Carnival vs. Royal Caribbean: a comparison

[Laurin612]

We were originally booked for the 3/22 cruise on Carnival Valor, but this past August Carnival changed home ports of two ships and decided to make this sailing the repositioning cruise, which canceled our cruise and necessitated us booking on another cruise line since our airfare to San Juan had been booked.

 

I thought it might be helpful to post a comparison between the two lines. Specifically, I'm comparing our most recent cruise on Carnival (7/29/14 on the Miracle) and our very recent cruise on Royal Caribbean (3/22/15 on Adventure of the Seas). Here are our “votes” for which line wins in certain categories:

 

Ship design and décor: Royal Caribbean wins. With the exception of the three most recent ships (Dream, Breeze and Magic), the décor of Carnival ships is pretty gaudy and over the top. We appreciated the tasteful design of Adventure of the Seas and its fairly simple, easy to navigate layout.

 

Adult areas: Royal Caribbean wins. We really liked the Solarium area on Adventure of the Seas. In particular, we liked the shady, covered areas including shaded hot tubs and the walk in steps to the solarium pool. We also liked that the adult area on Royal Caribbean is 16+, so our daughter was able to enjoy some time with us in there also. (Carnival’s Serenity area is 21+)

 

Hot tubs: Royal Caribbean wins. We really liked the large, covered hot tubs.

 

MDR food: Carnival wins for both quality and variety

 

Buffet food: Carnival wins for both quality and variety. Carnival’s buffet is open 24 hours. Royal’s buffet closes at 8:00. After that, the only option for food is Promenade Café or room service.

 

Desserts: Carnival wins for both quality and variety. We were surprised that the only desserts available at lunch time in the Windjammer were jello, cookies and some kind of jelly roll cake. The same things every day.

 

Soft serve ice cream/fro-yo: Carnival wins. While it was nice that they have someone serving the soft serve ice cream on Royal Caribbean, we didn’t like that it was only available from 12-6. On Carnival, you have to serve yourself but it is available 24 hours. Also, the kids missed the strawberry frozen yogurt.

 

Food available by the pool: Carnival wins. When lounging by the pool, we like the ability to be able to grab a quick burger or other nibble by the pool and not have to get dressed and go into a dining room. This was not available on Royal Caribbean.

 

Kids Club: Carnival wins. Activities were very well organized and my teens liked that the teen group was separated into 12-14 (Circle C) and 15-17 (Club 02). On Royal Caribbean, Ages 12-17 were all lumped together. My almost 17 year old daughter who is a junior in high school was kind of appalled at the idea of being in the same group as 6th graders. Carnival also provides free tee shirts for the registered kids club members on the last night of the cruise. Our kids enjoy having their friends sign the shirts. Royal Caribbean did not have anything comparable, or even a “Farewell” party, as they do on Carnival. Our kids felt the teen program on Royal Caribbean was really lacking. They missed Carnival.

 

Live music: Royal Caribbean wins. Carnival has done away with live music on deck in favor of DJs, which I think is a big mistake.

 

Comedy: Carnival wins. If you like comedy, Carnival has a comedy club and several family friendly and adults only shows every night. We missed that a lot on Royal Caribbean.

 

Shows: Carnival wins. We liked their production shows much better than Royal Caribbean’s (at least on Adventure of the Seas), although I think the performers themselves may be more talented on Royal Caribbean. I understand that Allure and Oasis have some amazing shows, but that was not the case on Adventure of the Seas. The ice show on Adventure of the Seas was fantastic and is not to be missed, in my opinion.

 

Beverage packages: Royal Caribbean wins, by far. We liked the variety of options. Carnival only has one beverage package ($55 per day) and both adults in the room have to buy it. I don’t really drink, so it’s not worth it for me. So because of that my husband doesn’t buy it on Carnival, either.

 

So, there you have my two cents, for what it’s worth. Let me know if you have any specific questions.

__________________

[DDFla]

I am going to agree with you in most areas. Solarium was very nice and a greater passenger to hot tub and pool ratio. There were a lot of things I just did not need on Allure though.

My interior room seemed smaller and the bathroom while I liked the shower door was way smaller than any I've been on Carnival.

Carnival owns comedy, even the headliner joked, "Largest ship on the sea, smallest comedy room"

MDR food I found both good and nice to get something different for a change. I've had most everything on Carnival's MDR menu more than once.

I was not blown away by RCI's Giovanni's, did not try Chops as an apples to apples comparison with Carnivals steak house (Always has been good).

While I liked the big Allure and RCI did a great job moving that many people, the limited ports will keep me going on other ships. Not to mention I usually find their prices higher.

People on both are great, I did not find the snobs many mention, and the party crowd has never been an issue on my five day or longer cruises.

Find your best deal for the time you can go, or splurge and try something new. Enjoy cruising, and don't get your expectations too high.

[Laurin612]

I am going to agree with you in most areas. Solarium was very nice and a greater passenger to hot tub and pool ratio. There were a lot of things I just did not need on Allure though.

My interior room seemed smaller and the bathroom while I liked the shower door was way smaller than any I've been on Carnival.

Carnival owns comedy, even the headliner joked, "Largest ship on the sea, smallest comedy room"

MDR food I found both good and nice to get something different for a change. I've had most everything on Carnival's MDR menu more than once.

I was not blown away by RCI's Giovanni's, did not try Chops as an apples to apples comparison with Carnivals steak house (Always has been good).

While I liked the big Allure and RCI did a great job moving that many people, the limited ports will keep me going on other ships. Not to mention I usually find their prices higher.

People on both are great, I did not find the snobs many mention, and the party crowd has never been an issue on my five day or longer cruises.

Find your best deal for the time you can go, or splurge and try something new. Enjoy cruising, and don't get your expectations too high.

 

I'm not sure it's really fair to compare a regular Carnival ship with a floating city like Allure or Oasis, especially when restaurants and entertainment venues are concerned. I just want to clarify that the RCI ship I went on was Adventure of the Seas. I see that as being more comparable to Carnival's ships. Although, we were in port next to Carnival Freedom and I was surprised how much Adventure of the Seas dwarfed it. It didn't seem that much bigger.

[DDFla]

I'm not and didn't mean to come across that way. Oasis and Allure are in a class all by their own. I will shop more in the future as I did like RCI and plan to try a smaller ship next time. But I will not hesitate to cruise Carnival either.

[Frank12]

In all of my Carnival cruises I've never seen the buffet open 24 hours.

Usually after 11:00 pm it is pizza, ice cream or room service.

[Laurin612]

In all of my Carnival cruises I've never seen the buffet open 24 hours.

Usually after 11:00 pm it is pizza, ice cream or room service.

 

I know they don't have a FULL buffet 24 hours, but I thought there were some things besides pizza that were available all the time. If not, my mistake. I usually don't make it past 11. :o I just know the Lido buffet on Carnival is open past 8, and Windjammer Cafe on Royal Caribbean is not.

[pirate4me2]

Thank you for the comparison. We are planning to branch out and try other lines sometimes, and RCI is on my list of potential ones to try along with Celebrity and NCL. I appreciate the comparison!

[Sailor_Sally]

We went on RCL last year . We had sailed with them before but not for a few years . I really missed the Comedy club , The trivia & the karaoke that was readily available on CCl . My husband missed the sports Bar . RCL was pretty boring .

[ncovert]

Thank you for the comparison. We are planning to branch out and try other lines sometimes, and RCI is on my list of potential ones to try along with Celebrity and NCL. I appreciate the comparison!

 

I echo the sentiment.

 

DW wants to "try out another cruise line" and it is nice to be about to read about people's opinions on the comparisons.

[guxu]

I know they don't have a FULL buffet 24 hours, but I thought there were some things besides pizza that were available all the time. If not, my mistake. I usually don't make it past 11. :o I just know the Lido buffet on Carnival is open past 8, and Windjammer Cafe on Royal Caribbean is not.

Not 24 hours but Carnival does offer much more food options than Royal Caribbean. At least Carnival does not close the Lido buffet's door. On Carnival, we always saw families playing cards in Lido buffet late night. The buffet line was not open. But drink and pizza were just there. On my last Royal cruise (not on a mega ship), they closed the door at 9:00pm(?), which pretty much turned the Lido deck to a ghost town. After that, the only place to get food or drink was in Park Café. But by 10:00pm or 10:30pm, even Park Café ran out of most food. No, they did not replenish food.

I am not a big eater. But I do want the options there. I am not a party person either. But I do like to see happy people on Lido deck in the evening. An empty Lido deck in early evening is just weird.

[DDFla]

One thing I didn't mention was that while RCI supposedly had more entertainment on Allure, you needed to book online. I did, but nothing saved evidently, so when we were on the cruise we were stand by for shows, not fun.

[dave_k58]

HI -Enjoyed your post. I didn't see you mention anything about the cabins. Maybe I missed it somehow. Size, decor etc

Thanks

[dogbert's mom]

Thank you for balanced review. We recently cruised on RC for the first time and I expected to be blown off my feet. I enjoyed by cruise but over all I didn't feel that there was enough different to make me not go back to Carnival.

 

I agree that the design of the ship and the solarium area was beautiful but all seemed to lack the fun attitude of Carnival. Maybe I'm just a 20 year at heart yet.

 

We are trying a cruise to Alaska on HAL this summer and I'm a little anxious that we will be totally out of place.

[NavarreCruiser]

Having cruised many ships on both lines I think your assessment is pretty much spot on. I will say that, in our opinion, the main show lounge shows and fly on acts on RCI ,taken as a whole & across the fleet, are usually better than on Carnival.

[mjonis]

I think you're mostly spot on, but here's a few things I'd add (keep in mind I've been on Sensation--small, Valor--medium, and Freedom of the Seas --Large):

 

1) Room Service. RCI wins hands down. Carnival still has no hot items like eggs/etc for breakfast.

 

2) Shows--sorry to disagree but FOS had way better shows than Sensation or Valor. Granted, it's like 1.5 times the size of Valor and the ice skating show was excellent. I found the comedy short (if PG rated) on Carnival and don't really care for all the excess profanity (simply repeating the F word a lot doesn't magically make things funny, IMO). At least on the Valor I believe there was only one PG rated per night and 2 R-rated per night (on the nights that comedy was there).

 

3) Pools - RCI wins (again, not fair to compare to FOS to the 2 Carnival ships I've been on--probably have to wait until Vista comes out). Pools were larger/better than Carnival and therefore seemed less crowded. Although I only saw 2 hot tubs in the "adults" area on RCI and they were always crowded vs. Valor, but maybe I missed some because the ship is so large.

 

4) Shopping - better on RCI due to the sheer size. Not that I buy a lot of stuff.

 

5) Paid food options - RCI (again probably due to size) wins over Carnival. Granted, that's extra money.

 

6) Smoking. I think RCI contained the smoke better (ie, you couldn't smell it from the casino 3 floors up like you could on the Valor).

 

7) Sewer smells. The 2 ships on Carnival I've been on seemed laced with sewer smells. Don't know why, but never smelled sewer on the FOS.

 

But each ship is unique. I'd almost wish I could take the nice things about RCI and merge it with the nice things on Carnival.

 

But I haven't had a bad cruise (just hold you breath on some spots on Carnival) on either line and would do either line in a heartbeat. I think my parents would enjoy RCI more only because they're not into the profanity-laced comedy on Carnival or the dancing/loud music/bars.

[frito58]

Well I used to Think Carnival was ahead on food but we just got off of the Liberty on The first of March and that new American Table menu. Everyone in our party thought it was just god awful. The food was terrible . It was hard to find something to eat every night and I am not a picky eater. Funny thing I was sitting in a bar I Columbus next to a construction worker from Orlando that just got off the same ship and we got talking and he mentioned how awful the MDR food was. Said they just quit after 3 nights . We heading to back To RCCL for the next few cruises . May not be better but IMHO it cant be worse after all the cutbacks I have seen the last few cruises. Plus we were disappointed in how they have really cut back on the shows. Only like 2 the entire cruise . Plus comedians, but they really have cutback on everything.

 

I should mention we have been on 12 Carnival cruises on 5 RCCL .

Edited April 3, 2015 by frito58

[jreichow1972]

We sailed the Explorer (Borer) of the Seas Jan 29 for a 9nt cruise. I was so excited to try RCCL and it ended up being a Royal disappointment. Food and entertainment was mediocre to bad, service staff in dining, bars and room steward were unfriendly and lazy. Pool side servers were non-existant. Our room steward lectured me daily about using my door signs to let him know if I wanted service or not. I heard the ship was going into dry dock soon after our cruise and the staff just didn't care.

[heathernm]

I so needed this! Thank you! Lots of questions and they were pretty much answered.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[cadamson]

What options did they have for late night food?

[Laurin612]

What options did they have for late night food?

 

The only late night food options are room service (and there is a charge after a certain time--maybe midnight?) and the Promenade Café. Late night options at Promenade Café were pretty limited--pizza, pre-made deli sandwiches and some dessert items. My kids ate late night pizza with their friends several times and said it was OK--but that it did not compare with Carnival's pizza, which is fresh and made to order. Pizza on RC was whatever they had on hand in the pizza warmer (usually pepperoni and cheese only).

 

I agree with mjonis about the smoke--it definitely seemed more contained on AOS. One reason, I think, is that the casino is not on the "main drag"--it's a level down. On Carnival ships, you are pretty much forced to walk through the smoky casino to get to some areas of the ship. I appreciated not having to walk through through the smoke. It also seemed like there were fewer smokers on this ship.

 

We did not order room service or even look at the room service menu, so I cannot speak to that. I only noticed there was an additional charge for late night room service. It was pretty nominal--$3.95, maybe?

 

I definitely liked the pools better on AOS, the adult pool in particular. I liked that there were stairs that you could walk into/ease your way into the pool. I also liked that the hot tubs were bigger and had sun shades on them.

 

Punchliner Comedy club was available every night on Carnival, at least on the ships I have been on since its inception. We went nearly every night--sometimes to both the family friendly and adult shows. We really missed that on Royal Caribbean. The one night there was a comedian/guy doing impressions it was so bad that we walked out. And we were not the only ones--we took the lead of people around us who beat a hasty retreat when the lights went down. Ed Sullivan impressions?! (I'm 45 and am too young to have seen his show, although I do know who he was.). Fart jokes about foods on the buffet containing beans?! Come on! This guy obviously thought his audience was either 80 or 8.

 

I also agree with mjonis about the sewer smells. I did not notice any on AOS. I noticed it a LOT on the Sunshine, in particular on Decks 3, 4 and 5 mid-ship.

[Cruiseathoning]

For anyone reading this-comparing a Carnival production to a Royal production is like comparing Taco Bell to Cantina Laredo.

 

It is not even close-Royal uses a full staff, brings in NAMED entertainers, and uses live music. Can't believe such statements are made with a straight face.

[Laurin612]

For anyone reading this-comparing a Carnival production to a Royal production is like comparing Taco Bell to Cantina Laredo.

 

It is not even close-Royal uses a full staff, brings in NAMED entertainers, and uses live music. Can't believe such statements are made with a straight face.

 

Maybe on the Oasis and Allure, but on Adventure of the Seas the shows were not good and there were no "named" entertainers, either. I could not be more serious about that, and this was not my first cruise on RCI, either.

[jimbo5544]

For anyone reading this-comparing a Carnival production to a Royal production is like comparing Taco Bell to Cantina Laredo.

 

It is not even close-Royal uses a full staff, brings in NAMED entertainers, and uses live music. Can't believe such statements are made with a straight face.

 

Carnival entertainers don't have names? :confused:

[Cruiseathoning]

On Voyager class and above I have seen the Texas Tenors and Micky Dolenz, (Freedom class). One of the major mistakes Carnival made was reserving their concerts for booze cruises, and then charging on top of that.

 

Price the cruise where you have to price it and let the chips fall where they may. Fooling people once keeps them from sailing you twice.

Edited April 20, 2015 by Cruiseathoning

[Tapi]

Maybe on the Oasis and Allure, but on Adventure of the Seas the shows were not good and there were no "named" entertainers, either. I could not be more serious about that, and this was not my first cruise on RCI, either.

 

 

I have to agree. While the entertainment on our cruise aboard the Allure was beyond fantastic, and nothing on Carnival comes even remotely close, the entertainment on the Enchantment left a lot to be desired. It was just as amateurish and cheesy as what we've experienced on Carnival. One night on the Enchantment, the show was SO bad that my wife and I just busted out laughing uncontrollably with tears in our eyes. The couple next to us must've thought the same thing because they busted out laughing too.

 

With that said, the Enchantment did have one of the best resident singers I've ever listened to on any cruise ship and they also had a real band playing by the pool which was wonderful.

Edited April 20, 2015 by Tapi