A review, and comparisons of Carnival and RCL

[dulcimergirl]

I thought I would post this on the first cruise board, because its more a comparison of the two. I've been on 7 RCL cruises, both balcony rooms and interior. Carnival, I have 12, balcony and interior. So, a few comparisons.

Cabins: Carnivals are always bigger, and bathrooms are bigger. The shower curtain opposed to the sliding doors, I vote for the curtain. The stall is way bigger. RCL has only one dispenser, I never could figure out if it was shampoo or body wash. Carnival wins with clearly marked Shampoo and body wash dispensers. Plus you get the goodie bowl with a few items in it. Soap is provided on both lines of course.

Entertainment, RCL has it by a hair. We enjoyed a few of the shows, but due to our age, didn't rock climb or ice skate, or play basketball etc. RCL does have live music on the pool deck. Carnival is stuck with a DJ. If you think music is music, go for it.

Food, Pretty much even, with both providing good (if basic) food, RCL breakfast is pretty boring with the same stuff every morning. Plenty of choices, of course. I think Carnival has a bit more variety. Bacon is better and not so greasy on RCL. very important to me. lol

Casino.

All here is relative of course, but all the Carnival ships I've been on have had the three card poker (my game) with the extra 5 card kicker on the side. RCL does not. Very disappointing. Plus RCL uses the card dealing machine, which I don't like. I win more with hand shuffling, I don't know why.

Everyone calls me by my name on Carnival, never on RCL. It makes the trip so much more personal and friendly.

Well thats pretty much all that I wanted to say, if you have any questions just ask.

A few points:

My favorite ship is still Carnival Legend.

Anything over 7 days is lovely.

5 day cruises have more younger people.

[klfrodo]

I've got 11 with Carnival and my most recent was FOS on Royal.

 

I agree for the most part.

DJ vs. live music?

Yes, there was live music on the pool deck with Royal, however, it was a Jamaican band playing 70's and 80's music with a reggae beat :eek:

Entertainment. I really missed the Carnival piano bar. Royal had a piano bar,,,,, if you like Muzak style Moody Blues.

[dulcimergirl]

Agreed, hearing Regae music is weird on an New England cruise.

Oh, another thing, I love the Behind the Fun tour's on Carnival, they are 55$ for Fantasy class ships and 95$ on Spirit class. They are 150$ on RCL. I thought that was outrageous. I've done it 4 times on CCL, and none on RCCL, if you go, please let me know how it is, it had better have a lot more to see if its that price.

[Rogueperson]

I've only got 2 RC and 4 carnival under my belt. But I found Carnival is more consistent with good service from all its staff while Royal Caribbean seems to have hot and cold service. One place I will have great service and the next it would be a disappointment.

 

This maybe subjective, but I find carnival seems to have more energy than Royal Caribbean.

 

I found food to be a hair better on Royal Caribbean as well as their live entertainment. But a dedicated comedy venue on Carnival stands out. I also found that Carnival's for fee restaurant is consistently better. But like service. It varies between ships. I had a mediocre meal on Chops onboard the jewel of the seas and an incredible meal at Chops on the Independence of the seas.

 

Royal Caribbean wins hands down for ship decor and amenities.

 

Both are good and I would be hard pressed to decide between the two given equal pricing and itinerary.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[jammen]

I thought I would post this on the first cruise board, because its more a comparison of the two. I've been on 7 RCL cruises, both balcony rooms and interior. Carnival, I have 12, balcony and interior. So, a few comparisons.

Cabins: Carnivals are always bigger, and bathrooms are bigger. The shower curtain opposed to the sliding doors, I vote for the curtain. The stall is way bigger. RCL has only one dispenser, I never could figure out if it was shampoo or body wash. Carnival wins with clearly marked Shampoo and body wash dispensers. Plus you get the goodie bowl with a few items in it. Soap is provided on both lines of course.

Entertainment, RCL has it by a hair. We enjoyed a few of the shows, but due to our age, didn't rock climb or ice skate, or play basketball etc. RCL does have live music on the pool deck. Carnival is stuck with a DJ. If you think music is music, go for it.

Food, Pretty much even, with both providing good (if basic) food, RCL breakfast is pretty boring with the same stuff every morning. Plenty of choices, of course. I think Carnival has a bit more variety. Bacon is better and not so greasy on RCL. very important to me. lol

Casino.

All here is relative of course, but all the Carnival ships I've been on have had the three card poker (my game) with the extra 5 card kicker on the side. RCL does not. Very disappointing. Plus RCL uses the card dealing machine, which I don't like. I win more with hand shuffling, I don't know why.

Everyone calls me by my name on Carnival, never on RCL. It makes the trip so much more personal and friendly.

Well thats pretty much all that I wanted to say, if you have any questions just ask.

A few points:

My favorite ship is still Carnival Legend.

Anything over 7 days is lovely.

5 day cruises have more younger people.

 

Have a good cruise. Try a B2B, and compare.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for taking the time to write your comparisons of the 2 cruise lines.

[dulcimergirl]

Have a good cruise. Try a B2B, and compare.

 

I have done B2B's on both lines. Carnival's off and back on was easier to deal with.

Desserts were better on Carnival, and I love desserts.. lol

Ice Cream is much better on Carnival, RCL wants you to buy Ben and Jerry's so their ice cream (ice milk?) sucks.

Carnival photo people are more aggressive, RCL a lot less.

 

Several generic hints to newbie's: to get off the ship and though the terminal easier, always get a porter. They usually have a seperate (faster) customs line for the porters, and they just zoom you through there. It's worth the extra 5 or 10 bucks.

Newbies are usually caught up in the "fancy photo" push. Don't feel like you have to buy every photo they take. You will be spending hundreds! Always pick and choose, and only take home 1 or 2. You can thank me later. If you avoid most of the photographers you won't be tempted, take your own photos and save a ton.

You can order extra entree's, I always order "two lobster tails on one plate please?" otherwise they will bring you two plates and the table will be overloaded.

 

the best hint of all, have a great time, and please, please, please tip accordingly. These people work hard (on every cruise line) to make it a great vacation for you!

If you come in contact with crew members, and you will, ask them about where they are from and their family, they all love to interact with passengers, and you learn a lot about the countries these wonderful folks come from by chatting with them.

Edited September 22, 2014 by dulcimergirl
adding hints.

[Cruzaholic41]

Thanks for taking the time to express your opinions. Don't take offense to what I'm going to say. I'm only pointing out how different our perceptions can be. I'm Diamond on CCL and Pinnacle on RCI, and I can't disagree more with some of your points.

 

First of all, I don't think RCI entertainment is only a hair better than CCL. I think it's a mile better. I've yet to see any CCL entertainment that is even close to being on the same level as RCI's Oasis Class. RCI has contracted 90 minute Broadway shows on some of their ships including Hairspray, Chicago, Saturday Night Fever, Mama Mia and Cats. They also have the ice shows on 10 ships and Aqua Theater shows on 2 ships. CCL has nothing even close to this.

 

Being recognized by name is something I've experienced on almost all of my cruises. I wouldn't say one is any better than the other at that.

 

Also, have you been on RCI Freedom Class? Standard balcony rooms (cat D) are noticably larger than any standard balcony room I've had on CCL. Plus, the balcony itself is a lot bigger. You like shower curtains, huh? No thanks. I'll take the doors anyday. I'm not a fan of that curtain clinging to me when I'm showering, especially knowing how many people the curtain has clung to.

[dulcimergirl]

Thanks for taking the time to express your opinions. Don't take offense to what I'm going to say. I'm only pointing out how different our perceptions can be. I'm Diamond on CCL and Pinnacle on RCI, and I can't disagree more with some of your points.

 

First of all, I don't think RCI entertainment is only a hair better than CCL. I think it's a mile better. I've yet to see any CCL entertainment that is even close to being on the same level as RCI's Oasis Class. RCI has contracted 90 minute Broadway shows on some of their ships including Hairspray, Chicago, Saturday Night Fever, Mama Mia and Cats. They also have the ice shows on 10 ships and Aqua Theater shows on 2 ships. CCL has nothing even close to this.

 

Being recognized by name is something I've experienced on almost all of my cruises. I wouldn't say one is any better than the other at that.

 

Also, have you been on RCI Freedom Class? Standard balcony rooms (cat D) are noticably larger than any standard balcony room I've had on CCL. Plus, the balcony itself is a lot bigger. You like shower curtains, huh? No thanks. I'll take the doors anyday. I'm not a fan of that curtain clinging to me when I'm showering, especially knowing how many people the curtain has clung to.

 

No offense taken, my review is my opinion only, and I'm glad others can chime in with their different opinions.

I've never had the curtain cling to me, but being in the turbo tube is very uncomfortable, as I am tall and my elbows hit the walls when shampooing constantly.

I'm glad you enjoyed the shows, I did enjoy the water show on Oasis, and the Ice Skating show was amazing also. Maybe I'm just not a show person.

The one thing I did not like about Oasis was everything was always miles away on the other end of the ship, we did way to much walking. Might be my age, but it truly was entirely to big.

:) no worries, there is a wonderful assortment of ships for all of us, besides if we were all on the same ship, it would be awfully crowded.:D