatan was wonderful, ship was good (I keep getting lost on those , though the you can't get there from here thing and my friends still laugh at me! I get REALLY disoriented on Dramamine...) and so our whole family booked the next CCL for the COnquest last year. This was our first so-so CCL. The service was nice but slow. Otherwise the cruise was good!

This yr, the CCL dropped so much on service and product quality that my husband and I both decided we were done with CCL. I thought I was done with cruising, but a 3 day DCL cured me of that. We also have our next DCL planned for May. We can cruise 4 incredible days for the same price as our 7 day CCL Dream, and yes, for us, it is ABSOLUTELY worth it.

RCI on the other hand has not done much to interest us into coming back. We might be interested in the Allure/Oasis class (otherwise, I don't think there is much of a difference from a typical CCL ship to a typical RCI ship to be honest, but it has been 11 yrs since I cruised them...), but there is SO much nickel and diming on those ships (Oasis class), extra soda, and the cities and parks inside it make you feel like you are not really on a ship, that it doesn't really appeal to us (yet). And the prices for the RCI/Oasis classes are not that much less than DCL. Not sure what RCI will have to do to earn us back. Probably if we can ever afford to get Disney cruised out, we might go back to trying RCI, or if our friends would switch from CCL to RCI in 2015 (we already have DCl for 2014), than possibly we might. But we both agreed to give CCL some time to get their staff better trained, friendlier, and have given up on the boozey cruizey hairy chest/bean bag toss/trivia boats for now...

RCi came in 2nd in a customer service satisfaction survey this year. CCL came in dead last. You probably already know who came in first. This appears to be the same for us. #1 is number 1! Number 2, maybe when we get sick of number 1, and number 7 CCL is dead last at the bottom...[/QUOTE]

Im not sure why you put the nickel and diming comment in your response when comparing RCI and CCL and just mentioning soda on RCI ships as both charge for that.

Of course DCL is free but you pay for that with the higher prices.

Bill

[Misnco]

We have been on Royal, NCL and Carnival, so we have a good idea of each of the pros and cons of each cruise line (which they all have good points and bad points).

We love Royal, great ships and crew. NCL is good...nothing stands out good or bad.

We have been on Carnival twice, the first time was on the Splendor in 2010 to the Mexican Riviera. The crew did not seem happy and the ship reflected their attitude. The embarkation and disembarkation was a total nightmare and it took hours, the food was sub par and unfortunately we decided not to sail on Carnival again. Until, Carnival decided to sail to the Baltics. The price was amazing the ports incredible. We booked the Baltics on the Legend. We Dover on August 20, 2013. Absolutely, loved the Carnival Legend, its crew, the ports, the entertainment and the food was good, not great but very good some nights. Because of our experience on the Legend, we will said with Carnival again.

Happy sailing, Carol

[Jimmy Geegitz]

Splendor doesn't impress me either. I think you sailed a bad ship. Legend is awesome.

[Misnco]

The Legend is our favorite ship, followed by Royal's Jewel.

Carol

[janetz]

[SIZE=3]Legend was our one and only Carnival. ( 2007) My opinion, the ship was over the top ugly, service was fine. One show..."boring" ship. [/SIZE]

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

[quote name='S.S.Oceanlover']Im not sure why you put the nickel and diming comment in your response when comparing RCI and CCL and just mentioning soda on RCI ships as both charge for that.

Of course DCL is free but you pay for that with the higher prices.

Bill[/QUOTE]

That was more comparing RCIs fares with DCL.

RCIs oasis class still seem to nickel and dime (a lot of food venues and emtertainment for instance, not just upscale dining) worse and yet their fares can be comparable to DC fares which are more inclusive.). CCL has plenty of it too but at least they are cheap. Its basically just saying that RCI hasn't interested us enough instead and the OP seems somewhat disinterested in RCI. Just general statements is all.


Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Forums mobile app

[vlynn]

I've been on both and as my signature shows will be cruising on both next year. I think that they are more alike than different. We love cruising out of Baltimore and RCI has great ports in the Winter. Carnival only goes to the Bahamas during the winter months so I will only book if the price is right.

[matt87]

well i've done a few of both lines. i like carnival better overall. with RCI you pay to be on those big ships. i still like carnival food better too. things to do on ccl need improvement. i see your from NY so looks like the spledor for you if you choose to leave from your home state. i didnt like that ship at all. good food and crew but the ship is awful. didnt care for the decor or upper pool deck layout. way to cluttered.

[seatdriver]

[quote name='Jenn31708']Hubby and I are thinking or giving Carnival a try. We have only done 2 previous cruises, both on Royal Caribbean.

Can someone that has done both cruise lines before tell me the pros and cons comparing them?


Thanks! :)[/quote]
Hi, I haven't cruised on either yet but doing our first Carnival cruise this coming January out of Galveston TX. This is going to be a heck of journey as we are in the UK but we are really excited. I have joined the Carnival Magic roll call and there are lots of people with lots of great advice. Im personally not into the "posh nosh" and white gloves as I just enjoy food be that good old fashioned english fish and chips to 7 course meal on a cruise ship. I have cruised on P&O and had a ball and also on Costa loving every minutre of my holiday. Can't wait to get on Magic and experience the Carnival way. Im sure it will be diffrent to my other two cruises but now I have the "bug" I intend to go on as many ships and different lines as possible! After all variety is the spice of life!
Do enjoy, whatever you decide to do! :D

[GRANNYOFSIX]

[B]Each cruise line has so much to offer - individually - we have only cruised on Carnival and Royal We enjoy both lines as different or as the same as they are!!!!! We felt loyal to Carnival for many years........then tried Royal and stayed mostly with them......now I feel so good being able to choose which ever line we want knowing we will have a wonderful time no matter which line we choose...........We don't like to compare but try to enjoy what is being offered..............we are very happy with inside cabins. We do compare the size of the cabins with Carnival. Carnival's inside are 185 sq. ft. which are nice size............HAPPY CRUISING...........:) Our next cruise in October is on Carnival and our May 2014 cruise in on Royal............[/B]

[JerseyshoreBruce]

[quote name='GRANNYOFSIX'][B]Each cruise line has so much to offer - individually - we have only cruised on Carnival and Royal We enjoy both lines as different or as the same as they are!!!!! We felt loyal to Carnival for many years........then tried Royal and stayed mostly with them......now I feel so good being able to choose which ever line we want knowing we will have a wonderful time no matter which line we choose...........We don't like to compare but try to enjoy what is being offered..............we are very happy with inside cabins. We do compare the size of the cabins with Carnival. Carnival's inside are 185 sq. ft. which are nice size............HAPPY CRUISING...........:) Our next cruise in October is on Carnival and our May 2014 cruise in on Royal............[/B][/QUOTE]

[B]Enjoy your cruise's....all of them....you are a true lover of cruising....I agree with your statement 100% :)[/B]

[graphicguy]

[quote name='GRANNYOFSIX'][B]Each cruise line has so much to offer - individually - we have only cruised on Carnival and Royal We enjoy both lines as different or as the same as they are!!!!! We felt loyal to Carnival for many years........then tried Royal and stayed mostly with them......now I feel so good being able to choose which ever line we want knowing we will have a wonderful time no matter which line we choose...........We don't like to compare but try to enjoy what is being offered..............we are very happy with inside cabins. We do compare the size of the cabins with Carnival. Carnival's inside are 185 sq. ft. which are nice size............HAPPY CRUISING...........:) Our next cruise in October is on Carnival and our May 2014 cruise in on Royal............[/B][/QUOTE]

Agreed.

Around here, you're always going to hear "I'll never cruise Royal Caribbean again, or I'll never cruise Norwegian Cruise Line again, ro I'll never cruise Disney again, or I'll never cruise Carnival again., etc"

I used to listen to all of that, until I finally quit reading about them. I'll cruise any line that has the itinerary or price that fits what I'm looking for.

Bottom line, all of these cruise lines are more similar than different. Cruise what you want for the reasons that fit you best.