Which is better? Carnival or Royal Caribbean?

[wiskt]

Every cruise is different, whether its two separate cruise lines or two different ships. I say, choose the itinerary you want and make it a fun vacation whichecver line you choose.

[Tithonus]

Since this is a Carnival forum I would think most people would say Carnival is better than RCCL. I think so.

 

Have you cruised RCCL?

[CarnieAddict]

Did you not like the full production of "Hairspray", the water shows, ice skating shows, ship entertainer or huge atrium party? Is it that you missed seeing someone do karoeke to Ricki Martin like on CCL?

Did you not like the t-bone steaks in the buffet? Miss the meatloaf on CCL, did you?

Prefer the thumbsize lobster on CCL to the hand size ones on RCL? Were you offended that RCL offered healthy breakfast items as opposed to the full fat stuff on CCL?

Did all the open chairs at the pool area on sea days disappoint you? Do you enjoy playing chair hog wars?

 

Damn I didn't know CCL had meatloaf. I will have to look out for it the mext time. Oh and there are lots of healthy choices on CCL for breakfast. There are just as many complaints about the food on RCL as there is on CCL. Go look on their fourms. If I want to see a broadway play I will go to NY. My wife and I enjoyed the shows. I haven't cruised much yet but I will stick with CCL.

[tiffygirl]

I just finished my 2nd RCL cruise on the Oasis last month. Ship beautiful, food very good, and shows fantastic. That being said, my husband and I had a lot more fun on our Carnival cruise on the Valor. The activities on the two RCL ships were few and far between. I am looking at a cruise on the Breeze and on Sea Days can see at 5-8 activities that I would like to do. On the Oasis I had hours of time with nothing interesting to do. Also the piano bar was the worst. I compared with another colleague who just took a Princess cruise out of LA and we both agree, Carnival is more fun.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

That was my BIGGEST issue with Royal. There is hardly anything to do during the day or the evening hours. During the day that had a TON a seminars to sell you stuff and movies...then at night...more movies.. so if you dont rock climb, flow ride, and lay out by the pool...you are SOL. yes they have a 'mall' but how many times can you walk up and down it for a 7 day cruise:eek:. I dont go on cruises to watch movies...(that's just me) Yea, they got the parade thing......Yea kung fu Panda and Sherk are nice, but that does no not appeal to me...LOL again my opinion only.

 

Basically i was bored. But if you kids...great ships!

 

OP, go with an open mind. At the end of the day you have to feel like you are getting value for your vacation dollars. What I consider a value, may be different than what you consider a value.

[Big_G]

OP:

 

Just some advice when reading some of the reviews in this thread. Ignore the nasty and inedible food reviews. They're not credible. Ignore the 'I'm not paying for a rock wall or flow rider' from people who've never sailed those ships. If that was the only thing that drew people to the ship they wouldn't sail at capacity. Ignore the 'I was bored on Oasis and Allure.' It's almost impossible. Maybe some other RC ships but not those two. Don't lose sight of the fact that you're on the Carnival boards.

 

The only way you'll know what cruise line fits you is to sail on it and please don't decide after one sailing. Cruises vary from ship to ship and cruise to cruise. Saying never again after one cruise is as educated as saying never without trying out the line.

[pamrose228]

Haven't been on RCCL in a while but what stuck out is they never served lobster tails. Last time I was on CCL they did and enjoy it immensely. Thought the MDR food on CCL was much much better.

[Cuizer2]

I have cruised twice with Royal Caribbean and once with P&O and now looking at Carnival. Can anyone tell me who has been on Carnival and Royal Caribbean some comparisons? Is Carnival better? Drink prices? What currency is used on board Carnival?

Thanks for any other info you can share.

 

I've been on ten Carnival Cruises and nine Royal Caribbean cruises. In general the passenger mix is very similar. The space ratio is typically less on Carnival than on Royal Caribbean, however, typically Carnival charges less than Royal Caribbean.

 

Carnival has water slides that an adult or child can use on all their ships. The few water slides on the Royal Caribbean ships are designed for the pre-school crowd. Royal Caribbean has rock climbing walls on all of its ships.

 

In general the service on Royal Caribbean is better than the service on Carnival. In general the food on Carnival is a little better than the food on Royal Caribbean, though that gap seems to be closing.

 

Half of Royal Caribbean's fleet (10 out of 21 ships) are like floating amusement parks. I haven't been on any of Carnival's Dream class ships yet, but the Magic and Breese might also have that amusement park feel.

 

My favorite Carnival ships are the four Spirit class ships (Spirit, Pride, Miracle and Legend). My favorite Royal Caribbean ships are the last two Voyager class ships, the Navigator of the Seas and the Mariner of the Seas.

 

The two Oasis class ships (Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas) are something else.

[tiffygirl]

OP:

 

Just some advice when reading some of the reviews in this thread. Ignore the nasty and inedible food reviews. They're not credible. Ignore the 'I'm not paying for a rock wall or flow rider' from people who've never sailed those ships. If that was the only thing that drew people to the ship they wouldn't sail at capacity. Ignore the 'I was bored on Oasis and Allure.' It's almost impossible. Maybe some other RC ships but not those two. Don't lose sight of the fact that you're on the Carnival boards.

 

The only way you'll know what cruise line fits you is to sail on it and please don't decide after one sailing. Cruises vary from ship to ship and cruise to cruise. Saying never again after one cruise is as educated as saying never without trying out the line.

 

Well I was bored as hayle on my Freedom of the Seas Cruise.

 

The OP did not say what ships he/she is comparing with carnival and Royal (unless i missed the post). I haven’t sailed Oasis/Allure yet. Oasis/Allure may have more activities :shrugs: But I paid more for my Royal cruise than I spent on any of my other cruises to find that it really the hype didn't = $$$$$. Not saying it wasn’t a good cruise, but I for me it was not a good value. That being said, it was my family’s first cruise and to them Royal Caribbean was worth every penny spent and they LOVED it. It met their expectations. I don’t and won't try to convince them otherwise. They now love cruising because of the time spent on Royal. I don’t discourage or steer away from Royal based on my 'own' personal experience. Nightly actives are important to me. However, may not be to OP. Therefore, the lack of them influenced my overall experience (not to mentioned the rudest passengers i'ver ever sailed with).

[Big_G]

Haven't been on RCCL in a while but what stuck out is they never served lobster tails. Last time I was on CCL they did and enjoy it immensely. Thought the MDR food on CCL was much much better.

 

It may have been short a cruise you were on. Every cruise I've sailed, including RCI, has served lobster tails. I've heard they don't serve them on 3 & 4 day cruises but I haven't sailed a 3 or 4 day so I can't attest to the accuracy of the information.

[Tapi]

Well I was bored as hayle on my Freedom of the Seas Cruise.

 

Just curious, specifically what kind of entertainment does Carnival provide that you couldn't find on the Freedom of the Seas to the point of making it boring?

[TurtleCrossing1]

Choose carnival. It's the best overall cruise line in the world. Overall, they have a great product.

[Havingfun2010]

Will you use all the bells and whistles on a Royal ship? I do not feel the need to pay for a ship whose free amenities I wouldn't use- Rock Walls, Flow Riders, etc.

 

If you take your basic RCCL ship, such as say Enchantment of the Seas, it does not have all the so called free amenities. For example, it has a rock climbing wall, but not a water slide. Based on your post, I doubt you would use either, but the price of the cruise is not based on a rock climbing wall, but rather the entertainment value, live bands, food, live shows, headliner shows, etc that RCCL puts more money into. What it comes down to, is really Carnival cut back on entertainment, and changed the MDR to a Denny's with hamburgers, and fried chicken on the menu. So the bottom line is, you receive what you pay for. Also, if you go off season, and price check, you may find the RCCL ship is the same price or really close!

[deetrayn]

I love CCL, but will be doing a B2B on RCCL in Nov/Dec. I'm looking forward to this one because there are two different southern caribbean itineraries out of PR on RCCL. I'm also excited to try a different cruise line.

[tiffygirl]

Just curious, specifically what kind of entertainment does Carnival provide that you couldn't find on the Freedom of the Seas to the point of making it boring?

 

I know on my royal cruise they showed a lot of movies during the day and they had a lot of seminars selling stuff. Also, they had the demo's(ice sculpture, napkin folding...ect) all on one day versus spread out during the week. Now my carnival cruise was in 2003, it was a good cruise so if i remember correctly they had more to do (pool games, live music, dancing). The Engery level was better on my carnival. carnival has a completely differnt atmophere than on Royal. IMO. comparativley to my 'other' cruises i had more down time on Royal. Now granted i went from the Epic to the Freedom in less than 3 weeks so it was very noticeable (but we are not comparing NCL so i wont go into it lol)

 

but to be honest....i cant really speak on today's carnival, they may have less or the may have more when it comes to activities. Im just saying what I experienced on my Royal cruise.

[janetz]

Choose carnival. It's the best overall cruise line in the world. Overall, they have a great product.

 

 

That is your opinion. ;) There is much better.

[Phlybice]

That is your opinion. ;) There is much better.

 

In the world, no less. :cool:

[wanderingjew]

Choose carnival. It's the best overall cruise line in the world. Overall, they have a great product.

This was true in 2008

[pamrose228]

It may have been short a cruise you were on. Every cruise I've sailed, including RCI, has served lobster tails. I've heard they don't serve them on 3 & 4 day cruises but I haven't sailed a 3 or 4 day so I can't attest to the accuracy of the information.

 

It was a six day cruise out of Fort Lauderdale to the Western Caribbean. I was disappointed to say the least.

[Big_G]

In the world, no less. :cool:

 

Wow! :eek: I miss Breeze319. :rolleyes:

[Cindy]

A lot of it comes down to what your expectations are and what you're looking for. My experience of being bored on a cruise ship was just the opposite of a couple posters in this thread...I always find plenty to do on RCCL, but on my last two CCL cruises there weren't a lot of activities or entertainment that interested me. That's based purely on what I like to do, and unless I know someone well it's hard to say if a line would be a better fit for them or not. It can also vary from ship to ship within a fleet, and from one itinerary to another. Even if I think one cruise line is better for me, that doesn't necessarily mean I would make a blanket statement about it.

I'm not a brand loyalist...I enjoy trying different lines and having different experiences. I've found there are things I like about all of them, and things I dislike.

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

this was true in 2008

 

*like button*

[janetz]

Wow! :eek: I miss Breeze319. :rolleyes:

 

 

Wait...Isn't Breeze now Turtlecrossing? :D

[dogchopper]

I have been on about 6 carnival cruises and 2 RC. I just got off the freedom of the seas on oct 6th.

I loved the ship but honestly think that I still like carnival better. I think RC has some absolutely beautiful ships and carnival can't seem to compete on that, but I think that carnival looks at the simple things and makes them better. But... I guess it depends on what your looking for. If your looking for beauty and elegance, go royal. If your looking for lots of fun go carnival.

 

I wrote this post a few days after I got off the FOS this month http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1927095

It pretty much sums up what I thought the differences were.

[CarnieAddict]

Its funny how people think peoples opinions are wrong. I like CCL and I'm not sure what the rest can do to make it better. I can only cruise once a year. So I am leary on trying another line. Cause I don't wanna sit there and wish I was on a CCL ship. I can afford to go on any other line but why would I spend the extra money when I'm satisfied with ccl?

[Phlybice]

Its funny how people think peoples opinions are wrong. I like CCL and I'm not sure what the rest can do to make it better. I can only cruise once a year. So I am leary on trying another line. Cause I don't wanna sit there and wish I was on a CCL ship. I can afford to go on any other line but why would I spend the extra money when I'm satisfied with ccl?

 

Which is fine. You just couldn't tell someone else which one is better.