Loyals to Royal: What would it take for you to sail on Carnival?

[sandy toes]

I LOVE Royal and do sail with her more than any other line but I am top or near top with 3 lines and do enjoy the variety of itineraries that are available...that is how our cruise counts grew on other lines. It is nice to have options and not be "forced' to revisit the same-ole' same-ole' cruise after cruise. There are some things I will only do with Royal...my December holiday time is booked only with Royal. When you bring family together you want the very best for everyone and only Royal offers that kind of packaged deal!!! I hope Royal never changes her December offerings for the family...and every January, I sit back and thank Royal in a nice letter, for our wonderful time spent with her.

[dplusd]

the customer service on RCCl is second to none. Wouldn't change.

 

While I like RCCL a lot, this statement just isn't true in my opinion.

 

It would be unfair to compare RCCL to a luxury line, not really a fair comparison. But, of the mainstream cruiselines, I wonder if Folk Singer has ever sailed Celebrity or Princess, or in a suite on NCL! I would rate Celebrity tops in customer service and Princess and Royal Caribbean somewhere below that. I have not sailed HAL but from what I read, they would be right up there with RCCL or better.

[Lionesss]

mmmmmmmmmmmmm

1. Bump up my loyalty level.

2. Free cruise

3. Comparable suite perks, or better.

4. BIG ships

other than that not much.:D

Sea Ya

[bigeagle12]

While I like RCCL a lot, this statement just isn't true in my opinion.

 

It would be unfair to compare RCCL to a luxury line, not really a fair comparison. But, of the mainstream cruiselines, I wonder if Folk Singer has ever sailed Celebrity or Princess, or in a suite on NCL! I would rate Celebrity tops in customer service and Princess and Royal Caribbean somewhere below that. I have not sailed HAL but from what I read, they would be right up there with RCCL or better.

 

I would rank RCI and Princess equal and HAL a notch above ... but do not plan to cruise on HAL again before my 70th or 80th birthday.

[kristinp36]

At one time we were loyal to RC but have sailed RC, Carnival & HAL. I like the variety of different cruise lines and ships. Our last cruise on RC was on the Allure. We had the worst customer service we have ever experienced on a cruise. The ship was amazing & the shows were fabulous but we had several issues that seemed too difficult to solve with a visit to CS. We rarely have to visit CS on any cruise.

 

We are not partiers but enjoy cruising Carnival just as much as RC. In fact we have a B2B booked on Carnival in Nov. And I will have a fabulous time!

 

FYI- I am not a low-class person because I cruise Carnival. Those assumptions are not very classy from those that are making them on this board. I have experienced very rude obnoxious people just as frequently on RC as I have on Carnival.

[SilkySal]

First cruise was on American-Hawaii Cruises (no longer there, may have merged). Have only cruised on NCL (below par) and Princess (small but ok) and RCCL. RCCL, I feel, is far superior in all categories, especially service!;) We continue to enjoy great service with RCCL and we are only close to reaching Emerald level; hope to be Diamond someday! I would give Carnival a try if was offered a free (7+ night) cruise but that will be the only way, since I've heard tooooooo many negative things about them!:eek: Thank you RCCL for excellent service!

[JohnSnowGOT]

WE have been on several cruises with RC....we stayed with RC to achieve loyalty points and love the product. But Honestly, Of our 3 all time top good time cruises............one of them was on the Carnival Spirit. I like the familiar so I stay with RC. I would do Carnival if someone paid for it.....NOt because Carnival is bad..........it's not.........

[dplusd]

We took a short (5-day) cruise on Carnival Triumph from the port of Galveston which we can drive to. Their balcony price was very good and total vacation cost was quite low due to driving to port and no expensive pre-cruise hotels. That is why we booked it in the first place and we will probably do it again.

 

In fairness, the Triumph is not one of Carnival's best ships, but it was still a very nice vacation. The view from your balcony is pretty much the same no mater what ship you are on! I was happy...

 

There were some things we actually liked better on Carnival. We wore shorts to the MDR each night and loved it...very laid-back and relaxing. Their Warm Chocolate Melting Cake is to die for! We thought the MDR food was a bit better than Royal, but it's hard to make a general statement from just five nights on board! We also thought Carnival's buffet was very good and really loved their deli and wok stations.

 

Carnival is not my favorite cruise line, but I think they get a bad rap on the RCCL board. They are much more similar than different. I just can understand someone who "loves" RCCL, but hates Carnival. Really? They are just not that different.

[ravenraisin]

First I love RCI. That said if I were to return to Carnival lines it would have to be for better entertainment, better food, better music, nicer accomodations and double points for higher level rooms.

[cruisetrail]

Cruising with the only cruise line? :eek:

How limited and bland my cruise life would be if I do so.

Nope.

I cruise and will cruise with all cruise lines.

As usual, one cruise line vs another is a "lazy" question and makes little sense unless particular ships are mentioned.

Of course Carnival has no ships to compare with the Oasis OTS or Liberty OTS.

But the Carnival Breeze vs one of those small 15 years old RCI ships - no doubts. :)

 

Carnival has a few ships that are doable if the price is right.

 

I voted for #1.

[Nyrina4life]

Cruising appeals to a varied demographic of people including elderly folks who bring their medical issues with them. It is not uncommon for a ship to have someone pass away during a cruise. It is a little unfair to hold that against Carnival.

 

So true! I think I watched a show on Discovery (fit?) and they had a Doctor aboard one of the ships who talked about her experiences. This was mentioned.

 

Death is common amongst a world of billions. The ships will do their best to keep it quiet.

 

 

Also...

 

FYI- I am not a low-class person because I cruise Carnival. Those assumptions are not very classy from those that are making them on this board. I have experienced very rude obnoxious people just as frequently on RC as I have on Carnival.

 

I hope you didn't get the impression from what I said in my original post. I just went on a few pictures I had seen at the time. My parents went on a CCL ship for their anniversary and had a fabulous time. The only thing they disliked was the people that were constantly drunk.

 

In the end, it shouldn't matter price wise, what should always matter is whether or not it was fun and enjoyable because we all deserve to escape the hectic stresses of everyday life. That being said, I still don't believe I will ever step foot on a CCL ship just because neither of us are party goers, and if we ever wanted another cruise line to experience it would be Disney.

[Desertbelle]

We have cruised on Carnival twice and there is not anything specific that makes us not want to go back, it is more of an overall experience/feeling that keeps us away from Carnival.

 

We have had wonderful cruises with Royal (and Celebrity, our other favorite) and the Royal cruise "fits" us best. We love the look and feel of the ships, we like how we are treated by the staff, the activities suit our needs, and we like the variety available those times we want to try something different.

 

And now that we are Diamond members of Royal, there is even more incentive to stick with Royal. We use the balcony discount, we use many of the Diamond coupons and we enjoy those free drinks before dinner.

[tillydog]

We only get Royal Caribbean ships (Rhapsody, Radiance and Voyager) during our Summer. I do believe that Rhapsody is due here very soon, then followed by Radiance and Voyager will be here in November.

 

Carnival Spirit is now based here year round and Carnival Legend will be joining her in exactly 1 year (September 24 2014) for our Summer season.

 

Have been considering a Winter season cruise on Spirit, but only because we dont have any RCI ships here year round.

[Folk Singer]

We would sail with them if their loyalty program was better. It's hard to give up the free drinking in the concierge lounge for 3 1/2 hours.

 

great perk.;);)

[Sinppu]

Haven't sailed Carnival yet.

Have no intention to.

 

If they however offered us a free cruise with an itinerary that we'd planned ourselves along with free airfare, free pre- and post-cruise hotels and about $300 OBC, I'd be willing to try them.

 

My prejudice is based on the constant flow of crappy (pun intended!!) news from Carnival and underlined below:

 

 

It's that we had a horrible experience on Carnival Miracle, and once is enough for us.

We consider Carnival sub-par based on our previous experience and the reviews of people we trust.

 

I know and trust DonnaK. If she hates it, she has a point.

[Folk Singer]

Haven't sailed Carnival yet.

Have no intention to.

 

If they however offered us a free cruise with an itinerary that we'd planned ourselves along with free airfare, free pre- and post-cruise hotels and about $300 OBC, I'd be willing to try them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I know and trust DonnaK. If she hates it, she has a point.

 

lol:):) count me in.

[Azamazingal]

Like others, it is the loyalty scheme (free drink and wi-fi) that takes us back to RCI more often than not. Have done Azamara and Cunard which are better, but usually more expensive, and a couple of others which are not. But, given the choice, I would rather book with RCI taking all their perks than start again with any other standard cruise line getting only the basics.

[MKESail]

I've been wanting to do the Mexican Riviera cruise (with Cabo and PV) for ages and RCI is not doing those anymore, so when I went last year I had to do Carnival. Now that I've experienced it, I can definitely say - getting a free cruise would be the ONLY reason I would ever sail Carnival again - I am SOOOO back to sailing RCI!!!! :)

[egh170]

We would not sail Carnival even if Royal went out of business. We would find something else but not Carnival.

[snownyet]

We dont particularly mind what cruise line we're on or shop based on cost alone. We budget $10k/yr for vacations and choose mostly based on schedules and iteneraries, we've sailed Royal, HAL, Princess and Carnival and like them all for different reasons but the bottom line is, the quality of our vacation is created by US, not the cruise line. However, after reading 5 pages, Im glad some of you snooty sounding people wont be sailing on Carnival with us this weekend. For what its worth, the most disgusting meal thats ever touched my lips was on a Royal ship and one of the best was on a Carnival ship. Are Royals ships nicer? Do they have better entertianment? Yep, but it isnt always about the ship, for us its often about where it takes us and carnival offers a lower price to take me to the same places along with cheaper drinks and in our opinion better food.

[teajak]

We would not sail Carnival even if Royal went out of business. We would find something else but not Carnival.

Couldn't have said it better, we totally agree.

[qwerty119]

We dont particularly mind what cruise line we're on or shop based on cost alone. We budget $10k/yr for vacations and choose mostly based on schedules and iteneraries, we've sailed Royal, HAL, Princess and Carnival and like them all for different reasons but the bottom line is, the quality of our vacation is created by US, not the cruise line. However, after reading 5 pages, Im glad some of you snooty sounding people wont be sailing on Carnival with us this weekend. For what its worth, the most disgusting meal thats ever touched my lips was on a Royal ship and one of the best was on a Carnival ship.

 

Couldn't have said it better, I totally agree.

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

but the bottom line is, the quality of our vacation is created by US, not the cruise line. However, after reading 5 pages, Im glad some of you snooty sounding people wont be sailing on Carnival with us this weekend. For what its worth, the most disgusting meal thats ever touched my lips was on a Royal ship and one of the best was on a Carnival ship. Are Royals ships nicer? Do they have better entertianment? Yep, but it isnt always about the ship, for us its often about where it takes us and carnival offers a lower price to take me to the same places along with cheaper drinks and in our opinion better food.

 

I wish I could say the same. But then again, it's evidently up to me to make the trip good, perhaps to make sure my own water is filled in the MDR, or even pour my own breakfast coffee off the beverage stand in the MDR since no one was around, or its on us to take dessert to go and dash up to comedy or we miss it, or that the only time we saw our room steward, he was asking for more tips, or the CMs screaming at each other in the buffet, no coffee cups in the buffet and then when they come, no coffee left and have to wait again for it to be made, endless lines for omelets, buffet, pizza, even self service ice cream, non stop bingo sales before all the shows, in-your-face desperate photographers heckling you while you are running to dinner, and I could still say more...

 

The reality is that not all things are up to 'YOU', or 'what you make it' etc. Crappy unfriendly service isn't something we could ignore as it was everywhere. Its not that we are hoity toity. They used to have a good product. This year was bad enough that I may never go on another CCL (but maybe in 5 years they will improve their brand, I do hope so because I used to like them), and I wouldn't take a free one either (because it would cost too much). Not when there are other cruise lines that I can pay the same, have incredible inclusive value, entertainment and service, and maybe I have to cruise a few less days to pay the same as a 7 Day CCL, but its sooo worth it. The sad thing is that CCL did have better food than RCI, that's true. But they are so lacking in so many other categories that our family has agreed and moved on after 3 annual CCLs in a row and having gold status.

 

Sorry if I singled this comment out, but it irritates me when people basically infer that its up to you to have a great cruise, which to me infers that it is our fault if it was a crappy cruise. We never pitched a fit and weren't overly chatty (they didn't even give us their names) with our servers, we werne't hard to please. This seriously was not our fault... The cruise was not good. The islands were great, but they are the same islands everyone's goes to (exception is Roatan, which is WONDERFUL) and its not worth it to be shushed by your waiter when all you would like is a cup of hot tea...

[evelyn51]

I wish I could say the same. But then again, it's evidently up to me to make the trip good, perhaps to make sure my own water is filled in the MDR, or even pour my own breakfast coffee off the beverage stand in the MDR since no one was around, or its on us to take dessert to go and dash up to comedy or we miss it, or that the only time we saw our room steward, he was asking for more tips, or the CMs screaming at each other in the buffet, no coffee cups in the buffet and then when they come, no coffee left and have to wait again for it to be made, endless lines for omelets, buffet, pizza, even self service ice cream, non stop bingo sales before all the shows, in-your-face desperate photographers heckling you while you are running to dinner, and I could still say more...

 

The reality is that not all things are up to 'YOU', or 'what you make it' etc. Crappy unfriendly service isn't something we could ignore as it was everywhere. Its not that we are hoity toity. They used to have a good product. This year was bad enough that I may never go on another CCL (but maybe in 5 years they will improve their brand, I do hope so because I used to like them), and I wouldn't take a free one either (because it would cost too much). Not when there are other cruise lines that I can pay the same, have incredible inclusive value, entertainment and service, and maybe I have to cruise a few less days to pay the same as a 7 Day CCL, but its sooo worth it. The sad thing is that CCL did have better food than RCI, that's true. But they are so lacking in so many other categories that our family has agreed and moved on after 3 annual CCLs in a row and having gold status.

 

Sorry if I singled this comment out, but it irritates me when people basically infer that its up to you to have a great cruise, which to me infers that it is our fault if it was a crappy cruise. We never pitched a fit and weren't overly chatty (they didn't even give us their names) with our servers, we werne't hard to please. This seriously was not our fault... The cruise was not good. The islands were great, but they are the same islands everyone's goes to (exception is Roatan, which is WONDERFUL) and its not worth it to be shushed by your waiter when all you would like is a cup of hot tea...

 

 

Well said and reasonable. :)

[snownyet]

I wish I could say the same. But then again, it's evidently up to me to make the trip good, perhaps to make sure my own water is filled in the MDR, or even pour my own breakfast coffee off the beverage stand in the MDR since no one was around, or its on us to take dessert to go and dash up to comedy or we miss it, or that the only time we saw our room steward, he was asking for more tips, or the CMs screaming at each other in the buffet, no coffee cups in the buffet and then when they come, no coffee left and have to wait again for it to be made, endless lines for omelets, buffet, pizza, even self service ice cream, non stop bingo sales before all the shows, in-your-face desperate photographers heckling you while you are running to dinner, and I could still say more...

 

The reality is that not all things are up to 'YOU', or 'what you make it' etc. Crappy unfriendly service isn't something we could ignore as it was everywhere. Its not that we are hoity toity. They used to have a good product. This year was bad enough that I may never go on another CCL (but maybe in 5 years they will improve their brand, I do hope so because I used to like them), and I wouldn't take a free one either (because it would cost too much). Not when there are other cruise lines that I can pay the same, have incredible inclusive value, entertainment and service, and maybe I have to cruise a few less days to pay the same as a 7 Day CCL, but its sooo worth it. The sad thing is that CCL did have better food than RCI, that's true. But they are so lacking in so many other categories that our family has agreed and moved on after 3 annual CCLs in a row and having gold status.

 

Sorry if I singled this comment out, but it irritates me when people basically infer that its up to you to have a great cruise, which to me infers that it is our fault if it was a crappy cruise. We never pitched a fit and weren't overly chatty (they didn't even give us their names) with our servers, we werne't hard to please. This seriously was not our fault... The cruise was not good. The islands were great, but they are the same islands everyone's goes to (exception is Roatan, which is WONDERFUL) and its not worth it to be shushed by your waiter when all you would like is a cup of hot tea...

 

 

I guess everyones experience is different, Ive not experienced the issues you complain of, and everyones perception of "good service " is different. Go back and look at how many negative comments there are from people who have only cruised carnival once, cruised carnival a decade ago or have never set foot on a carnival ship. Fact: Nobody can ever judge an entire cruiseline by one experience, an experience they had a decade ago, or by media/internet portrayal. For us, if I was going to pick one reason to sail Royal over Carnival, it would be entertianment! More specifically live music, and better productions.